Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 225: Chapter 190: Lu Ji

What was he looking for Yu Mi for?

Twice, no less.

Yang Xiao’s first reaction was that he was after the Resentful Eye; could it be that the Resentful Eye had ended up in Yu Mi’s hands?

However, after calming down, Yang Xiao shook his head. In the nightmare, it was himself and Fu Qingzhu who truly drove the mission forward, so the Resentful Eye should have chosen one of them as its master.

Considering Yu Mi’s performance in the nightmare, it was at best a bit of trickery, not worth Fu Qingzhu’s personal visit to recruit.

What was stranger was that today, Fu Qingzhu had not informed him of these things. His exact words were that someone had checked into it, and when the topic of Yu Mi came up, Fu Qingzhu casually glossed over it. At the time, Yang Xiao didn’t pay attention, but thinking back now, it seemed particularly suspicious.

What made Yang Xiao vigilant was that today, Fu Qingzhu had introduced a so-called mission to him under the pretext of seeking help.

The more he thought about it, the more Yang Xiao felt something was off, and he asked the technical staff member across from him if there was more detailed information, preferably video.

The efficiency of the technical department was surprisingly high; within just a few minutes, a new file package was sent over. After opening it, there were several video clips.

Upon playing the first clip, the video background was dim, clearly at night. It showed an old residential area, where only a few windows in the opposite 6-story residential building still had lights on. A person dressed in gray casual clothes got out of a black SUV and walked toward the middle unit door.

Due to the lighting, only the last three numbers of the SUV’s license plate could barely be made out, 578.

The man in the gray casual clothes in the video was only shown from the back, his face not visible, but his build was quite similar to Fu Qingzhu’s. The technical department sent another comparison photo; it featured an SUV identical to the one in the video, with 578 as the last three digits of the license plate number.

This photo was taken in an underground garage—judging by the quality and the angle, it seemed to be from the security footage of the parking lot, and Fu Qingzhu was standing not far from the vehicle.

Yang Xiao roughly calculated the time; it took Fu Qingzhu exactly half an hour to go in and out of the unit building.

"I can’t see clearly in the video—did he carry anything up or down stairs?" Yang Xiao typed and asked.

"Haven’t found anything yet," came the reply from across.

"Nothing both times?"

"Nothing."

If it wasn’t for taking something, then he must have gone to ask questions, but Yang Xiao couldn’t understand what kind of secret worth Fu Qingzhu’s effort could be on a newcomer like Yu Mi.

But soon, a face flashed through Yang Xiao’s mind—Lu Ji. Yang Xiao was not present when Lu Ji died; the information he got afterward was all narrated by Fu Qingzhu.

Could it be... could it be that Lu Ji’s death was related to Fu Qingzhu, and he went to warn Yu Mi to keep her mouth shut and not to talk nonsense?

"Send me Yu Mi’s recent information, in more detail, and Fu Qingzhu’s as well," Yang Xiao typed.

A moment later, information on the two was sent over.

Yu Mi, 22 years old, a recent graduate of Lingkou Institute of Technology. From a single-parent family with poor economic conditions, her mother lives in another province with poor health and suffers from various chronic diseases.

Due to the average school and major, Yu Mi didn’t find a job after graduation and was in financial difficulty, now renting in an old residential area. Her accounts were found on several job-seeking platforms, with numerous job-seeking posts published.

In contrast, the background information on Fu Qingzhu was much more succinct; apart from confirming his membership in the Apostles Union, the rest was trivial.

"Don’t you have more information on him?" Yang Xiao typed to ask, "Like what he’s been doing recently, or who he’s been closely involved with."

"Sorry, your clearance isn’t high enough, and that’s all the information you can get for now," replied the person from the technical department, as straightforward as ever.

After pondering for a moment, Yang Xiao made a decision, "Help me find a reason to ask Yu Mi out, just under the pretext of a recruiting company. Also, arrange an office for me, farther from the Federation building. Make it quick, tonight."

After receiving a definite response, Yang Xiao called Beibei. Beibei came by car to pick him up, and upon seeing him, Yang Xiao noticed a lipstick mark on Beibei’s cheek.

"What’s this..." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Beibei exhaled a breath of alcohol and gave Yang Xiao a mysterious smile, "Don’t mind it, the girl last night was too enthusiastic."

"Don’t drink and drive, and don’t drive after drinking. Unsafe driving, two lines of family tears," Yang Xiao was a law-abiding citizen and reminded him seriously.

"What does drinking last night have to do with driving today?" Beibei waved his hand, urging Yang Xiao to get in the car quickly, they could talk in the car.

Under Yang Xiao’s instruction, the two went to a shopping mall and bought clothes for themselves. Yang Xiao purchased a gray casual outfit, packed it in a garment bag, while Beibei swiftly changed into a business suit.

Once dressed, based on the location provided by the technical department, they drove to a high-rise office building in the west of the city, where an office had been prepared.

