Watching Zhou Kai’s stubborn face, Song Hana’s eyelids twitched. She didn’t like the look in his eyes, but she maintained the smile on her lips.
"What do I want? Actually, it’s very simple. I want to know who is behind you. Who is funding you.
I want to know where Li Qingshu is now. Is he dead or not? If he’s dead, I’ll have to run for my life.
Last but not least, I want to know the injection and adaptation thods for the little purple bottle. Who exactly is the person capable of bearing the power of the Exotic Species?"
When she asked about Li Qingshu’s whereabouts, Song Hana’s expression was still relatively normal.
But when she spoke of the Exotic Species’ power, she had already begun to work herself into a frenzy, as if she had climaxed on the spot.
Then, BAM! She struck him again.
"Hmm, let’s start with Li Qingshu. This matter could be life or death for .
Do you know Li Qingshu? He’s quite handso and very powerful, but his performance in bed was just average."
Li Qingshu had been missing for twenty days. As a senior espionage agent of the company, he held vast amounts of important data from other corporations. A senior espionage agent’s value wasn’t rely that of a Fourth Tier Transcendent. Li Qingshu was a super-elite operative trained by the company. Furthermore, he held too many secrets and possessed a Sequence like The Shadow Sovereign. Such talent would naturally be a focus of the company.
In a few days, Li Qingshu’s leave would end. If sothing had truly happened to him, Headquarters would undoubtedly trace it back to her. Her clandestine activities were complex. As the investigation from Headquarters intensified, so of her unsavory dealings were bound to be exposed. When that happened, she wouldn’t be the only one in trouble—that person would be too!
Within Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals, things weren’t perfectly smooth. She needed significant accomplishnts to cover her tracks.
And where would those accomplishnts co from?
Identifying Circle Studio’s hidden backer and determining if Li Qingshu was dead or captured were crucial.
If he was dead, and had died outside the Wall, that would still be acceptable. Because if he was dead, his secrets would die with him.
But if he had been captured, that would be a rather dire situation.
For the past twenty days, she had been waiting for Li Qingshu to appear, but he had vanished as if into thin air.
Song Hana knew she couldn’t wait any longer. If Lu Luo returned, she would lose her chance completely.
Therefore, she had to act against Zhou Kai directly, while Ding Peng and You Xiaoqi were absent.
"Student Zhou Kai, are you listening to ?"
Zhou Kai couldn’t understand this madwoman’s priorities. She’d stressed that Li Qingshu was a matter of life and death for her, yet she still felt the need to point out his diocre performance in bed. What was that about?
"I don’t know Li Qingshu at all! I’ve never even heard of him."
"Hmm, it’s normal that you don’t know him. After all, you’ve always stayed inside the Wall."
Song Hana nodded. Li Qingshu had gone directly after Lu Luo and hadn’t been involved in Circle Studio’s affairs, so she could understand why Zhou Kai wouldn’t know about him.
"Then who is the backer behind your studio? You should at least know this, right?"
This question stumped Zhou Kai. Who is funding us from behind? Wasn’t it just you contributing 1,000, contributing 2,000, and everyone pitching in to start the company? Lu Luo did all the grandstanding and handled personnel. Gu Fangyi, on the other hand, was a complete freeloader, though he did help clean up during the studio’s opening. Beyond that, what else could there be?
"I..."
Zhou Kai’s expression was one of extre conflict; he genuinely didn’t know how to answer.
Song Hana saw Zhou Kai’s conflict and hesitation and continued, "You might indeed not know about Li Qingshu; I don’t deny that. But you should know about the hidden forces behind Circle Studio, shouldn’t you? After all, you’ve always been managing Circle. As for Li Qingshu, I’ll ask your boss, Lu Luo, myself. Now, just tell who’s backing you. They’re hidden quite deep. Is it Hongtu, or Sea Star?"
Zhou Kai glanced at Song Hana. Whether it was due to blood loss or so other reason, his mind was exceptionally clear at that mont.
All I can do now is stall. If I stall, Brother Luo will co to save . Song Hana needs to lure Lu Luo, that’s certain, so I probably won’t die just yet. Knowing I won’t die for now, I can reveal so information, or fabricate so. This information might make Song Hana feel she’d gained sothing, thereby reducing the harm I suffered. However, there’s also the chance that once Song Hana gets the information, she’ll kill imdiately and use my corpse to lure Lu Luo. To prevent this, Zhou Kai knew his answer had to be carefully fabricated, with reservations.
