Chapter 103: Stealing the Purple Magic Stone

The young man who had brought Lin Xiaosu inside stopped at the door, standing guard outside.

Inside, besides Watanabe, there was also a young, beautiful woman kneeling and brewing tea for them.

Lin Xiaosu knew this woman was a master.

The young man who had just led him in was also a master.

How skilled were they?

Roughly on par with Changye.

There were more people in the courtyard; at least ten of them had reached the master realm.

Throughout the entire building, the number of masters was truly countless.

He had no idea how Number 65 managed to break through the defenses of these masters...

No matter how Number 65 broke through, Lin Xiaosu had no intention of repeating his path...

Because the road he intended to take was unimaginably different...

“Mr. Huang, may we speak frankly now? What is your purpose here?” Watanabe asked.

“Yesterday was a bit rushed; I forgot to mention something. So today I came specifically to remind you, Mr. Watanabe,” Lin Xiaosu replied.

“Oh? What is it?”

“I set a hidden trap on the Purple Demon Stone. If opened blindly and the trap triggered, the consequences would be unimaginable.”

The Purple Demon Stone was the stolen stone they had talked about yesterday; Lin Xiaosu had learned this through reversing time and lip-reading.

Watanabe’s eyebrows twitched slightly. “Such an important matter—did you really forget to mention it, Mr. Huang?”

A smile slowly appeared on Lin Xiaosu’s face. “Before you, Mr. Watanabe, I conceal nothing. Yesterday, I wanted to see if your final arrangement for me was sincere. Now that I have seen your sincerity, there is an old saying in Great Xia: ‘Return the peach for the plum; exchange heart for heart.’ So tonight, I came especially to express my apologies and to show my sincerity.”

“Ha ha!” Watanabe laughed heartily. “It’s understandable that you, Mr. Huang, would be cautious upon first arriving in Fusang. Now that we are open with each other, it’s truly refreshing! Shall we share a drink?”

“I think I should first disable the trap and then enjoy that drink in peace.”

Watanabe stood. “Please, Mr. Huang.”

“Mr. Watanabe, after you.”

They rose and walked through the corridor to a laboratory.

From the outside, the door looked ordinary, but pressing a button caused the wooden door to silently slide sideways, revealing that it wasn’t wood at all—it was a steel door over three inches thick.

Inside the lab were several researchers in white coats, some at computers, others at benches. Another steel door opened to reveal a fully sealed small laboratory. Underneath a giant glass dome over two meters high, a purple light faintly glowed—extraordinarily peculiar.

Lin Xiaosu’s heart skipped a beat as his gaze fixed on the center of that purple light—it was the Purple Demon Stone stolen from the Changsheng Group.

Three soft laser beams crossed over the stone from three directions, clearly analyzing it.

He stared intently at the Purple Demon Stone.

Watanabe’s eyes glanced at him from the corner.

This laboratory was not a place just anyone could enter, but Huang Chengwang was obviously no ordinary man.

He was the one who risked his life to bring the Purple Demon Stone out of Great Xia.

Since the stone originally belonged to him and was given to the Royal Research Institute in exchange for protection, he certainly wouldn’t have any sinister intentions.

What needed to be considered now was how this man, after years of studying the Purple Demon Stone and reportedly achieving many results, could be forced to reveal all his research intact.

One thing was predictable: extracting his research would not be a pleasant process.

Why?

Because Huang Chengwang had nothing left but this protective talisman.

If he gave everything away at once, he would lose all value.

A traitor to his country, when no longer useful, would surely become a pawn to be discarded.

Huang Chengwang would be well aware of this.

Therefore, he would surely squeeze out his research bit by bit, like toothpaste from a tube, maintaining his value to ensure long-term protection from Fusang...

He never imagined that the person before him was a fake Huang Chengwang.

He was Lin Xiaosu.

At this moment, Lin Xiaosu’s mind was racing—not with research results, but with a roadmap!

His mind turned millions of times, but the plan crystallized in an instant...

“Mr. Huang, where is the trap?”

Lin Xiaosu slowly extended his finger, pointing at the Purple Demon Stone before him...

Watanabe’s eyes narrowed as he followed the finger’s direction...

Suddenly, the finger’s speed accelerated a hundredfold!

Sss!

It struck the glass dome.

The thick, bulletproof special glass shattered with countless cracks.

Watanabe’s entire body shook violently, barely daring to believe his eyes.

Boom!

The finger retracted, transforming into a fist.

Lin Xiaosu punched out, completely destroying the glass dome. His hand slipped between two laser beams and grasped the Purple Demon Stone...

Watanabe suddenly dodged to the side...

Just then, a shard of glass slashed across his neck—icy cold!

The young man who had been trailing behind changed expression drastically, drawing a sharp blade from his waist. But the moment he pulled it out, Lin Xiaosu’s finger had already caught the blade.

In the next instant, the blade traced a beautiful arc.

Sss!

The young man’s head jerked sharply to one side...

Everyone in the laboratory looked up simultaneously...

Amid their shocked gazes, a figure darted like lightning through the lab and into the corridor...

Only now did the first shout ring out.

