Chapter 399: The Truth Revealed

"This is impossible—"

Tianxuan clenched her fists, her nails digging fiercely into her palms. In that moment, her heart trembled and bled.

She couldn't figure out where things had gone wrong. When she and Yan Jing were in the darkroom earlier, they had been the only two present!

Moreover, from the moment Yan Jing was summoned to the Heavenly Kingdom until they went to the darkroom, the two of them hadn't been apart for a second. Yan Jing didn't even have an Information Component. How could he have found a third person to record this?

But the video in her hands was undeniably real. As it looped continuously, a wave of dizziness washed over her, forcing her to close her eyes.

In this situation, she couldn't even scream or shout for answers.

"Dizziness is normal. Take a deep breath."

Yan Jing's voice murmured right beside her ear, dragging her heart straight to the bottom of the abyss as a chill crept over her skin.

She was absolutely certain Yan Jing hadn't made a single move up until now, yet this video had been sent directly to her Information Component.

So—there really had been a third person present.

And if this video got out, all their efforts would be ruined.

"Starting now, if you dare to relay a message through your earpiece or open your Information Component, the countdown will instantly hit zero."

As if seeing right through her intentions, Yan Jing said softly, "First, don't move." Tianxuan opened her eyes, her gaze full of resentment.

"I said, don't move."

Yan Jing repeated beside her. He reached out, plucked the earpiece from Tianxuan's ear, and ruthlessly crushed it in his hand.

On the other end, a sharp screech pierced Kaiyang's ear, prompting him to yank off his earpiece immediately.

His expression turned incredibly dark.

He could tell from Tianxuan and Yan Jing's brief exchange just now that something had gone terribly wrong.

He was currently rushing toward the courthouse. Tianxuan had ordered him to dispose of Yan Jing once the matter concluded.

But plans had clearly failed to keep up with the changes.

"Good."

Yan Jing offered a faint smile. "Since I could send the video to you, you should know I can just as easily send it to anyone else."

"—What do you want?"

Tianxuan took a deep breath, forcing down the murderous glare and killing intent in her eyes.

"Give me the book."

Yan Jing's demand was simple and clear.

"Impossible!"

Tianxuan's reaction was surprisingly fierce. Clearly, this book was not as simple as one might imagine.

"Alright. Just as well, your time to consider is up anyway."

Yan Jing smiled.

Just as Tianxuan braced herself for whatever Yan Jing was about to do to her, to her surprise, Zeng Qing suddenly stood up in the distance. Placing Mao Si on her shoulder, she strode toward the stage.

Panic flared in Tianxuan's eyes.

She told herself this was impossible. There was absolutely no way Yan Jing could have contacted Zeng Qing while standing right next to her. Yet, a creeping intuition warned her that something disastrous was about to happen.

Especially when she saw Yan Jing's smile grow wider, her psychological defenses began to crumble.

"Wait, wait, make her stop!"

Tianxuan pleaded, but to her surprise, a few seconds after she spoke, Zeng Qing actually stopped walking.

This made her even more terrified.

Just how in the world had he done that?

Yan Jing was standing right beside her and hadn't moved a muscle.

"Give me the book!"

Yan Jing stepped closer once again. This time, he reached out directly, his hand brushing the hem of Tianxuan's skirt.

"Wait, wait!!!"

Tianxuan panicked and tried to stop him, but it was completely futile. Yan Jing's strength was terrifying. Without tapping into weird energy, she was entirely powerless to fight back. She could only stammer out in a frantic whisper, "Let's discuss this. What do you gain from exposing yourself? Right? What's your mission this time? Tell me, and we can solve it together. I was in the wrong before, but there's no need to escalate things to this extent."

"We can work together like last time! What's your mission?"

After Tianxuan asked, she saw Yan Jing looking back at her with a mocking gaze.

Suddenly, realization dawned on her, and her heart skipped a beat.

It was over.

That thought surfaced in her mind. A split second later, Yan Jing's hand grasped the book strapped to her leg.

