"The entire army is wiped out?"
Lin Xiaowei looked at Zhang Qing, who brought this news, and stood there stunned.
After a while, she couldn't help but ask back, "Are you saying the three people from Black Triangle Star responsible for the operation... are dead?"
"That's the information I've got from my informant so far."
Zhang Qing said.
"Even though Black Triangle Star isn't some international desperado, they have been active in the Tian Nan underworld for so long, they must have considerable ability. How could they just die so easily?"
Lin Xiaowei quickly said, "When? Who killed them?"
"It's not clear who killed them, but it should have been tonight."
"Tonight?"
After hearing this, Lin Xiaowei thought of Xia Li, the general manager of Longquan Real Estate, who also died tonight in the old city renovation area...
She couldn't shake the feeling that in Yunmeng City, with a population of less than two million, there seemed to be some kind of earth-shattering, terrifying beast active, lurking in the deep darkness, choosing its victims.
"Can you get any specific information?"
Lin Xiaowei said.
"I'm afraid that's going to be difficult."
Zhang Qing said, "This kind of core information is generally held by the top figures in the underworld, and my informant's status obviously doesn't reach that level. However..."
He paused slightly to choose his words, "If Black Triangle Star chose to close their account because of death, it undoubtedly proves that they encountered some kind of fear they couldn't contend with, which made that person responsible for logistics and support so scared they didn't dare even think of revenge, immediately making it clear they wanted to distance themselves from the situation. And to have the power to scare a member of Black Triangle Star to this extent..."
"The Su Family?"
Lin Xiaowei immediately shook her head, "Impossible. I was there when Su Yaoyu received the news, and judging by her reaction at the time, this doesn't seem like something the Su Family would do."
"Although Su Yaoyu is the Miss of the Su Family and also manages a subsidiary company worth several hundred million, her status as a woman practically bars her from entering the core circle of the Su Family. If the Su Family really did something, they might not necessarily let her know."
Zhang Qing speculated, "On the other hand, Su Alkaid... If the Su Family doesn't protect Su Xiangyang, he is the only male heir of Su Huaifeng's lineage; he is far more important than Su Yaoyu. The top leadership of the Su Family, regardless of their motives, wouldn't just watch him fall into danger and lose his life; otherwise, it would be a slap in the face for the Su Family, and would only make others think the Su Family is easy to bully."
Lin Xiaowei thought about it, silent.
This was about the Su Family's young master. Naturally, she had to be very careful in her actions.
"Rather than believing the Su Family quietly took out Black Triangle Star, I would rather guess that Su Alkaid has some unknown side to him."
She said in a heavy voice.
The feeling of incongruity and that something was amiss when she saw Su Alkaid at the Chihe Mansion sprang to mind involuntarily.
But she couldn't pinpoint where this feeling was coming from.
Shaking her head, she stopped obsessing over it.
"Under the pretext of protecting Su Alkaid, dispatch a team to secretly monitor him..."
Lin Xiaowei gave her order.
"Our manpower... has been borrowed by Consultant Xia, and we're a bit short now..."
Zhang Qing said, somewhat troubled.
"Consultant Xia..."
Lin Xiaowei knew who he was referring to and felt a headache coming on.
"The general manager of Longquan Real Estate is not a marginal figure like those from Black Triangle Star. A few rats from the underworld, dead is dead, but Xia Li... a successful individual with assets worth hundreds of millions, and he also had an identity in the Martial Arts World... The pressure from above is not small, not to mention Consultant Xia, our Security Bureau will also be swamped for a while, as the Police Chief has ordered everyone to fully cooperate with Consultant Xia."
Zhang Qing added another sentence.
The difference in identity and status between people, and the corresponding response from the Security Bureau, would be entirely different.
"Forget it, I'll find some time to keep an eye on him now and then. I hope I'm just overthinking it."
Lin Xiaowei said.
Zhang Qing nodded.
...
The next morning.
