CHAPTER 122: CHAPTER 122: BLOOD RAIN

Third Category Affairs Bureau.

Lu Weifeng sat on the chair in the corridor, anxiously pacing back and forth, smoking cigarette after cigarette, his eyes bloodshot.

Since receiving the message at dawn, he hadn’t been able to sleep at all.

Regret, worry, fear—numerous negative emotions alternated in his mind. Within just a few hours, his face had become much more haggard.

Lu Weifeng had been a peripheral member of the Pantheon for less than a month.

He had always had a wide circle of friends, was eloquent, and got along well with everyone. After becoming a Martial Artist, he became a regular at the Martial Artist Club.

There, he befriended quite a few Martial Artists and met several influential figures.

Especially one such influential figure who seemed to regard him highly, with a particularly kind attitude.

In a private meeting, this person invited him to join a Martial Artist mutual aid organization, hinting at the enormous benefits it offered.

The person’s high rank and trustworthiness made the organization appear harmless, so Lu Weifeng naturally didn’t refuse. Since joining, he had become increasingly busy.

The organization issued tasks every week, and they were quite straightforward.

For instance, collecting the latest research results from local biotech companies and labs, or searching for information on Spatial Passages throughout Hedong. These tasks could be easily checked online,

yet the rewards were substantial, ranging from thirty thousand to fifty thousand dollars a week, transferred to an anonymous offshore bank card, almost like free money.

During this time, although he vaguely sensed something wrong with the organization, greed and fear prevented him from stopping.

The influential figure had hinted more than once at the consequences of leaving the organization.

He thought it wasn’t too bad; after all, the money was real and the tasks were simple.

Until last week, when everything changed.

The influential figure suddenly invited him to a private gathering in the suburbs—yet when he got there, he found not one, but four people, and was asked to call and invite a familiar Martial Artist over...

...

The director’s office door opened, and a voluptuous secretary stepped out, wrinkling her nose in disdain at the smoke-filled corridor: "The director will see you now."

Lu Weifeng said nothing, snuffed out the cigarette butt violently, entered the office, and closed the door.

Cao Zhenhua glanced at him and said indifferently, "Fool, I remember telling you not to come looking for me."

"But I had no choice, Chen Shouyi..."

Cao Zhenhua’s face darkened, and he interrupted solemnly, "Shut up. I admit I underestimated him, but he won’t be a thorn in my side for long. You’ve already been exposed. If I were you, I would hide now, the farther the better."

Lu Weifeng’s face turned pale as he recalled the strength Chen Shouyi demonstrated during the Martial Artist assessment. Fear gripped his heart, and he realized how risky it was to come here today.

At this moment, Cao Zhenhua suddenly had a thought and looked up at Lu Weifeng.

Lu Weifeng’s intuition also kicked in, and he happened to look at him.

Their eyes met.

Lu Weifeng trembled, a chill running down his spine.

Only he seemed to know the person’s true identity in Hedong, and it was clear he had already been exposed...

The more he thought about it, the more fearful and uneasy Lu Weifeng became. He dared not stay any longer and hurriedly said, "Director Cao, I’ll leave now."

"Then go quickly!" Cao Zhenhua waved dismissively.

Lu Weifeng swiftly opened the door, feeling the cold gaze behind him as he swiftly exited the Third Category Affairs Bureau building.

The sunshine overhead enveloped him, but he felt a chill in his heart.

Run, he had to escape, the faster the better.

He quickly walked to the parking lot, opened the car door, and just as he settled into the driver’s seat, he heard a faint "whoosh."

Suddenly, his body stiffened—a sharp object pierced through the seatback and into his waist. He looked down at the exposed sword tip, spotless and shiny as new.

Through the rearview mirror, a stranger sat solemnly in the back seat, wearing a wig and with mustache-covered lips, his cheeks seemingly stuffed with something, making his face much larger.

