Chapter 15 Evening of November Fifteenth, 9:40 PM

Ma Junxiao, the renowned professional gamer "Devouring Ghost Xiao," was successfully rescued by the police.

Well, “rescued” is one way to put it... he was actually “released.”

Shortly after Dongfeng's arrest, the three kidnappers received a "telephone instruction" to release the hostage. Although they were somewhat hesitant, they complied.

Minutes later, Ghost Xiao, having left the residential building, was quickly placed under the protection of officers hidden in the shadows.

At 10:15 PM, after reuniting with his family, Ghost Xiao went to the hospital for a brief check-up. Then, at his own request, he went back to the unit with Brother Chan to prepare for the competition.

Meanwhile, the three "executors" who kidnapped Ghost Xiao carried out the "retreat plan" at 10:00 PM, and… were arrested as soon as they stepped out the door.

With no hostage to worry about, it was child's play for the police to subdue them… It wasn't until they were being escorted into the police car that the three realized—the last few instructions hadn't seemed to come from the "planner" himself.

Unfortunately… they realized it too late.

At the behest of Division Nine, the police listed the three executors as the primary suspects, and the case was closed. Deputy Director Zheng and the undercover officer were also imprisoned soon after… their records were already dirty, which was why Dongfeng was able to threaten them; after this incident, both were dealt with together.

As for Dongfeng… he fell into the hands of Division Nine. Even Feng Bujue didn't know what fate awaited the man.

In any case, Brother Jue didn't follow Bao Qing into Division Nine's headquarters. After confirming that Ghost Xiao had been rescued, he had Little Tan (tonight, this rich and handsome doctor drove his luxury car to be a chauffeur for his friend) drive him back.

Looking back on the entire incident, the only secret that had yet to be revealed was… the identity of the "mastermind," the person who paid Dongfeng.

Of course, who this person was… wasn't important. After Dongfeng was taken into Division Nine, he would definitely reveal the identity of this employer. Even if he had the utmost professional ethics and refused to speak… with the abilities of Chief Gu (a little background: Gu Chen held three main occupations in his youth: doctor, ghost hunter, and detective), he could find out the mastermind's identity through deduction alone.

"Possesses vast assets," "capable of participating in large-scale illegal gambling," "able to contact a criminal consultant like Dongfeng"... people who fit these characteristics weren't hard to find. Feng Bujue was well aware of this, so he didn't try to add the unnecessary step of digging deeper into the mastermind's lead. He simply rescued Ghost Xiao and went home, keeping his achievements to himself.

…………

November 16th, midnight.

The final semi-final of the Peak Invitational s2 finally began after a delay of nearly twenty hours.

At the request of Ghost Xiao and his family, Order didn't release any information about the kidnapping that day.

As far as the audience was concerned… everything was normal, just waiting for a wonderful showdown.

However, no one thought that the final result of the match would be…

…………

"Forfeit?" When Feng Bujue and his teammates saw this announcement in the conference room, they exclaimed in disbelief almost simultaneously.

Who would have thought… that the peak battle between Order and Gods would end with Gods' forfeiture.

"No way… there's no reason for this…" Hua Jian said in confusion after seeing the news.

"Could it be… that today's kidnapping was really related to them?" Little Tan looked at Brother Jue and said, "When they found out that Ghost Xiao was safe and sound, they had a guilty conscience… so they just forfeited?"

"No… Shi Long isn't that kind of person," Feng Bujue replied with certainty.

Shi Long was [Shiva]'s real name. In the game, he used the name of an Indian deity, and in reality… he also had a fairly well-known name.

"Although I'm not very familiar with him, I can see that… this guy's character and temperament are pretty good." Brother Jue looked up at Little Tan. "Speaking of which… he's also a rich second-generation."

"Hey, hey… why do you look at me whenever you talk about rich second-generations…" Little Tan couldn't help but complain.

"Alright…" Feng Bujue said, turning to look at the three beauties in the team, "He… is also a rich second-generation."

Before he could finish speaking, the snacks in the three people's hands flew out at the same time and quickly smeared Brother Jue's face.

