Chapter 1483: Hold This/ Discovering Clues
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Chapter 1741: Hold This
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Wang Xiaoyan snuggled herself in Yang Ming’s embrace and held his hands tightly. She was afraid that she would lose him if she were to let go. “No matter how many people you hide it from, you shouldn’t hide it from me. We have gone through so many life-and-death situations together…”
“I didn’t want you to be worried…,” sighed Yang Ming. “I can simply tell it to you as long as there is a chance of success. However, the enemy I’m facing this time is mysterious…”
“Mysterious?” Wang Xiaoyan didn’t understand what Yang Ming meant. “Is your enemy formidable?”
“Formidable…you can say that,” Yang Ming nodded. “You know, under most circumstances, I won’t be afraid of my opponent as long as they’re within the bounds of nature. I can always spot an opening. However, the enemy I’m facing this time is unnatural. Their abilities are far beyond my imagination.”
“Why does it sound like the enemy you’re facing has superpowers?” Wang Xiaoyan was puzzled.
“Superpowers…not exactly. Not too off the mark though,” Yang Ming smiled bitterly before explaining, “The enemy comes from Lanmiao Village [1]. They’re a traitor to Lanmiao Village and have acquired sinister skills. They make themselves stronger through ingesting the blood of the newly deceased. You can say that this person is extremely sinister. They’re not just invincible, but adept at casting voodoo spells too.”
“Ah!” Wang Xiaoyan looked at Yang Ming incredulously after hearing what he said! Wang Xiaoyan wouldn’t have believed it if anyone but Yang Ming had said this. This was because it was too unbelievable. Casting voodoo spells, sinister arts, ingesting human blood. These were already outside of what someone’s imagination could accept and was purely illogical.
“I didn’t believe it either when I first came into contact with it…but I have a girlfriend who is the granddaughter of the Lanmiao Village’s patriarch. I only discovered that voodoo spells were real and currently existing after I knew her. However, those spells are held by a fraction of the Miao clan’s talents. They can’t simply cast voodoo spells on anyone either,” Yang Ming explained to Wang Xiaoyan. “This Elder You is a traitor to the Lanmiao Village. He didn’t just cultivate forbidden skills; he even casts voodoo spells on ordinary people. That’s why this dangerous man must be destroyed at all costs.”
“You’re going up against someone like this?” Wang Xiaoyan widened her eyes. “Then doesn’t that mean you have zero chance of winning?”
“You can’t say zero chance…I might have hope if a miracle happens,” said Yang Ming smilingly.
“Doesn’t that mean the same thing? No! I forbid you from going!” Wang Xiaoyan hugged Yang Ming as tightly as she could. “Since it has come down to this, then I won’t let you go no matter what.”
“Yanyan, you know what kind of person I am…” Yang Ming said curtly, but did not elaborate. It was because he knew that Wang Xiaoyan would understand what he was trying to say.
Sure enough, Wang Xiaoyan became silent once Yang Ming finished talking.
Wang Xiaoyan only said after a while, “Have you really decided?”
“En…,” Yang Ming replied.
“Be careful then…I really hope this is just a dream,” Wang Xiaoyan sighed. She knew that she couldn’t change Yang Ming’s mind no matter what she said now.
It was just like that time when Yang Ming went alone to the Lancer Family’s territory to save her father. Wang Xiaoyan was the first to object. It was because she didn’t want to lose Yang Ming after she had lost her father. However, Wang Xiaoyan still had to let Yang Ming go because he insisted.
However, Yang Ming at that time had full confidence. He even teased her and the others at that time by telling them to wait for his victorious return. This time, even Yang Ming himself did not have any confidence…this made Wang Xiaoyan constantly depressed.
“Hehe, then take it as a dream,” Yang Ming chuckled. “You can pretend that this is a dream, and nothing has happened if I come back. You can also pretend that this is a dream, and that you only know me in your dream if I don’t come back. It will all be over when you wake up.”
“Nonsense!” Wang Xiaoyan pinched Yang Ming. “Don’t say something so discouraging. It’s not auspicious.”
