Cooperation

Chapter 49: Cooperation

"The commotion has stopped."

Beneath the old residential building.

Ning Wu's figure was hidden in the shadows of a corner. She closed her eyes, sensing what was happening upstairs. However, due to the distance, her intuition couldn't reach, and she could only discern the general situation through the various sounds and movements.

From the screams and fighting sounds just now, she could roughly conclude.

Old Crow and the other seven had engaged in a fierce battle with Li Yi. The battle had not gone smoothly, and their side had likely suffered significant losses.

But it had all happened and ended too quickly.

From the start of the action to its cessation, it should have only been a little over a minute.

"Did they succeed or fail? With so many people against just Li Yi, failure shouldn't be possible. That Li Yi has only been cultivating for a month, while Old Crow and the others are very experienced cultivators. There's no reason they couldn't take down a mere youngster." Ning Wu slowly opened her eyes, frowning slightly.

She wanted to go upstairs to see, but she held back.

She didn't want to get directly involved in this matter.

If the Investigation Bureau showed up, she wouldn't be able to escape complicity. Moreover, someone needed to take the Mysterious Artifact. If Ning Wu participated, the artifact would be considered stolen goods, and she might be targeted by investigators, which would be another troublesome affair.

"I'll go take a look."

Suddenly, a cultivator emerged from another alley. His name was Kong Sheng, and he was responsible for keeping watch on the outermost perimeter to prevent any accidents.

"Why did you suddenly come over? Never mind, the matter is over anyway. Go take a look at the situation and report back immediately if there are any problems." Ning Wu thought for a moment, then nodded, agreeing to Kong Sheng's request.

Kong Sheng didn't waste any time and rushed into the building, heading upstairs.

Soon.

As he ascended, he saw two Spirit Medium Realm cultivators lying in the hallway ahead. Their bodies were submerged in blood, motionless.

"Dead?"

Kong Sheng's heart tightened. He cautiously approached the door.

The dim room was a mess, filled with a dead silence.

He peered inside slightly and was immediately stunned by the horrific scene. He saw bodies lying haphazardly inside the room. These were all cultivators who had participated in the operation. Old Crow was leaning against the wall by the window, his head hanging down, his body limp and lifeless. One of his arms appeared to be broken, twisted at an unnatural angle.

"All of them? How is that possible? Is Li Yi really that strong?"

Kong Sheng was shocked.

Just then, he suddenly sensed danger, his hair standing on end.

A figure flashed out of nowhere and was suddenly in front of him.

Kong Sheng only saw, within the immense shadow before him, a pair of eyes brimming with killing intent, glowing ominously, striking fear into his heart.

"Don't attack, I'm Lu Jue's friend." He quickly blurted out.

The next moment.

A fist stopped before his eyes with a terrifying explosion.

The gust of wind from the punch was so strong it made his eyelids unable to open.

"Lu Jue's friend? Are you the one who tipped him off before, saying someone was coming to kill me?" As Li Yi's voice rang out, the fist that had stopped in front of Kong Sheng slowly lowered.

Kong Sheng felt his heart, which had been pounding wildly, finally resume its beat. Cold sweat drenched his back. If that punch hadn't stopped, his head would have likely been blown clean off.

So brutal.

How could Old Crow and the others have had the courage to try and kill someone as ferocious as Li Yi?

Before he could calm down, Kong Sheng quickly said, "That's right, I was the one who tipped off Lu Jue. He told me about you, that you two are friends. I heard him mention you. Since we know each other, I decided to betray my mission. However, I only received the specific mission details ten minutes ago. I didn't know beforehand that the person I was supposed to kill was you."

"I see. It seems I have you to thank. If not for your information, I wouldn't have had time to react and might have truly been killed by Old Crow and his group." Li Yi stared at Kong Sheng, and the surging killing intent gradually subsided.

"But Old Crow wasn't the only one involved in this for sure. There was that woman too. She was in league with Old Crow."

Kong Sheng nodded. "You mean Ning Wu? That's right, she hired all these people. And she's downstairs right now."

"Downstairs? Good, very good. After all these lives, one more won't matter." Li Yi's killing intent, which had just subsided, reignited upon hearing this. He immediately turned to walk out the door.

"Wait, wait." Kong Sheng suddenly called out to him.

"What is it?" Li Yi stopped and looked back.

Kong Sheng said in a low voice, "Ning Wu is a cultivator in the Spirit Medium Realm. Her strength is extraordinary. She's not participating directly because she doesn't want to get her hands dirty and attract the attention of investigators. You might be in danger if you go find her now."

"Spirit Medium Realm? So what? Whether I can win or not, I'll only know after we fight. Besides, if I don't kill her today, she'll kill me. There's no avoiding it." Li Yi's expression was calm, showing no fear.

Although a cultivator a level higher was powerful, as long as Ning Wu hadn't mastered a Technique, he was confident he could put up a fight.

