Chapter 726

"Everyone,"Ye Lisi said, "I am very glad we can gather here today."

Ye Lisi's voice matched his age, but Ning Chen could not understand why someone of that age would have such eyes.

In fact, it was strange; Ning Chen had seen many people: adults blinded by profit, children protected so well they knew nothing, and old men who, having seen through everything, cared little for anything.

But no matter which kind of person they were, none had eyes like Ye Lisi's.

Ning Chen looked at his eyes for a long while, then shifted his focus to what Ye Lisi was saying; without a doubt, Ye Lisi was a ruler with immense leadership ability, and the fact that he had reached this point was something even Ning Chen admired.

"Today is my birthday, and also the fiftieth anniversary since the founding of the Ye Lisi Organization,"Ye Lisi said.

Ning Chen calculated at what age Ye Lisi's headquarters had been established; the final result he arrived at was that it was probably established when he was in his twenties or thirties.

Fifty years; for an organization to reach this point in just fifty years, Ning Chen silently praised in his heart. For other companies and organizations to reach the level of the Ye Lisi Organization, they would need at least a century of foundation.

But the Ye Lisi Organization did not have that; they achieved such accomplishments in fifty years, and viewed in the context of the current world, such achievements were extremely incredible.

Ye Lisi paused, then continued: "I imagine everyone knows the main purpose for which I invited you here. Over these many years, you have praised me and respected me; on behalf of the Ye Lisi Organization, I express my gratitude to you."

After hearing these words, Ning Chen strangely felt as if he were listening to an acceptance speech, then suddenly felt a slight itch on the side of his ear, so he raised his hand to touch it.

Standing beside Ning Chen were people dressed in identical black robes; they had all come to celebrate the birthday, all uniformly wearing black long robes exactly like everyone else around them. Ning Chen's action, which could be considered highly disrespectful, angered the person beside him. Since the entire church was already packed with people, any slight movement by anyone would disturb those nearby; thus, Ning Chen's not-so-small action naturally provoked angry glares from the person beside him.

Up above, Ye Lisi fell silent, while the nuns beside him conducted the second prayer. Now the church was in a state of absolute quiet.

Ning Chen originally wanted to lower his head to avoid standing out, but the person beside him suddenly elbowed him.

When the person beside him bumped him like that, Ning Chen stood very steady; after all, the gaps around were so small, and there were no sufficient empty spaces for Ning Chen to lean sideways, so he took that bump solidly.

He was naturally not the type to willingly suffer a loss; Ning Chen immediately looked sideways, saw the person was a burly, muscular man, frowned, and said, "What do you mean?"

The burly man looked at Ning Chen with extreme contempt; the two were about the same height, and seeing Ning Chen neither dodge nor show fear, the burly man remained unmoved.

"What did you mean by digging your ear just now?"the burly man lowered his voice; he did not want to disturb the people in front praying. Ning Chen looked around, realizing this matter indeed should not be made public. He knew the burly man had misunderstood, but with so many people packed so tightly, explaining would be too troublesome. He thought it best to avoid conflict in a foreign land, turning big matters into small ones and small matters into nothing. If this were elsewhere, Ning Chen naturally would not have held back, but his enemy was standing right in front, praying. If his arrival were discovered, the plan would be declared a failure before it even began. Ning Chen was not sure if people in the organization would recognize him, but his information was indeed circulating back and forth among various organizations, meaning anyone who had a grudge against him could basically recognize him. So Ning Chen dared not act rashly. He thought for a moment, then said, "Sorry, my ear was a bit itchy just now."Such an excuse would certainly not pass with the burly man. The burly man looked down at Ning Chen again, seemingly evaluating the power gap between himself and Ning Chen. Finally, the burly man looked at Ning Chen and sneered, his voice growing louder: "Do you have the qualification to act against your superior? Do I not have the qualification to scold you?"Ning Chen sighed. He saw the burly man's meaning was very clear, but Ning Chen indeed did not want to argue much with him, so he nodded and apologized softly: "Really, I am very sorry."

Ning Chen's apology was indeed full of sincerity; plus, with the church so quiet now, if the burly man dragged the matter on, it would only cause more trouble.

