Identity Exposed

Su Ze had originally wanted to book separate rooms for himself and Zhang Fantie, which would have made it easier for him to slip away at night. But Zhang Fantie insisted, so they could only book a luxurious twin room.

Zhang Fantie believed this would better protect Su Ze, but it also dashed Su Ze's thoughts of escaping at night. He couldn't possibly sneak away without alerting a Butterfly Transformation Stage expert beside him.

"Looks like I'll have to wait until we reach the Luofan Kingdom to find another chance to get away."

Su Ze stopped dwelling on it. After dinner, he went to take a shower, and when he was done, he didn't forget to spray on the same pungent perfume Zhao Lingxiao had used.

Every second Zhang Fantie spent beside him left him on edge, as though thorns were pressed against his back and needles beneath him. He had to reveal as few flaws as possible.

Frowning, Su Ze swallowed two little blue pills before climbing beneath the covers and playing on his phone.

With nourishing medicine like Body Strengthening Pills, it was best to exercise after taking them so the effects could be absorbed faster and more thoroughly. Taking them and then lying down like Su Ze did would waste part of the medicinal effect, but he didn't care. After all, he had money.

After an unknown amount of time, Su Ze gradually began to feel sleepy and drifted off.

In his daze, someone shook him awake. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Zhang Fantie wearing a grave expression, one hand covering his mouth.

Su Ze jolted. Has my identity been exposed?

But then he saw Zhang Fantie gesture for silence before pointing outside the window.

Someone was outside the window?

This was the twelfth floor!

Understanding immediately, Su Ze got up and moved to the wall farthest from the window.

In a flash, Zhang Fantie appeared beside the window, moving so fast that Su Ze couldn't see him clearly. Zhang Fantie then pulled open the curtains. When Su Ze saw what was behind them, his eyes widened involuntarily.

A human face was pressed tightly against the windowpane!

It was a gaunt elderly man, his skin an unhealthy grayish white. He looked like a corpse that had escaped from a morgue.

The old man's dead-fish gaze passed over Zhang Fantie and fixed directly on Su Ze. He spoke word by word, his voice hoarse and dry.

"I hope you haven't forgotten our deal. Did you bring the item?"

A deal?

Su Ze's heart stirred, and he already had a guess about the old man's identity.

He shook his head. "I never make deals with people who can't stand in the light."

"Interesting. Looks like you absorbed that tube of extract yourself." The old man grinned. "No matter. Extracting it from your body will work just as well."

Zhang Fantie finally moved. He stepped forward, threw open the window, and punched at the old man outside.

The old man leaned backward, floating outside the window like a kite as a nauseating stench rushed in from outside.

The moment he smelled it, Su Ze completely confirmed the other party's identity. He was no stranger to that foul odor—the mysterious person who had ordered Zhao Lingxiao to kill Princess Zhuzhi carried the same stench. They were clearly from the same organization.

Furthermore, Su Ze had smelled the same odor on Zhao Lingxiao's corpse, though it had been much fainter. The pungent perfume could barely mask it.

The old man outside let out a strange laugh. "Deals made by the organization are never abandoned halfway through. We will take back what you owe us."

The old man's figure vanished into the night outside. Zhang Fantie's expression turned grim as he locked the window again, drew the curtains, and said to Su Ze, "The moment dawn breaks, we leave."

Su Ze nodded and asked, "Uncle Tie, how strong is that old man?"

"The same as me. Butterfly Transformation Stage," Zhang Fantie replied.

Su Ze's heart tightened. Without Zhang Fantie protecting him, tonight would likely have ended in disaster.

The unknown mysterious organization's target was Princess Zhuzhi's extract—or rather, the skill Divine Grace of Evolution. But Zhao Lingxiao had absorbed the extract, and now Su Ze had taken Zhao Lingxiao's identity.

That meant the mysterious organization could only kill Su Ze and extract the Evolution Substance within him to produce another extract containing the Divine Grace of Evolution skill.

So I've become a boss now. Kill me, and a divine skill drops... Su Ze had a headache. What he understood even less was how they had found him.

He had arrived in Black Rock City by private plane, so logically, there was no chance he had been followed. Moreover, Qinggu City and Black Rock City were separated by more than half of Mu Kingdom. He had only gotten off the plane at noon, and staying at this hotel tonight had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. How had the mysterious organization tracked him to this hotel on the very same night?

The mysterious organization was powerful, but Su Ze didn't believe they could control everything. They must have had some method of tracking his location.

"There are countless tracking skills, but they usually require leaving a mark on the target. But I'm not Zhao Lingxiao. I've never come into contact with anyone from the mysterious organization before. It would have been possible for them to leave a mark on Zhao Lingxiao, but they shouldn't have had the chance to mark me." Su Ze suddenly froze, then turned to glance at the handbag on his bedside table.

The bag had originally belonged to Zhao Lingxiao, and Su Ze had kept it with him all this time. The most valuable thing in it was that tube of Tier 4 extract!

And that tube of Tier 4 extract had originally been the deposit the mysterious organization paid Zhao Lingxiao.

"So they're tracking that tube of Tier 4 extract to locate me..." Su Ze understood, but he didn't share his guess with Zhang Fantie.

After this incident, Su Ze couldn't sleep anymore. He lay on the bed with his eyes closed, analyzing his current situation.

He seemed to possess enormous wealth and have a Butterfly Transformation Stage expert protecting him, as though he were completely secure. But in reality, he was no different from a tightrope walker on a cliff. One misstep would mean eternal damnation.

The mysterious organization's people wanted to kill him for his skill. Once the Zhao Family learned that he wasn't Zhao Lingxiao, they would certainly kill him to avenge Zhao Lingxiao as well.

He needed Zhang Fantie's protection, yet he was also afraid Zhang Fantie would spot his flaws.

"Whether it's the Zhao Family or the mysterious organization, neither is someone I can deal with. For now, I can only take things one step at a time."

Before long, dawn began to break. Zhang Fantie woke Su Ze, and the two washed up before heading downstairs for breakfast. Yesterday's taxi driver had long been waiting for them outside the hotel.

The two walked out of the hotel and headed toward the taxi. Just then, Zhang Fantie's phone suddenly rang.

Zhang Fantie had no friends or family, and he had come out this time on a mission. The only person who normally contacted him was Zhao Yuanyi.

Su Ze glanced at Zhang Fantie's phone screen. Sure enough, it was Zhao Yuanyi calling. For some reason, the urgent ringtone filled Su Ze with an inexplicable sense of irritation and unease.

"Minister." Zhang Fantie stopped, answered the call, and spoke respectfully.

"Is Lingxiao with you?"

"He is."

Zhao Yuanyi's voice contained no discernible emotion. "Capture him and bring him back. He isn't Lingxiao."

"Remember, take him alive!"