Upon hearing Xu Mu's words, Jiu Zhi immediately lowered his voice and said, "I guarantee the mission will be completed."
With that, he pulled out the pinhole camera hidden on his body, yanked the wires loose, and tossed it to the ground.
Xu Mu was the kind of wealthy, high-profile target worth squeezing for a hefty sum—enough to keep him living lavishly for a long time.
And after extorting the money, killing him wouldn’t be too late.
"Heh heh heh! Kid, I admire your guts. I’ll help you—just give me 200 million."
Jiu Zhi raised two fingers, flashing a peace sign.
"Fine. But first, help me rescue someone."
Xu Mu hadn’t expected the man to be wearing a camera.
If he had actually pulled out the Desert Eagle and taken down Jiu Zhi right then, Lin Yang might have used the footage to stir up trouble.
He needed to find a safer spot.
"You’re in no position to bargain. Pay up first," Jiu Zhi said coldly.
"Pay your mother!"
Xu Mu turned and bolted, spotting a secure location—a narrow gap between two buildings, just two meters wide. One end was blocked by a wall, forming a dead end.
A place like that wouldn’t have surveillance cameras.
Jiu Zhi gave chase but slowed when he saw Xu Mu dart into the dead-end alley.
"Idiot! How can anyone be this stupid?"
A concealed weapon appeared in Jiu Zhi’s hand. "Since you won’t pay, I’ll just send you off—"
Before he could finish, his eyes behind the mask widened in shock.
Xu Mu, now holding a Desert Eagle, aimed it squarely at him. "So… who’s the real idiot here?"
"Heh heh heh…"
Instead of panicking, Jiu Zhi laughed, exuding an air of superiority. "Kid, ever heard of ancient martial artists?"
In one swift motion, he punched the adjacent wall.
BOOM!
A deafening crash echoed as the wall shattered from the force of his strike, leaving a gaping hole.
Jiu Zhi clasped his hands behind his back and said coolly, "No technique is invincible—only speed is absolute. Beyond seven paces, a gun is faster. But you’re within seven steps of me—"
Mid-sentence, he suddenly twisted into a crouch, preparing to hurl his concealed weapon.
BANG! BANG!
Before he could even release it, two bullets struck his head in rapid succession, blood spraying violently.
"Guess this thing’s faster…"
Jiu Zhi collapsed with a thud, dead on the spot.
"Seven steps? At this range, it’s both fast and precise."
Xu Mu holstered the Desert Eagle.
He was about to leave when he realized something wasn’t right.
Jiu Zhi’s crouching stance had been angled toward the hole he’d punched in the wall.
In an ideal scenario, he would’ve dodged the gunfire, thrown his weapon, then rolled into the hole to avoid any reflexive spray from Xu Mu.
No denying it—the man had been highly skilled in combat.
Too bad Xu Mu was also an ancient martial artist, with reflexes sharp enough to track rapid movements.
And on top of that, he was a marksman.
"Phew…"
Xu Mu exhaled.
Everyone had a first time. Though uneasy staring at the corpse, he steeled himself.
Suddenly, he sensed someone approaching. Recognizing the figure, he realized it was Meng Wanyue.
Her slender silhouette flashed past the alley entrance, her gaze scanning the scene inside.
Only after confirming Xu Mu was unharmed did she relax.
"Mr. Xu, are you alright?" Meng Wanyue hurried over.
"Do I look like I’m not?" Xu Mu grinned, hands tucked casually in his pockets.
Meng Wanyue crouched beside the body and removed the Ultraman mask.
The moment she saw his face, she checked his fingers.
Noticing her reaction, Xu Mu asked, "You know him? He’s not one of ours, is he?"
"No. This is Jiu Zhi—ranked 18th on the Death List. A deceitful, ruthless killer with no honor. The kind who’d even betray his employers."
Meng Wanyue had once been an assassin too, but she operated with principles: payment meant fulfilling the contract.
