Please Wait a Moment

Zhao Han stood on the balcony, stretching her body in the sunlight, when she heard a series of explosive bursts through the air.

Curiously, she walked along the balcony, following the sounds until she spotted the training grounds behind the villa.

After watching for a while, she did not quite understand what she was seeing, but instinctively sensed a unique, violent beauty to it.

Speed and strength combined perfectly. Every punch generated a blast of wind pressure, while every step pushed the limits of dynamic vision.

Thinking of how easily he had crushed the ceramic handle before, she fully understood just how much destructive power those moves contained.

Then it occurred to her: if she stayed by his side all the time, how was she supposed to lure out the killer?

Not long afterward, Driver Li Shuangyue called her to breakfast.

At the dining table, Zhao Han gathered her courage and tentatively said, "Um, Teacher Wenren, I thought about it carefully yesterday. I might become the killer's next target. Since I saw the suspect list, they may come after me to confirm whether they're being watched."

Wenren Sheng neither agreed nor disagreed, merely assuming a thoughtful expression.

A moment later, he replied, "In that case, I already know who the Backstage Black Hand is."

As he spoke, he took out his phone and began operating it, apparently sending something to someone.

Huh? Zhao Han was utterly baffled. She only felt that he was far too mysterious—he could identify the killer from a single sentence of hers? Still, she did not press him further. Before long, the three of them set off after breakfast.

The driver drove in front, heading north, while the two sat in the back seat.

After driving for some time, they came down from the Elevated Bridge.

A while later, the driver slowly brought the car to a stop. Ahead was a Crossroads, and the Traffic Light across from them was turning yellow.

Zhao Han had been lost in thought when she suddenly sensed something enormous appearing to her left. Turning her head, she saw a Big Truck speeding past, grazing their car without slowing down.

She did not know whether overtaking on the left was allowed. All she knew was that she had a terrible feeling of impending disaster!

She instinctively grabbed the handle above the car door. Driver Li Shuangyue glanced to the left but made no move to evade.

The large truck sped past them and continued straight ahead, clearly intending to accelerate through the intersection northbound before the yellow light disappeared.

Yet just seconds before that, a brand-new BMW Car had suddenly charged toward the Crossroads from west to east along the east-west road ahead. Judging by its trajectory, it was aimed directly at the car Wenren Sheng was sitting in.

If the Big Truck had not accelerated through the intersection, the BMW Car would have struck exactly where Zhao Han was seated.

But there were no more ifs. The BMW Car rammed headfirst beneath the truck's front end and was crushed on the spot!

"Ah!" Zhao Han suddenly screamed.

The Big Truck slammed on its brakes, but it was already too late. It still shoved the BMW Car out of the Crossroads, pushing it more than ten meters before coming to a halt.

Fortunately, the Big Truck did not overturn. The truck driver got out through the open door, his face deathly pale as he checked the situation.

At that moment, Wenren Sheng frowned slightly and tapped on his phone, while Li Shuangyue had already pulled the car over to the roadside.

Wenren Sheng opened the door on the right and said to Zhao Han, "Get out on this side. It seems the killer moved quickly."

Only then did Zhao Han snap to attention. In disbelief, she asked, "You mean that BMW Car was trying to hit us?"

"Let's go take a look. You might know the owner." With his hands in his pockets, Wenren Sheng walked toward the Accident Scene.

Some passing drivers were making calls, while others cautiously drove away from the scene.

The two crossed the Crossroads and came to the crushed BMW Car. Through the front window, they saw the person in the driver's seat: an exquisite woman wearing light makeup. Aside from her youthful face, which remained intact, every other part of her had been crushed into a mangled mass wrapped in dark red.

"This person... is Wang Qingyue?" Zhao Han said incredulously.

She had just seen the woman through a livestream window yesterday, and the reversal after reversal had left a deep impression on her. She recognized her at once.

"How is that possible? Wasn't she determined not to have been affected by Alien Power?" she asked, confused.

Wenren Sheng shook his head. "Do you remember what Liu Jian said when I taught you yesterday?"

Zhao Han tried hard to recall it, and at last remembered some of it.

"No one wants to become an ordinary person, like pigs and sheep, again?" she finally recalled.

"Although I criticized him at the time, he was actually right. When Ordinary People face Otherworldly Users, they are pigs and sheep to be manipulated at will." After saying that, Wenren Sheng stood by the roadside, seemingly waiting for something.

Zhao Han stayed close behind him, her heart still reeling.

His meaning was clear. Wang Qingyue had escaped yesterday, but she had not escaped today. Like pigs and sheep, not being slaughtered yesterday did not mean she would never be slaughtered.

Not long afterward, a Helicopter appeared near the intersection, hovering seven or eight meters above the ground.

A group of fully armed people rapidly rappelled down and began cordoning off the Accident Scene. Another person walked toward Wenren Sheng, who was waiting nearby.

The man had a stern face and sharp eyes. He was Inspector Liu, whom they had met only yesterday.

"Manager Wenren, we have already begun the arrest operation according to the lead you sent this morning," he said seriously.

Wenren Sheng nodded. "Mm. Thank you for your hard work. If anything unexpected happens, notify me immediately."

Zhao Han was still completely confused. Who was the killer? Where was he? What was he doing? Yet she did not dare speak, much less ask.

"You're confused?" Wenren Sheng turned to ask her.

"Yes, Teacher," Zhao Han answered honestly.

"It is not yet time to reveal the truth." With that, Wenren Sheng headed back toward his car.

Zhao Han glanced at Inspector Liu. He glanced back at her, then turned and walked away as well.

She could only follow Wenren Sheng back into the car.

The car started up again and sped away from the scene toward Tianxing Club, as if the person who had just died had no effect on them whatsoever.

At a quarter to nine, the two arrived at Tianxing Club.

Wenren Sheng had no classes today. After eating the dark breakfast Wei Yiqing provided as usual, he rested with his eyes closed in his manager's office.

At noon, he received a phone call.

"Mm, all right. Thank you for your hard work. I'll review the records. That's all."

After ending the call, he thought for a moment and took out his phone.

Before long, the doorbell rang.

"Come in."

The door was pushed open. The first to enter was a thin boy with regular features—Liu Jian.

He looked somewhat confused, but also seemed worried.

Three girls followed behind him.

"Sit down, all of you. I have something to show you." Wenren Sheng had them sit on the sofa.

He took out his phone, opened his Key of Secrets app, and placed it on the coffee table before the sofa for the four of them to see.

A Video Recording playback appeared.

Liu Jian's expression changed the instant he watched a few seconds of it.

An old apartment building first appeared onscreen, with weeds growing through cracked concrete. Several elderly people were playing chess. Then a First Team of fully armed Black Shirts rushed toward the building.

The nearby crowd was quickly isolated.

Then people broke in, and everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Finally, they charged up the stairs to the fourth floor and pried open a door on the right side of the corridor.

The camera kept moving, eventually settling on a shabby study. Inside was a man in a wheelchair, half bald on top with a high hairline, his back facing the camera.

By this point, Liu Jian's face had become grim. His hands were clenched tightly, as though he might erupt at any moment.

A voice came from the recording.

"Please wait a moment. I can't leave an unfinished game for future generations..." The Half-Bald Man leaned over the desk, where a laptop sat.

He seemed to have noticed someone behind him, but instead of stopping or resisting, he spoke while speeding up his typing.

Lines of code filled the screen.

Liu Jian had once asked his father what that code was. Back then, the man had kindly told him:

"Jian, that's code that can bring people happiness. You must remember this: become someone who can make others happy."