219: Chapter 219: Step 1 of Revenge

Money in place.

Efficiency is king.

Handong City.

A private hacker studio reeking of instant noodles and cheap coffee.

Thick curtains blocked most of the light.

Only the eerie blue glow from multiple monitors remained.

Lin Mo pushed a USB drive, containing Lin Tianhe's name and basic information, across to a young hacker with greasy hair and the hyperactive gleam in his eyes characteristic of someone who had pulled an all-nighter.

"Cleanly investigate," Lin Mo's voice was devoid of inflection, "all public and non-public associated information. Address. Company. Current situation."

Along with it, he also pushed over a thick wad of cash.

The hacker (ID: Black Spider)'s eyes instantly lit up at the sight of the money, he greedily licked his lips, and snatched both the USB drive and the cash:

"Boss is generous! Don't worry! Half an hour! I'll even dig up his sister-in-law's second husband's ex-girlfriend's online shopping records for you!"

He didn't even ask why he needed to investigate this person.

Half an hour later.

Black Spider sent an encrypted file package.

"Done! It's all in there! Boss, please check it!"

Lin Mo paid the remaining balance.

The file decrypted.

The information was exhaustive—several associated company names, a few addresses marked as "possible residences," frequently visited golf courses... and even an address for a private sanatorium marked "highly confidential"—St. Ann's Sanatorium.

The last part of the data was written in bold red font: "High confidence! Lin Tianhe is secretly recuperating at this sanatorium tonight!"

"St. Ann's..." A cold glint flashed in Lin Mo's eyes. Night was the best cover!

That night.

1:00 AM.

St. Ann's Sanatorium.

The highest-grade VIP independent recuperation building.

Nie Xiaoqian's figure, like a thin mist merging with the moonlight, easily passed through layers of security sensors.

There was no living aura.

The ward was luxurious, the bed neat, the equipment brand new... yet it was empty.

It was fake.

The entire area was as empty as a meticulously arranged trap.

Clearly.

This sanatorium had not yet officially opened.

It was even less likely that anyone would come here for recuperation.

Lin Mo stood in the center of the empty ward, his expression as calm as ice, but the surrounding temperature plummeted.

He had been tricked.

That fifty thousand information fee... was wasted.

Back home.

Lin Mo connected with "Black Spider."

In the video feed, Black Spider was munching on potato chips, looking relaxed and content.

"Oh? Boss? You received the stuff, right? Isn't the efficiency super..." He hadn't finished speaking.

"Fake." Lin Mo's voice was as cold as the Siberian wind.

The relaxed expression on Black Spider's face froze for a moment, then was replaced by an indifferent, roguish smile:

"Aiya, Boss, in our line of work, it's normal for information to have discrepancies! He used to frequent that sanatorium! Maybe something came up tonight..."

"You lied to me." Lin Mo cut him off, his voice not loud, but it sent an inexplicable shiver down Black Spider's spine on the other side of the screen.

"Damn it!" Black Spider reacted as if his tail had been stepped on, his feigned indifference instantly turning into ferocity:

"Stop slandering me! The information I gave you is all I have! Believe it or not! Payment and goods are settled! Who do you think you are?!"

He started yelling, spittle flying:

"Unsatisfied? So what if you found out? You got the guts to crawl through the internet cable and bite me, huh? Hahaha! So what if I tell you my address? I live at Jinxu Garden, Building 7, Room 901, in the west of the city! You got the guts, you f***ing..."

He pointed wildly at the camera in provocation, even standing up and patting his thick belly, his expression utterly arrogant.

Lin Mo watched him.

Watched his face contorted by his shouting.

The corner of his mouth.

Curled up, little by little.

It was a smile—a smile so utterly cruel and cold that Black Spider on the other side of the screen suddenly felt his blood run cold.

"Good."

Lin Mo only said that one word.

Click.

The video was cut.

The screen plunged into darkness.

At this moment.

Jinxu Garden, Building 7, Room 901.

Black Spider cursed at the suddenly dark screen: "Lunatic!" He felt his heart racing a bit, inexplicably agitated.

He sat back down in front of the computer and, to embolden himself, opened a B-grade gore horror film.

On the huge LCD TV screen, a classic scene was playing where a long-haired female ghost crawled out of the TV screen. The actress inside screamed, blood splattering everywhere.

Black Spider pursed his lips and took a sip of cola: "Fake! It's all special effects!" He tried to dispel the unease in his heart.

The next second!

The huge LCD TV screen in front of him suddenly went black!

