Hidden Assassin 173

## Volume 3 Cohabitation Era – Chapter 6 Azure Sky Below – Section 173: Omen of Death

2013-02-08

Amidst the clamor, police cars surrounded the Li family villa. As squads of armed police entered from all sides, James Cook stood in a darkened room on the third floor, a glass of red wine in his hand, a sardonic smile playing on his lips.

He nonchalantly pulled out a pistol and a few surgical knives from his jacket, placing them on the round table in the center of the room. The commotion intensified, and with a resounding bang, the door was kicked open. Beams of light from several assault rifles shone into the room, fixing on him. After a moment, a young man, clad in casual attire and tall in stature, strode in, switching on the lights and waving a hand behind him, a radiant smile on his face.

“Hello, Mr. James,” he said, “My name is Ye Lian, I’m from the Third Action Group under China’s State Security.”

He shut the door behind him. The man, bearing a somewhat feminine name, walked towards James with a smile. A flicker of light crossed James’ eyes: “An Evolver? Ha… it seems Yu Jin Xiang is completely unwilling to show her face…”

“Beautiful girls are sensitive, it’s natural,” Ye Lian said, a pleasant smile on his face as he took a seat at the table. “Since Mr. James has no intention of fighting, it makes things easier for us. After this incident, I’d like to treat you to dinner. Regarding Miss Yu Jin Xiang, the higher-ups feel that injuring that little girl named Liu Huai Sha wasn’t a clever move. Although she went to the hospital due to acute appendicitis, she was still hurt. So Mr. Fang thinks meeting with you should be brought forward…”

As he spoke, James’ eyes suddenly lit up with a knowing smile. His right hand twitched, a sudden flash of light crossed Ye Lian’s pupils. Unforeseen, a surgical knife from the table flew up, reflecting the light, and shot towards Ye Lian. But before it could reach him, Ye Lian had raised his left hand, blocking the trajectory.

The blade stopped two centimeters from his palm, paused for a brief moment, then the whole surgical knife let out a pleasant metallic ring and exploded.

The fragmented metal pieces transformed into dazzling streaks of light under the lamp, scattering in all directions. Some embedded themselves in the wooden bed frame, others into the cushions. A bottle of red wine on the bar exploded, liquid splattered, and after a second of commotion, the room fell silent once again. A few cotton balls flew out of the torn cushion and drifted slowly in the air.

“Spatial Distortion?”

“Mm, just a little trick. Don’t laugh.” Ye Lian chuckled. “It makes my teammates accuse me of cheating when we play dice, but besides that, it’s not very useful. Mr. James is a master in this area, I’d be grateful for your guidance someday. So… can we leave now?”

“Ha.” After a moment, James nodded, “Mr. Fang Zhi Tian from Yan Huang Jue Xing, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. Please lead the way.”

…

…

As James and Ye Lian’s display of abilities began, Li Yongsheng and his son had already escaped through the underground passage. It was quiet in the small garden that night. Through the flowerbeds, they could see the lights of the distant road. Vehicles sped past from time to time. There weren’t many pedestrians, but luckily they didn’t see any police cars paying attention to them. The father and son, accompanied by two trusted men, rushed towards the road.

“Dad, what the heck is going on? Wasn’t everything fine?” Li Ming asked, his face a picture of misery.

“Shut up!” His son, incompetent as he was, had asked this question repeatedly along the way. What the heck is going on? He wanted to know too! How could he know what was going on? If he knew, things wouldn’t have turned out like this! With the same miserable look on his face, Li Yongsheng was full of resentment that he couldn’t vent. Overnight, the authorities had decided to crack down on the underworld, and specifically targeted the Yongsheng Gang. The operation was swift, the crackdown ruthless. Within an hour, the intricately woven Yongsheng Gang had been completely dismantled, seemingly disregarding its connections with government departments and various sectors of society. He never imagined that such a massive change in the situation would be triggered simply by his men attacking a girl.

