Chapter 85: Too Cooperative

The wind and rain raged all night.

Outside, things CLANGED and BANGED.

When he woke up in the morning, Mu Lin was in a daze. The noise had kept him from getting almost any sleep.

Li Xue looked even more dazed, her expression one of utter disbelief, as if life had played a cruel joke on her.

She hadn't slept well at all.

"Go back and sleep a little longer. Worst case, you can just go to work this afternoon," Mu Lin suggested.

Li Xue quickly shook her head. "How could I do that! If I'm late just because I didn't sleep well, what would the employees think of me?"

"Then sneak in a nap at the office," Mu Lin said, handing Li Xue one of those pillows people use for long car rides.

Li Xue took the pillow. Her expression flickered, but she didn't say anything.

'Mu Lin is just looking out for me,' she thought. 'I might as well take it. I'll have my secretary stand guard later while I sneak in a quick nap.'

Elder Li stood in front of the courtyard, his hands behind his back, shaking his head slightly. "My, that was some strong wind."

Mu Lin was surprised to see a tree, as thick as a rice bowl, lying in the gap it had smashed through the fence.

'Where did this tree come from?'

This was a villa district. Because every house had its own yard, there were no trees lining the streets.

'What tree could have flown this far?'

But Elder Li wasn't overthinking it, and Mu Lin certainly wasn't going to expose the truth.

'Those old guys are really something,' Mu Lin thought. 'They were afraid I couldn't explain things, so they even got a tree to cover for me.'

「District One, Zhou Villa.」

Zhou Qianfan and his wife stood with Elder Zhou in the garage. With them was Chen Jingyun, who was covered in injuries.

Two rows of bodies lay in the garage. One row was the security guards who had fought to the death protecting Elder Zhou; the other row was assassins clad in black.

Chen Jingyun looked at his team members, his face etched with grief. These were the brothers he had been drinking with just a few days ago, and now they were dead.

"Bury them with full honors. Find the best cemetery. And don't skimp on the compensation for their families. You must also take care of their children until they graduate from college, understand?"

Zhou Qianfan's expression was grim. He hadn't expected last night's battle to be so brutal. "Yes. If I had known, I would have stayed home with you last night."

"Stay with me for what? To die with me? Whether it's one person or a group facing those people, it's all the same. It's better to let me bear the risk alone!"

Elder Zhou put on a stern face and reprimanded his son, afraid he might get some foolish ideas about living or dying with him.

That night, the enormous villa had been emptied of even the servants. Elder Zhou had ordered them all to evacuate, leaving only himself and the guards behind, all to ensure that a spark of his family's bloodline would survive.

There weren't many valuables left in the villa; the truly precious items were all in a private vault at the bank.

His judgment had been correct.

"Xiaochen, can you tell where these men came from?"

Elder Zhou asked Chen Jingyun. Chen Jingyun shook his head. "In all my years in the army, I never saw anyone so strange. I think they must be professional mercenaries from somewhere. Their killing methods are very professional—they use joint locks to immobilize their target, then strike a vital point. One hit, one kill."

"It must cost a lot of money to hire people like this, right?"

Chen Jingyun said, "If they were just regular cannon fodder, it would be very cheap. One million could hire an entire platoon for a month. But for highly trained soldiers like these, one million would only be enough for one elite soldier for a single week."

Elder Zhou narrowed his eyes, calculating. "So, you're saying that to kill me, the mastermind behind this spent at least two million last night?"

"That's about right," Chen Jingyun said seriously.

Elder Zhou sighed. "These people... what's all the fuss about? I'm just an old man who's in decent shape. Why spend so much effort targeting me?"

Zhou Qianfan pursed his lips. To be honest, even now, Elder Zhou was the one who made the final decisions on most of the Zhou Family's affairs.

Without Elder Zhou's approval, he couldn't even give orders to a single department manager.

On occasion, he might have a chance to make a temporary decision, but he still had to guess Elder Zhou's intentions and couldn't overstep his bounds in the slightest.

"Sigh... Qianfan," Elder Zhou sighed again, "the security team needs to be strengthened, understand? This isn't enough."

This time, Zhou Qianfan didn't give Chen Jingyun a hard time. Most of the security team had been wiped out, and Chen Jingyun himself was seriously injured. If he criticized him now, he would surely be resented.

"Go to work. There's no need to look after this old coot. The servants are here to watch over me."

