Local Kingpin

Local Kingpin

Huang Ji knew that if the matter of the aliens...

Then only a small number of people could resist.

Messiah did not know about this. The reason they did not dare step into the open was, on one hand, the lack of evidence, and on the other, the bitter losses they had suffered.

Their strength was inferior to others'; stepping into the open would make them targets. One wave from the enemy could wipe them all out.

Therefore, no matter what, Messiah could only gather intelligence and steal technology in secret for now.

Although they had obtained some cutting-edge technological items, those were not irrefutable evidence. The moment they openly revealed themselves, an "inventor" would step forward. In the end, they would lose countless members for nothing. It was better to use those items to build up their own strength.

Besides the superconducting block they had acquired last year, Messiah had two or three other valuable items taken from the Illuminati Research Institute.

They were the little bit of foundation they had accumulated.

In Huang Ji's eyes, this was probably the only thing of value they had.

"We share the same goal, but whether I join you will depend on the caliber of your other members. For now, I can provide you with funding and some small assistance," Huang Ji said.

He needed to meet the other members. As long as he saw them, he would know everything he needed to know.

For example, Lao Wang thought he had hidden the superconducting block well, but Huang Ji already knew where it was.

Solving Earth's predicament required long-term planning. Huang Ji keenly felt the urgency of time, and he also knew that he could not do it alone.

Since there was already a group of rebels, all he had to do was kick out those destined to betray them. With him as their leader, the rest still had great potential.

No one was better than him at identifying those whose resolve was weak.

"Funding? How much can you provide?" Lao Wang asked.

"I hid the superconducting block. No one knows where it is except me. It's no longer safe here, and I've been looking for a chance to meet up with the other members. We were scattered last year and fled separately. Last month, I finally managed to contact a brother. He's in London."

"I need to find him. I've already arranged a ship. At the very least, I'm still short fifty thousand. At most... the more money, the better."

Huang Ji shook his head. "No rush to leave. At least for the next few months, I can't leave. I'm providing you with funding because I want you to help me purchase some things."

"What? Look at these two on the floor. They came right to my home," Lao Wang said.

"Their identities haven't been confirmed yet. For the time being, you're safest in Hua Country," Huang Ji said.

Lao Wang pursed his lips and crouched down to search the two unconscious men.

He took out everything they had on them and examined it, then nodded. "Mm, they really aren't Illuminati people. They were probably hired."

Those directly commanded by the Illuminati all bore the All-Seeing Eye mark or carried items bearing related marks.

Lao Wang slapped awake the man whose limbs had been dislocated and asked, "Talk. Who sent you to kill me?"

"No one sent us to kill you. We just wanted to come in and make some money. Then you came back, so we wanted to grab you and force you to tell us where the money was," the man said after catching his breath, spouting nonsense.

Huang Ji nodded. With several sharp cracks, he reset the man's dislocated joints.

But before the man could breathe a sigh of relief, another burst of searing pain struck him. Huang Ji dislocated the freshly reset arm again, turning it limp as mud.

"Aaaah!"

Ignoring the man's cries, Huang Ji used him as practice to hone his proficiency with the Muscle-Splitting Bone-Dislocating Hand.

He knew how to dislocate bones and joints, but while his mind understood it, his hands were still unpracticed. His earlier moves had been so swift mainly because the opponent had been caught off guard by the Air-Expelling Finger and had been like a target for him to dismantle.

In a real fight, Huang Ji could not actually perform it that well, so he still needed much more practice.

"His joints have been damaged too severely. This arm will be useless from now on," Lao Wang said hypocritically from the side.

The man broke out in a cold sweat when he heard that. He made his living through flashy knife tricks. If his hand was ruined, he would become nothing more than an ordinary thug.

"Don't, don't, don't! I'll talk! It's all a misunderstanding! My name is Xiao Zha. We didn't come to kill you. We wouldn't kill anyone! We came to take you back. I don't know why we were supposed to take you, but my boss told us to bring you back," the man said.

"Who's your boss?" Lao Wang asked.

"Zhang Junwei..."

Lao Wang raised a brow. "Never heard of him. Did someone commission him to do this?"

"Yes, yes... Someone called and asked our boss to find someone, which... which was you. As long as we found you and reported it, we'd get one million," Xiao Zha said.

