Futile Devices Scans

Three days later, Ren Yu placed a call from the most upscale hotel in the small county town.

The ringing tone dragged on before the call was finally answered. The voice on the other end was slightly hoarse, carrying a trace of impatience. “What is it?”

Ren Yu bent slightly at the waist on his end of the line. “Eldest Young Master, you asked me to keep an eye on Zhou Ruo An. He’s made a move recently.”

A woman’s soft murmur came through the receiver before Zhou Bin responded lazily, clearly distracted. “Go on.”

“The workers at the electronics factory are all recruited from nearby villages. Zhou Ruo An had me prepare a batch of fake documents, then hired a few college students to go into the villages posing as recruiters from a southern electronics factory. They offered high pay and spun all kinds of exaggerated promises—and they actually collected over a hundred applications.”

A scoff came from the other end. “We want those workers to return to work. What’s the point of him pulling something like this?”

“Fourth Young Master believes the strike is being deliberately organized by someone. He doesn’t think it’s really about improving benefits or compensation. He suspects someone is trying to sabotage this batch of orders, so they bribed the ringleader to incite the strike.”

The voice on the other end finally lost its casual tone. It sounded as if Zhou Bin had pushed the woman away before asking, “And what good does this stunt of his do? What’s the situation in the village now?”

“With Fourth Young Master stirring things up in the village with recruitment…” Ren Yu paused, as if carefully considering his words before answering, “it doesn’t seem to have accomplished much. Because of its location, the electronics factory already struggles to recruit workers. His move has only made them feel a sense of crisis, pushing them to take the initiative to negotiate better benefits with the workers. But the ones leading the trouble refuse to budge. It’s still at a stalemate, and there’s no hope of resuming production.”

Laughter filled the phone, light and amused. It sounded as though Zhou Bin had a cigarette between his lips, calling someone over to light it for him. The way it was lit seemed rather improper, taking its time, dragging on for quite a while. “So you’re saying Zhou Ruo An thought he made a brilliant move, when in fact it was just a useless blunder?”

“That little rat who crawled out of the gutter thinks that knowing a few tricks of deceit means he can solve everything? And the old man too—actually handing this matter to Zhou Ruo An. He’s getting more muddle-headed with age.”

“Alright, just keep watching over there,” Zhou Bin added before hanging up. “And listen—unless it’s urgent, don’t call me after work hours. Zhou Ruo An isn’t worth that much of my attention.”

Click. The call was cut off cleanly.

The small county town was cloudy today. The hotel window was small, leaving the room dim and gloomy. Ren Yu set down his phone and let out a long breath. Slowly, he lifted his head and looked at the man seated across from him on the sofa.

“Fourth Young Master, are you satisfied with the pledge of loyalty I’ve offered?”

Zhou Ruo An lounged with one leg crossed over the other, a coin rolling between his fingers, a faint smile on his face. “You helped me mislead Zhou Bin. Aren’t you afraid he’ll come after you later?”

“I only told the truth—just with some selective emphasis,” Ren Yu replied calmly. “A mere assistant like me can’t possibly know too many inside details. Even if Eldest Young Master wants to blame someone, there’s nothing he can really do to me.”

Zhou Ruo An stood, took a bottle of liquor from the hotel minibar, opened it, poured two glasses, and slid one toward Ren Yu. “Drink this for now. Don’t worry—I’ll treat you to the most expensive stuff later.”

Ren Yu accepted the glass and took a small sip. Frowning slightly in thought, he said, “But I still don’t understand—what was the point of sending people into the village to recruit workers?”

The coin flipped across Zhou Ruo An’s fingertips before being caught again. “If the strike leader is really acting under someone’s orders, then with all this commotion in the village, what do you think he’ll do?”

With that single sentence, Zhou Ruo An revealed the crux of the plan. Ren Yu’s eyes lit up instantly. “He’ll definitely contact the person behind the scenes… Fourth Young Master, you’re drawing the snake out of its hole?”

Clearly pleased with Ren Yu’s quick thinking, Zhou Ruo An smiled and poured him another drink. “Before you went into the village, I had already been to Shilipu once.”

There was a playful glint in his eyes as he gestured with his hand. “Bought a small truck, changed my clothes, and went into the village to sell New Year goods.”

“Ah?” Ren Yu was startled.

“Anyone who bought my goods got a few sets of decorative streamers as a bonus.” Zhou Ruo An pointed upward. “People in the village like festive decorations for the New Year. I even helped hang them up for free—good service, very attentive. Ended up surrounded by a bunch of aunties and young wives.”

Seeing Ren Yu’s brows knit even tighter, Zhou Ruo An downed his drink in one go, then pulled out his phone and opened an app. “Take a look at this—you’ll understand.”

The phone screen showed what seemed to be a video. On closer inspection, Ren Yu realized it was a live surveillance feed.

In the footage was a rural house. A man in his fifties sat cross-legged on a heated brick bed, drinking strong liquor while watching TV. The crunch of peanuts echoed clearly through the audio, carrying all the way into the hotel room miles away.

Zhou Ruo An pointed at the man on screen. “This Cui Liu is the one organizing the strike.”

The moment he finished speaking, Ren Yu shot to his feet. “So sending people into the village wasn’t to get workers back—but to stir things up, to alert the enemy and draw him out, forcing this man to contact whoever’s behind him?”

“Smart.” Zhou Ruo An smiled lightly. “I used the streamers as cover to install cameras in every room of his house. The day you went into the village, I monitored him the whole time. Just as I expected, he called that person to ask what to do next.”

