165: Chapter 165 Baby... This is it!

For the first time in his life, Lu Cheng felt a kind of... inexplicable crisis...

If... he killed him, then... he would most likely be exposed...

Although Chen Yucheng's terminal signal was moving normally within the system, if this squad leader suddenly went missing, the scheduling for the entire patrol sector would immediately fall into chaos.

The security system of the Qian Family Manor was not just for show; if one person went missing, it would be discovered in ten minutes at most.

By then, the entire manor would be under lockdown. Forget about finding Qian Shuying and Chu Xiuxiu; even escaping himself would be a problem.

If he didn't kill him... he might have to sacrifice some of his dignity...

The relationship mentioned in the terminal data flashed through Lu Cheng's mind... His stomach cramped, and a wave of acid surged up his throat.

Damn it. What kind of taste does this Chen Yucheng even have?

The squad leader took a step forward, instantly closing the distance to less than half a meter.

The light from the manor's street lamps leaked through the gaps in the leaves, hitting his half-mask and reflecting a few laugh lines at the corners of his eyes.

He reached out and naturally placed his hand on Lu Cheng's shoulder.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" The squad leader's voice was low, his tone sticky and cloying. "The shift schedule changed today, so why did you run to the villa area? Shouldn't you be in Zone B4?"

Lu Cheng didn't want to cause any danger now... but at the same time, he didn't want to sacrifice his dignity, so...

Lu Cheng's mind whirred three times. His Super Intelligence listed twenty-three plans for him, eighteen of which involved varying degrees of sacrificing his dignity, four that would lead to his identity being exposed, and one remaining...

Lu Cheng called the man over to a patch of woods to the side.

He cleared his throat, trying his best to make his voice sound soft, while turning slightly to dodge the hand reaching for his shoulder. The movement was natural, as if he just wanted to walk in a different direction.

"Brother Lin... you... come over here for a second~"

He deliberately dragged out the end of his sentence a little, lowering his voice. Honestly, he wasn't sure if this tone sounded like how Chen Yucheng usually spoke, but since the terminal data labeled him as the receiving party, then perhaps... the tone should be softer?

Supervisor Lin froze for a moment, a lecherous look appearing on his face... That sticky, cloying smile on his face instantly magnified threefold, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes bunching up, and his entire being radiated an excitement that made Lu Cheng's scalp tingle.

He reached out and tugged at his collar, loosening the tie of his black suit slightly, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "Come... wherever you say, we'll go..."

Scary... seriously damn scary... f*ck.

He took a deep breath, clenched his teeth, and forced a curve onto his lips. "Then... this way."

Lu Cheng swallowed hard... and turned to walk toward the man-made forest on the outskirts of the villa area.

The landscaping of the Qian Family Manor was excellent; several man-made forests separated the villa area from the main building. The trees were planted densely, blocking the light at night. Only the low ground lights buried along the sides of the stone paths provided a dim, yellowish light, barely enough to illuminate a step or two ahead.

Lu Cheng walked in front, and Supervisor Lin followed behind. He could feel that gaze sticking to his back, sliding down from his shoulders; every inch it moved added another layer of goosebumps to his back.

After walking for about five minutes, Lu Cheng brought him deep into the forest. The trees here were denser than outside, their intertwined branches and leaves blocking the sky completely. Only a few beams of moonlight leaked through the gaps, breaking into silver-white spots on the ground.

The surroundings were so quiet that only the sound of the wind and the muffled bass from the distant banquet hall remained.

Lu Cheng stopped and scanned the surrounding environment. The trees were dense enough, it was a certain distance from both the villa area and the main building, there were no light spots from surveillance cameras overhead, and the ground was soft humus that made no sound when stepped on.

After confirming that this place was cut off from surveillance, and with Seeking Good Fortune and Avoiding Bad Luck setting this place as a 'Lucky Spot'...

Supervisor Lin said with a grin... "Baby... let's do it here!"

His voice sounded exceptionally jarring in the quiet woods, his tone rising at the end with an impatient eagerness. He took two steps forward, his hand already reaching for his belt buckle.

Lu Cheng turned around. "Okay..." The smile on his face looked very calm under the moonlight. "...let's do it here!"

Before his words had even faded, his right hand had already moved. Hardening Pulse covered the surface of his fist with a barely perceptible pattern of Source Power, and the exertion technique of Drifting Dragon Rending Shadow completed the power transmission in an instant. One punch. It struck Supervisor Lin precisely on the temple.

The force was controlled just right; it wouldn't shatter the skull and cause a death, yet it was enough to make a peak Meridian Opening Realm martial artist instantly lose consciousness without any defense.

The lecherous grin on Supervisor Lin's face hadn't even faded before his entire body went limp, like a sack of meat with its bones removed.

Lu Cheng reached out to catch him, not letting him hit the ground and make a sound. Then he crouched down and looked left and right. The woods were still quiet, the music from the distant banquet hall was still muffled, and there were no signs of patrol footsteps approaching.

Lu Cheng dragged Supervisor Lin behind a large tree and pulled a military folding shovel from his system space. Digging the hole. Filling it with soil. Packing it down. Five minutes. Lu Cheng patted the last shovel of soil firm, scattered a layer of dead leaves on top, and stood up to brush the dirt off his hands. He looked down at the slightly raised mound of soil at his feet and was silent for two seconds.

