Zhang Xiaowai stood on the rooftop of Oolong City's central office building, the night wind slicing through his cheap Pinduoduo shirt, flapping like a paper kite caught in a storm. In his hand, he gripped the Oolong Eye—a gem pulsing with an eerie green glow, radiating heat as if it were a ticking plot device from an over-the-top murder mystery game.
Liu Piaopiao stood beside him, channeling the aura of a hard-boiled detective from a noir film. Her flashlight swung erratically as she rapid-fired her analysis: "Xiao Zhao was just a decoy. The real mastermind is still lurking in the shadows! This gem isn't just a trinket—its energy and secrets are tied to the city's very lifeblood. We have to protect it!"
"Yeah, like you actually know what's going on," Zhang Xiaowai thought, rolling his eyes internally but nodding along like a bobblehead to avoid her wrath.
Wang Dazhuang loomed on his other side, hoisting his "sacred nightstick" with the swagger of a self-proclaimed Chosen One. "Let the mastermind show their face! One swing of this stick, and they're out cold!" he boomed, a sweatband plastered to his forehead as if he were gearing up for a martial arts tournament final.
Old Zhou leaned against the rooftop's iron exit door, his trusty old mop in hand, a cigarette—possibly unlit—dangling from his lips, trailing faint wisps of smoke. His cloudy yet piercing eyes held an unnerving calm.
"Quit yapping, you little punks," Old Zhou grunted, exhaling a puff. "I've got a hunch about the masked man's true identity. Head to Boss Li's office. The answers… they're there."
Zhang Xiaowai froze, his gut screaming that Old Zhou was pulling another cryptic "wise monk" move, but the old man's steely gaze was unshakably certain, like a retired martial arts master stepping back into the ring. Swallowing hard, Zhang Xiaowai nodded.
The four of them marched toward Boss Li's office on the top floor.
The night was deep, and the office floor was so quiet you could hear the faint whir of a printer's cooling fan. Boss Li's office door was unlocked, its interior a chaotic mess, as if a tornado had thrown a tantrum—papers strewn across the floor, chairs toppled, a shattered vase in the corner, and a phone on the desk still glowing, frozen mid-conversation.
"Look at this!" Liu Piaopiao darted forward, flipping through the chaos like a seasoned crime scene investigator. She unearthed a worn black ledger from a pile in the corner, her hands trembling as she scanned its pages. Her eyes widened. "Guys, check this out! It's a record of property transactions in Oolong City's core district… and there's stuff about the Oolong Eye! It's not just a legend—it controls some kind of… underground resource?!"
"Underground resource?" Zhang Xiaowai muttered, his mind conjuring images of secret subway blueprints but unable to connect the dots.
"Like power grids, underground pipelines, even restricted passages in the old city…" Liu Piaopiao's voice grew feverish, as if she'd stumbled upon Sherlock Holmes' lost journal. "Boss Li must've been digging into this before he vanished. He crossed someone… someone big!"
"Someone big?" Wang Dazhuang scratched his head. "You mean the logistics team upstairs?"
"Shut up," Zhang Xiaowai and Liu Piaopiao snapped in unison.
As they pieced together fragments of an urban conspiracy from the documents, the office door slammed open with a deafening bang.
Everyone jumped. Standing in the doorway was none other than the man they thought had vanished—Boss Li himself!
He was decked out in his usual pristine suit, shoes polished to a mirror shine, hair meticulously combed, and a greasy, insincere smile plastered on his face. "Well, well, working late, are we? Such dedication."
"L-Li… Boss Li?!" Zhang Xiaowai shrank back, his face a mask of panic. "Weren't you… kidnapped?"
Liu Piaopiao snapped into battle mode, brandishing her magnifying glass like a weapon. "Who are you really? Are you the masked man?"
Boss Li smirked, slowly removing his glasses to reveal a cold glint in his eyes. "The masked man? Just a diversion. My 'disappearance' was bait to flush out those eyeing the Oolong Eye. You lot? You're just my pawns."
As he spoke, he pulled a remote from his suit pocket and pressed a button. With a click, the office floor split open, revealing a hidden safe. Its lid rose, exposing a trove of glittering artifacts, contracts, and strange devices.
