Chapter 29 - Chapter 29: Chapter 23: Found the Lair

Chapter 29: Chapter 23: Found the Lair

Yan Fei had gained ownership of that house in the city area, but he did not plan to move there just yet. Not because the room was a small apartment with limited space, but because it had only recently been renovated and would need some time before it could be inhabited.

In addition, this place was the only inheritance left to him by his parents, where he had spent the first half of his life, holding significant sentimental value. Therefore, he planned to stay in the old house a while longer until the building was demolished.

That afternoon, when Yan Fei went out to take out the trash, he suddenly noticed several suspicious individuals under a distant tree. These people were hiding in a car, observing Yan Fei’s movements from afar with a telescope, acting sneaky and did not leave even when night fell.

Thinking they were sufficiently hidden, they didn’t realize that Yan Fei’s eyesight had been greatly enhanced after being transformed by a mysterious power, and he had seen their actions clearly all along.

Curious, Yan Fei took advantage of the cover of night to send out a drone to get closer and eavesdrop. From the idle chatter of these men, he discovered that they were all underlings of the Marquis, and their purpose was to surveil him.

It turned out that ever since Yan Fei had twice investigated Zhang Baocheng’s villa, and in the second instance set it on fire and killed the frenzied strongman, Zhang Baocheng had been thrown into a state of extreme panic.

Because Zhang Baocheng did not understand the intent of the enemy who had infiltrated the villa to set the fire and commit murder, whether it was simply for arson or to kill him, or if their target was the strongman. If the enemy’s purpose was to kill him, then his situation was extremely dangerous. Dodging an encounter once while picking someone up had been lucky, but could he continue to be so fortunate? Therefore, after his villa was burned down by Yan Fei, Zhang Baocheng had hidden in the Marquis’ Lair to avoid any potential assassinations.

But Zhang Baocheng’s worries didn’t end there. The organization behind Xiao Kong and his brother was formidable, yet both men had met with trouble at Zhang Baocheng’s place, leaving him with an inescapable responsibility as the local landlord.

Previously, Xiao Kong’s body had not been found, but the various traces left at the scene hinted at a grim fate. The body of the later strongman, though burned beyond recognition, was identified after testing.

Upon discovering the strongman’s body, Zhang Baocheng did not dare to delay, quickly reporting the incidents to the organization. The organization was furious, yet it seemed that they were caught up in some internal issues and couldn’t spare personnel to investigate. They severely reprimanded Zhang Baocheng, demanding he find the murderer quickly and retrieve the important items Xiao Kong had been carrying.

Only then could Zhang Baocheng atone for his fault. Otherwise, his end would be very grim. To find the culprit and lighten the organization’s punishment, Zhang Baocheng had no choice but to draw manpower from the Marquis and start a widespread investigation.

Knowing the strength of Xiao Kong and the strongman, Zhang Baocheng was aware that anyone capable of kidnapping or killing them had to be very powerful. So, he focused his investigation on experts in martial arts but had yet to find any useful intelligence.

However, two days prior, during an internet broadcast of a Taekwondo challenge against Chinese Kung Fu, Wang Yong made a startling appearance, executing an instant kill on a Taekwondo master, which suddenly turned Zhang Baocheng’s suspicions towards him. Unfortunately, the next day Wang Yong disappeared without a trace, and no one knew where he had gone.

Since Wang Yong could not be found, Zhang Baocheng was desperately going around in circles and therefore shifted his focus to Wang Yong’s student, Yan Fei, in the hopes of using Yan Fei to find Wang Yong. That day, Yan Fei also performed stunningly against the Taekwondo challenge but his opponent’s strength was limited, and Yan Fei did not display overtly powerful abilities during the fight, still appearing within the bounds of a normal person’s level. Thus, Zhang Baocheng did not suspect that Yan Fei could have killed a super expert like the strongman.

In fact, Yan Fei had previously been on Zhang Baocheng’s list of suspects, not just because Zhang Baocheng had made a move against Yan Fei before, so he considered Yan Fei a potential enemy who might seek trouble with him. But also because at the scene of Xiao Kong’s disappearance, the bloodstained clothing fragments left behind were related to a garment Yan Fei had worn before, and even Yan Fei’s minivan had been spotted nearby.

Therefore, Zhang Baocheng had thoroughly investigated Yan Fei, but to his surprise, Yan Fei had realized the issue with the clothing fragments and intentionally wore the same style of garment in public after destroying the evidence. This allowed Zhang Baocheng’s men to take clear photos of him. When they found Yan Fei wearing the same clothes, Zhang Baocheng started to hesitate.

What Zhang Baocheng did not know was that Yan Fei had two such garments; the first, after being turned into rags during a life-and-death struggle, had been disposed of, and what Yan Fei was now wearing was the second one.

Although Zhang Baocheng was somewhat hesitant, he had not ruled out Yan Fei as a suspect. He began to investigate Yan Fei’s whereabouts on the evening of the villa fire and was surprised to discover that, elated from receiving the demolition compensation, Yan Fei had exceptionally visited a bathhouse for a bath and even got a girl to wash his feet, not leaving the premises throughout the night. The next day, he left in good spirits and there were no unusual signs on his body.

