Before Fang Chu could speak, a man with yellow-dyed hair and bangs covering his eyes suddenly waved his hand.
Swish!
A small throwing knife the size of a finger sliced past Chai Wang's ear.
Bang!
Everyone turned around to see that the massive television behind them had been pierced clean through by the blade.
"Are you doubting me?"
The man with the long bangs spoke coldly. "If I'd tilted it a little more, that knife would've gone straight into your skull."
Chai Wang's fingers trembled around his cigar, but he quickly recovered and forced an apologetic smile. "My apologies, sir. I spoke out of turn."
Fang Chu chuckled beside him. "Patriarch Chai, the Mourning Love Clan isn't some group of kids playing games."
Chai Wang thought about it and glanced toward Chai Xiongtao. That made sense — his own son was thirty-five now.
He remembered that when he himself was in his twenties, he'd had that same hairstyle — even used smoky eyeliner.
Now he had a buzz cut, and what hair remained was starting to thin.
Chai Wang smiled. "So, your organization's proposal is the buyout plan, correct?"
"That's right."
The yellow-haired man stood and faced him. "Allow me to reintroduce myself. I'm Cui Chong, Second Hall Master under the Third Leader, Heartbroken Sorrow, of the Mourning Love Clan."
Chai Wang nodded. "Mr. Cui, how does this buyout plan work exactly?"
"It's simple," Cui Chong explained evenly. "For half a month, we follow your orders — up to four tasks total. When we finish them, we leave early."
"Also, since this is a 'group purchase discount,' if you want us to assassinate a famous person, that costs extra. And if the target's a martial artist, we reserve the right to refuse."
Even though his bangs hid his eyes, his tone was calm and confident.
"Excellent. Then let's start with the first task — I want you to capture Feng Yue."
Chai Wang glanced at Chai Xiongtao.
Chai Xiongtao handed over a file folder. "She's no celebrity or martial artist, just an illegitimate daughter. That shouldn't require extra payment, right?"
His tone carried a dark edge. Feng Yue had become far too arrogant.
Back when Feng Kang was still alive, she'd been meek and flattering whenever they met.
Now that he was dead, she'd dared to defy him — all because of her little beauty pill.
That morning, Chai Xiongtao had personally gone to negotiate cooperation, but she flatly rejected him.
Ungrateful woman!
Before, he'd tolerated her out of respect for her father. But now that Feng Kang was gone — who did she think she was?
Cui Chong opened the folder and studied Feng Yue's profile. The moment he saw her photo, a grin spread across his face.
"This woman's got quite the look," he said with a sleazy chuckle.
Chai Wang laughed in response. "Gentlemen, our Chai family may lack many things, but actresses aren't one of them. I'll arrange a few stars to entertain you tonight."
Meanwhile, Xu Mu hadn't gone home. He drove out to the riverside beyond Yang City, pondering the ancient ruin.
Truthfully, he had to be interested.
Who were new ruins usually for? The protagonist, of course.
And with Fang Chu's high Fate Level, he'd definitely come away with some treasure in the end.
Xu Mu didn't care if Chen Xuan got lucky — but Fang Chu or Ye Chen gaining power? That was trouble.
The stronger they became, the greater the danger to Xu Mu and the Xu family.
He was improving quickly, but so were they — they weren't going to wait around for him to catch up.
"I still don't have enough experts around me," he muttered.
His only true subordinate was Meng Wanyue.
Although Dai Xingluo and Jiang Huihui were technically on his side, both still had family ties that held them back.
Meng Wanyue alone had no one — no parents, no obligations. She acted only for herself.
Still, if he had to choose between the two others, he'd pick Dai Xingluo.
Her relationship with her family was terrible, and she had one goal in life: to kill her father's two current wives.
As for Jiang Huihui, aside from her family, she also worked as a cleaner — technically a member of the Sanitation Bureau.
"Hey! What a coincidence, brother."
Xu Mu looked up to see a scruffy man with messy hair, a cigarette in his mouth, and a fishing rod slung over his shoulder.
It was Du Yan.
"With how often I fish here, it's not really a coincidence," Du Yan said sleepily, setting down his tackle box and chair under a willow tree.
Xu Mu nodded — come to think of it, this was near where he'd been ambushed last time.
Du Yan unfolded his chair, cast his line, and half-closed his eyes.
Xu Mu sat beside him. "Brother Du, you know Huihui, right?"
"Yeah." Du Yan nodded.
"I noticed you're pretty different from her. She's always chasing criminals, and you… well, you seem pretty relaxed."
"I'm old," Du Yan said with a sigh, exhaling smoke. "Just coasting till retirement."
"Something happen to you, Brother Du?" Xu Mu asked lightly.
Du Yan paused, cigarette halfway to his mouth. For a few seconds, he said nothing — then took a long drag. "What could happen to me?"
Xu Mu smiled and dropped the topic. Everyone had secrets. He certainly did — like not being from this world at all.
Not that anyone would believe it if he ever said so.
"I thought you went to the Sanitation Bureau last time to sign up," Du Yan said, flicking ash into a beer can.
Xu Mu raised a brow. "You checked up on me, huh?"
He had gone there with Meng Wanyue — so Du Yan must've looked into the records.
"I was curious about you," Du Yan said, cracking open another beer. He grinned. "Want to be a janitor? I can write you a recommendation letter."
Xu Mu chuckled. "Heh, I'm under strict wife control — I'll have to ask her first."
He didn't say yes, but he didn't say no either.
As night fell, outside the Moonlight Group building…
A black sedan sat idling. Inside were three punk-styled men.
"Second Hall Master, all the workers are gone. Only that woman's still inside. You think she lives here?" asked a green-haired man peering through the window.
Cui Chong watched the dimly lit factory. Only two spots still had lights on — the security booth and an office in the main building.
"No more waiting. We'll slip in from the side — quick and clean."
He smirked at the others. "Once we grab her, then we can have our fun. The client never said we couldn't play with the hostage."
The others laughed darkly.
They knew this factory bordered the Sanitation Bureau — staying too long meant risk.
Masks on, they scaled the wall with ease.
But as soon as they landed, they saw a man in a security uniform walking toward them.
In the fading light, the ember of his cigarette glowed like a small flame.
"Bad luck, guard," Cui Chong said coldly.