The sound of slaps echoed in their ears. The monitoring personnel finally snapped out of their daze, confirming they hadn't hallucinated. Zhang Wei had ignored the shaman's interference and gotten close to Jin Zhenghe.
"How did he do that?!"
Watching Jin Zhenghe being slapped repeatedly, his handsome face already swollen, the monitoring personnel exclaimed in shock:
"Is Zhang Wei too strong, or is the ghost exorcist profession in Great Xia powerful? It must be the latter, right? The mage class is naturally countered by Zhang Wei's profession."
Faced with the suppression of his own country's ghost exorcist profession, the monitoring personnel found it difficult to accept, trying to console themselves.
At the same time.
After being slapped several times in succession.
The intense pain also jolted Jin Zhenghe back to his senses:
"Xi ba!!"
Jin Zhenghe unleashed his half-step Zhenguo-level ghost energy, intending to push Zhang Wei away. His shamanistic ritual was in its final poses. Once he completed the charged movements, he could attack Zhang Wei and prove his strength, thus achieving his difficult goal of dying in front of Zhang Wei.
However.
Zhang Wei saw through his intention. Refusing to let Jin Zhenghe create distance, he rained down punch after punch towards Jin Zhenghe's face.
"Ah!!!"
Jin Zhenghe screamed.
Despite being a ghost, his nose bridge was broken by Zhang Wei's punch, and blood gushed out uncontrollably.
The fat man beside them saw this and got up to run over:
"Master, I'm here to save you."
[Ding! Fatty... Zhang Wei is much fiercer than I anticipated. Haha, he truly is a friend worthy of me, this great villain. He must be awesome!]
[Host has gained System Points +220]
He thought to himself.
With a ferocious expression, the fat man bared his teeth and roared, his body emanating ghost energy as he charged forward menacingly.
"Get aside."
Zhang Wei flicked his hand, unleashing his terrifying half-step Zhenlongwei-level strength. The previously valiant fat man, before he even got close, was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, tracing a parabolic arc through the air. He let out a "poof" and a splash of vibrant blood bloomed mid-air.
[Ding! Fatty... Zhang Wei, how was it? Wasn't my impromptu acting cool? It further highlighted your dominance. Since I worked so hard, I hope you'll carry me to a fast rank-up in LoL next time.]
[Host has gained System Points +240]
It was at this moment.
As the fat man was sent flying, he and Zhang Wei exchanged a subtle glance. In that instant, they both conveyed their intentions to each other:
Zhang Wei: "Thanks, Brother Fatty, for letting me show off like this."
Fatty: "You're welcome."
On the other side.
Seeing the top ghost king, Fatty, being easily sent flying, the monitoring personnel gasped, their eyes wide:
"Hiss! So strong..."
He couldn't help but look at Zhang Wei, his mind uncontrollably recalling Zhang Wei's profile:
"Is this Zhang Wei, who entered the top ten of the veteran rankings? Damn it, he's far stronger than the rumors say. No wonder Mr. Jin Zhenghe couldn't defeat him."
The monitoring personnel was a fan of Jin Zhenghe. He had always believed that Jin Zhenghe lost to Zhang Wei because he was holding back. After all, it wasn't good for a young exorcist from Great Xia to bully a junior, so he had held back. But Zhang Wei, taking advantage of the situation, had not shown mercy, which led to Jin Zhenghe's defeat. Now, Zhang Wei's performance confirmed that Jin Zhenghe's loss was deserved.
Wait a minute!
As the monitoring personnel was thinking, his peripheral vision caught sight of the 'mastermind of the disappearance case,' whose face was already swollen and no longer handsome. He showed a look of surprise.
"Is it an illusion? Why does the mastermind of the disappearance case now look... a bit like... Mr. Jin Zhenghe?!"
The more he looked, the more horrified he became. The handsome mastermind, at first glance, hadn't seemed particularly similar, but now that his face was somewhat swollen and his nose bridge slightly caved in, his handsome features looked rather disheveled. Yet, he resembled Mr. Jin Zhenghe. No... come to think of it, the mastermind's handsome appearance earlier also had a bit of a resemblance to Mr. Jin Zhenghe.
As the thought emerged.
