Chapter 17 Trouble

In the hall, the woman stopped at the same spot where Li Cheng颐 had paused before throwing the vase.

"Here. According to the surveillance, throwing the vase from here with that much force to knock back a group of people means he's reached the basic level of a modified human." Her eyes scanned the marks left by the shattered vase fragments.

"Which type of modification? Earth-type Black Wolf suit?" the man asked.

"Similar, but the strength is a bit weaker. The speed is about the same. Can't tell the characteristics yet." The woman continued to follow the trail to the elevator.

"Didn't take the elevator. The person went up the stairwell."

She turned and followed the trail up the stairwell to the ninth floor.

The ninth floor was a large lounge. The huge Aichi Real Estate logo was printed on the right-side wall covering. The blue-black metallic lettering faintly reflected moonlight in the night.

"Da Song died here, knocked down from upstairs." The woman walked step by step to the shattered floor-to-ceiling window and looked down through the broken glass.

"Have you made a judgment?" the man said in a deep voice.

"Yes, roughly similar to the standard modified Earth-type Black Wolf, but without the Black Wolf's fang launcher. Of course, it can't be ruled out that the other party deliberately didn't use it," the woman replied. "The Grissius parking lot incident was completely buried, and almost everyone who knew about it is dead. I didn't expect new troubles to emerge now."

"There must have been a Dead Angle created," the man said from the communicator.

"Dead Angle?" The woman hesitated. "Isn't that just something small circles hype up? Does it really exist?"

"You wouldn't know if you don't pay attention. It does exist, but because the proportion is very low, only about ten people in a city encounter it at the same time, so many people don't know. The entire Yi country might not even have a few hundred people die from Dead Angles in a day, maybe even fewer, because you don’t die immediately after entering a Dead Angle; there's still a chance to survive."

The man explained, "Think about it, Yi country has billions of people. Every day, natural and accidental deaths alone are close to tens of thousands. A mere few hundred people are insignificant. If it weren't for the safety of certain powerful people's children, the authorities wouldn't even bother."

"True. After all, all the forces and consortiums are focused on Star Lake and us," the woman sighed. "The struggle between the Flying Fish and the Modified People concerns the fate of Yi country and Bai Xing country. The Dead Angle's impact is too small to count."

"That's right, so I was surprised when I found out it involved a Dead Angle. Wait... I found it... My side shows that Hong Jin Company in Suiyang is indeed related to the Dead Angle. The boss's son died in a Dead Angle. He must have accidentally investigated this, are you going to handle it?" the man asked.

"Alright, give me the address, I'll go right away." The woman turned and walked toward the stairs.

"Once you confirm it, immediately dispatch people to take action, keep it clean."

"Don't worry."

*

*

*

Zhao Mountain City.

9:16 PM, Changdong Street, District One North.

A Fog Flag off-road vehicle slowly pulled over to the side of the road, nestled among a row of parked cars under the streetlights.

The people inside the car looked out the window.

A row of electric scooters was parked along the sidewalk, and further in were a row of storefronts.

Directly in front of the car window was a KTV with flashing colored lights and the words "Golden Roc Entertainment" hanging above the entrance.

"This is it. My new signee works here," Sindelar said casually, taking out a cigarette.

"Don't mind, do you?" He looked at the others.

They shook their heads.

He took out a lighter, lit the cigarette, and took a deep breath.

"This little girl named Zhong Ying is only seventeen years old. She's been working here for half a year. She's earned a lot of money, but before she had time to spend it, she encountered a Dead Angle. Then she was discovered in the mutual aid group I posted online. She took the initiative to apply for help."

"Where should we start after we get there?" Sima Gui asked.

"Wait for her to take us to the location where she entered the Dead Angle. You two sense it to see if you can experience memory flashes. Be careful. Although it sounds like you'll be safe as long as you retreat quickly, you still need to be careful. After all, anything can happen in a Dead Angle," Sindelar instructed.

"Don't worry, this Mist Street Dead Angle won't be dangerous as soon as you enter it; there's a buffer period. We're just experiencing flashes, so it's not a big problem. Just prepare the mission reward," Sima Gui said with a smile, not caring at all.

Li Cheng颐, using the light from the streetlight outside the window, saw his smiling face, a smile that didn't care about himself or others.

It made people involuntarily think of words like "madman" and "psychopath."

No wonder Pencil Eyebrows had kindly reminded him earlier.

Li Cheng颐 didn't say anything. He turned his gaze away and continued to observe the profiling photos Sindelar had just shared.

The boss had said that if this mission was completed, the reward would be a Flying Fish worth over ten million. He would be embarrassed to take the money if he didn't put his heart into it.

"I'll give her a call to contact her," Song Ran, who was driving, pressed her AR glasses.

The others waited quietly.

Not long after, a girl in a black camisole dress slowly walked out of the KTV entrance.

The girl had long, wavy tea-colored hair and wore finger-length silver diamond earrings that sparkled in the distance.

Her face was a standard big-eyed, high-nosed, small-mouthed internet celebrity face. Although she looked pleasing to the eye, she had an unreal, plastic feel.

The girl looked left and right, carrying a black gold-chain bag, and quickly spotted the Fog Flag off-road vehicle parked here. She walked towards it on high heels.

But after only a few steps, a busty, beautiful woman came out of the KTV entrance behind her, caught up with her, and said a few words to her.

The girl hesitated and followed the beautiful woman back inside.

Then, the people in the car waited and waited, but the girl didn't come out.

Song Ran sent several messages and made two phone calls. Zhong Ying finally replied with a text message saying that she wanted to leave, but the contract she signed had a pitfall: if she left before it expired, she would have to pay a large sum of money, and now the company people wouldn't let her leave.

