Chapter 324: The Mysterious Person

"Nuochen Biotech controls 17 percent of the Peace Heavenly Kingdom's GDP."

Rat said, "So if this chairman makes any major moves, it could even trigger unrest across the entire Heavenly Kingdom. In a way, even the president has to defer to him."

"If he announced today that the whole Heavenly Kingdom needed the 'truth, goodness, and beauty' you talk about, everyone would pretend to be exactly that tomorrow."

"Of course, he won't say that, because truth, goodness, and beauty can't be turned into money."

"Becoming the one who makes the rules doesn't sound easy," Yan Jing said softly, looking at the man in the suit and tie.

The method Papa Rat mentioned was very similar to his own ideas, but only by truly walking that path would he know how difficult it was.

"Of course it's not easy."

Boss Rat said, "The process of correcting a mistake often involves making more mistakes. If you aren't careful, you might even be assimilated by them."

"So in the end, it all comes down to making yourself stronger."

"You've been like this since you were a kid. You overthink everything. You act like you don't care, but inside, you're actually quite fragile."

"I told you a long time ago that you need to find some friends and look at the good in this world more often. Maybe you'd feel a bit better."

With that, Boss Rat stood up and went to pour some water.

Yan Jing sat there in a daze, mulling over Papa Rat's words.

Friends...

Indeed, that was a crucial reason.

Thinking of this, he looked up at Boss Rat, who was pouring water, and said, "Pops, how come I never noticed you were this wise before?"

Boss Rat froze for a moment, then rolled his eyes.

"You didn't even want to come home before. You wouldn't have noticed a damn thing."

"Your pops is wise in plenty of ways. Take your time and learn."

...

...

"Zhou Mo, I want to ask you something."

Because Chen Xiaojing had left, the gathering had ended hastily. Before departing, Zeng Qing sought out Zhou Mo in private.

Stars dotted the night sky.

"What is it?"

Zhou Mo found this a bit strange.

Among the four of them, he and Zeng Qing interacted the least.

Although the two found each other agreeable enough, that was precisely why they didn't involve each other in too many dirty dealings.

"I wanted to ask about the Reconciliation Faction's council member election. Has it already been decided which two it will be?"

Zeng Qing asked. "I might be collaborating with some of your faction's council members soon."

"It's pretty much settled. It's Li Chengxi and Wen Tian again."

Zhou Mo gave the two names. Both were incumbent council members of the Reconciliation Faction, and they were highly likely to be re-elected this time.

"I see."

Zeng Qing nodded.

"Do you have their contact info? I want to talk to them."

"Of course."

Zhou Mo sent the contact details to Zeng Qing. The two chatted for a little while longer and prepared to part ways.

Unexpectedly, just before they separated, Zeng Qing whispered something else into Zhou Mo's ear.

"Can the Law Enforcement Agency track down recent outsiders who have entered the Heavenly Kingdom?"

"Hmm?"

Zhou Mo blinked.

"Just asking."

Zeng Qing's face was expressionless.

"That's a bit difficult."

Zhou Mo shrugged. "Tracking outsiders—"

"Alright, stop talking."

Zeng Qing interrupted him, afraid of being overheard by Yan Jing.

She had originally wanted to use the Four Masters Society to find a way to keep Yan Jing in check, but when it came time to act, she realized how incredibly difficult it was.

That idiot Chen Xiaojing was already unreliable. Taking that much Mental Potion every day, she was courting death all on her own.

And conspiring with Song Haozhe was no different from asking a tiger for its skin.

That left only Zhou Mo, who also acted secretive all day. The main problem was that she couldn't tell him exactly what had happened, but if she beat around the bush, that omnipresent man might pick up on the oddities in their conversation.

"Damn it..." she cursed under her breath.

"What exactly is wrong?"

Zhou Mo was puzzled.

What was wrong with these two...?

It was like they had forgotten to take their meds.

Zeng Qing didn't answer. She just sighed, turned around, and left.

A moment later, Song Haozhe, who had left earlier, returned. He slung his arm over a slightly startled Zhou Mo's shoulders and smiled.

"You noticed something was wrong too, didn't you?"

"There's obviously a secret between those two."

"How about it? Should we look into it properly?"

Zhou Mo gently brushed Song Haozhe's hand off his shoulder and shook his head.

"Not interested."

"If you want to investigate, do it yourself."

"Everyone at the Law Enforcement Agency is very busy lately."

"Tsk..." Watching Zhou Mo walk away, the veins on Song Haozhe's forehead bulged slightly.

These damn bastards were taking him less and less seriously.

If he hadn't pulled the strings and built the bridges back in the day, how could the Four Masters Society even exist today?

Thinking of this, his gaze turned as gloomy as deep water.

...

...

Three days later.

Outside a restaurant.

Yan Jing and Zeng Qing walked out the front doors, followed by a man and a woman who were both dressed in sharp suits.

"Council Member Li, Councilor Wen, let's part ways here. Thank you for doing us the honor of sharing a meal,"

Zeng Qing said.

"The honor is ours,"

Li Chengxi said with a smile.

"Yes, yes, yes, our honor,"

Wen Tian chimed in.

It was all because, back at the dinner table, Yan Jing had promised to give each of them one hundred thousand eerie points in support funds for the election.

And... he asked for nothing in return.

He merely asked about the schedule for election day and requested an invitation, saying it would be convenient for him to go and take a look.

In the car, gripping the steering wheel, Zeng Qing spoke first.

"You'd better not get involved with them."

"Those two are absolute scum. It's only because they have Zhou Mo backing them that they haven't been arrested yet."

Yan Jing smiled at that.

"Calling them scum seems a bit rich coming from you, Zeng Qing."

...

Zeng Qing's face turned ashen.

