Chapter 45: Disguise

It was already past 10 o’clock at night, and Lao Hui and I were still wandering around a street famous for its snacks, not much different from those who were drunk in the middle of the night and wandering around the streets.

Laohui had his arm around my shoulder, as usual, wearing a slovenly T-shirt, shorts, and slippers, staggering along, and holding a bottle of beer in his hand, taking a sip from time to time, as if he were really drunk.

My appearance wasn’t much better. I had a plaid shirt casually tucked into the pouch on the back of my jeans, a vest on, and I had deliberately pulled up a section to reveal my stomach. I was also carrying a bottle of wine and staggering along.

People who don’t know us would think that we are two typical drunkards.

After taking a sip of wine, I whispered to Lao Hui, “Do I look okay?”

Laohui whispered, “These days, even Taoist priests have to be professional agents. Trust my makeup skills. This is a ‘required course.’ If I don’t rely on sensing your aura, just by looking at you, even if I’ve seen your face before, he’s a cultivator, and his memory is good enough? I guarantee that he won’t recognize you even if he’s standing in front of you.”

“What I mean is, fuck, why did you make me so ugly? I’m embarrassed to walk down the street!” I pretended to be drunk, drank, and cursed at Lao Hui with gritted teeth.

“Fuck, are you going to seduce Lu Fan Mingma? What’s the point of being so handsome?” Lao Hui replied to me without any courtesy.

I was speechless, and glanced at a food stall next to me. It was crowded, and business was booming. I was staring at one of the empty tables, and no one was sitting at it yet.

If a stranger saw this scene, they would be very surprised. Why would a food stall with so many people waiting for a table leave an empty one? This stall is famous for its crayfish, and many people come from far away to eat here. Would the owner deliberately leave an empty table because there are too many people?

But people who often eat in this food street will know that this is already a tradition of this food stall. The empty table is said to be reserved for a very rich man.

That rich man is Lu Fanming!

According to information, Lu Fanming is a naturally cautious person, and he has reserved an entire floor in the company office, which is full of surveillance cameras. It is almost impossible to investigate him at the company, and it is even more difficult to do so from other aspects. Because he has no less than five official residences in the city, and according to reliable sources, he has rented many more houses and has some undisclosed residences.

It is even more impossible to follow him. Not to mention that you can’t be sure whether he will go to the company or not, or when he will go. Even if he happens to be at the company, when he leaves, there will definitely be more than three identical cars leaving at the same time, and he may not even be in the car. He may leave from another exit. How can you follow him?

As the saying goes, “a crafty rabbit has three dens.” Lu Fanming has dozens of dens! How can we investigate him?

I and Lao Hui analyzed this person, if it is not something that can’t be seen in the light, how could this person make himself more secret agent than secret agent? So, we may have a big harvest on him.

The fact that we were ordered to investigate this person directly is also to this effect. Since we burned down the warehouse, this investigation is no longer a matter of scaring the snake, but a matter of grabbing time on the surface, so it is also a matter of hitting the snake at the seven-inch mark, which means that the investigation here will be completely settled.

But Lu Fan is obviously a tough nut to crack. He is so cautious that it is probably impossible for most people to get started.

However, behind our operation this time is the cooperation of an entire department, so the investigative capabilities are extremely strong. As a result, a weakness that is not a weakness has surfaced in Lu Fanming, and that is that Lu Fanming has a persistent preference for good food.

People need a little fun in their lives. As a man, Lu Fanming doesn’t smoke, drink, or chase after women. He even limits his fun to the necessary socializing. If he doesn’t have a hobby like enjoying good food, I’m afraid his life would be boring.

As long as a person has a hobby, that hobby can be seen as a weakness, which is also a breakthrough point.

Lu Fanming loves to eat. After coming to this city, his particular preference is this food stall that sells crayfish. It used to be a street stall. After Lu Fanming had eaten there once and found it amazing, he sent someone to give the owner a sum of money the next day, so that the owner rented three adjacent storefronts on this street.

He only had one request, and that was that no matter when he came or didn’t come, the boss must always leave an empty table for him.

This is the only breakthrough point for me and Lao Hui.

