Chapter 809: One-Third

In the entire narrow, pitch-black corridor...

Dozens of fierce suit-clad assassins…… all collapsed to the ground, dead, without a trace of movement.

The thick black poisonous smoke continued to slowly surge, completely covering the corpses and blood on the ground.

The deathly silence pressed so hard one could barely breathe; only a faint smell of blood mixed with poison drifted in the air.

Among the layers of corpses' gaps, only^…… the last assassin fortunately survived.

This assassin was the unit's final cleaner, his movement more agile and swift than the others.

He personally witnessed his comrades all being instantly killed in that brutal process, his mind already utterly shattered.

His originally cold and ruthless face was now ashen as paper, his eyes filled with extreme terror and despair.

All his previous arrogance and murderous aura vanished without a trace at this moment.

His muscles spasmed uncontrollably, his limbs ice-cold, his hands and feet weak and limp.

He deeply knew he had no power to oppose this terrifying opponent who had broken through physiological limits.

He dared not launch even the slightest attack; his feet instinctively pushed, and he stumbled backward in terror.

Each backward step was unsteady, his soles continually scraping against the bloodstains and gravel on the ground.

His head, wearing a gas mask, trembled slightly as he stared fixedly at Lin Yuan standing ahead.

The fear in his heart surged like waves, layer upon layer, almost engulfing him completely.

He wanted to turn and flee at full speed, but his legs had already been paralyzed by fear, his movements stiff and sluggish.

Lin Yuan stood still in the center of the blood pool, his posture upright, his aura cold and piercing.

He continued to hold his breath, his chest feeling sore and bloated, unbearable, yet his mind remained undisturbed.

His pitch-black eyes locked onto the last surviving assassin, his gaze sharp as a blade, devoid of any warmth.

He knew this was the only living mouth, deliberately holding back, not delivering a killing blow directly.

Lin Yuan's fingertip moved slightly, and the last silver needle remaining in his palm slid onto his fingertip.

The cold metal sensation came clearly; his wrist trembled slightly as he exerted a light flick.

A fine, icy silver flash instantly sliced through the thick poisonous smoke, shooting forth with a sonic crack.

The silver needle's speed reached the extreme, carrying a piercing whistling sound, precisely flying toward the last assassin's neck.

This assassin, already scared out of his wits, had no power to dodge; he could only watch helplessly as the silver flash approached.

In the next instant, the silver needle precisely pierced into the flesh at the center of his neck.

The needle tip sank deep into the skin, bringing a sharp, bone-piercing pain.

But this silver needle precisely controlled the depth of penetration, deliberately leaving a margin.

The needle tip was only one millimeter away from the assassin's vital trachea and major artery.

This millimeter's fine gap separates life and death, a lifeline deliberately left by Lin Yuan.

Having not pierced blood vessels or ruptured the trachea, it was not enough to be fatal, yet it completely disabled his combat ability.

A intense numbness instantly spread frenetically along the neck's meridians to the entire body's limbs and bones.

The assassin's whole body jerked rigid, his strength instantly drained, his limbs completely losing support.

The machete he gripped tightly could no longer be held, clattering loudly as it fell heavily to the ground.

His heavy body, following the inertia of his backward fall, heavily slumped onto the cold corridor floor.

Upon landing, he instinctively clutched tightly at the wound where the silver needle had entered his neck.

The sharp pain and numb, stiff sensation intertwined, tormenting him to the point of wishing he were dead.

He could no longer hold back his tense spirit; his throat burst forth with one mournful, painful howl after another.

The hoarse wails echoed repeatedly in the deathly silent, gloomy corridor, especially piercing and terrifying.

Because the silver needle did not injure any vital spot, his consciousness remained crystal clear, enduring the intense pain throughout.

Under the gas mask, his face had already twisted and deformed, his eyes filled with bloody tears and extreme anguish.

He wanted to struggle to rise and flee, but his meridians were sealed by the silver needle's force, rendering him unable to move.

He could only slump seated in the blood-soaked ground, continually wailing and trembling, utterly reduced to a lamb awaiting slaughter.

Lin Yuan looked at his wretched, wailing state with an expressionless face, his eyes showing not the slightest ripple.

He endured the growing suffocation in his chest, slowly lifting his steps toward the assassin.

Underfoot, he stepped on blood-stained ground, emitting a faint wet sound.

In just a few steps, he arrived before the slumped, wailing assassin, looking down upon him.

The assassin felt the oppressive pressure closing in, his wail involuntarily pausing.

Through the gas mask's view, he saw Lin Yuan nearby, his heart filled only with extreme fear.

His body trembled ever more violently, even the simplest breath becoming difficult and hurried.

