Chapter 71

When Lin Qing stepped out of the hospital, it was nearly dawn; his left arm was encased in plaster and splints, hanging at his chest.

"Captain, you really are a tough one."

Zhao Jiayi muttered under her breath: "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd have thought your arm was broken—how did you pull that off?"

"Just a little trick."

Lin Qing said casually: "If I'd taken out that woman without a scratch, it might've spooked the Yuan Hong Society—maybe even made them suspect a thought-awakened cultivator. What if they canceled the deal?"

Once the Six Gates Free Body combat techniques reach the instinctive level, one can alter one's physical form.

Lengthening bones is trivial; faking a fracture is even easier.

Of course, the doctor knew it was fake.

But once he showed his inspector credentials, the doctor cooperated.

…

Back home, Zhao Jiayi also had a late-night snack at Lin Qing's place.

Eating with one hand was inconvenient, so Lin Qing didn't loosen the bandages or plaster on his left arm—instead, he gave it a slight shake, and his skin, muscles, and bones contracted, slipping free of the plaster like a fish.

Thus, the plaster and splints remained undamaged; he could restore his injured persona whenever needed.

"Comrade Jiayi."

Lin Qing glanced at Zhao Jiayi, who was slurping noodles beside him, and suddenly asked: "Who do you think should sabotage the transaction tomorrow when the Yuan Hong Society delivers the goods?"

"Who sabotage the transaction?" Zhao Jiayi didn't understand. "Isn't it you?"

"Then how did I find out about this deal in the first place?"

Lin Qing shook his head: "I can't say I accidentally overheard Zhang Zhiren slip up—that's too implausible. Zhang Zhiren's place has signal shielding and perfect soundproofing; leaks shouldn't be possible."

He studied Zhao Jiayi: "If I go directly to raid them, they'll suspect a thought-awakened cultivator—and that'll be trouble."

Zhao Jiayi froze slightly, then understood his meaning.

"Then what should we do?" She was instantly at a loss.

"Don't worry."

Lin Qing smiled and said: "Didn't you say that during your thought-scan, you heard something about Chu Tianyao?"

"Yes." Zhao Jiayi nodded. "The woman you killed said she had only one final command left for Chu Tianyao—she wanted him to kill you, then die in plain sight, so the Yuan Hong Society wouldn't be implicated."

"Sounds like the Yuan Hong Society and Chu Tianyao aren't on the same side."

Lin Qing mused with a sly tone: "The Yuan Hong Society can only command Chu Tianyao a few times—probably just once more… Is there some reason Chu Tianyao has to obey them?"

Chu Tianyao had appeared in Lin'an City only twice.

The first time, he severely injured Lin Qing's cousin, Chen Yanan.

The second time, he showed up to confront Lin Qing—but was stopped by the Chief Captain.

"There's one more…"

Lin Qing pondered, then smiled: "Let 'Chu Tianyao' sabotage the deal—dog eats dog, isn't that perfect? Good thing I've seen Chu Tianyao with my own eyes."

"Huh?" Zhao Jiayi blinked in surprise.

…

Near six a. m., daylight began to break.

The underground warehouse beneath White Elephant Street's Night Cat Bar was known to almost no one; only armed personnel and a handful of Yuan Hong Society high-ups could enter.

The warehouse was built extremely spacious, with four massive doors locked on all sides, and a small underground plaza in the center, with a viewing gallery above.

Aside from the passage leading up to the bar, there was only one underground escape route.

At this moment, Zhang Zhiren sat frowning on the sofa of the viewing gallery, reviewing the latest intelligence from his inspector network.

"Nothing happened… and he killed 7489?"

Zhang Zhiren found it hard to believe.

He knew how high 7489's assassination success rate was—and 7489 was a numbered operative, heavily trained.

7489 was sent only to deal with this newly promoted inspector—and yet was killed by him? "Lost an arm…"

Zhang Zhiren judged internally: "Maybe he blocked 7489's first strike and guessed her position?"