At this time, there was no one at the empty table. After I took a look, I pretended to be drunk and dragged Lao Hui back to wait for a seat, pretending to be drunk. The reason why Lao Hui and I chose to pretend to be drunk is to cover up.

After all, one’s actions are never completely flawless. For example, if you observe others, they will definitely notice, but if you drink too much, you can naturally stare at others without restraint. Most people won’t argue with a drunk, and when you’re drunk, any of your actions can be explained.

“It won’t be in vain, will it?” Lao Hui drank a hearty sip of wine, the wine dripping down his mouth, his eyes blurred, and he looked very embarrassed, but his tone was unusually sober.

“No, before we set off, didn’t the department send a file over? It’s summer now, and Lu Fanming comes here to eat crayfish a lot. And this person is too vigilant. Whenever he comes to eat crayfish, he always sends some people to look around and change the environment. Then, before he comes to eat, he also eats crayfish at this food stall to protect him from escaping at critical times. Can you see it…?” I whispered to Lao Hui, laughing foolishly as I spoke. In the eyes of others, I was like talking nonsense to Lao Hui.

“I see it. The people sitting around that empty table at this food stall look very alert. They don’t look like they’re here to eat. They’re always looking around, and they don’t drink or talk to each other! Then we’re really lucky today. We met Lu Fanming as soon as we came out. You’re good, kid. How did you see it?” Lao Hui said in surprise, but of course he still looked like a drunk on the surface.

“Nonsense, I’ve been quietly observing this place since the corner of the street. Do you think I’d be okay if I didn’t get anything?” I said to Lao Hui, and I didn’t forget to urge the boss a few words: “Is it easy for us to come from a foreign place? Boss, how long do we have to wait for this position?”

My yelling and screaming caused many people to frown in disgust. Lu Fanming’s people also looked at me a few times, but their eyes didn’t care, and they even looked down on me as a drunken lunatic.

This is the effect I want. In fact, when investigating a person, you really can’t be deliberately low-key. At some point, you have to be deliberately high-profile.

This is a lesson that Xiaobei taught me before I left. Lao Hui said that even if Xiaobei didn’t have the ability of a Taoist priest, he was definitely an exceptionally qualified agent.

The owner of the food stall was a good man who quickly came to comfort me and Lao Hui, and also gave us a cigarette. During this exchange, a somewhat overweight man wearing a pair of metal-framed glasses and looking clean and honest came to the food stall.

As soon as he approached, the boss, who was still talking to me and Lao Hui, quickly smiled at us and went over to the man, while the people sitting around the empty table also became noticeably more alert and showed a respectful expression on their faces.

Facing the boss’s unusually warm greeting, the man showed a harmless smile, looking enthusiastic and honest. He casually talked to the boss while crossing into the food stall.

While we were drinking and laughing, we kept our eyes on him. We looked at him shamelessly, and he didn’t mind. He even looked back at us two “drunks” and smiled amicably.

Yes, this man in a white short-sleeved shirt, black trousers, and a briefcase looked like an ordinary, honest, and simple man. He was Lu Fanming, the cautious and almost flawless guy who needed to be investigated with the utmost care.

Lu Fanming walked straight to the empty table and sat down. He didn’t say anything, but the boss brought him a plate of fried peanuts and a glass of iced plum wine.

According to the information, this guy doesn’t drink outside wine. This sour plum wine is stored here by the boss from somewhere, and it seems that he enjoys it.

In fact, Lu Fanming has a weakness that can be considered a strength. Although his whereabouts are unpredictable, he is extremely punctual. If he wants to eat at this food stall, he will usually come between 10:30 and 12:00, never exceeding this range.

The time he spends eating here is definitely only about 40 minutes, and it will never exceed this time range.

Me and Lao Hui were a little hasty in our preparations, so we suddenly found ourselves in an awkward situation with a tight schedule. After all, we didn’t expect Lu Fanming to come at 10:40, and we hadn’t even gotten a seat yet.

But he only has 40 minutes to eat! There is a lot to do in 40 minutes, but we didn’t wait for a seat, and every move was under surveillance. We couldn’t move!

Thinking about this, I suddenly came up with a quick solution. I dragged Lao Hui and headed straight for the food stall where Lu Fanming was sitting.