61: Chapter 61 Who is the Hunter?

"Brother Fan, this is already the third wave."

In front of the floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor of Myriad Treasures Pavilion, Zhang Hao, the fatty, crouched in a corner behind the curtains. He held a high-powered telescope, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.

"The old man selling roasted sweet potatoes across the street has been replaced. Although he's wearing an old cotton-padded jacket, his hands are covered in calluses at the tiger's mouth—he's clearly a knife wielder. And that shoe repairman on the left, his eyes keep glancing toward our shop entrance; he's looked twelve times in ten minutes."

The fatty put down the telescope, his voice trembling. "They're scouting the place. Is the Wang family driven to desperation?"

Lin Fan sat in an executive chair, holding a freshly brewed cup of Da Hong Pao tea, gently blowing away the foam.

"Fatty, don't panic."

He took a sip of tea, not even glancing out the window. "In business, you'll always attract a few flies. If you don't even have this much psychological fortitude, how are you going to open Myriad Treasures Pavilion on the Ten Thousand Races Battlefield in the future?"

"But..."

"No buts."

Lin Fan set down the teacup, his fingers lightly tapping on the tabletop.

[Eye of True Sight, Activate.]

His vision shifted instantly.

The originally noisy street transformed into countless flowing streams of data in his eyes.

Across the street, the old man flipping roasted sweet potatoes had a piercing red light glowing above his head.

[Target: Zhang San (Alias)]

[Identity: Wasteland Mercenary (Affiliated with the 'Shadow Fang' Mercenary Group)]

[Realm: Nine-Star Martial Artist]

[Status: Killing Intent Locked On]

[Equipment: E-Rank Poison Dagger hidden in sleeve, self-made psionic grenade at the waist.]

[Note: This is a desperate criminal who has seen blood and killed people; he would sell his own mother for money.]

He then looked at the shoe repairman.

[Target: Li Si (Alias)]

[Identity: Wang Family Death Soldier]

[Realm: First-Stage Martial Master]

[Weakness: Right leg previously suffered a severe injury, movement agility decreased by 20%.]

Not ordinary thugs.

They were professionals.

Wang Tianba had really spared no expense this time, hiring outside help and even utilizing the family's hidden reserves.

"It seems that the Head of the Wang Family truly has a death wish."

Lin Fan took his phone out of his pocket and composed a message.

Recipient: Thunder Tiger.

The content was simple: "Brother Thunder, someone has been loitering in front of my shop lately, seemingly wanting to mess with my military supply chain. If anything goes wrong with this batch of goods, I'm afraid the 'Special Supply Blind Boxes' for the Third Field Army next month will have to be delayed."

Click send.

Three seconds.

The phone vibrated frantically.

It was a voice message from Thunder Tiger; even without turning on the speaker, the violent roar nearly shattered the phone.

"Motherfucker! Which blind bastard dares to touch my blind boxes? Those are things I use to trade for my brothers' lives! Brother Lin, don't be afraid. Send me the coordinates. I'll deploy a battalion of special forces right now and grind those pieces of trash into dust!"

Lin Fan held the phone a bit further away and rubbed his ears.

This Thunder Tiger was still as hot-tempered as ever.

He replied leisurely: "Calm down, Brother Thunder. Using heavy artillery in the city, do you want to be invited to tea by the City Lord's Mansion? Don't worry, we'll cast a long line to catch the big fish. Since they want to play, I'll play a big game with them."

Thunder Tiger: "What do you need me to do? Just say the word and I'll bring men to level their ancestral graves!"

Lin Fan: "No need. Just help me guard the perimeter and make sure no fish slip through the net. As for these people... it just so happens my blind boxes are short a few high-level martial artist corpses for materials."

Putting away his phone, the killing intent in Lin Fan's eyes flashed and vanished.

"Brother Fan, this is bad!"

The hurried sound of high heels came from the stairwell.

Chu Yaoyao rushed up like a whirlwind, not even having time to take off her beloved pink motorcycle helmet.

"Something big has happened!"

She slammed a document onto Lin Fan's desk, panting for breath. "News leaked from my dad's friend at the bank. The Wang family... the Wang family is frantically cashing out. They've mortgaged several core shops in the city center and two mines outside the city at low prices. They've even listed the Wang Family Mansion for sale!"

Lin Fan picked up the document and scanned it.

Mortgage rate 50%.

These were fire-sale prices.

"Are they preparing to flee?" The fatty leaned over to look and exclaimed.

"No."

Lin Fan tossed the document back on the desk, his finger lightly stroking his chin, his eyes deep. "If they were fleeing, they would do it more discreetly. This kind of high-profile asset liquidation only points to one possibility."

Going all-in.

