517: Chapter 517 Black Shark's Trump Card: The Hunt

"What's going on?"

The voice from the earpiece asked in confusion.

Ghost Sickle pressed close to the deep shadows of the seventh-floor corridor, his fingers lightly pressing against his earpiece.

His gaze pierced through the broken gap in the window frame, intently staring at the scene downstairs.

That young man was sitting in the Driving seat, seemingly searching for something with slightly hurried movements, and did not start the vehicle immediately.

"The target person's description varies greatly from the intelligence report."

Ghost Sickle paused, his voice lowered to an extreme degree, revealing undisguised confusion:

"The data says he is a sturdily built youth with a rigid demeanor, but the person I just saw has skin as white as a freshly peeled egg, wearing gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, and is outrageously refined—he looks even more like a pretty boy than the idol stars on television."

"Most importantly, he is very likely a member of the Special Investigation Team."

"Special Investigation Team?"

On the other end of the earpiece, Night Owl's voice suddenly rose by a few notches, mixed with astonishment:

"How could he be a member of the Special Investigation Team? Do you have exact evidence?"

"I almost bumped into him in the corridor just now, and saw with my own eyes a document fall from his hand. Although it was just a corner, I would never mistake that red shield and sword official seal."

Ghost Sickle narrowed his eyes, recalling every single detail from just now:

"Furthermore, when he went downstairs, his expression was anxious, and he was still muttering to himself, saying something about Director Ling wanting to summon him and that it would be hard to explain if he was late."

"Ling Shaofeng?!"

Night Owl gasped, appearing even more surprised:

"That mad dog-like fellow? This kid can actually get involved with him?"

After a brief silence, Night Owl's tone turned suspicious:

"Could it be a forged document? Perhaps he got information about us from Xuanzhen, knowing we would come for revenge, so he deliberately used the name of the Special Investigation Team to set a trap?"

"I also suspected it was a trap."

Ghost Sickle sneered, his line of sight shifting along with the constantly flashing reversing light downstairs.

"But only you and I knew about this operation, and even the departure time was decided temporarily."

"Unless he can foresee the future, calculated that I would appear in the staircase at this exact moment, and could also accurately recognize my identity."

"That probability is even lower than him being a humanoid dinosaur."

"And..."

Ghost Sickle recalled the moment that finger pierced out, a sharp light flashing in his eyes:

"He doesn't look like a combatant at all."

"Why?"

"Just now in the corridor, I deliberately ambushed him from behind and suddenly made a move to test him."

Ghost Sickle looked at his fingertips, his tone carrying a bit of incomprehension:

"My fingers were only two millimeters away from his eyeballs. In that situation, even a trained elite member of the Special Investigation Team would instinctively contract their pupils and tense their muscles instantly, but he didn't."

"No reaction at all?"

"Right, as dull as a block of wood."

Ghost Sickle said in a determined tone:

"I don't believe anyone facing my fatal attack can hold back their instinctive urge to resist and behave so calmly."

"Combined with his frail, pretty-boy appearance, if he really is a member of the Special Investigation Team, he is probably just a civilian personnel responsible for organizing data."

On the other end of the earpiece, after listening, Night Owl also fell into the same deep confusion as his companion.

As if encountering some peerless difficult problem during student days, unable to figure it out no matter how hard he thought.

"The skin color is wrong, the temperament is wrong, the strength is also wrong..."

Night Owl muttered to himself:

"Could the organization have made a mistake? But with that lord's discernment, it is absolutely impossible to misidentify the target's appearance. Even if the other party has the ability of disguise and makeup, they cannot escape his Dharma Eye."

"Or could it be... that the target person has already been recruited by the Special Investigation Team?"

Speaking of this, there was a trace of dread in Night Owl's voice:

"Now is a sensitive time for the situation. If we kill the wrong person and provoke the Xia State officialdom at this juncture, destroying mutual relations..."

"That fellow surnamed Ling will definitely retaliate against us like a mad dog, and when that lord places the blame..."

The earpiece fell into a brief silence.

Only the subtle rustling sound of electric current indicated the entanglement on the other end of the call.

"Buzz—"

A low hum of an engine came from downstairs.

That black SUV had already started, slowly backing out of the parking space.

However, the road conditions of Jiuchang Street were simply too poor.

The narrow alleys were crammed full of illegally parked tricycles and road-occupying barbecue stalls.

Fang Cheng, sitting in the Driving seat, had to patiently move the car bit by bit through the crowded crowd.

The red brake lights reflected on the mottled walls, flickering on and off.

Pedestrians squeezed past right next to the car body, and children who had just finished dinner slapped the hood of the car, laughing and running away.

This slow Driving speed also gave the observer upstairs ample time to think.

"He's leaving."

Ghost Sickle watched those red taillights inching toward the street intersection, red light also flashing in his eyes:

"Do we still need to continue hunting?"

Night Owl was silent for a few seconds and finally made a decision:

"Follow the target first!"

