Chapter 139: Self-Awareness?

Yao Wen was acting his heart out in the room, struggling to recall those past events that could move him, and only with great difficulty managed to squeeze out a few tears.

However, he gradually sensed that the atmosphere in the room was becoming increasingly icy, so cold that it made one's heart crawl.

"Cap, Captain?" He felt terrified, and when he looked up, he felt as if a basin of cold water had been splashed over him, his entire body unable to stop shivering.

He saw that Zhang Yun was staring fixedly at him with a cold gaze, the chill revealed in his eyes seemingly capable of piercing right through him—it was truly terrifying!

"What exactly do you want me to do?"

Zhang Yun's voice sounded as if it had come from an ice cellar, "Do you want me to lead men to trample the Lu Family Stockade and avenge them? Or,"

He cast a meaningful glance at Yao Wen, "do you want me to snatch back those Horned Horse mounts and then give you a share?"

"Captain, I, I really didn't mean that!" Yao Wen was so frightened that his face instantly turned as pale as paper.

At this moment, he realized with a start that he had seemingly underestimated this Captain.

Zhang Yun was absolutely not the type of simple-minded Martial Artist who only knew how to act based on brute force.

"You had better not." Zhang Yun let out a cold snort, the sound striking Yao Wen's heart like a heavy hammer, "Get out!"

"Yes, yes!" As if granted amnesty, Yao Wen scrambled out of the room.

Not until he walked out the door and the sunlight spilled onto him did he let out a long sigh of relief.

Too terrifying! It was simply too terrifying! He did not doubt for a second that if Zhang Yun had harbored murderous intent just now and wanted his life, it would be no different from crushing an insignificant ant.

And there would be absolutely no one to plead for him; after all, the other party was a Captain and the cousin of the Zhu Jia Bao Bao Zhu!

However, as the fear receded slightly, a sense of resentment surged in Yao Wen's heart.

"Damn it, this dog thing. I went to such great lengths to find out the ins and outs of the matter clearly, specifically running over to tell you—this is like handing you over a hundred thousand or more.

And what's the result? You actually bite the hand that feeds you, failing to recognize a good heart! Fine, you act noble, you're amazing! I'll go tell someone else this news!"

Thinking of this, he glanced at an office not far away and walked over.

At the same time, a cold sneer appeared at the corner of Zhang Yun's mouth inside the room.

This Yao Wen really had quite the nerve, actually attempting to use him as a tool? He didn't even stop to think about how much weight he carried.

That's right, twenty-some Horned Horse mounts were indeed worth a fortune, enough to be worth over a hundred thousand. But so what?

Did he really think that with his own abilities, earning over a hundred thousand was a difficult task?

Just relying on this heavy Machine Gun in his hand, with a 12.7mm caliber, an effective range reaching 1000 meters, and a rate of fire as high as 6000 rounds per minute.

With this kind of firepower, even if the most formidable Iron-backed Black Bull among the Intermediate-level Fierce Beasts charged over, it would be torn to shreds in an instant! Relying on this kind of strength, going out for a trip to earn tens of thousands of dollars was simply child's play.

What's more, his trump cards went far beyond just this heavy Machine Gun.

It was just that while money was easy to earn, good items were hard to buy.

Mid-grade Blood Qi Pills were still relatively easy to get, but Superior Blood Qi Pills were treasures that everyone scrambled for. Even though everyone knew that for a Martial Artist below the Entry-Jin stage, using this stuff was pure waste, they still flocked to it.

Without connections, one simply couldn't buy them. The same logic applied to other cultivation resources.

"However, having said that, that sharpshooter from the Lu Family Stockade is actually quite interesting. When I find some free time, it wouldn't hurt to go meet them." Zhang Yun's mouth curled up slightly as he muttered to himself.

……

Yao Wen walked for nearly a hundred meters before finally arriving outside another office.

He slowly raised his hand, preparing to knock on the door, but hesitated.

This Wang Dezhi, in some respects, was even harder to deal with than Captain Zhang Yun, always giving people a feeling of being sinister and cunning.

If he told him this news and he got the benefits later but only gave him a tiny bit, what should he do?

"Even if I can only get a little, it's better than nothing at all!" Yao Wen gritted his teeth, finally made up his mind, and knocked on the door.

"Come in." A calm, unruffled voice came from inside the room.

Yao Wen's face was filled with smiles as he gently pushed the door open, first peeking inside to observe before walking into the room, carefully closing the door, and saying, "Captain, are you practicing calligraphy?"

"Oh my, just look at these characters, they are simply as graceful as floating clouds and as vigorous as startled dragons, like iron hooks and silver strokes—truly peerless throughout history!" As he spoke, he walked over, looked at a piece of calligraphy on the table, gave a thumbs up, and praised him vigorously.

Wang Dezhi was holding a brush in his right hand; hearing this, he nodded slightly and asked, "Little Yao, you've come to find me suddenly, is there something the matter?"

"Captain, can't I come to admire your calligraphic masterpiece if there's nothing wrong?" Yao Wen's mouth was as if smeared with honey; these words seemed very effective, and the smile on Wang Dezhi's face became even more obvious.

"Alright, don't I know my own level of calligraphy? Stop beating around the bush, sit." He pointed to the sofa nearby.

"Thank you, Captain." Yao Wen felt a surge of secret joy, thinking that perhaps this Wang Dezhi wasn't as terrifying as the rumors suggested, at least on the surface he was much easier to get along with than that guy Zhang Yun.

"Speak, what exactly is the matter." Wang Dezhi asked seemingly casually while continuing to wield his brush.

Yao Wen turned his upper body slightly and lowered his voice, saying, "Captain, I've come this time because I have a big deal I want to tell you about."

