Chapter 186: Stay Away from That Unlucky Guy

Outside Building 2 of the City Hotel, a smug Huang Lixing held a cigar in one hand and a briefcase in the other.

Accompanied by his wife Shao Jinhua and several bodyguards, and flanked by relevant officials from the North Frontier Province Investment Promotion Bureau and the Ning City Municipal Party Committee, he was making his way upstairs.

In truth, Huang Lixing didn’t place much importance on this investment inspection.

The reason was simple: he felt that the inland regions were still somewhat conservative in their thinking, and the economy wasn’t very developed—far less conducive to business than the coastal areas.

Beyond that, there were policy considerations. Although many policies in the coastal regions hadn’t been finalized yet, local governments were willing to give foreign investors like them the green light.

Whether it was land allocation or hiring, they would often turn a blind eye.

But things were different in the inland regions; various policies and regulations tied their hands, making business difficult.

Nevertheless, unable to resist Director Feng’s repeated invitations, he decided to make the trip after all.

Regardless of the outcome, since they’d extended such a warm invitation, he felt he had to save face.

As for the investment, he would make a decision later.

“Mr. Huang, your room and your wife’s are on the third floor—they’re the finest suites in our City Hotel!” Director Yan of the City Hotel introduced them warmly.

“Hahaha, thank you very much!” Huang Lixing said with a peculiar accent.

Although he was a foreign businessman, his hometown was in Guangdong Province, so he could not only understand Mandarin but also speak it.

However, having lived on Hong Kong Island for so long, his Mandarin wasn’t very fluent.

The group chatted as they walked and soon arrived on the third floor, heading to Room 314, which the City Hotel had arranged for them.

But just as Huang Lixing and the others were about to open the door to check in, the door next to them suddenly swung open.

Immediately afterward, a young man in his twenties walked out of the room with a calm expression, then closed the door behind him, apparently preparing to go out.

Since the young man’s appearance was so sudden, he instantly caught everyone’s attention.

The young man, seemingly unprepared to find so many people standing at the doorway, froze for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

However, the moment his gaze fell on Huang Lixing, his brow instantly furrowed.

Then his reaction became even more baffling: he turned and walked away as if avoiding a plague, seemingly unwilling to linger there any longer.

Huang Lixing was baffled, the city officials were baffled, and even Wang Anguo standing nearby was completely baffled!

Huang Lixing paused for a moment, then pointed at Li Yi’s receding back and then at himself, his face a picture of bewilderment!

Deputy Director Zhou from the Regional Committee, standing nearby, frowned and said to Yan Aihua, the director of the municipal guesthouse, “Comrade Aihua, what’s wrong with this guy? Doesn’t he have any manners at all?”

“Well…”

To be honest, Yan Aihua was just as baffled. He hadn’t realized there was actually someone staying in the room next to the VIP’s.

She also had no idea what was going on with that young man—why he was looking at the VIPs with such a strange expression.

“Find out who he is. If all else fails, move him to another room to avoid offending Mr. Huang!”

“Yes…”

However, no sooner had Director Yan finished speaking than Wang Anguo, standing nearby, interjected: “Sir, please calm down. Leave this to me!”

“Alright, then I’ll leave it to you, Comrade Anguo!”

“No problem!”

With that, Wang Anguo immediately set off in pursuit of Li Yi.

To be honest, he really hadn’t expected to run into Li Yi here.

Originally, the moment he’d spotted Li Yi, he’d been about to go over and say hello, but Li Yi’s reaction had startled him.

That reaction was all too familiar to him; Li Yi had likely picked up on something again.

Downstairs, on the bluestone pavement, Li Yi strolled leisurely.

Yet an inexplicable smile played on his face; he was thoroughly pleased with his performance just now.

If things went as expected, this single encounter alone would leave a profound impression on Mr. Huang.

With just one or two more encounters like that, even if he didn’t go looking for him, the boss would come to him for a chat.

It had nothing to do with personality or temperament; it was simply curiosity—a natural human trait.

Besides, his earlier actions had also caught Wang Anguo’s attention; as expected, he would surely come looking for him.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he heard Wang Anguo’s voice from behind him: “Brother Li Yi, wait a minute!”

Li Yi stopped immediately, turned around, and said to Wang Anguo, “Brother Wang, why did you come down to find me instead of staying with that important person?”

“Hehe, there are plenty of people keeping them company—one more won’t make a difference!” Wang Anguo said with a laugh.

Li Yi didn’t dwell on the matter but asked with a smile, “Has the case been solved?”

Wang Anguo’s heart skipped a beat, and he was secretly taken aback.

After all, the oil drum murder case had been solved that very morning. Although the suspect had been apprehended and the facts of the case had been fully established, many follow-up investigations were still ongoing, so they hadn’t yet made an official announcement.

So, it was clearly impossible for Li Yi to have learned the case had been solved through public channels.

Yet he knew it had been solved, which deepened Wang Anguo’s awe of Li Yi’s unfathomable abilities.

“It’s solved!”

“Hmm, well then, congratulations, Brother Wang. You’ve really made a splash this time!” Li Yi said.

“That’s all thanks to you…”

“Brother Wang, I can’t take the credit for that. You’re the one who solved the case and made the arrest—it has nothing to do with me!”

Hearing this, Wang Anguo instantly got the drift and immediately said with a laugh, “You rascal… Never mind, let’s not talk about that. What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to take care of some business. I heard the city hotel is pretty nice, so I decided to stay for a couple of days!” Li Yi said.

“What business? Do you need any help?”

“No, it’s nothing major!”

“By the way, why did you give Mr. Huang such a strange look just now? You’ve really ruffled the city leader’s feathers. They’re moving you to a different room now—they’re worried you might offend the VIP,” Wang Anguo added.

“Get me a new room ASAP—the farther away, the better. I don’t want to be stuck next to a loser like him!” Li Yi said.

“‘Jerk’—what do you mean by that?” Wang Anguo asked urgently.

He knew Li Yi’s capabilities all too well—if even Li Yi was avoiding that guy, it seemed this Mr. Huang was truly in for a world of trouble.

Li Yi frowned and said, “For the sake of our brotherhood, let me warn you: that cigar-smoking man from earlier has a dark spot between his eyebrows, and his aura is filled with blood-red killing energy. If I’m not mistaken, he’s facing a life-or-death crisis! If you don’t want to get dragged into it, stay as far away from him as possible!”

“A life-or-death crisis—is it the kind of crisis I’m thinking of?” Wang Anguo asked, sounding a bit nervous.

This was the third time he’d heard Li Yi say this.

The first time was when Li Yi had warned him personally, and he’d managed to save his own life with a coin.

The second time was regarding his childhood friend Li Gang; that kid nearly perished in a fire but narrowly escaped death thanks to Li Yi’s warning.

The third time was when Li Yi told his senior brother, and after a thorough investigation, they directly saved the lives of hundreds of people at the sugar factory.

Now that Li Yi was saying Mr. Huang faced a blood-soaked disaster and a life-or-death crisis, Wang Anguo’s heart immediately began to race with unease.

He and Mr. Huang were mere acquaintances; had it been a different time or place, whether the man lived or died would have been none of his business.

But that wasn’t an option now. Mr. Huang was a VIP being hosted by both the provincial and municipal governments, and Wang Anguo was the police captain in charge of his security—they were in a protector-protectee relationship.

If anything happened to Huang Lixing while under his protection—let alone death or serious injury, but even a minor bump or bruise—Wang Anguo would be held fully responsible!

After much deliberation, Wang Anguo’s gaze fell once more upon Li Yi!