The more you expected normalcy, the stranger things became right beside you. How could Wang Yongle suddenly be a traffic accident victim when Cheng Susu and I distinctly saw him and Guan Peng patrolling the 18th floor, and then heading together to the 13th?

Soon Xia Huren returned, and the outcome was predictable: the two men had vanished. Five super-soldiers searched the entire building, yet found no trace of them.

It was truly baffling. Everyone was anxiously running around in circles. I wished I could tear this building down to see what mysteries it concealed. Despite the urgency, we had to stick to the current plan. Cheng Susu was severely frightened; she was exhausted and sleepy. It was already three in the morning, so I decided to take her upstairs to rest first.

“Don’t go,” Cheng Susu murmured, pulling my hand while curled up in the blanket.

“I’m not going anywhere. You sleep. Just don’t stay here starting tomorrow night.”

Cheng Susu replied, “I wasn’t planning on staying tonight anyway; I only stayed for you.”

After a brief conversation, Cheng Susu drifted off to sleep. I paced the room back and forth repeatedly. Since evolving into a B-class superman, nothing had ever troubled me as much as this incident. It felt like an ant trying to bite an elephant—nowhere to sink its teeth in, possessing great strength with nowhere to apply it.

I was utterly sick of it. Until these bizarre occurrences were figured out, absolutely no one else could be allowed to risk coming in. From now on, 100 robotic soldiers would man the night shift, each armed with a laser gun. Whoever they saw would be shot down. Let’s see what strange things dare to show up then.

Daybreak arrived quickly. During the final patrol sweep, Xia Huren and the others discovered Guan Peng in the 16th-floor restroom, unconscious inside a stall. They managed to wake him up, and he claimed he came in to use the facilities, got too tired, and simply fell asleep.

But the truth was, everyone knew that restroom had been thoroughly searched before three in the morning, and no one was inside then. Now, besides Guan Peng, there were two high-powered flashlights neatly placed on the floor!

I was nearly fainting. I ordered that starting today, no one was allowed on the night shift, and then I headed home. Cheng Susu had a busy day with company matters, saying she would call me in the afternoon so we could meet up.

For the next few days, 100 robotic soldiers monitored the building throughout the night. Since the robotic soldiers’ eyes were already high-definition night vision heads, I had Xiao Hui build a signal receiver to transmit everything the robots saw back to our secret location in the suburbs of Beijing.

Judging by the audio and video signals transmitted back, nothing was happening inside; it was as if no one was there at all. It infuriated me.

Xiao Hui and Xiao Yudi were developing an energy fluctuation detector. According to their theoretical design, any living being, even a robot, requires energy for all actions, including thought processes. When energy converts into physical action or thought, it generates specific light waves—the energy fluctuation detector was based on this principle.

The inspiration for this small detection device also came from that physical fitness tester. Xiao Yudi believed that with this energy fluctuation detector, any abnormal energy signature would trigger a signal and display a location. Even a ghost, she theorized, would require a mass of energy waves to sustain itself.

After several scares, I temporarily lost interest in ghost hunting. Since the energy fluctuation detector also required time to develop, the matter of entering the Yuejin Building was shelved for the moment.

One day, Zhu Da, who had only recently gone abroad, returned in high spirits. He even called and insisted I personally pick him up at the airport that morning, so I took Xiao Chuchu’s Mercedes straight to the airfield.

“Hello!” Zhu Da greeted me with a line of English.

“You too, hello. I wonder if Commander Zhu’s big effort resulted in great gains?”

Zhu Da pulled a stack of papers from his coat and handed them to me before sliding into the driver’s seat. “Here, I’ll drive.”

I opened the stack of papers to find them completely filled with lists of military hardware. The variety wasn't huge, but the quantities were massive: AK submachine guns plus an abundance of ammunition, high-explosive grenades, sniper rifles, portable missile launchers, and several micro anti-tank/anti-aircraft missiles. In addition, there were 10 armored off-road vehicles, and numerous anti-tank and anti-personnel mines.

I was somewhat surprised. “Commander Zhu, your efficiency is impressive. How did you secure such a large order?”

Zhu Da looked smug. “You don’t know how we did it, do you? I’ll tell you. My brothers and I came up with a plan. We found several famous international arms dealers and told them that Master Zhu would be getting into the arms business too, asking them to share a piece of the pie. Of course, they refused. So, I deliberately fell out with them and started massive brawls, making sure the entire global arms market knew about it. In the end, we wiped out the most aggressive few. Now, they have no choice but to buy from me. This is just a small order, only a little over two billion. I’m currently negotiating two major deals valued at over 18 billion combined. If we pull off a few more transactions like this, we’ll have enough capital to acquire Pan-American Media.”

I was delighted. “Good job, Commander Mi. That’s a major contribution you’ve made.”

Zhu Da said, “Be practical. How about you treat me to a meal?”

“A small thing, but brother is a bit tight on cash lately. How about you lend me two hundred yuan first?”

Zhu Da slammed his head against the steering wheel. “Why don’t you just let me die? You just got back, and you’re already trying to fleece me.”

I tried to console him. “I have no choice, Commander Zhu. You at least have some salary or income, but I have absolutely no way to make money right now. I have a whole house full of people depending on me for food and necessities. I’ve decided that once I sort out the Yuejin Building situation, I’ll go find some work. If you know of any good private tutoring jobs, introduce me to one.”

Zhu Da pondered for a moment. “You have a point. Although you look impressive, by delegating all your authority, we few benefit the most, leaving you so broke you can barely afford a meal. Fine, I’ll give you these two hundred yuan. I’ll find someone to treat us to this meal—everyone will be happy that way.”

I was about to ask Zhu Da who he planned to invite when he had already dialed a number. “Cai Baozi! Your Brother Zhu is back in the country. How about you throw a welcoming party for me? Where? Huabao Fast Food? You cheapskate! Fine, wait for us. Just the two of us. We’ll be there shortly.”

Putting down the phone, Zhu Da said to me, “I’m asking Cai Bao’er from the Huabao Gang to treat us. That guy has been pestering me for a while, insisting he needs to talk to you. Today’s lunch is perfect for him to loosen his purse strings.”

“Alright,” I replied. “It would be best if I could meet his old man too. In the capital city now, our two families are the biggest powers. We should discuss how to coexist in the future.”

Zhu Da sighed. “Commander Zhao, I’ve made it big this time. The reputation of our Brotherhood Alliance is now firmly established internationally, thanks to me. In a few days, people in the international underworld might know the Brotherhood Alliance well.”

I clenched my fist. “Since we’ve already made up our minds to do this, we aren’t afraid of going international. What can the UN police do to us? In the future, the entire world's underworld will follow the lead of the Brotherhood Alliance. Anyone who disagrees, we beat them!”

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