Director Duan leaned back on the sofa, crossing his arms over his chest: "Comrade Qi Yun, our work concerns national security and there can be no tolerance for carelessness."

"For everyone involved, we have to ensure their reliability and loyalty. I'm glad you can understand."

Qi Yun nodded: "I want to ask, if I become an external member, what would I need to do? Do I have to come here to work every day?"

Ge Dabao took over the conversation, smiling as he replied, "External members don't need to come to work. Your job can be summarized in one sentence: discover those who might be colluding with foreign forces in the shadows and report any leads to us promptly."

"Also, if there are special circumstances, you may be needed to assist us in specific actions."

"Of course, we will try our best to keep you out of danger."

Qi Yun rubbed the teacup in his hand, his Adam's apple moved slightly; in fact, he really wanted to ask, "What do I get?"

But earlier, they had placed him on such a high pedestal, saying that seemed somewhat inconsistent with his character.

Ge Dabao glanced at him, continuing: "Although you are an external member, your benefits and treatment are the same as ours. According to the level set by Director Duan, you will have a monthly salary of eight thousand yuan."

Qi Yun smacked his lips, coughed lightly, and asked somewhat awkwardly: "Well, will I have credentials as well?"

Now, not to mention eight thousand yuan, even eighty thousand yuan a month would mean nothing to him; what he truly cared about was not the money.

Ge Dabao's mouth curved into a smile, taking a black leather cardholder from the drawer and sliding it over: "Director Duan said you would definitely agree, so he prepared it for you in advance."

Opening the cardholder, the dark blue credential cover was stamped with a golden national emblem, and below the photograph inside, neatly printed, was "External Investigator of GJ Security Bureau", followed by Qi Yun's personal information.

"The identity information of every external member is strictly confidential. Unless it's absolutely necessary, you must not disclose your identity to anyone, understood?"

Qi Yun looked at the credentials in his hand, feeling pleased—this gave him yet another layer of identity protection.

He closed the credentials, sat up straight, and replied seriously, "Understood. I am willing to become an external member to contribute to national security protection."

...

After leaving the G Security office, Qi Yun got into a car and went to an office building, where the office of his newly established trading company was located.

The office was on the 12th floor, and due to the instability of the initial business, even President Peng only rented three offices.

Currently, apart from the two of them as bosses, Zhong Rui is responsible for finance, and he also handles administration and human resources, handling all sorts of miscellaneous tasks.

However, this guy had no complaints, diligently managing everything on both sides in an organized manner.

Qi Yun didn't freeload off his labor; not only did he raise Zhong Rui's salary to twenty thousand yuan, but he also promised to hire more people later to relieve him from duties so he could return to the other company as his assistant.

"Boss!"

Zhong Rui, who was cleaning, saw Qi Yun enter and quickly put down the broom, bringing over a chair.

Qi Yun waved him off: "Where's President Peng?"

"President Peng just left, taking Xie Mengmeng to visit someone from the Railway Bureau," Zhong Rui replied.

Qi Yun nodded; Xie Mengmeng had gotten into work quickly.

He walked around a few offices, then asked, "How are things on Yuan Hua's side lately?"

Zhong Rui took out his phone, opened the notepad, and looked: "As of 8 PM last night, the registered users of 'Defense of Azeroth' had reached twenty thousand, now maintaining a daily growth rate of about ten percent."

"Already twenty thousand?" Qi Yun was slightly surprised. Since investing in Yuan Hua, he hadn't paid much attention to it and didn't expect this game to have quite a bit of potential.

If it really takes off, it might mean a big profit.

Zhong Rui nodded and replied: "Yes, Yuan Hua said next week he needs to buy two more servers."

Qi Yun rubbed his chin, abandoning the previous small-scale mentality: "See what other resources he needs and try to meet his requirements. If you're unsure, give me a call."

"Okay, boss."

"Alright, you carry on. I'll head out first."

After leaving the company, Qi Yun went to Lao Feng's hot pot restaurant.

Since the shops on both sides were connected, the hot pot restaurant now covered six or seven hundred square meters. Even so, during peak dining hours, there's still a queue for seats.

Qi Yun didn't know the exact daily turnover, but last month Lao Feng transferred him a dividend of 140,000 yuan.

"What brings you here today?" Lao Feng handed over a cigarette and said.

Qi Yun took the cigarette, lit it, and took a puff, saying slowly: "Just came to have a look, and talk to you about something." His gaze swept over the bustling scene in the store.

Lao Feng looked up at him, then continued examining the accounts in his hand: "Something that couldn't be said over the phone, making you visit in person."

Qi Yun flicked the ash off his cigarette, choosing not to hide it as he spoke plainly: "A friend told me that the old community on Yingbin Road will soon be demolished. I plan to buy a few properties."

