68: Chapter 68 Confiscating Property

With a muffled sound of air pressure releasing, the half-meter-thick alloy door of the Wang family's underground treasury slowly slid open to both sides.

It wasn't the gaudy, golden spectacle one might expect from an upstart; instead, rows of neat, custom-made shelves came into view, holding various sealed storage boxes categorized and arranged in order.

"Holy crap..."

Fatty Zhang Hao stood at the entrance, his mouth open wide enough to fit a lightbulb, drool nearly dripping onto the floor. "Brother Fan, is this the legendary 'raiding a house'? This isn't a treasury; it's practically a large warehouse supermarket."

The shelves stretched on as far as the eye could see.

On the left were crates of D-grade exotic beast materials, piled high like mountains, ranging from sharp claws and beast hides to bones. On the right were various rare ores and medicinal herbs; although most were C-grade and D-grade, they made up for it with sheer volume.

Lin Fan activated the Eye of True Sight, his gaze quickly sweeping over these shelves.

[Item: Wind Wolf Claws (D-grade) x500]

[Item: Black Iron Ore (C-grade) x2 tons]

[Item: Primary Blood Vitality Potion (Finished Product) x1000 vials]

...

"Don't just stand there."

Lin Fan kicked the still-dazed Fatty. "Get to work. The brothers from the Third Field Army are only responsible for the perimeter security; we have to do this detailed work ourselves. Have the Myriad Treasures Pavilion employees arrived?"

"They're here, they're here!"

Fatty snapped back to reality, rubbing his hands together excitedly, and waved his hand at those behind him. "Boys, time to stock up! Remember Brother Fan's teachings: even if it's a night-luminescent pearl on the wall, if it can be pried off and sold, don't leave it for the Wang family."

Over twenty employees wearing Myriad Treasures Pavilion uniforms filed in, pushing custom-made floating cargo carts, their eyes glowing with greed.

This feeling of 'zero-dollar shopping' in a supermarket was truly addictive.

Lin Fan didn't bother with the ordinary materials and walked straight to the deepest part of the treasury.

Based on experience, the real treasures are always hidden in the most inconspicuous corners.

He stopped in front of a seemingly ordinary wall.

Under the Eye of True Sight, the internal structure of this wall had nowhere to hide. Behind the third blue brick, a precise spiritual energy lock was hidden.

"Hidden quite deep."

Lin Fan tapped the wall rhythmically three times with his finger, then, with spiritual energy pulsing in his palm, pressed down hard.

"Click."

The wall flipped silently, revealing a small secret compartment only a foot square.

There were no piles of gold or silver in the compartment, only three solitary items.

A yellowed, thread-bound ancient book, a piece of black metal emitting a bone-chilling cold, and a tattered piece of sheepskin scroll.

Lin Fan reached out and took the ancient book.

[Item: "Roaming Dragon Steps"]

[Grade: C-grade Advanced Movement Technique]

[Description: Body like a roaming dragon, leaving no traces on the snow. Those who master it can briefly hover in mid-air, making it extremely suitable for close-quarters combat.]

Good stuff.

He didn't actually lack resources or techniques because he had the system, but his friends could use it, and it could also serve as a facade for the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

Next was the piece of black metal.

[Item: Ten-Thousand-Year Deep Sea Cold Iron]

[Grade: B-grade Rare Material]

[Description: Harvested from ten thousand meters deep in the ocean, it is extremely hard and possesses ice properties, making it a top-tier auxiliary material for forging B-grade weapons or higher.]

If this thing were thrown into a blind box, it could definitely be made into a top-tier item for a legendary weapon series.

Finally, Lin Fan picked up the tattered sheepskin scroll.

The material was very special; it didn't feel like leather or paper to the touch, but rather had a warm, jade-like texture. It was drawn with some twisted lines and incomprehensible symbols, clearly a fragment of some kind of map.

Just the moment his fingers touched the sheepskin scroll, the system in his mind suddenly vibrated.

[Ding, detected high-dimensional energy residue]

[Item: Unknown Ancient God Ruin Fragment Map (1/3)]

[Description: Contains a trace of extremely faint law aura, suspected to point to an undiscovered S-grade folded space.]

[Suggestion: Host should temporarily recycle it]

Ancient God ruins? Law aura?

"Recycle."

Lin Fan, maintaining his composure, triggered a thought.

The sheepskin scroll, Deep Sea Cold Iron, and "Roaming Dragon Steps" in his hand instantly vanished, directly stored into the system space.

These strategic-level materials naturally couldn't be recorded in the public accounts.

"Brother Fan, we're rich, we're totally rich!"

Fatty ran over holding a half-human-tall golden toad statue, his face scrunched up with a grin. "Just the raw materials outside are enough for our Myriad Treasures Pavilion to sell for half a year! And there are several crates of ready-made C-grade alloy battle sabers. If we resell these..."

"Don't look like you've never seen the world."

Lin Fan calmly brushed the dust off his hands. "Sort the items properly. According to the agreement with Thunder Tiger, divide all the materials into three parts."

"Send one part to the Jianghai Lord's Mansion as a 'venue fee' for Jianghai Lord Li."

"Send one part directly to the Third Field Army base. Brother Thunder put in a lot of effort this time, one part is his."

"Take the remaining part back to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion to be stocked."

Fatty grimaced, clearly pained. "Brother Fan, this... is giving away two parts too much?"

"You, little Fatty, your awareness needs to be improved! We have what we have now because of the Jianghai Lord's guidance and the military's support. Wealth is just an external thing, no need to say more!"

Lin Fan, seeing he didn't understand, patted his shoulder. "This is called benefit binding. Wealth is an external appearance; once everyone has taken their share, we'll be family in the future! Understand?"

