Chapter 99: The Promise Made That Day

Beside Liu Qianxun lay a reclining chair, upon which rested a mesmerizing figure.

This enchanting figure was a woman whose beauty surpassed Liu Qianxun’s by threefold—a peerless beauty named Li Ziyi, the cherished daughter of Li Changsheng, chairman of the Changsheng Group.

Ziyi was refined and elegant.

She favored purple attire.

Purple, a color of nobility; her flowing purple garments stood out as a rare and distinguished sight in the mortal world.

She was a woman of great intellect.

Some even said her influence over the Changsheng Group exceeded that of anyone else; her words were obeyed implicitly by her father.

“In just one day, to unravel Ding Lizhong’s deadlock… we must admit, this young man is quite resourceful,” Li Ziyi remarked.

Liu Qianxun lowered the binoculars in her hands and turned her gaze toward Li Ziyi, thoughtful.

Li Ziyi continued, “Abandon your plan to take him down by force. With only eighty percent of your father’s cultivation, you’re no match for him.”

“Ziyi, give me some advice. What should I do?” Liu Qianxun asked.

“What advice can I give? This is a modern society, governed by law. Your family’s wrongdoing came first; he’s on the right side of the law. What can you do to him? Maybe you can just complain to my brother.”

Every word she spoke was unassailable.

Yet to Liu Qianxun, it suddenly brought clarity.

Indeed, I cannot deal with him directly. But isn’t there a prince-level figure in the Changsheng Group desperately pursuing me?

If I give him a little sweetness, wouldn’t this headstrong prince be easily swayed to my cause?

“Ziyi, rest here for a while. I’m stepping out...” Liu Qianxun descended the stairs.

Ziyi slowly removed her photochromic glasses, a peculiar smile flashing in her eyes.

On the serene waters of Nan Lake, the speedboat had already come to a halt.

The small boat floated gently on the emerald waters.

Ding Ruoshui dipped her legs in the lake, reclining halfway in the boat—a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

Lin Xiaosu opened two cans of soda and handed one to her. Ding Ruoshui propped herself up, sitting upright; her chest instantly appeared fuller.

“You haven’t undergone genetic modification?” Lin Xiaosu had observed her every subtle movement these past days, and to his eyes, Ding Ruoshui seemed entirely human.

In fact, she looked perfectly ordinary.

Yet how was it that she could kill a mosquito with a single strand of hair that day?

Ding Ruoshui smiled gently. “Do you think that having money and resources means one must undergo genetic modification?”

“It’s not just me—many think so.”

Ding Ruoshui said, “Genetic modification carries immense risks. Not to mention, only fifty percent survive the operation. Even if they do, there’s no guarantee their bodily functions remain intact. And even if all succeeds, there’s the annual risk of rejection—a veritable gateway to death. Why would I voluntarily invite suffering upon myself?”

“Admirable! You live with great insight,” Lin Xiaosu said.

“Not insight, but clarity,” Ding Ruoshui replied. “Genetic modification is just one path—it does not represent the ultimate choice. The lower class can’t afford it; the upper class disdain it. Only the middle class blindly follow this uncertain road.”

She did not mention martial arts, though she clearly knew Lin Xiaosu practiced it.

Yet she had indirectly proven she had not undergone genetic modification.

This suggested she might herself be a martial artist...

If she truly cultivated martial arts, a question arose: whence came her martial prowess? The Ding family was not one of ancient martial heritage. Ding Lizhong himself was an ordinary physique, and so was his mother.

At this moment, the lake was tranquil.

Before him, she seemed to open herself without reservation.

Yet her mystery remained unsolved, even tangled.

They spent the morning boating on the lake.

At noon, they dined by the shore.

In the afternoon, they listened to several southern folk tunes in a teahouse.

As the sun set, Lin Xiaosu took out his phone, listened for about three seconds, then lowered it.

“Who was that?” Ding Ruoshui’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“My cousin. She works at the provincial public security bureau. She has some business with me,” Lin Xiaosu said.

The provincial public security bureau?

His cousin?

Yes. Yesterday, Chang Ye, disguised as an eyeglasses vendor, sold Lin Xiaosu a pair of glasses before revealing her identity and halting Shen Yinchuan’s arrest of the Ding father and daughter. Shen Yinchuan’s firm “yes” confirmed Chang Ye’s special status within the police force.

Ding Ruoshui naturally asked who she was.

Lin Xiaosu replied, “My cousin. She works at the bureau.”

Leading this investigation required no undercover identity, only the authority of the bureau.

Lin Xiaosu stood up; Ding Ruoshui followed him.

Before a car, they met Chang Ye.

“Hello, cousin!” Ding Ruoshui greeted sweetly.

Chang Ye was a little surprised. “You’re my cousin’s girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

“Well, not bad. My cousin’s been a bit wild without anyone to keep him in check. With you around, I feel at ease as his cousin...” Chang Ye made polite conversation. “Sister-in-law, may I have a word with my cousin?”

“Sure, I’ll wait for you at the teahouse,” Ding Ruoshui said, casting Lin Xiaosu an affectionate glance before leaving.

