Late at night, 11:30 PM.
Two shadowy figures appeared near the entrance of a residential complex in the Sha Kou District.
"This complex is so run-down, are you sure Kong Liangping lives here? He's the captain of the Public Security Bureau, how could he live in a dump like this?" Kou Beiyue craned his neck, peering into the complex. "You're too naive!" Zhang Yuanqing scoffed:
"Look at this complex. On the surface, it looks old and shabby, but the security is actually very tight. Officials like to live in places like this. Luxurious apartments and high-end complexes are for the wealthy." Sha Kou District was quite a distance from Kang Yang District. After the two met up, they slurped down a bowl of noodles and took a taxi, which took a total of one and a half hours.
Zhang Yuanqing paid for the noodles, and he also covered the taxi fare.
He learned that Kou Beiyue only had a few hundred yuan left, all of which he had spent on accommodation.
This just goes to show that without the ability to make money, even if you become one of The Way of the Extraordinary, you still can't earn a living, provided you can't steal or rob. "Let's climb over the wall," Kou Beiyue said, glancing at the wall equipped with a high-voltage pulse net.
"Climb over the wall? No, that's far too inelegant." Zhang Yuanqing walked directly toward the security booth, saying, "Follow me." Kou Beiyue watched his retreating figure and had no choice but to follow.
Zhang Yuanqing arrived at the window of the security booth and knocked. The old man sitting inside playing on his phone looked up and saw the young man at the window. The next moment, his pupils lost focus, and he sat there blankly. Zhang Yuanqing gave Kou Beiyue a "follow me" gesture and was the first to enter the complex.
His Enchantment skill was becoming increasingly effective.
The two entered the complex, followed the building numbers, found Building 3 where Kong Liangping lived, and then, with their nimble skills, climbed up the stairs to the second floor and successfully entered the building. In front of Room 202, Zhang Yuanqing rapped his knuckles against the security door,
"Knock, knock."
After repeated knocks, footsteps came from inside, approaching the security door.
"Who is it?" A middle-aged woman's voice called out. The figure stopped at the door, peering through the peephole at the two people outside. "Property management!"
"What's the matter?"
"It's like this, the car you parked downstairs was scratched. The owner is waiting downstairs, so you should go down and take a look." Zhang Yuanqing spouted the lie without hesitation. "What?"
Hearing that her car had been scratched, the middle-aged woman's already limited vigilance disappeared instantly. She quickly opened the door, ready to go downstairs and demand compensation. But as soon as she opened the door, she froze, standing there woodenly as her consciousness became trapped in the never-ending staircase.
Trapped in a ghost loop.
Zhang Yuanqing stepped past the woman and entered the house, with Kou Beiyue following close behind.
The first thing they saw was an extravagantly decorated living room. From the furniture to the appliances, everything reeked of high-end luxury. It was hard to imagine someone spending so much money on decorating a rundown complex like this. It would have been more suited to a high-end complex, a villa, or a large apartment.
Passing through the living room, there was a bedroom and a toilet on the left side of the corridor, and the master bedroom on the right.
The door to the master bedroom was half-open, with light spilling out. A middle-aged man with a receding hairline was lying on his side, asleep. Hearing the footsteps, he opened his eyes and asked, "Who is it? What are you doing knocking on my door in the middle of the night? Who are you?!"
Seeing the two strangers, he sat up abruptly, his eyes wary and alert, instinctively scanning the hands and waists of the two "thugs" to see if they were carrying weapons. Zhang Yuanqing ignored him and turned his head to see Kou Beiyue's face grim, his breathing rapid, his eyes flashing with hatred and animosity.
The silence of the two thugs seemed to give Kong Liangping courage. He threw back the covers, got out of bed, and yelled:
"You two petty thieves, do you know who I am? You dare to target the house of the Public Security Bureau captain? Do you want to spend the rest of your lives in jail? Who do you work for?"