"But I don't have enough money at the moment, so I came to see how much you can contribute."

Lao Feng's hand holding the pen paused briefly without asking further, then looked at his phone before saying: "I can gather 530,000 yuan for you here, and moreover, there is 360,000 yuan in the store's account."

Qi Yun blew out a puff of smoke and shook his head, "Just leave the money in the store alone. Transfer 530,000 to me, and I'll split the profits with you 50-50 once we make some."

Old Feng heard this, didn't say much more, and chuckled lightly, "Alright." Then he started transferring the money on his phone.

Qi Yun extinguished the cigarette and patted him on the shoulder, "Let's go."

...

After leaving the hot pot restaurant, Qi Yun noticed that they weren't far from the neighborhoods set for demolition, so he asked Chen Wei to drive over and check things out.

Ten minutes later, the car arrived at one of the neighborhoods.

This neighborhood wasn't big, with only eight or nine low-rise buildings. The weathered outer walls showed that these buildings were at least twenty years old.

Qi Yun saw a few elderly men and women sitting in the sun at the entrance of one of the buildings, so he went over to inquire about the situation.

It wasn't good. After asking, his heart sank halfway.

The apartment layouts in these nearby old neighborhoods were all typically two-bedroom units, less than 70 square meters each. Doing the math, each apartment would be around 500,000.

If he wanted to gather up 10 million to buy properties, he'd have to buy twenty units.

That target would be too big, and when the demolitions truly began, even a fool would sense something fishy. It would easily draw attention.

Plus, the homeowners here were all retirees from various factories. Once news of the eviction gets out, there's no telling if these folks would retract and cause a scene.

These people are in their seventies and eighties and aren't as straightforward as just dealing with the law—they could stubbornly camp at your door.

If you run into a situation like that, it's like having a toad squat on your foot—doesn't bite but surely irks.

Qi Yun immediately gave up the idea of feasting and planned to work with a real estate agent to buy just two or three units and treat it as scraping the bottom of the pot.

He sighed, took out a cigarette intending to light one, but found the box was empty. He crumpled the empty pack into a ball and stuffed it into his pocket, glancing at the crooked sign of the small shop at the neighborhood entrance.

After buying cigarettes from the store and lighting one, the corner of his eye suddenly caught sight of a nearby shop selling bicycles.

Instantly inspired, Qi Yun stepped toward the bicycle shop.

The shop door was locked, but through the glass, he saw the spacious inside, approximately three hundred square meters.

Two pieces of paper were taped to the door: one read "Call 189**** for Bicycle Sales," and the other "Store for Transfer, Contact 189****."

Next to it was a clothing store in a similarly lifeless state.

Qi Yun's mind raced, considering whether to buy these two commercial spaces.

Although commercial property prices are higher than residential, the compensation price during demolition is also higher, and such a move wouldn't attract much notice.

With the decision made, he immediately took out his phone, contacting the bike shop owner and, through him, the landlord.

On the other end came the noisy sounds of mahjong. Once the landlord learned Qi Yun wanted to buy the shop, he stopped playing and quickly said, "Sell! Wait for me, I'll be there right away!"

In less than five minutes, a Yadea electric scooter screeched to a stop at the bike shop door.

The man on the scooter had a scruffy beard and wore a crumpled jacket.

"Are you the one buying the shop?" The man sized up Qi Yun with a shrewd look in his eye, a cigarette stub perched on his lips.

Qi Yun smiled and nodded, "Yes, how big is this commercial space?"

The man removed the cigarette from his mouth and flicked the ash casually, "The built area is 325 square meters."

Qi Yun nodded slightly, skipping needless talk, and directly asked, "What's your asking price?"

The landlord was momentarily stunned, thinking Qi Yun might not be serious about buying.

Who talked business like that, not even stepping inside to look but asking the price outright?

He untied the key from his belt and gestured, "How about taking a look inside first?"

Qi Yun shook his head, "No need, just name your price."

Upon hearing this, the landlord's eyes flickered with hesitation, not answering immediately.

He had wanted to sell this shop for years but found no buyers.

After all that time, business in the area struggled even more, and he couldn't even rent it out despite slashing the rent repeatedly.

That's why he was so excited to hear someone wanted to buy the shop.

The landlord licked his lips, quickly calculating in his head, wanting to recover as much as he could but not scare Qi Yun away.

After all, Qi Yun was the only person who had shown interest in months.

After a brief pause, he gritted his teeth and said, "Boss, I won't beat around the bush. How about this, two and a half million, that's my lowest price."

With that, he kept a close eye on Qi Yun and inched forward, ready to grab him if he turned to leave.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.