Lin Bingbing was thoroughly displeased with Xia Tian's behavior. Although she knew he was a crude man, she hadn't expected him to have such base interests. What she had just witnessed was simply too much.
They were here on an important mission, yet Xia Tian still had the leisure to fool around.
If not for the fact that she needed his help, she would have already taught him a lesson.
"I'm warning you—this is my only chance to join the Special Operations Department. If you ruin it, you'll pay for it," Lin Bingbing said sharply, glaring at him.
"What exactly is the Special Operations Department?" Xia Tian asked in confusion.
"The Special Operations Department used to be called the special agents' bureau before the founding of the country. The current department is the most elite organization in China—its members come from all walks of life, and every one of them is exceptional. The entry requirements are extremely strict," Lin Bingbing explained when she realized Xia Tian didn't even know what it was.
"What's the point of joining?" Xia Tian asked again.
"Of course it's useful! There, you can meet the best police officers, the strongest SWAT members, brilliant investigators like Di Renjie, computer experts, and many others. Once you get in, you'll learn more and meet more powerful people."
Lin Bingbing's eyes gleamed with admiration. Everyone had heard of the Special Operations Department, but few truly understood it.
She knew about it because her uncle was the mayor of Jianghai City. But more importantly, she had another reason—to find the man who had abandoned his wife and child.
"If the people in there are so powerful, how could you possibly get in? Are you planning to use connections?" Xia Tian asked, puzzled.
"You're the one who'd use connections! I'm taking the open examination," Lin Bingbing said angrily. The Special Operations Department had always been her dream, and she would never rely on her uncle's influence.
Although her uncle had helped her get the opportunity to apply, she hadn't used any backdoor favors.
"Alright, come here," Xia Tian said, stretching out his hand.
"What do you mean by that?" Lin Bingbing asked, confused.
"You said you'd take the test fairly. There are tens of thousands of people here—you need to find Shadow among them," Xia Tian said with a faint smile.
"Hmph." Lin Bingbing gritted her teeth, stomped her foot, and said, "Fine! Who's afraid of who?"
She strode forward, with Xia Tian following behind. The more she walked, the angrier she became. Xia Tian had clearly come to help her at Ye Wanqing's request, yet now he was making her do everything herself.
Where was she even supposed to start? She couldn't possibly identify the target from that blurry photo. The lighting here was strange; even if Shadow were standing right in front of her, she might not recognize him—let alone find him among a crowd.
She couldn't just walk up to random people asking, "Are you Shadow?" That would only scare the real Shadow away.
She looked around helplessly, unable to figure out where to begin.
"Tell me—what does that man do?" Xia Tian asked, pointing to a man standing to their left. The man wore a neat suit, leather shoes, and a white shirt.
"He looks like a banker or maybe an IT professional," Lin Bingbing guessed.
"Wrong. He's a security guard," Xia Tian said.
"But he's dressed like a professional. He doesn't look like a security guard at all," Lin Bingbing said, confused.
"Would you wear your police uniform to go shopping after work?" Xia Tian asked.
"Of course not." Lin Bingbing immediately understood his point. "But how did you know he's a security guard?"
"His suit and shoes are spotless, and he's carefully groomed—that means he doesn't usually wear them. And notice how he instinctively looks toward every car that stops—he's checking the parking distance and road width on both sides. That's a habit of someone who works security."
Xia Tian's powers of observation had been trained by his father since childhood. By the age of ten, he could do everything Sherlock Holmes could.
"If you're that sharp, then tell me—who here is Shadow?" Lin Bingbing challenged, still unconvinced.
"None of them. Do you really think Shadow stands around on the street 24 hours a day waiting for you to catch him?" Xia Tian said mockingly.
"Don't assassins usually come out at night and sleep during the day?" she asked again.
