Chapter 233: Want to Kill Me?

Inside the cinema, Zhong Guoshu, a five-level fighter, pressed a knife against Xiao Zhenggong's ribs.

Xiao Zhenggong looked indifferent; neither calling for help nor making a move, he simply watched the other person quietly.

Zhong Guoshu applied more pressure, intending to draw a little blood from Xiao Zhenggong, but nothing fatal. As a five-level martial artist, he knew exactly how much force to use.

However, despite the increasing pressure from the short blade, it wouldn't even break the skin.

Zhong Guoshu looked at Xiao Zhenggong in astonishment.

According to the Dark Star Bureau's files, Xiao Zhenggong was a three-level fighter; he shouldn't have been able to withstand the force of a five-level fighter.

Was he wearing armor?

Or carrying some kind of magical artifact?

Xiao Zhenggong smiled and suddenly grabbed Zhong Guoshu's wrist.

Zhong Guoshu was startled and tried to pull his hand back forcefully. Xiao Zhenggong pressed his palm down, lifted his fingers, and with precise force, snapped Zhong Guoshu's wrist.

Xiao Zhenggong's move was precise and fluid; Zhong Guoshu couldn't react at all.

The short blade fell to the ground. Zhong Guoshu endured the severe pain without making a sound.

Knowing he was no match for Xiao Zhenggong, he tried to get up and flee.

Xiao Zhenggong casually grabbed Zhong Guoshu's collar and threw him onto a wooden seat.

The wooden seat shattered, and the iron frame beneath it was bent.

As Zhong Guoshu tried to get up, Xiao Zhenggong stepped forward and pinned him to the ground with his foot.

Crack, crack; several of Zhong Guoshu's ribs audibly snapped.

Hearing the sounds of fighting, Lightbulb and Superstar rushed over.

Both merely watched, neither reaching out.

Superstar was someone who valued his life, and in such situations, he generally wouldn't charge in. However, he shouted loudly, "What's going on? Who is this?"

Lightbulb didn't charge forward or speak much. He had suffered at Xiao Zhenggong's hands before, so he just watched quietly from the side.

"Tell me, who sent you?" Xiao Zhenggong looked at Zhong Guoshu, applying more pressure with his foot.

Zhong Guoshu's body trembled, and he struggled to breathe, but he never uttered another word.

Xiao Zhenggong said to Superstar and Lightbulb, "Handcuff him!"

The deputy captain had given the order. Seeing this, Superstar had no choice but to step forward, but Lightbulb remained still.

His inaction was justified. He was merely a one-level lubricant practitioner, having just reached that level last month.

Zhong Guoshu was a five-level fighter; if something unexpected happened, Lightbulb would lose his life in minutes.

As expected, an incident occurred.

Just as Superstar was about to apply the handcuffs, a man suddenly emerged from beneath the seats and kicked Superstar to the ground.

Superstar immediately went into shock and lost consciousness.

Lightbulb, covered in oil, ran far away.

A five-level recluse, Duan Xiangwen, made his move.

Utilizing the recluse's characteristic of being easily overlooked, Duan Xiangwen gained an opportunity for a close-range attack.

With a flick of his hand, he scattered a packet of powder.

Xiao Zhenggong thought it was poison and quickly held his breath.

To his surprise, it was corrosive powder. When it landed on his skin, it caused agonizing pain, like being burned.

What kind of fighting technique was this?

Wouldn't Duan Xiangwen himself be harmed by the powder?

However, a recluse's recovery ability was stronger than that of a Dark Energy User of the same level.

This packet of corrosive powder was specially concocted by Duan Xiangwen. Its purpose was to injure both the enemy and himself, then use his superior recovery ability to wear down and kill the enemy.

In a tough fight, this would be a good strategy, but only if the opponent was of a comparable level.

Xiao Zhenggong's level was not equivalent to Duan Xiangwen's, and this amount of chemical merely caused Xiao Zhenggong slight discomfort.

