After Fang Yuanyuan made her announcement, she left the training ground. The others still looked stunned, as if they hadn't recovered from what had just happened.
Although Fang Yuanyuan didn't explicitly say that Gu Chenan was more suitable for the position of one of The Twelve Owls, everyone understood the implication of her words.
Wan Ke swallowed and stood up as well. "Mr. Gu, from now on, you are an official member of The Twelve Owls. I will notify the other members of this later."
Gu Chenan raised an eyebrow, seeming surprised. "Just... just like that? No ceremony needed?"
"No need, but if Mr. Gu wants a ceremony, that's also possible," Wan Ke said with a smile.
"No need, this is fine," Gu Chenan said, waving his hand dismissively.
Wan Ke smiled lightly, then turned his gaze to Lin Yu.
"Mr. Lin, sorry for wasting your trip here. For now, please stay with the organization. The Chief will arrange a suitable position for you."
At this moment, Lin Yu was still in a daze.
His gaze was fixed on the unconscious Hua Liran on the ground. His arms no longer hurt, but instead, he felt the frustration of having a tantalizing position snatched away from him.
The organization had called to confirm his appointment as one of The Twelve Owls, but this damned Gu Chenan had interfered once again.
If he couldn't become one of The Twelve Owls, then he wouldn't have access to the resources needed to destroy the Gu family and gain the power to kill Gu Chenan.
And on top of that, Gu Chenan had already won over Hoshino Kannon!
The double blow felt like being struck by lightning. The scene before his eyes spun, and everything around him felt surreal, like a dream.
Why... why?
What had he done wrong that made Hoshino Kannon leave him for Gu Chenan?
And then Hoshino Kannon had recommended Gu Chenan to the organization, leading to him taking away Lin Yu's position as one of The Twelve Owls.
What was going on?!
"Mr. Lin? Mr. Lin?"
Seeing that Lin Yu hadn't responded for a while, Wan Ke walked over and called out to him twice.
The calls snapped Lin Yu out of his daze. He nodded, "I... I understand."
Wan Ke nodded, then turned to the right and gestured.
A few men in black suits came in carrying a stretcher. They placed Hua Liran on it and swiftly left.
The efficiency was quite professional, one had to admit.
"Alright, everyone can head back now. I'll notify you about the next steps later," Wan Ke said before leaving the training ground with a file folder in hand.
Was that... it?
Lin Yu sighed in disappointment. As he got up, he noticed the three Hawks standing nearby from the corner of his eye.
Suddenly, his brow furrowed.
Just a moment ago, those three had said many flattering words to him. Although they weren't exactly fawning over him, they were certainly trying to ingratiate themselves.
His position as one of The Twelve Owls had been taken by Gu Chenan, but if he could get on good terms with these three Hawks...
With their combined strength, could they not deal with Gu Chenan alone?
With this thought in mind, Lin Yu's lips curved into a smirk as he turned to face the three.
"We..." He began, but then his eyes widened in surprise.
The three Hawks had quickly approached Gu Chenan and Hoshino Kannon.
"Congratulations, Mr. Gu. From today onwards, we are colleagues. Please let us know if you need anything."
"Mr. Gu, to be able to defeat Sister Hua - your strength is truly astonishing!"
"Mr. Gu has really opened our eyes!"
Lin Yu stared in disbelief, nearly losing his balance as he took two steps back.
His hopes of forming an alliance with the three Hawks vanished as quickly as they had appeared.
In truth, the three Hawks had never held much affection for Lin Yu.
They simply didn't want the upstart Gu Chenan to become one of The Twelve Owls.
But after witnessing Gu Chenan's formidable strength in defeating Hua Liran, the three were left in awe.
Deep down, they knew they were no match for Hua Liran.
That meant Gu Chenan's abilities far surpassed their own by an unknown degree.
As such, they had no intention of continuing to curry favor with Lin Yu while disparaging Gu Chenan.
On the contrary, they were terrified at the prospect of Gu Chenan seeking retribution for their earlier attitudes.
Their best course of action now was to get closer to Gu Chenan.
And of course, getting closer to Gu Chenan meant getting closer to Hoshino Kannon as well.
Why not kill two birds with one stone?
Sensing Lin Yu's gaze, Gu Chenan looked up and met his eyes with a faint smile.
Lin Yu quickly averted his gaze, gritting his teeth as boundless hatred filled his eyes. Without a word, he stormed out of the training ground.
...
Suhang.
The Li Family Residence.
"Who... who are you?" Li Rufeng, his hair disheveled and clothes stained with blood, sat on the ground, using his hands and feet to inch backward as he looked at the three Hawks with murderous eyes before him.
Blood flowed like a river all around.
The fresh crimson liquid had turned the entire Li Family compound into a hellish landscape.
Li Rufeng's disciples and family members had been slaughtered, leaving only Li Rufeng barely clinging to life.
Seeing the pathetic state of Li Rufeng, the bespectacled Cao Mang seemed puzzled.
The organization had said that the Li Family killed Gong Fei, so three Hawks were dispatched to eliminate them.
But after taking action, the Li Family's strength proved to be shockingly lacking.
Aside from Li Rufeng and a few others who showed some ability, the rest were utterly powerless.
And even Li Rufeng and his group were far weaker than they had anticipated.
Did they really kill Gong Fei?
If so, how did they manage to kill Gong Fei?
"Please, spare me! I can give you a large sum of money, a massive fortune!" Li Rufeng pleaded, backing into the corner with nowhere left to retreat.
Cao Mang removed his glasses and used a cloth to wipe away the blood stains before putting them back on.
"Money? Hah." He let out a cold laugh. "We can burn it for you."
Li Rufeng was horrified by his words. "Who sent you? Was it Gu Chenan?"
"Tell that young master Gu that I, Li Rufeng, made a mistake before. I apologize to him!"
"If he spares my life, I will immediately leave Suhang and never return!"
Hearing this, the three Hawks exchanged glances.
"Excuse me for interrupting," the middle-aged woman stepped forward. "Who is Gu Chenan?"
"Gu..." Li Rufeng froze.
They weren't sent by Gu Chenan?
Then who else could it be?
The Li Family had no other enemies aside from Gu Chenan!
"Enough talk. Let me take action. Gong Fei was a good brother of mine, so allow me to avenge him," Cao Mang said, his eyes narrowing.
Gong Fei?
Li Rufeng's eyes widened in realization.
That name sounded so familiar...
He lowered his gaze, deep in thought, then suddenly looked up in shock.
"Everyone, it wasn't our Li Family who killed Gong Fei!"
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
