CHAPTER 390: CHAPTER 390 RED FLAG

"You say the Shadow King entered Daxia with the target being me, but he didn’t come to Fengcheng and instead caused a commotion in Jiangcheng. Could it be with the intention of luring me to Jiangcheng and then getting rid of me?"

Blue Demon’s whole body trembled: "Don’t say that, it’s really possible! If it’s true, then... wouldn’t I have indirectly become a pawn in their hands, given that I was the one who urged you to enter Jiangcheng overnight?"

"Whether you’re a pawn or not is not important, as the matter has already concluded perfectly!" Lin Xiaosu said, "My question is, if that’s true, does it mean the Shadow King also knows the whereabouts of the Red Flag? And where did he get his information?"

Blue Demon exhaled lightly: "I know what you mean! You’ve always had a terrible thought, suspecting that the Qianlong leadership is not clean... I can’t deny I have concerns in that aspect too. But even if the Shadow King knows about Red Flag, it doesn’t prove your theory. After all, a while ago, Seven Steps sent three teams to Fengcheng, and they were all wiped out. Within the Hydra’s higher intelligence system, it’s not much of a secret that there’s a Red Flag in Fengcheng."

Three teams have already been sent!

Lin Xiaosu felt a slight shock. Since he started meddling in various major affairs of Qianlong, he spent little time in Fengcheng, mostly away from home. If the enemy really had a plan against his family, it would be extremely dangerous. Even though there are two ancient martial artists at the detective agency and even if there’s a simulated combat robot at home, dealing with low-level Genetic People is not a problem, but how could those sent to get him merely be at a low level?

They have already made a move.

Unsuccessful, because of the existence of the Red Flag.

Even though he has always been suspicious of Qianlong.

Even though Qianlong is indeed suspicious.

Nonetheless, Chief Long, the highest leader of Qianlong, has devoted extraordinary care to him...

"Alright, stay in touch!"

"Okay!" Blue Demon was about to end the call, and added, "You should eat and drink as needed, don’t be too tense, the overall situation is still positive, the Strategy of Life Soul Gu has begun to yield real results."

She ended the call.

The reminder left was to eat and drink as needed, just never saying "to sleep and enjoy as needed"...

Is there another layer of meaning?

Seven days passed like this.

On the eighth day...

Blue Demon contacted him again through Dragon Eye.

At that moment, Lin Xiaosu was at the detective agency chatting with two girls, and upon receiving the message from Dragon Eye, he briskly walked out of the agency, strolling along the Yishui waterfront.

Blue Demon’s projection appeared on the inside of his glasses, and there was a hint of excitement in her expression: "Is it convenient to talk?"

"Convenient."

"Another one of your predictions was correct!" Blue Demon said, "The Hydra Headquarters has made a move, targeting Seven Steps!"

Lin Xiaosu stepped onto the pavilion, his hair flying, his heart, which hadn’t been intensely beating for a long time, was now beating intensely.

Because this news was too explosive.

The gains were too great.

Seven Steps is the General Leader of the Hydra’s layout in Daxia.

Also the highest responsible person of the criminal organization Hydra in Daxia.

Generally, the headquarters is the greatest support for Seven Steps.

However, in an organization like Hydra, which establishes its structure and chain through intimidation, many things can be distorted.

He had predicted that if Hydra suffered too great a loss in this unrest, the headquarters might target Seven Steps.

There are two major underlying logics.

The first is to kill the chicken to warn the monkey. Let everyone in Hydra see what consequences await if their work is ineffective.

The second is that Seven Steps has already been exposed or is close to exposure. Once he gets caught, the Hydra Daxia setup he personally orchestrated will be uprooted. So, Hydra, based on the basic guideline of "killing one to save the whole team," might attack him.

But any logic will only be established on a single base point, which is: things have reached a dead end.

Otherwise, how could they easily cut down their pillar?

"Was Seven Steps killed?"

Blue Demon gently shook her head: "Seven Steps is no ordinary person! He predicted his own fate and already had a response plan. The one in the Southeast Manor wasn’t his real body but a simulated robot, and his real body is unaccounted for. Although Seven Steps didn’t die, it’s still rewarding! Two kinds of rewards."

"Tell me!"

"The first reward, we finally know who this long-time planner of various criminal activities, the Daxia General Leader Seven Steps, is!"

"And the second reward?"

"The second reward is that Seven Steps faked his death to escape, but we can treat it as a real death! Bai Shui has already planned the next step, spreading the news of his death to every corner of Daxia!"

Lin Xiaosu laughed: "Seven Steps fakes his death, and we insist he is really dead. With details of his supposed death publicized, it’s a fatal blow to the Hydra team stubbornly holding on! Senior Bai Shui is indeed decisive! High level!"

Blue Demon laughed too...

This is the battle between Qianlong and Hydra.

Every plan aims directly at the opponent’s weakness.

Every victory needs to exert its maximum power.

Even if the General Leader’s current whereabouts are unknown, if you dare fake death, I dare to hold a real funeral!

This real funeral.

The Hydra team, already precariously swept by the major Strategy of Life Soul Gu case, will have their will to resist unprecedentedly weakened. Their highest leader is gone, their top team is gone, so what’s the point of further struggle?