The reason they could so minutarily detail Yan Fei’s movements was that the bathhouse was owned by the Marquis. They could access the surveillance video and interrogate the foot massage therapist who had served Yan Fei, hence they were well-informed of his comings and goings.

But what they didn’t know was that Yan Fei had intentionally visited the Marquis’ bathhouse after searching the internet about the Marquis’ places, knowing it belonged to the Marquis. His aim was to deliver the evidence to their doorstep and clear himself of suspicion.

Zhang Baocheng was unaware of why someone had set fire to his villa, hence he overlooked that the flames had in fact destroyed the evidence collected in the basement. It was due to the lack of this critical information that Zhang Baocheng missed the only chance to catch the true criminal, and he erroneously crossed Yan Fei off the suspect list.

At that time, the altercation between Wang Yong and the Taekwondo master happened, and Zhang Baocheng immediately turned his attention to Wang Yong, deeming him the primary suspect. However, Wang Yong suddenly disappeared the next day, and no one could find him. After running around in circles, Zhang Baocheng once again shifted his focus back to Yan Fei, not as a suspect this time, but to use him to locate Wang Yong.

The sneaky individuals watching Yan Fei were Marquis’s men. Their goal was to surveil Yan Fei and then trace back to the suddenly vanished Wang Yong through him.

Yan Fei wasn’t entirely clear about the predicament Zhang Baocheng faced since the relationship between Zhang Baocheng and that Mysterious Organization was highly confidential, not something just anyone could know. However, Yan Fei was able to deduce some conclusions, and quite accurate ones at that, from the conversations of the lackeys surveilling him.

Yan Fei didn’t know what Zhang Baocheng was planning to do to him next, nor did he want to know because he was extremely angry at the moment. Zhang Baocheng had confronted him over and over again, and Yan Fei had run out of patience. He was ready to strike like thunder and thoroughly resolve Zhang Baocheng, eliminating the greatest hidden danger. Defense alone would never solve the problem.

Yan Fei didn’t disturb the few individuals tracking him, allowing them to continue their surveillance. Past ten in the evening, those people finally couldn’t hold up anymore and drove off, leaving only two lackeys to continue the monitoring. Seizing the moment, Yan Fei’s Drone Avatar quickly took off and discreetly followed them, heading out of the city.

With the terrifying experiences of fighting for his life on two previous occasions, Yan Fei dared not casually enter the territory of others before his Strength was fully developed. Since he couldn’t be sure whether there were any super experts within others’ territories who could threaten his life, Yan Fei only deployed the Drone to follow from a distance.

While tracking, Yan Fei tried to keep the Drone as close to the walls of the buildings as possible, not daring to fly at altitude, to reduce the chances of being captured by Surveillance Cameras.

The Drone flew swiftly and unnoticed, following the vehicle all the way to an abandoned Warehouse in the Suburb. What relieved Yan Fei was that the distance to the dilapidated warehouse did not exceed his control range of 10 kilometers, and he could continue to operate the Drone from home.

As the Drone soared in the sky, its HD Camera rotated 360 degrees, allowing Yan Fei a vast angle of observation over the state of the old Warehouse.

In the middle of the Warehouse lay a large parking lot filled with dozens of vehicles of different types surrounded by over one hundred tattooed gang members, idly smoking and chatting. Outside, more vehicles kept arriving, with more gang members disembarking and engaging in casual conversations.

A realization dawned on Yan Fei, who suspected he might have inadvertently stumbled upon their Lair. After observing the surroundings for a moment, the Drone made a rapid move, darting into the shadows under the eaves of the Warehouse like lightning. The whole process was silent and quick, completely unnoticed.

Hidden in the shadow under the eaves, the Drone observed the interior of the Warehouse.

Inside, the number of gang members had surpassed two hundred. They appeared to be stationed chaotically, yet they only encircled the perimeter and no one approached the room in the center. Although the gang members seemed to be casually chatting, they unintentionally guarded the central structure with their backs, indicating its importance to them.

Among the gang members, Yan Fei noticed Second Xie—the burly man who often stayed close to Zhang Baocheng, jesting and laughing with some junior gang members adjacent to him.

The Drone concealed beneath the eaves, some fifty to sixty meters from the central room. Under normal circumstances, Yan Fei wouldn’t have been able to see what was happening inside that room. However, Yan Fei wasn’t worried. With a thought, the Drone began to move up, down, left, and right, constantly adjusting the camera’s angle and focus. Then, peering through a small hole in the room, he glimpsed the activities occurring within.

In front of the Drone’s powerful optical technology and sound gathering capabilities of the HD Camera, the walls of the room were practically non-existent, and everything inside was laid bare before Yan Fei.

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Thanks to book friend Huo Mei’s insane tipping!

The book received a mosquito leg recommendation this afternoon, the first tentative recommendation for the book, with a less than ideal placement, but better than none. If you enjoy this book, no matter which website you read it on, make sure to come to the Starting Point Chinese Website PC version to add it to your favorites and recommend it. With your strong support, this book can go further, thank you!