"How did I somehow end up at the center of attention? It's only my first day in New York County. If not for the fact that the First District doesn't have any Night Walker demigods, I'd suspect someone was pulling strings behind the scenes," Zhang Yuanqing muttered.
Jumang was Minister Winni's man and had just gotten into a fierce conflict with the Chief Executive Officer's nephew. Under these circumstances, Jumang had become the target of an assassination.
That meant the Chief Executive Officer and his nephew were bound to be the prime suspects.
*Still, Winni shouldn't be that foolish. If even I could figure out it might be a frame-up, could she fail to think of it?*
*However, Winni and Sean are political rivals. Even if Winni knows it's a frame-up, she'll likely seize the pretext to investigate Sean Meade anyway. So whoever is pulling the strings can still succeed.*
*Should I keep a low profile for a while? Capturing bounty hunters doesn't accomplish much; they're just errand runners taking jobs. It's best to avoid pointless fights whenever possible...*
*I should find an opportunity to contact Brady and use Hypnosis to control him to determine whether he put up the bounty.*
He had already thought up a pretext: pay a visit under the guise of an apology. If the man refused, he could send Ryo-chan in his place.
While Zhang Yuanqing was lost in thought, the phone clutched in his palm suddenly rang. The caller—Catherine!
*Here it comes!* Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lit up. Setting the bounty aside, he promptly answered Catherine's call.
When the call connected, what reached his ears first was sweet, sticky panting, accompanied by the crisp clapping sounds of rapid basic attacks.
Only then came Catherine's breathless voice, purring with a seductive laugh. "Have you been looking forward to my call lately?"
Zhang Yuanqing said coldly, "Out with it. What's the mission?"
Catherine sighed. "What a dense, unromantic block of wood. I deliberately picked this moment to call you, thinking it might give you a deeper appreciation of my charms."
*Appreciate your charms? Then you shouldn't be making a phone call; I suggest starting a video call...* Zhang Yuanqing gazed out at the night view of Manhattan, his eyes reflecting the bizarre neon lights.
"The mission!"
The creaking of the bed and the crisp clapping of rapid basic attacks ceased. After a few seconds, Catherine's voice returned to normal:
"The guild's upper echelon recognized your contribution regarding the Pope's relic, but that Zhai Cai has gone into hiding, so the matter has to be put on hold for now. As a result, the guild's higher-ups have arranged a new mission for you. Pass this trial, and you can join us."
After a brief pause, Catherine said, "Your mission is to assassinate Chief Executive Officer Sean Meade's son, Julian Meade."
Assassinate the son of a Level 8 Dominator? Zhang Yuanqing asked nonchalantly, "I need the target's level and class."
Catherine chuckled. "A Level 6 Wind Mage with over 50% experience—a late Level 6. For you, he's a formidable adversary, and the risk is very high. In addition, he definitely carries plenty of items and has Saint-stage retainers. Julian works at Heaven's Punishment headquarters. I received word that he'll arrive at the New York County branch tomorrow evening to attend a gathering."
Zhang Yuanqing frowned at once. What did the Covenant of Freedom stand to gain from assassinating Julian Meade? Assassinating Jumang at least had the potential to escalate internal tensions, but what good would assassinating Julian do aside from infuriating Sean? If anything, it would cause Sean to set aside his grievances and join forces with Winni, which would be extremely disadvantageous for the Covenant of Freedom.
"Why assassinate him?"
"Heh, that's not for you to know," Catherine replied playfully.
*Failed to fish for intel. This woman is very cautious...* His thoughts racing, Zhang Yuanqing said, "No problem!"
Catherine laughed. "Here's another piece of advice for a wooden block who doesn't appreciate romance: never try to pull off an assassination inside the New York County Bank headquarters building. That would only get you killed."
Zhang Yuanqing's interest piqued, and he seized the opening to ask, "Why?"
"Do you think no one in the First District can counter your dream invasion ability?" Catherine's tone turned serious. "The methods of evil classes are all sinister, bizarre, and hard to guard against—it's not like you Illusionists are the only special ones. If assassination were that easy, Heaven's Punishment's members would have been wiped out long ago. The New York County branch of Heaven's Punishment is a major branch directly under headquarters. The official Dominators stationed in New York County number more than seven, and they are equipped with a Dominator-level rule-based item that leaves no evil class with anywhere to hide."
"What rule-based item?" Zhang Yuanqing took the chance to probe for more information.
Catherine replied playfully, "That is valuable intelligence. You'll have to pay in points or cash to trade for it."
*I can look into it myself. Nothing beats getting things for free...* Zhang Yuanqing spoke in a cold, low voice, "Anything else? If not, I'm hanging up."
Catherine whined plaintively, "Do you really hate talking to me that much? You rotten man, I've missed you so much I haven't been able to sleep all night."