So the burly man looked at Ning Chen once more and had to let it go. But the interaction between the two had been seen by the spies densely scattered throughout the church; they had almost seen the entire sequence of events clearly. For a normal person, one would absolutely not swallow such a grievance, but Ning Chen happened to take this silent loss. The people of Ye Lisi were already extremely sharp and alert; once, a Miss sitting at the door embroidering clothes with a needle had been suspected of coming to attack Ye Lisi. Now that they had seen this process so clearly, naturally they also held a degree of vigilance toward Ning Chen.

When they reported the matter truthfully to their superiors, the reply was to continue watching them in the church; everyone's every move was taken in by the spies. In fact, this birthday banquet could be considered a trap set by Ye Lisi. Ning Chen's timing was too coincidental, arriving exactly on the fiftieth anniversary of the organization's birth. Everyone in the organization, from top to bottom, was extremely panicked by Ning Chen's arrival, despite the organization having many talented and extraordinary people.

Ye Lisi naturally was unwilling to let his foundation be destroyed like this. After learning that Ning Chen intended to strike at Ye Lisi, he became extra vigilant, not only reading Ning Chen's information inside and out dozens of times but also stationing many more hands at his headquarters to guard. Ye Lisi had lived so long; naturally, he was unwilling to have his life ended by Ning Chen. Moreover, for him, if he could kill Ning Chen, their organization's ranking could move up several places.

This was an opportunity not to be missed. Besides, no matter how you looked at it, Ning Chen was only one person; no matter how strong he was, he might not be able to withstand so many hands. What Ye Lisi lacked least was firepower and manpower; especially since their subordinates were spread across the world, and were top talents in various fields. If they wanted to target Ning Chen, it was actually quite simple, but waiting for Ning Chen to walk into their trap was the best strategy to catch him. So from the moment Ye Lisi learned the news, he had long set up a net of heaven and earth; the entire country was a large net he had laid, waiting for Ning Chen to come, then pulling the net shut, leaving Ning Chen unable to turn over. They even wanted to use Ning Chen for research; someone who could fight ten thousand alone was considered an alien in their eyes. For them, Ning Chen was undoubtedly a scarce resource. If they could truly discover the mysteries within Ning Chen's body, then surpassing the world's number one organization would not be a problem. Human greed is endless, especially regarding rankings. Ye Lisi had long violated his original intention, yet he found it sweet. Therefore, Ye Lisi eliminated any possibility that Ning Chen might escape; he absolutely would not let Ning Chen kill him and destroy the entire organization. Ning Chen actually did not know he had been targeted by the spies, but he could sense that among the sea of people, someone was pushing through the crowd and heading toward the street.

In this foreign land, Ning Chen could hardly relax his vigilance at any moment, so he kept using his detection skill to secretly record everyone's movements in his mind. That person's action made Ning Chen somewhat suspicious, but he did not pay too much attention. As the new round of prayers ended, the people around Ning Chen changed batch after batch. The burly man who had stood beside him earlier had disappeared, squeezed somewhere unknown. Now pressed against Ning Chen was a small, thin girl.

That girl was truly very small; standing next to Ning Chen, she couldn't even reach his shoulder. With such height in the crowd, she could see nothing. Ning Chen's position was already considered in the front row; he was somewhat puzzled why this girl beside him could squeeze to the front. So his peripheral vision fell on her for a few seconds; after looking a few times, he shifted his gaze away. Meanwhile, that girl struggled to lift her head; even though she was standing on tiptoes, she still couldn't see anything.

Ning Chen stood beside that girl; lowering his head, he could see her hood. Her figure was truly too petite; in such a crowded place, she could see nothing.

But Ning Chen was not a warm-hearted person. He lowered his head and looked a few times, then raised his head again, continuing to look forward on his own until the girl actively asked him for help.

Ning Chen sighed. The girl asked if she could lean on his shoulder for support to stand on tiptoes. Ning Chen truly considered it for a while, then refused, citing his dislike for contact with strangers. Speaking carefully, Ning Chen was not unwilling to help; it was just that in such a foreign land, he still had an unfinished mission and did not wish for any complications to arise. So Ning Chen decisively refused her.

The girl looked at Ning Chen and smiled apologetically: "If you are unwilling, then forget it. Sorry."Ning Chen originally did not want to continue talking with her; hearing this, he just nodded and said, "It's fine."