The monitoring personnel's heart pounded. His mind uncontrollably recalled Jin Zhenghe's appearance and the mastermind's handsome appearance earlier. There was some similarity between the two, and now, the mastermind's resemblance to Jin Zhenghe was as high as seventy to eighty percent.
With this realization.
The monitoring personnel's expression turned strange:
"I remember Mr. Jin Zhenghe's most powerful skill was... shamanistic rituals, and it was precisely the shamanistic ritual from just now."
As a fan of Jin Zhenghe, he hadn't recognized him earlier, but now that he did, the monitoring personnel suddenly realized that Jin Zhenghe and the mastermind before him were extremely similar, in their moves, their shamanistic rituals, and their appearance.
It was at this moment.
Jin Zhenghe, who was fighting Zhang Wei, saw Fatty being sent flying and himself being suppressed by Zhang Wei. Thinking that he had to win with difficulty, he couldn't help but roar:
"Xi ba, get lost!"
As his voice rang out.
The monitoring personnel's eyes widened:
"Axi ba, the voice is also similar! Damn, it's exactly the same. How can they be so alike?"
At the same time.
In response to Jin Zhenghe's roar, Zhang Wei also spoke:
"Is it my illusion? Why do I feel like your voice is a bit like Jin Zhenghe's from when I fought him before? Especially that 'Axi ba' curse, the tone is exactly the same."
Following this.
The monitoring personnel then saw that as Zhang Wei spoke, the mastermind of the disappearance case trembled slightly upon hearing Jin Zhenghe's name. Although it was imperceptible, the monitoring personnel, who was paying full attention to the mastermind, noticed it.
Seeing this.
The monitoring personnel froze:
"This..."
This reaction clearly indicated that the mastermind of the disappearance case had something to do with Jin Zhenghe. Otherwise, there would be no need for such a reaction. Suddenly, a bizarre thought popped into his mind... Could Mr. Jin Zhenghe be the mastermind of the disappearance case? And now he's committing crimes in various countries, faking his death to shed suspicion and avoid being noticed?
As everyone knows, once a person becomes suspicious, they can rationalize anything to fit their suspicions. The most typical example is couples. If a boyfriend (girlfriend) suspects his girlfriend (boyfriend), he will scrutinize her every move and fill in the gaps with his imagination.
The monitoring personnel was in a similar state.
"No, it definitely can't be like this. I must be being overly suspicious. How could Mr. Jin Zhenghe be the mastermind of the disappearance case..."
As he was muttering to himself.
A scream startled him.
"Ah!!!"
Jin Zhenghe was sent flying by Zhang Wei's punch, spitting blood from his mouth.
[Ding! Fatty... Oh wow, here it comes, it's my turn to act.]
[Host has gained System Points +260]
Looking at the battered Jin Zhenghe, the seemingly heavily injured fat man roared with eyes wide with fury:
"Jin... Master!!"
Although he quickly corrected himself, almost instantly, the monitoring personnel still heard it:
"Cao! You must have wanted to call Jin Zhenghe 'Master,' right? Jin Zhenghe, he really is Jin Zhenghe!!"
At this moment.
The monitoring personnel was more than half certain that the mastermind of the disappearance case was Jin Zhenghe. His expression proved it all.
Meanwhile.
Although Zhang Wei and Fatty were busy setting up the "sting operation" for the monitoring personnel and didn't look, the gardener, who was also hiding in the dark, saw everything clearly. A smile appeared on her beautiful face:
"The shut-in's plan seems to be working."
As she spoke.
The gardener recalled the conversation she had with Fatty last night. Fatty proposed that since the Blasphemy Association wanted to use Great Xia for public opinion, they couldn't let the Blasphemy Association off the hook. So, they might as well make them lose even more face. He planned for the gardener not only to use Jin Zhenghe to create a substitute mastermind but also to make Jin Zhenghe the actual mastermind.
In Fatty's words last night:
"This way, Zhang Wei can obtain a half-step Zhenguo-level divine artifact, the disappearance case can be framed on someone else, facilitating the subsequent actions of the Senluo Department, and the Blasphemy Association can be slapped in the face. It's killing three birds with one stone, killing three birds with one stone. This is so fitting for a villain's image."
...