["Guo Jiuxiao? Why would you think of him?"], Zhao Longteng's voice was full of confusion at Zhao Longfei's conclusion, ["Hu Yu's travel records show connections to people from the Samsara Church. He was most likely controlled by them. We wiped out one of the Samsara Church's branches, so it makes more sense that they triggered Hu Yu as retaliation, doesn't it?"]
"I don't think so. Big Brother, the Samsara Church planted such a major sleeper like Hu Yu, but when they activated him, they didn't gain anything from it themselves. Does that make sense? On the other hand, Guo Jiuxiao, who's been getting closer and closer to Jiang Hao lately, has every reason to cripple our Zhao family and strengthen his cooperation with Jiang Hao," Zhao Longfei analyzed thoughtfully, "The timing was also perfect. We had just wiped out the Samsara Church's branch when Hu Yu destroyed the accounts, took the money, and fled. The two events happened one right after the other, too much of a coincidence. It was just enough to make us think it was the Samsara Church's revenge."
["So you think the Three Great chamber of commerces wanted to trip us up before splitting apart, so they joined forces with Guo Jiuxiao to target us?"]
"Very possible. At the thesis review hearing, only Jiang Hao and Guo Jiuxiao firmly opposed Little Qin. The two of them working together makes perfect sense."
Zhao Longteng fell silent for a long while before asking, ["Has Guo Jiuxiao stopped caring whether he lives or dies?"]
"Who knows? Researchers are all arrogant people who think they're geniuses. They're not exactly normal. I've met Guo Jiuxiao once. That guy thinks very highly of himself."
["Don't underestimate him. Even someone as cautious as Li Tianming fell into his hands."]
"I know."
["Mhm. I remember Guo Jiuxiao and Longju know each other. Let's have Longju test him."]
"That's fine, but make sure Longju doesn't end up getting mind-controlled too."
["I know. Xiaoshan will make the arrangements."]
"Sigh... Things have been too chaotic lately. The storm is coming."
["Haha! Second Brother, you and I didn't start this chaos, so don't brood over it. Besides, chaotic times are what create heroes. They're the only time brothers like us get a chance to show what we're capable of."]
Zhao Longfei lowered his eyes for a moment.
Then he said meaningfully, "A hero... strong, perhaps. But whether he's truly heroic... that's another matter."
———
Qin Siyang had a very relaxing weekend.
Even though he'd already made a huge profit from hunting the Doom Octopus, he still accepted Chu Baxing, Hu Chan, and the others' invitation to go outside the safe zone to hunt gods.
The whole time, however, he stayed inside the drill cabin resting and never went out to hunt. He simply acted as Chu Baxing and the others' driver.
That driver's fee, however, was a little expensive.
"Today's service starts at midnight and ends at next midnight. Three hundred bottles of Sequence Potion per person. No bargaining."
"Three hundred?"
"Boss Qin, that's way too expensive!"
"Brother Qin, honestly, that's a bit steep."
Qin Siyang remained firm, "You get what you pay for! Where else are you going to find a driver willing to take you a hundred kilometers outside the safe zone? Besides, whether you can kill any gods depends entirely on your own ability! If you can't earn a few thousand points' worth of kills, that's your own problem! If you make money, I don't take a cut. If you lose money, that's not my concern."
The group gritted their teeth. Some wanted to get stronger as quickly as possible, while others wanted to collect sacrificial offerings. In the end, everyone agreed to Qin Siyang's price.
Since they also needed Hu Chan to locate gods for them, each person paid him another hundred bottles of Sequence Potion as compensation.
Qin Siyang's job was to drop everyone off at their assigned coordinates. When the time was about right, he'd pick them up one by one, drive them to the next location, and after Hu Chan's skill came off cooldown, repeat the process.
The whole job was incredibly easy.
Most of the time, he simply lay comfortably inside the drill cabin, doing absolutely nothing.
He only stepped in occasionally to solve small problems for them.
For a fee, of course.
Once, when he went to pick up Chu Baxing, the moment he spotted him, Qin Siyang hit the accelerator and sped away before Chu Baxing could even get into the drill cabin.
Chu Baxing chased after the drill cabin, pounding on the side window.
"Qin Siyang! Open the door already! How am I supposed to get in if you keep it shut?"
Qin Siyang shook his head and lowered the window just a crack to talk to him.
He pointed at the Phantom Mantis chasing relentlessly behind Chu Baxing.
"That god is too dangerous. I don't dare open the cabin door. Kill it first, then I'll open it."
The Phantom Mantis moved in an extremely bizarre way. It looked like it was simply leaping, but in reality it was like a streak of light. Every time someone blinked, it disappeared from where it had been and suddenly appeared much closer.
The pressure stayed right behind him. Its scythe was like a blade hanging over Chu Baxing's head, ready to split him in two at any moment.
A chill ran down Chu Baxing's back.
"Isn't that obvious? If I could kill the Phantom Mantis, would it still be chasing me? Open the damn door!"
Qin Siyang still shook his head, "No. I can't put everyone else's safety at risk just to save you."
Chu Baxing was so anxious his face turned red, "What bullshit? The Phantom Mantis hasn't even caught up yet! What's the danger? We could've finished this conversation and I'd already be inside!"
Hu Chan, sitting in the passenger seat and picking at his fingernails, said casually, "I think Boss Qin's right. As long as the god's still alive, we shouldn't open the door."
"Hu Third! Cut the sarcastic comments!"
Qin Siyang said to Chu Baxing, "Unless you kill the god and guarantee everyone's safety, I can't open the door."
"I already told you I can't beat it!"
"If you can't kill it, you can hire someone else to help."
"Out here in the middle of nowhere, who am I supposed to—"
As he spoke, Chu Baxing suddenly realized, "Qin Siyang... the 'someone else' you're talking about... is you, isn't it?"
"That's right."
"Then hurry up and get out here and kill the Phantom Mantis!"
Qin Siyang held up three fingers, "Three hundred bottles of Sequence Potion."
"Huh? Didn't I already pay you before we left?"
"That was the transportation fee. Killing a god for you costs extra."
"You're robbing me! The materials from a Phantom Mantis aren't even worth three hundred bottles of Sequence Potion! I'd lose money even if I sold everything!"
Qin Siyang picked his nose, "What are you thinking? If I kill the Phantom Mantis for you, why would the corpse belong to you?"
Chu Baxing froze, "Then what exactly are the three hundred bottles paying for?"
"For saving your life. The god's corpse isn't included."
"You..."
"Hurry up. If you don't agree, I'm leaving."
Chu Baxing glanced at the Phantom Mantis charging even more frantically behind him and gritted his teeth.
"Fine! I agree! Let me in already!"
Qin Siyang pulled out a voice recorder, "Everyone heard that, right? He agreed, and I've got it recorded. Witnesses and evidence. You can't back out later."
After saying that, he stopped the drill cabin, slipped out, and charged straight at the Phantom Mantis.
After blinking through space several times, he appeared above its head and delivered an ordinary kick to the palm-sized weak spot at the back of its head.
BANG!
The Phantom Mantis's head split apart on the spot, and the towering god crashed to the ground.
It was over.
The whole thing took less than ten seconds.
Qin Siyang's display left Hu Chan and the others speechless.
They even felt that without using a single offensive skill, Qin Siyang could deal with any medium-sized god using nothing more than teleportation and ordinary physical attacks.
Chu Baxing, however, had no mood to admire him.
Standing where he was, he shouted, "You kicked it once and charged me three hundred bottles of Sequence Potion! Are you bullying an honest man?"