"Ok~ok~" Brother Jue wiped his face and said, "He's similar to Jin Fugui… also a rich second-generation."

After saying that, he looked at his teammates' reactions… it seemed like everyone had no objections to using Atobe as an example.

So, Feng Bujue continued, "As everyone knows, rich second-generations are also divided into levels… for example, your families are roughly equivalent to the crown princes of Arab countries; and Jin Fugui's family, including real estate, also has assets of over 100 million, but it's far behind you guys." He paused. "As for Shi Long's family… they're more than ten times wealthier than Jin Fugui's family. So, both are in their early twenties, relying on their family's support to start a business… Jin Fugui can only start with a small game studio, while Shi Long starts directly with a large company."

Brother Jue said, picking up the drink on the table and taking a sip, "On a side note… I think that in terms of real-world operational capabilities, Jin Fugui will be able to surpass Shi Long in at most two years; obviously, the latter is more suitable to be a professional player. In terms of operations… Shi Long is basically a hands-off shopkeeper. In the years since Gods was founded, the daily affairs of the studio have been handled by others. I think… that's also why Gods has always been suppressed by Order; fundamentally speaking, Shi Long isn't a businessman. He often looks at problems from the perspective of a player or a team captain, rather than from the perspective of a capitalist or operator. Although in some ways, this approach has its advantages, in the long run… it's not conducive to the company's profitability and development."

"Alright, don't stray too far." Seeing Brother Jue's interest growing, Hua Jian quickly brought the topic back, "Just tell us why you don't think he would plan a kidnapping."

"It's very simple…" Feng Bujue replied, "The motive doesn't hold up."

"Eh? According to normal logic… isn't he the one with the most motive?" Little Tan asked.

"No…" Little Ling interjected thoughtfully at this time, "It looks that way, but the opposite is true…"

"That's right." Feng Bujue nodded and said, "People are focusing on the 'result' of the match, but they're ignoring the 'meaning' of the match…"

Hearing this, Hua Jian's bright eyes flashed, and she suddenly realized, "That's right! What Shiva values isn't just the 'result of victory,' but more importantly, the 'process of winning.'"

"Exactly." Brother Jue snapped his fingers and continued, "Since the launch of *Thriller Paradise*, the ID [Devouring Ghost Xiao] has occupied the title of 'strongest' for many years. Whether it's the official rankings, player-initiated rankings, or various media reports… he's the universally recognized number one player in the game. Originally… the strength of Order's 'Drunken Life, Dream Death' might not be stronger than the 'Four Heavenly Kings of Gods,' but because of Ghost Xiao alone, Gods was suppressed in their most proud 'combat power' aspect." He paused for two seconds and continued, "And to change this situation, there's only one way… to defeat Order's first team, which includes Ghost Xiao, in the match to prove the strength of Gods."

"I understand…" Ruo Yu, who was next to him, followed Brother Jue's train of thought and said thoughtfully, "For Shiva, this head-to-head battle with Order… may be even more important than the finals. He's the one who least wants Ghost Xiao to be unable to play… because he needs to defeat an Order first team with Ghost Xiao to justify Gods' name. Conversely… there's no point in winning against a team without Ghost Xiao to enter the finals."

"That's right…" Hua Jian also added, "If Order were to lose today because Ghost Xiao couldn't play… people's evaluation of Ghost Xiao wouldn't decrease, but would instead become even higher…"

"So… there's no reason for Shi Long to do that kind of thing." Feng Bujue said at this time, "In addition, the motive we just discussed… 'kidnapping the other team's main player to advance to the finals' is just a superficial motive that anyone can see; the real motive… as I told you before (Brother Jue had naturally told his teammates about what happened during the day), should be related to illegal gambling." He spread his hands. "And that… is even less likely to be related to Shi Long… not to mention that his family isn't short of money, and the money they earn is all legitimate… Shi Long's personality is the type that would never gamble. I've fought him more than once or twice. His steady fighting style is similar to Blade's [Po Jun]. He's an absolutely rational type. Such people are mentally strong and proud; a fluke mentality, or a gambler's mentality, is seen as a bad habit of the weak in their eyes. They're not good at conspiracies and tricks or 'taking chances'… they're the type who like to use their strength to make the other party lose convincingly."

