240: Chapter 240 Is that guy really that strong?

Chapter 240: Is That Guy Really That Strong?

Inside the hotel suite, the lights were as bright as day.

However, three faces seemed shrouded in shadow, looking uncertain and gloomy.

Two of them were the middle-aged man and the teenager Xiao Bei who had an encounter with Fang Cheng in the elevator in the early morning of that day.

"Old Wolf, who on earth is that person you mentioned?"

The third person sitting opposite asked with doubt.

He was chubby, with a round belly stretching his shirt taut, and a pair of small eyes on his face narrowed into slits, revealing shrewdness and suspicion.

After a pause, he added another sentence:

"It is simply impossible for us to let someone of unknown background join the team. How can everyone trust him?"

Today, the middle-aged man was wearing a grey jacket with short, neat hair and sharp facial contours, showing no trace of the weakness from being seriously injured a few days ago.

At this moment, he gently rubbed his chin with his brows slightly knitted, not answering the other person immediately.

After a moment, he slowly spoke:

"I have a hunch that he is a trustworthy person."

Hearing this, the fat man was dumbfounded, not knowing how to respond, and could only smack his lips.

He seemed to ponder in his heart where the middle-aged man's baseless "hunch" came from.

The middle-aged man raised his head slightly, his gaze looking through the window at the distant night scenery, as if falling into deep thought.

He was none other than Black Wolf, a ruthless character who once struck terror into the hearts of people in the Northwest underworld.

Under his command controlled an assassin team, and every single member was a ruthless and desperate outlaw capable of taking on ten.

From turf wars between Gangs to the control of underground casinos and smuggling routes, as long as it was a "business" targeted by Black Wolf, there was none he could not take down.

His methods were extremely cruel, and he never left anyone alive who dared to defy his orders or oppose him.

Those underworld Gangs attempting to challenge his authority were often uprooted overnight, with Gang leaders either disappearing without a trace or being dismembered and hung out to display.

This left behind various rumors in Jianghu about his bloody methods, chilling the hearts of all who heard them.

However, although Black Wolf was in the underworld and acted ruthlessly, he had his own principles.

He only killed evildoers and would never stain his hands with the blood of innocent civilians.

Once, a Gang of robbers robbed a bank and took a batch of hostages, attempting to use them to threaten the police.

Black Wolf happened to be inside, stepped forward single-handedly, and deployed lethal means.

He wiped out all the Gang members with thunderous momentum, ensuring the hostages remained completely unharmed, and then slipped away in the chaos.

This combat scene was faithfully captured by the bank's security cameras.

After this incident, Black Wolf left behind the moniker of "Chivalrous Black Wolf" in Jianghu, changing many people's views of him.

Even in the mysterious circle formed by supernatural beings, he was well-respected thanks to this chivalrous loyalty, attracting quite a few capable and unusual people to befriend and work with him.

Yet those who walk often by the river are bound to get their shoes wet.

Due to his overly arrogant style of conduct and causing "adverse effects", he was finally targeted by the Special Investigation Team two years ago.

After several fierce clashes, to evade the close pursuit of the Special Investigation Team, Black Wolf had to abandon the forces and industries he had painstakingly managed, beginning a life of hiding here and there and temporarily vanishing from the public eye.

Until recently, when he heard of the secrets hidden behind the explosion incident at the Xishan archaeological site, he keenly sensed the huge opportunities contained within, and his long-dormant heart was reignited once more.

Relying on his former prestige, he rallied his old subordinates and friends, placing his primary target on that lost Buddhist treasure of nearly two thousand years.

But unexpectedly, this operation was much more difficult than he had imagined; in just a few battles, more than half of the team members were lost, suffering heavy casualties.

This inevitably caused him to lose some of his vigor, no longer as decisive in killing as before.

"Lord Bao."

After a moment of silence, Black Wolf turned his head and looked straight at the fat man:

"You can see the current situation. The attraction of the golden bumpa bottle is beyond imagination, with so many unexpected rivals bursting onto the scene, and everyone is staring at this treasure."

"And because of our previous strategic errors and rash actions, which led to heavy casualties among our brothers, we are actually already considered out of the game."

The fat man called "Lord Bao" twitched the flesh on his face and snorted through his nose:

"This cannot all be blamed on me. The opponents are indeed very strong and use underhanded tricks frequently. It is already not easy for us to hold out until now."

You must know that he was the one who mainly devised the strategies back then, so being pointed out like this by Black Wolf naturally made it hard for him to save face.