Lin Yuan made no extra motion, slightly bending over, with one hand precisely gripping the assassin's collar.

His five fingers exerted force, firmly locking the opponent's collar, the strength steady and unyielding.

No matter how violently the opponent's body trembled or how futile his struggles, the restraint could not be shaken in the slightest.

Immediately after, he lightly exerted force with his arm, cleanly and swiftly dragging the assassin upright.

The assassin's body hung in the air, passively being dragged by Lin Yuan, his legs powerlessly scraping along the ground.

The silver needle at his neck trembled slightly with the motion, continually tearing at the flesh, intensifying the pain.

Stifled groans of pain spilled out from the assassin's throat intermittently, full of despair.

Lin Yuan remained expressionless throughout, his steps steady, dragging the assassin straight toward the open elevator entrance.

The pitch-black elevator cabin stood still at the end of the corridor, its interior empty and deathly silent.

The thick poisonous smoke…… surged into the elevator interior, making the cabin's atmosphere equally gloomy and oppressive.

After reaching the elevator door, Lin Yuan slightly turned his wrist and, following the motion, flung the assassin he was dragging.

The heavy body instantly lost support and rolled sideways into the spacious elevator car.

With a dull thud, the assassin's body slammed heavily onto the elevator's cold metal floor.

Another wave of shock tugged at his neck wound, making him let out another shrill wail.

Lin Yuan followed closely, stepped into the elevator car, and completely confined this sole survivor inside.

The icy, airtight elevator car… completely cut off the corridor's noise,

leaving only a deathly, oppressive atmosphere.

Thick black poisonous smoke… slowly seeped in through the elevator door gap, slowly swirling and drifting in the cramped space.

The surviving assassin collapsed onto the icy metal floor, his body still trembling uncontrollably.

The dim light… outlined the mess all over the floor, and made the atmosphere inside the car grow even darker and terrifying.

The gas mask clung tightly to his face, covering his features but unable to hide his extreme panic.

The silver needle embedded in his neck throbbed faintly; the numbness continued spreading through his body, leaving him unable to exert any strength.

He still held his breath, the suffocating tightness in his chest… already reaching the limit ordinary people could barely endure.

Lin Yuan stood in the center of the car, posture straight as a pine, exuding a piercing chill all around.

Lin Yuan slightly raised his hand; his fingertips once again produced two slender silver needles glowing with an icy white light.

He lowered his gaze… looking down at the assassin wailing on the floor.

In Lin Yuan's eyes… there was no warmth at all, only a cold scrutiny.

In the cramped, enclosed space, every breath felt suffocatingly tense.

The silver needles, in the dim elevator light, refracted into tiny shards of cold light, exuding a lethal menace.

"Who sent you?"

"How many more ambush forces are around? Tell everything clearly."

Lin Yuan's thin lips parted; his voice low, hoarse, carrying the cold quality after battle, each word heavy and solid.

The assassin lying on the ground… his whole body tensed, instinctively stopping his wail.

Lin Yuan's tone was flat and unchanging, yet it carried an irresistible pressure, firmly suppressing the assassin beneath him.

Yet the assassin's professional killer's resolve let him forcibly suppress his fear, clinging to his bottom line and refusing to speak.

The remaining reason let him realize that the man before him was an outright terrifying ruthless person.

The assassin knew in his heart… mission failure meant death, but leaking the employer's information would only lead to a worse fate.

The assassin clenched his teeth, shut his mouth tight, and even though his whole body burned with unbearable pain, he would not utter a single word.

Lin Yuan's eyes grew suddenly colder, his gaze sharpening, leaving no room for hesitation.

The brief silence and stubbornness completely exhausted Lin Yuan's meager patience.

Lin Yuan lightly turned his wrist; the two silver needles at his fingertips struck instantly, so fast there was no time to react.

Two slender silver streaks shot through the air, precisely piercing several vital points on the assassin's chest and lower back.

The moment the silver needles entered his body, a violent numbness and pain exploded, surging wildly through his meridians.

These points are all vital junctions of the body's meridians, where pain is fiercest yet not fatal.

The excruciating pain spread along the assassin's limbs… throughout his body, far exceeding the pain from his neck wound by a hundredfold, a thousandfold.

The assassin's body… suddenly arched, as if gripped by an invisible giant hand, convulsing violently.

The assassin… his breath through the gas mask became abruptly disordered and rushed, forcing out hoarse, strange noises from his throat.

His muscles spasmed uncontrollably, limbs stiffening and twisting, utterly beyond his control.

White foam mixed with fine blood threads continually dripped from the corner of his mouth, staining his collar.