Ning Chen's gaze never fell on her for too long, so naturally he did not notice that after being refused, the girl bit her lower lip unwillingly.

The new round of prayers on the stage had ended. With the crowd surging, the people around, except for that girl, changed again. Ning Chen was somewhat surprised; that girl, amidst the crowd, was almost pressed tightly against him, so naturally she was not swept away. However, he did not see Se Wei there. Se Wei had only left a note telling him to come to the church to find him, but until now, Ning Chen had not seen him.

Ning Chen was truly a bit worried about Se Wei's situation. As the crowd surged, his gaze searched back and forth, but everyone here wore uniform black robes and uniform black hats. If he wanted to find Se Wei among so many people, it was indeed quite difficult.

However, there were many people here, so Ning Chen did not really believe Se Wei would truly meet with trouble inside the church. Thus, he stopped searching, stood securely in place, and listened to Ye Lisi at the very front deliver a new speech. "Today's banquet ends here. The fact that everyone can gather here is already not easy,"Ye Lisi said. "But at the end of the event, I still want to invite one person to come up. I heard that person recently arrived in our country."Ning Chen's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. He could already feel that the person at the top was targeting him. And no matter the reason, if the people opposite had detected his presence, Ning Chen was even wondering if he had come at the wrong time. But Ye Lisi's voice above continued: "I believe he must have come today. So please ask this new believer to stand beside me."Ning Chen took a deep breath. How could he not know what the person above was planning? It was simply to see if he was the same as Ning Chen. But he himself was Ning Chen; the purpose of coming to this country was not to be seen, and for the Ye Lisi Organization, he was a potential huge threat. They naturally would not easily let him go. In those few fleeting seconds, Ning Chen thought of many things, including when he should strike, or whether he should flee the church directly now. But Ning Chen looked around; the place was densely packed with people. If he wanted to leave, he would have to go against the flow of the crowd.

Actually, it was not impossible to squeeze out, and for Ning Chen, this was the best method.

So when Ye Lisi asked again above, Ning Chen did not walk up directly as he imagined. The people of the Ye Lisi Organization treated him as a soft persimmon, but Ning Chen was never that.

So he did not walk up directly as the other side imagined. Instead, he turned his back, reached out, and pushed aside the pile of people blocking him. The force was not great, but after separating the people, he left a gap he could pass through.

The crowd was already very crowded; Ning Chen's action was no different from attracting the attention of those around. Besides, Ning Chen did not intend to hide in the first place. Although there were so many people in the church, it was not too difficult for Ning Chen to squeeze out. So he squeezed his way out from the crowd. Clothes rubbed against clothes; naturally, there were people who could not stand being squeezed by Ning Chen and complained. But Ning Chen apologized as he walked. His position was relatively forward; to squeeze out the door would take at least a minute or two.

Ye Lisi above was still waiting, but indeed no one walked up. The people below were as if they had not heard his words. Ye Lisi waited and waited, naturally becoming somewhat dissatisfied. In this organization and even the entire country, his words carried extreme deterrence; basically no one dared to defy him. But when he confirmed that person was in the crowd and still no one walked up, Ye Lisi felt a sense of being affronted.

Naturally, Ye Lisi also noticed the person walking against the crowd toward the exit.

Although everyone inside the church wore black robes, when someone walked out, it would cause quite a commotion. The people around complained incessantly; such a scene naturally alerted Ye Lisi above. Ye Lisi frowned. The gaze he had forcefully maintained began to turn somewhat sinister. Staring at the person walking against the crowd, he suddenly spoke: "Please do not crowd inside the church, or you will anger the Lord."

Ning Chen naturally heard this sentence, so his footsteps paused for a moment, but he still acted as if he had not heard and walked straight out.

Some people tried to block him, but Ning Chen just looked up at them, then used the strength of his arm to push them aside. Ning Chen's strength was naturally very great; those who wanted to block him, with just a light push from him, fell onto the people behind. Ning Chen advanced like a force breaking through bamboo; no one could stop him. In one minute, he had successfully reached the church entrance.

Seeing this scene, the calmness in Ye Lisi's eyes could no longer be maintained. He had a premonition that this person was Ning Chen. If he let Ning Chen escape today, the next time they met, it would probably be at the headquarters.