This man had none of that.
"So, a Death List assassin."
Xu Mu knew the lore—the Dragon Kingdom did have such a ranking. But the lower-tier names were just cannon fodder.
The real players were the top-ranked killers.
He hadn’t expected Lin Yang to go this far, hiring someone from the Death List just to eliminate him.
"Mr. Xu, you…"
Meng Wanyue’s eyes lingered on the bullet wounds in Jiu Zhi’s skull before looking up.
Xu Mu didn’t hide it. Reaching behind his back, he opened his storage space and retrieved the Desert Eagle.
He waved it lightly at her. "Cost me a fortune to get this."
Meng Wanyue nodded in understanding—though she was still stunned.
Even armed, an ordinary person would’ve struggled to kill a seasoned fighter like Jiu Zhi.
Xu Mu stashed the gun away and searched the body, finding only a phone, a hotel keycard, and a small pouch filled with concealed weapons.
Using Jiu Zhi’s fingerprint, he unlocked the phone—only to find it practically brand new, not even a custom wallpaper set.
Xu Mu opened his contacts list and found numerous entries, among which he spotted Lin Yang.
Using his own phone, he took pictures of all the contact details—they might prove useful later.
He tapped on the messages and saw Lin Yang’s name at the top of the list.
Lin Yang had sent a photo showing Feng Yue tied to a metal frame.
Accompanying it was a line of text: "Interested? Then call me."
Checking the call logs, Xu Mu noticed that Jiu Zhi and Lin Yang had exchanged several calls over the past few days.
“Strange, there’s barely any software installed, so why is there a ‘storage full’ warning?”
Xu Mu opened the gallery and found it filled with videos. He randomly selected one to play.
The unmistakable sounds of a woman’s moans immediately filled the air.
“Disgusting!” Meng Wanyue muttered under her breath after glimpsing the phone’s contents.
Xu Mu stayed silent—his own phone held similar material.
A system search revealed that, apart from the videos in the gallery, the browser cache contained nearly 100GB of files.
No explanation was needed for what those were.
“This old man’s still got quite the stamina,” Xu Mu remarked dryly.
Slipping the keycard into his pocket, he turned to Meng Wanyue. “What about the body? Should we dig a hole and bury it?”
“Leave it. Jiu Zhi’s a wanted man. Once someone finds him, they’ll report it. The cleaners will handle it after confirming his identity,” Meng Wanyue replied softly.
Xu Mu nodded. “There must be surveillance cameras around here.”
“Let me check.”
Meng Wanyue pulled a device from her backpack and scanned the area, detecting two cameras—one at the fertilizer plant’s entrance and another inside the compound.
“President Xu, let me see his phone,” she said, extending her hand.
“Sure.”
Xu Mu handed over Jiu Zhi’s phone.
After inspecting it, Meng Wanyue said, “As expected, both cameras are linked to this device.”
She logged in, deleted all stored footage, and shut the cameras down.
Another sweep with her device confirmed the two blinking red dots had vanished.
+ Slow Paced + Main Character Thrives Together with His Disciples】 Transmigrated into a cultivation world, Chu Xingchen awakens a discipleship system that reveals the tags of his disciples! Starting from scratch, he builds the strongest sect. Disciple One: Li Yingling 【Gold Tag: Genius Cultivator】【Purple Tag: Extremely Lucky】【Blue Tag: Bewitchingly Beautiful】 Disciple Two: Li Hangtian 【Gold Tag: Reincarnated】【Purple Tag: Ruthless and Decisive】【Blue Tag: Loyal and Noble】 Disciple Three: ??? 【Orange Tag: Alluring Demoness】【???】【???】 Thus, in the cultivation world, an unremarkable little sect appears out of nowhere, but little do others know that each member of this sect is a powerhouse in their own right. The book is also known as: Cultivation? It's Exactly Like This!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