"Oh? A big deal? What kind of big deal?" There was a bit more curiosity in Wang Dezhi's tone.

"Horse bandits!" Yao Wen's voice was so low it was almost inaudible.

Hearing these two words, the hand Wang Dezhi used to hold the brush trembled violently.

"What about the horse bandits?" Wang Dezhi's voice remained calm, and the brush in his hand began to wander across the paper again.

A hint of smugness showed in Yao Wen's tone: "Captain, you don't know yet, do you? That gang of horse bandits outside our city has already been wiped out by someone!"

Wang Dezhi's pupils contracted sharply in an instant, "Wiped out? How do you know this news?"

"Captain, actually this news is no longer a secret outside; not just me, many people in the Guard Team know. However, I know some inside information that they don't."

"Is that so?" Wang Dezhi looked up, his face full of smiles, "Tell me about it."

"This..." Yao Wen smiled, the meaning of that smile couldn't be more obvious.

"Rest assured," Wang Dezhi narrowed his eyes, "If what you are about to say is indeed valuable, I will not treat you unfairly."

"Alright, with those words from the Captain, your subordinate is relieved." Yao Wen was overjoyed and immediately repeated everything he had said to Zhang Yun earlier, word for word.

This time, he was not interrupted; Wang Dezhi listened patiently the whole time.

"Finished?"

"Yes, finished." Yao Wen was stunned for a moment, then a fawning smile appeared on his face again, "How about it, Captain, is this news valuable enough? Twenty-some mounts, that's worth over a hundred thousand."

"It is indeed very valuable." Wang Dezhi nodded.

"Who else have you told about this news?"

Yao Wen's eyes widened, and he hurriedly said, "Captain, as soon as I knew about this, I ran to tell you first. I haven't told anyone else."

"So, besides you, no one else knows about this?" Wang Dezhi frowned. Why did he feel that the more he listened to Wang Dezhi's words, the more wrong they sounded?

"No, you just said you learned about this from Su Chungui's sister-in-law. Does that mean she knows about this too?" Wang Dezhi's smile suddenly froze, and a trace of displeasure seemed to appear on his face.

"Ye-yes." A bad premonition welled up in Yao Wen's heart, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

He forced a smile and said, "Captain, don't worry, she isn't the type of person who likes to talk everywhere. Only she and I know about this. Of course, now that includes you, Captain, so a total of three people know."

"Is that so."

The smile on Wang Dezhi's face blossomed once again. He walked slowly to Yao Wen's side and said, "Not bad, your news came just in time. Tell me, what reward do you want?"

"This, Captain, you are too kind."

Yao Wen watched Wang Dezhi approach step by step and said nonchalantly, "There should be over twenty Horned Horse mounts in Lu Family Stockade. After the matter is done, if you could spare one for me, Captain, I would be satisfied."

"Of course, if you could give me one more, I would be even happier."

"You certainly have a good sense of self-awareness." Wang Dezhi slowly circled behind Yao Wen.

"Captain, how can you say that? If it weren't for you, let alone a Horned Horse, I wouldn't even be able to get a single hair from a horse..."

"Crack!"

A crisp sound of bone breaking rang out in the room.

Yao Wen, who had been full of smiles and chattering away just a moment ago, now had his head twisted at a bizarre 90-degree angle, and his body slumped limply onto the sofa.

Wang Dezhi stood behind Yao Wen, the expression on his face becoming exceptionally ferocious.

He took a handkerchief out of his pocket with his left hand, wiped the sweat that had seeped out of his right palm from the exertion, then crumpled the handkerchief into a ball and tossed it into the trash can.

"Is my stuff something you can covet?" Wang Dezhi sneered.

No wonder, no wonder the person who had been meeting with him hadn't appeared for several days, and news had spread outside that the horse bandits had been wiped out. So, they really had been wiped out in one fell swoop.

"A bunch of useless trash!" Wang Dezhi couldn't help but curse bitterly.

Those horse bandits hadn't been able to acquire those thirty-plus Horned Horse mounts in a short amount of time; he had provided the money for all of it, counting on them to earn him more benefits.

And the result? They had barely made back half the capital before they were all killed by someone, and the mounts were stolen too. That was his money! His money!

"Lu Family Stockade, you have a lot of nerve, daring to touch my things."

A towering rage burned in Wang Dezhi's eyes. At this moment, he wished he could immediately take men and slaughter his way over to kill everyone in the entire Lu Family Stockade to relieve the hatred in his heart.

"No, that guy Zhang Yun has returned. Even if he hadn't returned, if I were to do this, it would definitely attract his attention."

Wang Dezhi paced back and forth in the room when suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

Doesn't Lu Family Stockade rely on Li Family Fort? Li Meng and the others know that buying Middle Grade Blood Qi Pill from him is more expensive than the market price, yet they are still willing to do so just to get on his good side and gain the opportunity to enter Yongan City.

Why not hand this matter over to them to handle?

The only one who knows he is the mastermind behind the horse bandits is that horse bandit leader; even that contact person doesn't know his true appearance or identity.

As for that horse bandit leader, there is no need to worry at all, because his wife and daughter are in his hands.

According to what this dead man just said, those people are already dead and have no chance to speak.

Therefore, there is no need to worry about anyone leaking this secret, and Li Meng and the others won't have the chance to turn around and threaten him.

On the contrary, they will even think this is an excellent opportunity to curry favor with him.

"Hmm." Wang Dezhi nodded, feeling there were no loopholes.

However, just in case, that woman, as well as Liu Dong's wife and daughter, cannot be left alive.

He will send someone later to tell the Li Family Three Brothers to bring that batch of mounts back, and then arrange for another batch of people to come over after a while.

"Lu Family Stockade, Lu Family Stockade, you are truly tired of living!" Wang Dezhi gritted his teeth in anger.