Afterwards, he raised his eyes to look at Black Wolf and asked with a bit of unwillingness:

"Old Wolf, you are not going to back out now, are you?"

"For this item, we have all staked our entire lives and fortunes, and even risked being arrested by the Special Investigation Team. To give up so easily makes me a bit unhappy."

"According to my plan, we should at least wait until the end to catch a glimpse of the treasure. Maybe there is a chance to pick up a bargain!"

"Giving up is naturally impossible."

Black Wolf knitted his brows and said in a deep voice:

"The golden bumpa bottle is of great importance. Once missed, it will be hard for us to make a comeback in the future. But with the current situation laid out here, we have to seek another way out."

"Over the past few days, I have thought about it over and over. If we want a share of the pie, sitting and waiting for a pie to fall from the sky definitely will not work. We must take the initiative to have a sliver of a chance."

"The best way is to find a strong reinforcement and fight our way out through a sea of blood once more."

He raised his chin slightly, a gleam of hope shining in his gaze:

"Therefore, I have been paying special attention to someone these past few days who might help us turn the tide."

Hearing this, Lord Bao slightly frowned, his face full of suspicion:

"The person you mentioned—we do not even know his specific background. Is he really that strong?"

"Lord Bao, I think that big brother can really do it."

Xiao Bei, who had been sitting quietly listening on the side, suddenly chimed in:

"Uncle Wolf's leg injury was cured with his help."

Lord Bao's gaze couldn't help but follow Xiao Bei's words and cast toward Black Wolf's right leg.

Seeing this, Black Wolf immediately stood up.

His eyes narrowed, he took a deep breath, his thigh muscles instantly tensed, and then he kicked forward like lightning.

This kick was as fast as a gale, cutting an afterimage through the air and raising a howling wind that directly blew away a stack of uncollected playing cards on the nearby table, scattering them to flutter around without landing for a long time.

Looking at Black Wolf again, he landed steadily on one foot, his figure motionless as if roots had grown under his feet.

This action not only demonstrated his fierce Kicking Techniques and immense strength, but was also the best proof that his physical condition had almost fully recovered.

"That night, we encountered an expert and suffered a huge setback in our operation. After escaping from the manor, I returned to the hotel and happened to run into that young man."

As Black Wolf withdrew his stance, he said:

"My leg injury was severe back then, with bones broken and dislocated, but he fixed it right away. The subsequent healing speed of the wound was several times faster than using medicine, almost catching up to my beast-transformation ability. Is that not miraculous?"

Lord Bao's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help nodding slightly as he listened.

This kind of skill was extraordinary on the battlefield; at critical moments, it could save lives and ensure subsequent combat effectiveness, preventing personnel losses due to injuries.

But turning his thoughts, he shook his head again and curled his lips, saying:

"Having such a special ability to treat injuries is certainly great, but what we lack most right now is solid combat effectiveness."

"With just our few people, if we face a slightly stronger team, following them up is no different from delivering food. Add a support personnel on top of that, and we would have to split our attention to take care of him, making him an extra burden instead."

"Do not underestimate him."

Black Wolf's expression turned stern, and his tone rose a bit:

"A few days ago, when I was tracking Fire Bear's Gang on Miwu Mountain, I ran into him."

"At that time, Fire Bear brought two subordinates, and three people surrounded him with guns, muzzles almost pressed against his face. Yet his expression did not change at all, and before the opponents could shoot, he instantly subdued all those guys and beat them unconscious to the ground."

"The entire process took less than a second. Even though the two sides were separated by just a short distance of a few meters, not even bullets could hit him."

"Lord Bao, how many times have you seen such martial prowess and speed?"

Hearing this, the fat on Lord Bao's face twitched again, and he sucked in a cold breath.

He had fought Fire Bear before and knew how capable he was; anyway, in a one-on-one fight, it was absolutely impossible to easily subdue him.

That person was actually able to take down Fire Bear and his Gang within a second. This gap in strength was even greater than an adult beating a child; it was simply a crushing dominance.

If he went up himself, he would probably only end up getting beaten. Even after Black Wolf transformed and fought with all his might, he might not necessarily win.

Xiao Bei listened from the side, a look of awe in his eyes, and couldn't help muttering:

"No wonder when I pointed a gun at him, he was not flustered at all. The composure revealed in his eyes is something I still remember to this day."

"At that time, I was a bit flustered inside, wondering why this guy was so composed. Now it seems he really has genuine skills."

