187: Chapter 187 Trial and Claims

The air in the basement was filled with a pungent smell of disinfectant, mixed with the lingering scent of blood, creating a nauseatingly strange odor.

Viper was tied up securely to a specially made metal chair, every joint in his body dislocated, hanging limply.

His eyes were unfocused, and dried foam still hung from the corner of his mouth; he clearly hadn't recovered from that nightmare of a security experience.

"Awake?"

Lin Fan sat opposite him, playing with a small transparent glass bottle in his hand, which contained a half-filled blue liquid.

It was the "Truth Serum - Enhanced Version" he had just obtained from the system.

Viper struggled to lift his head, his voice hoarse: "You... you dare touch someone from Shadow Fang... the organization won't let you off..."

"Shh."

Lin Fan put a finger to his lips, interrupting his threats. "Don't bother with those standard villain lines; I've heard them so many times I have calluses on my ears."

He shook the bottle in his hand and said with a smile, "Let's get straight to the point. I know you're just doing this for the money and that you value professional ethics. So, I won't use torture. Let's just have a drink and chat."

After saying that, without waiting for Viper to refuse, he pried open the man's mouth and poured the blue liquid inside.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Viper coughed violently, trying to spit it out, but the liquid melted the moment it touched his tongue, instantly flowing through his esophagus and throughout his body.

A few seconds later, Viper's eyes became completely blurry, and his originally tense muscles relaxed.

"Who sent you?" Lin Fan turned on a voice recorder, his voice calm.

"The Qin Family... Qin Hai..." Viper's voice was mechanical and dull, like a puppet being controlled. "He gave me fifty million... to take your head... and burn this place down..."

"Is there evidence?"

"Yes... transfer records... in my encrypted terminal... and call recordings..."

Zhao Wujing, standing to the side, was dumbfounded.

This was way too easy, wasn't it?

The legendary Shadow Fang gold-tier assassin, who was supposed to be trained in anti-interrogation and would rather die than surrender, had just confessed like that?

After getting what he wanted, Lin Fan nodded with satisfaction.

He stood up and clapped his hands. "Alright, pack these people up. Remember to wash their faces; don't make them look too unsightly. After all, they are the greeting gifts for our visit to the Qin Family."

"Chief, are we really going to the Qin Family?"

Zhao Wujing's legs felt a bit weak. "That's the Qin Family's home base. It's filled with experts, and there are only a dozen of us. Isn't it a bit too..."

"Too what?"

Lin Fan glanced at him and picked up a huge military megaphone from nearby, shouldering it.

"We're going there to be reasonable, not to fight."

"Besides, with this thing here, would the Qin Family dare try to touch us?"

He shook the voice recorder in his hand, a flash of cunning in his eyes.

"Let's go, move out."

"Before dawn, I want the Qin Family's gate to become the most popular check-in spot in all of Kyoto."

The first rays of morning sunlight spilled onto Zhuque Avenue.

The gates of the old Qin Family residence were tightly shut, and two huge stone lions stood majestically, showcasing the heritage of this century-old clan.

However, this tranquility was soon broken by a piercing screech of brakes.

A modified heavy truck rumbled over and parked directly across the Qin Family's main gate, completely blocking the road.

Immediately after, Lin Fan jumped out of the truck, followed by Zhao Wujing and a group of second-generation heirs from wealthy families.

Each of them carried a large black bag that looked like a trash bag.

"Throw them!"

At Lin Fan's command.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Over a dozen black bags were slammed onto the steps of the Qin Family's main gate.

The mouths of the bags burst open, revealing black-clad men inside who were bruised, swollen, and tied up like rice dumplings.

Early morning passersby and workers from nearby shops were drawn by the commotion and gathered to watch.

"Aren't those Shadow Fang assassins?"

"My god, so many? Who has the guts to dump people at the Qin Family's doorstep?"

While the crowd was buzzing with discussion, Lin Fan climbed onto the roof of the truck and raised the huge megaphone.

"Zzz—"

The harsh sound of static instantly spread throughout the street.

Then, a clear recording began to play on a loop:

[Qin Hai: I want to see Lin Fan's head... fifty million... burn the warehouse...]

[Viper: Yes, don't worry, Second Master...]

This recording was like a clap of thunder, exploding over the skies of Kyoto in the early morning.

The tightly shut Qin Family gates swung open instantly, and a group of guards rushed out, led by a pale-faced Qin Hai.

He never imagined that the assassins he sent out would not only be wiped out but also dumped right at his doorstep by Lin Fan!

Even worse was that recording!

"Turn it off! Turn it off!"

Qin Hai roared hysterically, pointing at Lin Fan. "Lin Fan! This is slander! This is a forged recording! Men, seize him!"

"I dare you!"

Lin Fan stomped on the truck roof, and his Grandmaster Level aura instantly erupted, sending the charging guards flying.

He looked down at Qin Hai from above with blatant mockery on his face.

"Second Master Qin, getting anxious already?"

"When you sent people to burn my warehouse last night, why didn't I see you this agitated?"

Lin Fan pointed at the assassins on the ground, his voice carrying to every corner through the megaphone.

"Witnesses, physical evidence, transfer records—I have it all."

"If you think I'm slandering you, how about we take a trip to the Military Court right now?"

"Or should we let the General Ye Canglan, Ye Canglan, be the judge?"

Hearing the name "Ye Canglan," Qin Hai's forward step instantly froze.

He knew he had lost.

Lost completely.

Once this matter reached the Military Department, it would be the crime of hiring an assassin to kill an active military officer—treason!

The crowd of onlookers grew larger, their whispers and pointing fingers surging like a tide.

The Qin Family, a clan that had stood in Kyoto for a century, lost all face at this moment.

Qin Hai stared fixedly at Lin Fan, the venom in his eyes almost overflowing, but he didn't dare move another inch.

"What... what do you want?" Qin Hai squeezed the words through his gritted teeth.

Lin Fan turned off the megaphone, jumped down from the truck, walked up to Qin Hai, and held up three fingers.

"First, compensate me for the mental distress, lost work time, and emotional shock to my warehouse—a total of one billion."

"Second, all construction materials under the Qin Family will be supplied to my base at half price from now on."

"Third..."

Lin Fan leaned into Qin Hai's ear and said in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"In the future, when you see me, remember to take the long way around."

"Otherwise, the next thing delivered won't be a living person, but a funeral urn."

Qin Hai felt a sweetness in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood with a "poof," falling straight backward.

"Second Master! Second Master!"

Chaos broke out at the Qin Family's gate.

And at the corner of Lin Fan's mouth, a brilliant smile curled in the morning light.

Now this was what true satisfaction felt like.