“We are all assassins. We don’t have many taboos,” Yang Ming smiled wryly. “I Didn’t expect you to pinch me though.”
“Of course I can pinch. I’m a girl too,” Wang Xiaoyan harrumphed.
“Mengyan is probably done with her classes. I should go back…,” Yang Ming said to Wang Xiaoyan after he glanced at his watch.
“En,” Wang Xiaoyan released Yang Ming’s hand reluctantly. “Don’t come so regularly every day after this. Chen Mengyan and the others will notice that something’s off sooner or later.”
“Understood,” Yang Ming had already decided that he would change up his daily lifestyle after Wang Xiaoyan and Victoria had noticed that something was off with him before this. Since Victoria and Wang Xiaoyan were already suspecting, he couldn’t guarantee that the other girls around him wouldn’t notice that something was wrong given time. They weren’t stupid. It seemed that he was idealizing things a bit too much and not paying attention to details.
Victoria was still sitting on the sofa when she saw Yang Ming come downstairs. She rummaged through her handbag and pulled out a little box before handing it to Yang Ming.
“What is this?” Yang Ming asked curiously as he took it.
“The chip I took out from my body,” Victoria said. “This is the world’s most advanced satellite GPS. It can be traced from anywhere in the world, blind spots included. It can also trigger motion tracking of the target by activating the inbuilt radar to estimate the target’s rough area by calculating the distance from when the signal was lost,” Victoria explained. “Take this with you or install it in your shoes.”
“…You don’t have to go so far, right?” Yang Ming looked at the box. “Can you use this to save me if something happens? What can you do if even I can’t beat him?”
“Just hold on to it,” Victoria said stubbornly.
“Okay, I’ll take it with me then,” Yang Ming nodded and received the box into his hands. “The explosive device isn’t still in here, right?”
“No, it’s already taken out,” Victoria smiled. “What? Scared that I’ll bomb you to death so that I can escape your control?”
“I already told you that you can leave whenever you want. Besides, I’m not even sure whether I can come back from the Yunnan trip this time. I’m probably already in enough trouble even if you don’t try to bomb me,” Yang Ming shrugged.
Victoria smiled, “I shall await your return. I only have one master in this life, and that is you.”
Victoria’s words seemed to be nonchalant. However, they were actually so strong. Yang Ming’s heart trembled. Yang Ming knew how persistent Victoria was.
Yang Ming’s phone rang as soon as he got home. He glanced at the phone number and found out that the caller was Xia Bingbao.
“Hey, Brother Xia. What’s the matter? Has the time to begin the mission been decided?” Yang Ming asked unconsciously.
“Mission time?” Xia Bingbao was stunned for a second before he continued, “Nothing on that yet. You still have to wait for a while. We are also still devising the safest plan here. We can’t let you guys risk yourselves blindly. You are our Supernatural Investigation Bureau’s ultimate trump cards after all. We can’t allow any one of you to fall.”
“Hehe, so it’s like that…,” Yang Ming felt good about being valued. At least he didn’t feel like he was risking his life for nothing.
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot about business. I called you to talk about Liu Xiaolei’s matter that you asked me last time,” Xia Bingbao said. “I used nearly the whole nation’s Supernatural Investigation Bureau’s power for this matter of yours.”
“Sorry for the trouble, Brother Xia,” Yang Ming felt sorry. Even though Yang Ming knew that Xia Bingbao did this because he wanted Yang Ming to owe him favors, he still felt touched because Xia Bingbao would help him with these menial matters without complaint.
“Don’t mention it,” Xia Bingbao laughed. “But you might be disappointed with the results.”
“You couldn’t find him?” Yang Ming questioned.
“We did, but it’s a body,” Xia Bingbao said. “We found a floating corpse on the beach of Bianhai City. After examination, the body was confirmed as the Mingjiang Bank Escort Company’s Vice Captain – Liu Xiaolei.”
“He’s dead?” Yang Ming frowned unconsciously. Are there any hidden secrets behind this? Yang Ming only thought that Liu Xiaolei took the money and ran away by himself initially. However, that didn’t seem to be the case now. There seemed to be something unknown to everyone behind this issue.