His tone once again became calm and decisive:

"Although this person's profile shows he is just an ordinary person, his recent whereabouts are too suspicious. He has been to Tiannan Province, and happened to return to Dongdu at this time point."

"Moreover, according to the police-sealed archives I just retrieved, this person has some connection with our organization. The person who killed Xuanzhen and disrupted our plan has the highest suspicion falling on him."

Night Owl's voice exuded a fierce ruthlessness:

"The superiors instructed that the focus is not simply revenge, but finding out whether there are other mice hiding behind this mouse, and what exactly that fellow Xuanzhen leaked before his death."

"We must eliminate all hidden dangers that might affect the organization's plan, understand?"

"Understood."

Ghost Sickle curved the corner of his mouth into an arc, replying coldly:

"Rather kill by mistake than let anyone go—I've done this kind of mission many times, I guarantee to handle it cleanly without leaving any traces."

At this time, the black SUV finally squeezed past the last tricycle, turned its front, and accelerated out of the dim streetlamp range of Jiuchang Street.

"Be careful. Since the killer could kill that old ghost Xuanzhen, he definitely has some skills."

"And if this young man really is a member of the Special Investigation Team, who knows, an accident might happen tonight."

Out of caution, Night Owl reminded his companion once again.

"Rest assured."

Ghost Sickle smiled contemptuously:

"I am one of Black Shark's top three aces. As long as preparations are made in advance, even an SSS-grade captain wouldn't dare say they can steadily win against me."

"Even if someone from the Special Investigation Team sets a trap against me, it would take a special-class investigator to be qualified. Sending some small fry isn't even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth."

These words were not bragging, but represented sufficient self-confidence.

After speaking, he hung up the earpiece, turned around, and walked to the previous corner.

Casually, he pried off the small piece of clay disguised as wall skin and threw it into his toolbox.

"What a waste of effort."

He shook his head, seeming to feel regret for not being able to appreciate a grand explosion art.

But it didn't matter anymore.

Since the prey ran out of the cage itself, let's solve it on a broader stage outside.

Ghost Sickle's figure flickered, directly vaulting over the seventh-floor handrail.

Like a black bat, he dropped vertically along the narrow skylight in the center of the stairs.

The dim floors flashed backward rapidly before his eyes.

Slap.

His toes touched the ground, knees slightly bent, unloading the last trace of the downward momentum.

Landing on the first-floor cement ground, his body was as light as a falling leaf, not even kicking up a bit of dust.

Ghost Sickle adjusted the strap of the toolbox on his shoulder, raised his foot and walked toward the unit door, his figure quickly disappearing into the dark night.

...

At the exit of Jiuchang Street.

A black SUV was parked on the roadside, its engine humming lowly, waiting for a gap in the traffic flow to merge into the main road.

Fang Cheng held the steering wheel with one hand, the other naturally resting on the car window edge, his fingers tapping rhythmically.

"President, the suspect target has followed."

In the earpiece, Monkey's voice came clearly, his speaking speed extremely fast and professional:

"It's a silver-gray old-model Jetta, a cloned license plate car, right behind you on the left at about fifty meters."

"This person's Driving skills are very superb. He has been using other vehicles and pedestrians as cover, staying at the edge of your blind spot and biting tightly."

"As expected, he's not that easy to fool."

Fang Cheng glanced at the rearview mirror, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, but his eyes were ice-cold.

"President, should we make a move now?"

Dachui's rough voice cut in, eager to try: "With the abilities of us few, I guarantee he won't be able to fly away."

"No need."

Fang Cheng flatly rejected, his voice calm:

"This play has already succeeded half way. Since the other party won't give up, let him follow over."

"You two stay in Jiuchang Street, continue to monitor here, and observe if there are other suspicious personnel approaching. Make sure to ensure the safety of the Tubular Building."

"Yes, President!"

After cutting off the communication, a gap happened to appear in the road conditions ahead.

Fang Cheng lightly tapped the accelerator.

The black SUV, like a swimming fish, slid into the congested traffic flow of the city's evening rush hour.

Outside the window, neon lights flickered, and the glass curtain walls of high-rise buildings reflected flowing light and shadow.

On the huge LED screen of the commercial district, fashion ads were playing, and fashionable men and women hurried across the crosswalk.

This was a modern metropolis full of desires and vitality, noisy enough to cover up all undercurrents.

Fang Cheng drove sometimes fast and sometimes slow, always maintaining a rhythm of "although there is an urgent matter, it is restricted by road conditions."

This elusive sense of distance was both a psychological torture and a temptation that must be bitten onto for the pursuer behind.

Twenty minutes later.

The black SUV slowly stopped in front of a luxuriously decorated five-star hotel.

The security here was strict, the entrance was filled with luxury cars, and the revolving door reflected brilliant lights.

Fang Cheng didn't get out of the car, but lowered the window, took out his phone, and dialed a number.

His brows were locked tightly, his fingers anxiously drumming on the steering wheel, speaking a few words to the other end of the phone.

His expression appeared quite eager, glancing at the watch on his wrist from time to time.

In the distance, inside the silver-gray Jetta parked in the shadows.