They left the garden, the sound of police sirens still audible from the villa. The four men climbed over the fence and crossed the road. Someone suddenly called out from a police van parked nearby, “Hey, over there!” They turned to see a police officer in a peaked cap shouting, “Don’t you know it’s dangerous to cross the road without using the pedestrian crossing?” The van slowly drove towards them.

This stretch of road was narrow, and after the iron fence was installed, pedestrians were not allowed to cross. For a period, the police had even fined some people for crossing. Li Yongsheng whispered to the three behind him, “Calm down, calm down.” Then, with a forced smile, he said loudly, “Sorry, sorry, we were in a hurry. We won’t do it again, we won’t do it again…”

“You can’t just cross the road recklessly just because you’re in a hurry? And next time? Do you know you could cause an accident and kill someone?” The van pulled up close, the door opened, and several guns were pointed at the four men. The police officer at the front adjusted his peaked cap, “This is to teach you a lesson. Crossing the road recklessly is tantamount to murder. You are… well, you’re under arrest for murder.”

The four men raised their hands, their jaws dropping…

*************************************************

Under the soft yellow light, a faint aroma of tea filled the air. As the music of the guzheng flowed, two scrolls hung in front of the room, one on the right reading “The sea embraces all rivers, tolerant and vast,” and the other on the left reading “Standing tall as a thousand feet cliff, unyielding and strong.” With a genial smile, the middle-aged man named Fang Zhi Tian lowered his teacup. Across from him, seated by the tea table, was James Cook who had just been invited over. To their side, Dongfang Ruo, clad in white, sat with her hands folded in her lap, her eyes closed.

“James, your schedule has always been rather secretive. When you arrived earlier, our people didn’t detect you. The reason we later found out was because someone sent us evidence that the Yongsheng Gang had stolen state secrets. Ha, that information is still on Li Yongsheng’s computer. Poor guy, he doesn’t even know what DOS means, yet he’s been framed for treason… Do you, Mr. James, have any idea what’s behind this?”

James nodded and smiled, “Yu Jin Xiang.”

“Mm, although she hasn’t made a further statement, based on our analysis, it should be that Miss Yu Jin Xiang. It was over two weeks ago. We can recall the situation then. A Yongsheng Gang leader named A Zhi oversaw the order to forcefully acquire Xing Hua Street. The three children who have a close relationship with Miss Yu Jin Xiang just happened to live on that street. Whether it was out of fear or intimidation, that leader was killed directly. That was also your opportunity to join the Yongsheng Gang. After you joined, that information was secretly planted on Li Yongsheng’s computer. I think Miss Yu Jin Xiang’s attitude is very clear in this matter.”

Fang Zhi Tian took a sip of tea and smiled naturally, “She’s asking us to be the messengers, James. You should know that last year on the Xingmeng Hao cruise ship, this lady provided us with great assistance. Furthermore, we don’t want any major changes in society, nor do we want unnecessary misunderstandings between Yan Huang Jue Xing and Creation Miracles. So we hope Mr. James can understand that we have sufficient sincerity and goodwill. If this little accident hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t want to disturb Mr. James’s trip to China.”

“I’m here solely to search for natural Evolvers.”

“Of course, we understand, and Miss Yu Jin Xiang clearly understands as well. That’s why she entrusted this matter to us.” Fang Zhi Tian nodded. “Forgive my boldness, Mr. James, in our files, this Miss Yu Jin Xiang has always been rather… let’s say, sensitive. Her previous actions involved basically killing everyone with thunderous force. She even placed a bomb on a commercial plane to warn us about our investigation. This time, utilizing an indirect approach is clearly a concession. If she really makes a move… you know, Yuan Lai Chao Chuang also once faltered before her…”

After a moment of silence, James smiled, “Hearing Mr. Fang call her Miss Yu Jin Xiang means you’ve confirmed that individual named Gu Jia Ming?” He turned to Dongfang Ruo, his expression turning serious, “This lady gives me a very special feeling…”