Just then, the crisp sound of high heels clicking on the floor came from the treasury entrance.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Lin Fan, are you a swarm of locusts passing through?"

Chu Yaoyao was wearing a pink tracksuit with her hair in a bun. Looking at the treasury that seemed as if it had been licked clean by a dog, she exaggeratedly covered her mouth. "You Shrewd Merchant, you've scraped a layer off the Wang family's land, haven't you?"

Behind her, Su Qingxue was still in her cold, white attire, though her gaze held a hint of subtle softness when it swept over Lin Fan.

"Diligence and thrift are the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation."

Lin Fan replied righteously, casually grabbing a handful of jewelry from an exquisite jewelry box nearby.

Those were top-quality pieces collected by Wang Tianba, each one worth a fortune.

"Everyone present gets a share."

Lin Fan generously picked out a ruby necklace and tossed it to Chu Yaoyao, then picked up an ice-blue crystal hairpin and walked over to Su Qingxue.

"This hairpin is polished from deep-sea ice crystal and has a built-in calming effect; it's quite suitable for your cultivation."

Su Qingxue looked at the hairpin emitting a faint chill in her palm and was stunned for a moment.

This was the first time a member of the opposite sex had given her such a personal accessory.

"Thank you."

"By the way, why are you here? Isn't the outside guarded by the military?" Lin Fan asked, puzzled.

"The Wang family's wealth isn't just what's in the treasury; there's also so much real estate. The military discussed it with my grandfather, and we are here to take it over. They discussed the specific details; I'm just here to run errands."

So that's it. Lin Fan gave a thumbs up.

This night was destined to be a sleepless one for the Jianghai.

The once prominent Wang family fell from the clouds into the mud within just a few short hours.

The Wang family betrayed their clan, the family head was arrested, all clansmen were detained, and their property was confiscated.

This news spread like wildfire to every corner of the Jianghai.

At this moment, the other second-rate families in Jianghai City held emergency meetings overnight.

The content of the meetings was surprisingly consistent.

The family heads slammed the tables, warning the playboys below them, "Listen clearly, from now on, don't provoke anyone from the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, especially that Lin Fan! Whoever dares to bring trouble to the family, I'll personally break their legs!"

Myriad Treasures Pavilion, achieved legendary status in one battle.

...

5:00 AM.

A hint of dawn appeared in the east.

Lin Fan stood in front of the empty Wang family mansion, watching the last truck loaded with supplies drive away.

After the hustle and bustle, there was dead silence.

Lin Fan lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and the acrid smoke swirled in his lungs.

There was not a ripple of emotion in his heart, let alone any so-called guilt.

If he had lost tonight, the ones lying on the ground would be him and his sister.

"This is just the beginning."

Lin Fan looked at the flickering cigarette tip between his fingers and muttered to himself, "The Wang family is just a big family in the Jianghai. To truly control one's own destiny, there is only power, absolute power."

...

Meanwhile.

In a basement somewhere in Jianghai City.

On the screen, the footage of Lin Fan dodging Wang Tianba's fatal blow in the Wang family courtyard was playing on a loop.

The footage was slowed down ten times.

Even so, Lin Fan's bizarre backward-leaning movement was still shockingly fast.

"Interesting."

In the darkness, a figure in a black robe sat on a swivel chair, hand half-propping up its head, looking lazy.

The person in charge of the Jianghai branch of the Shadow Fang organization, codenamed "Shadow Fang".

"A high school student, actually able to possess this level of dynamic vision and neural reaction speed."

"It seems that trash 'One-Eye' didn't die unjustly. This kid is hiding a big secret."

"Boss, should we continue to send people?" a subordinate nearby asked in a low voice. "Although the Wang family's job failed, this kid killed so many of our people; if we don't show something, people in the underworld will laugh at us."

"Idiot!" Shadow Fang snorted coldly.

"The entire Jianghai's army is watching him now, and that madman Thunder Tiger is looking for a place to vent his anger. You want to act now? Are you tired of living?"

The subordinate was scared, cold sweat dripping, and knelt on the ground with a thud.

"Notify everyone, suspend all assassination attempts against Lin Fan."

Shadow Fang took out a small knife and gently trimmed its nails. "Change the mission level from assassination to surveillance. I want to know all his information. What he eats, what he uses, especially those blind boxes of his—where exactly do they come from?"

"Yes!"

...

Outside the Jianghai, the western suburban potter's field.

This was the dark side of the Jianghai, piled with unclaimed corpses and household waste.

A hunched figure was standing in front of a new grave.

It was none other than the old butler of the Wang family.

At this moment, it completely lacked its usual submissive appearance.

"Crack, crack."

Accompanied by the sound of bones grinding, its body began to undergo eerie changes.

Its spine protruded, piercing through its clothes and turning into a row of sharp bone spurs. Its fingers elongated, and its nails turned into black beast claws. Gray long hair grew on its face, and its pupils turned into vertical beast eyes.

Half-beast transformation.

"Trash Wang family!"

The old butler opened its mouth, its voice becoming thick and turbid, like the low growl of a beast. "I intended to slowly plot for the Jianghai's defense map by controlling the Wang family. I didn't expect that idiot Wang Tianba to die so quickly."

It extended its beast claw, grabbed a handful of soil from the grave, and crushed it fiercely.

"The plan must be brought forward."

The old butler turned around and looked at the brightly lit Jianghai in the distance, a cruel light flashing in its beast eyes.

"Lin Fan, you ruined the master's good work; you will pay the price."

"The moment we occupy the Jianghai, I will personally dig out your heart; the heart of a human genius must be delicious."

"Hehehe!"