Alkaid glanced at the fourteen names on the memo on his phone, along with their respective Sect affiliations and residential addresses, and first chose the closest one.
Shanlong City.
The closest city to Yunmeng within the Tian Nan Territory.
The straight-line distance was only about sixty kilometers.
By car, it was just over an hour.
The purpose of Alkaid's cultivation was to make his life better.
With several hundred thousand in cash, he didn't skimp on himself.
He found a taxi directly and headed for Shanlong City.
On his way to Shanlong City, he also opened his phone and searched for related videos of the number one martial master in Shanlong City who had fallen on hard times.
...
The vehicle left Yunmeng City, and the surrounding high-rise buildings gradually became sparse.
After traveling a bit further, even the number of flat and low-rise buildings greatly diminished.
Alkaid browsed through the videos, getting to know Lei Ao's fighting style, and didn't pay attention to the outside scenery.
However, at this moment, the car suddenly stopped.
Alkaid looked up.
He saw the taxi driver chatting with two women carrying luggage.
Next to them, there was a ride-hailing car that had broken down halfway.
The driver negotiated with the two women, and quickly agreed to take them on their way to Shanlong City for fifty yuan each.
During this, he didn't ask for Alkaid's opinion as a passenger at all.
Considering that everyone encounters difficulties when traveling, Alkaid didn't say anything.
The two women put their luggage in the trunk and got into the car.
As soon as they got in the car, a strong scent of perfume hit him.
Following that, a woman who at first glance seemed quite pretty and fashionable... but upon closer inspection was all technology and makeup sat down.
The woman got in the car and upon seeing Alkaid, her eyes lit up and she greeted him, "Hi, handsome."
Mindful of the overwhelming perfume smell, Alkaid said, "You sit in the back, I'll go to the front."
After saying this, he opened the car door.
As he opened the door, the other girl happened to walk around and was directly hit by the car door.
Before he could say anything, the girl was already apologizing repeatedly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't see you getting out..."
While speaking, she stepped aside to clear the path.
Alkaid glanced at her.
This girl was at most seventeen or eighteen years old, slightly underweight, with somewhat dark skin; she hadn't made any efforts to dress up, yet even so, she had a kind of purity that caught one's attention.
"It's nothing."
Alkaid replied with a word, walking around the front of the car and sitting down in the passenger seat.
The vehicle continued onward.
"Handsome guy, are you going on a trip? Want to join us?"
In the car, the trendy woman smiled and struck up a conversation with Alkaid.
However, Alkaid replied with just one word, "Looking for someone," and showed no interest in continuing the conversation.
The woman tried to initiate conversation with Alkaid a few more times, but seeing his consistently cool attitude, she became somewhat bored.
She turned to the girl beside her, "Xiaoying, don't worry, we're all from Yu's village. If I become successful, of course I'll bring you along. Once we get to the company, you're guaranteed to make big money. If you work hard, earning tens of thousands a month won't be a problem."
"I only have a junior high school diploma, I dare not dream of earning tens of thousands a month. I'd be content with five thousand — that would be enough money to buy medicine for mom and pay for my sister's tuition."
"Tsk, earning five thousand a month? What's the point of that? The reason I'm taking you out is to make the big bucks... Let me tell you, you can lack anything in life, but you can't lack money. If you don't have money, you'll be bullied and looked down upon wherever you go, but as long as you've got money, no matter what you do, you'll have people surrounding you..."
The woman kept on about the difference between having money and not having it.
Alkaid found the noise bothersome and put on his headphones, continuing to scroll through videos.
This act made the trendy woman, who saw Alkaid as a handsome, sunny, clean-looking, and aesthetically pleasing young man, feel dissatisfied, and she consequently lost the interest to boast.
...
More than an hour later, the vehicle arrived in Shanlong City.
Compared to Yunmeng City, Shanlong City had fewer people, resembling an enlarged version of a county town at first glance.
This had to do with the geographical position of Shanlong City.