“She’s my niece, her name is Dongfang Ruo, we usually call her Ruo Ruo. Her mental power is very strong. We believe that in some ways she’s even close to a natural Evolver, able to tap into the legendary Sixth Sense to a certain extent. But…” A flicker of complexity passed through his eyes, Fang Zhi Tian sighed, “Over ten years ago she could see things. We did some terrible things, and now… her mental power is constantly eroding her body…”

Looking at Dongfang Ruo for a while, James took a sip of tea, which was a bit bitter for him. “Ten years ago… we did the same foolish things…”

“It was to confirm the matter of Evolvers that we brought her back from the treatment center. But when she sensed that child named Gu Jia Ming, she didn’t detect anything unusual. However, last night, Miss Yu Jin Xiang went to her room and left a bomb powerful enough to kill everyone here as a warning, ha…”

“If the opponent is a natural Evolver, this investigation may be meaningless.” James said.

“But we can only trust this investigation now, because within our known realm, we can confirm that Ruo Ruo is the strongest mental Evolver. In this area, she may even surpass the female emperor of the North. But her body… to be honest, we had considered sending her to the United States for treatment…”

“We haven’t had any successful cases of artificial Evolvers surviving from ten years ago, your methods are better.” James shook his head. “To be honest, when you mentioned her being subjected to experiments from ten years ago, I thought you had mastered the Chinese legend of the Cultivation Method.”

“Heh… Mr. James is being modest. In this area, you have definitely gone further. I was thinking, since Mr. James is here, maybe we can take this opportunity to have you take a look at Ruo Ruo. As a show of gratitude, on behalf of an uncle.”

Ten years ago, a wave of experiments aimed at creating artificial Evolvers swept through various dark organizations. Ultimately, they all ended in failure, but each organization had some results. Although Dongfang Ruo was constantly tormented by mental power, being alive today was a remarkable achievement. Fang Zhi Tian’s statement was a way to express concern for Dongfang Ruo, but also to express goodwill towards Creation Miracles. James’ eyes lit up, “As a researcher, I would be grateful for such an opportunity. Miss Dongfang, could you please offer your hand?”

Under Fang Zhi Tian’s gaze, he took Dongfang Ruo’s wrist as if taking her pulse in Chinese medicine, feeling her surging and chaotic mental power. After a moment, it was Dongfang Ruo who frowned first, her frown deepening, until finally she pulled her hand back as if she had seen something terrifying.

“You, you…”

“What’s wrong?” Fang Zhi Tian asked.

James furrowed his brow, “Miss Dongfang, what did you see?”

“I, I… you…” Dongfang Ruo shook her head, her emotions in turmoil. After a long pause, she finally managed to form words, “I… I… I used to experience this occasionally. I could see a lot of things very clearly, but… they were all trivial matters. It wasn’t like this, not like this… you, you’re going to die…”

James was taken aback, then he exchanged glances with Fang Zhi Tian. “Miss Dongfang, everyone dies, you…”

“You’re going to die soon.” Dongfang Ruo’s body trembled slightly, “I saw it.” This time, James was truly stunned. He was a researcher of Evolvers, so he understood better than anyone else that if someone’s mental power reached the level of natural evolution, their fleeting insight could be an unchangeable fate. Fang Zhi Tian was the first to ask, “What’s going on? Ruo Ruo?”

“Someone… someone is coming in. He… he killed him, and then… we… I can’t see clearly. I only know he died…”

“Who is he?” James asked reflexively, but Fang Zhi Tian immediately interrupted him. “Now is not the time to ask that, Ruo Ruo can’t see. Don’t pry, the first thing we need to do…”

“I can see.” Dongfang Ruo whispered softly, “It’s blurry, but… it’s a name you mentioned while talking.”

“Yu Jin Xiang?” James’ first thought was that, but Dongfang Ruo shook her head to deny it.