Ghost Sickle turned off the headlights, lowered his body, chewing gum that had long lost its sweetness in his mouth.

Like a dormant venomous snake, he stared fixedly ahead through the tinted car windows.

A moment later, the hotel's revolving door rotated.

Two men in black suits and solemn expressions walked out quickly, coming straight to Fang Cheng's car side.

"Hello, are you Specialist Fang? Please show your credentials."

One of them asked tentatively.

"It's me."

Fang Cheng pushed the door open and got out, with a bit of apology and vexation on his face, quickly taking out a dark blue credential from his pocket and handing it over.

The lights of vehicles passing by on the roadside happened to sweep across here.

The golden shield and sharp sword emblem on the cover of that credential faintly refracted a beam of light in the night.

Ghost Sickle, secretly observing, instantly contracted his pupils slightly.

Even across a distance of tens of meters, with his eyesight, he could still clearly see that special emblem symbolizing power and violence.

"It seems he is indeed a member of the Special Investigation Team without a doubt."

Ghost Sickle pressed his earpiece, a bit more solemnity in his voice:

"Even the credentials match. Where on earth did the Special Investigation Team find out our secret? Is there really a mole? Or did they see through the clues during our cooperation?"

Over there, Fang Cheng had already taken back his credentials, his tone a bit hurried:

"Is Director Ling still upstairs? I just finished my report on the recent intelligence analysis, but a few pages of it were accidentally left at home, so I just went back to get them."

"Director Ling just left; headquarters has an urgent matter that requires him to handle it personally."

That Man in Black glanced at the document in Fang Cheng's hand and lowered his voice to say:

"Director Ling instructed that you should bring the complete report and go directly to headquarters to find him tomorrow."

Although Ghost Sickle was not a mental ability user, under the blessing of physical enhancement, his hearing far exceeded ordinary people.

This distance of tens of meters was as clear as whispering in his ears to him.

At this time, that Man in Black looked around again, leaned forward, and said solemnly:

"There is one more thing that the Director specifically instructed me to pass on to Specialist Fang."

"The person in charge of the operation in Tiannan Province has also returned to Dongdu. The Director said you are familiar with him. Regarding the situation there, you need to go make contact with him tonight to handle subsequent matters."

As he spoke, he handed over a slip of paper and passed it in front of Fang Cheng.

"Alright, I understand."

Fang Cheng reached out to take it, nodded, and his expression turned solemn: "I'll go over right away."

Hearing this, Ghost Sickle, hiding in the car, instantly brightened his eyes.

"Night Owl, the situation has changed."

"Just now during the contact, the other party talked about having a connection with the person in charge of the operation in Tiannan Province. That target is now going over to make contact."

On the other end of the earpiece, Night Owl's breathing suddenly became heavy.

"It seems the target we are tracking is not wrong, it's just that there was a minor error in the details."

Night Owl quickly strung together all the information, his tone slightly excited:

"Ghost Sickle, do you know what I just found in the archival records?"

"What?"

"This target person named Fang Cheng actually has a direct bloodline relationship with Fang Shijie, an old member of Utopia."

"And that person was originally involved in the Guangwumen Shooting Incident, being one of those defectors who betrayed the organization!"

"You mean..."

The red light in Ghost Sickle's eyes flourished greatly.

"Continue to follow!"

Night Owl's voice exuded an uncontrollable excitement:

"Regardless of whether he is a member of the Special Investigation Team or not, we must investigate this matter clearly. Perhaps we will discover an extraordinary matter, a heaven-shaking big secret!"

"If we can smoothly obtain this secret, we will definitely receive the favor of that lord, not only improving our status in the organization, but perhaps also gaining unimaginable Opportunity to make a Breakthrough in our current Realm."

"Received."

Ghost Sickle licked his somewhat dry lips. Besides killing intent, there was a flame named "ambition" in his eyes.

Ahead, Fang Cheng had already waved goodbye to the two Men in Black and crawled back into the driver's cab.

The black SUV started, this time its speed noticeably faster, speeding straight towards the direction of the city's outer ring.

The bustling street view began to rapidly retreat.

The brilliant neon lights gradually thinned out, replaced by dim streetlights and increasingly desolate scenery on both sides.

The wheels rolled over bumpy roads, and the sense of bumping grew stronger and stronger.

About half an hour later.

High-rise buildings could no longer be seen around, only large patches of wasteland fenced in by walls.

This was the unfinished building area in the eastern suburbs.

A few years ago, a certain real estate giant exploded its thunder, its capital chain broke, leaving a huge scar on this city.

More than a dozen high-rise buildings that had only built concrete frames stood like giant skeletons stripped of flesh and blood in the darkness overgrown with weeds, exuding an atmosphere of deathly stillness.

The night wind blew through the hollow floors, making a wailing sound similar to ghosts crying and wolves howling.

In the distance, there was only a solitary television signal tower.

The red aviation obstruction light at the top flashed rhythmically, like the single eye of a demon blinking, gazing at this desolate land.

(End of chapter)