Her voice was soft, plaintive, and tinged with a hint of fawning.
Pity and pride welled up involuntarily in Zhang Yuanqing's heart. He felt a sudden urge to fly over, sweep the woman on the other end of the line into his arms, pin her beneath him, and express his love with high-frequency thrusts.
The next second, he hung up the phone.
"Phew. Using Charm on me again. The Desire class's Charm really is disgusting—completely impossible to resist. But there's a silver lining: Catherine's carnal interest in me is growing deeper and deeper, so before she actually gets her hands on me, she'll tolerate a lot from me."
Even as he grumbled, he banished every trace of infatuation from his mind and restored his emotional calm.
***
The next morning.
Zhang Yuanqing took the elevator up to the 104th floor, swiped his access card through the security gate, and knocked on the door of Winni Berent's office.
"Minister Winni, you asked for me?" Zhang Yuanqing had been summoned by Assistant Emma.
Winni Berent lifted her gaze and said indifferently, "Watch yourself. Someone has placed a bounty on you in the Hunter Guild. Don't leave the bank building for the time being."
She drew out a document and passed it over.
Zhang Yuanqing took it and looked; it was a photocopy of the Hunter Guild's bounty notice.
This was well within his expectations. Winni Berent was Heaven's Punishment's Chief Prosecutor in New York County, a local warlord-level figure with countless intelligence channels. The bounty on Jumang was public, so how could she not know?
"Who do you think wants to kill me?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.
Winni looked down to read her documents and replied, "Someone who wants Brady dead, someone who wants to escalate Heaven's Punishment's internal conflicts, or someone who wants to use this opportunity to thoroughly investigate Sean. In any case, it couldn't be someone who simply wants you dead. The first would be Brady's enemy, the second would be an evil class, and the third would be me."
Her tone was exceedingly calm, even remarkably candid.
"Couldn't it just be that Brady wants me dead?" Zhang Yuanqing countered.
"Of course Brady wants you dead, but he has no need to place a bounty on you. With the Meade family's power, there are plenty of ways to kill you. Hiring a Level 6 Saint as an assassin wouldn't require going through the Hunter Guild." Winni answered every question straightforwardly.
"What about you?"
Still not looking up, Winni said calmly, "I very much want to investigate Sean, but sacrificing a Level 6 Beast King who obeys my orders just to investigate him is a terrible trade. Besides, investigating Sean doesn't guarantee bringing him down. The payoff isn't proportional to the cost. I don't make deals like that."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded repeatedly. He had reached the same conclusion. Moreover, his impression of Winni had improved significantly.
Whatever her working style might be, her conversational style was brisk, decisive, and free of nonsense, riddles, or hemming and hawing. She spoke frankly and called things as they were.
Sure enough, any woman the Demon Lord considered a prime lover and genuinely liked possessed striking virtues and charismatic appeal.
Just as Zhang Yuanqing was about to speak, he suddenly sensed a ripple in Winni's emotional state, shifting from indifference to *This guy is so annoying, why hasn't he left yet?* and *I'm very busy, please get out.*
The next moment, Winni looked up. "I'm busy. If there's nothing else, you may leave."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded and turned to exit.
Leaving the senior executive office area of Heaven's Punishment, he passed the Inspectorate's office area and saw Yuan Ting holding black coffee in his left hand and a hot dog in his right, surrounded by a crowd of Heaven's Punishment staff, both men and women.
Yuan Ting was the only Saint on the team who wasn't a member of the guild. Fu Qingyang had deliberately selected him not because Yuan Ting was close to Zhang Yuanqing, but because Yuan Ting possessed an extraordinary talent for gathering intelligence.
One could truly call him gifted!
When Zhang Yuanqing saw the roster a few days ago, he had grasped the boss's intentions in a flash, which was why he let Yuan Ting gossip during work hours without interference.
"Yuanshi Tianzun's private life?" Yuan Ting assumed a contemplative look.
Zhang Yuanqing stopped in his tracks.
"Yuanshi Tianzun isn't into women at all. Though he has a girlfriend, he doesn't really care much about her. Instead, he spends every single day with Fu Qingyang," Yuan Ting said. "Yuanshi Tianzun knows many of Fu Qingyang's private secrets, and Fu Qingyang knows his as well. Fu Qingyang gives him all his finest things, and he gives all his finest things to Fu Qingyang. I heard Zhang Yuanqing gifted Fu Qingyang a top-grade item comparable to a rule-based item."
"Are they gay?!" a young blonde woman with big eyes pressed eagerly.
A chorus of "Whoa!" erupted all around.
Yuan Ting pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "I haven't heard about that... However, among the three female Saints in this support team, one is Yuanshi Tianzun's girlfriend, and the other two secretly crush on him as well—especially our Taiyi Sect's Sun Miaomiao..."
