Chapter 118

Chapter 118

The doors to the collection room stood wide open, with a deep red carpet extending towards the entrance. Several figures appeared there, blocking the corridor light and cutting off everyone’s escape route.

The robbers, only a few steps from the door, were the first to react. As they turned their gaze, the confusion on their faces quickly transformed into shock. Xie Biao furrowed his brow.

“Haozi, Baijia, what are you two doing here?”

To his surprise, they responded with equal bewilderment, “Brother Xie, didn’t you call us here?”

The two people at the door were none other than their accomplices.

One had darker skin, with an air about him like a simple young man who had come from the mountains to work. But anyone who trusted his appearance would likely find themselves drained of every last drop of marrow. The other was strikingly handsome, with an exotic flair not typical of Yao Country natives. His naturally smiling almond eyes were irresistible to women and certain men, making him exceptional at gathering information.

These two had obtained all the details about the villa’s owner, Mr. Ye, his family, the valuable collection inside, and even the security arrangements. The latter had even seduced a security guard, chatting online for a week to extract every bit of information, known and unknown. That unfortunate soul probably never imagined that his first real-life meeting with his “goddess” would be his last.

After infiltrating and dealing with the guards, only the grandfather and granddaughter remained in the villa. Xie Biao and his team didn’t consider the unarmed elderly man and young woman a threat, so they left these two clever, if not physically strong, members outside as lookouts.

This was meant to be a precautionary measure, but they never expected the real surprise to come from inside the villa.

Xue Hao’s group of four had arranged to meet An Xiaoxi on the Extraordinary Forum today, suddenly adding four more people to the collection room. The Ji siblings even possessed considerable martial arts skills.

What was even more unexpected was An Xiaoxi’s ability to wield a lethal artifact, injuring two of their comrades in an instant.

What should have been a fifteen-minute job had turned into a standoff, and now the two lookouts had become their backup plan. Xie Biao was quite pleased with his foresight.

The hostages on either side were not of equal value. If pushed, they could abandon their two injured comrades and fight their way out, but An Xiaoxi couldn’t disregard her grandfather’s life. Bringing the old man over would surely make his granddaughter comply.

However, the current problem was...

“Where’s the person I told you to bring?” Xie Biao asked, utterly confused as he looked at the stranger between the two – even with his poor facial recognition, he could tell this guy was no older than twenty-seven, far from an old man.

The two looked equally puzzled. “Isn’t this the guest you asked us to bring, Brother Xie?”

They exchanged glances, then looked at the young man beside them.

He had mixed-race features, tall and thin, giving the impression that a gust of wind could blow him away. His silky black hair cascaded down, though there was no mistaking his gender. With downcast eyes and a pale complexion as if he hadn’t seen sunlight in ages, he looked like a figure who had stepped out of one of those old oil paintings they had stolen. His dark, deep eyes flashed with a hint of silver, exuding a gloomy, world-weary aura and a cold demeanor.

The two seemed to confirm they hadn’t brought the wrong person and turned back to Xie Biao. Suddenly, they clapped their hands together, “Oh, we almost forgot! Brother Xie, you haven’t met Mr. Joey yet, have you? This is Mr. Joey.”

Under the bewildered stares of everyone else, they walked into the collection room naturally alongside the stranger, completely ignoring the tense atmosphere. They politely and respectfully invited the long-haired young man with the gloomy air forward, introducing him, “Mr. Joey, this is our Brother Xie.”

The long-haired young man nodded slightly. He only said one thing—

“I’ve come to retrieve my painting.”

Xie Biao: “???”

He stared in disbelief at this stranger, then looked back at his two subordinates. He was about to reprimand them for this sudden charade, but saw that their expressions seemed entirely genuine.

For instance, he had previously heard of an artifact contained by the Special Case Investigation Team – a piano left behind by a deceased famous musician. It would automatically start playing at midnight every day, and anyone who heard the music would unconsciously walk over and dance to it, as if sleepwalking.

—This ability seemed comical, but it was actually a powerful crowd control technique. Recently, the border police had borrowed this extraordinary artifact from the Special Case Investigation Team. Without expending any manpower, they directly controlled and disbanded a drug cartel.

When the piano music began playing at dawn, all members of the cartel uncontrollably rushed toward the piano’s location, dancing as they walked, regardless of what they had been doing before.

In this way, they were easily captured by the police wearing special earplugs.

Similar incidents occurred several more times before the effects of the artifact finally leaked out, causing widespread alarm.

According to Xie Biao’s knowledge, to avoid falling into the same trap, certain underground organizations now habitually slept wearing earplugs at night, fearing they might wake up one day to find themselves already rounded up by the police.

However, this practice of blocking out nighttime sounds also made them vulnerable to infiltration, so they had to arrange night patrols. In short, they lived in constant fear and unease.

The task of destroying or stealing the “Midnight Piano” was posted on underground bounty boards. If not for the artifact being hidden in the mysterious Special Case Investigation Team headquarters, countless people would have already attempted to claim it.

With this precedent in mind, the bizarre events unfolding around him made Xie Biao immediately think of an artifact – one that could manipulate people’s thoughts.

It was over!

Even as a gang leader with blood on his hands, Xie Biao couldn’t help but tremble slightly. He looked at the long-haired young man who seemed to have stepped out of a painting, his gaze sweeping over the silk-like long hair, the pale face that had never seen sunlight, and those gloomy eyes...

Was this guy really human?

Or was he the embodiment of the extraordinary itself?

The color drained completely from Xie Biao’s face.

He didn’t know why he still maintained rational thought. At that moment, he almost wished he could be like his bewitched companions and subordinates, unaware and treating the stranger as a close friend. At least then he wouldn’t have to endure this torment of fear from the unknown and extraordinary...

The Yao Country did not indiscriminately teach martial arts. Anyone with a criminal record was excluded from martial arts instruction, at least until they passed a series of rigorous assessments. But since the basic parts of the “Martial Classic” were so widely spread, it was impossible to keep them strictly confidential. Those who weren’t qualified to learn martial arts through official channels might find their own ways in the underworld.

Since cultivating the “Martial Classic” and discovering his rapid progress, Xie Biao, who was already bold and meticulous, became even more daring. After successfully leading his gang on several jobs without getting caught, he had almost developed an arrogant belief that the Special Case Investigation Team wasn’t all that formidable. But at this moment, that arrogance was thoroughly extinguished. This was the first time since embarking on the path of martial arts that he had felt such fear.

He clenched his fists at his sides.

The internal energy surging within his body gave Xie Biao a glimmer of courage. He was well aware that his current level of cultivation was considered top-tier in the Yao Country. This was his greatest asset at the moment.

Should he make a move?

Silently circulating his internal energy and adjusting his breathing rhythm, Xie Biao cautiously observed as the long-haired young man took out one antique after another from the encyclopedia, and then, a scroll painting.

The slender, long-haired young man lowered his beautiful long eyelashes as he slowly removed a scroll painting from the thick encyclopedia of ancient artifacts. His movements were as gentle as if he were cradling melting snow.

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