Ye Lisi did not want such a thing to happen. Who knew what Ning Chen might do to their entire organization? Moreover, Ning Chen coming here probably had only one purpose: to completely destroy their organization. Ye Lisi naturally would not let such a thing happen, so he immediately ordered: "Do not let the person who violated the rules and angered the Lord leave. Everyone go block him."

Actually, it was already difficult to stop Ning Chen now, because he had squeezed to the church entrance; at most three meters remained to successfully walk out. But upon hearing Ye Lisi say this behind him, Ning Chen actually stopped.

Ning Chen turned, a mocking curve forming at the corner of his mouth. He raised his hand and gently pulled off his hat, revealing a face everyone had seen in the files. Heads surged around; most people rushed toward Ning Chen, seemingly trying to block him, but Ning Chen put his hands in his pockets, his eyes meeting Ye Lisi's through the crowd.

The surrounding crowding seemed to have nothing to do with him in that instant. Those people's targets seemed to be him, yet also not him. Ye Lisi stared fiercely at Ning Chen, clenching both fists.

Ning Chen smiled again.

He opened his mouth and said in a gentle voice: "You've worked hard—"

Ye Lisi immediately clenched his Yaguan (teeth).

After Ning Chen said that sentence, he did not care about Ye Lisi's attitude. He said that sentence precisely to provoke. Now Ye Lisi had revealed his true face; that face was mostly filled with expressions of fury and frustration.

Someone came over to block Ning Chen, but Ning Chen just glanced lightly at him and raised his hand to brush him away.

To onlookers, Ning Chen actually did not use much force, but the person pushed away felt as if someone had crashed into him. He could not even stabilize his weight and subconsciously stumbled sideways.

Ning Chen did not look back. No one could stop him. Even though there were hundreds or thousands of people in the church, when facing Ning Chen, they were all at a loss.

Ye Lisi naturally could not endure it. From the moment Ning Chen revealed that provocative smile, he did not want Ning Chen to go out again.

So his chest heaved rapidly, his voice far louder than during the speech, and he ordered with full anger: "Everyone, block him for me!"

The church was full of spies; those people were Ye Lisi's subordinates. Compared to ordinary people, perhaps letting them block Ning Chen gave a better chance of success. The spies moved toward Ning Chen. Seeing more people walking toward him, Ning Chen frowned and immediately increased his speed. If he were truly blocked in this church, the outcome was predictable. Ning Chen had already guessed that the so-called birthday banquet was actually a trap, but he was unclear about the meaning of the note Se Wei left. If Se Wei were a person of Ye Lisi, it would be easy to explain, but after getting along for so many days, Ning Chen did not feel that Se Wei belonged to Ye Lisi's side. Moreover, he had not failed to check Se Wei's basic situation; he could feel that Se Wei held strong opinions against the people of the Ye Lisi Organization. So this trap was very likely a gamble set by Ye Lisi; they were all betting whether Ning Chen would enter the game. If he came, Ning Chen would find it hard to escape, after all, there were so many of their people in the church. But if he did not come, it would not cause too much loss to the Ye Lisi Organization. After all, this banquet would definitely be held, whether to lure Ning Chen in or to enhance Ye Lisi's credibility throughout the country.

Those spies rushed over, all trying to block Ning Chen. Ning Chen looked at the people gathering from all directions, sneered, and immediately sped up. Those spies must have been densely stationed around the church, for no matter where Ning Chen was, they would approach him from every direction.

Ning Chen did not stop and wait to be caught; he only increased his speed. His pace was so fast that even if those spies wanted to block him, they simply could not. Besides, there were so many people around; even if they tried to squeeze toward Ning Chen, they could not get through.

Thus, Ye Lisi could only watch helplessly as Ning Chen left. He was extremely unwilling to let Ning Chen escape right under his nose. Moreover, they had set up a net of heaven and earth within the church to lure Ning Chen into a trap, yet this net could not catch him at all. Ye Lisi took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He knew the most important thing now was not to continue pursuing Ning Chen, but to seal off the entire church absolutely, ensuring this matter would not leak out. Ye Lisi had many believers throughout the country; if those believers saw the church filled entirely with Ye Lisi Organization spies, it would likely damage their authority. The person closest to the church entrance closed the door. Ye Lisi comforted the restless common folk while ordering his subordinates to pursue Ning Chen, telling them not to let him escape. After leaving the church, Ning Chen ran down the street. He knew people would pursue him; if he did not want to cause a scene on the street, he could only do his best to shake off those behind him.

