Net of Heaven and Earth, Citywide Manhunt Is This... War About to Break Out

"What the hell is that?"

Dongfang Zhixia stared in utter shock at the figure in the distance—moving at incredible speed, gradually shrinking until it became a tiny dot—and wondered if some kind of large beast had wandered onto campus.

She stood there for a moment, then snapped back to reality. She still had business to take care of, and she needed to hurry and catch that bastard.

If she missed this chance... she had a feeling that the next opportunity might not come for a long, long time.

Ye Cheng was definitely hiding something—something very dangerous.

She had to know what it was.

Quickening her pace, Dongfang Zhixia headed toward Xia Tongxin's villa. From a distance, she could see a large crowd of people standing outside the villa, along with the Du family's private car parked at the entrance.

The ones who had come weren't even Shen family people—they were directly from the Du family, and the insignias confirmed it.

Although the Du and Shen families had essentially become one entity by now, the two families still represented slightly different stances, and the Du family's identity was more sensitive.

In the vast majority of cases, the ones who came over were Shen family members, with matching insignias. The Du family only showed up when absolutely necessary.

For example... on the orders of the family head or the young master.

Like right now—within ten minutes of a single phone call, a professional team had arrived. These were the Du family's loyal retainers.

Unlike the bodyguards of other families, these were true loyalists—"the boys," as Ye Cheng would call them. They'd swing a blade without blinking, take on whoever they were told to take on, without a moment's hesitation.

If something happened to them, the Du family would take care of their families. The best treatment possible...

Of course, these days things were more civilized. Back in ancient times, people like them were called "death warriors."

The moment she arrived, Dongfang Zhixia's brows furrowed. A sense of dread crept into her heart. She'd rather have seen a crowd of people already dragging Ye Cheng away than this—a leaderless group standing outside, waiting for orders.

A scene like this could only mean one thing... something had gone wrong on Ye Cheng's end.

Her expression changed, and she quickened her pace toward the villa, only to be stopped by the Du family's men.

"Let me in. I know Shen Qinghan."

Dongfang Zhixia was smart enough to know that the Du family's men were stubborn as mules—they only listened to the family head and the young master, and couldn't care less about things like the Dongfang family.

So she simply dropped Shen Qinghan's name.

The effect... was immediate.

The group hesitated for a moment, then parted to make way—though not the path leading straight into the villa. It was a path along the outer wall.

"Please wait a moment. Someone has been sent to inform the young master. We apologize for any inconvenience."

Dongfang Zhixia: "???"

"You stubborn blockheads! Move! Let me in!" Dongfang Zhixia practically exploded. Her attempt to slip through had failed before it even began, and panic was rising in her chest.

The longer this dragged on, the stronger that uneasy feeling became. She had to get in!!!

Tap tap tap—another set of hurried footsteps, this time coming from inside. Shen Qinghan walked out of the villa, face cold as ice.

She looked like she was about to personally join the hunt.

She froze when she saw Dongfang Zhixia. The two exchanged a brief look, and everything was understood without words.

"He got away?" There seemed to be some unspoken understanding between them, and Dongfang Zhixia's voice trembled as she asked.

Shen Qinghan's face darkened. "Yeah."

"Shen Qinghan, you useless piece of trash! Are you an idiot?! How do you lose a grown man?! What good are you?!"

"When we were at the hospital, I said we should run tests, but what were you doing?!"

Shen Qinghan's confirmation was the last straw that broke Dongfang Zhixia's frayed nerves. Her emotions burst forth like a dam breaking—fierce and overwhelming.

Shen Qinghan stood there, face cold, watching her: "Instead of wasting time screaming like a monkey, why don't you have your people help search? That'd be faster."

Dongfang Zhixia's rising fury was choked back by those words. Her emotions were suppressed once again, and rationality took over.

She was right—this arrogant, self-righteous woman had a point. Screaming and yelling right now was just wasting time. Better to do something meaningful.

Better late than never...

Suddenly, a thought struck Dongfang Zhixia. Her mind flashed to the figure she'd seen running at incredible speed along the ridge of another mountain when she was coming up the hill.

Her pupils contracted.

"Over there—look over there! I saw him when I was coming up!" Dongfang Zhixia shouted, pointing in the direction Ye Cheng had fled.

Shen Qinghan hesitated briefly, but chose to trust her. The two were in the same boat now, and besides, if anyone bore more blame in this matter, it was her own fault.

If she'd insisted back at the hospital, maybe the truth would have come to light by now...

Just kidding—back at the hospital, they'd wanted to draw blood, and Ye Cheng had already bolted.

"Search in that direction. Fastest speed possible." Shen Qinghan gave the order, and the Du family retainers sprang into action, grabbing walkie-talkies and calling in reinforcements.

Within ten minutes, three or four helicopters appeared in the sky above the campus, hovering briefly over the villa as if assessing the most likely escape routes.

