Chapter 125: Chapter 125

Qi Yun waved at him: "Director Yu, you’re too polite. It’s my honor to contribute to the national scientific research."

"Haha, we’ll have a brief donation ceremony in a while, which will take a few minutes of your time. I hope you won’t refuse."

Qi Yun initially wanted to refuse, but since the other party had already put it this way, refusing would seem rather impolite, so he had to agree: "Sure, I’ll definitely cooperate with your work."

Not long after, a museum staff member came in from outside.

"Director Yu, everything is set up."

"Okay, let’s head over then." Yu Qixuan nodded to the person and then looked at Qi Yun, saying, "Shall we go?"

The donation ceremony was held in a spacious conference room, decorated with some flowers and banners, looking quite formal.

Besides the museum staff, there were also several people with cameras.

Yu Qixuan stood in front of everyone, cleared his throat, and then said some official words.

Then applause surrounded them, and Qi Yun walked up to the stage.

Yu Qixuan shook hands with Qi Yun and handed him a donation certificate: "Mr. Qi Yun, this is a donation certificate from our museum. Once again, thank you for your generous act."

The cameras focused at this moment, and Qi Yun forced a smile.

After leaving the museum, Qi Yun drove to pick up Zhong Rui from the office, and then they headed to the market to buy a few fish nets, before driving towards Tobruk Town.

"We’re going to catch a pigeon this trip. If we find it, be gentle and make sure not to injure it." Qi Yun explained while driving.

"Got it, boss." Zhong Rui nodded in acknowledgment and didn’t ask any more questions.

Tobruk Town was quite large. The two of them traveled on the bumpy dirt road for over half an hour before arriving near Yinmaili Village.

Qi Yun parked the car next to an abandoned earth-brick house, and each of them took a net to start searching separately.

"The pigeon is gray. If there’s any situation, contact me by phone at any time."

Qi Yun walked towards the north of the village, carefully observing the surroundings along the way.

By the roadside were rows of poplar trees covered with fallen leaves, possibly a hiding place for the pigeon.

As he walked, he paid attention to the ground for any feathers or other clues.

After searching for more than forty minutes, he heard a faint "cooing" sound while passing by a large shrubbery.

Feeling a sense of tension, Qi Yun slowly approached the bushes, tightening his grip on the net unconsciously.

He gingerly parted the branches and leaves to look inside.

In the next second, he heard the fluttering sound of wings. A pheasant with a long tail and colorful feathers burst out from the bushes.

Qi Yun’s net wavered involuntarily as he was startled by the sudden appearance of the pheasant.

Calming himself, he shook his head disappointedly, thinking he’d found the pigeon, but it turned out to be just a pheasant.

This was something he used to eat often back in his hometown, and now it’s suddenly become a second-class protected animal.

"Better not mess with it, better not mess with it."

Time quickly slipped into the afternoon, and with the sky getting dark, Qi Yun had already scoured more than half of the village with no success—not a single feather, let alone a pigeon.

Zhong Rui had the same results.

Both of them reluctantly decided to call it a day and plan to come back tomorrow.

They hoped the injured pigeon would hold out for a few more days and not starve to death.

Just after Qi Yun dropped Zhong Rui off, his phone rang in his pocket. Checking the screen, he saw Zhang Dayong’s name displayed.

"Hey, Qi Yun, thanks for last night’s help." Zhang Dayong’s voice came through the phone with a hint of excitement. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝘯𝘦𝘵

"Hehe, nothing to thank for." Qi Yun chuckled and shook his head, "Has the case been solved?"

Zhang Dayong knew he was asking about the smuggling case, not the theft case.

"It’s solved! The guy confessed to everything—twelve bronze artifacts involved, worth over fifty million!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Yun couldn’t help but gasp, "Fifty million? That’s quite gutsy."

"Exactly, even the city leaders were alerted," Zhang Dayong remarked on the other end, "This time, thanks to the crucial information you provided, I owe you one."

Qi Yun understood what was meant. It seems the other party earned quite some credit this time and had started showing goodwill towards him.

The reason he chose to inform them rather than directly report to the police was precisely for this statement.

"Haha, there’s no such thing as a favor; it’s what we ought to do," Qi Yun responded modestly.

Zhang Dayong laughed heartily: "How about I treat you to a meal later? This time, not in the canteen, but somewhere outside."

"Sure, I was just about to grab a bite myself," Qi Yun replied.

"Then you pick a place, I’m new here and not familiar with the area."

"Alright, I’ll send you the location later."

After hanging up, a smile appeared on Qi Yun’s lips.

He first sent a message to Zhao Qing, letting her know he wouldn’t be home for dinner.

Then, thinking it over, he sent the address of Old Feng’s hotpot restaurant to Zhang Dayong.

More than half an hour later, Qi Yun arrived at the hotpot restaurant first.

The newly acquired shop on the right had been renovated, partitioned into small compartments, already packed with people.

Qi Yun walked straight to the counter and said to Old Feng, who was busy with his head down, "Business looks pretty good, huh?"

Old Feng looked up, and upon seeing him, a smile spread across his face, "What brings you here?"