Chapter 508: Speaking Properly

Chapter508: Speak Properly

"Yin Ying has always been the one responsible for monitoring Liang Huo on the Universal Love Institute's side, but this time they suddenly switched personnel, citing the reason that Liang Huo's danger rating had increased. I suspect they might have guessed we would come to Jinling, or that we've already arrived, which is why they had a higher-level investigator take over from Yin Ying."

Li Jun was not the least bit surprised by the Central Branch's vigilance.

After all, the things he had done in Liaodong might be impossible for ordinary people to find out, but for the Central Branch, they hardly counted as secrets.

Even if Lu Ning had blocked the news for the sake of his own face, he probably couldn't hide it from the people of the Central Branch.

Exposure was inevitable; the only difference lay in whether this dragon crossing the river would strike first at the other's vital point, or if this local snake, the Central Branch, would strike first and sink its fangs in.

Strike first to gain the upper hand; strike last and suffer for it.

Even if he couldn't topple the entire Central Branch this time, Li Jun intended to kill a few of their core figures first, to collect a bit of interest for the Chi Lord.

The man's tone was gloomy, his gradually clenching fingers emitting a *zila!* sound of grinding steel. The skin on his knuckles split open, revealing metal joints that reflected dots of cold light under the pale illumination inside the carriage.

Specks of red light rippled in the depths of the man's eyes. His figure vanished abruptly from the seat, appearing before Zou Sijiu as if by teleportation.

Zou Sijiu spoke in a deep voice: "Otherwise, we can only find a bait with enough allure, like Liang Huo, and wait for them to bite."

The crowd, full of complaints, hurriedly swarmed out of the carriage. Wang Qi also wanted to take advantage of this heaven-sent opportunity to follow the crowd out of the cabin, away from the man before him who inspired such dread.

"How does that sound so awkward?"

"Then let's give it a try. No matter how complex his composition, one punch and we'll know everything."

"Are they so certain we'll definitely contact Liang Huo?"

Mohist Bright Ghost?!

In that instant, Zou Sijiu's thoughts raced. Could this person named Wang Qi be not the bait, but a big fish?

"Wearing a fake face, almost fooled your Grandpa Qin."

But for some reason, Wang Qi felt his whole body go limp, unable to summon a shred of strength.

"Call me Daddy."

"Am I arrogant? I've always kept a low profile."

Only Wang Qi wore a face full of bitterness, unaware of what kind of ending awaited him next.

"What do you think?"

But the sight that met his eyes stunned him completely.

The man sat with legs splayed, a fierce blaze burning between his brows and eyes: "Choose. You only have one stop's time. Before this Earth Dragon reaches the next station, if you can't give me an answer, then I'll have to help you choose."

Zou Sijiu turned his head helplessly, looking at the man: "If I say I'm Chang Jun's friend, will you believe me?"

The compartment doors on both sides of the dragon's body slid open, bringing a harsh, grating friction sound.

At the two ends of the carriage, barely three zhang wide, one side was alive with heated banter and teasing, the other plunged into an icy killing intent like falling into an ice cellar.

Zou Sijiu snorted: "Brother, which Bright Ghost of the Central Branch are you? I'm currently on a mission for the Universal Love Institute. What do you mean by this?"

"Finished?"

The man's expression was arrogant, turning a deaf ear to Zou Sijiu's earnest persuasion.

Aside from a floor full of trash, the only ones left in the carriage were himself and the two men sitting opposite with inexplicable smiles.

The man's expression was contemptuous as he sneered: "These tricks of your Universal Love Institute have been used until they're rotten. Can't you change the pattern? Don't think about stalling for time either. This Earth Dragon has been shielded by me. No message can get out. No one can save you!"

Zou Sijiu grumbled, continuing to the man: "Although it sounds a bit far-fetched, today's coincidence is real. You're Bright Ghosts from the same branch. You should have a way to contact each other, right? Ask him. I don't know what secret of yours I stumbled upon, but we really don't need to be at each other's throats. On the contrary, we might be able to join hands and give the Central Branch a surprise."

The Earth Dragon had arrived at the station.

"Unexpectedly, I actually met someone even more arrogant than you."

Things like disemboweling, pricing by the pound—Wang Qi no longer wanted to think about them. Because what was truly terrifying was that he had faintly heard words like "back-gun" in the conversation between those two, words that made one's bones chill.

"Let's hear it."

Suddenly, various tragic encounters between man and man flashed through Wang Qi's mind like a revolving lantern.

Zou Sijiu looked displeased. First, he disguised himself as Yin Ying and got felt up; now he changed his vest and got cursed. He had broken through so many dragon pools and tiger dens, used dozens if not hundreds of identities. When had he ever suffered such grievance?

"Who the f*ck are you?"

"Since you've followed us all the way here, why waste breath on nonsense? I'll give you two paths now. One is to die here. The other is to work for us. But we have to implant some things in your brain."

