Chapter 175

Chapter 175: Rich People Are Low-Key, All the Good Stuff Is Hidden in the Basement

After Jiang Tea Tea heard them, she looked at them and asked: “How many years of criminal records and bills are we talking about?”

Wolf Xin Yi met her gaze and answered: “Almost a hundred years of criminal records and amounts of stolen money.”

“For crimes committed more than a hundred years ago, we don’t know anything about the bills.”

“But there is one thing we can be sure of. Our dad and mom are involved in crimes, and our dead grandma and grandpa were not clean either.”

If Dad and Mom were dirty, and Grandma and Grandpa were dirty too, was crime a kind of inherited family business?

Jiang Tea Tea thought for a moment: “Among the sixteen brothers and sisters, how many are accomplices of your dad and mom?”

Wolf Xin Yi and Wolf Xin Wei answered: “Three. Me, second sister, and third brother. We are Dad and Mom’s accomplices. We are the ones they trust most.”

“From the time we were old enough to understand things, we have been their accomplices. We’ve helped them for at least thirty years. We…”

Wolf Xin Yi and Wolf Xin Wei’s voices choked, and they could not go on. They also wanted to live a good life. Especially after they had their own younglings, they did not want their younglings to walk the same path they had.

But in recent years, as they grew older and their younglings grew up, their dad and mom started eyeing their younglings.

They wanted to train their younglings so they could cast an even bigger net, do even more things, and strengthen the glory of the White Wolf Tribe and the splendor of the Lang Family Estate.

They could be poor. They could suffer. They could wear plain clothes and not drive the newest model of flying device. But they could not let their children walk the same old road.

What they wanted was freedom, safety, and nights where they no longer had to worry that their light-brain wrist terminal would ring, making their fingers tremble and their hearts leap in fear. They wanted to stop waking up crying in the middle of the night and finally sleep soundly.

Jiang Tea Tea looked at the two of them: “Wait a moment. I’ll call Commander in Chief Chong Ming and ask.”

When Wolf Xin Yi and Wolf Xin Wei heard that she had Commander in Chief Chong Ming’s contact and could call him directly, their hearts roiled like stormy seas.

Jiang Tea Tea called him using the earpiece mode, dialing right in front of the brother and sister.

The video call rang once and was picked up at once.

Chong Ming’s low, concerned voice came into Jiang Tea Tea’s ear: “What happened? Why are you calling me so early?”

Jiang Tea Tea answered very seriously: “There has been a major sudden development in the mission. I want to ask your advice.”

Chong Ming looked at her on the video: “What development? Tell me.”

Jiang Tea Tea briefly and clearly told Chong Ming about Wolf Xin Yi and Wolf Xin Wei’s request and what they knew.

After hearing it, Chong Ming replied: “Tell them that since they were forced and had no choice, they can make up for their crimes with merit. The Empire’s Law Code will give them lighter punishment.”

“People who did not participate in crimes will not be implicated just because their parents or their brothers and sisters broke the law.”

“Proper income that has already been taxed will not be confiscated in the face of criminal facts. If they make up for their crimes with merit, and their merit outweighs their crimes, then in most cases they can receive a suspended sentence.”

If they were suspected criminals but received a suspended sentence, as long as they behaved well during the suspension period, the sentence basically did not need to be carried out.

Jiang Tea Tea raised her eyebrows: “Got it. I’ll pass that on to them.”

Chong Ming grunted in agreement and did not forget to nag: “Remember to eat. You don’t have to do everything yourself. Learn to control the whole situation. Give orders and let Cheng Xiao Ting, Sui Xuan Chu, Huang Da Zhuang, and the others carry them out.”

“Got it,” Jiang Tea Tea said.

[Nagging.]

She said the last two words with only her mouth, no sound.

Chong Ming understood her lip movement. A trace of tenderness appeared in his golden eyes: “Alright, keep negotiating with them. If there is anything you don’t understand or are unsure about, call or message me anytime. Stay safe.”

Jiang Tea Tea made a sound of agreement, hung up the light-brain wrist terminal, and turned to Wolf Xin Yi and Wolf Xin Wei. She repeated Chong Ming’s words to them without missing a single word.

After listening, Wolf Xin Yi and Wolf Xin Wei finally felt at ease when they were sure that their younger brothers and younger sisters, their younglings, and their partners would not be endangered or implicated as long as they had not committed crimes.

They suppressed their excitement and said: “We have handwritten copies of Dad and Mom’s criminal records.”

“The original account books are with Dad and Mom. The bills for all the dirty money are not in the electronic information system. They are on paper in account books, handwritten account books.”

“The lists of people involved are also handwritten. We have some handwritten copies of these account books, but we did not copy everything.”

