48 Hours a Day

Chapter 1037: E-ID, Work ID, and Fingerprints

Qiu Ming’s skills were not bad. Although he still fell short of the standards of the emergency response team, his job wasn’t too dangerous. In addition to his harmless appearance, his current skills were more than adequate.

This was also why Qiu Ming’s vigilance was somewhat lacking. He had been a hunter for too long, so long that he thought he could always control the situation. Even if Zhang Heng and E-Goat came knocking on his door, Qiu Ming’s first reaction would be that of no surprise. It wasn’t to take the two of them out but to deal with the aftermath. He didn’t expect that he’d sink this time, so he couldn’t help but say a few more words. The last thing he expected was that he would end up in trouble.

Now that the blade was almost touching his trachea, Qiu Ming could scent death. However, even in such times, he still had reins over his emotions, not breaking down or revealing too much fear. This had garnered E-Goat’s admiration.

“I completely understand your concerns, but please believe that I’m doing this for your own good. You’re already in a precarious situation, and it will bring you no benefit if you pursue this,” Qiu Ming said sincerely.

“Why? Are you worried that we will expose the existence of the second type of clone, causing public insecurity and eventually forcing you to publish the entire list of clones?” E-Goat asked rhetorically.

“Hmm... it’s an awful and regrettable result, but believe me, there are worse things than this,” Qiu Ming forbade. “So why don’t we stop here? It’ll be better for both of us. I can assure you that Xu Qian won’t be in any danger.”

“Why don’t I believe a single word out of your mouth?” E-Goat sneered. “You’ve been lying to Xu Qian from the very beginning, making her think that you’re the right man for her. In the end, you turned around and sold her out. Now, you expect us to trust you, a professional liar?”

Qiu Ming tried to defend himself. “This is my job. There’s nothing I can do about it. In fact, if you knew how we spent the last few hours together, you would know that I treated her quite well.”

“Don’t tell me you...?!” E-Goat’s expression changed.

“No, no, no... it wasn’t as good as you think. We had a relatively frank, albeit a little unpleasant conversation. I didn’t touch a single strand of hair on her from the beginning to the end, and I even patiently answered many of her questions. In the end, the video of her retreating was taken voluntarily,” Qiu Ming raised his hands in clarification. “In other words, you can also say she decided to leave on her own.”

“Do you take us for fools?!”

Absolutely enraged by Qiu Ming’s absurdity, E-Goat grabbed the latter by the collar.

“Take us there,” Zhang Heng said. “If you find Xu Qian, you’ll be able to survive. Otherwise, we’ll kill you and continue looking for her.”

After saying that, he lowered his knife a few millimeters.

“I don’t think I have a choice,” Qiu Ming smiled wryly. “Fine, if you insist, I can take you to her. But we have an agreement. I will need your unconditional cooperation. Do whatever I say, or we’d all be in big trouble. Also, be mentally prepared for what you’re about to see.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. What era is this? There are so many weird things on the Internet,” E-Goat said. “I’ve never been scared before.”

Qiu Ming didn’t explain further. Instead, he nodded and said, “That’s good.”

Zhang Heng took Qiu Ming’s gun and searched him. After confirming that he carried no weapons on him, the three got into Qiu Ming’s car. Qiu Ming, however, didn’t immediately bring Zhang Heng and E-Goat to look for Xu Qian. Instead, they went to a video game city first.

This was how Qiu Ming explained it to E-Goat: “The place I’m taking you to has a rigorous entry and exit system. In addition to verifying your electronic ID, you need a work permit and fingerprint verification. These three can’t be forged, so we need the real thing.”

Qiu Ming then pointed at two people playing a racing game. “Do you see them? They should have their wristbands and work permits on them.”

“Wait, what about the fingerprints?” E-Goat asked. “I know a device that can print fingerprints...”

“No, we need living fingerprints. Just cut them off,” Qiu Ming said plainly. “Don’t worry. I have a way to preserve them. Whether body temperature or the degree of expansion of sweat glands, they can be maintained. I guarantee that when you use them, they will be as fresh as they came.”

E-Goat was stunned. After a long pause, he asked, “Aren’t they colleagues of yours?”

“Yes, but not really. I just happen to know that they have a habit of staying in the game city. Please, I’m helping you find the pass now. You should thank me for sacrificing my colleagues, right?” Qiu Ming said.

On the other side, Zhang Heng wasted no time and was ready to make his move. He handed E-Goat a gun and asked him to keep an eye on Qiu Ming. Then, he bought a milkshake at the service counter. As he passed the two of them, he poured the milkshake on the plump guy, who quickly flew into a rage and stood up from the racing console.

Zhang Heng apologized, but to no avail. The chunky dude gave Zhang Heng a shove, but before anything happened, the game city’s security soon arrived. The fat guy and his companion looked at each other before gesturing Zhang Heng to the bathroom. They would deal with the spilled milkshake problem there.

The two had practically forced Zhang Heng into the bathroom, but only three minutes later, Zhang Heng came out of the bathroom alone and threw a plastic bag containing two fingers to Qiu Ming.

“It’s so efficient,” Qiu Ming lauded.

E-Goat felt nauseous when he saw the two bloody fingers, but he did not forget the pompous words he had uttered before this. “It’s just a severed finger,” he forced himself to say. “It’s not like I haven’t seen it before. What’s to be mentally prepared for?”

“Oh, you’ve misunderstood! That was not what I was talking about,” Qiu Ming said in surprise. “Don’t tell me you’re having trouble accepting such a small incident?”

E-Goat was speechless.

Fortunately, Zhang Heng quickly helped him out of his predicament. He handed over a bracelet and work permit to E-Goat, and at the same time, said to Qiu Ming, “Don’t waste any more time. You’ve already gotten what you want. Hurry up and find Xu Qian.”

“Okay.”

Qiu Ming didn’t waste any more time and left the game city with the two, returning to the car.

This time, the three drove directly to the central station before buying tickets to the fifth floor.

“Are we going to New Shanghai 0297’s magnificent Shengtang Morgan headquarters?”

As he thought about this, E-Goat became nervous.

Qiu Ming, however, replied, “No, the headquarters is just for decoration... well, I’m not at liberty to divulge, but the secret of the fifth floor is really not there.”