But perhaps because he was focused, Lu Weifeng recognized him at a glance and said tremulously, "Chen... Chen Shouyi!"

Chen Shouyi chewed on two grapes in his mouth, swallowed, and grinned bloodthirstily, revealing gleaming white teeth:

"How do you want to die?"

"This is the Third Category Bureau. How dare you?" Lu Weifeng hissed, terrified.

"So what!" Chen Shouyi said, abruptly grabbing his hair with immense force, snapping the seat in two. With a ripping sound like tearing fabric, he ripped a bloody patch of scalp away.

Lu Weifeng screamed in agony, his head covered in blood.

The sound stopped abruptly.

Chen Shouyi grabbed his neck, pulling him into the back seat.

Lu Weifeng struggled desperately, kicking and punching, but Chen Shouyi’s body was as immovable as cast metal.

"You’re too weak, truly uninteresting!" Chen Shouyi shook his head.

In Lu Weifeng’s face of despair, his hand suddenly tightened.

With a series of cracking bones, Lu Weifeng’s body twitched like a deflating balloon, and his limbs went slack.

Glancing at the crushed neck, Chen Shouyi produced two more grapes, popped them into his mouth without peeling, then pulled the sword from the seat and opened the car door.

He had just exited the car.

Chen Shouyi saw someone hurriedly heading toward him.

He involuntarily paused.

Plans couldn’t keep up with changes; Chen Shouyi originally intended to use Cao Zhenhua to find the other two persons’ whereabouts and deal with them one by one, but unexpectedly, he ran into this now.

Cao Zhenhua’s eyes met Chen Shouyi’s and the blood-stained sword in his hand, and his body froze.

"Who are you?" he asked darkly.

"Director Cao, what a coincidence. I was just contemplating when to visit you," Chen Shouyi smiled. Given the situation, he naturally had no reason to let it go, while he’d have to find another way for the other two.

"You know me!" The raw killing intent he felt made Cao Zhenhua’s heart ring with alarms as he cautiously stepped back.

His sword was still in the car, he didn’t carry a weapon. For a Martial Artist, not having a weapon wasn’t as severely limiting as a soldier without a gun, but it greatly reduced combat effectiveness.

"The renowned Director Cao, a Pantheon member—how could I not know!" Chen Shouyi sneered coldly, advancing step by step with his sword. Suddenly, clarity struck him:

"I wondered why you’re here—it was to silence me, just as I thought."

"So it was you!" Enlightenment dawned on Cao Zhenhua:

"Chen Shouyi, don’t be foolish. Do you think your skills are enough to kill me? If you leave, I’ll pretend none of this happened, and we can coexist peacefully. If you’re willing, I can even have you join the Pantheon as an official member like me."

Do you think I’m an idiot?

Chen Shouyi stopped wasting words. Although he had shot down several nearby cameras with stones, this was still the Third Category Affairs Bureau; someone might appear at the parking lot at any moment, and he had no desire to end up wanted.

His expression turned grim as he moved swiftly across the thirty-meter distance in the blink of an eye.

The oncoming gale made Cao Zhenhua’s face begin to quiver. At such an astonishing speed, his expression changed drastically, and he retreated hurriedly.

Finally, he understood why Eric said the adversary was formidable, beyond imagination.

Cao Zhenhua roared in despair, his face flushing with blood.

A second later, the two collided, and sword light flashed like lightning as two blurry shadows moved at high speed. After several exchanges, Chen Shouyi sheathed his sword, took a few steps, and quickly left the parking lot.

Cao Zhenhua’s enraged eyes bulged as he stood rigid, then his whole body shuddered. His head toppled from his neck, and blood spurted like a fountain.

...

Cautiously avoiding surveillance, Chen Shouyi hurriedly left the Third Category Affairs Bureau, navigating the alleyways and taking a corner. He quickly removed his disguise and took off his shoes, retrieving lifts inside them.

Soon after, Chen Shouyi stepped out of the alley and headed toward the hotel.