"Behind our company is the Hongtu Martial Equipnt Group. They’ve provided us with a great deal of covert support. But I can’t tell you who our contact person is right now. I want to live!"
Song Hana narrowed her eyes, lit another cigarette, then picked up the ashtray and smashed it over Zhou Kai’s head.
BANG!
Zhou Kai gritted his teeth and endured. His head was spinning, but he didn’t pass out.
"Alright, you pass this question too. Let’s move on to the next one. Have you heard of the little purple bottle?"
"Never heard of it," Zhou Kai answered truthfully.
Song Hana nodded and circled Zhou Kai a few more tis.
"Well then, let put it another way. In Circle Studio, have you ever seen any rather strange people? Their bodies are incredibly strong, strong enough to rival Exotic Species, and moreover, they’ve behaved very strangely towards Exotic Species!"
Exceptionally strong bodies, strange behavior towards Exotic Species? Isn’t that just Brother Luo himself?
A flicker of hesitation and shock crossed Zhou Kai’s eyes, and Song Hana clearly noticed it.
She squatted down in front of Zhou Kai, a hint of excited surprise in her voice.
"You know, don’t you? Who is he?"
"I don’t know!"
"Not talking? Give him a dose."
At Song Hana’s command, soone imdiately injected Zhou Kai with a drug.
Zhou Kai began to tremble violently, his body alternating between chills and fever, then wracked by itching and pain. He curled up on the spot, RASPING, veins bulging on his face, clearly in agony.
"Ready to talk now?"
Zhou Kai felt he was about to break. He was a smart man; he knew he didn’t possess so so-called indomitable will.
But he had another way.
I need to pass out. Only by passing out can I survive!
The Jinx’s Ambition activated. Zhou Kai, who should have been unable to lose consciousness from the interrogation drug, completely defied its pharmacological effects and forcibly passed out.
Song Hana looked astonished. This interrogation drug contained a very strong stimulant; how could he possibly faint at this mont?
In his unconscious state, Zhou Kai vaguely heard Song Hana say to soone beside her, "Forget it. Contact Zhang Tianyi. Have him deal with Lu Luo."
"Yes!"
Zhang Tianyi? I rember him, Zhou Kai thought. Isn’t the Church’s propaganda officer nad Zhang Tianyi? You see his ads every day! Just a few days ago, the Church and Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals even established the Blue Sky Infant and Child Relief Fund, and both Song Hana and Zhang Tianyi attended the event.
"Boss, what about this guy?"
"Let’s keep him for now; he still knows so things. When Lu Luo returns, and this one is awake, have him contact Lu Luo."
"Understood."
「...」
Lu Luo and his two companions were standing on the High Wall, going through the security check. While registering their items and equipnt, he stealthily borrowed a Wall Guardian’s phone to call the company.
"Hello, Brother Kane? We’re really rich this ti!"
Lu Luo’s voice was tinged with pride. The items they were bringing back—the blood sacs and equipnt—were worth at least 800,000, and the cha could fetch another 500,000. That’s 1.3 million in total! 1.3 million! Wouldn’t Zhou Kai jump for joy? That cheapskate, always pinching pennies, not at all like a third-in-command should act. He’d even haggle for the 50-yuan tricycle rides. This ti, Lu Luo would pay, and they’d get the 200-yuan ones.
Just as Lu Luo was reveling in his thoughts, You Xiaoqi’s voice ca from the other end.
"Lu Luo."
"Hold on, Brother Qi. Where’s Brother Kane?"
"Lu Luo, sothing’s happened to Zhou Kai..."
Lu Luo silently hung up. In re seconds, his expression shifted from initial pride and joy to icy coldness and murderous intent.
Qi Xinzhu, standing beside him, saw everything and tugged at his arm with concern.
"Lu Luo, what’s wrong? Did sothing happen?"
"Brother Kane’s in trouble."
"What happened to Brother Kane?"
Gu Fangyi had the strongest reaction. From the very beginning, it had always been the three of them. Besides Lu Luo, Zhou Kai was Gu Fangyi’s only brother.
"Possibly missing, or kidnapped."
"Lu Luo, are you going back now?"
Qi Xinzhu remained relatively calm. At a ti like this, soone definitely needed to head back imdiately to deal with the situation. Moreover, the perpetrators’ motives were unclear. If it was a kidnapping, they would likely make demands soon.
Lu Luo cald Gu Fangyi.
