157: Chapter 157 The Old Leader's Curse

Lin Ning stood in front of the mirror, stunned.

A black tactical uniform for special police forces wrapped around his entire body. The sharp tailoring pulled the shoulder lines straight and high, cinched the waist into a lean, athletic shape, and tucked the pant legs into his tactical boots.

The person in the mirror perfectly embodied what it meant to have a wasp waist, broad shoulders, and long legs.

The murderous aura of the combat uniform, combined with Lin Ning's buzz cut and his unruly, sharp features, exuded a fierce intensity.

He turned to the side and saw the reflective strips on his back and the golden lettering on his arm patch. He raised his arm, the fabric of the uniform tightening with the movement, revealing the faint muscle definition of his forearm.

He hadn't put on the mask or gloves yet, but just wearing this outfit, Lin Ning already felt—

Holy crap.

It looked insanely cool.

He couldn't help but lean in closer, staring at himself in the mirror, his mouth slowly curling into a grin.

Then he started spinning around.

Turning left, turning right, turning sideways, hands on his hips, arms crossed, one hand in his pocket, one hand touching his chin.

He tried every pose.

Finally, he pulled out his phone and took three pictures in the mirror.

He changed angles and took three more.

Horizontal shots, vertical shots, full-body, half-body, side profile.

After he finished, he flipped through the album, looking at those dozen photos, enjoying himself.

"Are you done yet?" Chen Zhi's voice came from the doorway. "It's been ten minutes just to change clothes."

Lin Ning didn't even turn his head: "Right away, right away."

He put on the mask, leaving only his eyes exposed, and then put on his black tactical gloves, clenching his fists to feel the leather conforming to his palms.

Then he turned and went out, looking at Chen Zhi.

"How is it?" Lin Ning's voice came from behind the mask, muffled but unable to hide his pride.

Chen Zhi paused.

At 187 centimeters tall, with a lean, wiry build, long legs, and a straight waist, he could easily pass for a member of the honor guard. It was just a pity that only his eyes were visible—those eyes were currently filled with an obviously smug, punchable look, lacking any sense of composure.

Chen Zhi looked at him for three seconds.

Then, expressionless, he turned around: "Let's go."

Lin Ning followed, took two steps, and couldn't help but look down at his boots again, feeling incredibly pleased with himself.

Even if netizens were envious, they could only buy a knockoff online to satisfy their cravings, but he! He had the authentic gear!

Chen Zhi walked in front, hearing the sleazy "hehe" sounds coming from behind him, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

The car drove for over an hour, leaving the city center and heading toward the suburbs.

Chen Zhi sat in the back seat, closing his eyes to rest.

Lin Ning sat in the passenger seat, wearing his mask, looking out the window.

The car drove into Xiong County, slowly decelerated, and stopped at a massive convention complex.

"Is this the training base?" Lin Ning was a bit confused; he had thought it would be in a more spacious area in the suburbs or something.

"There's a foreign-related conference event here. We'll meet up with Director Li first; he's also going to the training base."

Lin Ning nodded.

The car stopped in front of a convention center.

The building was grand, with a line of black sedans parked at the entrance, Armed Police standing guard, and heavy security.

Chen Zhi got out of the car, and Lin Ning followed behind him.

Wearing his combat uniform and mask, he stood out significantly among the crowd of people in casual clothes. But he didn't feel uncomfortable—on the contrary, he felt even more smug, walking with a swagger.

Inside the venue, it was even larger.

High vaulted ceilings, huge display screens, rows of seats, staff members bustling about—some were testing the sound system, some were checking the lights, and some were standing on the stage gesturing.

Chen Zhi glanced around and walked toward a corner.

Director Li was standing there, listening to two men in casual clothes reporting something.

Lin Ning followed Chen Zhi over and stood one step behind him, like a qualified bodyguard.

Director Li looked up, glanced at Chen Zhi, and then swept his gaze over Lin Ning behind him.

Lin Ning was wearing his mask, revealing only his eyes.

Those eyes were currently looking around, scanning every person in the venue.

Then, Lin Ning's gaze locked onto something.

A few people were standing against the wall, talking in low voices.

Among them were a thin, tall middle-aged man in a suit, a slightly chubby old man in an administrative jacket, and a middle-aged woman in a shirt and dress pants.

Above the three people's heads—red light flickered, containing a faint golden halo.

Lin Ning squinted, looking closely.

But at the very moment he focused his gaze—

The golden light, like a candle flame extinguished by the wind, suddenly vanished.

The three clusters of light turned a pure red.

Deep red [Ma Lin, State Official]

Deep red [Zhao Zhifeng, State Official]

Deep red [Li Aiqin, State Official]

Lin Ning was stunned.

What did this mean?

Before he could think it through, Director Li had finished talking with Chen Zhi, and the two turned to walk to the other end of the venue.

Lin Ning followed, and as he passed the three people, he swept a glance at them again.

Pure red.

The gold from earlier seemed as if it had never appeared.

He frowned.

After walking some distance, while Director Li and Chen Zhi stopped and pointed toward a certain direction in the venue, Lin Ning stepped forward and lowered his voice:

"Brother Chen, those three people over there have a problem."

Chen Zhi turned his head: "Which three?"

Lin Ning pointed with his chin: "The tall, thin guy in the suit, the chubby old man in the jacket, and that woman in the white shirt."

Chen Zhi: "..."

Director Li also heard him.

The corner of his eye twitched.

Then he looked toward the three people, his gaze lingering for two seconds on the direction Lin Ning had pointed, before withdrawing it and looking at Lin Ning.

Lin Ning was wearing a mask, so his expression couldn't be seen, but his eyes were very calm, as if he had just said, "The weather is nice today."

Director Li, however, felt a strange sense of trepidation.

He had seen many capable people. In the Ministry of State Security system, there were all kinds of freaks, but their abilities were always traceable—analytical skills, observational skills, reasoning skills, intelligence networks.

But this Lin Ning in front of him had just taken a glance and pointed out three people.

No names asked, no identities checked, no files reviewed, no investigations done.

Just one look.

He had seen Lin Ning acting shamelessly, and he had seen him use his super "metaphysical" critical hit to knock people unconscious, but as for his ability to identify "suspects," he had only heard rumors; today was the first time he had seen it with his own eyes.

After seeing his "ability" to just take one look with his own eyes...

Hiss~ Previously, he was just worried that Lin Ning appearing in front of leaders would be "impolite."

Now—Lin Ning was appearing at a venue full of big shots, and then pointing at the crowd: this one, this one, and that one...

Director Li pictured that scene in his mind.

It was too beautiful.

Too beautiful for him to even imagine.

He suddenly thought of when he was young.

Back then, he dared to investigate anyone, dared to suspect anyone. His old leader had been so angry that he clutched his heart and pointed at him, saying: "You are not a bandit now! The Ministry of State Security today is not the Special Branch of the past! Investigating privately without applying for permission, suspecting leaders without evidence—do you know what kind of behavior this is?"

He had been full of defiance at the time.

His job was to suspect everything. If there was a problem, investigate; if there wasn't, rule out the suspicion. You couldn't just assume someone was a good person because they held a high rank, right?

The old leader had looked at his dismissive expression, clutched his heart, and said: "When you become a leader in the future and have a subordinate like you, you'll know what it means to suffer!"

Director Li thought of these words now, and a chill suddenly ran down his back.

The old leader wouldn't have gone to complain to the King of Hell about him, would he?

Was this curse finally coming true?