Chapter 61: You Are Very Smart

Ling Wu wiped the water droplets from his face and walked out of the bathroom, while Yin Cilan sat quietly in his seat, legs crossed, looking out the floor-to-ceiling window.

It was as if he were waiting for him to return.

Ling Wu walked over and sat down: "What is President Yin looking at?"

"You're back." Yin Cilan withdrew his gaze from the hurried crowds downstairs and said vaguely: "Nothing in particular."

It was quiet for a few seconds.

Yin Cilan looked at him with a pleasant expression: "Let's not talk about that anymore. These dishes have all gone cold, and I see you haven't eaten much. Would you like to order some more?"

Finally, he added: "You are too thin."

The tone was as if he considered himself an elder, with a touch of reproach and heartache, and, of course, overstepping.

Ling Wu shook his head, looking at him from across the warm orange light; his eyes were resolute and beautiful, and he asked casually: "Since President Yin believes in Buddhism, are there times when you feel a guilty conscience?"

"A guilty conscience?"

Yin Cilan murmured these four words, his tone like a sharp blade: "Why not put it another way—who can truly be without a guilty conscience?"

"Even a sage is judged by their actions, not their heart."

"As the saying goes, the world bustles for profit, and the world jostles for gain. If I could truly have a clear conscience, then there should be a place for me in the history books recorded by the Empire for future generations."

Swarming in for profit, scattering for profit; power, status, and money are the things most capable of driving people to become unrecognizable.

Ling Wu raised his eyes: "President Yin..."

The young man's voice was clean, the tail end of his tone having a coldness like crushed ice, which, mixed with the cello music, had a unique charm.

Under the lights, his skin was illuminated with a faint luster; he was so beautiful, more stunning than anyone Yin Cilan had ever seen in his life.

It was intoxicating, making one unable to resist reaching out with demonic claws.

But it was this very Ling Wu who revealed his thorny side, looking into Yin Cilan's eyes without fear: "You are wrong."

"In reality, the phrase 'the world bustles for profit, and the world jostles for gain' reminds us to view the pursuit of profit objectively, while also maintaining a clear head during that pursuit, following moral and ethical principles. We cannot harm the interests of others for the sake of personal gain; we must abide by laws, regulations, and social morality to achieve a balance between personal and social interests."

These words were resonant and forceful.

They almost exposed the filth and embarrassment that Yin Cilan, who was always high and mighty, kept hidden, bringing them out into the light of day.

Their gazes intertwined.

Neither of them spoke first.

The atmosphere in the entire restaurant was stagnant, as thick as dripping ink.

Yin Cilan smiled, but the smile was like a hypocritical mask, tightly plastered onto his skin; the person beneath the mask was watching like a tiger, his gaze sharp and dangerous.

After a long while, Yin Cilan relaxed his shoulders, leaned back, and commented with great oppressiveness: "Ling Wu, has anyone ever told you that you are a very smart person with a lot of backbone?"

He had originally thought he would be a very soft, sensible person.

But a backbone that stands firm is even more exciting to conquer.

Isn't it?

Ling Wu poured red wine into a goblet, his beautiful hand handing it over, cleverly moving past the topic: "President Yin is too kind. Let me toast you."

Yin Cilan deliberately delayed for two seconds before slowly raising his glass.

"Bang!"

The goblets collided with a light sound.

Ling Wu tilted his head and drank the red wine in one gulp.

Yin Cilan took a shallow sip, watching his lips, which appeared crimson from being dampened by the red wine, and smiled playfully.

No rush.

Take it slow.

Ling Wu exchanged a few more polite words with Yin Cilan before taking out his phone and getting to the point: "President Yin, courtesy demands reciprocity. Let's exchange contact information, and next time, it will be my turn to treat you to a meal."

Yin Cilan was very willing: "Alright."

"Then, specifically when?"

Ling Wu stood up, walked close to him, presented the QR code on his phone screen, leaned one hand on the table, bowed slightly, and quickly confirmed the date: "August 9th. To show my sincerity, I will book the restaurant."

Yin Cilan unlocked his phone, not noticing the young man beside him, whose eyes were filled with terrifying gloom.

"Alright."

And Ling Wu was like a King of Hell from the underworld, holding a soul-snatching pen, finding the page belonging to Yin Cilan in the Book of Life, and finally, with full confidence, marking the date of August 9th.

Soon.

Very soon.

This was the first page of revenge.

Mom, wait a little longer.

Ling Wu returned to his apartment off-campus.

This was the first enemy he had to kill in the Empire; he couldn't be flashy. He had to handle things properly and flawlessly so that subsequent progress would be convenient.

Ling Wu opened the weather forecast app on his phone; this app was developed by the personnel within their Organization themselves, and its accuracy in predicting the weather was very high.

It almost never made a mistake.

At this moment, the weather forecast showed that the next few days until August 9th would be stormy weather.

To carry out a perfect crime, one must first solve a very thorny thing—surveillance.

Generally speaking, surveillance systems can be divided into two types: wired surveillance systems and wireless surveillance systems.

Wired surveillance connects cameras to surveillance equipment via cables; when the surveillance system loses power, both the cameras and the storage equipment will immediately stop working, unable to continue displaying images.

Wireless surveillance systems connect cameras to surveillance equipment via a wireless network; if a power outage occurs, the cameras cannot work, but the surveillance equipment may have a backup power supply.

Such as batteries or a UPS.

In the case of a backup power supply, the surveillance equipment can continue to work, record the footage at the time of the power outage, and transmit it to the storage equipment for recording and storage until the backup power is exhausted or power is restored.

High-end restaurant private rooms do not have surveillance installed to protect guest privacy.

Cutting off their power and network can easily bypass surveillance.

Ling Wu quickly found several secluded restaurants online that cater specifically to the wealthy and nobility, one of which is very famous.

It is called Zhuli Pavilion, built on a mountaintop with a winding mountain road.

A rainstorm, a winding mountain road.

The timing, the location, and the circumstances are all set.

"Ding ding ding!"

Ling Wu's phone rang urgently.

It was a private number; he tapped to answer: "Hello?"

A familiar voice came from the other end of the line: "It's me."

The Fool.

Ling Wu: "Didn't we say to use the Dark Web to communicate and not call me unless necessary?"

"It's an emergency!" Although the Fool said this, his tone remained languid: "There's a lead on that matter regarding Huo Xi General you asked me to look into; our people found that he appeared in the Ganan area."

Ganan?

The voice in his ear continued.

"At the same time, another group is also investigating him—it's the Yin Family. I heard they lost a shipment of arms a while back, and it was Huo Xi who directed the interception. Truly, the darkest place is under the lamp; he is bold enough to defy heaven."

"Could he still be thinking about restoring the imperial family?"