He was forceful, his face flushed, unlike an ordinary person who would be fearful and timid. As he grabbed his phone, he picked up a baton from the built-in balcony in the bedroom and swung it viciously at Zhang Yuanqing's head. Zhang Yuanqing kicked him straight in the stomach.
Kong Liangping, who was close to two hundred pounds, flew backward, the baton slipped from his hand, rolled twice on the floor, clutched his stomach, his senses distorted in pain, but he couldn't scream. "I'm going to kill him!"
Kou Beiyue summoned a military dagger, his face ashen, and strode forward.
Zhang Yuanqing slapped him aside, stepped forward, grabbed Kong Liangping's thinning hair, and slapped him twice, instantly swelling his fleshy cheeks. Kong Liangping finally caught his breath and screamed loudly.
"Shut up!" Zhang Yuanqing frowned.
Kong Liangping continued to scream, seemingly trying to attract the attention of the neighbors. As the captain of the Public Security Bureau, he was more cunning than ordinary people.
Zhang Yuanqing grabbed his hair, pressed down, and with a muffled thud, the screams stopped abruptly. Blood spurted from Kong Liangping's nose, and his mouth was full of blood and foam. His nose was broken, and his front teeth were knocked out. Zhang Yuanqing sneered, "Try screaming again!
Kong Liangping didn't dare to scream anymore, his voice filled with fear: "You, you want money, right? The things in the house are yours for the taking, take whatever you want!"
We don't want money, we just want to ask you some questions."
"Wha, what questions?" Blood was already flowing into his mouth, but Kong Liangping didn't dare to wipe it away.
"Do you remember Kou Yusi? The case you handled two years ago." Zhang Yuanqing asked. Kong Liangping was stunned for a moment, and after two or three seconds, he finally remembered the person, saying:
"You, who exactly are you? I handled that case. That girl was very pitiful, her beast-like brother..." He didn't finish speaking when Kou Beiyue roared like a young lion:
"Shut your mouth! You are the beasts!"
Zhang Yuanqing reached out to stop him, saying, "This guy is a seasoned operator, don't argue with him, follow the plan."
Kou Beiyue took a deep breath, suppressed the surging anger in his heart, squatted down, grabbed Kong Liangping's neck, and his eyes showed scarlet symbols. The enchantment skill at the Supernatural stage required a considerable amount of time to completely control a person.
In fact, the fastest way was to force a confession through violence, beating Kong Liangping until he confessed. But although Zhang Yuanqing had killed people, he couldn't bring himself to commit torture, he had a psychological barrier.
While Kou Beiyue was enchanting Kong Liangping, Zhang Yuanqing walked out of the bedroom, brought the dazed middle-aged woman back to the living room, and then lurked in the dark corridor, listening to see if the neighbors had noticed anything unusual and were about to call the police.
Fortunately, the soundproofing in Kong Liangping's house was good. The noise they made was not loud or sustained, and the residents on the same floor did not notice anything amiss. Zhang Yuanqing quietly retreated back to the living room, closed the security door, opened the attribute panel, and cursed under his breath.
Two points of morality deducted.
What a loss. Tomorrow, through Guan Ya, he'll donate some money to a charity to earn back the two points of morality he lost. He sat on the sofa in the living room and waited. After about half an hour, Kou Beiyue's voice came from inside: "Done."
Zhang Yuanqing immediately got up and went to the bedroom, where he saw Kong Liangping sitting on the edge of the bed, with tissues stuffed in his nose to stop the bleeding, looking uneasy and restrained, like a student who had done something wrong.
"I enchanted him to confess leniently and resist strictly." Kou Beiyue lowered his voice. "He's very honest now, he'll say whatever you ask, and the effect will last for 12 hours."
Confess leniently and resist strictly also requires enchantment? Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself, looking at the panicked Kong Liangping, and said, "What illegal and disciplinary things have you done during your tenure as captain?"
