Chapter 343 - Conspiracy (6)

"Looks like I got back right on time," Arnold mumbled as he came out of his domain and hid along with his summons.

"What should we do now?" Bad-Breath asked Arnold, "Kill them?"

"Close your mouth for now. That should be enough for now." Arnold shook his head before focusing back on what his uncle was yelling.

"Stop spouting nonsense you useless basta*d!" It was Chiang's turn to lose his cool now, "Why are you suddenly talking about him? He hasn't been seen in more than a decade and now you're making things up just to frame me?"

Chiang was no Yu Zhung, Zing did not need to hold back his anger on him. Zhung noticed a tension between the two and decided to act on it and fish for more information.

Blood rushed through his wounds when Zhung finally pulled his swords out, freeing him. Zing used what little healing abilities he had to heal himself up before raising his voice.

"I'm not spouting nonsense you fat baldy! I saw him enter the office with my own eyes and I even gave him my card as he said he was looking for a job! I believe it was the same card that Master Zhung found. How else would Rong get my card? He already had my number, for god's sake!"

"Lies!" Chiang refused to believe a word Zing was saying, "Why would a weakling like him come back here? Why would Arnold be back after a decade? Why now? It just doesn't make any sense."

"How the hell would I know that? He's your blood, not mine!"

"My blood? His father was adopted into the family! Who knows what filthy blood that ran through his veins?"

"Go and watch the CCTV footage from the office if you still don't believe me. You'll see that I'm telling the truth!" Zing turned to face Yu Zhung, "Master Zhung, I urge you to send someone and bring the recordings over, or I can make a call to get someone to send it here. Moreover, if it's Arnold, then it's clear why 'I'm back' was written on the ground. He's back to take what was supposed to be his, that's all." 

"No need, I'll send someone to bring the recordings here." Yu Zhung nodded towards his lieutenant, who immediately rushed to the Golden Dragon's Shanghai head office to check the recordings to confirm whether what Zing was telling them was true or not. "Though I warn you, Zing, if you're proven wrong then you're a dead man for wasting my time."

"Sure, master. I'll keep my neck on the line as well because I know I'm not lying." Zing wasn't afraid in the slightest this time because he knew he was telling the truth.

But he didn't know that Arnold had already gotten rid of any evidence of his presence from Shanghai. In other words, he had completely erased everything from everywhere he had been to ever since coming to Shanghai, which included the video feed of the Golden Dragon's HQ with a bit of Talos' help.

He did so, not only to hide his presence but to also punish Zing without getting his hands dirty. He wanted their little crime syndicate to fight among themselves so he could keep his hands as clean as possible. That's why he intentionally left clues all over the place so that they'll start doubting each other and a fight would break out among themselves.

Sure enough, after a while, Zhung received a call from his lieutenant. And thanks to Arnold, all records from the last month were erased, but there was a twist. Data removal could be done only by a password. A password that only Zing had. But everything was possible when Talos had his mind, set on doing something.

"Your neck, here. Now!" Zhung drew his sword once more.

"Wait... Wait!!! Chiang must have done something! Why would I delete the only evidence I had to prove my innocence?" Zing pleaded to Yu Zhung who wasn't in a mood to give him any mercy.

"The reason is pretty obvious in my eyes," Chiang laughed while waving his hands, "Zhung, this bastard had been lying to us from the start. He just made up a tale and he realised he had no evidence so he erased the so-called 'evidence' and tried to frame me instead. Just kill him and get it over with." 

"Shut your trap oldie! Am I mad to go after someone like Master Zhung?"

"Enough!" Yu Zhung threw a fit of rage, "Zou! Gaze into these basta*ds minds and verify which of these bastards is telling the truth."

"Dang it! Why didn't I thought about it first!?" Arnold whispered in anger.

He realised he had made a mistake. He did erase his digital footprint with Talos' crucial help. But he didn't think about a possibility of a mindreader being present among the warriors there. As a mindreader should be easily able to see into Zing's mind and confirm whether what he was saying was true or not.

Arnold had destroyed all the physical evidence he could get his hands on. But even someone like him couldn't erase his presence from someone's mind. Natasha could've done it easily, but Arnold didn't think that Yu Zhung would go this far and thus hadn't prepared for it. Within moments, the truth was out.

"Both of them are telling the truth on their part. I can see that Zing indeed met the man who is Master Chiang's nephew." Zou mumbled through his monster mask.

"How is this even possible...?" Chiang mumbled.

"See! I'm telling you, Master Zhung, this fatso is after you and he's using his nephew to eliminate the both of us so he can rule over the country-"

"Shut up, you dimwits!" Zhung roared once again. Unlike the two of them, he finally noticed what was their enemy trying to accomplish, "Can't you see that the one behind this attack is trying to divide us?"

"This guy is good..." Arnold smiled, "But even if he knows what I was trying to accomplish, it no longer matters."

"Shall we kill them now?" Bad-Breath was itching for some action but Arnold stopped him.

"Not yet. The ball is in their court for now. We're heading back to the void."