Chapter 18: Are Your Birth Charts Sold Wholesale?

The next morning, early at dawn, Lu Jiangying accompanied the anti-narcotics unit on an all-night drug search. Having come up empty-handed, and sporting dark circles under her eyes, she finally released Lu Xingzhou.

Grinning broadly, Lu Xingzhou chuckled foolishly, “Hehe, sis, can I go out now? I’ve got work today, you know?”

Lu Jiangying handed him two meat-filled buns. “Just don’t cause me any more trouble!”

Lu Xingzhou took the buns. “I wouldn’t dare!”

Lu Jiangying waved her hand. “Go home quickly. Don’t wander around outside and get into any more danger.”

Watching Lu Xingzhou’s retreating figure, Bai An comforted her, “Jiangying, this time he really earned merit. The higher-ups have already ordered special commendations. This is your first year in the Criminal Investigation Division, right? With these achievements, your base pay this year should at least go from 1.2 to 1.3 units. You owe him some goodwill.”

Lu Jiangying, a master’s graduate from the University of Political Science and Law, held the rank of Second-Class Superintendent after her probation period in the Criminal Investigation Unit.

She exhaled deeply. “Promotion isn’t important. As long as he stays safe, that’s enough.”

Lu Xingzhou bid farewell to the busy officers at the Zongyong Temple Police Station and headed toward Zhang Dongyi’s office.

Passing by the “Mexican Style” beverage shop, he spotted Song Xiangchen wearing Tang Hongguang’s black T-shirt emblazoned with “Young people, it’s time to get hyped,” tending the store.

Curious, Lu Xingzhou approached quietly and asked, “Officer Song, what are you doing here?”

Song Xiangchen didn’t answer directly but whispered, “Now, just call me manager or boss. But don’t call me officer!”

He handed Lu Xingzhou a freshly made drink. “Try this.”

Lu Xingzhou stared dumbfounded, eyes full of question marks—as if asking, “You’re drinking stuff from drug dealers?”

Reading his concern, Song Xiangchen reassured him, “Don’t worry. We sent all the shop’s ingredients to the lab for testing. This one was just purchased from the market.”

Lu Xingzhou sipped the drink and brightened. “Hmm, quite good. Not cloying at all. Manager Song, your skills are impressive!”

Song Xiangchen smiled. “Back in school, our investigation class had professional chefs training us to make snacks.”

Lu Xingzhou scratched his head. “Professional chefs? The kind charging 500 bucks a session?”

Before Song Xiangchen could ask what he meant, a junkie wearing the same “Young people, it’s time to get hyped” black T-shirt approached.

“Boss, give me a pack of the strong cigarettes!”

Song Xiangchen subtly glanced at Lu Xingzhou, then spoke coldly to the young man, “Come inside with me.”

The youth shook his head. “Boss? The boss here a few days ago wasn’t you, right?”

Song Xiangchen said nothing, casting a sharp look.

The youth’s face instantly paled, realizing his mistake, and hurriedly apologized, “Boss, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have asked. Please pretend you didn’t hear.”

Song Xiangchen silently went into the shop, the youth cautiously following, fearful of further angering the boss.

Less than half a minute later, Lu Xingzhou heard faint scuffling inside, which ended in under three seconds.

He was stunned. Now he understood why Song Xiangchen was masquerading as the boss, watching over the “Mexican Style” beverage shop.

So, he was lying in wait here all along.

It seemed a criminal organization couldn’t afford uniform attire; otherwise, they risked being rounded up all at once.

Lu Xingzhou quickly said goodbye. “Boss, I’ve got things to do. I’m off!”

After grabbing a quick breakfast, Lu Xingzhou followed the map Zhang Dongyi had sent and arrived at the administrative building within the Zongyong Temple scenic area.

He knocked on the office door and entered.

“Director Zhang, I saw the challenge message you left. When are we doing the cave dive?”

Zhang Dongyi stood up. “Hey, don’t call me Director Zhang. Just call me Old Zhang!”

