Chapter 112: Let’s Go, Fat Carp

The venue was crowded, so the evacuation wasn’t proceeding very quickly. After the alarm stopped, staff members immediately doubled back to check the security footage.

The first floor of the nightclub was the most packed, and everyone was complaining about the sudden "fire." Guides stood at the entrance directing the crowd, repeatedly apologizing to the customers...

But strangely, although the smoke alarm had gone off, there wasn’t a hint of fire anywhere in the building. Still, they had to evacuate everyone as a precaution.

Shen Mqing and Wen Qian blended into the crowd, slowly shuffling toward the fountain.

Curses and shouts rose and fell around them, with no shortage of ill-tempered, middle-aged men.

From their conversations, Wen Qian learned that many of these people had come down from the fourth and fifth floors. They were the last to be notified, and besides being annoyed, they were also exhausted.

The crowd was slowly thinning out, and Shen Mqing and Wen Qian knew they didn’t have much time. Once the staff discovered they were the culprits, they could forget about the fragment—they’d both be trapped here.

"Excuse me, coming through..."

"My kid’s up ahead, let us through!"

Wen Qian was speechless. ’Shen Mqing can lie at the drop of a hat,’ she thought. ’Who brings their kid to a nightclub?!’

But some people didn’t catch on and actually cleared a path for him.

The area next to the fountain was cast in shadow, making it difficult for anyone to notice them. Wen Qian and Shen Mqing stood quietly, carefully examining the pool, which was a good half-meter deep.

The light was too dim; Wen Qian couldn’t see anything clearly. She instinctively glanced at Shen Mqing, who just shook his head. "I don’t see the fragment."

A Beastman’s vision is extremely sharp, even at night.

Just then, Li Jiu struggled out of a pocket and flew up. He flapped his wings, hovering above the pool, and after a few seconds, suddenly dove toward a specific spot...

Wen Qian jumped, catching him a second before he hit the water. At the same time, Shen Mqing reacted, pointing at a giant, orange-red creature inside. "Are you saying the fragment is in its stomach?"

Wen Qian pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight. When she got a clear look, she sucked in a sharp breath.

There, in the fountain, was a huge koi fish, a full half-meter long...

’No wonder the fragment kept moving. If it’s in the fish’s stomach, that would explain everything.’

’But how are we supposed to get the fish out of here?’

Wen Qian frowned, but the next second, Shen Mqing had already rolled up his sleeves, pinned the fish down, and, ignoring its struggles, was about to reach into its mouth...

’The fish isn’t dead, of course he can’t hold it down!’

The next second, the large koi broke free and slapped Shen Mqing across the face several times with its tail, soaking his clean clothes in the process.

"You damned fish, how dare you...!" Shen Mqing gritted his teeth, about to jump in and fight the koi to the death, but Wen Qian held him back tightly.

As if to taunt him, the fish leaped up and slapped him twice more with its tail...

"Don’t... Calm down!" Wen Qian held on to him for dear life, terrified he would jump in. They were already attracting attention; if people weren’t in such a hurry to leave, a crowd would have likely formed around them.

Shen Mqing looked ready to explode. It was the first time in his entire life he’d been beaten up by a fish. He stared at Wen Qian with red, teary eyes and protested, "This is the first time in my entire life I’ve been hit by a fish!!"

For a moment, Wen Qian didn’t know how to comfort him. After all, not everyone gets to have such an "honor."

"Get them!!"

However, just as Wen Qian was at a loss for words, a voice suddenly rang out from the far end of the crowd. Both she and Shen Mqing snapped back to reality to see a guide pointing directly at them.

Clearly, they had been discovered.

No matter how much paper Shen Mqing had burned, the smoke would have dissipated by now. Besides, twenty minutes had passed. As long as the security footage hadn’t been destroyed, the staff would have surely figured things out.

"Should we run for it?" Shen Mqing asked Wen Qian, blinking.

’He was right to bring Wen Qian along. At times like this, he really didn’t have a mind of his own.’

"We have to take the fish," Wen Qian said with a frown.

Now that their faces had been seen, even if new people joined them, it would be hard to guarantee they could get in as easily as they had today.

Besides, their actions had already drawn the enemy’s attention. The nightclub staff had likely realized there was something special about this fountain area...

Even if they couldn’t immediately determine what they were looking for, they would do everything they could to seal off this area first...

Seeing the men getting closer, Shen Mqing grew anxious. He had fallen into the nightclub’s hands before and knew their methods. He was a Beastman, so he could handle himself, but Wen Qian...

His mind raced. The next second, moving with incredible speed, Shen Mqing stripped off his suit jacket and, to Wen Qian’s astonishment, threw it over the surface of the water.

Realizing what Shen Mqing was doing, Wen Qian helped him press down hard on the fish, trapping it inside the suit jacket.

After finally getting the koi securely wrapped, the two of them immediately followed the crowd toward the exit.

"This fish is so damn heavy..." Shen Mqing gritted his teeth as he pushed forward. Because the bundle in his arms was dripping water, everyone had no choice but to make way for him.

As they reached the nightclub entrance, a guide who had heard the commotion tried to stop them, but before he could even touch the corner of Shen Mqing’s shirt, he was shoved aside by a Beastman waiting outside.

Knowing these were the people Yin Zhi had sent for them, Shen Mqing clutched the fish and immediately ran with Wen Qian toward the parking lot. The sprint left him utterly exhausted, and he cursed the fat koi over and over in his mind.

They finally made it to the car. In the mirror, they could faintly see a few unfamiliar figures.

But Shen Mqing wasn’t worried. He was extremely confident in his driving skills, even though he’d never even passed a driving test.

The car started. After a perfect reverse, the body of the car scraped past the corner of a man in black’s coat as it sped out of the parking lot.

Wen Qian was stunned. She couldn’t help but give Shen Mqing a big thumbs-up.

The reason Shen Mqing could drive so smoothly was entirely thanks to the street racing movies he had watched on Blue Star... and the traffic laws he had been forced to memorize.

At the time, Uncle Feng’s demand had been clear: he didn’t have to get a license, but he absolutely had to memorize the rules. This was partly out of concern for Shen Mqing, but also because he was afraid he would cause trouble on Blue Star and expose the powers backing him.

"I’ve always had one question. You just got to Blue Star not long ago... did you get a driver’s license already?" Wen Qian looked at him, finding it hard to believe Shen Mqing had that much foresight.

Shen Mqing activated the self-driving mode, then held up both his hands toward Wen Qian.

One hand made a ’four,’ and the other made an ’eight.’

Wen Qian blinked. "Are you trying to say your driving is... safe and steady?"

"No, no, no." Shen Mqing shook his head with a smile. Then, under Wen Qian’s confused gaze, he grinned proudly. "I’m saying it cost me 480 to get a fake ID."

?

Wen Qian suddenly had no desire to speak to him anymore. She turned her head to look out the window and silently tightened her seatbelt.