Chapter 198 - 160: Qi Heng: I Suspect Lord Eleven Is a Mole

"Since you’re not fond of Ruo Xue, perhaps you’d be interested in one of the other courtesans... Fine, fine, I’ll shut up. My apologies." Xu Yao’s eyelids twitched. She ultimately suppressed the urge to keep talking and reluctantly withdrew.

At the same time, she was grinding her teeth. ’How can anyone be this difficult?!’

’He doesn’t even look that old...’

’Shouldn’t a young man his age be full of vitality? With a woman like Ruo Xue, a simple beckon of her finger should be enough to...’

’Am I supposed to offer myself? But it’s not like he’s shown any interest in me, either...’

Soon, only three people remained.

"...So, what’s our next move?" Secretary Zhang composed himself and asked cautiously. He no longer dared to voice his own opinions in front of Chu Bamboo.

Even before they met, he had deduced from the intelligence on hand that Chu Bamboo must be a remarkable young man.

But now, after witnessing Chu Bamboo’s series of maneuvers... he finally understood! He had been far too naive.

’This isn’t just a matter of having superb methods... This young man is something else!’

Chu Bamboo didn’t answer. He walked straight to the bed, sat down, and reached under the draping bedskirt. He felt around in a cat-hole, pulling out a Nokia phone.

He turned it on with a blank expression and keyed in a phone number.

"Lao Qi, usual place. Get your ass over here for a meeting within half an hour." Chu Bamboo was brief, hanging up without even waiting for a reply.

After closing his eyes in thought for three to five seconds, Chu Bamboo dialed another number. "Lao Shier. New orders from above! Usual place..."

"No, we’re not holding a Mass! I don’t need you to get all creative with your bizarre preliminary rituals, collecting virgin’s blood or whatever. Just get over here... If you take more than an hour, I’ll skin you alive! We’ll use your blood for the next Mass!"

After hanging up, Chu Bamboo unhesitatingly dialed one last number. "Lao Wu! It’s me."

"...And you are?" Lao Wu’s voice held a note of surprised uncertainty.

"Has Qi Heng arrived?" Chu Bamboo’s voice shifted slightly, becoming identical to the one he used when attending Mass.

"It’s you! Th-... Huh? You mean... Captain Qi? But... wasn’t he captured...?" Lao Wu Yang Keshe’s voice was filled with shock.

"You..." Chu Bamboo started to question him, then stopped. He realized Lao Wu probably wasn’t faking it. The fact that this call could be made—directly to his phone, no less—proved a great deal.

The phone didn’t even have a contacts list; one had to dial the number from memory to make a call.

Furthermore, according to the rules set by Xue the Third, the call history had to be deleted afterward.

"In that case, he should arrive at your location before seven this evening." Chu Bamboo smoothly swallowed the reprimand on the tip of his tongue. His expression remained placid, his voice holding the confidence of a master strategist. "He’ll be looking to make a deal with us. It’s the perfect opportunity to delegate the matter of assassinating Mr. Zhu to him!"

"? Assassination Bamboo? You... you know about it?" Lao Wu was utterly stunned. It took him a moment to process, his mind reeling. "Of course... How foolish of me! I was wondering why that great lord told me. It turns out you were already aware! Yes!"

"That great lord already told me Qi Heng’s price would be high... higher than you can afford." Chu Bamboo scoffed, his voice dripping with contempt. "A tiger stranded on open plains, yet he’s still so arrogant and unruly! What a fool."

"My Lord, I don’t think Captain Qi is a fool. Rather, your wisdom is so profound that he is but a plaything in the palm of your hand. It is only because you view him from such a commanding height that you perceive him as such." Lao Wu began to shamelessly bootlick.

"So be it! Eight o’clock. Bring him to private room eighty-seven! I’ll negotiate with him personally." Chu Bamboo’s voice rose slightly, as if Lao Wu’s flattery had pleased him. Then, he hung up the phone.

Chu Bamboo rubbed his face, deleted the phone’s call history, and casually tossed it back into the cat-hole.

Silence fell once more in private room eighty-seven.

As for Secretary Zhang, his eyes were glazed over. He was pondering a very serious question. ’What in the world just happened?’

’This... I haven’t been entranced by some Cultivation Powerhouse using Illusionary Divine Techniques, have I?!’

Yang Youqian, on the other hand, was trembling uncontrollably.

’What was all that about having Lao Wu bring Qi Heng to this room so you can personally negotiate with him? What was that about discussing the assassination of Mr. Zhu—aren’t *you* Mr. Zhu?! You’re going to personally take part in negotiations for your own assassination?!’

’And how are you so damn good at this?’

’Just how many times have you pulled a stunt like this?’

Yang Youqian had previously suspected that Chu Bamboo sent people from the redevelopment zones to infiltrate All-Powerful as moles. But now it seemed... the mole wasn’t one of them, it was Chu Bamboo himself! And judging by his demeanor, he hadn’t just infiltrated—he’d worked his way up to a high-level position...

"When they get here, whoever comes in, take them down immediately." Chu Bamboo said, sizing up the other two, his voice as calm as ever.

"Understood!" Secretary Zhang nodded quickly.

Yang Youqian took a deep breath, shot to his feet, clenched his fists, and flexed his muscles. He struck a few bodybuilding poses, his voice brimming with newfound confidence.

"Rest assured! You can leave all the rough stuff to me."

「Twenty-six minutes later.」

The door creaked open.

A man in a mask walked in, his voice tinged with respect. "My Lord, I’m here to... wait, I’m here for the meeting. What are you doing?!"