At the corridor’s end, two guards acted simultaneously—one with a gun, the other with a knife. Bullets flew like lightning toward Lin Xiaosu’s chest. He sharply twisted his body, pressing against the wall as two bullets whizzed past his side.

His men arrived beside the guards; with a wave of his hand...

Sss!

The heads of the two guards flew off.

From the adjacent room, three people burst out simultaneously...

At the corridor’s end, in front of a massive floor-to-ceiling window, Lin Xiaosu punched out, shattering the glass...

“Kill him!” The command barely left their lips when Lin Xiaosu leapt, flying through the still-shattering glass shards and out the window.

Outside was the sea!

Among the three men, one moved like a lightning flash, reaching the window in an instant. He stretched out his hand, and his glove transformed into dragon claws that were released, grasping for the free-falling Lin Xiaosu. A thin cord was attached to the claws.

If he caught him, he could pull Lin Xiaosu back.

Unexpectedly, the claw reached Lin Xiaosu’s shoulder just as he flipped in midair, evading the claw. His hand flashed coldly, and a blade reflected back toward the man at the window.

The man at the window stretched out his hand and caught the flying knife at the last possible moment. Although he caught it, the immense force and inner energy in the blade sent a numbness through his meridians. His pursuit completely halted as he watched Lin Xiaosu plunge into the sea...

On the grass below, four or five figures leapt up, aiming at Lin Xiaosu’s feet that had just touched the water’s surface.

But when they leapt, Lin Xiaosu was already underwater.

Though underwater, he still had to be captured!

Suddenly, they felt their consciousness grow hazy...

“Poison! The water is poisoned...” someone shouted.

Of the five who had jumped in, only one kept struggling underwater, seemingly choked by invisible hands, while the others fell silent—clearly already dead.

The struggler fought for about five seconds before stiffening and sinking to the sea floor.

This made the more than ten people who had reached the shore halt, their faces changing drastically.

That single delay was enough for Lin Xiaosu to disappear without a trace.

Yes, there was still one person underwater—Changye!

Changye was his backup.

Lurking underwater, waiting for him, covering his retreat.

This was his plan.

The instant Lin Xiaosu broke through the window and entered the sea, Changye released the strongest poison.

How was it released?

A little embarrassing to say—she had opened a protective gate below, causing all living creatures within a hundred meters to perish.

Not to mention those who dived in, even Lin Xiaosu, who had taken several preventive shots, felt dizzy and disoriented plunging into the water.

Even he could not withstand it.

Fortunately, two pills were shoved into his mouth underwater.

A delicate hand grasped his, and they swam silently toward the ocean depths.

One pill was an antidote—not strong enough to neutralize her deadliest poison but enough to alleviate it somewhat. The true cure was Lin Xiaosu’s own rejuvenation technique.

The other pill was a secret weapon, her latest invention—an oxygen pill. Held in the mouth, combined with saliva, it generated oxygen, allowing them to stay underwater for hours without a diving mask.

After ten miles of underwater swimming, the danger had mostly passed.

With Lin Xiaosu’s rejuvenation technique working at full power, Changye’s poison was successfully neutralized, and the two surfaced.

Changye exhaled deeply. “How’s the situation?”

“Kill Watanabe!”

“Good. Number 65, the wandering ghost in foreign lands, can finally rest in peace!” Changye said. “The Royal Research Institute must be in chaos now, just as we hoped. How do we capitalize on this chaos?”

Changye didn’t ask about another more important matter—the Purple Stone.

Because she knew that mission had failed.

Lin Xiaosu bore no protruding objects, yet that stone was five or six inches in diameter and weighed about seven or eight pounds—hard to conceal. If he had gotten hold of it, she would have noticed long ago.

The outcome was clear, so there was no point in dwelling on that mission.

Because that mission was never theirs to begin with.

At this stage, they had startled the snake, making success impossible...

A mysterious light flickered in Lin Xiaosu’s eyes. “What we do depends on what they do... What do you think they will do?”

Changye slowly raised her head, a light shining in her eyes as well. “You framed Huang Chengwang, hoping to use the Royal Research Institute to drag him off Zetsubou Island, creating an opportunity for us. Is that your way of capitalizing on chaos?”

At that moment, she truly understood Lin Xiaosu’s meaning behind the phrase “capitalizing on chaos.”

Huang Chengwang was on Zetsubou Island—a place surrounded by water, heavily monitored, where not even a fly could enter unnoticed. Attempting to kill someone there was nearly impossible—even if one forced their way in, they would first clash with the guards. The Black Dragon Society’s masters would immediately respond, and any intruder would be dealt with thoroughly. How could anyone assassinate Huang Chengwang, protected deep within the core circle?

That island was Huang Chengwang’s cocoon.

Without breaking the cocoon, you cannot kill him.

Faced with this situation, Lin Xiaosu chose not to confront head-on. When there was no chance, he created one. Since they couldn’t enter the island to kill Huang Chengwang, they would use outside forces to drag him out!

Hence, he disguised himself as Huang Chengwang and killed people at the Royal Research Institute.

Using the Institute’s power to pull the turtle out of its shell!

This was not merely capitalizing on chaos—it was a chain of schemes. As Changye understood this, she thought, "Comrade Xiaosu is truly clever..."