Chapter 48

From Feng Mu's nonstop text messages, he sensed Ma Wei's lingering, unquiet terror.

The greatest secret had been discovered, his identity as a mole exposed; Ma Wei was clearly terrified, urgently wanting to find someone closest and most trusted to confide in and vent to.

Feng Mu could hardly imagine what state of mind Ma Wei, hiding in a toilet stall, was in now, to take him as his most trusted and closest person?

It's not like your mole identity got exposed, huh~

Then wouldn't the video holding your lifeline lose its power? Why do you still keep reporting to me with such enthusiasm?

Bad news: the mole has slipped out of control;

Good news: I've become the mole's spiritual pillar.

Bad news: the watch position has been exposed;

Good news: the enemy hasn't set a watch, and even exposed information about the watch position being exposed.

Looking at over a dozen consecutive text messages, each one opening to dense text, Feng Mu was rather speechless — this word count could rival two short essays.

He sensed Ma Wei's genuine reliance on him; after all, people in terror subconsciously seek out the person closest to them, and that cannot be faked.

Just like in TV dramas from his previous life, where a supporting female character is always cornered by criminals at the door, their first reaction is never to call the police, but to call their boyfriend.

But you're just a watch position I casually planted; you wouldn't really naively think I'd go save you, would you?

Feng Mu felt no pity, but the text he typed gave a bit of comforting warmth.

——Don't panic. As long as I don't expose myself outside, Ma Bin will be wary and won't dare do anything to you.

——You're my man. If Ma Bin touches you, it's tearing faces with me; as long as he still wants to cooperate with me, not only will you be fine, he'll really protect your rise to power.

——Do as he says. Zheng Si is as good as dead.

Three text messages were sent back.

Ma Wei's side was indeed greatly relieved; he finally stopped bombarding with long essays, and his reply was full of gratitude and flattery toward the big shot, so sincere it made Feng Mu's eyes moist.

Feng Mu put down his phone, pondering Ma Bin's intentions.

"Since he knows Ma Wei is my man, he could have used it as a card to screw me over, yet he actively exposed it — is he trying to make nice with me?"

"He also senses the coming storm, so he's even more eager to turn me into a more reliable, trusted partner?"

"He's offering not to scheme or screw me over, in exchange for me not scheming or screwing him over in the next operation?"

"Of course, there's another possibility: Ma Bin knows I might abandon Ma Wei, this watch position, at any time, so rather than scheming pointlessly, he might as well use this insignificant life to play the emotion card with me?"

Feng Mu had to admit, this emotion card probably had some effect; deep inside, his trust in Ma Bin rose a bit.

Roughly from negative one hundred soaring to negative fifty.

But at the same time, Feng Mu's wariness of Ma Bin deepened considerably, probably from positive one hundred soaring to positive one thousand — this man's thoughts are too deep, his schemes too many.

Most importantly, Feng Mu felt Ma Bin and he were the same type of people — both lying experts, whose words couldn't be trusted even down to the punctuation.

This kind of person, in the short term, is less destructive than those Black Market merchants, but in the long run, they will surely cause greater harm.

The former at most kills you; the latter not only kills you, but also makes a big deal out of your death.

"Damn it, he saw through from the start that Ma Wei was my planted watch. Hmph, trying to scare me — do you think I'd believe you?"

Feng Mu coldly laughed in his heart and made a decision.

Maintaining a slightly closer trust and cooperation with Ma Bin for now isn't unacceptable, but once things are settled, I must strike first and kill him.

The Nine Districts is only so big; one silver coin is enough for me. Add another, and I fear the Nine Districts municipal officials won't be able to sleep at night~

4 a. m.

Feng Mu finished his last round of Body Forging Exercise, lay on the bed fully clothed, and went to sleep.

Daily settlement screen:

【Iron Eater: Second Stage】

【Metal Property Extraction Slots Remaining: 2】

【Extracted Properties: Mold Embryo (White)】

【Current Consumption Slot 1: Pig Iron (Consumption 5.7/100%)】

【Current Consumption Slot 2: Empty】

Within the quiet night, in a Tongzi Lou across the way, in the room facing Feng Mu's bedroom window.

Dark-faced Area 2 moved a chair over, squatted on it, played with ants, and from time to time looked up toward the opposite side.

Because the distance was a bit far, and there were curtains blocking the view, the image in his eyes was more like a dynamic sketch.

Repeatedly doing Body Forging Exercise, doing it terribly but never stopping, doing it while occasionally eating things?

Dark-faced Area 2 couldn't quite understand, nor did he suspect anything; only a thought vaguely surfaced in his mind: "In terms of the number of personal quirks and hobbies, I can't compare to the target."

This was Dark-faced Area 2's first time meeting someone with more quirks than himself; he felt an indescribable flutter in his heart.

By the chair under his feet, a young couple lay in a pool of blood, their faces turned sideways with empty eye sockets facing the head of the bed; an infant lay on the pillow, its eyes still open, but already asleep forever.

……

4.1, Friday.

This world has no April Fools' Day, so all this bloody happening is no lie.

Feng Mu got up, drew blood and swallowed iron, washed up, relieved himself, ate — very much like a normal person with a regular daily routine, and he held a mundane 996 job.

Riding his bicycle past No. 47 Middle School, from afar he saw several vans parked in the street alley opposite the school gate, doors tightly shut, but through the car windows he could see cigarette embers flickering inside.

"Qing Lang Bang tailing someone — they're going to snatch a person at the school gate. Tsk tsk, Qing Lang Bang's boss Zheng Si looks crazy, but second-in-command Ma Bin is crazy to the bone."

Feng Mu didn't linger; he rode his bike quickly away from this place of trouble.

Inside the van, a group of Qing Lang Bang's fiercest thugs looked at Ma Wei, puffing clouds and spitting mist in the passenger seat, with envy and jealousy.

This bastard has been red-hot in the gang lately; after Tong Ge died, he was first appreciated by Bin Ge, and now even Zheng Laoda has taken a fancy to him, entrusting him with full command of such a major operation.

Ma Wei is completely rising in status; from now on everyone will have to call him Wei Ge.

Ma Wei looked at his underlings' "he can be replaced" gazes, feeling both amused and exasperated; he fiercely stubbed out his cigarette, then glanced at Xiao Li, who was serving as the female driver today.

The latter was looking over with a wooden gaze, the depths of his eyes concealing a dense hatred, and that hatred was not directed at him, but at Zheng Laoda.

Ma Wei rolled down the car window and flicked the cigarette butt out, just happening to see a figure on a bicycle pass by.

A sidelong glance, and he felt the other's build was faintly somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

He lowered his head to glance at the list, scanning over a name that had been crossed off the list last, confirming he should have seen this youth in a photo.

Called Feng Mu, huh~ truly good fate, seems like he was the last name Bin Ge crossed off.

The original suspect list of 50 people, now couldn't be made whole, only 49 left.

Ma Wei felt emotion in his heart at the other's good fate, while his own fate he would have to fight for with his life from now on.

Ma Wei pulled open the car door and was the first to step down.

In memory, Tong Ge walked at the very front like this, he had always followed behind Tong Ge, now Tong Ge was dead, and it fell to him, Ma Wei, to replace Tong Ge walking first.

Ma Wei took a deep breath, the expression on his face gradually turning cruel and morbid, he glared at the crowd behind him and roared in a hoarse voice:

"49 people, not a single one missing, those who can live, live and go back, those who can't live, bring the corpses back, whoever misses a person, I'll tear that one to shreds for Zheng Laoda!"

(End of Chapter)