“No, no… not him, it’s…” She shook her head, finally biting her teeth, and uttered several syllables, “Yuan… Lai… Yuan… Chuang… Chuang…”

These strange sounds seemed like incantations, but in a moment, they fell upon Fang Zhi Tian and James like a glacial weight. Fang Zhi Tian took two steps towards the window. Outside, on the window sill, someone was guarding, things were still calm for the time being. James repeated softly, “It’s Yuan Lai Chao Chuang… he’s here…”

The king of assassins, Yuan Lai Chao Chuang, it’s hard for ordinary people to imagine the level of destruction one person could cause. But only those in the know can truly understand how terrifyingly devastating a skilled individual can be when using tools in a specific environment. Even though he had failed on the Xingmeng Hao last year, his name still inspired awe and terror in everyone in the dark world.

And now, according to Dongfang Ruo, he had arrived.

“Sound the alarm immediately.” Fang Zhi Tian said, about to press an alarm button, but at that moment, a knock came from the door. The air in the room seemed to solidify instantly, Fang Zhi Tian’s hand froze mid-air, his eyes exchanged with James’.

“It’s just the old housekeeper Liang, I asked him to bring tea…” He said quietly, then raised his voice, “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Mr. Fang, I brought the tea.”

Though James didn’t know who Old Liang was, he could tell from Fang Zhi Tian’s expression that the man had flawlessly imitated the housekeeper. Fang Zhi Tian lightly pulled open a drawer, took out a pistol, and tossed another one to James. With a breath in and out, their minds and bodies tensed to the extreme. Then Fang Zhi Tian spoke.

“Come in…”

********************************************************

Returning to the villa, Dongfang Wan checked her watch: nearly eleven at night. Then she glanced at Lei Qing behind her, feeling quite annoyed that she was being clung to again.

After the bomb incident yesterday, Dongfang Ling Hai had assigned most of the staff to other villas. The Dongfang family had enough property in Jiang Hai City, there was no way they wouldn’t be able to accommodate everyone. But later, when a group of people were having a dance party, Dongfang Wan remembered that the wrecked helicopter she had snatched from Gu Jia Ming was still in her room here. Later, she was pestered by Lei Qing, her brother wouldn’t come over to help, and she couldn’t refuse. She had to make up an excuse to leave. Who would have thought that Lei Qing would say the dance party was boring, and he wasn’t at ease with her, a girl, moving around at night, so he followed her stubbornly.

But after all, he was playing the role of an admirer, so although she found him troublesome, she wasn’t entirely disgusted. Along the way, her mind was occupied by the helicopter model. She had taken it apart yesterday evening. She, who always prided herself on being a genius, after looking up a lot of information, still couldn’t figure out the structure. That was really frustrating. No matter what, she didn’t want to lose to that strange Gu Jia Ming, she had to fix it!

Walking from the main hall to the second floor, the housekeeper, Old Liang, was carrying a bag of tea leaves towards the last room on the second floor. It was originally her father’s study, but now it was said to be used by Uncle Fang Zhi Tian for receiving guests. A man with a somewhat feminine appearance, but who radiated a pleasant aura, stood at the door. Dongfang Wan knew his name was Ye Lian, he was Fang Zhi Tian’s bodyguard. He greeted her politely when he saw her, Dongfang Wan smiled and nodded in response. Just as she was about to go upstairs, Dongfang Ling Hai walked down from the third floor.

“Mm? Xiao Wan? Xiao Qing? Why did you two come back?”

Before Dongfang Wan could answer, Lei Qing had already jumped ahead, laughing, “Oh, Uncle Dongfang, Xiao Wan said she left something important here and wanted to come back and get it. I was afraid she wouldn’t be safe moving around at night alone, so I came along.”

“Cut it out, you little wildcat, what could she have that’s important.” Dongfang Ling Hai glared sternly at his daughter, then said, “Alright, since you’re back, you two can sleep here tonight. Today… everything went smoothly. There shouldn’t be any problems…”

At that moment, Old Liang, with the tea leaves in hand, had already entered the room. Dongfang Ling Hai’s last word had just fallen when a burst of intense gunfire erupted from inside the room. From close range, it was deafening.

The sound of an air raid alarm rang out briefly within the mansion, followed by the entire villa plunging into darkness. From the northwest side of the villa, a roaring explosion could be heard. A sudden battle had begun…

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