Chapter 128: "Killer" In Position

After watching the Cameraman's memories in their entirety, Yan Jing finally understood the ins and outs of the situation, resolving his lingering doubts.

For example, why the Cameraman had copied the crimes, and why he had given an apple to Mantou while she rested by the side of the road...

It was also after finishing these memories that Yan Jing finally grasped the true meaning of the Ghoulish Life Role-playing Game.

The Cameraman's life was simply... an absolute disaster.

It was so terrible that it was almost sickening.

If you didn't want to be continually sickened by this life, your only option was to take it over through role-playing.

To make everything of his your own, reverse the situation in your own way, and live out a life that was meant to plunge into the abyss.

The only silver lining was that the Cameraman's dying wish wasn't too bad.

If his wish had been to marry that girl named A Si, things would have been a bit difficult...

Yan Jing might have had to take far more ruthless measures, and it certainly would have required a lot more effort.

It was better as it was: simple and direct.

Yan Jing exited the memories.

He looked at Mantou beside him, his gaze perfectly meeting her wide eyes.

"Yi... Ji... you... you're awake..."

A bright smile bloomed on Mantou's face as she sat there obediently.

"Yeah."

Yan Jing patted Mantou's head.

Some people were just blind and couldn't tell good from bad. It was no wonder they ended up dead, leaving the real treasure for him.

He then took Mantou's hand and led her out the door.

Outside, night was falling. The setting sun on the horizon drew back its final slivers of light, and darkness rushed in from the distance, gradually covering the black soil.

He had intended to call for An Ze, but instead saw a tall figure standing a short distance from the door. Beside her was An Ze, shrinking back and too afraid to speak.

"Officer Lu."

A smile appeared on Yan Jing's face.

"Mhm."

Lu Miao nodded. Her right hand instantly transformed into a Dark Blade. "Mr. Yi Ji, do you know what happens to those who touch my people?"

"Boss, it wasn't Mr. Yi Ji..."

The moment An Ze finished speaking, a fresh cut appeared on his arm, sending blood spurting into the air.

An Ze let out a muffled groan. He wanted to continue pleading for Yan Jing, but he suddenly realized that his dangerously high body temperature was actually dropping as the blood flowed out.

He glanced up at Lu Miao and promptly shut his mouth.

He could tell that Lu Miao wasn't truly angry.

"If I had actually hurt Mr. An Ze, the outcome would likely be quite miserable," Yan Jing said with a nod and a faint smile.

"There won't be a next time."

Lu Miao's tone was calm. She then grabbed An Ze and turned to leave.

After taking a few steps, she paused and said,

"Yu Xiran and Meng Qianqiu delayed their departure. They will pass through here tomorrow night."

She had witnessed the conflict between Yu Xiran and the Cameraman—Yan Jing's current disguise—at the banquet, so she was giving him a heads-up.

This was her payment to Yan Jing for helping her extract the confession.

"Thank you."

Yan Jing nodded, then led Mantou away in the opposite direction.

If they were arriving tomorrow night, he had a bit more time to work with. He needed to go find Old Master Liu and the others to discuss things.

Before long, he and Mantou safely arrived at the Twenty-Eighth Village.

The ward chiefs along the way hadn't caused any trouble. Some hadn't even bothered to open their doors, simply shouting out a "Pass" when knocked on.

"Three tens."

Outside the house, Chen Nian flipped over his cards.

Tiger also flipped over his cards. He hadn't looked at them; he was playing blind.

As a result...

"A 2-3-5?!"

Tiger himself couldn't quite believe it. In Golden Flower, a 2-3-5 was the smallest possible hand, while Three of a Kind was the largest. Yet, a 2-3-5 was the only thing that could beat a Three of a Kind.

Chen Nian gathered his cards and nodded.

He finally understood why that old man had insisted on bringing Tiger along.

This guy's luck was a bit too good.

Not just normally good.

Exceptionally good.

"Sorry about that, Mr. Chen Nian..."

Tiger scratched his head with an awkward smile. He had intended to play 'business poker' and intentionally lose, but Chen Nian wanted to play Golden Flower, a game based almost entirely on luck. He couldn't throw the game even if he wanted to, and he had already won five hands in a row.

"How about... another round?"

"No need."

Chen Nian stood up and looked at Yan Jing.

"Finished your business?"

"Finished about half of it," Yan Jing replied.

"Then you can go get busy with the other half."

"Did something happen?"

Yan Jing noticed that Chen Nian's calm eyes were filled with exhaustion.

Beside them, Tiger quickly summarized the situation in a few short words:

After the Old Man followed the local ward chief inside, he hadn't come out all afternoon.

An entire afternoon.

No matter what they were doing, it shouldn't have taken an entire afternoon.

Yan Jing stared blankly for a moment. "Knowing the Old Man's personality, he probably just forgot..."

He stepped forward, preparing to knock on the door.

But as he raised his hand, he suddenly understood why Tiger and Chen Nian hadn't knocked.

Although the possibility of the Old Man 'exercising' for an entire afternoon was slim, given his boundless vitality, it was still a real possibility.

Knocking on the door at a time like this would indeed be a bit impolite.

He turned his head and looked at Chen Nian and Tiger.