"Forget it, I'll go take a look," Sima Gui said impatiently, pushing the door open and getting out of the car.

"I'll go too." Li Cheng颐 felt that he was here to earn money, and he would feel bad about taking such a large reward if he didn't do anything. He had to make the boss feel that he was worth more than the price so there would be a next time.

The two got out of the car one after the other, walked to the KTV entrance, and pushed the door open.

The lights in the lobby were dim, and the pale-yellow mood lighting made people's skin look pale, hiding any imperfections.

Inside the lobby, there were two passages leading to the interior.

Sima Gui looked at Li Cheng颐.

"Split up?"

"Okay."

Li Cheng颐 had been learning fighting for more than two months, and his physique was much stronger than it had been initially. His courage had also increased.

"Find the person and leave, don't dawdle," Sima Gui said as he walked into the passage on the left, ignoring the waiter who came to ask.

Li Cheng颐 chose the passage on the right and walked in, passing one wailing karaoke room after another. Looking at the closed doors, he didn't know how to find her.

Should he just push the doors open one by one?

Or pretend to be looking for someone and enter the wrong room?

"Sir, are you looking for someone?" A male waiter appeared at this time and asked loudly.

Li Cheng颐 nodded quickly.

"Yes, I'm looking for Zhong Ying. Does she work here?"

"Little Ying, this way, please come with me." The waiter suddenly understood and led the way, letting Li Cheng颐 follow.

The two went down the passage, turning east and west, and soon arrived in front of a dressing room.

Zhong Ying, who was the internet celebrity-faced girl from before, was speaking loudly with two men and a woman, seeming somewhat agitated.

"You clearly saw all the terms and conditions when you signed the contract. Every item was something you agreed to yourself. Now you want to cause trouble and come to me? Funny, we're a legally operating company. If you violate the contract, you'll have to pay a penalty. If you have the ability, call the police! We'll win even if you take this to court!"

The speaker was a slightly chubby blonde woman who was confronting Zhong Ying. She crossed her arms and had a cold expression. The two men standing behind her were both burly, obviously there to support her.

"But those clauses weren't in the contract I signed back then! This isn't the original contract!" Zhong Ying said angrily.

"This is your handwriting. The court doesn't care if you don't admit it. You'll be the one in trouble then, little sister. Didn't you look at the terms when you signed and put your fingerprints on it? Anyway, you can leave today, you don't have to work, but the penalty will be several times higher later. Don't blame me, your older sister, for being unreasonable." The chubby woman said coldly.

"I...!" Zhong Ying's fair face flushed with anger, and her chest rose and fell rapidly.

"How much money is it? I'm Zhong Ying's friend, I'll make up the difference." Li Cheng颐 knew that it was time for him to appear. Coming forward to help in her time of need would gain her trust.

The chubby woman had noticed Li Cheng颐 standing here earlier. Hearing this, her face immediately thawed, and she raised her eyebrows.

"Not much. According to the contract she signed, if she leaves temporarily, she needs to pay a penalty of five times the fine. The fine is 60,000, so five times that is 300,000."

"How much?" Li Cheng颐 blinked, thinking he had misheard.

"Three hundred thousand. Credit card or transfer?" the chubby woman said casually.

Li Cheng颐 looked at Zhong Ying to the side, who lowered her head with a guilty expression.

"Three hundred thousand..."

He breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly stepped forward, giving her a slap across the face.

Slap!

The loud sound exploded on the chubby woman's face, making her dizzy and almost fall.

Before the others could react, Li Cheng颐 took a step forward and kneed one of the burly men in the stomach.

Then, he raised his hand and punched the other one in the side of the face.

With two loud thuds, the two swayed a bit and became dizzy, but they didn't fall. Obviously, even a surprise attack from Li Cheng颐 wasn't enough to knock them down.

But soon, there were two more muffled sounds. Li Cheng颐 kicked each of them in the waist.

This time, he secretly used the Localized Flower Scale Armor. The hard scales slammed into the sides of their waists, instantly bending them into a bow shape, unable to get up again.

Li Cheng颐 then took a step back, grabbed the chubby woman's hair, and slammed her against the side wall.

Bang.

Blood seeped from the side of the woman's face, and she slid to the ground.

"Okay, you don't need to take out 300,000, let's go." He clapped his hands and looked at Zhong Ying to the side.

Zhong Ying was dumbfounded. She had never expected him to attack directly. She had just wanted to drag Sister Zhao and two familiar friends into acting out a routine to get some money. After all, judging from the new boss's appearance, he wasn't short of money, and this little bit of money probably wouldn't be much to him.

But she hadn't expected...

"Sister Zhao!? Sister Zhao, are you okay!?" She screamed and quickly rushed over to help the chubby woman off the ground.

"Someone come, someone's hurt here! Bleeding from the head!" She started yelling.

"So, I was being scammed all along?" Li Cheng颐 instantly reacted, understanding the cause and effect.

Immediately, he wanted to call the boss, but soon, what Sima Gui had said earlier floated into his mind.

'You're going to die any day now, why are you still worrying about this and that? Aren't you tired? Do whatever you want!'

For some reason, it felt as if something in Li Cheng颐's heart slowly loosened.

He was too lazy to talk, too lazy to think, and went up and punched Zhong Ying hard in the face, then kicked her in the lower abdomen.

Poof.

After a muffled sound, Zhong Ying curled up in pain, and he dragged her out by her hair.

"Let's go." Before leaving, he grabbed the contract, tore it up, and stuffed it into his pocket.

If you want to swindle someone, you have to be prepared to be retaliated against.