98: Chapter 98 Emergency

...

The performance is over.

Lia stared blankly at the young man opposite her. Was that monster just now reporting to him?

A single person wiped out an elite squad.

What did that monster say at the end? Troops? Could there be more than one such monster? This thought made Lia's mind go blank with a buzzing sound.

More importantly... could she, now aware of this news, even leave this bar alive?

Lia remained silent.

"Looking at the time, I should attend to proper business. Apologies for the disturbance, Ms. Lia."

Lin Fang smiled, set down his glass, turned directly, and left the booth, heading towards the stairwell.

Without the slightest pause.

Tap—tap—tap—

The crisp sound of leather shoes on the wooden floor echoed, each step seeming to tread on Lia's taut nerves. She stared fixedly at that slender, receding back, her fingernails unconsciously digging into her palms.

When Lin Fang's figure disappeared around the corner of the stairs, Lia finally couldn't hold back, covering her heart as she gasped for air, followed by an uncontrollable surge of wild joy and a greedy craving for life.

She had escaped from the devil's grasp!

She had to leave this place immediately. Yes, leave. Lia frantically gathered her belongings and prepared to stand up.

Just as her fingertips brushed her phone, Lia's movements suddenly froze. Her gaze was drawn uncontrollably to the spot where the young man had just departed.

There sat a wine glass, half-filled with Purple Angel, placed with exquisite precision by its owner on the very edge of the tabletop. The slightest misstep would send it shattering to pieces.

Half heaven, half hell.

"I think Ms. Lia is a lucky person."

This sentence from Lin Fang suddenly echoed in Lia's mind. Her heart tightened, and she instinctively reached out to grab the glass that looked so perilously balanced to her.

She couldn't let this glass fall.

Whether it was a wisp of stirred air or fate's cruel jest, when Lia was still an inch away from the stem, the glass wobbled slightly and tumbled from the table's edge.

"No—!"

Lia lunged forward almost on pure instinct. Her fingertips just grazed the side of the glass. She could only watch helplessly as it spun in the air, the claret liquid unfolding like a living thing, transforming under the light into an angel spreading its wings, only to plummet straight toward hell!

Thud!—

Just as Lin Fang stepped out of the elevator, he heard a sudden, soft but heavy 'thump' from the floor of the adjacent first-floor lobby.

It sounded as if something soft yet substantial had fallen straight down from a height.

Blood blossomed on the floor.

The crowd moving through the lobby fell into a brief, stunned silence before erupting into terrified screams.

The entire bar erupted into chaos...

Avoiding several security guards rushing in, Lin Fang glanced once at the splash of bright red on the floor without looking back and left the bar directly.

Skill Proficiency +1.

When a person's spirit endures intense fluctuations—tension, calm, strain, relaxation, and extreme strain again—in a short period, that is also the moment her will is at its weakest. The outcome is hardly surprising.

Human life is truly fragile. A simple hypnosis can easily take it away.

How could this be blamed on him.

——

At the entrance of the club, Lin Tianxiong watched Lin Fang slowly ambling over after getting out of the car and instantly felt a surge of irritation. He scowled and said:

"So dawdling! Kept me waiting half the night. Get inside already. Whatever price range you want tonight, don't stand on ceremony with me."

"Got held up by something," Lin Fang scratched his head.

"Let's go for the most expensive one today."

"Haha, good! My boy's making progress. Money's meant to be spent," Lin Tianxiong's brow relaxed, his eyes now full of mirth. He gave Lin Fang a hearty shove toward the entrance, then suddenly remembered something and asked with concern, "Oh right, are you hungry, son? I'll have the chef here whip up a couple of dishes for you. How about some tofu pudding and sliced pork?".

"Work must be busy. Don't wear yourself out."

"Uh... Dad, maybe pick something else," Lin Fang wasn't in the mood for tofu pudding right now.

Not long after, thick steam filled the foot massage room.

——

Hoo—

Exhaling a puff of smoke, Mayor Xu of Tiangang City, with two heavy dark circles under his eyes, still wore a deeply worried expression.

Why did this have to happen right as he was about to get promoted?

From within the cordoned-off area, the charred wreckage of a car, still emitting faint sparks, gave off a pungent, acrid smell. Forensic examiners were carefully sifting through several bodies just removed from the vehicle.

And recording every useful clue.

After this incident occurred, Mayor Xu, who had been fast asleep, was urgently awakened. He arrived at the scene still wearing his house slippers. This was the most severe case he had witnessed during his tenure.

Two groups of criminals had actually dared to engage in an open firefight within the city, even resorting to rocket launchers.

And...

Mayor Xu's eyelids twitched as he looked at the discarded rocket launcher at his feet. These thugs hadn't even made the slightest attempt to conceal it!

Utterly brazen! Lawless!

Mayor Xu viciously crushed out his cigarette. Staring at a charred, blackened corpse, he frowned in puzzlement. The posture of this body was strange, as if it had been violently snapped in two.

This was also the primary cause of death for this individual. But the question was, how was such an injury inflicted?

At that moment,

A middle-aged man in combat fatigues ducked under the police tape and strode in quickly. The man was the SWAT team captain and also the person in charge of tonight's major 7.12 case.

The middle-aged man's tone was grave:

"Mayor, the preliminary investigation results are in. As expected, this group is the overseas gang that stole the core technical data from Third-Party Technology. Their identities are being tracked, but judging from the specialized tools and firearms found in the vehicle, they are highly professional."

"The identity of the other group is also unknown. The model of the rocket launcher is a Z-M27, which has only appeared in the Americas."

"So, this other group is also an overseas organization?"

Mayor Xu's headache intensified. Allowing such heavy weaponry to enter the city was a dereliction of duty he could hardly escape. One misstep in handling this, and he could be forced out of office.

"Any other conclusions?"

"It was a premeditated case of criminals turning on criminals," said the SWAT captain, his face somber after decades on the front lines. There was one thing he didn't say out loud.

The difficulty of tracing this was immense. It was almost certainly a dead end.

"How is President Xia's situation?"

——

City Police Headquarters,

Xia Jinsha and several senior executives were also waiting anxiously. With such a major incident, they were beside themselves with worry.

Li Chengjian, sitting in a corner, looked utterly grim. He was currently in charge of company security. The theft of the capsule's core technology and such a massive breach had him on edge.

This could shake the very foundations of Third-Party Technology Company!

In comparison, personnel injuries were a minor matter.

Click—

Seeing Mayor Xu push the door open, everyone immediately crowded around him.

"Mayor Xu, was it recovered?"

Xia Jinsha asked with hope. Only if the data could be recovered could the losses be minimized.

Mayor Xu shook his head, his expression grave. "The situation is more complex than we imagined. An overseas gang turned on the thieves. The whereabouts of the data are currently unknown."

Xia Jinsha's face instantly turned deathly pale. Li Chengjian slumped into his chair, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

They had no way to explain this to the boss.

"By the way, does Chairman Lin know about this?" Mayor Xu sighed, then remembered the true authority of this company—that young man he had only met once.

"Chairman Lin knows. But he said he can only rush back tomorrow. He's handling an urgent matter."