A little over an hour later, Katusha came out of the police station.

Once inside the car, she took out her phone, translated a message, and handed it to Qi Yun, then looked at him expectantly.

"I followed your instructions. My husband will be alright, right?"

Qi Yun nodded at her reassuringly, "I'll do my best to find him. Let's get you home first."

...

The next day, the manager of the KTV arrived at the hotel early with a bearded translator.

Qi Yun exchanged a few words with the bearded man. Although his Chinese accent was somewhat odd, it was understandable and passable, so they drove straight to the capital.

On the way, he had already contacted Mendeleyev's cousin, agreeing to meet outside the government building.

After a two-hour drive, the group finally arrived in the capital.

In terms of infrastructure and population, this place far exceeded Tashtagol, and the streets were bustling.

Outside the government building, just as Qi Yun stopped the car, a thirty-something man ran over. It was Mendeleyev's cousin, Griff.

With the translator, their conversation became much smoother. Qi Yun told Griff to find the third official and probe him.

He had even thought of the dialogue in advance; Griff just needed to repeat it.

Griff was no novice. Although he didn't fully understand the whole situation, he vaguely sensed something was amiss.

But for his cousin's safety, he didn't ask much, agreeing to do as Qi Yun said, then got off the car and headed toward the building.

Watching Griff's departing figure, Brother Peng worriedly said, "Won't he be held too?"

Qi Yun shook his head and replied, "It's broad daylight, and that man is just a third official; he can't cover everything on his own."

"Moreover, Griff doesn't know about that incident; he poses no threat to that man."

After hearing this, Brother Peng nodded silently and didn't say more.

Meanwhile, in front of the government building, Griff adjusted his clothes, took a deep breath to calm himself, then stepped into the lobby.

The third official couldn't be seen just like that; an appointment needed to be made, depending on whether he was willing to meet.

So after Griff explained his purpose to the secretary, she asked him to wait outside, and he waited for over two hours.

Sitting restlessly, Griff realized he had to think of something; otherwise, he probably wouldn't be able to meet Nokovic.

After pondering for a while, he went to the stairwell, took out his phone, and gave instructions to the person on the other end.

About half an hour later, a young man hurriedly found him and handed over a folder.

Griff took it, opened it, and inside was an envelope containing five thousand US Dollars in cash.

He nodded to signal his subordinate to leave first, then took the folder to find the secretary once more.

Inside, the secretary was on a call and showed displeasure when Griff came in rudely interrupting again.

Griff, with a fawning face, put the folder on her desk and tapped it lightly twice.

The secretary immediately understood, hung up the phone, and opened the folder halfway. When she saw the pile of USD, an unmistakable greed flashed in her eyes.

She discreetly closed the folder, looked at Griff, and her attitude wasn't as cold as before.

"Mr. Nokovic is currently handling documents. I'll report in ten minutes, but I can't guarantee whether he'll meet you."

Griff hurriedly nodded, smiling broadly, "Of course, thank you very much."

"Please remember to tell Mr. Nokovic that I'm Mendeleyev's cousin."

The secretary nodded, gesturing for him to wait outside.

A few minutes later, the secretary went to an office door, listened for sounds, then knocked and entered.

Inside the office, a well-dressed man in his forties was leaning back in his chair, sending messages.

The secretary took a couple of steps forward and said, "Mr. Nokovic, there's a man named Griff outside who wishes to visit you; he's been waiting for three hours. Should I let him in?"

Nokovic shook his head, "I don't know him; let him go."

"Alright," the secretary nodded, turning to leave, then adding, "By the way, he said he's Mendeleyev's cousin."

Nokovic paused mid-tap on the screen, his eyes sharpening instantly upon hearing "Mendeleyev."

He put down his phone, sat up straight, and his expression became serious.

"Wait, did you say he's Mendeleyev's cousin?" Nokovic asked again.

"Yes, sir," the secretary replied respectfully.

Nokovic thought for a moment, then changed his mind, "Let him in."

The secretary acknowledged and turned to go.

Soon, Griff was led into Nokovic's office.

Upon entering, he slightly bowed, with a habitual fawning smile, saying, "Mr. Nokovic, hello. Thank you so much for seeing me."

Nokovic reclined in his large leather chair, silent, his sharp gaze fixed on Griff as though trying to see through him.

After a moment, he slowly spoke, "Go ahead, what's your business with me?"

Griff took a deep breath and awkwardly started, "Mr. Nokovic, I've come this time seeking your help."

"My cousin Mendeleyev disappeared yesterday, and there's still no news. We've already reported it to the police, but the local police station didn't take it seriously and only sent two people to search."

"I know you have great influence, so I want to ask you to help find my cousin. Rest assured, I..."

"Your cousin is missing!?" Griff's words were interrupted.