“We know where these account books are. Before you go get them, can you let our younger brothers and younger sisters leave Barley Star first?”

All the criminal records were written by hand in paper account books.

No wonder even though Chong Ming had the top information experts in the whole M31 Star System, he only knew they had committed crimes but could not find solid evidence.

Jiang Tea Tea looked at them and asked back: “Why do you want your younger brothers and younger sisters to leave? All your fear, trauma, and shadows come from your dad and mom and from this house.”

“If you want to break through your fear and shadows and completely free yourselves from your dad and mom’s control, you have to see this house crumble and collapse with your own eyes. You have to see your dad and mom get arrested, right?”

Wolf Xin Yi and Wolf Xin Wei held hands. Not only their bodies, but even their hands and hearts were trembling.

Their home was luxurious and magnificent. Any random decoration there was worth a normal person working for a lifetime. Even the cheapest paper used at home cost several hundred star credits per roll. A tablecloth could cost tens of thousands per meter.

For people who did not know the truth, this was their dream home. For them, this was a blood pit, a blood-soaked pit that made their souls and bodies tremble. In their dreams, they had always wanted to destroy it.

Jiang Tea Tea’s words hit right in the center of their hearts. She wanted them to face the blood pit that trapped them and personally watch it shatter.

Wolf Xin Yi and Wolf Xin Wei forced a smile that looked uglier than crying: “You are right, Tea Tea. You are right. Everything about us comes from this house. Now that we can tear it down, we cannot leave. Not one of us can leave.”

“We… we should all stay here and face all the shadows and barriers in our hearts head-on…”

Jiang Tea Tea grinned brightly: “Since you’ve decided, then give me all the evidence you have first. Then take me to find the rest of the evidence and the crime scenes.”

“If we can catch them red-handed along with the evidence and loot, so that your dad and mom cannot argue their way out, that would be even better.”

Wolf Xin Yi said to Jiang Tea Tea: “The evidence we have is in two places. One part is in a safe at the Central Bank of the Empire on Capital Planet in the First Star System. What we have here are handwritten copies.”

“Another part is in a safe at a local bank on Second System Liuguang Star. What we have here are copied handwritten pages. The passwords and account numbers for the safes are written on this.”

Jiang Tea Tea reached out to take the slip of paper they handed over. She opened her light-brain wrist terminal, took a photo of it, and sent it to Sui Xuan Chu.

Sui Xuan Chu and the others were already awake and were sharing Jiang Tea Tea’s screen while listening to the conversation between the three.

After he received the information, Sui Xuan Chu reported it to the direct leader in charge of their mission. After receiving the report, the direct leader used the fastest and most confidential speed-type ability to go contact the Central Bank on Capital Planet and the Liuguang Star local bank.

When Wolf Xin Wei saw Jiang Tea Tea look back at them again, she took out a map and spread it out on the coffee table in front of them.

She pointed at the map: “The place where Dad and Mom commit crimes is in the mountains, underground at this spot.”

“The crime site is about eighty kilometers in a straight line from this house. The machine room in the backyard of this house is the gate that leads to the crime site.”

“And here, this is a mountain resort. This mountain resort is also one of our family’s properties. There is an underground tunnel from the resort straight to the crime site.”

“Half of their crime-related account books and lists of involved people are in the safe in their bedroom. The other half are at the crime site.”

“Their bedroom is not on the top floor but on the first floor. The first floor covers three underground levels, all of which are their safes.”

Right after Wolf Xin Wei finished speaking, Zhang Ting Zhou’s voice sounded in Jiang Tea Tea’s earpiece: “Sister Tea, based on the map Wolf Xin Wei gave you, I scanned that area and found that the spot she marked is exactly the same place Cheng Xiao Ting, his dad, and Huang Da Zhuang saw last night when they went on their night run. That place with the high electric fence.”

“Wolf Yin Feng and Wolf Luo Feng’s bedroom and the area below their bedroom are all covered with the latest shielding devices. I can’t scan through them, so I can’t be sure if there really are three underground levels. Someone has to go there in person.”

Jiang Tea Tea pressed the invisibility earpiece to tell Zhang Ting Zhou she heard him. Then she said to Wolf Xin Yi and Wolf Xin Wei: “I need to verify what you just told me.”

“In the days ahead, I will get along well with you two, and I hope you will also get along well with me.”

Wolf Xin Yi and Wolf Xin Wei nodded quickly: “Okay, we’ll fully cooperate with you. There are also some details we want to tell you.”

Jiang Tea Tea listened to them talk about the details. Sui Xuan Chu and the other seven were also listening in. After more than ten minutes of details, the two siblings left.

