Chapter 245: Chapter 245 Sleery’s Trouble

Chen Ke frowned, if it had been Lucina or Diana texting him for help, he wouldn’t have doubted their intentions, but Sleery was a different story.

Sleery had always wanted to meet with Chen Ke alone, and he was very clear about what she had in mind–this evening’s text message might just be another one of Sleery’s tricks.

Nevertheless, what had to be confronted must be faced; if he left this girl hanging around, she would keep pestering him.

One thing that Chen Ke was particularly worried about was Sleery going around and bragging about their encounter at the West Gold Building, turning it into a shining moment in his career as an investigator…

No matter what Sleery planned to do tonight, Chen Ke decided to go and see for himself. Either to make her give up hope, or to find her dead…

“It looks like you’ve got some personal matters to handle, Chen Ke?” Lester said with a smile, guessing Chen Ke’s mood from the expression on his face as he looked down at his cell phone.

“You know the Tulip Apartments?” asked Chen Ke, putting away his phone.

“Oh, in the Holy Oak District, a bit far from the villas, located near the bay, and at the interchange with the highway leading to the Deep Anchor District. It’s a very nice wealthy apartment complex,” Lester said.

Chen Ke nodded, stood up, and walked towards the door.

“I’ll contact you later when the remaining targets arrive in Opportunity City,” Lester called after Chen Ke’s retreating figure.

“Waiting for your call,” Chen Ke turned and said, then pushed the door and walked out of the clothing store.

The cool breeze on the street swept by, some shops began to close, and the crowd on the street started to thin out. Chen Ke waited a while before hailing a cab, making his way to the Holy Oak District again.

Passing by the villas, Chen Ke saw several black cars coming out of a small villa road, followed by an ambulance. It seemed someone was taking care of the professor’s body.

At that moment, Chen Ke’s phone vibrated with a new message from Sleery. He opened it, and it read, “They found me.”

Chen Ke was taken aback, unsure of what Sleery was trying to convey. Could it be that someone was after her life?

Given her fondness for toying with men, it wouldn’t be unusual for some lunatics to be fixated on her.

In the past, Chen Ke had often seen news about homicide cases where the victims were young and beautiful women, most of which were crimes of passion. Perhaps that night she had stumbled upon similar trouble.

However, clearly, Chen Ke was not there to help Sleery out of her predicament; instead, he intended to give her a warning. If Sleery wasn’t smart enough, then there was nothing he could do but to finish her off.

The car left the villa estate, driving along a road on the southern edge of the Holy Oak District by the sea. The driver took a right turn, not onto the coastal expressway but instead along a flat, clean tree-lined path underneath.

Soon, in the moonlight, Chen Ke could see more than a dozen tall buildings built by the sea in the distance–that was the Tulip Apartments area.

The apartments may have looked regular, but in reality they were even more upscale than the villas. Checking on Google, Chen Ke figured out that each level of these apartment buildings probably had an area of over 600 square meters, with one household per floor. Over a dozen buildings, each with more than twenty levels–this probably amounted to only 300 households in total.

Chen Ke himself was a millionaire in union coins but even so, the price of a unit in the Tulip Apartments was only enough to buy a bathroom.

No wonder when Chen Ke mentioned going to the Tulip Apartments, the taxi driver gave him several extra looks.

There was a guardhouse at the entrance to the apartments, and the taxi stopped about 50 meters from the gate. Chen Ke knew places like this wouldn’t let outside vehicles in, so he paid the fare and got out.

The taxi turned around and slowly drove away from the wealthy district, while Chen Ke had to figure out a way to get in.

He took out his phone and called Sleery. In such communities, visitors needed an invitation from a resident to enter, otherwise it was a no-go.

“Beep… beep… beep… beep…”

“Doo… Doo… Doo…”

“Fuck, answer the phone, will ya…” Chen Ke smacked his lips and, with his hands on his hips, he looked toward the cluster of buildings inside the gate.

Sleery’s phone rang through but no one answered. She was either in the shower or perhaps ‘playing’ with some other men.

Chen Ke sighed, hung up, and looked toward the gatehouse, feeling that something was off.

“Hmm…” Chen Ke sensed something was fishy. Of course, it could just be his imagination running wild.

The guardhouse was pitch-black. Could the guards of such a wealthy neighborhood be slacking off too? Chen Ke hesitated for a moment before moving closer to the guardhouse.

Outside, the black and yellow barrier stood tall against the sky, indicating that a car had gone through, but the guard had not lowered it. Chen Ke approached the guardhouse, peered through the window, and saw four uniformed individuals lying on the ground.

He drew his Glock and fitted the suppressor. Things had taken a dangerous turn.

He opened the door, entered the guardhouse, and crouched to check the bodies. There was no doubt that they were security guards, their white uniforms splotched with deep red on the back, the bullet holes had stopped bleeding.

Chen Ke didn’t touch their bodies. Judging by the thickening blood on the floor, they had been dead for a while.

He stepped out of the guardhouse and dialed Sleery’s number again on his phone. It seemed Sleery was indeed in real trouble.

Meanwhile, at Tulip Apartments, number 1708…

Sleery’s phone vibrated ceaselessly in the hands of a man in a black suit. He smirked at the nickname “Boyfriend” flashing on the screen.

The man in the suit was broad-shouldered, holding a P226 pistol with a silencer in his right hand. He stood by the room’s door, keeping watch while his three accomplices were inside Sleery’s bedroom.

Sleery was seated, her hands cuffed behind her back, her purple hair draped over her right shoulder. Her left cheek was bruised and swollen, her lips bleeding, saliva dripping down from the corner of her mouth.

She was scantily clothed at the moment, her long, fair legs tied to the chair legs with belts, her upper body clad in only a thin, light purple sleeveless shirt, stained by her own vomit.

A bearded man in a suit stood behind Sleery, hands on her shoulders. Another blonde man in a suit was in front of her, hands on her knees, bending down to look at her. A Black man in a suit stood aside.

“Ms. Miles,” the blonde suit asked, “I’ll ask you one more time, where is your father right now?”

“I don’t know… I can’t reach him,” Sleery said.

The blonde man chuckled and bowed his head for a moment, then looked into Sleery’s eyes, reaching out to cradle her chin.

“Ms. Miles, I know… I know you want to protect your father, but you clearly don’t understand your situation. Let me put it this way, Ms. Miles… As you stand firm for him, your father hasn’t done anything to save you,” said the blonde man.

“It seems you guys… don’t really understand my father. He will surely send someone. No matter who you all are, you’ve messed with the wrong person,” Sleery replied, sneering at the blonde man.

“Let me tell you this, Ms. Miles… How do you think we found you? Huh? Your father, to cover his own tracks, deliberately exposed you… While we’re here dealing with you, who knows where he’s hiding, enjoying himself… So, Ms. Miles, I’ll ask once more, where is your father right now?” said the blonde man.

“What a pity, handsome… I’ve had a bit of a spat with him recently, you know… just some father-daughter issues…” Miles laughed.

The blonde man nodded, glanced at the Black man, and then left the room.

Understanding the cue, the Black man pulled out a knuckle duster from his pocket and said to the bearded man, “Hold her steady.”

“You guys really don’t know how to treat a lady…” Sleery sighed.

“Let’s see what you’re made of, Ms. Miles. Let’s see how long it takes for you to spill all the little secrets you’ve got inside,” the Black man said with a smile as he approached Sleery.