After Zhou Qianfan and his wife left, Elder Zhou said to Chen Jingyun, "You, go find that Mu Lin for me. Thank him on my behalf. Tell him that if he ever runs into trouble in the future, he should come to me. I will help him."

Chen Jingyun was secretly surprised. A favor from Elder Zhou was a rare thing. Countless people had sought his help only to be politely but firmly turned away.

Those words from Elder Zhou were worth their weight in gold!

"Yes, sir!"

The old man had no intention of giving Mu Lin money. Anyone living in the villa district was certainly not short on cash, and he had no desire to insult Mu Lin with money.

But Chen Jingyun hesitated, seeming to have more to say. Elder Zhou noticed his reluctance. "Is there something else you want to say?"

Chen Jingyun said, "Yes! Please, look here!"

Elder Zhou followed Chen Jingyun, walking slowly over to the bodies of the assassins.

"These men were all killed by Mu Lin. I discovered that most of the bones in their bodies were pulverized."

As he spoke, Chen Jingyun grabbed one of the corpse's feet and lifted it slightly. The body flopped like a human-shaped bag filled with sand, as if its bones had never existed.

"According to the informant I interrogated overnight, he saw Mu Lin take them down with a single move each time, leaving them unable to move."

"My guess is that Mu Lin used immense brute force to shatter their bones directly, thus incapacitating them."

"I've never seen such an overwhelming method."

Elder Zhou narrowed his eyes, lost in thought.

"What's his background?"

Chen Jingyun replied, "I checked. The owner of that house is Li Hao, from a construction company, the Li Group."

"Li Hao?" Elder Zhou thought for a moment, his gaze turning sharp, as if piercing through countless years.

"What a familiar name!"

Elder Zhou waved his hand. Chen Jingyun bowed to Elder Zhou and quickly departed to go on patrol.

With so many guards dead, he, the captain, had to fill in the gaps in District One's security.

At least, until fresh blood arrived as reinforcements.

Elder Zhou waited until Chen Jingyun was some distance away, then walked out of the garage, picked up the phone, and called Zhou Qianfan.

"Qianfan, keep a close eye on the Li Group."

On the other end of the line, Zhou Qianfan tensed up. 'Could that be the mastermind's lair?' he thought.

"Yes, sir! I'll send people to wipe them out immediately!"

"Idiot! They are our family's great benefactor! From now on, as long as the Zhou Family exists, the Li Family must be protected, understand?"

"And be discreet when you do things."

Zhou Qianfan broke out in a cold sweat. "I understand!"

"Also, there's a man in the Li Group named Mu Lin. Pay attention to him as well. A man of his age is most likely the Li Family's son-in-law. You must do everything in your power to get on his good side, understand?"

Zhou Qianfan quickly agreed.

Mu Lin and Li Xue arrived at the company. In the parking lot, he repeatedly reminded Li Xue to get some rest, then hurried to the special team's office in the project department.

Chen Xi ran up to Mu Lin. "Brother Lin, I've checked. Everyone has memorized the materials. When can we start working on the project?"

Mu Lin said, "Good job. Keep memorizing."

'There's no telling when this project will even get off the ground!'

Chen Xi got very angry. "Brother Lin, we've prepared everything! Why are you dropping the ball now?"

Mu Lin raised a hand and slapped Chen Xi lightly. "What are you talking about? We haven't gotten the assignment from above. How am I supposed to give you a project? Pull one out of thin air? Be patient. The project isn't going anywhere."

Chen Xi scratched his head. "You're right!"

Li Xue sat at her desk, feeling drowsy. Her young secretary noticed and brought her a cup of coffee.

"President Li, have some coffee to wake yourself up."

Li Xue smiled at her secretary. "The wind was so strong last night, I didn't sleep well at all!"

The young secretary sympathized. "I know, right? My rental was leaking. I was busy for ages plugging up the hole!"

Li Xue drank the coffee and felt a little more alert. She quickly reviewed the contract.

"What else is on the schedule for this morning?"

The secretary glanced at the schedule. "Nothing in particular."

"In that case, keep a watch outside for me. I want to catch up on some sleep."

"You got it!" the young secretary chirped.

Li Xue took out the pillow Mu Lin had given her, nestled her neck into it, leaned her head back against her chair, and closed her eyes.

Before long, sleepiness washed over her.