"How about..."

"Mantou and I team up, and we switch to playing Fight the Landlord?"

Just as they reached the third round of the game...

Suddenly, the door was pushed open from the inside.

Wearing a bathrobe and a pair of flip-flops, the Old Man rushed out with his hands held high in the air, shouting:

"Kid Chen! I've done it! Good thing you didn't disturb me this afternoon. I came up with a flawless plan. We'll definitely be able to assassinate that girl without anyone ever—"

The Old Man's words caught in his throat.

Because he saw Yan Jing playing cards.

At that moment, Yan Jing was holding a hand of cards, just about to play his signature 'airplane' hand.

Seeing the Old Man come out, he turned his head and asked in confusion, "Who are you trying to kill?"

Behind him, Chen Nian helplessly covered his forehead and let out a long sigh.

...

...

A moment later, the situation had been roughly explained.

Old Master Liu, Chen Nian, Tiger, and Mantou stood in a line, facing Yan Jing.

"So you're saying... you want to help me kill that Yu Ling?"

Yan Jing looked at the group opposite him with a perplexed expression.

The group nodded in unison.

Yan Jing then pulled Tiger and Mantou, both of whom clearly had no idea what was going on, over to his side.

"Stop blindly joining the commotion."

The two remaining instigators now had nothing left but a strictly proper attitude.

"His idea."

Chen Nian chose leniency through confession, directly selling out Old Master Liu.

"Hold on a minute. Listen to my defense."

Old Master Liu held up a finger, signaling for everyone to listen to him.

"Yi Ji, my boy, tell me, are we buddies or not?"

"We are."

"Shouldn't buddies help each other out?"

"They should."

Yan Jing nodded again.

"So everyone's happy, right? You want to kill that girl, so we're helping you."

Defending and explaining—Old Master Liu was purely on the defensive, with absolutely no explaining.

Yan Jing let out a sigh.

"But how did you know I wanted to kill that girl named Yu Ling?"

"Wasn't that it?"

Old Master Liu and Chen Nian both froze. They couldn't have been mistaken about the murderous intent in Yan Jing's eyes when he saw Yu Ling's face back then.

After a few seconds of silence, Yan Jing looked up and chuckled.

"Actually, you're exactly right."

"Then go ahead and tell us your plan, Old Man... We'll set it for tomorrow night."

...

...

The following night.

The five "killers" took their positions in the Twenty-Third Mile and the Twenty-Second Village.

The ward chiefs of these two locations had been dealt with—one challenged by Yan Jing, and the other directly defeated by Chen Nian.

The reason they chose these locations was that as they traveled inward from the Twenty-Eighth Village, these were the only two places where the ward chiefs had accepted their entry gifts.

Simply put, the ward chiefs here had seen their faces.

Therefore, the one who collected gifts as aggressively as the Architect had been wiped out, while the one who took a lighter toll had just been tied up.

Although the group would have preferred to set up their ambush deeper inside, they had to choose these locations to avoid being seen by anyone else.

The main attackers this time:

The Old Man, who had volunteered, and Chen Nian, who had been forced to volunteer, stayed in the Twenty-Second Village with Mantou, their trump card.

Meanwhile, Yan Jing and the scout, Tiger, waited in the Twenty-Third Mile.

The general outline of the plan was as follows:

Once Yu Xiran and his group traveled deep into their territory, the Old Man would step out to muddy the waters first, followed by Chen Nian executing targeted strikes.

And if the target tried to flee out of Solitude Lane, Yan Jing would intercept them.

If any accidents occurred, their trump card, Mantou, would take action.

The Twenty-Third Mile.

Inside a solitude servant's wooden cabin, Yan Jing and Tiger leaned against the window, looking outside. Beside him, Tiger whispered, "Mr. Yi Ji, why did you agree to bring me along this time? Aren't you usually with Miss Mantou?"

"Does this mean you finally acknowledge me?"

Tiger looked at Yan Jing with excitement.

Yan Jing shook his head.

"I'm about to do something major."

"There's immense karma involved, and I don't want those three to be tainted by it."

"Didn't I just tell you to stay with them, Mr. Tiger? You insisted on tagging along, so I had no choice..."

"Immense karma..."

Tiger swallowed hard. "How immense?"

"Very immense."

Yan Jing said calmly, "Immense enough to pierce the sky of Old Sin City."

"I-It can't be that bad, right... Mr. Yi Ji... Aren't we just killing an ordinary resident of Dandelion Manor?"

Tiger tried to force a laugh to ease the tension, but he couldn't quite manage it. Instead, he just swallowed nervously again.

He knew that the man in front of him wasn't likely to lie to him.

Because there was no need to.

His life was in the other man's hands.

Lying required considering the cost-to-benefit ratio, and he figured he simply wasn't worth the effort.

Therefore, what Yan Jing said was most likely true.

As the words faded.

Yan Jing was just about to say something else when he suddenly saw several flashlight beams sweeping toward them from outside the window. He immediately gestured for Tiger to put the cardboard box back over his head.

Then, he unclipped the Walkie-talkie at his waist and tapped it lightly.

Before long, the Walkie-talkie's green light began to flash.

This was their pre-agreed signal.

It meant one thing.

The killers were in position.