Chapter 128: Eavesdropping (Watching) from the Corner

The silver-gray fire door leading to the 29th floor stood wide open.

Right next to the two fire doors was a messy pile of tables, chairs, stools, and sofas.

Mixed in were a few dirty, grimy teddy bears.

Whether it was the corridor or the fire doors, only a narrow passage was left—just enough for a single person to squeeze through sideways.

The hallway was too dimly lit, and with all the clutter blocking the way, no matter how good Jiang Yan’s eyesight was, she couldn’t see what was further inside.

From within came the loud voices of men and the choking smell of smoke.

At this moment, the temperature outside was only two or three degrees Celsius, and it was pouring rain.

There were quite a few people warming themselves by burning fires in the hallway or at home.

Ye Qing reached out and gently tapped Jiang Yan on the shoulder, signaling her to pause for a moment. Then he strode forward himself.

Though he was tall and well-built, he moved with remarkable skill.

His footsteps were light and silent.

Only then did Jiang Yan notice that he had three fishing spearguns slung across his back—the ones they’d confiscated from Scarface last time—and in his hand, he gripped a sharp, gleaming dagger.

He also had a long, dark green canvas bag slung across his body, which looked like it held a long blade.

He was well-prepared.

After listening and observing by the fire door for a few seconds, Ye Qing beckoned for Jiang Yan to come down.

Jiang Yan also crept down quietly.

She was holding a pistol.

Their main goal today was to gather information, not to intimidate, so she’d already fitted the pistol with a silencer.

“Cough, cough, cough!” Someone inside was choked by the smoke and coughed heavily.

“Damn! This smoke is killing me—I’m about to turn into smoked meat! Shit, my life is really turning into something out of the Stone Age!” a hoarse male voice cursed.

“Second Brother, they say smoke brings wealth! Looks like you’re about to get rich, haha!” a young man said ingratiatingly.

“Yeah, yeah! We have that saying where I’m from too!” another young man chimed in.

Nearby, a few others were cracking sunflower seeds and peanuts.

Judging by the voices, there were quite a few people inside.

“Smoke your ass! Other people are grilling with smokeless charcoal, cuddling girls, and sipping wine, while I’m stuck here freezing my ass off, shivering for warmth—damn it!” The hoarse man spat on the ground after he finished.

Maybe because he sounded so irritated, the rest instantly fell silent.

Only the crackling of burning firewood could be heard.

Second Brother?

Jiang Yan and Ye Qing exchanged a glance, silently communicating: Looks like this is Ma Longbiao’s gang, no doubt.

She remembered that last time, Scarface had been called Third Brother by the others.

This Second Brother was probably the number two in their group.

If he was here, did that mean Ma Longbiao was here too?

As she thought this, Jiang Yan quietly reached behind and opened her backpack.

She pulled out—actually, she took it from her spatial storage—a round, undercar inspection mirror with a telescoping handle that could rotate 360 degrees.

The mirror was small, coated with a matte finish.

It allowed you to see objects clearly without reflecting too much light.

Ye Qing caught sight of the device out of the corner of his eye, a flicker of surprise in his gaze, but he quickly understood what Jiang Yan intended:

She wanted to use the mirror to check out the situation in the 29th floor corridor.

But the mirror was small, matte, and the hallway was very dim—this required excellent eyesight from the observer.

Ye Qing, with his 20/20 vision and standing in front, instinctively reached out to take the mirror from Jiang Yan.

But Jiang Yan shook her head, then gestured for Ye Qing to step aside and let her go ahead.

Ye Qing frowned and hesitated for a second, then silently mouthed, “Be careful,” and quietly gave up his spot.

Jiang Yan slowly crouched down, extended the telescoping handle, and carefully slid the mirror through a gap in the pile of furniture.

The scene in the hallway appeared on the small mirror.

Near the passage between 2904 and 2903, a large fire was burning.

Next to it was a pile of chopped chair and stool legs.

A blackened iron pot, stained from smoke, was set over the fire.

White steam billowed from the pot—it was unclear what they were cooking.

On either side of the fire, against the wall, sat two men each.

There was also a man with a buzz cut and a huge black backpack.

He had his back to the fire door, warming his hands by the fire.

A small section of a black steel tube poked out from the corner of his backpack.

Judging by his posture, this was definitely Second Brother.

The five men were dressed in a mishmash of wrinkled, odd-looking clothes.

It looked like they’d put on every down jacket, vest, and anything else they could find.

One of them was even wearing a woman’s beret.

Jiang Yan raised her left hand and showed five fingers.

Ye Qing instantly understood.

But he was a little curious—he could barely make out the scene in the mirror, so how could Jiang Yan see it so clearly?

“Second Brother, if we just hang around inside like this, won’t Ma-ge be pissed when he comes back?” a blond youth asked nervously, shrinking his neck.

“Yeah, Second Brother, maybe we should patrol the hallway. I’m supposed to be on guard duty for the 29th floor. What if those guys from the 32nd floor come down and we don’t notice? That would be bad…” said the man in the beret.

As he spoke, he started to get up, but the buzz-cut man barked, “Zhang Xiaoguang, sit down! Did I tell you to get up?!”

The beret man froze, half-standing, then reluctantly sat back down.

“What’s there to be afraid of?! Today’s Xue-shao’s birthday—Ma-ge and Meng Daxiao are busy sucking up to him, they won’t be back anytime soon! Might not even come back tonight! What’s so great about patrolling the hallway? If those troublemakers dare to try anything, they’ll end up like those living dead on the 22nd floor!”

Xue-shao?

Hearing this name, both Jiang Yan and Ye Qing frowned deeply.

Especially Jiang Yan—her heart involuntarily sank.

Since her rebirth, she’d basically cut ties with everyone from her past.

The name “Xue-shao” didn’t belong to anyone in her current circle.

But it was like a shadowy pebble, suddenly cracking open some frozen memories.

But now wasn’t the time for reminiscing.

It could just be a coincidence—a nickname overlap.

After all, in her memory, that monstrous, powerful, and evil Xue-shao from her previous life had long since died in prison.

He’d even made the news back then.

Also, what did the buzz-cut man mean by “living dead on the 22nd floor”?

It looked like they’d have to go down and see for themselves later.

With that thought, Jiang Yan narrowed her eyes.

She was about to quietly retract the inspection mirror,

When she saw the buzz-cut man take off his backpack, cursing as he pulled out the black steel tube from inside."