After smiling, Blue Demon spoke up: "Currently, Seven Steps has become the most intricate pawn. The Hydra Headquarters wants him gone, while we, conversely, want to preserve him."

This reversal is so bizarre.

But from an espionage perspective, it is fully reasonable.

Seven Steps personally constructed the framework of the Hydra Daxia District, and he knows almost all the critical points.

If we can capture him alive, the framework he built will surely collapse.

Theoretically, a member of the Hydra upper echelons at his level would not cooperate easily, but isn’t there now a reason? The Hydra high-ups want him gone!

The Nine-headed Snake Headquarters wants to kill him, what reason does he have to keep secrets? From a human perspective, anyone would defect!

Therefore, he has a reason to cooperate with Qianlong!

"I roughly understand what you mean; you want me to use my detective skills to find Seven Steps!" Lin Xiaosu said.

Blue Demon’s eyes lit up: "Can you do it?"

"I can’t say for sure, but if there’s anyone in the world who can find him, the greatest possibility is probably me!" Lin Xiaosu didn’t give a definite answer, but the unparalleled heroism that underlined his words moved Blue Demon, the Qianlong King.

"I’ll come immediately!" Blue Demon left with five words.

Closed the Dragon Eye communication.

Half an hour later, a flying car appeared on top of the detective agency.

Lin Xiaosu boarded the flying car; inside was only Blue Demon.

"Is everything okay over in Jiangcheng?" Lin Xiaosu asked.

"Don’t worry, I assure you that the little sister you brought out from Miaojiang won’t lose a single hair." Blue Demon said, "Someone has taken over my place, holding the fort in Jiangcheng."

"Who?"

"Miao Yin!"

"Didn’t she go to Nanmo State?"

"Heavenly King’s actions are swift and decisive; they don’t stay abroad for long, it’s been Qianlong’s rule for years."

Lin Xiaosu roughly understood and could accept it.

The Qianlong and Nine-headed Snake’s confrontation is all-encompassing.

The biggest achievement among them is hunting the Kings.

Qianlong hunting a Hydra Snake King can earn a Hidden Dragon Medal. Conversely, Hydra hunting a Qianlong King is also the heaviest war merit.

As long as the King goes offshore, various actions from the other side will closely follow.

The longer you stay abroad, once your activity trajectory is grasped by the opponent, they’ll have an opportunity.

Hence, there’s an unwritten rule for Qianlong King’s actions: short time, high intensity, you leave if you succeed, and you don’t linger if you don’t.

"I’ve extracted all the remaining materials from the estate of Seven Steps, right here..." Blue Demon lightly tapped, and the surroundings of the flying car became display screens.

Countless materials were on the screens.

For Lin Xiaosu to review.

Seven Steps, real name Wang Zhongze.

Owner of a company named "Haotian Technology Company."

The company isn’t large, and its output value isn’t high; in the Southeast Business Circle, it’s just a drop in the ocean, not noticeable at all, so no one had him under close surveillance.

It was through this special operation, and various on-site materials, that it was judged that this person was surprisingly the highest leader of the Hydra in the Daxia District, Seven Steps.

The basis of the judgment...

Photos left on site...

Various extended materials...

Lin Xiaosu, with an extraordinary speed, reviewed everything in two hours...

"There’s a question!" Lin Xiaosu said.

"Go ahead!"

"We indeed analyzed that when Nine-headed Snake suffers heavy losses, the headquarters might hold Seven Steps accountable, but to genuinely reach the point of taking him out requires the situation to reach a dead end. However, I haven’t seen the situation reach that point, so why is the headquarters so eager to take him out? Is there a more direct inducement?"

"Yes!" Blue Demon said, "Qianlong received a secret document; someone informed us of the true name of Seven Steps and his exact location. We already had action plans, but Nine-headed Snake Headquarters acted first, slaughtering the entire estate."

"Essentially, it’s silencing the witness?"

"Yes!"

"That makes complete sense! Headquarters killing Seven Steps is, first, to establish power, and second, to sacrifice a pawn to protect the board. Since he’s already exposed, headquarters has no choice but to kill." Lin Xiaosu nodded lightly.

"That secret document is a bit strange."

"Oh? What’s strange?"

"The document had a signature, but instead of a name, it depicted such an exotic beast." Blue Demon said, "You have some knowledge about the world’s oddities; I wonder if you can discern anything through this beast?"

An exotic beast appeared on the car window.

It had six rabbit ears, a wolf’s body, and looked lifelike.

Lin Xiaosu locked on at a glance: "The Ancient Strange Beast ’Zuo Zhi’! Recorded in the ’Mountain and River Scripture,’ it resides on the left of Yin River, under Cang Mountain, adept at listening and singing, having a fatal allure to the water beast, able to entice the water beast out of the water with its song, making them its food. But ordinary Zuo Zhi has two ears, this one has six ears."

"Yes! This is also where Bai Shui is baffled." Blue Demon said.

"This is beyond my knowledge base as well."

"Alright, let’s skip over this matter... what’s the next step?"

"Naturally, to this estate!"