They did not respond, but sat down across from him. Liwu showed him the surveillence photos using the hologram feature of her watch. "Nobody was murdered, not as far as we know anyway. But, we found these photographs of you while investigating a missing person. It seems like you were under surveillence. Along with five others. All system hosts. All wealthy. Why?"

Qins’ lips curved into a faint smile. "Surveilled? By whom?"

He Xiao Yi leaned forward. "We are not at liberty to say because you might decide to plant yourself in our case, messing things up. Let’s just say someone was planning to write a story and you were the focus."

Qin laughed. "Interesting. I am guessing this person is a reporter. They are the ones that write stories. I have had a few articles written, some good, some bad. But reporters chase stories. Wealth, systems, power. It makes sense that a reporter would be interested in me. I am an interesting man. I am not surprised."

Liwu’s eyes narrowed. "Not surprised? Or not concerned?"

Qin’s gaze flicked to her, then to He Xiao Yi. "Concern is for those who fear exposure detectives, and I like exposure. As anyone who knows me. Any opportunity for press that I get, I shout loudly about my objections to the way the SOB has handled the military and systems. Not just in this country, but every country. The power and technology system hosts have could be used to take us to greater heights. Our soldiers could be using pulse guns, instead of the same old standard rifles and automatic weapons. These things are outdated. Humans are holding humanity back."

He sounded so passionate, displaying with his face and tone just how much he believed in his own words. Liwu snorted in turn. "The new weapons you advocate for would be used against humans, not another species. They would escalate new world wars that are not fought for any reason other than ego. You are insane."

Qin Yifei laughed. "And you are too emotional. The superior man should lead mankind. It was the way of our ancestors, it should be our way. I am writing my own book about this." He looked at He Xiao Yi, "I would love your guidance or at least, to have you look at work. Maybe even a quote."

He Xiao Yi remained neutral. "We are not here to talk about weapons, unless they are involved in this matter. What we want to know is why you think someone would be surveilling you." He showed Qin Yifei pictures of the other five men.

Qin Yifei moved his mouth around and picked up his glass. "I don’t know them personally, but I am aware of them. I make it my business to know the faces and names of all first class system hosts around the world. One must know the right connections to make helpful connections."

He Xiao Yi’s profiler instincts tingled. "You moved here six months ago. Government job. System host. That combination makes you dangerous to some people. Why did you move from Beijing?"

Qin chuckled softly. "Beijing is soft." His eyes flashed to Liwu. "No offense, but the dragon mother of system hosts needs to stop playing it safe. She should let us unleash our full potential and show the world what we can do. Beijing was suffocating, One city was not." He took a sip of his wine and lowered his glass before adding, "not until the mayor shackled himself in an alliance that changed the shape of this city forever." Again, his eyes flashed to Liwu, his lips carved in a smile, "No offense, since you were the bride he was shackled to."

She scoffed. "None taken, but it doesn’t fully answer why you moved here. We have looked into you. You haven’t done anything that screams ’I am a system host’ since you moved here. So, I don’t buy the whole Beijing was soft and suffocating theory."

Qin Yifei spread his arms. "Connections. In a city like this, everyone with a system connects. Manufacturing, defense, logistics, jewels, negotiations...they are threads in the same cloth. I wanted to be around more of my kind. Being told that you only got where you are because you got lucky in a random system lottery gets tiring. You hear that a lot in Beijing, but not here."

Liwu pressed harder. "Then, did you make the wrong connection? Is that why you were being followed?"

Qin shrugged. "Who knows? Tell me when you find out, because I too would like to know why I was being followed." He raised his voice, "And why my guards didn’t notice anything."

Liwu looked at the mentioned guards, her eyes sticking to the closest one. "What about you, have you noticed anyone suspicious following your boss?"

The man shook his head. "No ma’am."

"Has he been threatened in any way?’ 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"No ma’am."

"Do you know any of these five men?"

"No ma’am."

Every question she asked was met with the same response.

Finally, she stopped questioning him and turned to Qin Yifei. "Sir, we don’t know why you went missing, but we do know that the person who was following you has gone missing. If you have anything to say to us, now is the time."

Qi leaned back, folding his hands. "Detectives, you are talking to the wrong man. I am a government employee. We are all on the same side. If I knew something, I would tell you."

He Xiao Yi rose abruptly, pulling Liwu with him. "In that case," he said calmly, "we should not waste anymore of your time or ours. Thank you for talking to us. If you think of anything, give us a call." He threw a card on the table.

They left the house, walking out with nothing.

"What was that?" Liwu asked, when they were in the car, exiting the City hall bay gate

He Xiao Yi tapped the wheel. "He is a seasoned military veteran, trained in interrogations. We were not going to get anything out of him. But we didn’t get nothing, didn’t you notice the systems he mentioned when he talked about connections? Manufacturing, defense, logistics, jewels, negotiation. Those are the systems and industries the five men he claimed not to know are involved in. He could have mentioned anything, but he chose those ones. Qin Yifei just told us that they are all connected, without even knowing that he was revealing himself.

On hearing that a story was being written, he immediately guessed that it was a reporter. He did not even show the slightest fear when we revealed that he was being followed. The information we brought is not new to him."

Liwu added slowly, "So what does this mean for Sleazy Han?"

They both knew what it meant. Either the reporter was already dead, or he would soon die.