Lights quickly came on inside the villa. Those in the underground chamber coughed violently and rushed out, while the group in the dark room had already retreated outside the villa the moment they threw the stink bomb.
Footsteps sounded all around, and the Wang family members, who had been hiding in various places outside, quickly surrounded them.
Wang Xiangdong, the head of the Wang family, stood in the crowd with a grim expression, coldly sneering, "Zhong Yi, you knew Rong Fu wasn't one of my men, yet you used the excuse of your companion being injured to cooperate with the real culprit who harmed them, all to seize my family's possessions… In front of them, I'll expose you, you hypocrite." The people in the dark room remained silent.
Zhong Yi smiled slightly: "Unfortunately, I already told them beforehand that your provocations were useless." Wang Xiangdong raised an eyebrow: "So these people are willingly acting as your dogs?"
Zhong Yi sighed: "Why can't you understand... what everyone truly hates is what you've done? Just look at the contraband drugs hidden in your underground chamber, the gold and silver in your safe—how many people's blood is stained with? Can you even say? That's why everyone reported you after taking Zhang Qiren's job, and that's why we're here now."
"So what? I was prepared. You won't get anything." Wang Xiangdong's expression gradually turned ferocious: "I'll also let you know that being a hero isn't so easy."
As he spoke, a large group of security guards surged forward. The mere four or five people standing in the dark room looked like a small boat swaying in a raging sea.
Zhong Yi simply laughed: "Your superpowers are mainly used to guard against Zhang Qiren, with this bunch of ordinary security guards... Do you really think we're just joking around in the dark room?" Wan Zijun silently stood in front of everyone, his face practically screaming "Dad!"
The group of people quickly shrank back with fawning smiles: "Um, Dad... why are you here..." Wang Xiangdong said expressionlessly: "First of all, I'm also a superpowered person, and I seem to have developed it better than you guys, so this has no effect on me."
Zhong Yi smiled: "That's natural."
"Secondly..." Wang Xiangdong beckoned, and several burly men stepped forward: "These guys hate their dads the most."
Wan Zijun: "?" The burly men grinned and pounced, and Wan Zijun turned and ran: "Holy crap..." The landlady threw out another sparkling candy, and everyone shouted and scattered in all directions, creating chaos.
Zhang Qiren walked into the storage room in the backyard amidst the chaos.
There was a faint sense of energy flowing in the storage room, similar to the energy in the opened secret room. It was easy to tell that there was a replica of the treasure, or perhaps a decoy, used to mislead others.
Otherwise, who would put the real treasure in the backyard storeroom…? The group in the dark room hadn't even glanced this way.
But Zhang Qiren still walked towards the decoy.
His lock-picking subordinate quickly opened the storeroom door, and Zhang Qiren stepped inside.
A glint of light flashed beside him, and a cleaver came crashing down.
Zhang Qiren expressionlessly blocked the attack with his bare arm, but the attacker, startled, quickly withdrew his blade, the back of the blade striking his forehead: "Zhang… Zhang Qiren…"
Zhang Qiren smiled: "You all know my abilities so well, not bad." His gaze fell on a corner of the storeroom, in front of a dilapidated wooden cabinet, where several people stood. However, the two groups seemed to be separated by a distance.
He stared at the wooden cabinet for a while, then laughed, "These little tricks are meaningless. To tell the real from the fake, just look at where you're most heavily guarded..." A short-bearded man in his thirties said solemnly, "Zhang Qiren, do you really think you can handle this? We've been waiting for you to come to your death!" Suddenly, a tall, thin man appeared behind Zhang Qiren's men, standing alone behind them.
Zhang Qiren felt a slight chill.
This tall, thin man alone brought him immense pressure; this power was practically tangible. He wondered what kind of terrifying power it was...
He remained calm, not even glancing at the tall, thin man, and simply smiled, "Wang Zhenqian... you've misunderstood something. I'm not Zhang Qiren now. I'm a concerned citizen helping the police solve a case. I'm not here to rob you; I'm here to cause trouble for you, that's all."
As he spoke, he casually lit a lighter and tossed it into the clutter.
Flames erupted in the small storage room, and everyone's expression changed drastically: "Zhang Qiren, you son of a bitch..."
Zhang Qiren quickly retreated to the side, his eyes constantly fixed on the tall, thin man.
The tall, thin man's cold eyes also tensed, his gaze fixed on the dilapidated wooden cabinet in the burning storage room.
A smile crept onto Zhang Qiren's lips.
Having a jackal guarding the house isn't a good thing... I hope your Wang family can withstand it.
The short-bearded man, Wang Zhenqian, was frantically trying to salvage the cabinet, shouting, "What are you all standing there for? Kill Zhang Qiren first... damn it!" Before he finished speaking, the tall, thin man had already rushed in, delivering a solid palm strike to Wang Zhenqian's back: "Attack!" What appeared to be a palm strike was actually a ring on his finger that suddenly transformed into a sharp spike, viciously stabbing towards Wang Zhenqian's back. Caught off guard, Wang Zhenqian took the blow squarely, collapsing against the wooden cabinet in front of him, which shattered into pieces.
Meanwhile, the two groups guarding the wooden cabinet clashed amongst themselves.
From the shattered cabinet, a small metal box flew out, piercing through Wang Zhenqian's body and landing in the hand of the tall, thin man.