"Riiiip—"

As the sickening sound of tearing flesh rang out, Tianxuan collapsed heavily to the floor in excruciating agony, her entire body convulsing as if in a spasm.

Yan Jing looked at the book in his hand. Mechanical tentacles extended from the back of the book, having stabbed directly into Tianxuan's leg. The moment he touched the book, those same tentacles attempted to burrow into his own flesh.

Yan Jing ruthlessly tore the tentacles apart and tossed the book straight into his Inventory.

Tianxuan's agonized screams drew a flurry of stares from the crowd. But just as everyone turned to see what had happened, Zeng Qing suddenly quickened her pace.

The masked man standing beside Zeng Ru tried to intercept her. Weird energy surged around his body, but unexpectedly, Mao Si swiped a paw from Zeng Qing's shoulder. Like tearing through a flatbread, the cat slashed apart the pitch-black mist of his weird energy.

Not stopping there, Mao Si blinked directly in front of the man the very next second. Before the man could even react, the cat ruthlessly swatted him with a claw.

"Bang!"

The man was smashed directly into a nearby wall.

This scene immediately dragged the crowd's attention away from Tianxuan and back to the front.

The judge leaped to his feet in disbelief. "Miss Zeng Qing, this is a court of law!!! Guards, drag them out!!"

Ignoring the judge's obstruction, Zeng Qing spoke up without a care: "Everyone, I need to clarify something right here and now!!!"

As she spoke, she opened the Information Component on her wrist.

On the Holographic Screen, the exact video Yan Jing had just shown Tianxuan began to play. The crowd was instantly stunned.

At the same time, Zeng Qing declared, "Expert Mao Si and I have spent the last few days uncovering most of the truth behind this incident. The reason I haven't spoken up until now is because a few details were still unclear."

"Namely, why Councillor Chen Xue would do such a thing to Nuochen Biotech!"

"But just now, Councillor Crocodile pointed us in the right direction. Thank you."

As she spoke, Zeng Qing offered a shallow bow toward Crocodile.

"She catches on fast," Yan Jing murmured with a smile from her shoulder.

"Indeed! Aside from men like Councillor Crocodile fighting for the truth and for the good of our Peace Heavenly Kingdom, I am also utterly disappointed! I never imagined Nuochen Biotech could produce a piece of scum like you, Zeng Ru!"

As she spoke, Zeng Qing looked directly at the pale-faced Zeng Ru.

"For your own selfish desires, you colluded with an opposing faction and fabricated evidence to tear me down! Your Honor, members of the jury, I, Zeng Qing, am willing to provide all my evidence right now—namely, my exact whereabouts during the time those factories were built, and the financial information in my accounts—to prove my innocence!"

"Furthermore, I am also suing Zeng Ru, as well as every single person she just listed who agreed to commit perjury for her!!! We will absolutely not tolerate this kind of behavior that ruins the reputation of Nuochen Biotech!!!"

"No, it's not like that!"

Breaking free of her panic, Zeng Ru shrieked, "This was a resolution by the entire board of Nuochen Biotech! Zeng Qing, I'm warning you, don't bring ruin upon yourself!!"

"Is that so?"

Zeng Qing offered a faint smile. She then pulled up a phone number on the Holographic Screen and called it directly.

Zeng Ru stared at that number, her breathing involuntarily turning ragged.

It was their father's number.

This was her last hope to turn the tables. As long as he didn't answer the call, then even if the truth was revealed and Zeng Qing couldn't be touched, she would still have ten thousand ways to explain herself and get out of trouble.

"Beep—beep—beep—"

The dialing tone at this moment was like the least impressive part of a song; listening to it, every second felt like a year for Zeng Ru.

But the very next second, her legs went weak, because the call connected.

From the other end came a familiar man's voice.

"Zeng Qing is the executive director of our Nuochen Biotech."

That single sentence was all that came from the other end. As for Zeng Ru, her entire body went weak, and she nearly tumbled from her chair.