Chapter 59: Turns Out He Is an Arrogant Second-Generation Official

Although the training Qi Tian had received was not as comprehensive as that of the veteran Ouyang Nuanyu, his elite-level reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance skills allowed him to figure things out.

Having just arrived in Jiangnan not long ago, this group of spies would definitely need to meet up for extended periods to conspire on their criminal plans. They would most likely not stay in rented apartments; that would be too conspicuous and draw too much unwanted attention. Idle properties belonging to family members or relatives would better suit their current needs. Starting the investigation through the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau was actually the best choice.

However, the Housing Bureau and the military were two entirely unrelated systems. Relying merely on two non-commissioned officer certificates to order people around was simply unrealistic, so Qi Tian had dismissed that idea early on. Who could have imagined that Ouyang Nuanyu actually had such a connection!

"I suspected you were a local earlier; otherwise, there is no way you could have taken so many shortcuts and arrived at the immigration management office before me. Now it seems I actually underestimated your background. To have people from other systems help you out—impressive!"

Following Ouyang Nuanyu with long strides all the way to the top floor of the Housing Bureau, the two quickly reached the director's office.

It was just past seven o'clock in the morning, and the staff of the Housing Bureau had not yet arrived for work. Yet Ouyang Nuanyu acted as if she had anticipated that someone would be inside the director's office. Without knocking, she directly pushed the door open and led Qi Tian inside.

"Nuanyu, you're here."

Inside the director's office, a middle-aged man around fifty years old, whose eyes bore a striking resemblance to Ouyang Nuanyu's, smiled and waved for the two to sit down and talk.

"And this is?"

"He's my dad!"

"What? The director of the Housing Bureau is your dad?!"

Ignoring Qi Tian's astonished retort beside her, Ouyang Nuanyu looked straight at her father sitting across from them and asked in a deep voice, "Where are the files?"

"They are right here." Ouyang Nuanyu's father opened his desk drawer, pulled out a file, and handed it to them.

"As for Luo Mei, whom you asked me to investigate, including the real estate registered under her relatives' names at the Housing Bureau, there are a total of sixteen properties. I just had the office director in charge of the relevant areas verify them, and eleven of them are occupied by their own family members. The remaining five should be the key targets of your investigation, though we cannot completely guarantee that they are hiding in one of these five properties. After all, some real estate is not registered with us!"

"Real estate not registered with the Housing Bureau?"

Although Ouyang Nuanyu was the daughter of the Housing Bureau director, she was not well-versed in the inner workings of this field, especially some of the lesser-known loopholes.

It was Qi Tian who took the initiative to clear up Ouyang Nuanyu's confusion: "What the uncle is referring to should be small property rights housing built on rural collective land. These types of houses do not have the relevant certificates, nor have they paid land transfer fees and other charges. They are generally developed and built independently by village committees or township leaders to solve housing difficulties for certain rural residents, which is why they are not registered with the Housing Bureau."

"This young man is quite impressive! He even understands these matters, and everything he said is spot on."

Qi Tian's remarks immediately caught the attention of Ouyang Nuanyu's father. Giving Qi Tian an approving thumbs-up with a smile, the older man made a suggestion:

"You two youngsters look like you've been rushing around all night, right? How about joining me in the cafeteria for some breakfast? You need to fill your stomachs before you have the energy to work!"

"No need, let's go!"

Ouyang Nuanyu preemptively rejected her father's good intentions, grabbed the documents, and walked out of the office.

Sensing that the relationship between this father and daughter was somewhat strained, Qi Tian decided it was none of his business and chose not to pry. After thanking Ouyang Nuanyu's father, he immediately followed her hurried footsteps out of the Housing Bureau building.

As the two reached the ground floor, a cool breeze happened to blow past, instantly clearing away much of the fatigue they had accumulated from working through the night.

Ouyang Nuanyu handed the documents to Qi Tian, clearly asking for his opinion.

"Hold on a second."

Qi Tian pulled out his phone and searched for the five suspicious locations on a map one by one. He then additionally searched for the Phoenix City chain bath centers located near these five spots. Finally, he tapped firmly on two of the properties from the filtered results:

"These five, or even all sixteen properties we found, including the villages and towns where this spy ring might be hiding, must all be investigated without missing a single clue. But our top priority should be these two: Xingfuli in the Development Zone and Xianghe Garden in the Old City. There just happen to be Phoenix City bath centers within a one-kilometer radius of both properties, making it most likely that Luo Mei is hiding in one of these two places. One is in the Old City and the other in the Development Zone; let's split into two teams and hunt them down separately. Whoever catches her gets the credit. But our cooperation doesn't end there—whosoever captures Luo Mei is obligated to help the other person catch another spy in the remaining time. Any objections?"

"No objections. I'll take the Development Zone."

After a night of companionship, the number of words Ouyang Nuanyu spoke to Qi Tian had gradually increased. Although most of her sentences still didn't exceed ten words, Qi Tian was already quite satisfied. After all, the female soldier had an icy personality, something that was already evident from her earlier conversation with her father. Qi Tian was slowly getting used to the aloof female soldier's style of speaking and acting.

Nodding in agreement immediately, he said, "Alright, then I'll head to the Old City. Regardless of the outcome, let's keep each other updated."

The moment Qi Tian finished speaking, Ouyang Nuanyu turned on her heel and started to run off.

Right at that moment, a van sped past from a distance at a breakneck speed, driving directly on the non-motorized vehicle lane on the inner side of the road.

"Hey, watch out for the car!"

As the words left his mouth, Qi Tian grabbed Ouyang Nuanyu's hand and jerked her backward.

The next second, the still-accelerating van brushed right past Ouyang Nuanyu's nose and hurtled toward the next intersection!

In that split second, Ouyang Nuanyu could even feel the heat radiating from the van's glass as it grazed past the tip of her nose!

"Are you looking to die?!"

Recovering her wits, Ouyang Nuanyu glared fiercely in the direction the van had vanished, her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles cracked. If Qi Tian hadn't pulled her back just in time, she probably would have been plowed straight through to the next traffic light by that van!

That momentary, infinitely close brush with death made even Ouyang Nuanyu, a veteran tempered in a frontline reinforced regiment, break out in goosebumps all over her body.

"The smell in that car..."

Similarly, the expression on Qi Tian's face right now was utterly grim. He flared his nostrils, staring at the van rapidly disappearing at the end of his line of sight.

After pondering for a full half-minute, he suddenly changed the subject and suggested to Ouyang Nuanyu:

"Forget it, now is not the time to hold them accountable for reckless driving. We can deal with them after the assessment; catching the spies is what matters most. I've thought about it carefully—the Development Zone and the Old City are not far apart, and they are both in the northern part of Jiangnan City. There's no need for both of us to search in the same direction. You can take charge of investigating the suspicious properties in both of those districts, and I'll go check out the southern area."

"Are you sure?"

Hearing Qi Tian's proposal, Ouyang Nuanyu immediately reminded him, "The southern area doesn't have a high probability!"

"The reconnaissance company's assessment is important, but wiping out this spy ring is our ultimate goal. North or south, we can't let any potential lead slip. It's settled, let's hurry!"

With those words, Qi Tian quickly mounted his bicycle and sped off toward the south—the exact direction the van had taken just moments before.