It went completely dark as if the power had been cut!

"Damn?! What the hell?!" Black Spider was stunned, instinctively wanting to curse.

But then... his curse caught in his throat.

His eyes widened so much they almost tore out of their sockets!!

From that pitch-black TV screen... cold water actually began to seep out!

Not just a little, but like a gushing spring! It poured down, gurgling! The icy cold water instantly soaked the TV cabinet below and the expensive solid wood floor!

An indescribable chilling aura instantly filled the entire stuffy space! A hundred times colder than air conditioning!

"This... this f***ing..." Black Spider's scalp tingled! All the hairs on his body stood on end! A bone-chilling fear shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!

In the screen... that pitch-black water surface... a hand, so pale it had no trace of blood, with sharp fingernails!

Suddenly!

It burst out of the water in the center of the screen!!

Five fingers clawed! Grabbing the cold TV frame!

Immediately after!

More black water gushed out!

Wet, seaweed-like long hair... a lifeless, paper-white, exquisitely beautiful face with eerie blue soul fire burning in its pupils... slowly... "squeezing" out from inside the narrow LCD screen!

Twisted! Distorted! With ultimate horror!

It was Nie Xiaoqian!

And... she looked a million times clearer and more terrifying than the female ghost in the movie just now!!

"Ah!!!!!! Ghost!!!!!!"

Black Spider let out the most desperate and shrill scream of his life! He tried to run!

But his body had just sprung from the sofa!

Crack!!

All his joints, blood, muscles... instantly froze!!

A layer of cold white frost, radiating the aura of death, covered his entire body at a visible speed!

He even maintained his forward-leaning posture as if trying to escape!

Frozen stiff!

He couldn't even move his eyeballs! He could only watch, with extreme terror and disbelief solidified on his face, as the female ghost completely "flowed" out of the TV screen!

Splash!

Cold water pooled on the floor.

Nie Xiaoqian, wearing her white ancient dress soaked with water, walked silently on the puddles with bare feet, step by step, to stand before the ice-sculpted Black Spider.

Her voice was cold, hollow, as if from the netherworld, resounding directly in Black Spider's frozen consciousness:

"Want... to live...?"

"Speak."

"Lin Tianhe's... true information."

Five minutes later.

The ice sculpture partially melted, and Black Spider collapsed to the ground, incontinent, sobbing incoherently:

"Waaah—I'll tell you! I'll tell you!! I really only know the information about his affiliated companies!! His companies in Dragon Country!! Legal representatives, addresses, operating entities... it's all in this USB drive!!"

He frantically pointed to an inconspicuous silver encrypted USB drive by his computer desk.

"But he himself... I really can't find anything, Goddess!! He's a foreign national! All his assets are layers of offshore shell companies! All his travel is by private jet! He leaves no trace at all! That information about St. Ann's... I made it up to be lazy and save trouble... Waaah, please spare my life..."

He spoke his heart out, his face a mess of snot and tears.

Nie Xiaoqian picked up the USB drive.

Her consciousness instantly scanned the encrypted data inside. It matched the company-related part of the previous information, supplementing some more internal lists and organizational charts.

This person indeed... had nothing more to be squeezed out of him.

Blue light flickered in Nie Xiaoqian's eyes.

Black Spider saw her gaze, as if he saw death: "You... you said... if I told you... I could live..."

Nie Xiaoqian's icy lips parted slightly, uttering two words:

"You live."

A trace of ecstatic relief had just appeared on Black Spider's face!

The next second!

Crack! Bang—!

His head! Exploded without warning!

Red, white, mixed with shards of ice! It splattered all over the huge TV screen behind him, which was still seeping water at this moment!

The entire room was left with only the dripping sound of water and a strong smell of blood.

Nie Xiaoqian's figure floated towards the computer.

Her icy fingertip lightly traced across the notepad Black Spider had left open next to his mouse.

A line of delicate handwriting, formed by watermarks, appeared clearly on the paper like a curse:

"I said I'd come through the internet cable to kill you."

At the edge of the watery script, faintly frozen ice crystals reflected the eerie glow of the screen.

The chill was biting.

Nie Xiaoqian transformed into a pale blue ghostly light and vanished into the darkness.

The USB drive fell back onto the desktop.

Leaving behind only this hellish scene.

Lin Mo had obtained what he wanted—all physical targets that could be traced in Dragon Country.

Lin Tianhe's shadow.

Had clearly appeared on his kill list.

The cold wheels of revenge.

Rolled over flesh and blood.

Started again.