Chapter 71: Beneath the Mysterious Factory

The establishment of this factory happened to coincide with the year Pei Xi’s mother disappeared; it was only then that this food processing plant quietly began operations. This alone, however, was not enough to arouse Ke Bei’s curiosity—after all, countless new factories must have opened in the same year Pei Xi’s mother vanished. Yet this particular factory was nothing more than a front; though it called itself a food processing plant, its true business had nothing whatsoever to do with food.

Ke Bei had learned this through his own channels. As a renowned detective, if he didn’t have his own ways of gathering information, he’d hardly live up to his reputation. Just as he sought to dig deeper into the matter, he found himself obstructed at every turn. The interference became overt once Pei Xi joined him; their opponents began actively driving them away.

In the end, as Fang Yuan had witnessed, the two of them were left without even a place to stay, chased to the point of destitution. What perplexed Ke Bei was that every move they made was known only to the two of them; there was no possibility of a leak. Yet their pursuers seemed to monitor them from the shadows, always a step ahead.

“They were only driving you away; that hardly explains why you’ve ended up soaking yourselves in seawater here, does it?” Fang Yuan said, still dissatisfied with their account. “Haven’t you figured out why these people are so determined to keep you out?”

“My guess is that this factory is intricately linked to Pei Xi’s mother,” Ke Bei replied, his confidence unshaken. “I just haven’t found the evidence yet. If I had it, we could alert the police and, with their help, conduct a lawful search. As things stand, we have no choice but to keep investigating on our own.” The determination in his voice left no doubt—he would not rest until he saw the truth with his own eyes.

“I didn’t expect even famous detectives to need the police’s help sometimes,” Fang Yuan said with a chuckle. To those who didn’t know him well, Ke Bei could easily come across as unhinged.

Ke Bei could only offer a helpless smile. “In our line of work, you have to truly love what you do, or you wouldn’t last a day. I face countless dangers on a daily basis. If those I’ve bested ever got another shot at me, they’d tear me to pieces without a second thought. Fortunately, I’ve done the police a few favors over the years—they’re willing to help when it matters. And besides, Miss Pei Xi has every right to seek her long-lost mother. Once we have a lead, the police won’t refuse to assist her.”

“So you’re on good terms with the police, I see,” Fang Yuan remarked. For a private detective to have such connections spoke volumes about Ke Bei’s resourcefulness.

“But even if you’re being chased, is it really so bad that you need to be this cautious? Haven’t you just said they’re only trying to hinder you, not harm you?” Fang Yuan pressed. If it had only been Ke Bei speaking, he might have doubted their need for such extreme vigilance. Ke Bei was, after all, a seasoned detective, known for his courage and meticulousness. If something could unsettle him this much, Fang Yuan suspected there was more to their story.

Ke Bei hesitated, then conceded, “It seems we can’t hide it from you. There are other reasons, but we can’t tell you for now.” He didn’t want to say more; with no breakthroughs yet, there was no point in dragging outsiders into the matter. Any misstep could render all their efforts useless.

“Don’t want to talk? Fine. Get out of the car,” Fang Yuan said bluntly. He never forced himself on those who didn’t trust him; there was no point in helping someone who doubted him.

Ke Bei was taken aback—never before in his career had someone so readily thrown him out. For a moment, he sat there, frozen and at a loss.

“Fang Yuan, Ke Bei is the detective I hired to help me find my mother,” Pei Xi interjected, equally surprised by Fang Yuan’s decisiveness.

“If you ask me, I could help you as well,” Fang Yuan replied, unmoved. Had he known Pei Xi was seeking her mother, he might have been able to lend a hand. After all, finding people wasn’t solely the domain of detectives; he, Fang Yuan, was more than capable himself.

“You?”

“You?” Pei Xi and Ke Bei spoke in unison, their skepticism plain.

Though Pei Xi knew Fang Yuan was capable—after all, he had survived confessing his feelings for her in front of her grandfather—she found it hard to believe he could match Ke Bei’s skills in tracking down her long-lost mother. After all, Fang Yuan was new here, with no family or close acquaintances. No matter how confident he sounded, Pei Xi could not bring herself to believe him.

As for Ke Bei, he was even less convinced. He knew the effort it took to gather even the smallest clue, and without the network he had built over the years, he would never have connected Pei Xi’s mother to that factory. Hearing Fang Yuan’s words now, he found them utterly unconvincing.

“Don’t believe me? Fine, you can stay. It wouldn’t be right to let you leave with such a misunderstanding. You said you can’t get into that factory? Give me the address. I’ll find a way in. If it’s really a front as you say, I’ll know it at a glance.” Seeing their disbelief, Fang Yuan decided it was best not to let Ke Bei leave—he didn’t want to be remembered as a braggart.

“Mr. Fang, it’s not that I don’t believe you, but you have no idea what kind of people you’d be dealing with. If you knew, you wouldn’t speak so lightly,” Ke Bei replied. He’d always considered himself arrogant, but compared to Fang Yuan, he now saw his own bravado as modest.

To make such judgments without any understanding of the situation was not mere arrogance—it was downright presumptuous.

“If—and I mean if—I really do get into that place you mentioned, what then?” Fang Yuan asked, toying with the steering wheel and glancing at Ke Bei in the rearview mirror.

“If you can get in and out safely, I’ll quit this line of work and follow you instead. How about that?” Ke Bei retorted. Though prone to exaggeration, he did not appreciate others doing the same in front of him. His words made clear his displeasure.