He tore off a piece of clothing from Superstar's body and wiped the powder from his face. Duan Xiangwen used this brief moment to grab Zhong Guoshu and quickly dash for the exit.

Xiao Zhenggong was still wiping his face, doing so with a calm demeanor.

Seeing Duan Xiangwen rush to the doorway, Xiao Zhenggong picked up a piece of broken wood from the ground and threw it.

The piece of wood precisely pierced Duan Xiangwen's spine. Duan Xiangwen stumbled and fell to the ground, bringing Zhong Guoshu down with him.

In the hands of a high-level martial artist, any object could become a superior weapon.

Xiao Zhenggong walked towards the two, step by step.

Duan Xiangwen's lower body was paralyzed. He pulled a mud doll from his pocket and threw it at Xiao Zhenggong.

The mud doll hovered in mid-air and spat a burst of intense flames towards Xiao Zhenggong.

Xiao Zhenggong walked forward, straight through the flames. Not only was he unharmed, but even his clothes weren't singed.

This was the resistance of a high-level martial artist. Whether against sharp blades or elements like fire and water, attacks of this caliber had no effect on Xiao Zhenggong.

He snatched the mud doll from mid-air, glanced at it, and chuckled, "A hidden gem, huh? And it's quite exquisitely made."

The mud doll was crushed by Xiao Zhenggong and thrown to the ground.

Duan Xiangwen yelled at Xiao Zhenggong, "I can't walk! You shouldn't attack someone who can't resist!"

Xiao Zhenggong paused, then nodded and said, "A deep courtyard residence, that's your domicile spirit's ability. What a pity, your domicile spirit is a virtue practitioner. I detest virtue practitioners the most."

As he spoke, Xiao Zhenggong was already standing close to the two men.

Zhong Guoshu suddenly stood up, tightly embraced Xiao Zhenggong, and looked back at Duan Xiangwen, saying, "Go!"

Duan Xiangwen didn't leave, and he couldn't. He was still thinking of fighting Xiao Zhenggong to the death.

"Quite loyal!" Xiao Zhenggong kicked Zhong Guoshu away, picked up a pebble from the ground, and flicked it at Duan Xiangwen's head.

The pebble, like a bullet, directly pierced Duan Xiangwen's skull. Duan Xiangwen died instantly.

Xiao Zhenggong turned around, grabbed Zhong Guoshu's hair, lifted him from the ground, and asked, "Who exactly sent you?"

Zhong Guoshu's expression stiffened. He looked at Xiao Zhenggong, and after a few twitches, he fell silent.

He had swallowed poison and committed suicide.

Xiao Zhenggong returned to the cinema, looked at Superstar lying on the ground, and asked Lightbulb, "Is he still alive?"

Lightbulb, his oily sheen receding, looked at Superstar and replied, "It's too soon to tell."

"Then confirm it quickly!" Xiao Zhenggong said. "If he's alive, call an ambulance; if he's dead, send him to the mortuary!" Xiao Zhenggong then left the cinema.

While driving, Xiao Zhenggong kept pondering a question.

Who exactly sent these two people?

He knew he had many enemies; a string of names surfaced in his mind.

The ringing of his phone interrupted Xiao Zhenggong's thoughts. It was Captain Chen calling.

Given such a significant incident, Xiao Zhenggong should have reported back to the bureau.

Xiao Zhenggong crushed his phone into a twisted mess, tossed it onto the passenger seat, accelerated, and drove straight home.

The next day, Xiao Zhenggong attended a meeting at the bureau. The meeting was still about the incident at the Cultural Palace the previous day.

Superstar was alive. After a night of emergency treatment, he was out of danger.

Although no agents from the bureau had died, the incident still alerted many people.

After a night's sleep, Xiao Zhenggong's mood had eased somewhat. He provided a reasonable explanation for what happened last night.

He had gone to investigate the black market and ended up being attacked. The initial assessment was that it was an act of retaliation by black market merchants.

Because he was injured, Xiao Zhenggong went to the hospital for treatment. His phone was damaged during the fight, so he didn't receive Captain Chen's call.

