...
In the Forgotten Land, inside a renovated old villa.
Tang De was on edge.
For some reason, he had a nagging feeling that the plan was about to go wrong. But no matter how many times he went over it in his head, he couldn't pinpoint the problem.
"Wei'Er might be in trouble, but that thing shouldn't be in Qin Tianxiong's hands yet. Otherwise, he wouldn't be coming to me for it! But if he doesn't have it, why hasn't he pressed me for it after a whole day has passed? What the hell, is he expecting me to just deliver it to his doorstep?" Tang De shook his head.
No!
I can't deliver it myself!
Tang De shook his head again, picked up a glass full of red wine, and downed it in one gulp.
RING RING RING!
Just then, the phone rang.
"Qin Tianxiong!" Tang De's eyes lit up. He took a deep breath and answered the call. "Lieutenant Qin, can you give me an explanation for what happened today?"
"It was outside my control. That's your explanation," Qin Tianxiong said bluntly.
"That's a pretty meaningless thing to say, Lieutenant Qin. If your capabilities are so limited, what's the point of me cooperating with you? Does this mean I can start looking for a new partner?" Tang De sat down, trying his best to remain calm.
"You mean Shen Ning'Er?"
"And why not?"
"Heh... Tang De, I suggest you get one thing straight. Some things can't be brought out into the open. Not everyone in the Alliance supports seeking cooperation. On the surface, it looks like Shen Ning'Er came to the Forgotten Land to assist me with my mission, but I suspect she might belong to the other faction."
"What do you mean?"
"Although she didn't say it outright, I can tell you that I tested her once to see if she was interested in contacting you people. She refused."
"Refused? Heh, don't try to scare me, brother. Are you saying the Alliance isn't here to reorganize things, but to purge us? Given the Alliance's current situation, do they even have the energy to manage the Forgotten Land?"
"Believe it or not, Shen Ning'Er really has no intention of immediately contacting you three major powers. Moreover, she came prepared. She has files on all three of your factions. I've seen them. They're extremely detailed. Besides that one thing you mentioned, they have basically everything else. So, if you really want to stay in the Forgotten Land, your best choice is to give me the item as soon as possible and earn some merit!"
"How can I trust you?"
"Believe it or not, that's all I have to say!"
BEEP. BEEP BEEP...
The call ended.
Tang De stared at the phone in his hand, a little dumbfounded.
'What the hell?!'
'Is this how you ask for a favor?'
'Would it kill you to beg me one more time?'
'If you just begged me one more time, I would've given it to you, damn it!'
'Fuck!'
Tang De was frustrated. He almost called back, but ultimately stopped himself. He really did want to cooperate with the Alliance because that old man, Wang Ju, already had a "backing force." If nothing unexpected happened, they would be making a move soon. But if the Alliance's terms were too poor, the cooperation would be meaningless.
'Patience. Just a little more patience... Three days at most. No, two days! Qin Tianxiong will definitely come back begging!' Tang De took a few deep breaths. The intelligence he held was about the "magnetic stack."
'Although the magnetic stack isn't actually in my possession, old man Wang Ju is digging his own grave. Under the circumstances, there's no way the Alliance wouldn't choose me.'
RING RING RING!
The phone rang again.
Tang De answered. A seductive voice quickly came through the line.
"Brother Tang, I want to make some 'art' tonight..."
"What about old man Wang Ju? What's he up to?"
"What else could that old man be doing? He's guarding that thing, of course. By the way, when you went to save that useless son of yours today, you didn't tell the Alliance about the item, did you?" the seductive voice asked.
"No, of course not. What would I get for telling the Alliance right now? Merit? Hahaha... No merit is more important than you!"
"Brother Tang, you sure know how to make me happy. Since you say I'm so important, when are you going to come meet the 'Lord'? As long as you agree, what does old man Wang Ju matter? Then the item and I will both be yours, won't we?"
"Hahaha, that's not a decision I can make alone. I still need some time to think it over," Tang De demurred. He had no desire to dig his own grave like that old man Wang Ju.
"Hmph, men!" The seductive voice sounded a little displeased, but quickly continued, "Well then, let's get back to talking about creating art. You artistic types... so charming, yet so hard to please!"
"I'm all fired up right now. If you're coming, then come!"
"Hehe, then let me come and put out your fire..."
BEEP. BEEP BEEP!
The call ended.
Tang De tossed the phone aside and collapsed onto the sofa. "Where did it all go wrong? Why do I have such a bad feeling about this..."
...
On the other end of the line.
A woman with pointed, elf-like ears hung up the phone. Then, she turned and swiftly knelt before a figure shrouded in a black cloak.
"Hasn't Tang De given up the intelligence on the magnetic stack yet?" the dark figure asked.
"No. He probably hasn't settled on terms with the Alliance yet. If he had already given it to them, my usefulness to him would be over, and he wouldn't ask me to come over anymore," the woman replied respectfully.
"Mm, then put a little more pressure on him. As long as he leads the people from the Alliance Military Department to the factory, he'll have no other path to take," the dark figure nodded.
"If the people from the Military Department run into trouble because of his intelligence, it'll be impossible for Tang De to cooperate with the Alliance again. He'll have no choice but to submit to us. However, this subordinate heard from Tang De that a Major from the Alliance Military Department also came this time. Should we prepare more explosives at the factory?"
"A Major? Fine. Go make the arrangements."
"Yes!"
...
North Suburban Mental Hospital.
Shen Ning'Er had already slipped into the North Suburban Mental Hospital. She found a patient's gown to put on and even smeared some mud on her face.
"Mm, a perfect resemblance!" Shen Ning'Er muttered to herself while hiding in a corner outside the main gate. She undid her tied-up hair, letting it fall to cover half her face. She truly looked like a lunatic from the mental hospital.
Then, she began to wait.
Five minutes...
Ten minutes...
Fifteen minutes passed.
Gao Neng still hadn't arrived.
Shen Ning'Er was a little puzzled. She took out her tracking screen and glanced at it. Then, she discovered that the red dot on the screen seemed to have moved a long distance away from the mental hospital.
Its location...
It was continuously heading toward the Dream Toy Factory.
"???" Shen Ning'Er wondered.
...
Would Gao Neng enter the mental hospital?
Of course not!
He wasn't a psycho. His target was the Dream Toy Factory. The location in the metal storage device was very clear: the factory was the place to farm for cash.
Gao Neng moved continuously through the darkness, like a ghost in the night.
Twenty minutes later, he arrived at the main gate of the Dream Toy Factory. The time was exactly 10:00 PM.
A cold breeze blew past.
Gao Neng shivered for no apparent reason.
The Dream Toy Factory before him was utterly dark. The pitch-black factory building and its dilapidated main gate looked incredibly sinister.
Meanwhile, the Netherworld Currency and Paper Money scattered everywhere told him something else: an exorcism ritual had likely been performed here not long ago.
This was because, not far away, there lay a broken Peach Wood Sword stained with dried blood. 'Probably snapped by a ghost?'
Gao Neng looked at all this, not the least bit panicked. On the contrary, he kind of felt like singing.
"Speaking of which, the mental hospital is right next door. I wonder if this haunted place, besides the 'woman in red' and 'big-headed ghost doll' from the internet rumors, also has any female ghosts in patient gowns? Hmm... whatever kind of ghost it is, I'll smash them as they come. Tonight, there must be a slaughter!" Gao Neng strode forward, but his hand subconsciously tightened its grip on his hammer.
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