In the Chevrolet Suburban, Xia Lei handed Ning Jing’s last painting to Alessio. “Take a look. What is this place?”

Alessio looked closely at it, and was silent for a while before saying, “Boss, is this place real?”

“I don’t know either. That’s why I’m asking you,” said Xia Lei.

Alessio looked at the painting again. “I can’t tell what place this is, but it looks like a small town in Italy. There are many small towns like this, where the architecture of the Middle Ages have been preserved. This painting looks like it’s of the Middle Ages period though. The people in the painting are all wearing clothing from that time period.”

He had obviously not spotted the fairly special existence in the painting — the young Asian man in jeans and sports shoes.

“You’re a Sicilian. Is it also like this in Sicily?” Xia Lei did not draw Alessio’s attention to that part of the painting.

Alessio smiled wryly. “There are lots of nice places in Italy, but Sicily is an outlier. It’s quite a bad area since it’s the origin of the mafia. Drugs, violent crimes, all the bad things you can think of will happen there on any given day. You won’t like it. It’s my hometown but I hate it.”

“What do you know about da Vinci?” Xia Lei asked another question.

“Da Vinci? Heh heh, Boss, all Italians know about da Vinci. To us Italians, da Vinci is like how Li Bai is to you Chinese. The pride of us Italians.”

Xia Lei gave a laugh. “You know about Li Bai too? There’s more to you than meets the eye. Can you talk to me about da Vinci?”

Alessio’s expression turned awkward. “I only know that he painted the Mona Lisa, and that his hometown is in Vinci. It’s about 100 kilometres north of Arezzo. I haven’t ever been there, but I know about it. That place is pretty famous and a lot of people go there because of da Vinci.” After a pause, he gave Xia Lei an odd look. “What’s this about, Boss? When did you become interested in da Vinci? Are you going to Italy?”

“Yes. I want to go to Italy and have a look around,” said Xia Lei. “Can you help me arrange things if I want to go to Italy in the near future?”

“Are you talking about sneaking in?” asked Alessio.

Xia Lei nodded. “Yes. I don’t want the CIA to know that I’ve gone to Italy. The FA Organisation too. Could you help me handle this?”

Alessio shrugged. “This small thing? You can count on me.”

“Any issues with safety?”

“Heh heh, Boss, it’s Italy. She has her own rules. Even the CIA has to go by her rules, or their agent bodies will slouch on the pavement. I’m not some big fish in Italy, but I have friends. I can guarantee that anyone who touches you will regret it.”

Xia Lei laughed. “That’s settled, then. Please arrange it for me.”

“No problem. Just wait for my call.” Alessio stepped out of Xia Lei’s car.

Alessio, did not act in any exaggerated way. He was the Dragon of the Zodiac team, brave, undefeatable, unafraid of death. Other than his ident.i.ty as a member of the Zodiac team, he had another ident.i.ty — a member of the Italian mafia. He had grown up in that dark land, and was familiar with everything to do with it. He had his ways, his methods. Picking Alessio to accompany him to Italy was the smartest choice.

Xia Lei returned to Thunder Horse Military Factory after Alessio left, and went to his office.

“Have some tea, Director Xia.” Qing Caiyue made a cup of tea for Xia Lei.

“Thank you.” Xia Lei switched his computer on, and entered the words “Mona Lisa” into the Baidu search bar. The related search results popped out on the screen, and he opened up the Baidu Encyclopaedia and read the entry.

Qing Caiyue drew close to Xia Lei and glanced at the contents of his screen. She asked curiously, “Do you like this painting, Director Xia?”

“Are you talking about the Mona Lisa?” said Xia Lei casually.

“Yes, I’m talking about the Mona Lisa. I’ve visited the Louvre in Paris and I’ve seen the painting.”

“You’ve seen the original work?”

Qing Caiyue’s lips quirked in a smile. “It’s in the Louvre, and you can see it there. Director Xia, if you like this painting, you should see it in the Louvre. It really is a treasure of the art world, and there are many, many legends connected to it. It has many mysteries and they remain unsolved till this day.”

The memory of Ning Jing being “possessed” suddenly surfaced in Xia Lei’s mind. She was panicky, scared, and had kept saying “Mona Lisa”. Xia Lei thought to himself, ‘She painted the Mona Lisa, and spoke about it continuously. Was she telling me to go to the Louvre to see the painting? Is there really a secret hidden in that painting? Or a clue?’

“Director Xia?”

Xia Lei snapped back to his senses. He gave a laugh. “Nothing, I’m just thinking if I should go see it.”

“I recommend that you do. But it will be impossible to buy it. It’s a treasure of the Louvre and not up for sale.”

“It’s just a painting. I don’t want to buy it. You go on with your work, I’m just looking at this,” said Xia Lei.

Qing Caiyue’s slender hand landed on Xia Lei’s shoulder.

