Forbidden Item ACE-017

Zhang Tianzhen glanced nervously at Hu Xiaoniu, but the other party showed no sign of backing down, stubbornly staring at the girl in front of him.

The Time Walker hired by the Wang Family slowly approached, and the atmosphere became tense.

But Hu Xiaoniu still didn't back down.

Wang Yun turned her head away, seemingly reluctant. In the end, she whispered to Hu Xiaoniu, "I'll give you another chance. We used to be friends, so don't force me."

Hu Xiaoniu slowly said, "Actually, you're a selfish person, aren't you? Whether it's betraying us or trying to kill us now, it's all just excuses to cover up your hypocrisy. I can back down today, but I want to show you with my actions that if I'm the first one to wake up and be interrogated, I won't give in. Your people are right here, let's prove it with facts."

Hu Xiaoniu continued, "I really want to back out, but these past two days, every time I drift off to sleep, I dream of my friend from Kunlun yelling 'Run!' I dreamt that he was clinging tightly to the door, watching us all run out before closing his eyes with a smile. I, Hu Xiaoniu, am not a particularly principled person, but if I back out today, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep at all!"

Wang Yun said softly, "You forced me to kill them."

Before the people behind her could react, strange footsteps suddenly came from outside the alley.

The footsteps came from afar, sometimes seeming to be on the left, but then suddenly appearing on the right. At one point, everyone felt as if the footsteps were right behind them.

But when everyone looked back, they couldn't see anyone.

Gradually, a figure became clearer at the end of the path.

A man in his thirties walked into the middle of everyone as if no one else was there. He calmly surveyed the tense atmosphere around him and asked Wang Yun in a low voice, "You're Wang Yun, right? You're easier to find than I expected."

Wang Yun was taken aback. "Who are you?"

The man wore a black overcoat over an elegant suit, and a retro pocket watch that seemed out of place in the cyberpunk era hung on his chest. His medium-length hair was combed back and tied into a small bun.

He was wearing a pair of black leather gloves, which made a squeaking sound when his fingers moved.

"Me?" The man thought for a moment. "It's been a long time since anyone asked me who I am. So let me introduce myself, Heng Society, Li Dongze."

As they spoke, a dense chorus of footsteps echoed from several alleys beyond the path, seemingly encircling it.

Li Dongze stood on the path, as if everything revolved around him.

Wang Yun exclaimed in a low voice, "Li Dongze from Heng Society?"

"Such exclamations are quite common, but don't dwell on it for now," Li Dongze thought for a moment. "The boss asked me to ask you a question: who exactly is the mastermind behind this kidnapping? Think about it carefully; I need an answer to this today."

Wang Yun paused, then said blankly, "I really don't know who it was. The day after the incident at Jiang Xue's house, a letter suddenly appeared in my bag. There was a stamp with a devil image on the envelope, and the letter said he would contact me. I was terrified because I didn't even realize when he put the envelope in my bag. Someone with such incredible power could kill me so easily!"

"I understand, it's the Forbidden Item ACE-017," Li Dongze nodded.

Wang Yun asked timidly, "Is there anything else you need here?"

Li Dongze nodded calmly. "Oh, I'm here to kill you."

Wang Yun's expression began to slowly change, as complex as a plate of oil paint being spilled on the ground.

"What did I do wrong?!" she suddenly asked hysterically. "Why do you all want to kill me?!"

Li Dongze thought for a moment and said, "I don't know either. The boss only said he wanted to kill you, but I didn't ask why."

After saying that, he raised his hand and made a loose grasping motion.

The next moment, Wang Yun felt as if the air around her had been sucked away, and she had entered a completely vacuum environment. Under the inexplicable pulling force, her blood vessels burst one by one under her skin.

Simply.

Direct.

At the same time, Li Shutong looked at Qing Chen and said, "Alright, the exchange condition I owe you has been fulfilled. Li Dongze should have already killed the mole you mentioned."

Qing Chen was taken aback. "Wait, teacher, are you saying that Li Dongze took action personally?"

In his mind, Li Dongze was already a figure of extremely high status in the Inner World. After all, he was someone who could book the entire Sunlight Pavilion Restaurant. He wouldn't need to personally kill Wang Yun, would he?

Lin Xiaoxiao, standing to the side, chuckled and said, "Li Dongze is the person closest to the boss. He always personally carries out the killings the boss orders him to do. He values relationships a lot."

A few minutes later, Lin Xiaoxiao suddenly received a message on her reader containing only the words ACE-017.

"Your reader can receive external information?" Qing Chen asked in confusion.

"Oh, I'm in charge of contacting the outside world for the boss," Lin Xiaoxiao said cheerfully. "It seems that the culprit was Wang Yun who contacted us through ACE-017. This question should be answered for you. The person behind this is not simple. They obtained a Forbidden Item in such a short time."

"What is ACE-017? Is it the code for Forbidden Item? What is its purpose?" Qing Chen asked.

"Yes, the Forbidden Item ACE-007 is also known as the Demon Stamp," Lin Xiaoxiao said. "After obtaining it, feeding it 1600cc of fresh blood at once will cause it to recognize its master and parasitize the host's heart. Within 24 hours of recognizing its master, the host cannot have any foreign blood in their body. After that, every time you cut your finger, the blood dripping onto the envelope will turn into the pattern of the Demon Stamp. Then, that letter will go wherever you want it to go. However, it seems that there are restrictions on where it goes, and it can only contain a maximum of one sentence."

Qing Chen was stunned for a moment. When a normal human loses 800cc of blood, he will experience symptoms such as paleness, cold sweats, and cold hands and feet. Losing more than 1500cc of blood will cause insufficient blood supply to the brain.

This could be fatal.

In other words, to become the owner of the Demon Stamp, you have to gamble with your life.

Lin Xiaoxiao noticed what Qing Chen was thinking and said, "It's said that the design on the stamp changes, and if someone doesn't survive the 24 hours, the demonic image on the stamp will resemble the deceased. Some say that the stamp has taken their soul."

Ye Wan nodded. "This Forbidden Item was previously in the possession of the 4th President, but he was killed in his later years, and the Demon Stamp disappeared without a trace."

Qing Chen suddenly realized that Wang Yun becoming a mole was partly due to being frightened by this letter.

But this is not a reason for the other party to be exonerated.

"Does this stamp serve any other purpose?" Qing Chen asked, "For example, to evoke the recipient's malice or dark side?"

"What are you thinking about?" Lin Xiaoxiao denied. "I don't know, I've never seen this thing before. However, most Forbidden Item have only one ability. Maybe the Demon Stamp can only deliver letters. Only a few Forbidden Item have multiple abilities."

"For example?" Qing Chen curiously.

"For example... the ACE-005 that Guo Huzhan wants to find," Lin Xiaoxiao said, blinking at Qing Chen.