Huang Ji reset Xiao Zha's hands and feet and asked, "What if you caught him? How much would that be worth?"

"Probably more money?" Xiao Zha said uncertainly.

Lao Wang sharply caught the key point and pressed, "Probably? What do you mean?"

Xiao Zha hurriedly said, "Because they didn't ask our boss to capture you and bring you over. They only asked us to report your whereabouts. Then they'd send their own people to capture you."

"But our boss thought you yourself would be worth more. Just reporting your whereabouts would get us one million, so catching you should get us even more. That's why, after finding you, he had us wait in your home and capture you alive."

Lao Wang froze when he heard that, then burst out laughing.

He had been wondering how the Illuminati could send only these two little fish to capture him.

To ensure absolute success, they would surely have deployed an Impenetrable Net.

So it turned out that this local kingpin named Zhang Junwei had acted on his own!

The Illuminati did not have a particularly strong intelligence network here and mainly relied on local kingpins. After all, money could make even ghosts turn millstones.

Yet Zhang Junwei had taken matters into his own hands, sending two underlings first to stir up the grass and startle the snake.

Though these two did have a good chance of capturing Lao Wang, it was clearly unreliable. The Illuminati naturally wanted more capable people to handle it.

Even if Lao Wang really were captured by these local kingpins, he would have plenty of chances to kill himself. Afterward, the "Golden Core" would not be found.

"The Illuminati's people haven't arrived yet. This is a good opportunity. If we leave now, we'll still be safe!" Lao Wang said.

Huang Ji had known this all along. He had deliberately guided Lao Wang toward this realization.

He said, "If the Illuminati knew your whereabouts, they would definitely stop Zhang Junwei's unauthorized action. Yet these two still haven't received orders to withdraw, which means Zhang Junwei never called to report your whereabouts at all!"

Lao Wang was stunned. That made sense.

Zhang Junwei had been trying to be clever, intending to capture the man first and then bargain with the client.

So the Illuminati had no idea at all that Lao Wang had already been found!

"The only people who know you're in Magic City are Zhang Junwei and his men. We just need to go talk to him and deal with him. Then, in this area, the Illuminati won't be able to discover you for a very long time," Huang Ji said.

Lao Wang gave an "Eh?" and stared hard at Huang Ji. "What did you say? Deal with him?"

"Control him, and you'll be safe," Huang Ji said with a smile.

After saying that, he woke the other unconscious man and instructed the two men to lead the way.

Lao Wang knew this was a good method. As long as Zhang Junwei did not report his whereabouts, they could deceive the Illuminati. After all, the Illuminati did not know where he was.

But Lao Wang looked around and said speechlessly, "Just the three of us?"

"Capture the bandits by first capturing their chief," Huang Ji said.

"What if there's no opportunity?" Lao Wang asked.

"If there's no opportunity, I'll create one!" Huang Ji said.

"Are you sure? The moment these two get there, they'll definitely warn Zhang Junwei," Lao Wang said, pointing at the two thugs.

"No, no, no, we won't say anything." Knowing how formidable Huang Ji was, Xiao Zha hurriedly waved his hands.

Huang Ji smiled and took out two filiform needles, inserting them below the navels of the two thugs. He kept flicking the tails of the needles.

"Y-you... what are you doing?" the two men cried in alarm.

Huang Ji said nothing. Only after flicking the needles for a full three minutes did he pull them out.

The instant they were removed, both men felt a wave of coldness and weakness spread through their bodies.

"What did you do!" the two men cried in shock.

"Nothing. Just acupuncture castration," Huang Ji said.

"What!" Not only were the two men terrified, but even Lao Wang and Lin Li shuddered in shock.

Th-this... castrated them?

The two men hurriedly turned their backs and fumbled around for a long while, only to find everything in their hands ice-cold.

Huang Ji put away the needles and said, "A hospital can't treat this. Only I can save you."

What he did not say was that they had only three days for treatment. He had altered the flow of their qi and blood so that their bodies no longer supplied blood there, which was why it felt ice-cold in their hands. If untreated for more than three days, it would rot and die.

"Big brother! Please spare us! We'll cooperate completely! From now on, you'll be the boss of this whole area!" The two men were nearly crying.

"Not me... him!" Huang Ji said, pointing at Lin Li.

Lin Li stared blankly, tilting his head. "Huh?"