Wang Tianba was betting the entire Wang family on the table, preparing to exchange it for some kind of destructive power sufficient to turn the tables.

"Hiring assassins, or... purchasing prohibited weapons."

Chu Yaoyao's face turned pale. "Lin Fan, how about you go hide at my house for a bit? Even though my dad doesn't get involved in affairs, the Chu Family Estate at least has defensive arrays..."

"Hide?"

Lin Fan stood up, walked to the window, and pulled open the curtains openly.

Sunlight spilled over him, casting a long shadow.

He looked at the "roasted sweet potato old man" across the street, whose body had instantly tensed up, and a brilliant smile appeared on his face.

"Fatty, post an announcement."

Lin Fan's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable firmness. "State that the Master of Myriad Treasures Pavilion has reached a critical moment in his cultivation. Tomorrow, he will be in seclusion at home to break through his realm and cannot be disturbed by the outside world. Accordingly, Myriad Treasures Pavilion will suspend operations for one day."

"Brother Fan, you're..." The fatty was stunned.

"Inviting the tiger into the mountain."

Lin Fan turned around, his gaze like a blade. "Since they want to scout, I'll give them a perfect opportunity to strike. There's the City Guard in the city, so they won't dare make too much noise. But if I'm about to break through a critical juncture, or... tonight, when my defenses are at their loosest."

...

Night fell.

Longhu No. 1, Imperial Dragon Residence.

The massive crystal chandelier emitted a soft glow, but the atmospheric pressure inside the villa was terrifyingly low.

*Crack.*

A crisp sound rang out.

The glass water cup in Lin Xiaoya's hand shattered without warning.

Shards flew everywhere, slicing the skin of her fingertip, from which a drop of crimson blood seeped out.

"Ah!"

She cried out, but in the next second, ignoring the wound on her hand, she suddenly clutched her chest.

Her face instantly turned as pale as paper.

"Brother..."

Lin Xiaoya looked up, her originally clear large eyes now filled with terror and confusion.

In that instant.

She felt it.

A malice so thick it was nauseating, like a giant black spiderweb, was closing in on the villa from all directions.

It wasn't an illusion.

It was a shudder from the depths of her soul.

[S-Rank Talent 'Mind Dominator' stimulated by external malice, producing a stress response]

Lin Fan's figure appeared beside her instantly.

A warm, large hand rested on top of her head.

[Divine Ember Flame, Suppress.]

A warm current surged in, forcibly pressing down that restless spiritual power.

"Don't be afraid."

Lin Fan's voice was incredibly gentle. He knelt down and used a tissue to carefully wipe the blood from his sister's fingertip. "Are you just too tired from studying lately? Having hallucinations?"

"It's not an illusion..."

Lin Xiaoya gripped Lin Fan's sleeve tightly, her knuckles turning white. "Brother, people... so many people... they're carrying knives, they're covered in blood... they want to kill you! Brother, let's run, I'm begging you, let's run!"

Her premonition had never been this strong before.

So strong it suffocated her.

Lin Fan's movements paused for a moment.

The intuition of an S-Rank spirit-type talent was indeed terrifying. Even before fully awakening, she could already capture killing intent from several kilometers away.

"Xiaoya, look at me."

Lin Fan cupped his sister's small face with both hands, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"Do you trust your brother?"

Lin Xiaoya nodded with tears in her eyes.

"Then be good. Go back to your room, put on your headphones, and play your favorite song 'Starry Sky' on loop. No matter what sound you hear, don't come out. And don't take off the headphones."

Lin Fan took an exquisite metal box from his pocket and pressed it into her hand.

"This is a gift I prepared for you. If... I mean if, someone breaks into your room, you press the red button on this box."

That was a high-explosive grenade he had modified using the core of a 'Flame Magic Lion'.

Lin Xiaoya took the box with trembling hands.

She was bright and precocious; she naturally understood what this implied.

"Brother... you must be careful."

"Go."

He watched his sister walk into her room, looking back every few steps before closing the door.

The gentleness on Lin Fan's face vanished instantly.

In its place was a frozen wasteland of coldness.

"System, take out one Night Demon Tactical Suit."

The black tight-fitting combat suit instantly covered his body, perfectly blending his aura into the darkness.

Lin Fan walked to the weapon rack in the living room.

There sat an alloy battle blade he had scavenged from the black market.

The blade was slender, entirely pitch-black, and non-reflective.

*Clang!*

The battle blade was unsheathed.

Lin Fan picked up a white cloth from the coffee table and gently wiped the edge of the blade.

His movements were slow and focused.

Like an artist about to take the stage, wiping his beloved violin.

"Since you don't want to follow the rules..."

Lin Fan looked out at the pitch-black night, where a few startled birds were flapping their wings and taking flight.

"Then don't blame me for flipping the table."

...