Yang Ming didn’t have the time to care about these things recently because he had to start another mission. Yang Ming didn’t pry further into the details from Jing Xiaolu either. He only thought of these when he heard what Xia Bingbao said. “How did he die?”
“Gunshot,” Xia Bingbao said. “Liu Xiaolei got shot six times. Two of them were fatal. One of them was on the left side of his forehead, and the other was on his left chest.”
“What is the gun’s model?” Yang Ming felt more certain about his earlier thoughts after he heard Xia Bingbao’s replies. There must still be some secrets behind this.
Chapter 1742: Discovering Clues
“Type 54 pistol,” said Xia Bingbao. “It’s probably a fake type 54 pistol, judging from the traces left by the bullet shell. This kind of pistol is everywhere on the black market. They’re very common. It’s difficult to pinpoint the source.
“You don’t have to. I got it,” said Yang Ming. “This is already enough.”
“That’s good to hear. It is not just a matter of human and material resources if this investigation continues. There probably won’t be any results until after a year or so.”
“Thank you, Brother Xia,” said Yang Ming.
“Oh? This isn’t like you, Yang Ming. When did you become so polite with me?” Xia Bingbao was puzzled when he heard Yang Ming being so formal. “What happened to you, Yang Ming?”
“Nothing. Hehe. Alright, gotta go now. Contact me once the plan and the time for the mission is decided,” said Yang Ming.
“Alright,” Xia Bingbao seemed to guess why Yang Ming was different today when he heard Yang Ming’s last few words. “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. We aren’t asking you to be fodder. We really want to dispose of this Elder You. That’s why we will hire experts to analyze the plan’s feasibility.
“Experts? More like con artists?” Yang Ming laughed. “Hehe, alright then.”
Yang Ming didn’t care much about these so-called experts’ empty plans and theoretical stratagems. The real situation would be ever-changing. One would die a horrible death if they were too hung up on plans and stratagems. Assassins needed to be adaptable. They needed to adapt to the environment, and not the other way around because of plans.
Xia Bingbao also noticed the hint of mockery in Yang Ming’s tone. However, he didn’t say anything about it. “Fine, we’ll contact you whenever something happens.”
Yang Ming sighed after he hung up. He already didn’t want to tread these waters. However, Yang Ming couldn’t sit this one out when he knew the secrets behind it. Even though his chances of survival in the Yunnan mission were unknown, he still had to go to preserve his current life.
Bianhai City… Isn’t that Pu Daniu’s territory? Since Liu Xiaolei’s corpse was found on the beach, that means that Liu Xiaole was possibly shot while at sea.
Liu Xiaolei appeared in Bianhai City and went out to sea. What does this mean? Does it mean that Liu Xiaolei was trying to smuggle himself into Russia? It is definitely possible. He had a large sum of money on him. Not to mention that he was an internationally wanted fugitive. In other words, he couldn’t even move an inch in our country. If he illegally entered Russia and gave a large amount of money to the Chinese there, perhaps they would protect him and guarantee his safety.
Then was Liu Xiaolei trying to smuggle across through Pu Daniu? Who shot Liu Xiaolei? Did someone on the same boat kill him because they saw the money? Or was it a premeditated conspiracy?
However, Pu Daniu should have received news about such a big matter. Bianhai City is his territory after all. This was why Yang Ming planned to call Pu Daniu to ask him whether he knew any inside news about this.
Yang Ming called Pu Daniu directly when he thought of this.
“Hello…,” Pu Daniu was playing mahjong with some of his brothers. He picked his phone up rather impatiently when he heard it ring. “Who’s this?”
“Is it Pu Daniu?” Yang Ming asked.
“In the flesh. Who are you?” Pu Daniu frowned. He thought, Who the heck is this? How dare he call my name directly? Nobody could blame Pu Daniu for having such thoughts. Pu Daniu was the sole big shot ever since the Goldenhawk Gang vanished from Bianhai City. He became a big name in the mafia world. Everyone would pay him some respect by calling him “Brother Daniu.”