"Not only that, but Ning Wu also hired a wanted criminal named Wang Kui as a precaution. Although Wang Kui is also only in the Spirit Medium Realm, he possesses a sniper rifle. That rifle was originally developed by the Investigation Bureau to deal with cultivators and Extraordinary Creatures. Later, he killed an investigator, stole the gun, and fled to the Ruined City. With that rifle, he has killed at least six cultivators, including one in the Spirit Medium Realm."

Kong Sheng revealed a crucial piece of information at this moment.

A sniper rifle?

Good heavens, that Ning Wu is truly as ruthless as ever. She even brought out a gun to deal with me.

Li Yi's expression changed drastically. "Where is that Wang Kui now? Why didn't he make a move before?"

"I don't know. Wang Kui is a wanted criminal, so he can't show his face. I guess he's hiding somewhere in this old town district right now. As for why he didn't make a move just now, I think Ning Wu believed Old Crow could take you down, so she didn't want Wang Kui involved. She only asked Wang Kui to be on standby as a precaution, because once the shooting starts, things change."

Kong Sheng said in a low voice, "Moreover, when I was on guard nearby just now, I intentionally looked for Wang Kui's traces, but I couldn't find him. However, I suspect Wang Kui is in the residential building behind Ning Wu, because that's the only place I haven't searched."

"I'll go kill that Wang Kui. You help me find a way to stall Ning Wu. After I succeed, I'll come back to deal with her," Li Yi said seriously after thinking for a moment.

Kong Sheng immediately panicked, "Th-this, I can't do that."

"At this point, neither you nor I have a choice. You can either kill me and report to Ning Wu, or we can join forces and eliminate them. Isn't that Wang Kui a wanted criminal? I'll kill him, and I'll give you the bounty. Plus, I'll give you another ten million privately. And when the Investigation Bureau arrives, I can testify that you are my friend and innocent, and that this whole thing has nothing to do with you. You can wash your hands of it completely."

Li Yi added, "And I'm not asking you to fight Ning Wu. You just need to stall for a bit, buy me enough time to take care of Wang Kui."

He was offering a high price because money wasn't important anymore at this point.

As he finished speaking, Kong Sheng's expression flickered, and he fell into hesitation.

There were risks, but the rewards were substantial.

After all, Wang Kui's personal bounty was already eight million. Combined with Li Yi's ten million, he could indeed make a fortune.

Moreover, if successful, he would not only receive two clean sums of money but also clear himself of any charges of murder. It was a win-win situation.

If he refused...

Not to mention whether Li Yi would kill him, he wouldn't be able to explain himself to Ning Wu, and he would also be branded a murderer.

"Okay, I've made up my mind. I agree," Kong Sheng said, taking a deep breath and making his choice.

Since he was going to betray them, he might as well do it thoroughly.

Hesitating and wavering would only offend both sides.

Besides, he trusted his friend Lu Jue's judgment. Li Yi was worth befriending.

"Excellent. I'm very familiar with this old town district. I'll go flush out Wang Kui. Be careful yourself. If you really can't stall any longer, create a distraction, and I'll show myself."

After Li Yi finished speaking, he didn't hesitate any longer. He returned home, ignored the corpses scattered everywhere, climbed through the window, and disappeared from Kong Sheng's sight.

Kong Sheng also didn't delay. He immediately went downstairs and returned the way he came.

Soon.

He walked out of the old residential building.

Ning Wu was still waiting in the shadows not far away. She looked at Kong Sheng with suspicion, "What's the situation upstairs? And who were you talking to just now?"

Kong Sheng's mind raced as he replied, "The situation upstairs was terrible. Several people died, and some were seriously injured and unconscious. The intel was wrong. Li Yi's strength is extraordinary, far beyond what an ordinary Spirit Medium Realm cultivator can contend with. I observed the bodies, and each one had a Fist Print."

"Those Fist Prints are terrifying, possibly a type of Fist Technique. Also, Old Crow is in a bad way. He lost an arm. I was talking to him just now."

"Ning Wu, I suggest you call for an ambulance immediately and get him to safety first. As for Li Yi, I'd advise you to forget about him. I didn't see him when I went upstairs earlier; he probably ran off injured."

"Impossible, how could this happen?" Ning Wu's face changed drastically upon hearing this news.

She thought Li Yi had been successfully killed, and that Old Crow was currently searching Li Yi's house for the Mysterious Artifact. She never expected things to turn out this way.

Not only had the operation failed, but they had suffered heavy losses, and Li Yi had escaped.

"That's how it is. If you don't believe me, you can go upstairs and see for yourself. I'm not lying to you. Besides, Old Crow is barely holding on; it's hard to say if he'll make it," Kong Sheng said.

"Damn it."

At this moment, Ning Wu could no longer hold back. She no longer cared about being implicated in this major case. With a step, her figure shot out from the shadows. A few footsteps echoed, and she was already inside the building, reaching the third floor in an instant.

Seeing that his diversion had succeeded, Kong Sheng breathed a sigh of relief. Then, with a glance from the corner of his eye, he saw a figure flash and disappear into the residential building opposite.

"Li Yi has started his move," he thought to himself.