“Could you tell who was on the other end?” Ren Yu asked, tense.

Zhou Ruo An gave a relaxed smile. “Take a guess.”

Ren Yu’s eyes shifted as he thought, then he slowly sat back down, took a sip of his drink, and smiled. “I wouldn’t dare guess.”

“Fair enough,” Zhou Ruo An said calmly. “During the call, that man mentioned Secretary Fu by name.”

“Fu Chun Shen?” Ren Yu’s glass hit the table. “The Second Young Master’s secretary!”

“Surprised?” Zhou Ruo An said lightly. “The answer isn’t hard to figure out. This deal had once passed through Zhou Bin’s hands, but he failed to resolve it. So if, at the critical moment, Zhou Zhe turns things around—then all the credit goes to him, doesn’t it?”

Zhou Ruo An drew out his words, a cold detachment lingering in his eyes. “Bound by blood, yet no match for worldly greed. Zhou Zhe wants to climb up by stepping on Zhou Bin’s shoulders.”

Shadows flickered in Ren Yu’s eyes as he pieced together the cause and effect. Once he understood, he asked, “What do we do next?”

“The timeline is tight—we can’t afford further delays. I think Zhou Zhe will soon push the striking workers back to work so he can claim the credit. So we have to get the production line running before he does.”

“How? And what about the missing components? There’s still no trace of them.”

Zhou Ruo An patted Ren Yu’s shoulder. “Give it a couple of days—you’ll see a good show. But… there’s still one problem.”

By now, Ren Yu had begun to see himself as one of Zhou Ruo An’s people. If at first he had merely gambled on Zhou Ruo An out of desperation, now he felt he had something more solid in hand.

Despicable people were common—but someone who could wield such dirty, underhanded methods with such precision, turning them into the key to breaking a deadlock, was something Ren Yu had only ever seen in Zhou Ruo An. So he volunteered, “What problem? Can I help?”

Zhou Ruo An chuckled. “You? Too refined—not suitable.”

“We’re about to ruin someone’s plan. Trouble will definitely come knocking. What I need is a villain who can intimidate everyone.”

“A villain?” Ren Yu pulled back the curtain and looked outside. At the street corner, a few men with dyed yellow hair loitered. “What if we hire some street thugs?”

Zhou Ruo An sat back on the sofa and shook his head. “All show, no substance. And besides, this place runs on connections—word could leak.”

“Then what do we do?”

“What do we do?” Zhou Ruo An flicked a coin into the air, caught it in his palm, then revealed it.

Tails. Unlucky.

Ice had formed at the entrance of the public bathhouse. A curved iron door handle hung from the metal door; every time it opened, steaming hot air rushed out, settling onto the concrete floor and freezing into frost. After repeated cycles, it turned into solid ice.

Zhou Ruo An stepped carefully across the ice and entered the bathhouse. Before the owner could greet him, he spoke first: “Clear the ice at the entrance. Lay down a mat and spread some sand—you’ll prevent it from freezing, and customers can come and go safely. If you’re running a business, put some thought into it. One day, if someone slips—old or young—you’ll be paying until you’re bankrupt.”

The bathhouse was run rather crudely, and the owner wasn’t exactly a decent man. Being scolded like this, curses immediately rose to his lips. But seeing Zhou Ruo An’s imposing demeanor and expensive attire, he thought better of it and swallowed the insults.

Still, his tone wasn’t friendly. “The place has been booked today. Not open to the public.”

“I know.” Zhou Ruo An tossed his coat to Ren Yu, who had just entered behind him. “I’m here to pick up the bill.”

With that, he lifted the curtain to the men’s section and walked in.

It was warm inside. Zhou Ruo An casually loosened a button at his throat, passed through the empty changing room and showers, and in the corner of the bathing area spotted a solid, familiar back.

He walked over and stood at the edge of the pool, his voice soft as it blended into the rising steam. “Back then, to save money, you took me sneaking into a bathhouse at night. Turned out they’d shut off the hot water. In the dead of winter, we had to bathe in cold water. I even got sick afterward—the cold medicine cost more than the bath ticket by over twenty yuan.”

He slowly crouched, dipping his fingers into the warm water and stirring faint ripples. “And now, Brother Lin… things are different. You even book out the whole bathhouse just to take a bath.”

The movement of his fingers drew a gaze. It lingered for a moment, then traveled upward, finally settling on Zhou Ruo An’s face.

Lin Yi’s eyes were damp, no longer carrying their usual indifference. His gaze wrapped tightly around him. “With Young Master Zhou paying the bill, of course I have to make it grand. Wouldn’t want to disgrace the Fourth Young Master of the Zhou family.”

“Fine. Then enjoy yourself, Brother Lin.” Zhou Ruo An withdrew his hand, flicking away the droplets clinging to his fingertips. “How many people did you bring?”

“Twenty.”

“Is Bai Ban here?”

“He’s at the guesthouse watching adult cartoons.”

“Good.” Zhou Ruo An nodded. “Then let’s talk price.”

Lin Yi had broad shoulders and a strong back. Leaning against the edge of the pool, his arm rested along the rim, muscles slightly flexed—like a beast outside of hunting season: relaxed, sensual, almost languid.

“No rush,” he said. “Let’s settle our previous debt first.”

Zhou Ruo An’s brows drew slightly together. “I don’t have the three hundred thousand to pay you back right now.”

“Not that one.” Lin Yi rose slightly from the water, revealing a well-built chest. Moving closer through the steam, he guided the confused man. “The other debt—the one from before.”

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