"Brother Lin... you stay here for a while. After I finish what I'm doing, if you're still alive, then you're lucky!"

After saying this, he turned and left. When he walked out of the woods, Lu Cheng took out his terminal and sent a message to Shen Guhong. The text was concise and direct: he needed to use this person's information, and asked if there would be any trouble.

Shen Guhong's reply was almost instantaneous. "No problem." Just two words. The Mechanical Institute had the most powerful tech experts in the entire Dragon Kingdom.

It was just the terminal signal of a Meridian Opening Realm squad leader; having them tamper with the system to keep Supervisor Lin's signal moving normally along the patrol route was no difficult task.

Soon, the Lu Cheng version of Supervisor Lin emerged from the woods. He readjusted the black mask Zhou Jinan had given him, changing the face shape from Chen Yucheng's to Supervisor Lin's. At the same time, he dug out the spare dark coat from his system space and put it on over his waiter uniform.

Supervisor Lin was a squad leader, and there were subtle differences in his attire compared to a regular waiter; the badge on his collar was one size larger, and there was an extra ring of gold thread on his cuffs. These details were all in the terminal data.

Lu Cheng straightened his collar, adjusted his mask, and strode toward the villa area. With higher authorization, there were more places he could go... A squad leader's access level within the manor was two levels higher than a regular waiter's, allowing free entry and exit to most areas of the villa district without having to skulk around like before.

He walked along the stone path to the two-story building with a private courtyard from earlier. The two guards were still at the door, standing straight and expressionless. Seeing "Supervisor Lin" walk over, both of their eyes moved at the same time...

Those two guards had just seen "Supervisor Lin" walk out of the small woods and come back to them... their hearts couldn't help but skip a beat... This guy was notoriously perverted in the organization...

In the security system of the Nanling Qian Family, the name Supervisor Lin, while not the top-tier, was definitely in the rank with the worst reputation. The squad leader position wasn't considered high, but relying on his connection with the deputy director of the security department, he was used to running rampant among the low-level guards and waiters. Especially toward young male waiters... everyone knew about certain things, but no one dared to say it.

"Lu Cheng" licked his tongue... Mimicking Supervisor Lin's sticky, cloying smile, he pulled up the corners of his mouth and slowly licked his lips in a circle. "Do you... want to join?"

The two looked at each other and took a step back. The guard on the left's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, his voice very low: "Squad Leader Lin... we are on duty." The guard on the right didn't even speak, his hand already subconsciously reaching for the walkie-talkie at his waist, as if ready to call for backup at any moment.

Lu Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Supervisor Lin's image in the minds of these guards was indeed disgusting enough that they didn't even want to maintain a normal conversation. This actually made things easier for him. The less they wanted to talk, the less they would carefully scrutinize his details.

"How boring..." Lu Cheng waved his hand, his tone carrying that sticky, cloying ending typical of Supervisor Lin, "Higher-ups ordered me to go in and collect data... aren't you going to move aside?"

This was true. The terminal data showed that one of Supervisor Lin's duty tasks tonight was to be responsible for collecting security data for several key buildings in the villa area. That was why he happened to encounter Chen Yucheng, played by Lu Cheng, in this vicinity.

The two guards looked at each other again. The one on the left gritted his teeth and stepped aside. The one on the right hesitated for a second and then also moved aside. Neither of them spoke, but their actions conveyed the same meaning: hurry in, and don't be disgusting out here.

Lu Cheng strode into the courtyard. Once inside, Lu Cheng discovered that the scene within was exceptionally ancient...

The front hall of the small building was not large, with dark wooden flooring that creaked slightly when stepped on. The walls were not covered with tiles or wallpaper, but with exposed grey bricks, with white lime mortar filled into the brick joints.

A secret tunnel led to the bottom, surrounded by various murals. A half-person-high secret door was opened in the wall at the end of the front hall; the door frame was carved from a single piece of bluestone, its edges already worn shiny. Behind the secret door was a flight of stone steps extending downward, narrow and steep, with an oil lamp embedded in the walls on both sides every few steps. The flames burned quietly in the lamps, and a faint smell of lamp oil drifted in the air.

Lu Cheng walked down the stone steps. The surrounding walls depicted different stories. The first painting: A group of people kneeling on the ground, hands raised high above their heads, palms facing up. In front of them was a desolate land, with dead trees and dried-up rivers in the distance, and all of them had expressions of despair carved onto their faces.

The second painting: A mass of black fog appeared on the horizon. Squatting in the black fog was a giant toad, its eyes half-open and half-closed, the corners of its mouth drooping, its back covered in warts, with a copper coin embedded in each wart. The toad's mouth opened a crack, leaking golden light from the gap.

The third painting: People placing something in front of the toad. The lines on the mural were very blurry, making it impossible to see what that thing was.

The fourth painting: The toad opened its mouth. Golden water gushed out from its mouth, flowing into the dried-up river and spreading over the dead land. The river had water again, the trees sprouted buds again, and fields of crops grew on the ground. People knelt by the golden water, cupping it and pouring it into their mouths. The scene ended abruptly here, but Lu Cheng knew there should be something else that followed...

Lu Cheng withdrew his gaze from the murals and continued walking down...