Clues 2

However you looked at it, with Zhao Wei this badly injured, Zhou Chengyan and Xia Ying had to notify his father, Zhao Changli, as soon as possible.

"How is it? Did you get through?" Zhou Chengyan steadied himself and looked at Xia Ying beside him.

"I don't know why there was no signal just now, but it's working now. I've called Uncle Zhao. I also called an ambulance!" Xia Ying replied quickly. Recalling what had just happened, she was still a little dazed.

Wang Yiyang had actually snapped, not giving Zhao Wei an inch and turning on him right there.

Then things had escalated rapidly. Zhao Wei had smashed a glass, and someone outside had rushed in and kicked him.

Everything had changed so fast that they'd been completely stunned.

"I'll... fucking kill his whole family!!" Zhao Wei finally came to his senses. He wiped his cheek and saw that his hand was covered in blood. That made him even more furious.

"Xiao Wei, don't do anything rash! You're badly hurt. Get to the hospital first! Your dad knows and will be here soon. If there's a problem, let your dad handle it!" Zhou Chengyan quickly urged him.

Zhao Wei struggled desperately to get up, but his injuries were worse than he'd imagined.

As soon as he used the table to help himself to his feet, a sharp pain shot through his chest and abdomen. He cried out and doubled over again.

Xia Ying and Zhou Chengyan hurried to support him, but they grabbed him in the wrong places and pressed on the wounds where glass shards were embedded. Zhao Wei let out another agonized howl.

While the three of them scrambled around in chaos, An Yuxi sat on the sofa, groggily leaning on it as she quietly made her way toward the door.

What had just happened had sobered her up a great deal. Her head was still spinning, but at least she could walk.

Once she'd regained a little sense, fear began to creep in.

Zhao Wei was covered in blood, his face twisted with rage. If something really happened to him, she might end up being blamed too.

After all, she was the one who had brought Wang Yiyang to the gathering halfway through.

Now Wang Yiyang had simply left, leaving her sitting there in an awkward position.

An Yuxi staggered out through the private room's doorway, accompanied by Zhao Wei's piglike squeals.

None of the servers dared stop her. Everyone was afraid of getting dragged into the mess, so they kept their distance.

Once outside the barbecue restaurant, An Yuxi felt the cold wind clear her head a little more.

Only then did she realize: where had all those people around Wang Yiyang come from?

How had they rushed in just as Zhao Wei was about to smash the glass?

Could they have been following Wang Yiyang the whole time? The thought startled An Yuxi.

What kind of rank or status did someone need to have people protecting them at all times?

She had no idea.

Before now, she'd only seen that sort of thing on the news or on television.

She hadn't expected someone like that to be hiding right beside her.

Shaken by the realization, An Yuxi was even more convinced that Wang Yiyang was no ordinary man.

As for Zhao Wei getting beaten, if she was lucky, she'd just have to cut ties with Xia Ying and become a stranger to her.

If she wasn't lucky... Zhao Wei might take his anger out on her.

She had no idea what would happen then.

All she knew was that, from what she'd heard in her earlier conversation with the three of them, Zhao Wei's family had businesses throughout Yingxing City, in every district. Their assets even exceeded Xia Ying's and Zhou Chengyan's.

The unknown was what frightened her most.

An Yuxi walked on in a daze, her stomach suddenly churning. She bent over and vomited violently by the roadside.

Afterward, she felt exhausted and uneasy, and her head grew even hazier.

It seemed she'd only been sober for a little while. Now the alcohol was taking hold again.

With no other choice, An Yuxi hurriedly hailed a cab and headed back to her rented place.

Whatever might happen in the future, she'd deal with it after she sobered up.

Any decision made with a muddled head was bound to be a bad one.

Wang Yiyang sat in the back of the bulletproof sedan, his expression calm.

What had just happened was nothing more than a minor interruption in an otherwise ordinary day.

As soon as he'd left the barbecue restaurant, Pela had sent over the electronic file of the interrogation summary.

Wang Yiyang needed only a short time to read through it all.

Not because he was fast, but because there wasn't much information.

The secret of Yuekong Martial Arts Hall really was the secret technique that could break through the limits.

But the Mantis organization's goal wasn't limited to Yuekong Martial Arts Hall.

Based on Pela's interrogation, Wang Yiyang learned that the Mantis organization's core philosophy was to pursue the limits of martial arts training.

So one of their goals was to collect secret techniques that could break through the limits.

Many schools had such techniques, each with its own methods and characteristics.

Their other goal was to gather powerful martial artists like Zhong Can, who had a significant chance of breaking through the limits.

What surprised Wang Yiyang, though, was that according to the intelligence, the Mantis had offered Zhong Can considerable benefits and a promising future to recruit him. Yet Zhong Can had still not made a decision.

There had to be some unknown information influencing his choice.

Yuekong Martial Arts Hall must be hiding something that makes Zhong Can unwilling to leave. Maybe it's more than just the secret technique for breaking through the limits...