"You might have a misunderstanding about the word 'scum.'"

"I don't have blood on my hands. From the day I was born until now, I have only ever wanted to kill you."

"To be more precise, none of the four of us have killed anyone, including Song Haozhe."

"I don't know where you came from before the Peace Heavenly Kingdom, but this place isn't like those savage, blood-drinking lands of yours. Murder is illegal here."

The moment Zeng Qing finished speaking, Yan Jing simply couldn't hold it in.

He doubled over with laughter.

"Zeng Qing, oh Zeng Qing, are you kidding me? Are you telling me that Zhou Mo, who runs the Law Enforcement Agency, doesn't have blood on his hands? Or that Chen Xiaojing hasn't caused any deaths?"

Zeng Qing hit the brakes, her expression ugly.

"Of course they don't. At most, Zhou Mo acts as a protective umbrella for those desperadoes, and Chen Xiaojing is cowardly as hell."

"We all grew up educated. Killing someone isn't as simple as you think."

"Just because you've killed people doesn't mean you should assume everyone else is just like you."

Yan Jing laughed even harder.

"Forget it, Zeng Qing, you're right. In my previous Domain, killing was indeed commonplace, nor do I think it's the sole standard for judging who is scum."

After chatting with Papa Rat yesterday, he was no longer dwelling on these issues.

"But whatever I want to achieve, I will absolutely achieve it, so I don't care what kind of scum they are."

Yan Jing's smile faded.

"I just need to reach my goal."

...

Zeng Qing took a deep breath, suppressing her heaving chest.

"Where am I dropping you off?"

"The Colorful Tower. Chen Xiaojing helped me arrange a meeting with someone to discuss business,"

Yan Jing said.

Zeng Qing said nothing more, but her eyes were full of doubt.

Yan Jing's business meetings were becoming more and more frequent. Over the course of a week, he had already appeared on the radar of quite a few people; it could even be said that he had deeply penetrated the complex relationship networks of the Muke District.

There clearly was no need to be in such a rush...

Unable to figure it out, she sighed.

Whatever. It was a good thing anyway; the more he negotiated, the more they earned.

She still had an adequate supply of goods on hand.

After Yan Jing got out, Zeng Qing drove back to her residence. Just as she parked her car in the underground lot, a figure stepped out from behind a nearby pillar and tapped on her window.

"Knock, knock, knock!!!"

Zeng Qing jumped in fright. After getting a clear look at the person, she rolled down the window.

"Why are you here?"

Song Haozhe grinned.

"I've come to help you solve a problem."

"What problem?"

Zeng Qing's heart skipped a beat.

"Do you even need to ask?"

Song Haozhe smiled.

"Let me in the car first."

Zeng Qing glanced around, then unlocked the back door.

"Don't say anything stupid once you're in."

Song Haozhe smiled noncommittally.

The moment he got in, he asked, "Is there anything unclean in the car?"

"There are no wiretaps,"

Zeng Qing said coldly.

"Well, there you go."

Song Haozhe chuckled. He reached out, squeezed Zeng Qing's shoulder, and leaned in close to her ear.

"I've seen the guy's photo... He's called Mr. Luo, right?"

"You and Xiaojing have been working with him lately?"

"What's his background?"

...

Zeng Qing felt Song Haozhe's breath, yet surprisingly didn't dodge. She spoke softly, "Just a business partner."

"Is that so?"

Song Haozhe laughed.

"Then why not introduce me?"

Hearing this, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Zeng Qing.

"You want to meet him?"

"That can be arranged,"

Zeng Qing said softly.

"How about tomorrow? We can all meet up."

"Great. Excellent."

Song Haozhe rubbed his hands together in excitement.

"What kind of things does he like? I'll prepare in advance."

"An animal species, probably."

A wicked, amused smile appeared on Zeng Qing's face.

"He's got taste!"

Song Haozhe grinned.

"Then it's settled!!!"

With that, he pinched Zeng Qing's cheek hard, then got out of the car with a laugh.

"Smile more, won't you."

In the car, Zeng Qing watched Song Haozhe walk away before taking out a few wet wipes. She scrubbed the spot where he had pinched her over and over, smiling coldly.

Based on her understanding of those two, they definitely wouldn't get along.

When the time came, no matter who won, she wouldn't be the one losing out.

...

...

Li Zhiyuan finally opened the heavy iron door.

He entered the room.

Looking at the people locked in the iron cages within the room, he took a deep breath. With a trembling hand, he raised the camera he had smuggled in using special methods and photographed everything.

Then, under the despairing gazes of those people, he shut the door and left.

The entire process was completed smoothly in one go.

After transferring the photos to his Information Component, he walked out of the hospital.

The hospital's network had a shielding function that restricted it solely to internal communications. He had to go outside to contact the outside world.

He walked into an alley across the street and dialed a mysterious number without pause.

"Hello?"

The call connected. On the other end was a voice that sounded like a very young boy.

Li Zhiyuan immediately sent the photos over and recounted everything he had seen.

The person on the other end listened carefully, then said approvingly, "Good job. You don't need to worry about the rest."

"We'll handle it."

"You can evacuate now."

Li Zhiyuan took a deep breath.

"Who exactly are you people?"

...

A few seconds later, the person on the other end spoke softly, "Didn't I tell you a long time ago?"

"We are the ones who have come to shatter this world."

"So that note from three days ago was also from you guys, right?" Li Zhiyuan focused his mind and finally asked the question.

When the other party had contacted him back then, they had said that if he didn't provide clear evidence, they wouldn't offer much help.

But he had indeed received that note three days ago, which had helped him avoid being discovered by Chen Xiaojing.

This was also why he had trusted them.

Unexpectedly, after he said this, the other end fell silent for a long time before asking in a puzzled tone, "Note... what note?"