Greed Knows No Bounds

Xu Qing agreed aloud, but curiosity stirred in his heart.

Someone was causing trouble?

Xu Qing had just attained Sixth-Order Combat Power, so he naturally had some confidence.

While the production workshop was in complete chaos,

Xu Qing slipped out through the back door and once more came to the wall not far from the front entrance, climbing up it.

But then—

he discovered something surprising.

The people causing trouble in front of the company today were neither of the two old gangs nor the newly arrived Hunting Tiger Gang.

They were a group he had never seen before.

And there were only five of them.

At that moment, they stood arrogantly before the entrance.

"Uncle Luo?!"

The moment Xu Qing saw the person lying on the ground before those five men, he was stunned.

It was actually Luo Qingshan, the leader of the Security Team!

"Boss Zhou, I know what you're capable of, and I naturally know your assets quite well.

Our Red Knife Society has only just arrived, so we won't make too much of today's matter.

But let me warn you: don't look down on us just because there are few of us.

We may be few, but if one of your company employees goes missing every few days, your company won't be able to keep operating, right?"

The leader was a tall, burly man carrying a metal hammer as large as a human head.

He grabbed Luo Qingshan by the collar and tossed him back.

Liu Jun, standing in front of Zhou Yu, caught him at once and hurriedly had the team members take Luo Qingshan to the company infirmary.

Zhou Yu stared at the man before her with a pale face, both shocked and enraged.

She was shocked that these people were so viciously strong.

That burly man had knocked Luo Qingshan, a Second-Order Martial Artist, flat with a single hammer blow.

What enraged her was that these people had demanded ten million in protection money right from the start.

There was not even the slightest room for negotiation.

"Boss, don't do anything rash. Endure the immediate loss and settle the score later."

Seeing Zhou Yu clench her fists, Liu Jun quietly comforted her by her ear.

He was helpless too.

The power behind that man's hammer strike was unquestionably that of a solid Fourth-Order Martial Artist.

Although Luo Qingshan had reached the second order, his Combat Secret Technique was too poor.

It could only grant a twofold boost.

Even if he went all out, he would at best barely meet the standard of a Fourth-Order Martial Artist.

How could he fight someone like that?

And that burly man was not even the leader.

He could tell

that among the five, the gaunt middle-aged man standing at the very back, the oldest of them, was the true leader.

These people were clearly the sort of organization that operated like bandits.

They acted without regard for consequences.

If they were pushed too far, they might even kill someone on the spot.

The major local gangs might care about their reputations and refrain from going too far.

But these people—

if they killed someone and ran, what could anyone do?

In the end, Zhou Yu could only yield.

She paid them to settle the matter.

Seeing this, Xu Qing could not help frowning.

If a merchant kept handing over huge sums of money because of this sort of thing,

how could the business continue?

The annual profits would not even be enough to cover the protection fees.

Although Zhou Yu had hired quite a few Martial Artists, she did not have a single true expert among them.

In this chaotic situation, a company like this was bound to be unable to survive.

Xu Qing immediately planned to step in and help Zhou Yu.

After all, he now possessed Sixth-Order Combat Power, while the other side only had fourth-order strength.

However, he did not intend to act openly on the spot, lest he fail to wipe them out completely and invite retaliation.

That burly man was only fourth-order, but several people behind him had yet to make a move, and the gaunt middle-aged man's attitude toward the burly man was extremely cold.

That meant the middle-aged man was certainly stronger than the burly man.

Fifth-order? Or even sixth-order?

With so many experts on the other side, five against one, acting now was far too risky.

And if he failed to wipe them all out, given these people's ruthlessness and malice, the ones who would ultimately suffer would only be the company's innocent employees.

Hidden in the shadows, Xu Qing reminded himself not to act recklessly.

He absolutely could not act recklessly.

If he moved, he had to annihilate them all with thunderous force. Otherwise, there would be endless trouble later.

Xu Qing let out a long sigh. His strength was still insufficient. Otherwise, he would have gone up and knocked them all down without wasting words.

The joy of reaching Sixth-Order Combat Power vanished in an instant.

As soon as that group left, Xu Qing quietly followed after them.

Facing them head-on would be foolish, but he at least had to figure out where they were staying.

Xu Qing also wanted to see whether he could find an opportunity to eliminate them.

However, safety had to come first.

Without absolute certainty, he would not make a move.

Things ultimately did not go as Xu Qing wished.

Although he figured out their general hideout, he found that these people were excessively cautious, constantly watching the movements around them.

They even had some high-tech surveillance equipment.

Clearly, they knew that what they were doing would easily invite retaliation.

Since nothing could be done, Xu Qing could only look for another opportunity.

Yet only a month had passed

when the Red Knife Society came to demand money again.

And this time, they opened by demanding twenty million.

Twice as much as last time.

But after the previous incident,

Zhou Yu had naturally learned her lesson and used Liu Jun's connections

to spend a large sum hiring three Martial Artists from the retired Lunar military to guard the company.

Of the three,

one had been Liu Jun's squad leader in the Lunar Defense Force, a veteran Fourth-Order Gene Martial Artist.

The remaining two were both Third-Order Martial Artists, and both were military experts.

With these three experts guarding the place, Zhou Yu had thought there would be no cause for concern.