He pointed at the gem in Zhang Xiaowai's hand. "That thing? It unlocks the central controls of Oolong City's underground network. With it, I control resources, data, land rights, energy—everything. The entire city will kneel at my feet."
The air froze for a heartbeat.
"You're insane!" Zhang Xiaowai yelped, instinctively hiding the gem behind his back.
"Don't move!" Boss Li's face darkened as he drew a compact pistol from his suit, aiming it at them. His voice was ice-cold. "One more step, and you won't even get to eat instant noodles tonight."
Wang Dazhuang blinked, muttering, "My noodles are still soaking in hot water…"
The tension was suffocating.
Zhang Xiaowai's palms sweated, his fingers trembling. Just as the standoff teetered on the edge, fate's gears turned once more.
His foot slipped, knocking over a half-empty coffee cup on the desk. The cup tipped, and scalding liquid splashed precisely onto Boss Li's pristine suit.
"Argh!" Boss Li howled, the pistol slipping from his hand and clattering to the floor.
"Nice one!" Liu Piaopiao lunged, snatching the gun.
Wang Dazhuang, itching for action, swung his nightstick with a "Destiny Strike," landing a clean hit on Boss Li's wrist.
Old Zhou strolled forward calmly, delivering a sweeping "mop leg" that sent Boss Li sprawling, like a scene straight out of a classic Hong Kong action flick.
Crunch! In the chaos, Zhang Xiaowai stumbled, his backside hitting the desk's edge. The desk wobbled, its leg smacking the safe's control panel. The safe slammed shut, locking with a beep that triggered the building's alarm system—a piercing bleep-bleep echoing through the floor.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no…" Zhang Xiaowai whimpered, on the verge of tears.
"That's the true power of the Oolong Aura!" Liu Piaopiao marveled.
Security guards stormed in from downstairs, swarming like an army. Boss Li, halfway to his feet, was tackled and bound, still cursing: "You useless idiots! You'll pay for this!"
Police sirens wailed in the distance, their lights flashing against the neon glow outside. The scene felt surreal, like a fever dream.
Old Zhou lit a fresh cigarette, gazing at the Oolong Eye. His voice took on the cadence of an ancient storyteller: "This thing can't stay in the world. It only breeds greed and chaos."
He took the gem from Zhang Xiaowai, wrapping it carefully in a tattered cloth bag before handing it to Liu Piaopiao. "Kid, take this to the museum's secret archive. Tell them to lock it away—never put it on display."
Liu Piaopiao nodded, her usual theatrics replaced by solemn resolve as she tucked the gem into her bag.
The police arrived, hauling off a still-ranting Boss Li. The office building settled back into the quiet of the night, with only the sound of the wind whistling through.
Zhang Xiaowai collapsed onto the floor, staring at the ceiling. "What even was this week? I feel like I've lived through three seasons of a drama."
Liu Piaopiao patted his shoulder. "You did great, Xiaowai! Your Oolong Aura is the MVP of this case!"
Wang Dazhuang squatted beside him, grinning. "Here's a victory joke for you: Why do bad guys always get caught? 'Cause they can't outrun the Oolong Aura! Haha!"
"You two are insufferable," Zhang Xiaowai groaned, rolling his eyes.
They thought it was over. But Old Zhou cast a cryptic glance at Zhang Xiaowai.
"Xiaowai, Oolong City's secrets… they're just starting to unravel. Your aura's gonna have to shine a bit longer."
Zhang Xiaowai's face paled. "No way! I just want to be a normal office drone!"
Days later, life seemed to return to normal.
Zhang Xiaowai went back to his routine—overtime, buy-one-get-one convenience store deals, eating instant noodles while scrolling short videos. But in his pocket was a note Old Zhou had slipped him before disappearing.
It read: "Watch out. Oolong City's next act has already begun."
Zhang Xiaowai sighed, gazing out the window.
Oolong City's neon lights still blazed, but beneath the streets lay dust that could never be fully swept away.
The Oolong Aura hummed faintly once more.
—End of Volume—