Chapter 311: This Is an Order

"This is impossible!!!"

Chen Xiaojing reached out in terror, trying to close the video, but her fingers trembled uncontrollably. She tapped it several times without success.

The sound of the knife plunging into the corpse echoed in her ears over and over. Finally, she broke down, screaming as she tore the Information Component from her wrist and hurled it away.

Yet, this still didn't stop the video from playing.

The Information Component was no fragile trinket. Listening to those squelching thuds, Chen Xiaojing felt as if every stab was piercing her own heart.

Finally unable to endure it any longer, she shakily dug out a box of something resembling chocolate from her drawer and swallowed it.

An indescribable sense of comfort instantly spread through her brain.

This was a Mental Tranquilizer, explicitly forbidden by the Family, and an absolute red line in the Peace Heavenly Kingdom.

It was exactly because she had been caught using this substance that she had fallen from her pedestal as a young business prodigy to her current state.

But right now, only this could help her temporarily escape that unforgettable night.

Her eyes turned glassy, and the suffocating weight pressing down on her chest seemed to vanish into thin air.

Her entire body began to tremble uncontrollably until she finally slumped back in her chair.

She was completely oblivious to the tiny figure in the sky who had pulled out a camera and captured this very scene.

When the most intense wave of the drug wore off, she stood up, walked over to the Information Component, and finally managed to close the video.

Then, she looked at the message following the video:

"Dear Miss Chen, this is what I filmed that night."

"I thought this might serve as a bridge to connect with you."

"You don't need to stress over my identity. In fact, I am here to cooperate with you."

"I recently decided to enter the Heavenly Kingdom's ore and Gene Potion markets, but I am lacking a few essential things. First is capital, then a distribution network, and finally the initial batch of goods. I believe you have the means to help me. If you decide to do so, here is my financial account: . You can start by wiring a sum of 200,000 Eerie Points."

"Thank you for your help. A friendly reminder: you have about one day to make your decision."

After reading the entire message, Chen Xiaojing felt as if the Mental Potion in her system had completely lost its effect. That icy chill seeped back into her body.

Capital, distribution, goods... That meant the other party currently had absolutely nothing.

She would have to supply everything herself.

No, perhaps they had a few things, but regardless, they were simply out to extort her.

200,000 Eerie Points wasn't a massive amount to her, but it wasn't exactly a small sum either.

She could certainly afford it, but this would only be the beginning.

What would come after?

How many more threats would they make using this video?

Under the immense pressure, she felt as if her mind had drifted high into the sky. The sensation from earlier resurfaced.

Clouds drifted before her eyes. She felt as though she had ascended to godhood, arriving among the clouds and dancing, until the very next second—

A black cat, drenched in blood, appeared above the clouds and stared at her.

"No!!! Die! Die!!!"

She lunged at the black cat, only to crash heavily into a cabinet. Her vision began to spin.

Touching the blood trickling down her forehead from the impact, she seemed to regain a bit of clarity.

Her expression instantly turned ruthless as she used her Information Component to issue orders to her subordinates.

She instructed them to investigate the owner of the account and their location.

"If you want to die, I'll grant your wish. You have one day. You won't get away."

She muttered with a venomous glare, then sent another message to Doctor Li:

"Bring a child to my office. Not Li Ya, but someone just as obedient."

"That method for opening an independent account you told me about last time—does it really work?"

Yan Jing sat in a chair, cutting the synthetic steak on the table with a knife and fork.

Even if it was synthetic, it was still steak, not to mention its beef content exceeded 30%.

Just this one piece cost ten Eerie Points.

That equated to about 500 in Surface World currency.

"Of course it's real. If you do it my way, no matter who tries to track you down—except for the few at the very top—it will take them at least five days."

"And five days is the absolute maximum the customs office can delay you from leaving the Heavenly Kingdom."

Boss Rat sat on a heightened stool, a white napkin tied around his neck.

"Why are you opening an independent account, kid? Trying to steal money from the organization?"

He shot Yan Jing a sideways glance.

Ever since returning in the middle of the night two days ago, this brat had been lingering around the house, refusing to leave.

Pestering him endlessly with questions.

"How could I?"

Yan Jing popped a piece of meat into his mouth and chewed vigorously.

"I have enough money, you don't need to worry."

"Regarding that spiked Happy Water, how are Number Two and Number Three's investigations going?"

Thwack!

A rolled-up newspaper landed squarely on Yan Jing's head:

"I told you, you have to call them Second Brother and Third Brother."

"Understood, understood. Second Brother and Third Brother."

Yan Jing rubbed his head.

"They say they're just about done investigating."

Rat said expressionlessly, "They've already tracked it to a Second Level Line."

That's about as far as I've gotten, Yan Jing thought silently.

The day before yesterday, he had followed Tianwei to a Happy Water joint near her home and bought a bottle of the spiked stuff.

