Chapter 140: Using Oneself as Bait
CRACK!
After getting the information he wanted, Zhou Fan stopped torturing his captive and finished him off with a single slash. He turned and headed down the mountain. The man had already sent the message out anyway, so he was sure Ye Fei and Zhao Ya had already received the news of his alliance with Dark Night.
What Zhou Fan hadn't expected, however, was that there was also conflict between Ye Fei and Zhao Ya.
When he arrived back at the foot of the mountain, the scene before him made Zhou Fan pause. This... was not what he had expected.
Bodies were strewn everywhere. The only one left standing was Dark Night No. 9—Bai Zhi. Clutching a dagger in one hand and pressing the other to a bleeding wound on her abdomen, she was slowly pushing herself up from the ground. As for Extreme Shadow and his men, they were all dead.
'Looks like she has a bit of a talent for killing,' Zhou Fan mused. 'She knows how to adapt and change her fighting style mid-combat.'
"Hm? Looks like that Lorne fellow really values you. He even gave you a serum. Which one? The half-hour kind?" Zhou Fan said as he approached Bai Zhi. He noticed it instantly. 'Looks like I was wrong before. She didn't adapt her style. She took one of Dark Night's proprietary serums, the kind that temporarily boosts strength and speed.'
Of course, the stuff had side effects. A dose that provided a thirty-minute enhancement would leave the user weakened for five hours. During that time, forget about a master—even an ordinary person could walk all over her.
That meant if she couldn't kill all her enemies within thirty minutes, all she could do was wait to be killed herself.
"Just who are you? Why were people from the Netherworld King's Hall here?" Bai Zhi ignored Zhou Fan's question, voicing the doubt in her mind instead. She had recognized their techniques the moment Extreme Shadow attacked. She had encountered another master from the Netherworld King's Hall long ago, but she had only just started her career back then, and her opponent had been wearing a mask.
"Get in. We're in a hurry." Zhou Fan waved dismissively and hopped into the car. The moment Bai Zhi painfully hauled herself inside, before she could even get settled, he floored the accelerator.
HISS!
The sudden lurch tore at Bai Zhi's wound, making it bleed afresh. The pain was so sharp she wanted to gut Zhou Fan right then and there.
"Aren't you going to do something about the bodies?" Bai Zhi asked, looking at the people she had killed and then at Zhou Fan, confused. In her mind, they had to be disposed of. Otherwise, if Wolf Fang or Tiger Teeth found them, things would get messy.
"Didn't Lorne tell you? Your only mission is to protect me for one week," Zhou Fan retorted coolly. At the same time, he took out his phone, snapped a picture of the scene, and sent it to Fan.
"He did. So what?" Bai Zhi didn't understand what he was getting at.
"If he told you, then just do your job. This has nothing to do with you," Zhou Fan said, a hint of impatience in his voice. 'As an assassin, the most important part of a mission is completing your own objective. Never get involved in things that don't concern you.'
Hearing the clear disdain in his voice, Bai Zhi took a deep breath and shot Zhou Fan a glare. She said nothing more, but thought to herself, 'When this week is up and my mission is complete, I'm going to post a hit on this guy myself. And I'll be the one to take the contract and finish the job.'
"Boss, are you insane? Who are these guys? And don't you fucking run off!" Just then, a video call from Fan came through. The moment Zhou Fan answered, Fan's frantic voice burst out.
"Extreme Shadow brought them. As far as we know, there should only be one group left. I'm heading to Jiang Province now; I have things to do. You clean this up, then spread the word that I'm on my way there." As if expecting this reaction, Zhou Fan had held the phone away from his ear. Only after Fan finished yelling did he bring it back and speak normally.
"Extreme Shadow? You're ruthless. He was your subordinate once, and you didn't hesitate for a second," Fan grumbled, complaining for all he was worth. Then, as if something suddenly clicked, he shouted, "Wait, what do you mean by that? You're going to use yourself as bait to draw out Blake and his crew? Are you fucking insane?"
Even someone with Fan's usual composure couldn't help but curse at that.
He admitted that Zhou Fan was strong, even stronger than that He Yi guy. But this was Blake they were talking about—number three on the international assassins' list. The man had never failed a single mission. His strength, speed, and explosive power were all astounding, to say nothing of number nine, Sean, and a host of other masters at his side.
"I have no choice. I can't let them stay in Nanjiang City, or I'm afraid I'll lose control of the situation. Xiaoyan is just an ordinary person, after all." Zhou Fan sighed. Ignoring Fan's protests, he hung up.
'This time, I have to succeed. There's no room for failure. Success will deal a heavy blow to Ye Fei and Zhao Ya, forcing them to come after me personally. But if I fail, this whole year of planning will be for nothing.'