Chapter 382: The Disconnected Gu Mingchi
Unexpectedly, Zhuang Wan completely ignored her husband. Instead, she held Su Tao’s hand and cried her heart out. After she finished crying, she didn’t even go home—she returned to her office and worked overtime for two hours.
Zhuang Wan felt guilty. She had been too distracted worrying about her troublesome son lately, and her work had suffered. Today, she was determined to catch up.
Seeing her direct supervisor working overtime, Xiao Yu didn’t dare leave either and quickly followed along.
With that, the whole office was swept up in the wave of overtime. Even those who had already finished their tasks felt compelled to stay and work, not wanting to fall behind.
Su Tao specifically went to check on the Taoli Building. Seeing that 80% of the workstations were occupied, her expression darkened:
“Anyone who’s got nothing to do—go home and sleep! I’m starting a countdown—if anyone’s still here in ten minutes, you’ll be spending the night here and won’t go home for a week!”
The room fell silent. Without a word, everyone quietly got up and slipped away under her gaze.
Su Tao continued toward the smaller offices, hoping to catch more overzealous workers. To her surprise, she found Old Mei still there.
Her chest tightened with concern:
“Old Mei, do you know how late it is? Please go home and get some rest.”
The man was over seventy—working at this intensity was worrying.
Both Old Mei and his apprentice, Zheng Xing, looked up from a pile of blueprints.
Zheng Xing, still somewhat afraid of Su Tao, stammered but didn’t speak.
Mr. Mei removed his glasses and waved Zheng Xing out, then sat down to talk privately with Su Tao.
“I’d love to rest,” he said hoarsely, “but every time I close my eyes, I see Xiao Pan…”
His voice trembled at the end.
Su Tao fell silent.
Old Mei composed himself before continuing:
“Su girl, when you have time in a few days, take me to see the one who killed her.”
Su Tao’s head snapped up. “You—” Why put yourself through that?
Visiting the murderer would only deepen the pain. Even she had never voluntarily gone to see Bone Wings. If she could, she’d make it disappear forever.
Old Mei coughed, his voice strained:
“Xiao Pan came to me in a dream—she wants me to check on it and then visit her grave to tell her about it.”
Su Tao froze. She wasn’t sure if it was really Liu Panpan’s spirit or just the weight of Old Mei’s grief manifesting in his dreams.
In the end, she could only nod. “I’ll take you in a few days.”
Old Mei nodded, exhaustion and sorrow etched deep in his face. He supported himself on a chair as he slowly walked out of the building, insisting that Su Tao not follow him.
A black night. A figure with white hair. Faint and lonely.
*
Eastern District
Gu Mingchi frowned as he reviewed the latest reports from the convoy. While they managed to find medicine, the prices were outrageous.
Ordinary cold and fever medicine, which usually cost 3,000 to 4,000 federal credits, was being sold for over 20,000 a box—an outright scam.
Hui Su, sitting nearby, sneezed and grumbled:
“This is already the cheapest supplier they found—achoo!—greedy bastards.”
Gu Mingchi tossed the report aside, his face cold. “Tell the supplier’s boss to call me personally.”
When the call connected, the supplier was arrogant and dismissive, even mocking:
“I say, Boss Gu, do you even know what times we’re living in? You should be grateful to find medicine at all, and now you’re complaining about the price? If you’re done wasting my time, I have a line of customers waiting.”
Hui Su, eavesdropping, nearly exploded in anger.
This scumbag—he used to grovel before Gu Mingchi, eager to push every new product on him. Now that he had the upper hand, he was showing his true colors.
Gu Mingchi’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “You’d better hope that the next time we meet, you still have the guts to talk to me like this.”
The supplier, sounding tough but clearly nervous, scoffed, “Can’t afford the medicine, and now you’re mad? Next time you’ll still be begging me for it! Don’t waste my time—bye!”
He hung up abruptly.
Hui Su fumed. “Boss, should we take him down? It’s not that we can’t afford it—they’re just selling low-quality stuff at sky-high prices. Only idiots would pay for it!”
Agitated, he sneezed four more times in a row, his face a mess of tears and snot.
Even ability users weren’t immune to this new flu, and cases were skyrocketing. If they couldn’t secure medicine soon, cross-infections might trigger a more severe outbreak.
Gu Mingchi tapped his fingers on the table. “Keep searching. Send more people to Changjing—quality is the priority. Pay whatever it takes, and buy as much as possible. It’s not just us who need it.”
Hui Su, still sniffling, nodded, silently adding Tao Yang needs it too.
Right on cue, Gu Mingchi asked, “How’s Tao Yang doing lately?”
Hui Su had checked the day before and reported with a frown:
“They’ve got a lot of patients too. Dr. Zhong is worried, but strangely, Boss Su doesn’t seem too concerned—she’s still focused on construction work…”
Gu Mingchi straightened up, disbelieving. “That doesn’t sound like her. She knows how to prioritize.”
Hui Su, exasperated, said, “If you don’t believe me, ask Dr. Zhong yourself. In fact, why not call him right now?”
As if on cue, Gu Mingchi’s communicator rang.
It was Dr. Zhong Gao Yi.
Hui Su chuckled dryly. “Bet he’s calling to ask if we’ve found a supplier.”
Sure enough, as the call connected, Dr. Zhong’s voice came through, anxious and hurried:
“Boss Gu, have you found a reliable medicine supplier yet?”
Gu Mingchi leaned back. “Not yet—but don’t worry, I’ve sent more people to search.”
To his surprise, Dr. Zhong quickly interjected:
“No need! Call them back—Tao Yang already has enough medicine. Boss Su specifically asked me to inform you. Send a vehicle over in the next couple of days to pick up the supplies.”
Hui Su’s eyes widened. “Dr. Zhong… can you repeat that?”
Dr. Zhong, recognizing his voice, chuckled:
“Hui Su? I said Tao Yang has medicine—lots of it. Good quality and fair prices. What’s wrong with your ears? Maybe I should check them. Boss Gu? Boss Gu? Why aren’t you saying anything? Hui Su, where did your boss go?”