Nokovic's eyes narrowed, his hands pressed on the table, leaning forward, staring at him intently, and asked again, "Where did he disappear!?"

Griff was a bit bewildered by the sudden reaction but quickly remembered Qi Yun's instructions, answering while unobtrusively observing the other's expression.

"He heard yesterday that there were brown bears appearing on the west of Tashtagol, so he took two people there to hunt, then there was no contact. The phone calls to the two people with him also didn't go through. Last night we just..."

After listening, Nokovic's face gradually turned somber. He lit a cigarette, leaned back on his chair without speaking, his right hand's Dupont lighter lightly tapping the table.

Seeing this, Griff didn't make a sound and just stood silently.

After Nokovic's cigarette burned out, he snapped out of his thoughts and waved a hand at Griff, saying, "You go back first. I'll send people to look into Mendeleyev's matter."

Griff tensed up inside; although unclear on specific details, he sensed something odd about Nokovic's attitude, as if he was particularly... surprised about his cousin's disappearance?

He hesitated for a moment, then bravely said, "Mr. Nokovic, please make sure to send more people to help find my cousin, over in Tashtagol..."

Nokovic looked up, a trace of displeasure flashing in his eyes, and coldly said, "Are you teaching me how to do things? I said I'd send people to search, why are you nagging?"

Griff shrunk his neck, quickly waved his hands with a face full of forced smiles, "No, no, Mr. Nokovic, I definitely didn't mean that."

"I'm just too worried about my cousin, anxious for a moment, please don't take it to heart, I'll take my leave now."

Finishing, Griff cautiously exited the office, gently closing the door behind him.

Once he left the office, he quickened his pace, swiftly heading to the car to meet up with Qi Yun.

"Everything's done."

"Tell me the detailed process from when you met him."

Griff steadied himself, starting to recount in detail, "When I first entered his office..."

After listening, Qi Yun's brow furrowed into a knot, thinking for a moment before asking, "You mean, he acted very strangely upon hearing about Mendeleyev's disappearance?"

Griff nodded heavily, responding with certainty, "That's right, even when I brought up the reward, he didn't seem too concerned."

Brother Peng also looked puzzled upon hearing this and interjected, "What's this old fox up to? Putting on a show for him?"

Qi Yun shook his head and slowly said, "If he wanted to hide something, he wouldn't act this way; perhaps we're mistaken, and Mendeleyev wasn't taken by his people."

Brother Peng frowned, pondering for a while, then nodded in agreement, "That seems right, his behavior is indeed strange."

"But about what happened yesterday, only he and us know. If not his people, then who else could it be?"

Qi Yun lit a cigarette, took a deep puff, and replied, "We need to go ask him, I have a feeling he might know something."

"You mean we should go see him?" Brother Peng asked in surprise.

Qi Yun nodded, "That's right, we know too little. We don't know Old Mendeleyev's current situation, we must talk to him face-to-face."

Brother Peng hesitated, "Shouldn't we let Griff handle it? Us going directly might not be appropriate."

Qi Yun glanced at Griff, slowly shook his head, "The fewer people who know about this, the better. Otherwise, the other side will be uneasy. I'll go; you guys wait for me in the car."

"I'll go with you," Chen Wei, who had been silent, suddenly said.

Qi Yun smiled at him, "No problem, Brother Wei. Just with our household registration, the other side wouldn't dare do anything to me, especially during broad daylight."

Brother Peng also patted his shoulder, "He's right, let him go."

Chen Wei, upon hearing this, silently nodded, not saying more.

Although Griff didn't understand what the few were talking about, seeing Qi Yun heading towards the government building, he instantly understood what he was up to.

He hurriedly got out of the car and quickly followed, speaking a few words in rapid succession.

Seeing he didn't understand, Griff then motioned to the translator in the car, and the bearded translator hurriedly got out and jogged over.

"Are you going to see Nokovic?" the translator asked Qi Yun.

Qi Yun nodded, "Yes, I'll talk with him; he might know something about your cousin."

"I'll take you, otherwise you might not be able to see him."

Qi Yun was momentarily stunned, almost having forgotten about this detail...

...

Inside the office, Nokovic looked somewhat surprised at the Chinese person before him.

Griff stepped forward to introduce, "Mr. Nokovic, this is my cousin's friend from China. He says he has some news about my cousin and wants to tell you."

Nokovic furrowed his brows, sizing up Qi Yun, then nodded, pointing to the sofa in front.

Qi Yun patted Griff's arm, signaling him to wait outside, then went over to sit on the sofa.

Due to the sensitivity involving arms dealing, Qi Yun hadn't brought their bearded translator along.

Just as he was about to ask if Nokovic spoke English, the latter spoke first.

"What do you have to tell me?" Nokovic asked, speaking fluent Chinese.

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