The tall, thin man glanced at the increasingly raging fire in the storage room, not even bothering to tell his subordinates to leave, before turning and swiftly crossing the iron fence of the backyard, disappearing into the night.
As if the iron fence hadn't existed at all.
Metal-based supernatural abilities were practically confirmed.
But he hadn't gone far when Zhang Qiren and his group of men stood smilingly blocking his way: "Sir, have you forgotten we've been waiting for you?"
The tall, thin man took a deep breath: "Zhang Qiren, you've achieved your goal of bringing down the Wang family. Don't be greedy and cause trouble."
Zhang Qiren smiled slightly: "In the struggle for treasures, the capable shall possess it. What do you mean by greedy?"
The tall, thin man was furious. The fire had thrown everything into chaos. If Hai Dongqing were here, things would be much easier. Where was that bastard? The scoundrel Hai Dongqing was hiding behind a tree not far away with Chu Ge, introducing him: "This is my older brother, a metal manipulation ability user. We only know him as Iron Anvil; we don't know his real name."
Chu Ge asked in a low voice, "If your metal manipulation ability is developed to a high level, can you even manipulate the metal elements within your opponents? Sounds impressive."
Hai Dongqing replied, "Theoretically, I can also manipulate the water elements within you, but it's not that easy."
Chu Ge nodded, pondering how to ambush him.
But then he saw Iron Anvil put the box into his robes and sneer, "Since you also want to seize the treasure, let's see who's stronger."
Zhang Qiren clapped his hands.
All of his men drew their guns and pointed them at Iron Anvil.
Anvil: "???"
"I just don't understand. Do you guys think we've regressed to the martial arts era after getting superpowers...? Even *The Deer and the Cauldron* had musketeers." Zhang Qiren was puzzled. "Or do you think your metal superpower is really more powerful than guns?"
Anvil took a deep breath and shook his head slightly. "Zhang Qiren, you are indeed quite capable. Shouldn't we be cooperating?"
Zhang Qiren didn't answer.
Anvil smiled. "But you are right about one thing... Whether other people's superpowers are more powerful than guns, I don't know, but at least I'm not afraid of guns."
As he spoke, Zhang Qiren clearly saw the muzzles of the guns belonging to his men begin to twist, turning into scrap metal.
Some even had their gun handles turn into iron spikes, piercing them and drawing blood.
Anvil launched a punch at Zhang Qiren's face, the ring on his finger transforming into a sharp spike, flashing coldly in the moonlight.
Zhang Qiren instinctively covered his face with his palm, a piercing pain shooting through his hand. At the same time, Tiezhen groaned in pain, both men clutching their hands and staggering backward.
"Damn it..." Tiezhen was both angry and amused. Zhang Qiren's ability was truly disgusting; who wanted to fight him?
He didn't bother with further words, taking advantage of the others' confusion to make his escape.
But suddenly, he found his body becoming heavy, making it difficult to move even half a step.
It was the red-haired youth "Azhong" beside Zhang Qiren who had made his move—gravity manipulation!
The others also threw away their useless guns, snapping off branches and stabbing them at Tiezhen.
Turned to ferocity, Tiezhen roared as Azhong's belt buckle transformed into a spike, piercing his stomach. Azhong staggered backward.
In the chaos, Chu Ge had already quietly appeared behind Tiezhen, delivering a sudden, powerful punch.
A flash of golden light, landing solidly on Tiezhen's back.
Iron Anvil coughed up blood, staggered backward, and the small metal box he was carrying fell from his arms.
Zhang Qiren, with lightning reflexes, snatched the box and ran.
Iron Anvil, disregarding even the man who had injured him, roared, "Stay!" and lunged at Zhang Qiren.
Zhang Qiren fled frantically, wondering why his father, so determined to obtain the item, hadn't come to meet him, having promised someone would be there.
Just then, the shadows ahead began to twist and distort.
Zhang Qiren stopped, his expression blank.
A shadow leaped from the front like a venomous snake, swiftly coiling around the box in Zhang Qiren's hand. Zhang Qiren, however, showed no intention of resisting, silently letting the shadow take the box.
The shadow seemed to "glance" at him, but didn't stop, transforming into a sharp blade that pierced Iron Anvil's abdomen as he pursued from behind.
Iron Anvil instinctively braced himself, and a clang of metal rang out. He screamed in agony, blood spurting from his wounds.
The power of the Shadow Blade was sharper than metal itself.
A thin yet upright figure gradually emerged from the shadows ahead, eerie and dreamlike in the moonlight.
Chu Ge stood behind him, watching Zhang Qiren's listless, lifeless state, a strange feeling rising within him.
He hadn't expected that the officials Zhong Yi had contacted involved in this operation, including not only Lin Wuyang but also Moon Shadow.
It seemed Iron Anvil's organization was cursed upon their building… From the wall-walker to the gyrfalcon, and now their leader Iron Anvil, this guy was the most typical example, the only one beaten up by the three neighbors.
Yueying slowly walked over, passing Zhang Qiren without even glancing at him, brushing past him. She used her shadow as a ribbon to tightly bind the anvil, then surprisingly spoke to Chu Ge: "The anvil is a key suspect in our case. I'm ordered to bring him back. As for this box..." She seemed hesitant and puzzled, but ultimately handed it to Chu Ge: "It says to hand it over to you when I see it, perfect."
Chu Ge: "???"
Yueying added: "You only have one month to study it; after that, it belongs to the authorities."