"You two handle these supplies here. I’ll go deal with Brother Kane’s situation. Brother Gu, stay calm. Impulsiveness is useless. Only by remaining calm can we handle situations that are beyond our control. Take care of things here. I’ll bring Brother Kane back safely. Trust , we’ve shed blood together."
Seeing Lu Luo’s composed face, Gu Fangyi gradually cald down and nodded.
"I understand! Go."
Lu Luo took out a handful of scattered Dark Spirit Stones and shouted at the crowd queuing up, "Hey, Dark Spirit Stones over here! Lots of them!"
With that, he tossed the Dark Spirit Stones into the sky. This maneuver left everyone dumbfounded, but their shock quickly turned into a frantic scramble for the stones.
Lu Luo squeezed through the crowd and approached a similarly stunned Wall Guardian, placing a Dark Spirit Stone weighing over five grams in her hand.
"Madam Wall Guardian, during work hours, we should remain at our posts. Those people have gone to grab the Dark Spirit Stones. Now I’m the only one in line. Shouldn’t you process my visa first?"
The Wall Guardian looked at the Dark Spirit Stone in her hand and nodded quickly.
"Alright, I’ll process your check-through imdiately."
With paynt, the Wall Guardians’ efficiency increased dramatically. Lu Luo wasn’t afraid of these Wall Guardians taking money; he was afraid of them not doing their jobs!
The rules of the Wasteland High Wall are the Alliance’s paramount principle. Anyone who trespasses the High Wall is considered a top wanted criminal by the Alliance, with no exceptions. He wasn’t yet powerful enough to disregard this rule and force his way through the Wall. So, he had to go through the necessary procedures, which was quite troubleso.
Fortunately, money could expedite the process.
Visa check, blood test, disinfection—Lu Luo was finally cleared to leave.
"Extend the steel wire for ."
[Energy consud: 35 points. Assembling 4 segnts of steel wire: Steel Wire – Extended Steel Wire]
Lu Luo drew his Steel Wire Hook, coated it with Qi He, and flung it northward.
The steel wire embedded itself into a building. Lu Luo abruptly tightened the wire and leaped straight down from the High Wall.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The jet device provided power for brief flight and gliding.
Using the steel wire and his Jet Belt, Lu Luo flew and glided between buildings at incredible speed!
「...」
Inside Circle Studio, Ding Peng and You Xiaoqi, to maintain morale, hadn’t announced Zhou Kai’s disappearance. They only summoned the few who had seen Old Wu’s commission.
Old Wu’s commission file was on the table, but Ding Peng still had these few people make extra preparations.
"Each of you, write down the details of the commission as you rember them, as thoroughly as possible. Especially the client’s specific requests at the ti, as well as his deanor and appearance. Describe everything. Lu Luo will want to see it when he gets back."
"Understood!"
"Understood."
These individuals roughly guessed that Zhou Kai was in trouble, but as seasoned professionals, they knew exactly what they needed to do. Following Ding Peng’s instructions, they wrote down the contents of the internal commission as best as they could recall, then described Old Wu’s appearance, deanor, and his requests at the ti in as much detail as possible.
This information might or might not be useful. Collecting it now could save a lot of ti if Lu Luo needed it.
Soon, soone ca upstairs to report.
"Brother Ding, Miss You, Brother Luo is back."
Lu Luo went straight upstairs and walked directly to the office desk.
As expected, he asked for what Ding Peng had already prepared.
"Give the details of Zhou Kai’s last commission. And have the mbers who interacted with the client describe him as thoroughly as possible."
"It’s all ready. We were just waiting for you."
Lu Luo was sowhat surprised and also gratified. The caliber of Circle Studio’s mbers had indeed improved considerably.
He wasted no more words. The Observer imdiately scanned all the information, intelligence, and data provided.
[Coordinates: Hequ Farmstead, deep within the Bogu Manor villa district.]
"This Old Wu must be an expert—possibly a rcenary or even part of a private force. He’s likely deeply involved in this. However, their movents aren’t without flaws. Old Wu took a company car. If we head to Hequ Farmstead within Bogu Manor now and find our car, we can probably pinpoint where Brother Kane disappeared."
Lu Luo didn’t want to waste any more ti. Just as he was about to head to Hequ Farmstead personally, a mobile phone lying on the desk, which he hadn’t noticed before, suddenly rang.
Lu Luo paused for a mont, then picked up the phone.
A sowhat hoarse voice ca through.