The intense pain… completely broke the assassin's physiological defenses, and white foam uncontrollably gushed from his mouth.

The assassin's formerly stubborn, enduring expression shattered completely; beneath the mask his face twisted and deformed, filled with extreme agony.

Heart-rending pain swept over the assassin's entire body; every inch of muscle and every thread of meridian screamed wildly.

Intense despair and agony intertwined, utterly destroying the assassin's last psychological barrier.

A trembling voice, broken and intermittent, was squeezed from the assassin's throat, filled with extreme fear and pain.

His whole body shook violently, constantly curling and twitching, daring no longer to conceal anything.

"It's Chairman Du Wanxiong… he's the one who sent us!"

"It's… it's the Shangqing Group of Shanghai…"

The assassin feared that if he spoke a second slower, he would again endure that heart‑rending torture.

"Our goal…… is to assassinate Qin Bore…"

Extreme fear wrapped around the agony, leaving the assassin daring not to hide a thing, desperately spilling the truth.

After hearing this confession, Lin Yuan's eyes grew even colder, his whole face covered in a layer of ice.

"As long as we kill Miss Qin, we will completely dismantle the Divine Phoenix Group's power and seize the entire Divine Phoenix industry!"

"Is it Du Wanxiong, Du Jie's father?"

"Shanghai's Shangqing Group!"

Lin Yuan's brows knitted tightly, his aura growing ever more icy, faintly revealing an intimidating anger.

Lin Yuan suppressed the surging hostility within, his gaze still sharp and cold, continuing to press on in a low voice.

He never imagined the Shangqing Group would be so vengeful, narrow‑minded and ruthless, stopping at nothing for revenge, utterly sinister.

Lin Yuan's voice wasn't loud, yet it carried a heavy, oppressive weight, firmly pressing down on the collapsing assassin.

"This time, how many of you were dispatched in total?"

"One… over a hundred altogether!"

The assassin, hearing this, shuddered violently again, dared not hesitate in the slightest, and hurriedly gave a full confession.

"Every one of them has experienced countless battles, excelling in assassination, ambush, and terrain traps, with extremely strong combat power!"

"They are all top-tier mercenaries hired at great expense by Du Wanxiong from overseas, each a veteran expert!"

These few words struck like a heavy hammer, slamming hard into Lin Yuan's heart, causing his expression to suddenly tighten.

A team of over a hundred top-tier mercenary assassins!

Just now, in the narrow corridor, he fought desperately and managed to kill only thirty or so of them.

In his mind, he quickly replayed the fight in the corridor and instantly calculated the precise difference in numbers.

The remaining forces are still intact, all lying in wait in the dark, ready to strike at any moment.

Thirty or so—just… merely one-third of the enemy's total number!

The assassin felt Lin Yuan's increasingly terrifying aura, his soul fleeing in fright, and he hurriedly continued his confession.

A tremendous sense of danger instantly swept over Lin Yuan's entire body, making his mind grow ever more tense.

"They are all scattered and hidden, having sealed off every entrance and exit of the entire building, standing by to rush upstairs and encircle us at any moment!"

"There are still seventy people… all lying in ambush on every floor, corridor, and entrance/exit downstairs!"

As his words fell, he seemed to have exhausted all his strength, gasping heavily, his body still twitching incessantly.

"As long as an order comes from upstairs, they will immediately rush up en masse, risking their lives to complete the assassination mission!"

After a brief pause, the assassin continued to tremble as he added his confession.

"Not only that…… on the rooftop of a distant high-rise…… there are also three snipers lying in ambush!"

Three snipers!

Upon hearing this crucial information, Lin Yuan's expression instantly became extremely grave.

Previously he had only detected a sniper's glint at a point one kilometer outside, assuming there was only one sniper.

He never expected…… that the enemy had actually deployed three top-tier snipers, concealed with divided duties, aiming crosswise!

The three snipers are positioned at different locations, forming an all-direction, no-blind-spot hunting lock.

This means that Qin Bore inside the room is exposed from head to toe to threefold deadly sniper fire.

At this moment, Lin Yuan fully comprehended that the present situation was far more perilous and dire than he had anticipated.

Whether it be dead corners inside the house or blind spots outside the windows, all are completely covered.

Seventy close-combat assassins lie in wait downstairs, while three long-range snipers lock the view from high above.

The enemy has spared no expense to construct this killing net, with a meticulous layout and clear division of labor, obviously intending a fight to the death.

If he is even slightly careless, not only will he himself be unable to survive, but Qin Bore inside will also fall into an irredeemable abyss.

Light and dark forces combined, long and short-range firepower matched—this is a meticulously prepared deadly killing game.