336: Chapter 336 The Right to Choose

Han Jingyang and Shi Xiaoya both turned their heads to stare at the roller shutter door, which was locked from the inside.

Hearing the creaking sound coming from the gap in the door, they couldn't help but glance at each other again.

A thief?

It wasn't even twelve o'clock yet.

And committing a theft in a place like Yingxiong Mountain, which was covered in surveillance cameras? They must be out of their mind.

Moreover, the Yingxiong Mountain Antique Market didn't just have surveillance; there were patrolling security guards and a nearby police station. Every antique shop was equipped with alarm systems. Once there was an abnormality, the alarm would automatically trigger, and it was connected to both the security office and the police station. As soon as the alarm here went off, they would receive the message immediately.

It couldn't be helped; these antique shops were quite valuable. To say the least, the inventory in any shop started at five million yuan, and those with a bit of scale and reputation were worth over ten million.

With so many assets, how could they not take any precautions?

Some antique shops even specifically hired security personnel to work the night shift in the store.

Besides, people who could afford to open a shop weren't ordinary; they either had money or connections, and most of them had rough backgrounds and were not to be trifled with. They were the kind of existence that petty thieves needed to bypass; stealing from these antique shops was equivalent to looking for trouble.

So, over the years, while there were many pickpockets in the Yingxiong Mountain Antique Market who would dip into pockets when the crowds were thick, no one had dared to target the antique shops themselves.

If it wasn't a common thief, then it was a master burglar.

Han Jingyang squeezed Shi Xiaoya's palm.

Shi Xiaoya understood immediately. She slowly drew her katana and stood guard silently at the shop entrance.

Ten seconds later, the roller shutter door was pulled open bit by bit, and a metal canister rolled in through the gap, beginning to hiss and emit smoke.

A smoke grenade?

Or tear gas?

Professional enough!

Ordinary people would definitely be in trouble if they encountered this.

Moreover, ordinary thieves couldn't get their hands on such things, nor would they dare to touch them.

So, who had come?

Han Jingyang's expression gradually turned cold, but he didn't move. He just sat on the sofa, staring at the movement at the door.

Shi Xiaoya was also momentarily stunned when she saw the hissing metal canister, but she immediately kicked it out. Then, she slashed twice toward the widening gap in the door and followed up by bending low and slipping outside, showing extreme agility.

Han Jingyang continued to stare outside with a cold face, but it was pitch black and he couldn't see anything; he could only hear the clanging sounds of impact.

Soon, Shi Xiaoya returned holding her katana: "Hubby, it's handled. He was an expert with quite complete equipment, but his weapon wasn't as good as mine. After a few strikes, only the hilt was left, and then..."

"Committed suicide?"

"Yeah. I wanted to capture him alive and had my blade at his throat, but he lunged forward himself and slit his own neck."

"Don't worry about it. Just report it to the authorities."

"Do you want to investigate?"

"No need. There are only a few people who have a grudge against us, and even fewer who can afford to keep this kind of death soldier. No need to check."

"Zhang Dahai?"

"Yeah. There's something in the shop that Zhang Dahai wants. It couldn't be anyone else."

"Should we give that Zhang guy a lesson?"

Han Jingyang thought for a moment and shook his head: "Let's put it aside for now. We'll play with him slowly once we've finished the matters at hand."

Zhang Dahai didn't want to blow things up yet because there were more important things to do.

Coincidentally, he also needed some time to tie up the loose ends of previous events.

When he had his hands free, he would wrestle with Zhang Dahai and properly measure the weight of this underground boss of Quancheng.

If they could negotiate peace, they would; if not, they would each rely on their own abilities.

He wasn't the same person he was when he first started out.

When he first started, he understood nothing and was quite sensitive. When He Dingkun bared his fangs, he directly went for the kill because he didn't dare to engage in a back-and-forth, fearing he couldn't withstand the pressure from a big shot of He Dingkun's level. Striking first was the only way.

But now it was different. Although not much time had passed since his debut, his strength had improved by leaps and bounds. He had a deeper understanding of the underworld and metaphysics, and he had the confidence to go toe-to-toe with someone like Zhang Dahai.

With strength comes confidence, and only then do you have more options.

Han Jingyang now had that right to choose. Facing Zhang Dahai, who was stronger than He Dingkun, he didn't feel the slightest bit of fear. He held absolute initiative; he could fight if he wanted to, or delay if he didn't.

Of course, his main idea was to figure out Zhang Dahai's background.

Because he had discovered that scavenging for goods on the streets in a conventional way yielded very little.

In contrast, killing and looting yielded enormous gains. Most of the treasures in his hands were spoils of war from major battles. Every time he eliminated a powerful enemy, he could obtain a considerable number of powerful items. Time and again, without exception.

The reason was easy to understand. Although his enemies didn't have cheats, they weren't ordinary people either. The items they used and collected were carefully selected, and many were directly dharma instruments, equivalent to being pre-screened. It saved him the trouble of searching through junk.

In other words, he didn't want to do business at a loss, nor did he want to fight a losing battle. Against Zhang Dahai, killing wasn't the goal; being able to obtain more spoils after killing Zhang Dahai was the objective.

Under these circumstances, he naturally had to plan carefully and couldn't just rush in and kill blindly.

Dealing with the He family was a typical example. He had brought down the He family and the Dingshen Group, but he himself hadn't gained much benefit from He Dingkun and the Dingshen Group. On the contrary, the cost was extremely high; the first appearance of the Great Emperor Zhenwu was expended at the Dingshen Group headquarters building.

Calculating carefully, he had actually lost money dealing with He Dingkun.

It was the most unprofitable battle he had fought since his debut.

Now facing Zhang Dahai, he naturally had to learn his lesson and not repeat the same mistakes.

To survive in the underworld, you not only need to be able to fight but also have brains.

This was the valuable experience he had summarized during this period. Especially in the battle for Huang Jianyong's treasure in Xipo Village, he had used a small trick to go with the flow and reap the benefits of a third party, obtaining very high returns with almost no cost.

While Han Jingyang and Shi Xiaoya were talking, someone arrived at the scene to take away the body of the lock-picker.

To be precise, it was two halves of a body.

Shi Xiaoya's katana was simply too sharp; it could even cut through steel weapons, let alone a human body.

Around twelve o'clock, the power was restored.

Han Jingyang continued to inventory the gains from Shenzhuang Village.

Shi Xiaoya leaned toward the oil painting brought back from Doudou's house: "Hubby, what should we do with this oil painting?"

What to do with it?

Han Jingyang reached out to touch the frame, and a system prompt appeared.

This made him very conflicted.

Because he didn't want this thing. It was too evil. Whenever he saw this painting and the woman in it, he would think of the women imprisoned and refined by Lyu Zhiqiang; those scenes were truly too tragic.

But the quality of this thing wasn't bad, because the owner of this painting was Sun Qian, it was Doudou, and it was the controller for the strongest weapon in Lyu Zhiqiang's plan.

After appraisal, the grade and attributes would definitely be very good.

It was a good item.

But he didn't want it; he didn't want to see the woman in the painting.

What should he do?

Shi Xiaoya thought for a moment: "How about we fix it up and give it back to Doudou? Let Old Wang bleed a little."