Lin Bingxuan smiled and responded, "It's okay. Oh, by the way, you just said your boyfriend is an intelligence trader?"

The waitress pretended to be puzzled: "Yes, yes, he is!"

"That's perfect!" Lin Bingxuan was overjoyed and said, "I'm indeed interested in learning about the history of the Northern Border. Can you help me get in touch with him?"

Seeing the waitress's suspicious look, Lin Bingxuan appeared very calm: "Because I'm writing a paper on the Northern Border, I really need someone well-versed in its history to provide me with material."

"Oh, that's how it is!" The waitress dropped her guard and then wrote down a string of numbers on a card, handing it over to Lin Bingxuan: "This is his phone number. If you need anything, you can contact him."

After saying that, seeing it was about time, the waitress put her hands on the handles of the dining cart and slightly bowed: "Then I wish you an enjoyable meal!"

After leaving the room, the smile on the waitress's face vanished instantly as she walked towards a blind spot not covered by the cameras...

"How did it go?!"

A burly man eagerly asked, looking quite intimidating.

The waitress cautiously stepped back two paces and replied, "As you instructed, I have told her the message, and she seems very interested."

"Good job!"

The burly man, a subordinate of Huang Feizhong, was immediately all smiles, taking a wad of cash out of his wallet and handing it to the waitress: "This is your reward. As for the promotion I promised, it will be fulfilled later."

The waitress's eyes lit up, her gaze firmly fixed on the money nearly equivalent to her year's salary, so much so that she didn't notice the burly man taking advantage of the situation to touch her hand.

Soon, the burly man returned to the presidential suite on the top floor, and upon entering the room, he exclaimed excitedly: "Young Master, your plan really worked. That woman took the bait!"

With an expression of unsurprised satisfaction, Huang Feizhong nodded and casually said, "Quickly inform Lord He, tell him to set everything up so that the fish that took the bait won't escape!"

The burly man hurriedly agreed, then fished his cellphone out from his pocket and retreated towards the door as he dialed.

Half reclining on the sofa, Huang Feizhong's eyes revealed a trace of mockery as he said softly, "The Northern Desert is ultimately the world of my Huang Family, even the Huang Family has to give me some respect!"

With those words, a sense of surveying the world arose in Huang Feizhong's heart, as if he had already become a figure on par with the Huang Family.

However, in fact, even the Patriarch of the Huang Family, his father, dared not speak such words.

Unlike his youthful arrogance, the current Patriarch of the recently risen Huang Family deeply understood one truth: In the Northern Border, there's no one person or force that can truly balance against the Huang Family!

In fact, including the Huang Family, none of the similar-level and scale families in the Northern Border lacked the strength to take a step further, but no one dared to be the first.

Everyone understands the principle of "the nail that sticks out gets hammered", and evidently, no one wants or dares to be that nail.

And the Huang Family is like a gun aimed at the foreheads of families like the Huang Family, a significant threat that may accidentally discharge.

As such, over these many years, the Huang Family has always maintained a lofty posture, immediately nipping in the bud any potential loss of control, regardless of its likelihood!

However, even someone like Huang Feizhong, a second-generation wealthy, knows these things but never cares about it, as long as he can spend lavishly, what's wrong with maintaining the status quo?!

——

Looking at the number on the card, Lin Bingxuan carefully dialed it, and a few seconds later, the call went through.

"Hello, are you... the intelligence trader?" Lin Bingxuan tentatively asked.

The person on the other side seemed quite excited and promptly replied: "Yes, yes, I am! How can I assist you?"

"I want to understand more about the Huang Family in the Northern Border." Lin Bingxuan frankly stated, without any hint of asking about the price.

"I see, then please first pay me half of the deposit, and the subsequent price will depend on the situation. You can adjust according to more or less, what do you think?"

After listening to the words from the other side, Lin Bingxuan immediately stated: "No problem, just tell me how much, and I'll transfer it to your account shortly!"

"You should pay ten thousand first. Is this price acceptable?"

On the other end, the man's tone was quite uncertain and cautious, as if afraid of scaring off the client by asking too much, clearly giving an impression that the price is negotiable.

As the CEO of a listed group, Lin Bingxuan could hardly care about a mere ten thousand. In fact, if she could obtain clues useful for finding the Jade Pendant, she'd be willing to spend even a hundred thousand or a million!

Of course, Lin Bingxuan did think about going directly to the Huang Family, but firstly, with their near-emperial status in the Northern Border, whether they'd even deign to acknowledge her was uncertain.

Secondly, with her current capabilities, she might handle regular experts, yet she lacked the full confidence when facing stronger opponents.

In such uncertain circumstances, probing the opponent's background for better understanding is naturally the best strategy!

Thinking of this, Lin Bingxuan was ready to agree upfront; however, before she could speak, the voice on the other side added: "It would be best to conduct a cash transaction; I'll send you the location later."

Lin Bingxuan hesitated: "The price is fine, but a cash transaction..."

Before she could finish, she was interrupted: "If you want more detailed information, it's best to meet in person since some things are hard to explain over the phone. For instance, certain documents and images, without a frame of reference, would greatly reduce the intelligence's accuracy!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Bingxuan frowned. She initially thought of suggesting an online transfer, but after thinking it over, she decided to go in person to see, as it might be easier to solve any issues that arise.

"Alright, send me the address then!"

After the call ended, on the other end, the man signaled an OK to a few tattooed thugs beside him, saying, "Inform Lord He."

...

Glancing at the figure in the bathroom, Lin Bingxuan left a note and went to the address sent to her phone.

The destination wasn't far, located in a small motel just three streets away from the hotel, saving her quite a bit of trouble.

If it were too far, Lin Bingxuan might have really chosen to go with Xiao Tian.

However, thinking that Xiao Tian couldn't use his True Qi now, she decided it would be better to go alone. After all, she's frequently dealt with matters thousands of times larger than this, so there's no need to feel timid.

She found a 24-hour ATM by the roadside, took out ten thousand in cash, and headed towards the small motel three streets away.

Walking down the street, Lin Bingxuan couldn't help but frown slightly. The litter scattered across the central street, the bustling barbecue stalls along the roadside, and the flying dust created a scene as if she'd entered another world.