Based on his observations over the past two days, that place was likely a Second Level Line as well.

A Second Level Line meant there was still a bottommost tier in the distribution network.

Should I make a move today? "Let me test you. If you trace it to a Second Level Line, but the connection between the Second Level Line and Third Level Line is strictly one-to-one, and aside from that specific Second Level Line, no one knows the Third Level Line exists or shares information, what would you do next?"

Use my cheat. Have Xiao Xin tail them to the Third Level Line, then follow the breadcrumbs.

Of course, he couldn't actually say that.

"If you interrogate the Second Level Line now, they'll bite their tongue and say nothing, because they know you wouldn't dare kill them," Yan Jing muttered.

"In that case—"

"First, see if they have any family—" Thwack!!!

The newspaper fell from the sky once again. Rat looked at Yan Jing in disbelief.

"You really are a natural-born scoundrel, kid."

"I was just answering the question."

Yan Jing shrugged. "Obviously I'd give the optimal solution."

"Actually, your Fourth Brother here is very merciful."

Rat sneered coldly. "But I suppose it counts as an answer."

"What would you do, Pops?"

"Grab two Second Level Line operators, put them together, and take turns chopping, starting with their fingers. Tell them whoever talks first gets to stop, and then stab the other one to death."

Rat wiped his mouth.

"Brilliant!"

Yan Jing gave a thumbs up. "But not as fast as mine."

Thwack!

Another strike.

Rat hopped down from the stool and headed toward the door.

"I have some business to attend to. Send a message if you need anything."

"Understood!"

Yan Jing threw a mock salute.

Rat headed out the door.

Yan Jing waited from morning until night.

He couldn't check the account to see if the funds had been transferred—that was something Rat had specifically emphasized when teaching him.

Because the account was definitely being monitored by now. The moment he used his Information Component to check it, the device would be instantly locked.

However, he had left the communication code of a secondhand Information Component on that account, visible only upon payment. All he had to do was see whether or not he received a friend request to know if the other party had wired the money.

Clearly, they hadn't.

Thus, Yan Jing sighed, switched to his Luo Sheng persona, and then used a secondhand Information Component to ping a media account he had already contacted, releasing the audio clip.

He also spent 10,000 of the few Eerie Points he had left to aggressively promote it.

500,000 in advertising value was no small sum; he was confident that woman would catch wind of it soon enough.

Following that, he destroyed the Information Component.

In the office.

Chen Xiaojing slumped on the floor, pillboxes scattered near her hand.

On her Information Component, that bizarre audio clip had already shot to the top trending searches in Muke District.

She couldn't call the news outlets to stop it. The press was owned by the man leading the Four Masters Society, and furthermore, trying to block it now would undoubtedly be a case of 'No Three Hundred Taels of Silver Buried Here'.

She knew this was a warning.

The other party didn't necessarily need the money! Or this company!

But if the video was released, she would absolutely plummet into the abyss!

And as for tracking the account, a breakthrough was still nowhere in sight.

She was on the verge of a breakdown, weeping in despair, and the scales in her heart had already begun to tip.

Perhaps she had no choice but to accept that man's demands.

But soon enough, she received a new video—one that became the final straw to break the camel's back.

It was footage of her crushing the little bird in Li Ya's hands that day.

Her sinister expression and the words she had spoken back then were all recorded with crystal clarity!

The first thing that surfaced in her heart upon seeing this new video was deep-seated fear.

She couldn't figure out how long the other party had been laying this trap, or where exactly they had filmed all this from.

After all, any electronic devices brought through the hospital were supposed to be strictly inspected.

And even if those outsiders with strange abilities used other methods to record the scene, it was very difficult to get that footage validated.

This was the Heavenly Kingdom. Footage—firsthand footage, especially untampered firsthand footage—was the only thing truly useful here!

They had ten thousand ways to verify the authenticity of a recording.

And now, that very footage was sitting right in front of her.

It was utterly terrifying.

Finally, she conceded. She wired 200,000 Eerie Points into the designated account. Afterward, as expected, she received the communication code. Without a moment's hesitation, she instantly added the account as a friend.

Right now, she had only one thought: to see exactly who this mysterious figure was.

A few minutes later, the other party accepted the friend request.

She took a deep breath. As long as she stalled for ten minutes, her subordinates would be able to lock onto the person's location.

But very quickly, the other party's first message filled her with despair.

"The videos have been set to send on a timer. If I don't cancel it every twelve hours, they'll immediately be released. If my location is locked down, I'll also release them immediately."

"I also have some videos and files you absolutely wouldn't want to see—like the abuse?"

"Now, meet with me. And do it with an attitude that won't annoy me."

"This is coercion. This is a threat. You could even call it an order."

"But it's definitely not a negotiation."