“I don't know if this time...”
“Change the subject.”
The Eldest Master cut the Second Master off before he could finish.
He knew exactly what his younger brother wanted to say. It was nothing more than nonsense about whether Old Fourth would come back.
Ever since Old Fourth became a Baleful Star, he had nothing to do with the Li family. How could Headquarters possibly send him back?
The Third Master cracked his knuckles, the joints popping loudly.
“Relying solely on a Baleful Star isn't secure enough. It would be best to let them know just how thorny this situation is, without leaking the fact that this god is specifically targeting the Li family.”
“We need Headquarters to feel that this deity isn't just targeting us, but the entire Security Bureau!”
Hearing this, the Second Young Master spoke up quickly.
“Could it be that's already the case?”
No one answered him. After all, if that god were truly targeting the Security Bureau, they wouldn't have specifically chosen Huang City, nor would they have killed the Second Madam’s pet.
No matter how one looked at it, this was clearly a targeted strike against the Li family.
The Eldest Master stared silently at his severed leg.
“Then we'll link him to a cult!”
“Headquarters has been cracking down hard on the True Knowledge Society lately. I heard a scion of a major family was killed by them.”
“I believe this deity is also part of the True Knowledge Society!”
The Third Master nodded.
“It’s worth a try.”
While the three were plotting, the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside. Wang Bo rushed in, his face pale with panic.
“Eldest Master! Something has happened to the Eldest Young Miss.”
“What happened to her?”
“It's just like the Eldest Young Master. Her head was taken.”
The Eldest Master's breath hitched, and he promptly fainted.
Now even the Second Young Master could see it clearly—this was absolutely aimed at the Li family!
...
Huang City.
Security Bureau.
“Has the anomaly in the Old District been purged?”
“Probably. After the incident with the Bureau Chief that day, we went back into the building and the anomaly was gone. It might have been scared off by the sealed object.”
“Sigh, that's for the best. These are truly troubled times. Ever since the Chief got injured, the bureau has been a mess.”
“You can say that again.”
Two clerks were discussing in low voices.
The Security Bureau used to be entirely under the thumb of the Li father and son.
It was obvious: the father was the Bureau Chief, and the son was meant to inherit the position.
But now the Chief had lost a leg and his son had been killed. The situation had shifted drastically.
Bureau Chief—who wouldn't want that job?
If nothing else, the retirement benefits alone were on a different level.
For the past two days, the mood within the Security Bureau had been restless.
Anomalies?
Killers?
What did it matter if those things were put on the back burner for a while?
The priority was to use this vacuum to pull strings and seize as much power as possible!
Hadn't everyone noticed that the Chief's lackeys had been looking a bit off lately?
A clerk stared boredly at the computer files.
“Sigh, let's just stick to our own work. No matter who becomes Chief, it won't change the fact that we only make twenty-eight hundred a month.”
“You're right. When we get off work tonight, let's go...”
His colleague suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
“Go where? Speak up. Why'd you go quiet?”
The clerk looked up in annoyance, only to see his colleague staring at the computer screen with a look as if he’d seen a ghost.
“What is it?”
He leaned over curiously, and a second later, his expression mirrored his colleague's.
It was a video. The video showed their Bureau Chief in a garden, caught in the act with a woman!
Below it were photos—all sorts of photos, most of them set in that same garden.
The most outrageous part, however, were the photos of a murder and dismemberment.
The dismemberment process was documented in detail, and they recognized the person doing it: the Li family's Third Young Master.
That man was no less famous in the Security Bureau than the Chief himself, given how often they crossed paths.
People frequently called in reports for brawling and assault, only for the officers to arrive and find the Third Young Master, which usually resulted in the matter being dropped.
Later on, whenever a new security officer started the job, the veterans would give them a photo of the Third Young Master and tell them how to handle him.
So, from top to bottom, there wasn't a soul in the Security Bureau who didn't recognize him.
The two clerks looked at each other, their minds going numb.
Now that they knew about this, would they be silenced?
“What do we do?”
“We didn't see anything!”
“Right!”
“Too late!”
A voice rang out from behind them. They turned to see the Vice Chief staring intently at them.
A cold sweat broke out over both of them. Everyone knew the Vice Chief was the Chief's gold-medal lackey.
Now that they knew the Chief's secrets, wouldn't he kill them to keep them quiet?
Thinking of this, one of the clerks fell to his knees with a thud.
“Chief, Chief, I swear I won't say a word about this to anyone!”
“I have elderly parents and young children! I can't die, Chief!”
The Vice Chief ignored him. He casually produced a USB drive, copied the files, and then deleted all the originals.
“You saw nothing.”
“Yes, we saw nothing! Thank you, Chief! Thank you!”
The two minor clerks felt a wave of relief as they watched the Vice Chief walk away with the USB drive.
...
Huang City.
Cafe.
“These coffee beans are quite good. Little Leaf coffee?”
“Oh? You've had it before, sir?”
“Yes.”
“Haha, it is indeed Little Leaf coffee. Even though it's domestic, the yield is small and the price isn't low. It has a very unique aroma.”
Yin Yang's expression turned momentarily wistful at those words, but he soon smiled.
“Do you sell the beans, boss?”
“If you like them, I could sell you some, but our stock is quite limited.”
Yin Yang nodded.
“How much do you have left?”
“About thir... thirty pounds!”
The owner had originally intended to say three pounds to emphasize their scarcity. However, the moment he saw Yin Yang pull out gold notes, he decisively changed his tune.
As it turned out, he was right to do so.
Yin Yang counted out three gold notes.
“Is this enough?”
“Plenty, plenty.”
The owner smiled broadly and sent a clerk to fetch the beans.
Little Leaf coffee was only 'expensive' by domestic standards. For this price, he could have bought twice as much.
Yin Yang took another sip of coffee and looked out the window.
Across the street was a very luxurious-looking apartment complex. Even from a distance, it was clear the place was pricey.
The security guards at the gate had eyes like hawks, scanning everyone who passed by.
The cars entering and exiting were all luxury models, none worth less than a million.
“Boss, I just arrived in Huang City and I'm looking to rent a place. That complex across the street looks nice. Is it expensive?”
The owner hesitated slightly upon hearing this.
“You can't use 'expensive' to describe the rent there.”
“Oh?”
Yin Yang looked surprised.
“You have to use 'robbery'.”
“How much is the monthly rent?”
“Twenty pounds of coffee beans.”
“That really is robbery!”
Rate on N.U.