Wang Yiyang wondered.

He was beginning to feel a headache coming on.

At first, he'd thought that as long as he was strong enough, he could easily solve the case involving the martial arts hall.

But now there were mysteries everywhere: what Zhong Can was hiding, what the martial arts hall was hiding, and what the Mantis were really after.

"Right, I can draw a new identity again in two days!"

At the thought, Wang Yiyang's spirits lifted.

After being reborn, he would have met the same fate and died in another car accident if the Mysterious Identity System hadn't suddenly appeared.

The hidden identities granted by the system were his greatest source of confidence and support.

"I'll hold out for two days. If the new identity is useful, maybe I'll find a better way. If it isn't, I'll make my move against Zhong Can!"

Wang Yiyang finally steeled himself and stopped hesitating.

The sedan pulled smoothly into a residential complex opposite the place Wang Yiyang rented.

He got out and watched as the car quietly drove away behind him.

He knew they weren't truly withdrawing. They would stay hidden nearby, ready to provide support and protection at any moment.

Back at his rented place, Wang Yiyang washed up quickly and fell asleep within minutes of lying down.

Early the next morning, he was woken by the shrill ring of a phone.

He opened his eyes groggily and picked up his mobile, only to realize the sound wasn't coming from it. It was the landline in his room.

He pressed a hand to his forehead in dismay. Once he'd gathered his wits, he threw off the covers and got up.

"Hello?" He picked up the receiver, his tone decidedly unfriendly.

He'd just checked his phone. It was only 6:10. Anyone would be in a bad mood after being woken so early.

"May I speak with Mr. Wang Yiyang? This is the East District Xinxiang Road Police Station."

The man on the other end sounded like a composed middle-aged man.

"Uh? The police station?" Wang Yiyang's sleepiness began to fade. "What is this about?" He quickly realized this probably had nothing to do with his hidden identity.

After all, this was far too minor.

"Well, our station received a little girl who was transferred to us from..."

The caller explained at length before finally making the situation clear.

The little girl at the police station was Li Ran.

After borrowing a hundred yuan from Wang Yiyang, she hadn't gone to school. Instead, she'd taken a bus to look for her mother.

But she'd lost her way along the way, failed to find her mother, and had nearly been abducted.

If she hadn't realized something was wrong and run to the police station for safety, she might have disappeared by now.

After she reported the attempted abduction, the traffickers had already searched Li Ran and taken her phone. The only number she could remember was her mother's.

But when the police called, her mother's phone was switched off.

As for her other relatives, she'd either lost contact with them or they lived very far away and weren't close to her.

As for her father, she couldn't remember his number at all.

The police looked up the information in their database and soon found her father's number.

They called, but his phone was switched off too.

The police immediately grew suspicious and launched an investigation. That was when they discovered...

The night before last, Li Ran's parents had both died in a rented apartment in the West District.

A third person had been at the scene: a young, beautiful woman who seemed to have been the other woman.

All three had died from the toxic gas released by Yinghua Stone.

Yinghua Stone gas was a raw material used in industrial production of highly compressed fuel.

Ordinary people had no way of getting their hands on it, but Li Ran's mother worked as an in-house researcher at a chemical company. She had the means to obtain it.

After that, the situation was easy to piece together. Anyone could work out the general story.

Wang Yiyang was moved when he heard it.

No wonder Li Ran's mother had neglected her daughter. She hadn't come home the night before last, and hadn't even known Li Ran had forgotten her key and spent the night outside the apartment.

Now it seemed she'd probably already been dead that night.

"We asked Li Ran about everyone she could contact and searched for quite a while before finally finding you. As her distant relative, you should come see how she's doing and take her home for now.

"Li Ran is in very poor shape. She urgently needs comfort from a family member."

The voice on the other end continued.

Wang Yiyang was stunned.

Since when had he become Li Ran's distant relative?

But after thinking about it, he understood. Li Ran must have been completely out of options and deliberately claimed he was a relative so she could turn to him.

Who would ask an outsider for help unless they truly had no other choice? Especially not in this way.

After a moment's hesitation, Wang Yiyang decided to go to the police station and see what was going on.

If it wasn't too much trouble, there was no harm in helping her out for a while.

He asked for the exact address and the name of his contact. Then he got up, washed up in a hurry, grabbed his ID and wallet, threw on a jacket, and hurried out of his rented place.

A car was already waiting downstairs. The driver was one of the two bodyguards who had appeared before. He'd changed clothes, pairing a white T-shirt with camouflage pants, and looked even more imposing.

As soon as Wang Yiyang got in, he smelled cigarette smoke. He frowned.

"Go to the East District Xinxiang Road Police Station."

"Yes." The bodyguard answered quietly, then said nothing more. He seemed to have noticed Wang Yiyang's frown and hurriedly turned the car's ventilation system up to the highest setting.