Xia Lei paused, and was embarra.s.sed.

Qing Caiyue moved her hand away from Xia Lei’s shoulder and a strand of black hair appeared between her fingers. It was obviously not a strand of male hair because it was long, and fairly soft.

This hair should have come from Ning Jing.

Qing Caiyue said nothing after pulling the hair from Xia Lei’s shoulder. She walked off with it. The expression on her face was strange too, like she wanted to laugh but was holding it in.

Xia Lei grew even more embarra.s.sed. “Uh, it’s not what you’re thinking.”

Qing Caiyue looked back at Xia Lei and smiled. “What am I thinking about, Director Xia? I’m not thinking anything, but you have to be more careful. It’s not good if anyone sees.”

Xia Lei was speechless.

And she said she wasn’t thinking of anything?

Xia Lei was rendered speechless by that cheeky smile of Qing Caiyue’s.

He held his naughty thoughts under control, and a wry smile appeared on his lips.

Qing Caiyue looked back at him when she got to the doorway, with a pretty smile on her lips. Xia Lei, however, felt guilty and avoided her gaze. He looked at the Baidu page and quickly refocused his attention somewhere else. A piece of information caught his notice.

The paragraph was about the “hidden secret in Mona Lisa’s eyes”. It seemed that there was a letter “A” or “B” in her left eye, and a letter “E” in her right eye.

Xia Lei immediately discounted the theory that it was the letter “B”. An indescribable excitement rose in his heart. ‘AE! Is this the secret that the Mona Lisa is hiding? The painting is related to the secret of AE and it’s a clue? Ning Jing kept telling me “Mona Lisa”, so this is not a coincidence. Looks like I’ll have to go to France before I go to Italy!’

“Director Xia.” Qing Caiyue appeared in the doorway again.

Xia Lei looked at and glanced at her. “Yeah? What is it?”

“A gentleman surnamed Yu is here to see you.” She then added, “And a young lady surnamed Tang.”

Tang Yuyan’s voice came from outside just as Qing Caiyue was done talking. “Do you want a secretary, Directory Xia? I’d like to change professions. I’ll be your secretary.”

Tang Yuyan walked in with a sly smile on her face. “Look, am I pretty, Director Xia? My figure’s not bad either, right? C’mon, take me.”

A headache abruptly descended on Xia Lei. She didn’t make it seem like he was looking for a secretary at all, but like a jibe at him hiring based off looks and that he was a perverted boss.

Qing Caiyue frowned. She was unhappy, but she was no fool. Tang Yuyan dared to act this way in front of Xia Lei, so this meant that she did not have a normal relations.h.i.+p with Xia Lei, right? Qing Caiyue did not want to offend such a person.

Yu Shanhe walked in too. He was the “Mr Yu” whom Qing Caiyue had spoke of, and Xia Lei had guessed that already. However, he could not guess what Yu Shanhe was here for. Tang Yuyan too — he did not understand why she had come here with Yu Shanhe.

“We meet again, Mr Xia.” Yu Shanhe greeted him with a smile.

Xia Lei stood and also put a smile on his face. “Ah, Mr Yu. Welcome, welcome. Please have a seat.” He then said, “Caiyue, bring two cups of tea over.”

“Yes, Director Xia,” said Qing Caiyue obediently.

Tang Yuyan peeked at Qing Caiyue’s b.u.t.tocks and tsked. “What a plump rump. Beautiful, s.e.xy. Yep, that’s the sort of secretary you should hire.”

Xia Lei was speechless.

“Ahem.” Yu Shanhe cleared his throat. This sort of talk from Tang Yuyan was at best a joke, but seemed more like flirtatious banter.

Tang Yuyan then straighten up, but there was still some anger in her eyes when she looked at Xia Lei. She liked Xia Lei, and wanted him. This was an open secret in Bureau 101, but Xia Lei had not acted on this at all, and it brought her a lot of frustration. How could she not be mad at him?

Xia Lei avoided Tang Yuyan’s gaze. “Um. Mr Yu, I trust you bear good tidings?”

“You are right, Mr Xia. I have indeed come with good news,” said Yu Shanhe with a laugh.

“What news?” asked Xia Lei.

Tang Yuyan drew close to Xia Lei’s side and nudged his heel lightly with her toe.

This seemed to be a signal for something. Xia Lei’s heart thumped, but he made no outward reaction.

Yu Shanhe had not noticed Tang Yuyan’s small movement. He said, “Are you still unaware? Thunder Horse Military Factory’s h.e.l.lhound One-soldier Cannon has performed very well in the Middle East wars. It’s now highly sought after in the whole world.”

Xia Lei paused. He had not been aware that the h.e.l.lhound One-soldier had been used on the battlefield in the Middle East. If this was true, then it was a good thing for Thunder Horse Military Factory. But Yu Shanhe had not come here just to congratulate him, had he?