Chapter 35: Set Sights on a Wretched Soul

The moment the money landed in Huang Ming’s hands, the fat man began to fawn shamelessly. After their meal, Zhang Ze took advantage of the break to visit the official store of the Pill Company and bought three Qi Restoration Pills.

But just like that, a million and a half in cash vanished in the blink of an eye.

Standing at the store’s entrance, he muttered, “No wonder everyone complains about the Lin family and the Pill Company. These damn pills are just too expensive.”

Chuckling softly, Wang Chao explained, “You’re actually blaming the Lin family unfairly for this one.”

“In fact, since the Lin family took over the Pill Company, the only real price hikes have been for first and second grade pills.”

“Take the Qi Restoration Pills you just bought—fifty thousand apiece is the nationwide standard price, set by the Lin family.”

Zhang Ze was taken aback. “So, practicing martial arts really isn’t something ordinary families can afford.”

Wang Chao did not dispute this.

Huang Ming added, “That’s because you don’t know what goes into making these pills. Once you understand what martial artists truly exist for, you’ll know exactly why the pills are so expensive.”

Shrugging, Zhang Ze realized the two didn’t want to talk further, so he let it drop. Still, he couldn’t help feeling anxious as he stared at his dwindling bank balance.

He had been a millionaire just a short while ago, and now it was all gone—who could stand that?

“By the way, if martial cultivation burns through cash this quickly, there must be ways to make money, right?”

As he said this, he glanced at Wang Chao and Huang Ming.

He wasn’t wrong.

Take Wang Chao and Huang Ming themselves—they’d clawed their way up to second-grade martial artists. There’s no way they hadn’t made some money along the way. The fact that they didn’t pursue Zhang Ze after he swindled them out of a batch of pills worth over a million said as much.

Of course, it’s not as if they were swimming in wealth either. Martial cultivation really did burn through money.

As Zhang Ze finished speaking, while Wang Chao and Huang Ming were deep in thought, the fat man piped up with an idea.

“Find yourself a sugar mommy!”

“You just don’t understand how good sugar mommies are when you’re young. Bag yourself a rich woman worth over a hundred million, call her ‘baby,’ and you’ll never have to worry about money for cultivation again.”

Zhang Ze’s response was simple—he kicked the fat man aside.

“The pill business in the countryside is all about long-term gains, but you need cash now…”

Ignoring their antics, Wang Chao muttered, “If you want to fill your pockets, it’s not that hard.”

Maybe he’d been hanging around the fat man for too long, but Huang Ming raised an eyebrow and said with a impish grin, “Isn’t that guy we’ve been watching flush with cash right now?”

Zhang Ze’s eyes lit up and he clapped his hands. “That’s right. If that guy really is working for Lin Ziwei, now that the job’s done, he should have received payment.”

The group conspired and targeted another hapless soul.

—

“Achoo—” The middle-aged man slipped on his jacket, grinning at the bank transfer notification on his phone.

Just as Zhang Ze suspected, this man was the one carrying out tasks for Lin Ziwei’s secretary. He was also the one behind the death of that reporter from Nanhe Province.

Now that the payment had arrived, he was thinking about visiting his lover, not knowing he was already being watched by a pack of penniless wolves.

—

That night.

General Bureau of the Criminal Investigation Division, Heyue City.

In Director Liu’s office, Mo Qing stood by holding a file.

Knocking his fingers on the desk, Director Liu’s expression was severe as he snarled at Mo Qing, “You’ve been working on the front lines for years—don’t you know what ‘risk’ means?”

“The cult made such a big move at Number Six High, so why was the Bureau the last to know?”

“Don’t you realize? If any students had been hurt, not just you and Ma Cheng, but even I would’ve been out of a job!”

Mo Qing knew Director Liu’s temper all too well and kept his head down, saying nothing. He could take the scolding—it wouldn’t kill him.

Eventually, Director Liu ran out of steam, breathing hard as he fell silent for a moment.

Seeing this, Mo Qing quietly poured him a glass of water, then stepped back and stood at attention.

“Damn it—” Director Liu muttered, though his tone had softened. “You and Ma Cheng are a real pair of idiots.”

“How is Ma Cheng? Any news from the hospital?”

“He’ll live, but his right leg was half-blown off at the scene. They had no choice but to amputate at the hospital…”

“Damn those cult bastards!”

Director Liu’s body shook with rage at the news and it took him a long moment to compose himself.

“You can go. The cult’s operation had outside support this time—something’s off. If Ma Cheng hadn’t somehow gotten wind of it, the losses would’ve been far worse.”

Sensing the shift in Director Liu’s tone, Mo Qing quickly refilled his glass and joked, “No kidding. I still get chills just thinking about it.”

“You have no idea—school had just let out, and over two thousand students were pouring out all at once…”

“Alright, enough. Get out of here and break those peripheral members as soon as you can.”

Director Liu’s face grew grave. “I have a feeling the cult isn’t done yet.”

Hearing this, Mo Qing paused at the door, frowning in thought.

—

Late at night.

“You think that woman will listen to you?”

It was the same familiar nightclub, the same familiar foursome.

“Ze, never doubt your brother’s abilities in this area!” the fat man boasted, full of swagger.

The four had been in the club for over an hour. The middle-aged man’s lover had already been “bought off” by the fat man. According to her, the man had mentioned he’d gotten paid today and would return to see her that night.

However, Zhang Ze was still uncertain. Could the fat man really insert himself between a pair of lovers and pull this off?

Noticing Zhang Ze’s skepticism, the fat man raised his brows, “You don’t know anything, kid. All the girls here, big and small, are practically family to me, got it?”

Seeing Zhang Ze still full of disdain, Huang Ming chimed in, “Ze, the fat man’s not exaggerating. He treats this place like his own backyard.”

“That’s right—” In truth, Zhang Ze no longer cared. With Wang Chao and Huang Ming, both second-grade martial artists, by his side, what was there to fear? Even if something went wrong, could the target really get away?

Having reasoned it out, he ignored the fat man’s smugness.

—

The four waited until after eleven, but the middle-aged man still hadn’t shown. The fat man and Huang Ming soon grew restless and slipped off, claiming they were gathering intel from the girls.

Watching Huang Ming trail after the fat man like an eager puppy, Zhang Ze was at a loss.

“Has Brother Huang always been like this?”

He glanced at Wang Chao.

Wang Chao chuckled, “Don’t worry. Huang Ming gets the job done. That guy will almost certainly show up tonight.”

Just as Wang Chao finished speaking, Zhang Ze’s eyes narrowed sharply and he fixed his gaze on a silhouette behind the stairs.

“Damn—”

“The more I look, the more certain I am…”