*Before you even fish out any intel, you're going to sell out our entire household first!* Zhang Yuanqing walked away, cursing inwardly.
*I never told anyone about giving Fu Qingyang the cloak! How does Yuan Ting know? Does he read minds? Is his ability to dig up gossip rule-based or something?...*
Returning to his office area, Zhang Yuanqing poured a cup of warm water, booted up the computer, and logged into the temporary account provided by Heaven's Punishment, intending to look up information on Julian Meade.
Aside from the target's spirit realm ID and level, he knew nothing about Julian Meade, including his past battle records or personality.
If Julian turned out to be a good person, that would make things tricky.
He typed in Julian's name and was about to hit Enter when he paused. After Julian died, Sean would definitely investigate, and the internet had a memory.
If Heaven's Punishment discovered that the newcomer Jumang had searched for Julian's files, they would undoubtedly interrogate or even investigate him.
At that moment, Yuan Ting returned to the office area with a grave expression. He knocked on the doors of the Saints' offices one by one, announcing, "Ladies and gentlemen, I've caught wind of some very bad news. Everyone, please come to the conference room."
A few minutes later, Guan Ya and the others arrived at the conference room and took their seats around the conference table.
Seeing that everyone had gathered, Yuan Ting shared his news:
"I heard Julian Meade is coming to New York County tonight to attend a gathering. We're in trouble. You may ask me who Julian is now."
Brother Red Chicken asked, "Who's Julian?"
Yuan Ting nodded with satisfaction and said, "Julian is Brady's cousin, serving at Heaven's Punishment headquarters. Didn't you guys beat Brady into critical condition yesterday? Well, this guy posted on Heaven's Punishment's forum yesterday saying he's going to teach us a harsh lesson and humiliate us at the party. Just now, I received confirmation: Julian will arrive in New York County at three this afternoon."
Zhang Yuanqing's pupils contracted slightly.
He understood.
He understood why Catherine wanted to assassinate Julian.
Julian intended to provoke trouble at the party and avenge his cousin Brady. As a Level 6 Wind Mage, the Five Elements Alliance team wouldn't be his match.
They were sure to be thoroughly humiliated by Julian at the party—and then Julian would be assassinated.
They were trying to frame the Five Elements Alliance team!
As the interim leader of the Five Elements Alliance team, Winni Berent's stance would be beyond doubt. Sean, grieving the loss of his son, would inevitably break with Winni.
Heaven's Punishment's internal friction would be successfully escalated—a tremendous boon for the evil camp.
A great thing from every angle.
Tianxia Guihuo frowned. "What class is Julian Meade, and what level?"
"A Level 6 Wind Mage. I don't know his exact experience percentage, but I heard he advanced to Wind Mage two years ago, so he's at least mid-stage, maybe even late-stage," Yuan Ting sighed. "It's tricky. We can't beat him. I propose we simply skip the gathering. That said, I heard the president of the Association of God of Beauty's New York County branch might also be attending. She's the most beautiful woman in New York County, and our Chief Executive Officer Sean is one of her lovers."
Among peak Level 6 Saints, those with skills bordering the Dao or rule-based items formed the top tier, while those with average items and no formidable skills belonged to the second tier.
Julian might not possess skill bordering the Dao, but as the offspring of a Level 8 Dominator, he was likely armed with top-grade items.
He might well be another figure on par with Chazo or Osmond.
Tianxia Guihuo and the others frowned in unison.
*Too bad Catherine miscalculated. Hidden within the Five Elements Alliance team is a Level 6 Beast King. Julian is only courting humiliation. As long as we thrash him at the gathering, our motive for assassinating him vanishes...*
Zhang Yuanqing said, "It's not a big problem!"
Hearing this, everyone's brows relaxed.
Yuan Ting looked suspicious. "Just because you say it isn't big means it isn't?"
"Before Yuanshi returned to the Spirit Realm, he left us plenty of items, including the Yin-Yang Turntable," Guan Ya explained. "So it really isn't a big problem."
Only then did Yuan Ting nod. Then, his eyes lighting up with enthusiasm, he said:
"I also heard that Winni Berent was one of the Demon Lord's lovers! This Chief Prosecutor supposedly only ever dated one man—the Demon Lord—and with marriage in mind, which is why she got into that huge brawl with Chris back then. The Demon Lord had intended to be with Winni, but later sneaked into Chris's bed instead. As for the other women the Demon Lord slept with afterward, that was while Winni was in detention. Ever since the Demon Lord died, she's stayed single, just like Yin Ji. Looks like she still carries a torch for that scumbag!"
"Hey, hey! Listen to me! Don't leave!"
Chapter 680