“All right, Director Zhang!”

Zhang Dongyi sighed. “Fine, Old Zhang it is.”

“Okay, Old Zhang.”

Zhang Dongyi: ...

He felt an unbridgeable generation gap with this young man.

Still, he didn’t press the issue and pulled out two prepared contracts from his drawer.

He explained, “This one is the endorsement contract for the scenic area. Three million a year for three years. You’re free to endorse other scenic spots, but you must attend the big events during festivals here.”

“This one is for the cave diving promotion. Besides the 80,000 in live-stream tips, there’s a 500,000 advertising fee.”

“If you have any objections, we can negotiate.”

Lu Xingzhou had no complaints. For someone who suddenly went viral online, the price was reasonable.

He read the contracts carefully, found no issues, and signed.

After signing, Zhang Dongyi grabbed the car keys. “Let’s go. I’ll show you the cave diving area. Today you’ll do some adaptation training; tomorrow, dive training with the team. The day after is the grand opening of the cave diving park, which will be live-streamed.”

Curious, Lu Xingzhou asked, “Will others be participating in the dive?”

Zhang Dongyi explained, “A domestic cave diving expert, two professional divers, an aquarium mermaid performer, and you—five people in total. They’ve been training here for days.”

Driving through a tunnel to the mountain’s other side, the scenery shifted abruptly from lush greenery to jagged rocks.

In the distance, the sign for the Zongyong Temple Cave Diving Park appeared.

Following Zhang Dongyi, Lu Xingzhou arrived at the cave diving park—a huge sinkhole.

The lake water was crystal clear, with a dozen swimmers drifting underwater like they had no weight or anchor.

Zhang Dongyi said, “Don’t be fooled by the shallowness—it’s actually 230 meters deep. The park combines swimming, diving, cliff jumping, and cave diving.”

“The dozen people in the lake are members of the synchronized swimming team we invited to perform during the opening.”

Suddenly recalling something, Zhang Dongyi warned, “One more thing—you can’t live-stream at the park these days. The opening shows must be kept secret.”

Lu Xingzhou nodded, understanding perfectly. He wasn’t Korean; he wouldn’t spoil carefully prepared shows by leaking them early.

“I’ll post a message in the group explaining the break in streaming.”

He quickly drafted a notice on his phone, stating he was attending the grand opening event at Zongyong Temple Cave Diving Park and would pause streaming for two days.

The replies flooded in instantly.

“Is the boss of Zongyong Temple Cave Diving Park crazy? No live streams? The streamer’s had so many incidents lately. Aren’t you afraid something will happen to you next?”

“Before the streamer arrives, it’s the opening day! After, it’s the closing day!”

“I didn’t even know this park was opening. I don’t care because I can’t dive, but since the streamer is going, I’ll buy a ticket. I want to see the fun live.”

“Me too! Gossip! Gossip!”

“Are you crazy? The streamer’s a disaster magnet. You still want to go? Are you selling your fate wholesale?”

“Whatever! Life isn’t as important as gossip. I’ve bought my ticket!”

Countless fans clamoring for live gossip crashed the Zongyong Temple scenic area’s ticketing website; pre-sale tickets sold out in seconds.

Scalpers looked utterly bewildered… What just happened?

Zhang Dongyi and Lu Xingzhou descended the spiral stairs, where they met the four divers.

The cave diving expert, Wei Siyuan, was a renowned figure nationally and internationally, having participated in numerous cave dives worldwide.

The two divers, Gao Zhenwu and Liu Jiangang, were members of a local diving club with over five years of experience.

The mermaid performer, Chen Yuejiao, had never done wild dives but had performed as a mermaid in the scenic area's aquarium for three years. She was a star attraction, drawing many visitors to watch her shows.

Zhang Dongyi gathered them together.

“These next two days are for your final adaptation training. The day after, the live broadcast starts. Be careful—no accidents, everyone!”