Chang Ye’s gaze lingered briefly on her back before she turned, got into the driver’s seat, and Lin Xiaosu entered the passenger side.

Once the door closed, the car fell into a profound silence, the outside world completely shut out.

“I thought you’d already returned to Fengcheng,” Chang Ye said. “Turns out, you’re still held back by a fatal rope.”

Lin Xiaosu smiled but said nothing.

Chang Ye’s eyes flickered. “I promised you last time: investigate the Changsheng Group, pay ten thousand yuan, plus a beauty. Now the results seem in. The ten thousand yuan—I’ve submitted the payment to finance. As for the beauty, you’ve claimed her yourself. Not bad.”

Investigating the Changsheng Group.

It began with the sudden operation at Yuntai Mountain’s ant nest.

It was also Chang Ye’s promise that day.

Her pledge on behalf of the undercover unit.

Ten thousand yuan was the reward.

“The beauty” was the means—to use her to get close to the Changsheng Group and uncover who controlled non-human creatures through chips.

Lin Xiaosu said, “I recall you said the mission was to find the mastermind behind controlling these mutant creatures. Now that you’ve arranged payment, does that mean you’re certain Huang Chengwang is the mastermind?”

“Yes!”

“How certain?”

“The undercover unit participated in last night’s investigation. We confirmed Huang Chengwang is the ‘snakehead’ of the central region. The mutant creatures from Yuntai Mountain are under his control. The suspect in the Fengcheng child abduction case was killed by a chip in his brain—an order he sent personally. The owner of Dell Company in Fengcheng, Du Lifeng, was also eliminated by him. Moreover, the mastermind behind the Qutang Qing case at Qingyuan Temple was him as well... There’s a clear chain of evidence, ironclad proof!”

The ‘snakehead’ was the head of the Nine-Headed Snake organization in each province.

Each snakehead commanded a vast network.

Taking down each snakehead was a great achievement.

Lin Xiaosu asked, “Did He Yunfei, the man from yesterday, have a chip in his brain?”

“Of course!” Chang Ye said. “We acted promptly, blocking signal transmission the moment he entered the basement, preventing him from silencing witnesses.”

“Blocking in time, so he had no chance to silence witnesses...” Lin Xiaosu’s gaze slowly fixed on her eyes before adding, “Did he really have no chance?”

Chang Ye was momentarily stunned...

Lin Xiaosu continued, “If he wanted to, he actually had a chance. Don’t forget, he bought his plane ticket at noon but left his house at nine. Without a contingency plan for failure, he wouldn’t have bought the ticket early. Without realizing he had failed, he wouldn’t have fled at nine. Since he had a plan and knew the mission had failed, why leave such a crucial witness alive?”

Chang Ye was taken aback...

She was no genius detective, only relying on routine analysis.

All the evidence against Huang Chengwang was enough to brand him as the snakehead.

That was sufficient.

But Lin Xiaosu’s analysis revealed a problem: if Huang Chengwang truly wanted to kill He Yunfei, he had the chance.

Even at the last moment before leaving, he could have done it.

At that time, they hadn’t found the basement entrance, let alone blocked signal transmission.

He was already fleeing, clearly having lost hope. Why not eliminate a deadly threat like He Yunfei?

“Life is strange. Sometimes cases intertwine. Have you heard about the recent Fengcheng case? The 5.16 major case.”

“I’ve heard a bit. Where’s the connection?” Chang Ye asked.

“The core figure in that case is Ghost Eye Seven!” Lin Xiaosu said. “During early interrogations of an assassin, the assassin linked Ghost Eye Seven to a man named Qi Hongzhong, who fled to Qianmian Country just before we planned to close in.”

“In fact, Ghost Eye Seven is not Qi Hongzhong, right?” Chang Ye said.

“Of course not! It’s a deception.”

A faint gleam lit Chang Ye’s eyes. “So this snakehead might not be Huang Chengwang at all. He was framed to mislead us!”

Huang Chengwang had also fled—to Fusang Country.

Just like Qi Hongzhong before him.

“I’m almost certain Huang Chengwang is not the true snakehead of this region,” Lin Xiaosu said.

“Then who? Back to our original theory... Ding Lizhong?”

A provincial snakehead controlled countless genetically modified humans under the Nine-Headed Snake, their brains implanted with chips. So, he must be a master of remote control.

Ever since discovering chips in the brains of mutant creatures at Yuntai Mountain, Chang Ye and Lin Xiaosu had fixated on one person: Ding Lizhong, the leading scientist at the Changsheng Group.

Because in the field of chip control, he was considered a top expert.

“Ding Lizhong is a possibility, but not very likely...”

“Because you suddenly realized he was also wronged early on, you think once cleared, he’s innocent?” Chang Ye’s eyes flickered. “Maybe because his daughter is pure, elegant, beautiful, and adorable, you believe a family capable of raising such a girl must have a good family tradition?”

Lin Xiaosu chuckled. “Could you stop mentioning his daughter? Every time you describe her with a string of adjectives, I sense a hint of jealousy...”