Chapter Twelve: The Circle of Money Transfers

After arriving at the police station, Jiang Jing showed his identification to the officers and then called his military unit.

When Bai Chu learned of the incident, his expression grew somewhat dazed. After a long pause, he finally asked, "Did you—stumble into a human trafficking ring?"

Jiang Jing was at a loss for words and quietly asked, "Commander, wasn’t this mission assigned by you? There were only three from our family in that train carriage, and the rest were traffickers. It can’t be such a coincidence, right?"

"Mission my foot!" Bai Chu couldn’t help but curse. "If this were really a mission, would I let your mother and Xia Xia be stuck in that carriage? What kind of man would I be?"

The loud voice from his commander made Jiang Jing’s eardrums ache, so he moved the phone slightly away from himself.

Looking down, he saw the little girl gazing up at him with wide-eyed wonder, as if she’d never seen the world before.

Indeed, Jiang Xia Xia had never encountered anything like this. In her mental database, even that phone was ancient beyond measure.

Just as she was stretching on tiptoe, eager to take a closer look, Jiang Jing scooped her up with one hand.

She looked at her uncle in puzzlement, who then gestured for silence before clearing his throat. “Commander, besides needing your team to investigate why these people targeted us, there’s one more thing I need to trouble you with.”

Hearing the polite tone, Bai Chu immediately became wary. “You’re not trying to get me to cover for you because someone got killed, are you?”

“No, all these people are fine! How could anyone have died?” Jiang Jing clicked his tongue. “Besides, my niece is hardly strong. Even if she did disable their limbs, it was unintentional. Who knows if they already had injuries?”

At this, Bai Chu caught the implication in Jiang Jing’s words. It seemed the young girl harbored more secrets than met the eye.

“Speak then. What else is it?”

A sly glint flashed in Jiang Jing’s dark eyes as he seized the moment to continue, “Commander, since this wasn’t our assigned mission, doesn’t that make what we did a good deed? So, catching these traffickers—there should be some kind of reward, right?”

“What did you say?” Bai Chu’s voice suddenly darkened. “Jiang Jing, do you realize what you’re asking?”

Catching human traffickers for the people was a noble act—asking for a reward for such a service?

As Jiang Jing’s commander, Bai Chu knew his character well. Such words could not have been spoken from genuine intent.

Then what other meaning could be behind this?

Could it be some kind of code they had used before?

Thinking this, Bai Chu’s expression turned grave once more. Holding the phone, he carefully considered each word.

“It’s not that I lack skill. It’s just that my commander—the one who pays me—is unwilling to give me any. There’s nothing I can do about that!”

Hearing silence on the other end, Jiang Jing quickly explained to the little girl in his arms.

Xia Xia’s eyes widened instantly, and she clutched the receiver tightly. “Commander!”

If no money was given, then why bother capturing anyone?

Her soft voice traveled through the line.

Bai Chu’s train of thought was interrupted, and before he could respond, the soft, determined voice sounded again, “Give money!”

Together, it formed: “Commander, give money!”

Recalling how Wang Lianjun once said the little girl looked at him with more warmth than she did at Jiang Jing during the Great Unity, Bai Chu’s eyelid twitched, an ominous worry for the future creeping over him.

“Xia Xia, I’m discussing something with your uncle. Give the phone back to him right now!”

Hearing the stern voice, the little girl shrank back, but then looked up at her uncle’s mischievous, searching gaze and grew bold again.

Her uncle hadn’t scolded her, and her grandmother hadn’t stopped her.

Feeling justified, Xia Xia put one hand on her hip, held the phone with the other, and shouted confidently, “Commander, give money!”

The operators on both ends couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.

Who was this commander? Known as the Iron-Faced King, it was said that when military school started, if first graders misbehaved, a few words from him would make them obedient, even if they cried at their seats until dismissal.

This little girl was no ordinary child! The way she spoke to the commander was as if demanding money from a stubborn debtor.

“Jiang Jing!”

Bai Chu finally grasped Jiang Jing’s meaning—there was no hidden code; he was just asking for money.

Grinding his teeth, Bai Chu scowled, “Let your uncle take the call!”

Sensing the displeasure in the voice on the other end, Xia Xia obediently cupped the receiver with both hands and handed it back to Jiang Jing, reminding him, “Money!”

Suppressing a laugh, Jiang Jing took the phone and spoke before Bai Chu could lose his temper.

“Commander, what I meant was that the reward for catching the first trafficker came from our military unit. These others, though connected to our side, ultimately fall under local jurisdiction. I just wanted to clarify which side will handle Xia Xia’s reward.”

Bai Chu snorted coldly. “Calculate it using the water in your brain, see if that works!”

Jiang Jing forced a few nervous chuckles, about to explain that he was only trying to prevent the little girl from calling him useless or inferior repeatedly, when Wang Lianjun’s voice came through with a report.

Jiang Jing immediately straightened. “I’ll wait for your instructions, Commander.”

Bai Chu replied with a grunt and hung up. “Come in!”

Wang Lianjun had come over from the communications department. Seeing their commander’s grim expression, he chuckled, “Commander, how does it feel to be hassled for money? And the other side is a little dumpling! That’s rare!”

Bai Chu shot Wang Lianjun a glare. “What dumpling? That dumpling took down three human traffickers!”

Recalling the documents from the police station, Wang Lianjun’s face turned serious. “Commander, the message we got says Xia Xia detected the smell of ether and realized these people were bad. But I find one thing strange.”

Bai Chu flipped through the files and looked up. “What’s strange?”

“Since she noticed something was wrong, shouldn’t she have told Jiang Jing or Grandma first? Why did she act on her own?”

Wang Lianjun pointed to the files in front of Bai Chu, frowning. “Judging by the way the officers questioned them, even if Grandma hadn’t lured them away, my instinct says Xia Xia would have found a way to handle them alone. Why is that?”

Seeing Wang Lianjun’s thoughtful expression, Bai Chu wanted to consider more complicated possibilities.

But remembering Xia Xia’s attitude over the phone demanding money, he twitched his mouth and decided it was better not to overthink it.