Jiang Tea Tea not only scanned the map they left behind, she also locked her door, changed into a simple combat suit, and tied her hair into a high ponytail. Then she said to Sui Xuan Chu and the others: “It’s not even four o’clock yet. Wolf Yin Feng and Wolf Luo Feng are still asleep. I’m going to their basement to scout first.”

“If I can, I’ll put all the crime-related account books they keep down there into my space knob storage device and bring them out.”

“After that, if there is time, I’ll go once to the crime site they use. My room is locked. If anything happens, tell me at once.”

Sui Xuan Chu replied: “Don’t forget the law enforcement recorder. Take the signal disruptor too.”

Cheng Lin Yue added: “According to the info we have, the Lang Family Estate is suspected of some illegal medical operations. Wear your gas mask and protective mask in case they installed anything poisonous in the basement.”

Huang Da Zhuang and Cheng Xiao Ting also said: “Sister Tea, be careful, stay safe. If anything feels wrong, leave immediately.”

“Sister Tea, we are waiting for you to come back victorious. You can do it.”

Jiang Tea Tea did not just bring the law enforcement recorder. She also kept a live link with the other seven through the surveillance system and shared frequency link.

With the markings on the map, she used the Shrinking Ground to Inches technique once and went straight from the upper floor down to the first basement level. Her speed-type ability was so fast it was like a Blink Step.

The basement was pitch black and the air was not fresh. Still invisible, Jiang Tea Tea used a detector and found the signal shielding device.

She placed the shielding remover next to the shielding device. Zhang Ting Zhou successfully hacked in, changed the area covered by the surveillance system, and turned on all the lights on the first basement level.

The house above ground covered five hundred square meters, but the first underground level was much larger, over a thousand square meters.

Inside, rows and rows of shelves were lined up. On the shelves sat raw stones of rare ores. Each raw stone was either huge and imposing or small and exquisite, but all of them were beautiful.

“There were also samples of rare plants, and several sets of furniture made from wood that is now protected and banned from logging.”

Jiang Tea Tea walked through the first basement level once. After watching in real time, Sui Xuan Chu and Cheng Xiao Ting could not help sighing: “Wow, I see several stones here that are bigger than anything in the Raw Stone Museum.”

“Exactly. There are a few trees in our mountain estate that the Nation has protected and banned from logging. Yet they have three full sets of furniture here. Just by looking at the tree rings, those trees must be at least a thousand years old.”

“Thousand-year-old trees turned into furniture and left lying here… You can’t buy that kind of thing for just one hundred million. If it went to auction, it would start at five hundred million.”

Huang Da Zhuang’s weak voice sounded too: “I used to think the two richest people in the Empire were Commander in Chief Chong Ming and His Highness the crown prince. After seeing these more than a thousand square meters of stuff in this basement, I want to apologize for what I thought.”

“Even to me, someone who doesn’t know anything and is just a canine family dog, this place looks like it’s worth at least tens of billions.”

Cheng Xiao Ting clicked his tongue: “Tens of billions? Please. Just these thousand-plus square meters of stuff, there’s no way you get it for less than hundreds of billions.”

Sui Xuan Chu agreed: “Yes, not less than hundreds of billions.”

Sui Xuan Chu was the Empire’s crown prince. He knew what things were worth.

Zhang Ting Zhou’s voice sounded: “Sister Tea, I’ve already broken into the second and third underground levels. I’ve turned on the lights. You can go straight down.”

Jiang Tea Tea flashed once more and went down to the second basement level.

Just as she landed, she heard Huang Da Zhuang, Yan Yu, Orange Sparrow, and the others all gasp in her earpiece: “By the Beast God above, this, this, this… the Lang Family Estate is insane!”

“Specimens. Animal specimens. Oh my god, I’ve never seen so many lifelike animal specimens in the Animal Specimen Museum. They look like they were just killed and put straight into the glass cases.”

“They’re crazy. I thought the Lang Family Estate was only involved in some biological and medical crimes, but it looks much worse than I imagined.”

Zhang Ting Zhou said: “Calm down. I’ve scanned the first basement level. It covers about 1,030 square meters. The second basement level is 1,500 square meters, and the third is 2,000 square meters.”

“Looking at these 1,500 square meters of animal specimens, the dates on the glass cases say they’ve been here for over a thousand years.”

“To put it simply, the animal specimens in these 1,500 square meters are all from over a thousand years ago. That raises a question. Nature evolves, and animals evolve too. Animals from a thousand years ago are different from animals now.”

“So guess this: besides these 1,500 square meters of animal specimens from over a thousand years ago, where did they put the specimens from the past eight hundred years, five hundred years, six hundred years, one hundred years, and ten years?”