Thinking that he actually dared to confront such a top expert, Xiao Bei became more and more excited as he spoke, the look of anticipation in his eyes growing brighter:

"Uncle, if that big brother is willing to help, can we turn defeat into victory?"

Black Wolf looked at the naive Xiao Bei, smiled softly, and then looked at his partner sitting opposite:

"There is also the most important point: the time left for us is running out."

"According to the information received, February 25th is most likely the time when the golden bumpa bottle will be sent to the auction. By then, people from the International Shadow Auction will come to take over. Unless someone intends to go head-to-head and have a direct conflict with them, everyone can only give up."

Speaking of this, Black Wolf's gaze suddenly became fierce, his pupils faintly flashing with a dark green light.

"Therefore, either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we must make a choice: either get completely knocked out and admit defeat dejectedly, or take another risky gamble to snatch the golden bumpa bottle before the auction."

After listening to Black Wolf's analysis, Lord Bao sighed softly, leaned his fat body backward, and reclined against the sofa.

Tapping his fingers on the armrest and pondering for a long time, he finally nodded and said:

"Fine, I will trust you this once and am willing to take this risk with you."

"But having said that, how do you plan to persuade such an expert? Maybe he is already a member of some team and looks down on us entirely."

With a hint of confidence on his face, Black Wolf explained unhurriedly:

"According to my secret observations over the past two days and the customer information learned from the front desk, he should just be a tourist here on vacation, somewhat curious about Miwu Mountain, but has not truly gotten involved in it."

"Anyway, let us contact and probe him first; there is ultimately no harm in that."

Lord Bao straightened his body and then raised a key question:

"How do you plan to discuss the distribution of benefits with him? Matters like this must be made clear in advance, otherwise, internal conflict will be troublesome later."

Black Wolf did not answer immediately, but instead stood up, walked slowly to the window, and looked out at the pitch-black night outside.

The city's lights flickered in the distance, just like their drifting and uncertain fate at this moment.

After a moment, he spoke with a firm tone:

"I believe that for an expert like him, as long as the benefits we offer are tempting enough, he will not fail to be moved. After all, in this world, no one goes against profits."

"Besides—"

Black Wolf paused, a unique gleam flashing in his eyes, and then continued:

"A wolf pack searching for companions is not only for the pursuit of power and food, but also guided by a destined affinity. I have a spiritual hunch that he is an alpha wolf worth following and trusting to lead us out of trouble."

Hearing this, Lord Bao and Xiao Bei were both stunned, not knowing what he meant.

Black Wolf didn't speak again, just quietly gazing out the window.

His gaze penetrated the deep night curtain, seeming to see the figure that he pinned high hopes on.

...

The morning light was faint.

Thin mist flowed slowly through the woods like a light veil, adding a hazy beauty to this tranquil world.

Faint chanting drifted from a distant temple, resembling Sanskrit sounds from a remote wonderland, further accentuating the quiet and serene atmosphere.

Fang Cheng sat upright in the center of the woods like a hermit independent of the world, atop a huge boulder smoothed and polished by the years.

His upper body was straight, his legs crossed, and his hands rested naturally on his knees with palms facing upward.

As if learning from those monks, he also conducted his own "morning class" with a pious posture, welcoming the vigorously surging vitality among the mountain forests.

His eyes were closed lightly, and his face was calm like a deep lake without ripples, completely isolating the outside hustle and bustle and disturbance.

At the same time, the crisp air in the woods was filled with the fragrance of vegetation and the fresh scent of soil.

Along with his breath, wisps seeped into his pores, resembling a gentle baptism.

Every inhalation was a deep integration with nature.

Every exhalation expelled worldly distractions out of the body, making his body and mind increasingly clear and ethereal.

Time seemed to stand still here, with only the dappled light and shadow filtering through the branches and leaves quietly shifting across his body.

After a long while, Fang Cheng's thick eyelashes trembled and he slowly opened his eyes.

Between the opening and closing of his eyes, starlight seemed to flash by, appearing exceptionally bright and spirited.

Right in front of him, a light blue light screen floated in the air.

[ Meditation EXP + 10 ]

[ Qigong EXP + 6 ]

[ Meditation Lv1 (153 / 250) ]

[ Qigong Lv1 (209 / 250) ]

Fang Cheng's mouth curved up slightly, whispering to himself:

"It seems my idea is largely correct; the cultivation effect is indeed better than before."