While reading on phone: The three had been following him for nearly an hour when Gris leaped out of the river and disappeared into an abandoned brick kiln outside the suburban area. He never came out again. Isabella suggested, "Little Feng, Weiwei, you two go back first. I'll stay here alone—it really isn't necessary for all three of us to remain." "But how could we be so polite?" Lin Meiren replied. "We have nothing urgent to do, so why not stay together? In case he leaves, we can continue pursuing him." The female officer smiled, "Weiwei, you've forgotten—spotting and tracking are my specialty. He's seriously injured, so I believe he won't leave here for a while. Once I confirm he has no accomplices, I'll call you both. Then we'll handle him together!" Qin Feng nodded, "That's a good point—having more people around might actually make the target more conspicuous." After they had left, Isabel vanished into the night. Inside the ruined brick kiln, Gris used both hands to dig a hole in the ground, unearthed a metal box, opened the password lock, removed a syringe shaped like a handgun, filled it with a blue liquid, aimed the needle at his left upper arm, and injected the entire contents. He exhaled deeply, and within a few seconds his body began to tremble violently—first transforming into a vivid, colorful tiger, then into a leopard and a tiger shark, before finally returning to human form. A sticky substance coated his body, and beneath his tightly closed eyelids, his eyes rapidly darted back and forth. Today's beautiful assistant wasn't wearing high-end clothes—though all the items were ordinary ones she had sold before meeting Qin Daxiao—yet she managed to give them a completely different charm: freshness and simplicity! A tailored striped jacket on top, a sleek black skirt just barely covering her thighs, elegant gray tights and a pair of brown mid-calf boots completing the look. "I'm going to meet a classmate," she explained. "We used to be very close, and we hadn't seen each other for at least three years. A few days ago, we chatted on WeChat, and she invited me over!" "It's just a simple visit—why so understated?" he said, first pointing at her outfit, then at the Jeep. "In his opinion, it should have been more showy." "I don't want to put pressure on my classmate," she added. "She's now an independent entrepreneur running a business in the shoe district. If I show up in high-end clothes and drive a luxury car, it might come across as if I'm trying to impress." Qin Dashao understood: you're planning to move quietly and gracefully—calmness is indeed a virtue, but excessive calm can also be seen as ungenerous. Still, since Fang Beauty has arranged things this way, there must be her own reasoning, so he chose to remain silent. Last night, the veteran officer had reported that Gris was in recovery, wrapped all over by a sticky substance, and would likely take some time to heal. Qin Dashao had instructed her to keep observing and to notify him immediately upon any change. Ten minutes later, they set off. The Shoe City was located in the southeast corner of the old district of Ping'an City. Due to several wholesale markets surrounding it, traffic there was extremely chaotic—private cars, three-wheelers, and hand-pushed delivery carts all crowded the narrow roads. When they reached the main gate of Shoe City, Qin Feng shrugged and said, "Cars simply can't get in—the electric three-wheelers dominate inside. We'll have to find a place to park!" "Actually, the car can't get in at all. If only we'd known that earlier, we wouldn't have switched vehicles—after all, we'll have to walk in. No one knows what kind of car we're driving," Fang Meiyuan said. Qin Dashi started looking for a parking spot and walked forward several dozen meters without finding a single available space. The alley ahead was the side entrance of the shoe mall; though not very wide, the entrance was spacious, with a delivery truck parked beside it, unloading goods, and a row of electric three-wheelers parked inside. He turned the steering wheel and parked his car behind the truck. Fang Meiyuan expressed her concern, asking, "Will that work? Don't you think a traffic officer might come by and issue a ticket? And won't the truck's exit be blocked?" Qin Dashi waved his hand and said, "Traffic officers wouldn't show up in a place as quiet as this—this much cargo will take well over an hour to unload. You can't possibly chat with your classmates for that long!" "Then we'll try to keep it as short as possible," Fang Meiyuan said, hugging his arm, and they walked together into the mall. Even inside the shoe city, the scene was a mess—boxes of goods were piled haphazardly across the aisles, making it difficult for two people to walk side by side. Yet it was clear that the market was doing well: people flowed in and out, and the voices of haggling merchants rose and fell continuously. “Looks like your classmate has been working hard,” Qin said. “Indeed. As an independent entrepreneur, she earns hard-earned profits. But it seems her business is doing well—she didn’t get into university, graduated high school and started running this business here. Over the years, she must have accumulated quite a bit of wealth.” Fang said. After circling around for a while, they finally found a stall named “Bēn Bēn Xióng.” The four dots beneath the character “Xióng” had dropped three, so it looked more like “Bēn Bēn Néng.” The stall was only about five to six meters wide and less than three meters deep. Display cabinets lined three walls, and a table stood at the entrance. Three women were currently haggling over prices. The youngest one must definitely be Fang Fang's high school classmate, since the other two are women in their forties. "Thirty-seven, that's thirty-seven—this price absolutely can't be less," said a middle-aged woman. "I really can't, my cost price is already thirty-seven. Besides, I'll need at least one yuan for shipping and one yuan for handling—so the lowest I can go is thirty-nine!" "Thirty-seven, okay—if you can manage that, I'd like two boxes. If not, then it's fine. I'm introduced to you by a friend, and this is our first time working together. Isn't it only fair to give a little room to a new partner? We'll surely be coming back to buy from you again." The middle-aged woman was quite skilled at bargaining. "Well, since we've come this far, thirty-seven it is. Next time, I hope you'll sell me more!" The transaction was finalized, and both parties were satisfied. Qin Feng and Fang Fang stood outside, unwilling to interrupt the busy negotiations inside. They waited until the middle-aged woman had left before Fang Fang spoke up, "Mei Juan!" "Fang Fang." The owner, known as Mei Juan, smiled warmly and briskly walked over, taking a good look at her from head to toe: "Being a white-collar professional is truly wonderful—unlike me, who's always exposed to wind and sun. What kind of cosmetics do you use? Your skin is so radiant. I remember you're about a year older than me. Look at my face—almost a grandmother now!"