“Old Man Pu, it’s me, Li Muyi,” said Yang Ming. This “Li Muyi” was a false name thought up by Yang Ming back then. “Muyi” meant “Yang[2].” The whole name meant “The Awesome Yang Ming.” It was because Yang Ming felt childish at that time. He didn’t expect to use it for a second time.
“Li Muyi?” Pu Daniu was stunned for a second before remembering who Li Muyi was. He pushed away his mahjong tiles and quickly stood up with his phone in hand. He went to a quiet spot before speaking respectfully, “So it’s actually Mr. Li! Greetings, greetings!”
“I’ll cut to the chase, Old Man Pu. I want to ask about something from you,” Yang Ming skipped the formalities and went straight to the point.
“Just say what you want to, Mr. Li. I’ll never hide anything, as long as it’s within my knowledge,” Pu Daniu said hurriedly.
“Do you know someone called Liu Xiaolei?” Yang Ming asked.
“Liu Xiaolei? Who’s that?” Pu Daniu was stunned. He had never heard of this name before.
“You don’t know?” Yang Ming was also taken aback. However, he instantly understood. Nobody who was trying to smuggle themselves would use their real name. That name he used at that time was probably made up. “A male corpse was found on Bianhai City’s beach. That was Liu Xiaolei…”
“Ah! So you’re talking about that male corpse, Mr. Li! I remember now. So he’s Liu Xiaolei. He and another person sought me out because they wanted to smuggle into Russia. However, his companion gave me a bit more money and asked me to ignore whatever they did on the boat. My men told me after that the person who gave me the money shot Liu Xiaolei to death and tossed his body into the sea.
“So that is really the case!” Yang Ming’s earlier thoughts coincided almost perfectly with what Pu Daniu said. “Do you still remember what Liu Xiaolei’s companion looked like? The one who gave you the money?”
“That person was wearing a baseball cap at that time. He pulled it quite far down. I didn’t see his face clearly,” Pu Daniu said awkwardly. “Also, you know that it’s a taboo for us in this line of work to ask too many questions. I didn’t really look at that guy carefully either. However, he seems to be a local judging from his accent. He should be from this province.”
“What characteristics does this person have?” Yang Ming asked.
“Give me a minute. Mr. Li. I’ll get back to you. I’ll have to get the brother who was on the boat that day and ask him whether he remembers anything,” said Pu Daniu.
“Alright. You can reach me by calling this number,” said Yang Ming.
“I’ll do it now!” Pu Daniu promised.
Yang Ming put his phone aside and booted up his computer after he hung up. I wonder if Zhao Ying is online or not. Yang Ming had already fallen in love with the feeling of chatting online with Zhao Ying over these past few days.
It was a wonderful feeling as it was different from chatting face-to-face. Especially when he knew who Zhao Ying was, but not the other way around. He could always talk about something that interested Zhao Ying and amuse her with just a few sentences. Yang Ming was enjoying this feeling that his partner was exposed, but he was still in the shadows.
Yang Ming knew that he might not be able to come back after this Yunnan trip. If he carried on with Zhao Ying like this, then it could look like he was stringing Zhao Ying along with him. However, Yang Ming couldn’t stop himself from feeling this wonderful sensation. Besides, Yang Ming didn’t want to leave behind any regrets before he went to Yunnan.
He logged into QQ skillfully and opened the chat box for “Wild Female Teacher.” There was a comment left by Zhao Ying for him inside.
“Are you there? How about pulling an all-nighter at the old spot?”
Yang Ming glanced at the time of the comment. It was made this morning. Yang Ming didn’t turn on his computer then. The old spot Zhao Ying mentioned was the gameroom they used to deceive people over these few days. Zhao Ying didn’t have any classes tomorrow since today was a Friday. This was why she invited Yang Ming to an all-nighter.
All-nighter? Yang Ming smiled bitterly. She really knows how to torture someone.
“I’m here now. Yeah, I can do an all-nighter. However, we might have to start a bit late,” At least I must first accompany Chen Mengyan, Lin Zhiyun, and Zhou Jiajia until they are asleep. Only then can I accompany Zhao Ying to farm for points.