Chapter 80: Aftermath

Tanya exchanged a few brief words with the newly arrived police officer, but due to the distance, Chu Ning couldn’t make out what they said. He stood silently, watching their every move, ready to react at a moment’s notice if anything seemed amiss.

But reality gave him no such opportunity. He saw the officer hurry off in the same direction as the previous policeman, leaving behind only a solitary figure. Chu Ning didn’t even have time to get a good look, let alone undergo the usual questioning. That step was simply skipped.

“So, what did you tell him?” Chu Ning asked, genuinely curious about Tanya’s approach. Could it really be that she had surpassed her teacher after just a simple demonstration, mustering the courage to face the police on her own? Chu Ning found that hard to believe, given her usual character. To borrow a phrase from his other self, this was simply unscientific!

More likely, Chu Ning thought, she had used a clever trick, finding a way to cope with strangers—especially those with authority and a special status. Tanya smiled cheerfully, hands behind her back, staring at Chu Ning with a mischievous glint. She gave him the answer he hated most, the one that always made him want to strangle her: “Guess.”

No matter how Chu Ning tried—threats, bribes, anything—Tanya remained silent. He gave up; after all, it wasn’t something he needed to know, and he wasn’t about to waste his energy on it.

Behind her back, Tanya quietly made a “scissors” gesture. In truth, she hadn’t done anything special. Lying to professionals was like dancing on a knife’s edge, and she was no good at deception. She had simply told the officer that a colleague had gone ahead to the explosion site, and immediately witnessed the age-old art of “changing face.”

The officer’s expression darkened in an instant, his speech grew urgent, and everything he said was laced with hints about his colleague—the one Tanya had seen earlier. But without concrete evidence, he couldn’t say anything outright, lest he cause more panic.

That was all there was to it. Tanya had successfully shifted their attention elsewhere, making them secondary targets and effectively overlooked. She realized it wasn’t as difficult as she’d imagined; success was the best catalyst for confidence.

Chu Ning looked toward the site of the explosion, where thick white smoke billowed into the sky. At last, his anxious heart was at ease.

Given the intensity of the blaze, even Chu Ning couldn’t guarantee his own safety, let alone that of tiny insects.

“Do you think the bugs in the villa could escape?” Tanya asked suddenly, knowing all too well how troublesome they could be.

“They shouldn’t be able to!” Chu Ning replied curtly, declining to elaborate. If the bugs could survive by their own means, then there was nothing he could do to stop them.

He knew his own limits well and would never overreach.

“Stop worrying about things that don’t matter. We’re the bad guys—we don’t need so many concerns. Relax!” Chu Ning was pondering how to reach the abandoned factory. The map showed it was in a remote location, the kind most people would refuse to visit. Isolation meant frequent accidents, and no one wanted to take that risk.

If they had enough money, maybe they could make anything happen. When it came to chasing profit, there wasn’t much difference between races. Not only would someone take them to a remote place, but even more outrageous things could be done for the right price.

Tanya had already proven this point!

There would always be people with a conscience, but with a large enough population, lunatics multiplied as well. Someone would always be willing to take a gamble for money, no matter the risk.

As they fretted over transportation, an incident seemed to be unfolding near Wang Jinkai’s house. Two groups faced off, tension high, amidst the ruins left by the blaze—a scene reminiscent of a battlefield.

Ye Hui stood in black attire, holding a black umbrella, silent before the wreckage. He stared at the charred house, the fire had burned with unimaginable speed.

By the time they arrived, the villa was beyond salvation. Fortunately, the flames hadn’t spread further, thanks to the sparse buildings in this area—not like the densely packed apartments elsewhere.

Upon learning that the house’s owner was already dead—that it was nothing more than an empty shell—Ye Hui was relieved that there were no casualties. The loss of the villa was inconsequential; no one was left to inherit it anyway.

If some greedy fool wanted to risk their life for money, then Wang Jinkai’s crimes would need serious scrutiny.

Ye Hui never expected Wang Jinkai to call and turn himself in. When they finally reached the scene, all that remained was a villa burnt to ashes.

No useful clues had been left behind, leaving Ye Hui at a loss for words. The possibility that Wang Jinkai had deliberately lured them here was slim. Ye Hui opened his notebook, the one that tracked life and death, and entered Wang Jinkai’s name.

After about a minute, the notebook automatically displayed Wang Jinkai’s file: it showed he had died long ago.

Ye Hui drew a sharp breath—walk the night road long enough, and you’ll meet a ghost.

He was certain that Wang Jinkai had become some kind of supernatural being, though the exact type would require a firsthand encounter to determine.

The notebook could only distinguish between living and dead, nothing more. If every underworld employee had a notebook that revealed detailed statuses, it would invite disaster. Too many would be tempted to take risks, causing irreparable harm to the underworld.

Ye Hui frowned, puzzled as to why Wang Jinkai had called them to witness a pile of ruins. Had they simply arrived too late, missing even the enemy’s tail lights? When Ye Hui received Wang Jinkai’s call, he hadn’t rushed over immediately, but had dealt with urgent matters first, then hurried to the scene. He hadn’t expected to find only destruction, and when he tried to call back, the line wouldn’t connect—their communication completely severed.

Wang Jinkai had said he wanted to be a good man. Ye Hui was momentarily stunned; the news was hard to accept.

Ye Hui knew Wang Jinkai made his living trafficking people and, since no one could catch him, his life was quite comfortable.

Their conversations had always been brief, with Wang Jinkai doing most of the talking. The reason Ye Hui never interrupted was because Wang Jinkai had mentioned a crucial name—Tanya.