"Lu Luo, now that you have this phone, co to the slums alone. Rember, alone."
The person on the phone made no specific demands, but Lu Luo knew with certainty that Zhou Kai must be in their hands. Moreover, the fact that they knew of his return so quickly could only an one thing: there was a mole in the studio.
"Brother Qi, take so people to Hequ Farmstead in Bogu Manor. Find the car Zhou Kai and Xu Minglei drove off in. But this ti, don’t take anyone from the studio. Request so Hunters from the Alliance; you should find sothing."
"What about ?" Since Lu Luo was only sending You Xiaoqi, Ding Peng knew Lu Luo must have other tasks for him.
"Brother Fatty Ding, lock down the studio. Tell all mbers currently out on assignnt not to return. No one presently inside the studio is allowed to leave either—no excuses, no refusals. Have them all hand over their phones. No one is to use company phones. You don’t need to take any other action; just wait for my return. Supervise them centrally, and watch them like a hawk for ."
Lu Luo’s request sounded a bit strange, but Fatty Ding reacted imdiately.
"You an there’s a mole?"
Lu Luo nodded, admitting it outright. At this mont, putting psychological pressure on the mole was key.
After giving instructions for the studio, Lu Luo turned to leave. As he passed Ding Peng, he intentionally, or unintentionally, bumped into him.
Ding Peng was montarily stunned. A Transcendent, with their superior physical control, shouldn’t make such a blunder. However, he quickly understood Lu Luo’s action.
"Lu Luo, where are you going now?"
"To do what I have to do."
Ding Peng watched Lu Luo’s retreating figure, then suddenly stood at the window and shouted loudly, "Go, do what you need to! This is the Fourth Ring! We are Hunters!"
"Got it!"
Lu Luo waved, phone in hand, and reactivated his Jet Belt, speeding towards the slums as directed.
His figure weaved through the city, soon coming to a stop on a rooftop.
Did I lose them?
[You shook them off two minutes after leaving. Besides, with your urban mobility speed, do you really think anyone could track you?]
Brother Kane is in their hands. Better to be cautious.
[Fatty Ding probably ant you should request a formal Hunter operation. That would put pressure on Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals.]
Lu Luo narrowed his eyes.
A formal operation would very likely result in Brother Kane’s death. Therefore, I’m going for a decapitation strike.
「...」
In the parish, Qiao Xing was watering flowers when the ho phone suddenly rang.
"Li Lan, answer the phone, will you!"
"Can’t you get it yourself? I’m cooking."
Qiao Xing pouted.
Ugh, this woman, can’t do a single thing.
"Hello, Qiao Xing speaking."
"BOO HOO HOO... Teacher, I’ve been cornered! The enemy is powerful, influential, and ruthless! I don’t think I’ll make it back this ti! You’d better teach the Four Forms of Sword Heart to soone else!"
Qiao Xing’s mouth twitched.
That crying is so fake, I can tell even over the phone. Speak like a normal person!
"Blue Sky Pharmaceuticals is after ! In the slums! Co save , quick!"
"Understood."
Hanging up, Qiao Xing put on his church vestnts.
"Dinner’s almost ready. Where are you going?"
Qiao Xing thought for a mont.
So brothers from the Church asked to go back and help clean up.
"Got it. Go on then, be back soon."
Li Lan knew Qiao Xing was lying, but was there really any need to call him out on it? Not really.
「...」
At the Star of Tomorrow club, Ludie was sprawled on a bed, laughing uproariously with his eyes closed, lost in a dream.
Sit down, everyone sit down! From today on, I am Gold rank!
The seafood waitress beside him looked on with disdain.
Dreaming about Gold rank? Just how bad are you?
DRIIING! DRIIING! DRIIING!
The shrill ring of the phone shattered Ludie’s pleasant dream. He groggily answered the call.
"Hello, Ludie, Hunter Squad 13."
"I have a lead on the ’Bride’ case, but I’m pinned down right now. You’d better assign it to soone else!"
??? Ludie’s brain struggled to catch up.
"Hey, wait! Lu Luo, what the hell are you talking about?"
Ah, Lu Luo rembered—Ludie wasn’t always the sharpest.
"I’m cornered."
"Where?" Ludie asked directly.
"East Ring slums."
"Got it."
Ludie instantly threw on his clothes, the words ’Hunter Squad 13’ emblazoned on his back.
His Gold-rank dream shattered, leaving him utterly frustrated. From this day forward, no more gambling!
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