"Young master, these are the most likely escape routes, following the ridge line..."

"Send teams to all of them. Get everyone we can call. Move fast." Shen Qinghan looked at the campus map that was handed to her and mapped out several routes.

Soon, the Du family men left with the map, and the helicopters circling above veered off in the direction Ye Cheng had fled.

One by one, the crowd dispersed, leaving only a few Du family members behind as liaisons and bodyguards to ensure their young master's safety.

Dongfang Zhixia wasn't idle either. She was on the phone on the side, calling in her own people. The Dongfang family's logistics department was buzzing with activity too.

More helicopters joined the swarm in the sky...

"No way, seriously? That many helicopters?"

"What's going on? Is some big shot coming to campus today?"

"Can't be. There are plenty of powerhouses at this school, and none of them show off like this. What kind of big shot would fly in with helicopters? That's just showing off too much."

"Huh... isn't that the Du family's emblem?"

"What? Are you sure? I thought it looked like the Dongfang family's. Are you seeing things?"

Around campus—students outside, students in classrooms, even teachers—everyone set aside what they were doing and looked up at the sky, curiosity and wonder written on their faces.

It wasn't that they'd never seen helicopters before.

Everyone at this school was someone important. Helicopters were no big deal—anyone could ride one, even fly one. They were only worth a few million, after all.

But the thing was... this was Dahai City.

Flying isn't allowed just like that—you need to apply to the higher-ups first. It's like driving in the capital city: getting your driver's license is only the simplest, most basic first step.

Then comes the truly torturous part. First, you need to drop a few hundred thousand to buy an electric car, because electric cars aren't subject to driving restrictions. Second, after you buy the car, you need to enter the license plate lottery. If you don't get picked, you keep trying.

One year, five years, ten years... Keep drawing until your number comes up.

Even with all the rich people in the capital, without real connections and resources, you're not getting one. Not to mention those fancy "leopard" license plates—those are the cream of the crop, the elite among elites.

That takes some serious pull.

Being able to fly over the skies of Great Sea City... it seems like only the Big Three families could manage that, right?

And to have this many helicopters out at once, something big is definitely going down. So... what exactly is it?

Soon, the helicopter situation blows up on the trending searches—not just on the school forum, but all over Great Sea City's local trending, too. The commotion was way too loud to ignore.

Last time the school dominated the trending lists, it was all about Ye Cheng.

Nine out of ten trending topics were about him, and the remaining one was people calling Li Yong an idiot. Related search terms... "my father is Li Erhe," "moron," "dumbass."

Li Yong managed to snag a trending spot all by himself—that counts as a kind of talent, I guess. Most people don't have that skill. Whether Li Yong actually wanted it... well, that's none of your business!

Back at the school hospital, in the VIP ward.

"Brother Yong, why are there so many helicopters outside today? Is a war about to break out?" Wang Defa looked a bit puzzled, craning his neck, one hand holding a cigarette, the other holding his phone.

Li Yong sat nearby in almost the exact same pose—they really were like the Chopstick Brothers now.

In just the past few days, under Wang Defa's relentless influence, Li Yong had finally caved and started smoking a few himself. It was a bit harsh on the throat at first, but later it got better.

He'd even started to enjoy the feeling of his lungs working hard...

Does it hurt?

Hurt means it's working—it means your lungs are growing muscle. That's totally normal, kid. That's right, keep smoking like this. You're gonna get stronger and stronger!

"That can't be right, I haven't heard anything." Li Yong took a drag from his Gold Leaf cigarette. And honestly? What was he smoking before? This stuff actually had some kick to it!

For some reason, over the past couple of days, Wang Defa felt like Li Yong's head was getting a bit pointy. Probably just his imagination, right?

"Bro Fa, you heard anything on your end? Ask your old man."

"Alright, I'll ask." Wang Defa didn't hesitate. He texted his dad, Wang Fugui, asking if a war was coming.

Wang Fugui: "???"

"You little brat, who the hell told you that? Keep spreading rumors like that and I swear I'll hang you up and beat you!"

"A war? What war? There isn't even a single plane—"

"Rumble rumble rumble..."

Before Wang Fugui could finish, he suddenly heard some strange sounds coming through the phone from his son's end... sounded like... airplanes?

Helicopters, more specifically.

Wang Fugui: "???"

Wang Defa switched to the front camera and pointed it outside the school, capturing the helicopters circling and hovering in the sky.

"Dad, maybe take another look?" Wang Defa took a long drag from his Gold Leaf cigarette.

Wang Fugui: "???"

Holy shit!

He hung up and immediately called Tang Jianjun.

"Beep beep beep..."

"Hm? Fatty, what's up?" Tang Jianjun's boisterous voice came through the line, oozing toughness.

"Jianjun, is there any word from the higher-ups lately? Give your brother a heads-up. I know the rules, don't worry..."

Tang Jianjun: "???"