*Bang! Dong!*

Only two consecutive loud booms were heard. It was a matter of life and death. Wang Qi couldn't care less about his ringing ears; he forced his eyes open.

A fist shadow rose abruptly. The explosive roar rolled within the sealed carriage. The sharp pain in his ears made Wang Qi instinctively close his eyes.

"There are some differences, but broadly similar." Zou Sijiu wasn't too sure.

"Qin Ge. Never thought the first person in the entire Universal Love Institute to bite at us would be a piece of trash like you."

Was he about to be forced into the back door in broad daylight, losing his purity?

There was definitely no such plot in the yellow millet dream he had experienced!

Even if "toiling his bones and muscles, starving his body and skin" is a tribulation a transmigration protagonist must endure, isn't the price a bit too high?

Just as Wang Qi was letting his thoughts run wild, a contemptuous curse suddenly rang by his ear.

Wang Qi turned his head woodenly, only to discover with horror that a tall, burly man had appeared at some point in the empty seat beside him. His profile was handsome and upright, his expression icy.

"Do you think the person opposite looks like him?"

"I used Qin Ge's authority to review the Universal Love Institute's internal case files. Right now, within the entire Central Branch, aside from the confirmed defector Chang Jun, almost everyone who had dealings with the Chi Lord has been cleaned out. Of the few remaining, Liang Huo is the only Mo Sequence. The rest are all Bright Ghosts, and they've all had their surveillance levels raised."

There was no imagined scene of a head exploding, a bloody corpse lying in the carriage. Instead, the man who had been leering at him was now half-crouching, while the 'old grandpa' who made him feel close and safe was inverted, 'stuck' into the carriage floor, more than half his body already protruding outside the train.

Li Jun's expression was startled: "Yellow Millet Ghost?"

"Judging by your speech, you're not in cahoots with those Mo Sequences inside the Central Branch, are you?"

"Go to hell."

Zou Sijiu paused, then continued: "Moreover, all personnel of Sequence Five and above in the Central Branch have received warnings from the Universal Love Institute. They're all holed up inside the Central Branch now, unable to go out freely. Even if there's urgent business, their whereabouts are highly classified."

The screeching friction sound made Wang Qi's hair stand on end.

Zou Sijiu followed Li Jun's gaze, sizing up Wang Qi, and said with some doubt: "I always feel this kid is a bit strange. He doesn't look like the original owner of this body. He looks more like a cuckoo in the magpie's nest."

The originally crowded carriage was emptied completely at this one stop. What frightened him even more was that this station seemed even more deserted than the terminal. Not a single new passenger boarded.

Zou Sijiu's expression froze. His wide eyes were filled with shock. He slowly raised a thumb at the man, then turned to look at Li Jun sitting to the side.

"Relax. My terms are far more lenient than that brother opposite."

Could the other party be his long-lost relative? Or that kind of 'old grandpa' who seems indifferent on the surface but secretly protects him?

"Is there a need for such deep hatred? Cursing someone as trash the moment you show up?"

"Qin Ge, what tricks are you playing?"

"I can help you, sure. But I have a small condition."

The moment Li Jun's voice fell, Wang Qi seemed to sense the approach of danger. Layers of cold sweat visibly beaded on his forehead. His feigning-sleep eyes opened a slit, staring at Li Jun with fear and unease.

Zou Sijiu opened his mouth to curse, but a firm voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

“Fourth-rank Ink Armor, Divine Artifact Ming Gui!”

“There’s one other way—find a chance to kill a high-ranking member of the Compatriots’ Bureau, then let me take their place. Might get us their security protocols. But it’s easy to expose, and the success rate is low. Heads of internal review bodies like that usually have countermeasures against the Yin-Yang Sequence; disguising yourself as one of them is a quick way to get found out.”

“They’re already riding our heads and taking a shit—cut the crap, will you?”

“Looks like you don’t want to choose. No matter, I’ll help you.”

“Robbing a burning house? That hurts feelings, you know.”

“He’s riding you, not me.”

Li Jun smiled amiably, spreading his hands to show he meant no harm.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m not a bad person.”

Just then, a violent lurch struck suddenly. The crowd, pressed so tight their backs were ramrod straight, stumbled in unison to one side, a chorus of complaints and curses rising instantly.

Under Wang Qi’s despairing gaze, the subway doors slid shut again amidst a flurry of urgent warning tones, accelerating toward the next station.

Li Jun chuckled. “Then I suppose we’ll just have to wait for a dark, windy night and knock on the front door?”

“That’s a possibility.”

“A bunch of iron-workers, yet smarter than the scholars.”

What Wang Qi once considered an unbearable robbery was now merely the most optimistic outcome among his recent ordeals.

“You don’t want me to fight him, do you?”

For some reason, compared to the two across from him, Wang Qi felt an inexplicable kinship with the man sitting beside him.

Li Jun lifted his arm, staring at the man’s mechanical visage—flesh disguise worn smooth, then scored with dense, mottled tracks by the ballast of the rails—and asked softly.

“Brother, can we talk properly now?”