But no one had expected

that after the old squad leader fiercely defeated the burly man wielding the warhammer with both hands,

the gaunt middle-aged man among the Red Knife Society merely stepped forward and raised his sword, directly severing one of the squad leader's arms!

This powerful, savage scene instantly intimidated every Martial Artist present!

Naturally, that included Xu Qing, whose strength had improved again over the past month!

He had intended to act, but the gaunt middle-aged man's sword aura forced him back.

"Boss Zhou, your idea was good, but the people you hired are too weak."

The gaunt middle-aged man smiled coldly at Zhou Yu.

Then he said to a young, voluptuous woman behind him, "Lao Yao, break Boss Zhou's leg. Teach her a lesson."

"You—" The surrounding security members all glared furiously.

Yet none of them dared step forward.

After all, the middle-aged man's sword was simply too terrifying.

The voluptuous woman swayed her ample hips as she walked up to Zhou Yu. Seeing Zhou Yu's pale face and trembling legs, she immediately laughed. "Ah, some people truly can't tell what's good for them."

"Ah!"

A scream rang out.

Zhou Yu collapsed to the ground in agony, staring at the woman with a face full of humiliation.

"Pay up, or die?"

The woman patted Zhou Yu's face.

Gritting her teeth, Zhou Yu pulled out a gold card. "Take it. I was wrong this time. Please don't hurt anyone else."

Beads of sweat the size of soybeans covered her face as she spoke in pain.

"Hmph. At least you know what's good for you."

The woman took the bank card and turned to leave.

Only then did the Red Knife Society leave in satisfaction.

Not until the entire group had gone did Liu Jun and the others from the Security Team swarm forward, carrying the unconscious Zhou Yu and old squad leader toward the infirmary.

Xu Qing witnessed the entire scene.

That middle-aged man truly was a Sixth-Order Martial Artist.

He said nothing, merely followed them again in silence.

He continued scouting their location.

To be safe, to resolve these people completely, Xu Qing had to endure!

The County Government Hall was basically nothing more than decoration.

This incident instantly filled the entire company with panic.

After waking up, Zhou Yu directly gave everyone half a month off.

As for her, she personally called Liu Zhankun back from the Moon.

This matter

could not possibly be allowed to end like this.

Naturally, she had also called the police.

She had even sought help from the other three gangs.

However, those people merely symbolically sent someone over to visit Zhou Yu.

They promised to help her find those people.

Then they all left.

Zhou Yu naturally knew they were unreliable, so she did not place much hope in them.

But surprisingly,

the County Government Hall actually sent a Martial Artist specifically to investigate the matter.

Yet when he learned that the other side might include Fifth-Order or even Sixth-Order Martial Artists,

he too took his leave, saying that he would report the matter back. After that, there was no further word.

By then, Zhou Yu had completely lost hope in the other factions and focused solely on waiting for Liu Zhankun to return.

It was also then that Xu Qing learned Liu Zhankun's true physical fitness was actually that of a Fourth-Order Martial Artist.

However, his Combat Secret Technique seemed extremely powerful, capable of even delivering fourfold force.

Thus, he was extremely strong. It was said that his combat power had very likely reached the sixth order.

It took Liu Zhankun only two days to return from the Moon.

When he saw Xu Qing again and learned that Xu Qing had continued practicing martial arts for the past two and a half years, he was greatly pleased.

At the same time, he briefly asked about Xu Qing's training progress.

When he learned that Xu Qing had reached the strength of a "Quasi Martial Artist,"

a trace of disappointment flashed through Liu Zhankun's eyes, and he no longer paid much attention to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was relieved by this.

It seemed the confidentiality agreement he had signed with the Lunar Surface Commerce Alliance was still somewhat useful.

When he bought the Gene Potion, he had signed a confidentiality agreement with the Lunar Surface Commerce Alliance clerk.

He had requested that they not tell anyone about it.

Not even Liu Zhankun.

Xu Qing was not the first person to make such a request.

So naturally, there was a corresponding agreement to meet his requirements.

Xu Qing had initially been somewhat uneasy, but it now seemed he had worried for nothing.

However, Zhou Yu trusted Xu Qing greatly and did not avoid him while speaking with Liu Zhankun.

"Old Liu, can you handle the Red Knife Society? Do I need to call in some other helpers?"

On the hospital bed, Zhou Yu looked at Liu Zhankun and asked with concern.

"No need. The people you hired for the Security Team are enough. That person is at most Rank Six. I can handle him alone. As for the rest, you only need to help me stall for time."

Rank Six?!

Xu Qing's eyelid twitched.

Liu Zhankun was extremely confident.

He had checked the surveillance footage. That middle-aged man's combat strength was definitely no higher than Rank Six.

However, Xu Qing was somewhat doubtful. "Senior Liu, Uncle Zhou, those people have been gone for quite a while. How are we supposed to find them?"

Zhou Yu smiled. "Naturally, I prepared for that long ago. The card I gave them back then had a tracking chip built into it. It was specially made.

"Ordinary people would never think a bank card had a tracking system, so they wouldn't throw it away after getting it.

"After all, a Bearer Card capable of storing twenty million isn't some common thing.

"Not just anyone can get one. Twenty million isn't something they can spend that quickly, either."

Xu Qing frowned. "What if they transfer the money from the card into another account and then throw the card away?"

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