"And that 'mastermind'…" Hua Jian continued Brother Jue's words, "Is just a dirty gambler?"

"Heh…" Feng Bujue sneered, "That person isn't worthy of the word 'gambler,' and 'dirty' isn't quite accurate, but I understand what you mean." He shrugged. "In any case, Shi Long would never be related to today's kidnapping. He's most likely completely unaware of what happened during the day…" As he said that, Brother Jue looked up at the ceiling, his face thoughtful. "Gods' sudden forfeiture… must have another reason…"

…………

November 16th, 3:20 AM.

After being bombarded with various messages, emails, and phone calls for several hours, the exhausted Shi Long finally returned home.

About three months ago, Shi Long and his fiancée held their wedding, but they had lived together for several years.

Their home was a villa in the city center of S City (there are very few villas in the city center, but there are still some, of course, the price is very… very expensive). The villa wasn't far from the Gods headquarters, only a ten-minute drive.

Shi Long's wife worked in his company, serving as his assistant; the two went in and out together every day, and were very loving.

But tonight, after Shi Long drove his wife home, he let her go to rest in their room alone.

Shi Long himself… went to the study, locked the door, sat behind a desk… and fell into deep thought.

His wife didn't bother him. She understood… that at this time she didn't need to ask anything or say anything.

This was a moment when a man needed to be quiet.

However, he probably wouldn't get his wish…

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

After a burst of metallic roller friction, a bookshelf wall behind Shi Long slid sideways, revealing half of the space.

A man walked out from inside.

When Shi Long heard the sound, his expression changed drastically, and he suddenly turned his head, and as a result, he saw…

"Feng Bujue?" Shi Long was shocked. "How are you in my house?" He paused for half a second and added, "How did you get into the panic room?"

"I want to talk to you, but I think you'll be very busy tonight." Feng Bujue walked out with a smile, casually strolled to the sofa next to the desk and sat down. "Also… it's more convenient to say some things face-to-face, so I came directly."

"I'm not asking why you're here…" Shi Long's expression was still unfriendly, of course, this was only natural… even if it was your good friend, if they broke into your house without your knowledge, you would be shocked and angry, let alone that they weren't considered to have a very deep friendship. "I'm asking how you got in!"

"Oh… that…" Feng Bujue replied with a lazy expression, "Your home's security system hasn't been upgraded since you bought this villa, right? Although it's more than enough to prevent ordinary petty thieves, it's like a window paper when it encounters an expert…" As he said that, he took out a piece of paper from his arms, "Here… this is my intrusion route map. I was bored while I was waiting for you in the panic room, so I drew it; the intrusion methods are marked next to it, and I've also attached some of my guidance on this security system. Take it to the security company when you have time and let them help you upgrade the system. I guarantee… that after it's done, no one but agents of Ethan Hunt's level will be able to get in."

Shi Long looked at Brother Jue with a wooden expression, speechless, with thousands of grass mud horses galloping through his heart…

After standing there blankly for a few seconds, Shi Long took the piece of paper, glanced at it, then carefully folded it and put it in the desk drawer…

"Oh, by the way, I discovered that 'panic room' by accident." After Feng Bujue sent out the note, he leaned back on the sofa with his hands behind his head, and continued in a conversational tone, "I originally wanted to wait for you in the study, but during the infiltration process… I found some abnormalities in the villa's structure through observation, so I looked around…"

"Brother Feng…" Shi Long wasn't in the mood to listen to his nonsense at this time. He interrupted Brother Jue and said, "I'm… not in the mood to chat with you right now. Whether you're a novelist or a hidden international thief… at this moment, I just want to ask you to leave my house." His expression was very serious when he said this. "I won't say anything harsh, just one sentence—'Please get out, or I'll call the police.'"

"Call the police?" Hearing this, Feng Bujue showed no intention of getting up from the sofa. He smiled meaningfully and replied, "Heh… you and I both know that the police can't help you solve the things you're facing…"