Chapter 36: Wang Chao, an Innocent Victim

Noticing the change in Zhang Ze's expression, Wang Chao quickly spotted the silhouette of the middle-aged man behind the staircase.

"Is that him?"

Zhang Ze nodded silently.

Under their "affectionate gaze," the middle-aged man entered the second-floor hall and soon struck up a conversation with the young woman who had been waiting for him.

"Don't say—"

"Fatty really has a knack for this sort of thing," Zhang Ze whispered from the corner, pulling out his new iPhone and calculating the timing for their move.

"About ten minutes, I'd say. We'll see whether Fatty or that guy ends up the third wheel!" Wang Chao laughed beside him, "You need me to go in with you?"

...

At the same time.

Beside Dragon Lake in the southern part of Heyue City.

Inside a small meeting room at the Anqing Martial Bureau.

Li Sanqing sat off to the side, his expression grave.

"The frequency of aberrations at the Xingmen Gate in Nanhe Province is rising. This time, five martial artists of third rank from our Martial Society, along with the instructor, are heading out," announced the crew-cut youth at the head of the table, scanning those on either side with a serious gaze.

For a long while, there was no response from below.

Seeing this, the crew-cut youth furrowed his brow and turned to Li Sanqing. "President Li, tell us—how many third-rank and above from our Martial Society are going on this mission?"

The youth knew Ruan Qi, and had a good private relationship with Li Sanqing as well.

Li Sanqing rose slowly and spoke in a deep voice, "There's nothing to discuss. All seven martial artists, third rank and above from the Martial Department, will participate!"

The youth was momentarily stunned by Li Sanqing's answer.

But when the dozen others below began to speak, a sense of pride surged through the room.

"That's right, Vice-President Li's got it—we from Anqing Martial Bureau's Martial Society, all join the fight!"

"All join!"

With a chorus of voices, the atmosphere in the meeting room grew fervent.

The earlier silence was crystal clear now: no one wanted to be left behind.

...

Ten minutes passed, and Zhang Ze could wait no longer.

He stood and walked toward the room where the middle-aged man was.

Seeing Zhang Ze move, Wang Chao smiled and stayed put.

As Zhang Ze pushed open the door, dim light filled the room.

"Well, this is a buzzkill. Can't you wait for me to finish here?" the woman muttered, tossing aside her half-smoked cigarette as she noticed Zhang Ze's figure.

Fatty's skills were indeed impressive—at least in the woman's eyes, the middle-aged man could be sold at any moment.

Seeing Zhang Ze enter, the woman threw on her coat and left without a word.

Instantly, only Zhang Ze and the dazed middle-aged man on the bed remained in this ambiguous setting.

The man lay sprawled on the bed, eyes vacant. Zhang Ze knew the woman had indeed drugged him.

"Hmph—"

With a cold snort, Zhang Ze approached the bed and kicked him right at the fork.

"Ah—"

That kick was a killer!

One second he was busy, not even wearing underwear, and the next his bare skin met Zhang Ze’s shoe sole.

The agony was all in that miserable cry.

"You killed the reporter?"

"Slap—"

To help him regain some clarity, Zhang Ze slapped his face and demanded.

The middle-aged man's face flushed with pain, but he lacked the strength to speak.

"Slap, slap—"

Two more slaps brought him back to his senses.

"How... how did you know... my identity?"

The middle-aged man stammered, as if speaking might cost him his life.

"A second-rank martial artist, and that's all you can manage?"

In truth, Zhang Ze's comment was somewhat unfair.

Fatty had given the woman enough drugs that not just a second-rank, but even a mid-rank martial artist would be left muddled.

Besides, the man was suffering, and Zhang Ze's kick—what man could endure that?

Zhang Ze felt none of this, so his words came easy.

He grabbed the man's hair, feeling he had seen him somewhere before.

"Are you a cult member?"

The middle-aged man groaned in frustration.

"You show up here and don't know these things? Why bother asking..."

After a moment of recovery, his mind was still foggy, but his consciousness was gradually returning.

Hearing the reply, Zhang Ze realized his earlier deduction was correct.

This was indeed the cult member who had attacked the Martial Bureau's agents in Heyue City.

"You've been in contact with Lin Ziwei?"

"Damn—"

Perhaps worried the man might recover, Zhang Ze asked and promptly delivered another kick.

Even with both hands shielding himself, it was enough to make the middle-aged man spit blood.

"No, I only dealt with Wen Xue."

After two kicks, the man became very obedient.

Wang Chao didn't waste words, pressing on, "Wen Xue is Lin Ziwei's secretary?"

"Yes—"

"You're a cult member, you've recently been in Heyue City, so why are you here in Meng County now?"

"Because my business was finished, and my superiors told me to lay low, so I came to Meng County."

"Does Wen Xue know your identity?"

"Yes—"

...

After these questions, Zhang Ze fell silent.

He tossed the man a towel. "Wrap yourself up and come with me."

"And hand over your pills—and all the money in your card!"

Only then did Zhang Ze remember the original purpose of his mission.

...

Dragging a naked man into the hall left Wang Chao momentarily speechless.

"Just take the money, why drag him along?"

He paused, noticing where the man's hands were covering, and was taken aback.

"You can't possibly be into this, can you?"

He cast a glance and muttered, "How did you pick up Fatty’s tricks so fast?"

"Mm—"

"Just the influence of the environment," Wang Chao grumbled, scanning the surroundings.

But unexpectedly, Zhang Ze suddenly declared, "I wasn't wrong—he's one of them!"

Pushing the middle-aged man in front of Wang Chao, Zhang Ze waited for his response.

But as he pushed, the towel around the man's waist slipped...

And so unfolded a scene—

The middle-aged man stood stark naked before Wang Chao, who was sitting...

The gap between that thing and Wang Chao was barely two fingers...

"Damn!"

"Bro, look—those two are about to get busy right here..."

"Wow, that's truly bizarre."

"Are they nuts? Two guys playing here?"

Second-rank martial artist—Wang Chao was a second-rank martial artist!

He couldn't help but hear the comments around him, especially since no one bothered to lower their voices.

"Bang—"

Even Zhang Ze was shocked.

He stood behind the middle-aged man, had noticed the towel slip to the floor, but hadn't anticipated this level of exposure.

With a dull thud, the middle-aged man was sent flying.

It was worth mentioning that Wang Chao's kick landed in the same spot as Zhang Ze's, without prior coordination...

He crashed to the floor, unable to utter a sound, curled up, hands clutching himself...

Zhang Ze, with sharp eyes, even saw blood seeping through the man's fingers...

"Looks like this place just lost a regular customer..."