Unexpectedly, the people of the Ye Lisi Organization were slower than he had imagined. Ning Chen crossed several streets, and no one behind him had caught up. Furthermore, there were no fighter jets or reconnaissance planes. They probably did not want to make a huge commotion here and draw the public's attention. If Ning Chen had not dared to act rashly at this moment, he would have struck while still in the church. Even if he could not wipe out the entire Ye Lisi Organization, killing Ye Lisi first would make his path forward much easier.

However, he feared harming those common people; the guilty party was the Ye Lisi Organization, not the common folk. Ning Chen knew that even if he did not actively confront the Ye Lisi Organization, Ye Lisi would never let him go from now on. It was better to strike first and catch the enemy off guard. But now the Ye Lisi Organization had begun to guard against Ning Chen. Knowing Ning Chen was preparing to attack the organization, they had not only added many personnel to protect the headquarters but also transferred numerous elite weapons and equipment from other places, waiting for Ning Chen to arrive. Ning Chen deeply understood it was best not to confront the Ye Lisi Organization head-on during this period, as it was their peak strength. In fact, Ning Chen was not entirely certain he could clean out the entire headquarters. However, after leaving the church, he headed straight for the Ye Lisi Organization. At this time, the Ye Lisi Organization headquarters was short on manpower. Ning Chen planned to go there and try his luck; if the guards were few, he could take the opportunity to strike and find another time to kill Ye Lisi. He knew, however, that the Ye Lisi Organization's influence was spread across the world; cleaning out the headquarters would merely be a warning to the Ye Lisi Organization, and this matter would absolutely not be settled so quickly. When Ning Chen arrived at the entrance of the Ye Lisi Organization, he could indeed see that the number of people at the gate had been halved. Ning Chen stood behind a tree, adjusted his state, and prepared to storm directly into the Ye Lisi headquarters. His skill dealt area damage, so he was not worried about large numbers. The key to victory lay in a surprise attack; Ning Chen knew he could only win through a surprise attack.

"Where are they!"

Ye Lisi looked at the heads bowed before him. He angrily threw the object in his hand onto the ground. "They were clearly right under our noses, yet you still lost them? Useless! All of you are useless!"

Because of Ning Chen's escape, he had instantly lost his reason.

One by one, the people before him lowered their heads, daring not to make a sound.

Yet, in such a small place, if they could not find Ning Chen here, where could he have run to?

Suddenly, a warning bell rang in Ye Lisi's mind.

"Not good! Return to headquarters immediately!"

As the words fell, Ye Lisi ignored those around him and sped up, rushing toward the headquarters.

Meanwhile, on Ning Chen's side, he had quietly entered the interior of the Ye Lisi Organization headquarters from the outside.

This was his first time here. Just as he had guessed, there were not many people inside the headquarters; instead, only one or two individuals walked around occasionally.

Ning Chen, wearing his hat, slowly walked toward an elevator on the side without anyone noticing.

Looking at the forty-six-story height, just as he hesitated for a moment, someone suddenly walked in from outside. He calmly pressed the button for the fortieth floor.

That person walked in, glanced at Ning Chen on the side, then reached out and pressed the button for the forty-second floor.

The higher the floor, the longer the wait.

Until the fortieth floor arrived, no one else entered the elevator; it remained just Ning Chen and the person beside him.

Ning Chen inadvertently glanced at that person and noticed some pattern on the person's wrist.

Just as he prepared to step back to get a better view, a 'Ding' sounded, and the fortieth floor arrived.

Ning Chen did not stay in the elevator for another moment. The moment the elevator doors opened, he walked straight out.

Just as he walked out, he inadvertently saw the person behind him in the elevator clasp his hands together and bow toward him.

Before he could feel confused, a pair of large hands slapped onto his shoulders.

"You're back so soon? Did the matter go smoothly?"

Hearing this, Ning Chen felt more confused, but he still slowly turned around.

That person appeared to be middle-aged. The stubble on his face had not been shaved clean, making him look somewhat sloppy.