Chapter 247: The Market

After a nearby Bureau 507 staff member signaled that everything was ready and sent a message to Big Circle Leopard to confirm the plan's start, Zhang Wenda led Hu Maomao and Song Jianguo as he stepped right into the enormous screen.

Just after entering, his vision was initially filled with blurry blocks of color and pixels. Then, the image snapped into focus, and that familiar, phantasmagorical Thought Wave World spread out before him once more.

In the distance was the same mountain range made of discarded data, a veritable recycle bin. It seemed this place wasn't too far from the great prairie called "Aminos."

This location had clearly been scouted in advance by Bureau 507. Before long, the trio was standing before a red book as tall as a skyscraper—their destination, Xiaohongshu.

Not far from Xiaohongshu stood the Zhihu building. The two structures were right next to each other, and many of their windows were open. Inside, people were screaming ugly insults at each other across the gap, their spittle practically flying out of the screen.

'What's Tang Xingxiong doing at Xiaohongshu? Is Big Circle trying to stir up public opinion here?' Zhang Wenda wondered.

He walked inside, still puzzled. The moment he crossed the invisible threshold, his phone vibrated. The disguise program activated instantly, layering a beauty filter over the three of them.

Song Jianguo's somewhat dark skin instantly became fair and radiant. Pink blush was automatically applied to her cheeks, her eyes were enlarged by a good third, and her legs became long and straight.

Her clothes automatically changed into a stylish and sexy tight leather outfit that perfectly accentuated her fit figure.

The same happened to Hu Maomao beside him, but with an added pair of fluffy, golden-yellow dog ears that twitched on her head.

Hu Maomao reached up to touch the out-of-place ears on her head and sighed helplessly. "I really don't get the aesthetic of kids these days. Back in my day, calling someone a dog was pretty much an insult."

Forget the people—even the Black Cats, who were temporarily piled into a human shape, were given makeup and dressed in Hanfu. After the filter was applied, they too were transformed into solid eights or nines.

"Whoa! Haozi, you—" Song Jianguo pointed at Zhang Wenda's face, her shoulders shaking as she tried to stifle her laughter, but Zhang Wenda cut her off gruffly. "Shut up! I don't want to hear it! Let's go! No more dawdling!"

Everyone coming and going inside Xiaohongshu looked like a heavily edited influencer—too beautiful to be real, with perfect bodies and pale skin. The disguise was indeed on point; the three of them blended in without drawing any attention at all.

Forget about anyone from Big Circle recognizing them; they'd probably have to do a double-take if they saw themselves in a mirror.

Checking the time, Zhang Wenda lowered his voice and said to the other two, "It's almost time. Let's not linger here. Straight to the market."

Although Xiaohongshu was packed with people, the signs were clear. After walking for about ten minutes, the gaudily decorated gate of the market came into view: the Xiaohongshu Market.

As soon as he stepped into the boisterous, clamoring market, Zhang Wenda felt his heart begin to pound. THUMP-THUMP. At the thought of killing Tang Xingxiong with his own hands, he was so excited his hands began to tremble slightly.

'Calm down. I have to stay calm,' he repeated to himself, desperately trying to suppress the restless beast within. The more critical the moment, the less room there was for panic.

Zhang Wenda gave the other two a look, and the trio immediately split up, beginning their search through the bustling crowd.

The market was enormous. Even splitting up, it would take them over half an hour just to make one circuit. The problem was, they had searched back and forth several times without seeing so much as a single hair on Tang Xingxiong's head.

'What's going on? Was the note wrong? Is the intel bad?' Zhang Wenda muttered to himself.

But on second thought, that didn't seem right. That old codger Tan Yougen might be unreliable in other areas, but he wouldn't make such a low-level mistake when it came to the accuracy of his intel.

Just as he was pulling out his phone to ask for an update, his gaze swept over the streets filled with impeccably made-up and fashionably dressed men and women. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind. 'Wait, I get it. We're all in disguise. Tang Xingxiong must be, too!'

The more Zhang Wenda thought about it, the more sense it made. Otherwise, with Tang Xingxiong's crow head—a look so distinctive it was almost bizarre—he would have spotted her long ago if she weren't disguised.

"Then what do we do? If she's disguised, how will we recognize her?" Hu Maomao asked. She was linking arms with Song Jianguo, pretending to be sisters out for a day of shopping.

Zhang Wenda immediately began to rapidly sift through his memories of Tang Xingxiong, quickly latching onto a key detail. "Black. Look for a woman wearing black. For some reason, Tang Xingxiong seems to have a particular fondness for black. It's highly unlikely that's changed."

He paused for a moment before adding, "Also, I think she has a smoking habit."

Armed with these two specific traits, the trio began their search again, this time more carefully. To avoid drawing attention, Zhang Wenda even made a point of stopping at a few stalls, pretending to buy some small trinkets.

They searched like this for another ten minutes. The appointed time of 3:15 had already passed, and it was nearing 3:30. Just as Zhang Wenda was starting to anxiously wonder if Tang Xingxiong had already left, a familiar, faint fragrance mixed with a particular scent of tobacco smoke drifted into his nostrils.

Zhang Wenda froze. He took a slow, deep breath, then casually tilted his head, glancing backward out of the corner of his eye.

Not far behind him, a curvaceous woman in a long, tight black dress and bright red lipstick was strolling elegantly and unhurriedly deeper into the market.

That scent—the mixture with that specific tobacco—was something he would never forget. 'Tang Xingxiong,' he thought. 'Found her!'

He shot a look at Song Jianguo in the distance, then turned and began to follow slowly.

He didn't get too close, so as to avoid being spotted.

He waited until he saw Hu Maomao and Song Jianguo appear in front of Tang Xingxiong and start walking toward him, at which point he also began to quicken his pace and close the distance.

The Sacrificial Knife of Kopan was already gripped firmly in his hand, ready to strike at any moment.

Just as the distance was closing and he could once again smell her familiar perfume, he abruptly turned his body to look at a nearby stall.

The reason he had abruptly halted his attack was that Tang Xingxiong was now talking with some people—three of them, in fact.

'People from Big Circle? Are they helpers she called for?' Zhang Wenda wondered.

Everything had been planned perfectly. The three of them attacking at once could have definitely taken her down. But the sudden appearance of three more people instantly magnified the variables. There was no way to know how strong these newcomers were.

Just as he was still trying to figure out a way to separate them, Tang Xingxiong and the other three—two men and a woman—turned and began to leave the market.