He still felt something was off.

Could it really be that coincidental? "Good thing they can't trace it back to me."

Zhang Zhiren took a deep breath: "When the organization's messenger arrives, they'll hand me the last command over Chu Tianyao—then I'll kill Lin Qing and install Xiao Pei as the new leader." Thinking of this, he glanced at the time and told his trusted subordinate: "Check the shipment again—don't let anything go wrong."

"Yes."

The subordinate immediately led a few men down to the plaza, opened the four warehouse doors, and entered to inspect.

Soon, agonized screams echoed from inside the warehouse—male and female voices, all weak.

Six o'clock sharp.

A man in a black trench coat and mask arrived as scheduled; most of his face was hidden, revealing only cold, venomous snake-like eyes.

"Director Wang."

Zhang Zhiren stood and stepped forward, bowing with deep respect.

He knew well that his Eagle Sea Group had reached its current status only through the covert backing of the Illuminati.

They could make him—or destroy him.

And it would be easier than ever.

Though Director Wang was merely a courier for the Illuminati, with mediocre strength, he still came from the Urban Circle.

"First, verify."

Director Wang glanced at Zhang Zhiren, casually rolled up his sleeve, and a sun tattoo slowly surfaced on his forearm skin.

Zhang Zhiren prepared himself, swiftly unbuttoned his collar, and revealed the same sun tattoo on his chest.

"7489 is dead?"

Immediately, Director Wang spoke in a low voice, his gaze sweeping over Zhang Zhiren with the cold, venomous look of a snake.

Zhang Zhiren sighed and said, "It really was sudden. I didn't expect her to die either."

"She was, after all, a formal member of the organization. Whoever killed her will have to pay the price."

Director Wang's eyes were dark and cold. "Chu Tianyao's final command authority will be handed over to you. You use up the last bit of value Chu Tianyao has left—perfect for taking care of that Lin Qing… Doesn't he still have a sister who's an Inspector? While you're at it, clean out his family as well."

"Yes." Zhang Zhiren nodded.

Director Wang grunted and asked, "Have all the goods I told you to find last time been gathered?"

Zhang Zhiren said at once, "My apologies, Director Wang. People with excellent aptitude who haven't yet joined a martial hall really aren't easy to find. In the past few months I've only managed to find that one. For the other healthy individuals between fifteen and twenty years old, I've made up the numbers a bit. Would you like to inspect them?"

"We'll inspect and confirm them one by one when they're being loaded onto the truck."

Director Wang swept a glance around the warehouse and asked, "Are the sedatives all prepared?"

"Please rest assured, Director." Zhang Zhiren nodded.

"Mm."

Director Wang gave a slight nod, then instructed, "Don't forget—use Chu Tianyao to take care of that Lin Qing as soon as possible. After this, the Yuan Hong Society will go into hiding for a while."

Zhang Zhiren said at once, "Please rest assured, Director. He's just a lucky Inspector. Once Chu Tianyao makes his move, he's bound to die."

Suddenly—

"BANG!!"

The reinforced metal door above let out a tremendous boom, and the entire security door shuddered at the same time, as if on the verge of collapsing.

"Hm?"

Zhang Zhiren's face changed.

Director Wang narrowed his eyes as well.

Before Zhang Zhiren could pull up the surveillance, another tremendous "BANG!!" followed right after.

The faintly twisted and deformed security door was sent flying out, and at the same moment, a blurred figure drifted out from within it, appearing before the two of them in an instant.

Zhang Zhiren saw the newcomer's appearance and couldn't help but freeze.

Director Wang's gaze also turned cold.

"Chu Tianyao!"

At the same moment, accompanied by a flash of metallic sheen, the newcomer's hand-chop swept across—and a sharp edge flashed into view—

"Squelch!"

Blood gushed out, and Director Wang's head instantly flew into the air.

(End of this chapter)