Located to the south of Dayu, Shanlong City was the southernmost part of Tian Nan Province, right across from Feiyu Country's Mingguang City.
Shanlong City was established as the southern gateway.
Since Feiyu Country was more underdeveloped, Shanlong City, which had the geographical advantage, had never really developed. This was reflected in the city's economy and could be seen in its streets and buildings.
The vehicle soon arrived outside the estate where the target individual, Lei Ao, resided.
Lei Ao, who had been a low-profile martial master, had become famously successful in the past one or two years, and his living environment had seen a notable improvement.
He had moved into an estate and had taken in many disciples.
At the moment, the estate was heavily guarded, with many robust-looking "disciples" patrolling back and forth.
Alkaid did not enter the estate.
Upon reaching the outside of the estate, he promptly deployed his qi and blood, operating a secret technique.
What is a secret technique? A skill that represents the ultimate understanding of a realm is known as a secret technique.
The Perception Secret Technique is an almost pinnacle application of the power of qi and blood.
Using one's own qi and blood as a medium, infusing one's spiritual consciousness into it, uniting spirit with qi, activating qi through blood, endowing "qi and blood" with vitality, thereby resonating with "like" entities, and "perceiving" strong abnormal individuals in the vast unknown.
Moreover, human thought is capable of constructing memory images, even memory palaces.
The end result of this secret technique is the creation of a map in the mind, where individuals with abnormal qi and blood are marked as red dots.
Soon, Alkaid withdrew the secret technique.
"Not here?"
He was somewhat surprised.
After pondering for a while, he approached the estate's entrance.
"Can I help you?"
At the gate, a man about one meter ninety tall sized him up, noting his composed aura and equally extraordinary attire, he asked aloud.
"I have an appointment with Lei Ao, the martial master. He's not in the estate right now, is he? I've arrived early."
Alkaid said.
With that sentence, accurately mentioning Lei Ao's whereabouts, the man couldn't quite figure out Alkaid's identity.
Still, he said, "Since you're a friend of Master Lei, I'll take you inside to rest. What should I call you?"
So he really wasn't there.
No wonder there was no perception.
Alkaid thought to himself.
"Never mind, I'll come back at the appointed time."
He said.
The man frowned, scrutinizing him once more.
At that moment, three young men walked out of the estate, talking and laughing among themselves.
One of the young men, who was about the same age as Alkaid, did a double-take when he saw him, then quickly ran over, all smiles, "Su Alkaid is in Shanlong City? Here to see Master Lei?"
Then, as if he remembered something, he continued, "I heard that Su Alkaid didn't go to the provincial capital for university but took up Martial Path instead. Interested in martial arts? In that case, finding Master Lei is the right choice; he is the number one martial artist in Shanlong City, his reputation and status are hard-earned."
Alkaid watched him...
No recollection.
"My name is Zhao Qing, I live in Shanlong. Education here isn't great, so my dad sent me to Yunmeng High School, where I had the honor of meeting Su Alkaid."
The man quickly said.
He looked at Alkaid with a mix of surprise and excitement.
During his first and second year of high school, Su Alkaid had been rather unremarkable.
In his third year, news emerged that he was the illegitimate son of some big shot in the Su Family of Tian Nan, a tycoon's child.
Recognizing such a prominent person at first glance, he was eager to introduce himself.
After graduating from high school, he chose not to go to university, returning to Shanlong to inherit the family business. Though his family had a few tens of millions, compared to the massive Su Family of Tian Nan, it was not nearly at the same level.
Having mixed in society for a year, he had started to understand the importance of social connections, and upon seeing Su Alkaid, his eagerness to greet him made sense.
"Hello."
Alkaid nodded.
"Are you here to see Master Lei? I know where Master Lei is around this time. We were actually just going to head over there for some action. May I invite Su Alkaid to join us?"
Zhang Qing said with a beaming smile.
"Sure."
Alkaid gave him a look.
Daring due to his expertise.
"Lead the way."