All his explanations were logical and reasonable.

Even when asked which hospital he had received treatment at, Xiao Zhenggong answered clearly. He had prepared beforehand.

Captain Chen inquired about his injuries, but Xiao Zhenggong gave a vague answer. After the meeting, Xiao Zhenggong planned to investigate the crime scene to see if any clues were missed. Captain Chen approved.

Soon after Xiao Zhenggong left, Chen Changrui suddenly frowned.

Just now, Xiao Zhenggong's account sounded reasonable, but upon closer thought, there were serious problems with it.

If black market merchants truly wanted to retaliate against the Dark Star Bureau, they shouldn't have targeted Xiao Zhenggong.

Since Xiao Zhenggong joined the Dark Star Bureau, he had never contributed to black market investigations. He had never offended black market merchants!

After a moment of thought, Captain Chen called Big Head over and quietly instructed him, "Go to the Cultural Palace and see what Xiao Zhenggong is really up to.

Whatever he does, don't make a fuss. Just come back and tell me what you find."

Big Head drove to the Cultural Palace. The crime scene had been sealed off, but he didn't see Xiao Zhenggong.

Where had Xiao Zhenggong gone?

Big Head thought for a moment, then restarted his car and left the Cultural Palace.

At Yuezhou Third Hospital, the nurse had just finished changing the bedsheets and was helping He Jiaqing back into bed.

Xiao Zhenggong pushed the door open and walked in. He smiled at the nurse and said, "You can leave for a moment."

The nurse looked bewildered and said, "How can that be? The patient is still here."

Xiao Zhenggong's smile didn't waver, but his tone became slightly deeper. "I told you to leave."

The nurse shivered, feeling as if an invisible force was pressing down on her entire body, making even breathing difficult.

She dared not delay for a moment and immediately left the patient room.

Xiao Zhenggong pulled up a chair and sat by He Jiaqing's bedside.

After a long silence, Xiao Zhenggong quietly asked, "Do you want to kill me?"

He Jiaqing lay motionless on the bed.

Xiao Zhenggong patted He Jiaqing's face. "If you want to kill me, make your move. I'm standing right here. Don't pretend to be dead, alright?"

He Jiaqing still didn't move.

Xiao Zhenggong stood up and said, "This is about Zhao Xiaowan, isn't it? You're not content, are you?

I'll tell you the truth: Zhao Xiaowan is in my hands. If you want her, come and get her!

Stand up and fight me. If you have the courage to make a move, I'll give Zhao Xiaowan to you.

You're not moving, are you? In that case, I won't be polite. Since you like lying down so much, I'll make sure you lie down for the rest of your life."

Xiao Zhenggong pulled a coin from his pocket and was about to flick it at He Jiaqing's forehead, when he suddenly heard someone outside the door say, "Deputy Captain Xiao, what are you doing here?"

Xiao Zhenggong turned his head and saw Big Head standing in the doorway.

"You're here too," Xiao Zhenggong said, showing no surprise. "I was just wondering, what are you doing here?"

Big Head replied calmly, "I came to check on He Jiaqing's condition. I've been following this case all along."

"Yes, you've been following it," Xiao Zhenggong said. "I've noticed you've been following it a bit too long." He held the coin in his hand, rubbing it twice, as if he might flick it at Big Head's face at any moment.

Big Head took half a step back and said, "Captain Xiao, calm down. Captain Chen sent me."

"Captain Chen told you to run to the hospital every day? You're certainly diligent!

I'm not as diligent as you. Yesterday, I only went to the black market to get a job done and be done with it, and it ended up causing such a big commotion.

Last night, I kept wondering: How did He Jiaqing know I was going to the black market? Why was he able to ambush people in the cinema beforehand? Who leaked the information?

Big Head, what did He Jiaqing give you? You dared to sell me out, you brat?"

Even Ban Feng hadn't expected a single 'Blasting Tiger Long Spear' to stir up so much trouble.