"You've watched too many TV dramas. What, do you think Mahakala crawls through windows every night to kill people? Even killers have dignity, you know?" Xia Tian sighed. "It's like those girls who refuse to go to the bathroom alone at night because they're afraid of ghosts. Have you ever thought about the ghosts' dignity? Which ghost would have nothing better to do than crawl out from under a toilet in the middle of the night just to scare someone?"
"You—ugh! Fine, you win. What now?" Lin Bingbing was speechless and furious, glaring at him.
Xia Tian smiled faintly. "From now on, you listen to me. Do exactly as I say."
He led Lin Bingbing into a bar. It wasn't large, nor was it lavishly decorated. There weren't even any streetwalkers around—usually a sign of poor business.
After all, most patrons preferred brighter, livelier places filled with women. Even women themselves liked larger bars, where they felt safer and might meet a wealthy man.
As soon as they entered, Lin Bingbing's presence drew every gaze in the room. Her natural beauty stood out—especially since she wore no makeup. It was rare to see such a strikingly beautiful and cold woman in a place like this.
Though the bar had the usual singing and dancing, only a few people were actually on the dance floor. The rest sat in corners, either watching cautiously or whispering to each other.
This district was already infamous for chaos, and this particular bar was among the worst. The men were crude—some even wore disguises. The women were oddly dressed, many of them clearly punkish or non-mainstream.
Lin Bingbing frowned. She wasn't used to such an environment, and the men's openly lustful stares made her skin crawl.
"Come on, let's dance," Xia Tian said with a smile.
"Dance? Why?" Lin Bingbing asked, confused.
"Didn't you just agree to listen to me?" Xia Tian said impatiently.
"Fine… but I don't know how to dance," she admitted, forcing herself to cooperate.
"Follow my lead." Xia Tian grabbed her hand and pulled her to the dance floor. Though reluctant, she followed. She felt awkward and restrained, not knowing what to do.
"There are dozens of eyes on us right now—don't look around," Xia Tian whispered in her ear, pretending to hold her close.
Lin Bingbing nodded slightly and swayed stiffly with him, treating it as dancing.
Xia Tian's eyes swept across the room. From the moment they entered, they had been under surveillance. Lin Bingbing's looks alone made her stand out—and she clearly didn't fit the atmosphere here, half revealing her true identity already.
"Boss, that chick looks like a cop.""Have the boys test her. And tell the others to keep the deals quiet.""Relax, boss. No one dares make arrests in our territory.""Send a few more to keep watch. I've got someone important coming for a pickup soon—no mistakes.""Don't worry. We'll deal with her if she really is a cop."
Though the bar was noisy and he couldn't hear them clearly, Xia Tian could read their lips easily—he had learned lip-reading from his father and could interpret conversations with just a glance, aided by his X-Ray eyes.
Shadow was a member of Liusha, and Liusha never had a fixed base. Its operatives were constantly on missions and couldn't carry weapons in public, or they'd risk arrest. Whenever they went somewhere new, they contacted local arms dealers. Even for a simple dagger, they never bought from ordinary shops, as that would expose their identity.
For anyone in Liusha, exposure meant death.
Xia Tian had come here because his father had once told him that this was one of Jianghai's most chaotic bar districts. Back then, his father had used it as an example to warn him never to set foot in such places.
From the snippets of conversation he'd just read, Xia Tian guessed that the person arriving soon was most likely connected to Shadow—though the local gangsters didn't seem to realize the buyer was from Liusha.
"Hey girl, you're pretty," one of the gangsters with bleached-yellow hair said, moving closer to Lin Bingbing.
"Yeah, that body, that face—damn, she's gorgeous."
Lin Bingbing frowned. Normally, she would've already taught these punks a painful lesson, but Xia Tian had warned her not to expose herself. Still, her patience was wearing thin. The thugs grew bolder, brushing up against her.
At that moment, Xia Tian pulled her into his arms with one hand.
"You're picking a fight with the wrong people," Xia Tian said with a faint smile, looking at the yellow-haired punks.