I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

"Chief Li, look—this is the filth we found during our surprise interrogations and searches over the past two days."

The head of the security department pointed to stacks of furs—furs of all kinds of animals—and said to Li Jing'an, his voice carrying a hint of self-satisfaction.

"Among the more valuable items are over 150 sable pelts, three black bear pelts, five lynx pelts, and one silver fox pelt."

Li Jing'an remained silent.

He lowered his head, looking at the furs, his eyes darting around, his mind racing with calculations.

He's been asking around these past few days.

Don't be fooled by the seemingly large number of sable pelts—each pelt is actually quite small. Sixty pelts are needed to make one coat. These one hundred and fifty pelts are only enough for two coats. Adding those seized from the black market, it's barely enough for three coats.

The black bear pelt is quite nice.

He thought to himself: one black bear skin would be enough to make one. He planned to take it back and make one for his father. The remaining two skins, pieced together, would be just enough to make a mattress.

pretty good.

but……

He was still somewhat unwilling.

Surprisingly, the tiger skin he had been longing for was not there.

Forget about the skin, we didn't even see a single hair.

The head of the security department secretly observed Li Jing'an's expression.

His face was calm and serene, revealing no emotion.

He couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Damn it, you're still not satisfied? These things have already dug three feet into the ground, even peeled off three layers of the soil.

He cautiously leaned closer: "Director Li, is there anything you're dissatisfied with?"

"Yes, there's quite a lot of stuff," Li Jing'an said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "but there's nothing particularly rare or interesting."

The head of the security department rolled his eyes—he suddenly thought of something.

His lips curled up slightly, but he quickly suppressed it.

He leaned close to Li Jing'an and whispered, "Director Li, when you mentioned 'rare items,' I immediately remembered."

He looked around and lowered his voice even further: "I know someone who has a leopard skin. It's in perfect condition, absolutely perfect! That leopard skin is treasured and kept in very good condition."

"Oh?" Li Jing'an was somewhat surprised, his eyes lighting up. "I didn't expect there to be leopards here!"

He turned his head with interest: "You actually knew such important intelligence? Then why didn't you take action?"

The head of the security department hesitated for a moment, then gestured towards the other side of the room with his lip.

Over there, the mine leaders were discussing something around the goods, chatting and laughing.

"This...this person is a bit special, not an ordinary mountain dweller. He's from our mine—"

He paused, his voice almost a whisper: "It's Section Chief Ma from our propaganda department."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Li Jing'an was somewhat surprised, and also somewhat helpless.

He chuckled softly—it really came to him without any effort at all.

The head of the security department smiled and added, "Please don't tell anyone I told you."

He was still thinking about the raid on the black market a couple of days ago—he remembered the sycophantic face of the propaganda chief very clearly.

I thought to myself: I have to teach you a lesson. You little bastard, you're such a suck-up!

He walked away nonchalantly, squatted down next to another pile of furs, and started rummaging through them with his head down.

But his ears were standing very high.

Li Jing'an had no scruples whatsoever.

He waved directly, his voice not loud but clear: "Hey! Section Chief Ma! Come here, come here, come here!"

The head of the publicity department, who was talking to the mine leaders on the other side, immediately turned around when he heard the greeting.

When he saw that it was Li Jing'an calling him, the smile on his face instantly lit up—like a lamp that had been suddenly turned on.

He came running over excitedly, his back slightly bent, a familiar and practiced fawning smile on his face.

"Boss! Boss! You called me? What can I do for you?"

"Hehe, Little Ma—no, Section Chief Ma." Li Jing'an squinted and smiled at him.

"Hey! Just call me Xiao Ma!" the head of the publicity department quickly said, his eyes almost disappearing with a smile. "Calling me Xiao Ma is more friendly!"

"Alright, alright, then I'll call you Little Ma." Li Jing'an's eyes narrowed even more, his tone unhurried, "The head of the security department just told me—"

The head of the publicity department still had a smile on his face.

"—Do you still have a leopard skin?"

The smile froze for a moment.

"Oh? That's a good thing." Li Jing'an looked at him and smiled. "Go home and bring it over so I can see it for myself. Take it to my room so I can admire it properly."

In the distance, the head of the security department, who was rummaging through the pile of furs, suddenly turned his head.

He stared wide-eyed at Li Jing'an.

Damn it—I haven't even gone far, and you've already sold me out?

His mouth opened slightly, then closed again.

Are you even human? Huh?

A million grass mud horses galloped through my mind.

Holy shit...

He quickly lowered his head, pretending he hadn't heard anything, but his ears were burning red.

On this side, Section Chief Ma's expression instantly froze.

His gaze involuntarily drifted toward the head of the security department—who was looking down, but the posture was clearly an act.

The two people, separated by half a warehouse, exchanged a glance.

There was everything in those eyes.

Embarrassment, anger, scheming...

The head of the publicity department looked away, opened his mouth several times, and stammered, "Um... Director Li, I... that..."

He couldn't speak fluently.

The smile on Li Jing'an's face slowly, very slowly disappeared.

He stopped laughing and just stared at the head of the propaganda department.

The air suddenly turned cold.

"What?" His voice was neither loud nor soft. "Reluctant? Unwilling?"

"No, no, no!" Section Chief Ma saw his smile fade and quickly waved his hands, his voice trembling. "If Director Li likes it, it's my honor! Don't worry—I'll definitely deliver it tonight!"

Li Jing'an stared at him for two seconds, then nodded.

Section Chief Ma breathed a sigh of relief, but the frustration in his heart still welled up.

He gritted his teeth and suddenly said, "Director Li, actually, this leopard skin of mine isn't anything special."

His voice carried a hint of sourness: "They can't compare to our security team—they have the authority to approve hunting permits for the entire region."

He glanced sideways at the head of the security department: "Putting everything else aside, just from what I know—our security department head has two tiger skins at home, those two Siberian tiger skins are really rare. This is just what I know, there are probably more I don't know...

"Yeah?"

Li Jing'an raised an eyebrow, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"I never expected that. He's really been hiding his true abilities."

As he spoke, he slowly shifted his gaze to the side—

The head of the security department was looking down, pretending to be rummaging through furs.

My hands were trembling.

He seemed to feel that gaze upon him, like needles pricking him.

My body trembled involuntarily.

He froze there, completely still.

It felt like someone had acupunctured me.