They didn’t have to wait too long before night fell completely. Beibei received a message from Yu Mi, who was very polite. From the tone, it was clear that she attached great importance to this job interview.

After giving a routine response, Beibei turned around and looked at Yang Xiao, who was sitting in the boss’s chair, "I said, is it necessary to go through all this trouble? Why not just interrogate directly?"

"The person is coming, remember what I told you," Yang Xiao reminded.

About half an hour later, Yu Mi arrived. Beibei led her into the office and then closed the door with a "bang".

Dressed for job hunting, Yu Mi was startled and looked at Beibei with a puzzled face. But the next second, her expression turned to fear as she saw the beautiful assistant, who had been smiling just a second ago, slowly change her expression and pull out a short knife from her side.

As the woman approached, the blade edged out, slender and bright as water. Combined with Beibei’s sinister smile, Yu Mi was so frightened she turned to run, but the door behind her was locked.

"Help! Somebody help!!" Yu Mi banged on the door and shouted.

"It’s no use. This is a suite, and there’s no one in the nearby rooms," Beibei’s voice came out cold and terrifying, squeezing through her teeth.

"Don’t kill me! I... I don’t know anything, we have no grievances!" Unable to escape, Yu Mi could only hope that the woman would let her go.

Beibei paid no heed and continued to draw her knife forward, moving slowly, the pressure she brought was like a storm, suffocating Yu Mi, "Mr. Song sent his regards. He asked me to give you a message that some secrets are better kept by the dead."

"No, no, not at all. I won’t utter a word about that matter, I assure you. I won’t say anything, I won’t!!"

Yu Mi finally noticed the boss’s chair in the office. There was a grey casual jacket draped over the back of the chair—it was the one Song Yan had worn the previous night!

At that moment, Yu Mi understood everything. This so-called job interview was just a sham. Song Yan did not trust her promise; it was actually a ploy to kill her! frёewebnoѵēl.com

And there was another door on the side of the office with a crack open, revealing a shadow moving inside.

"Mr. Song! Mr. Song!" Yu Mi shouted loudly at the door, with a crying tone, "You promised me!"

"That’s all it takes to make you spill everything? How boring," Beibei sheathed the knife and turned to whistle towards that door, "Come out, it’s done."

The next second, the door opened, and seeing Yang Xiao come out, Yu Mi was completely dumbfounded, "Chu... Chu Xi?!"

Ignoring her, Yang Xiao turned and sat down in the boss’s chair, motioning with his chin towards Yu Mi, "Start talking."

Knowing she had been played, Yu Mi spoke softly, feigning ignorance, "Talk... about what?"

Yang Xiao took out a handgun from his waist and placed it on the table, "You have at least three things to say."

Seeing the handgun, Yu Mi’s eyes widened. She knew Song Yan was not someone to mess with but didn’t expect Chu Xi to be tough as well.

But recalling the words Song Yan had said to her, Yu Mi, who had opened her mouth slightly, clenched it shut again, "Mr. Chu, I’m very grateful for your help during the mission. I’ve always wanted to find the opportunity to repay..."

"How exactly did Lu Ji die?" Yang Xiao was losing his patience.

With those words, Yu Mi’s face changed drastically. Yang Xiao sighed inwardly, realizing his guess was right.

"No, I... I don’t know what you’re talking about." Yu Mi’s face was panic-stricken, but she was still trying to appear calm, "He died from falling out a window, just as you planned. He was just unlucky."

"Really?" Yang Xiao said with a half-smile.

"Really, I swear!"

"Alright, I believe you." Yang Xiao looked down, fiddled with his phone, and then beckoned Yu Mi to come closer, "Do me a favor, send this message, and you can leave."

When Yu Mi stepped forward, she saw it was an unsent text message, with just six words: Yu Mi came to see me.

The recipient was Song Yan.

Yu Mi’s head buzzed, "No, I’ve never been here! I didn’t say anything!" In a panic, she even instinctively tried to grab the phone to delete the message.

She knew full well the kind of retribution she would face if the message was sent, and not just her, even her mother might not escape harm.

Gently sliding the phone screen, a clear photo appeared. It was taken the moment Yu Mi stepped into the office not long before.

"Tell me the full story, and I promise not to let a single word out. If you don’t..." Yang Xiao picked up the phone and shook it, the warning clear.

Yu Mi slumped down, sitting in the chair across from Yang Xiao. She knew that if the photo and message appeared on Song Yan’s phone, no matter how she explained later, it would be useless.

"What happened to Lu Ji? What exactly happened that night?" Yang Xiao leaned forward, lowering his voice.

After a long silence, Yu Mi finally resigned herself to her fate, lifted her head, and with a hoarse voice began, "He was pushed by Song Yan."

"Originally, according to the plan, both were to jump simultaneously during the blackout, but... but Mr. Song jumped a few seconds early. Lu Ji didn’t react in time, got caught, and was pushed against the window. Because of this, Mr. Song landed on top of him, bearing the brunt of the impact."