Kong Liangping confessed his mistakes with a face full of regret, including accepting bribes, extorting the families of detainees, maintaining improper relationships with female subordinates, prostitution, and so on. Zhang Yuanqing thought, "Good heavens, if the Devil's Eye Heavenly King knew about this, he would skin you alive."
What happened to the Kou Yusi case?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.
"That was an order from Director Lu, our deputy director of the Public Security Bureau. He asked me to help handle the case, fabricate evidence, and frame Kou Yusi's brother. It was all at his direction. I was just acting according to his instructions. Director Lu promised that as long as I helped handle the case, he would promote me to captain."
"Do you know who killed Kou Yusi?"
"It should be someone from a special department," Kong Liangping said.
The security officers in the Public Security Bureau knew of the existence of special departments, but most people didn't know that the employees of special departments had supernatural abilities, and even if they did, they would sign a confidentiality agreement. Although it couldn't completely eliminate "rumors," it greatly limited the spread of rumors.
Of course, the higher-ups in the Public Security Bureau certainly knew about The Way of the Extraordinary, such as the captain, the director, and so on.
Some wealthy businessmen and high-ranking officials were very superstitious about feng shui and fortune-telling and were particularly respectful of certain "reclusive experts," and that's where it all stemmed from. Zhang Yuanqing glanced at Kou Beiyue and asked again:
"Why did the people from the special department kill Kou Yusi?"
Kong Liangping showed a look of hesitation. This seemed to be a secret that couldn't be spoken. After a dozen seconds, his personal will was suppressed by the power of enchantment, and he truthfully said, "Because that woman was a 'sparrow' kept in the Bronze Sparrow Tower."
What does that mean? Zhang Yuanqing and Kou Beiyue looked blank.
The former was confused because he didn't understand what the Bronze Sparrow Tower referred to, while the latter simply hadn't heard of the words "Bronze Sparrow Tower" and didn't understand at all. Kong Liangping explained:
"The Bronze Sparrow Tower is what we call it in our circle. I only found out about it after I became the captain. It's actually a separate complex, with only two buildings, located at No. 38 Xinyuan Road in a relatively remote part of the Sha Kou District. The mastermind behind it is called Master Wu, whose real name is Wu Xingye. He has many companies in Songhai, and it's said that he has assets of hundreds of billions. Master Wu used to be in the underworld, starting out by organizing prostitution and running underground casinos.
"Later, he got involved in pyramid schemes. In addition to helping him swindle money, the pyramid scheme team also specializes in tricking beautiful girls from other places, sending them to the Bronze Sparrow Tower to be trained, turning them into playthings who dare not resist, for the amusement of some dignitaries. Director Lu and the leader of that special department are regulars at the Bronze Sparrow Tower, and there are many others like them."
Zhang Yuanqing felt the veins on his forehead throbbing.
Kou Beiyue's chest rose and fell, and the back of his hand, holding the military dagger, showed bulging veins. He squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth:
"My sister resigned and went into business with a fellow villager, and she was tricked into that place. It's my fault for being useless and always making her worry about my future, and causing her anxiety about making money... She stayed there for a month, and I don't dare to imagine what she went through..."
Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath: "How long? I mean, how long has the Bronze Sparrow Tower been around?" Kong Liangping thought for a moment and said, "Ten years, give or take."
"No one has ever investigated it?" Zhang Yuanqing said.
"From time to time, girls escape and report to the Public Security Bureau, but it's quickly suppressed, and the escaped girls are sent back, tortured for a few days, and then they become obedient. Anyway, it's just beating them, beating them until they're in pain, beating them until they're afraid, and then they become obedient. The other women inside see that escaping is useless, so they rarely dare to resist. If they obediently serve Master Wu's guests, at least they won't lack food or clothing, which is better than losing their lives."
A place of indulgence, a place to satisfy the desires of important figures... No wonder Chi Yuean wanted to kill and silence her. This matter didn't involve simple imprisonment and abuse. It could bring out a long list of powerful figures.
