Zhang Kuang's hair was still as messy as ever, and the bags under his eyes were just as heavy.
He looked as exhausted as always.
Only his eyes, fixed on Zou Yuan's corpse, shone with interest.
"Zou Yuan joined the Samsara Church? What about the others?"
"No idea. Little Qin only ran into Zou Yuan."
Zhang Kuang paced around the office, scratching his head, "I was wondering how the Samsara Church had grown so fast over the past few years. Turns out the people from North Glory were backing them."
"Old Zhang, it's possible only Zou Yuan joined the Samsara Church. The others might have gone elsewhere."
"The only place they could hide from the United Government's search would be Sigma District. Most likely either the Samsara Church or the Annhilation Church."
"Not necessarily. They could've changed their identities and hidden in the military, or at the mines out west, or one of the three major merchant associations."
"Good point. Old Li, I'm really curious how Zou Yuan managed to survive all this time. Can you have someone read the memories in his brain?"
"Sure."
Then Zhang Kuang thought of something else and asked Qin Siyang, "Little Qin, I remember someone from the Zhao family tried to assassinate you before... a female supervisor..."
Qin Siyang nodded, "Yeah. Back when I was freeloading with Director Zhang in District 9, I was attacked by Sun Yaru, the local black market supervisor."
"Right, right, that Sun... whatever her name was. You told me that after she died, her head shattered, so no one could read her memories."
"That's right. According to Principal Zhao, Sun Yaru was planted in the Zhao family by one of the three major merchant associations. She tried to kill me to stop the Zhao Merchant Association from being established. Why?"
Zhang Kuang fell into thought, "I was thinking... if the three major merchant associations can put insurance on their subordinates' brains to prevent people from reading their secrets, then wouldn't the Samsara Church have similar safeguards? This was a Sequence Level Six senior cadre. His head has to be full of secrets."
Zhang Kuang's words immediately made both Li Tianming and Qin Siyang realize the problem.
Right!
He had killed Zou Yuan and Lin Cheng, and both of their heads were left intact. Wouldn't that practically be handing the Samsara Church's top secrets to everyone?
Something was definitely off.
Qin Siyang immediately took out his phone and called Zhao Longfei.
"Hello, Little Qin. What's up?"
"Principal Zhao, be careful when reading Lin Cheng's memories. The Samsara Church probably wouldn't just let a senior cadre's memories leak out. There might be a trap."
"Now that you mention it, that's very possible... All right, I understand. Tell Professor Li not to read Zou Yuan's memories yet. I'll confirm everything's safe on my end first before he starts, so he doesn't run into something he can't handle."
"Okay. He heard you."
Li Tianming leaned toward the phone and said, "Thanks, Principal Zhao!"
"It's nothing. We all ought to be thanking Little Qin... I've still got some things to deal with here. We'll talk another time."
After hanging up, Li Tianming pointed at Zou Yuan's corpse, "Little Qin, then I'll take his body for now?"
"Sure. It's no use to me."
The three of them sat around Zhang Kuang's desk in his simply furnished office.
Qin Siyang poured three cups of water, planning to listen to Li Tianming and Zhang Kuang talk.
"Old Li, among those people from North Glory, who else do you think is still alive? Is there any chance Lei Xiaoting survived?"
At those words, Li Tianming immediately frowned, his expression turning complicated.
"I've always believed Lei Xiaoting had to be dead... But if someone like Zou Yuan managed to survive, then Principal Lei..."
Qin Siyang cut in, "Who's Lei Xiaoting?"
Zhang Kuang answered casually, "North Glory's principal. Tiger Card Vice Joker."
Qin Siyang had carefully looked over the Lion, Tiger, Wolf, and Snake card rankings before. Aside from the Wolf Card Joker, whose information was relatively complete, the Jokers of the other three suits were all more mysterious than the last.
"Wasn't Tiger Card Vice Joker Yu Jianyun? There's barely any information on him, just that he works for the United Government..."
Zhang Kuang explained, "Because he killed Lei Xiaoting. That's how he became the Vice Joker."
"Oh..."
"There's more," Li Tianming continued, "He fought North Glory's principal, Tiger Card Vice Joker Lei Xiaoting, along with North Glory professors Tiger Card Ace of Hearts Yang Guanglie and King of Spades Bao Fengjiang, all by himself. He killed all three of them. Yu Jianyun became famous because of that battle and was promoted to Tiger Card Vice Joker in one stroke."
Qin Siyang's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help taking a sharp breath.
"Wait. You're saying... he fought half of North Glory's top leadership by himself? And killed every one of them?"
Zhang Kuang rubbed his temples, "It does sound ridiculous, but that's his record."
"Before that, nobody had ever heard of him. In fact, no one even knew he existed. Afterward, he disappeared again, and no one knows where he went. He didn't even show up during the large-scale Sequence ability user protests three years ago," Li Tianming's eyes were full of caution, "He's like a ghost."
"Someone that strong is only a Vice Joker?" Qin Siyang muttered. His gaze sharpened, "Then just how strong is Tiger Card Joker Ander? I remember there's even less information about him. Other than his name, there's nothing, not even a photograph. They used a sketch instead."
"No idea. Never seen him," Li Tianming clicked his tongue and shook his head, "I don't even know whether he's Chinese or European."
"Then why is he the Tiger Card Joker? Oh, right, this Ander is also the Lion Card Vice Joker!"
"Yeah. Nobody really knows anything about Ander, but the Warren Merchant Association must have had a reason for ranking him that way. Aren't you pretty close with Sally? Why don't you ask her?"
The moment Sally was mentioned, Qin Siyang got a headache, "Old Li, thanks so much. Can we not talk about her?"
Zhang Kuang reached up and scratched his messy hair, "It's not even certain whether someone named Ander actually exists, let alone whether he's really the Tiger Card Joker. I don't believe anyone could surpass a monster like Yu Jianyun in a one-on-one fight. But the Warren Merchant Association insists on ranking them that way, and there's nothing anyone can do about it."
Qin Siyang asked again, "Then... where are Ander and Yu Jianyun?"
"You don't need a brain to figure that out. They're in District 1, where no one can come and go freely."
Qin Siyang raised an eyebrow, "District 1? Is it really that hard to get in?"
Li Tianming chuckled and patted him on the shoulder, "What, you want to go take a look?"
"I'm just curious."
"As far as anyone knows, only Secretary-General Gu, Commander-in-Chief Qi, and Zhu Haifeng have publicly gone in. Wait until you've made it to the position of Secretary-General, Commander-in-Chief, or the nation's top researcher before you think about entering District 1."
"Only three people have ever gone in?"
"That's right. That's why I said it's hard," Li Tianming smiled encouragingly, "Work hard. Maybe one day I'll get to ride your coattails and visit District 1 with you before I die."
"Don't count on me. Count on Fei instead."
Qin Siyang stood up, "Everything about North Glory is a complete mystery to me. I can't make heads or tails of what you two are talking about. You guys keep chatting. I'm leaving."
Li Tianming asked, "Where are you going?"
"I've been up all night. I'm going back to sleep. I'm exhausted."
Li Tianming smiled knowingly, "Fenghe just texted me. Wen Shu is at the library discussing history with Little Fei."
Qin Siyang immediately perked up.
"Come to think of it, I'm suddenly not sleepy anymore! But I do feel a little intellectually empty... Better go read some books and enrich myself!"
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