Zhang Yuanqing suppressed the anger in his heart: "Do you know Master Wu's address?"
Kong Liangping said, "I don't know. But he's mostly in the Bronze Sparrow Tower. He's there about three or four days a week because there are many important guests who go there to enjoy themselves, and he has to accompany them to play cards, lose money,
and then pick young and beautiful girls to serve them."
"Do you have a photo of him?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.
Kong Liangping shook his head: "He's very low-key and doesn't take pictures. But I can describe his appearance. He's about 1.8 meters tall, in his forties, with a full beard and a mole on his right cheek." Zhang Yuanqing silently noted it down and turned to look at Kou Beiyue: "Knock him unconscious. We're going to make a trip to the Bronze Sparrow Tower."
"I want to kill him," Kou Beiyue said.
Zhang Yuanqing said in a deep voice, "No, he's an important witness."
Kou Beiyue said, word by word, "I don't need a witness, I want blood for blood." After he finished speaking, he turned to look at Zhang Yuanqing: "You, go out for a moment..."
The teenager's eyes were filled with anger, pain, and a hint of plea. Zhang Yuanqing opened his mouth, but didn't say anything, and retreated out of the bedroom, closing the door.
The night was deep, and it was exactly midnight. Zhang Yuanqing bought a pack of cigarettes at a 24-hour convenience store, and the two people who didn't know how to smoke walked along the empty, quiet street, puffing and spitting. It was rare for Zhang Yuanqing to have such a thought as "I need to smoke a cigarette."
"If you kill him, this matter can't be concealed after dawn, and we don't have much time left." Zhang Yuanqing exhaled a mouthful of smoke that didn't go into his lungs. Kou Beiyue was high-spirited, his face no longer gloomy, and he said:
"Then let's go to the Bronze Sparrow Tower now, kill that Master Wu, and rescue the women inside." "Stupid!" Zhang Yuanqing snorted coldly:
"If you kill him, Chi Yuean will have to thank you on his knees. What we have to do is
to bring down an Executive. Sigh, if it was just him alone, that would be great, but this matter is very serious, and it involves too many people. We don't know if there are other Executives besides Chi Yuean, or official The Way of the Extraordinary participants. This matter is very troublesome to deal with."
Kou Beiyue thought for a moment and said, "Then what about reporting it?" "Report it?" Zhang Yuanqing thought for a moment and said:
"If we want to go through official channels, a report has to have evidence, at least a grasp of
some of the evidence, before the Elder will accept it.
"As for the others, don't forget, some wealthy and powerful people are also involved, and they're not under the jurisdiction of the Five Elements Alliance. The Five Elements Alliance only manages The Way of the Extraordinary. You don't know, the higher-ups are actually very wary of the Five Elements Alliance overstepping its authority and interfering in 'secular' matters.
"In addition, these types of incidents can only be reported with real names. If it's anonymous, it'll probably be suppressed, because too many people are involved. But reporting with our real names is equivalent to exposing ourselves, which is very detrimental to us."
Kou Beiyue didn't care at all: "Let's go to the Bronze Sparrow Tower now to find evidence. What's there to be afraid of? A man only dies once. I've been risking my life in the dungeons, and I've long since stopped caring about dying." He belatedly reacted and glanced at Zhang Yuanqing: "Then you don't have to participate. I've already ruined my reputation anyway, my parents don't recognize me, and Xiao Yuan doesn't want me anymore. I'll be better off dead."
Zhang Yuanqing also glanced at him: "If it were me two months ago, I probably would have chickened out, thinking that self-preservation is the most important thing. But now... I'm a Lawful-aligned class, and even you, an Evil-aligned class, know to punish evil and promote good. If I chickened out, how could I be worthy of my monthly salary of 50,000?"
"Besides," he revealed an incredibly arrogant smile:
"I already have supernatural abilities, why should I put up with these dog-shit things and people who are like beasts?"ps: Fixed typos in the following update.