Wang Yiyang stepped out of the bar, swaying slightly. Jian and several elite guards, who had been waiting at the entrance for some time, hurried over to meet him.
"Boss?"
"Where's Zhong Can being held?" Wang Yiyang exhaled. Now that he'd confirmed his drinking problem no longer affected him, it was time to rapidly build up his strength.
"In the basement of the villa I'm renting," Jian replied promptly.
For some reason, Jian felt that his boss had changed after waking up from his last drinking binge.
He couldn't say what was different, but the simplicity and ordinariness he'd once sensed seemed to be slowly fading away.
He was becoming... more dangerous.
Jian didn't know why he felt that way, but somehow it made him feel more at ease.
After all, it was only natural for his boss—and the head of the Security Department at Mister—to have a dangerous air about him.
Wang Yiyang had no time to wonder what his subordinate was thinking. He only knew that his mind was in a strange state.
Calm and rational, yet deep in his heart, there seemed to be a bizarre impulse he couldn't quite identify.
His heart was pounding. Its steady, rhythmic beat sounded almost like a symphony to him—beautiful and full of life.
"Let's go." He headed for the cars parked by the roadside.
Someone immediately got out of a car and opened the door for him.
Soon, the three-car convoy pulled away slowly into the night.
Wang Yiyang checked his system data again.
He carefully reread the single line of data, word by word, but that was all he could see.
If only I could see the old data, too. He felt a little regretful.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, he froze.
In the lower-right corner of his vision, lines of data unfolded like a menu being opened.
A mass of previously hidden data characters appeared on the right side of his vision.
Every line was information about something that had happened to him in the past.
"It can be controlled with a thought?!" Wang Yiyang was pleasantly surprised.
Then, instinctively, he glanced at the driver, Jian, and the others.
The car had been lengthened and widened, with three seats up front. Jian, the driver, and another female bodyguard sat there.
When he saw that no one had noticed, Wang Yiyang relaxed and began reviewing the records one by one.
Soon, he spotted something.
'Warning:
1. You have sixteen days to prepare for the tremendous danger that is about to follow.
2. You have five days to prepare for the serious trouble you will face as Finn.'
3. A spacetime-embedding conflict has occurred. This identity has been automatically merged into an unknown space.'
"Wait! Could the identity missions be different from the trouble I'm supposed to face? I already completed the mission to quit drinking!"
Wang Yiyang's heart sank.
He'd always assumed that the randomly assigned identity missions were the troubles mentioned in the warnings.
But now, it seemed...
He quickly scrolled up, controlling it with his thoughts, to check the identity mission he'd received when he first gained a hidden identity.
As he continued scrolling, an old line of data appeared before him again.
'Identity mission: Resolve the trouble that is about to come. (You may make reasonable use of your own powerful resources.)'
'Mission completion reward: Randomly gain one ability, talent, attribute, or other trait from this identity.'
After reading the mission description, Wang Yiyang understood.
"The first identity mission explicitly said that resolving the trouble was the mission. So it's clear enough. The identity mission and the trouble that comes with the identity are separate.
"Maybe because it was my first hidden identity, I got an extra reward, and the identity mission and its trouble were combined..."
Once he understood, he felt a headache coming on.
That meant he had to resolve two separate problems related to his identities.
"I've only just gotten rid of my drinking problem... and the trouble with Mister still isn't resolved..." Wang Yiyang turned to look out the window.
The roadside sped past beneath them. One after another, bustling commercial buildings glittered with neon signs and advertising lights in every color.
Rows of little roadside shops, built from simple red tents, stood close together, taking up most of the sidewalk.
They all sold late-night barbecue and fried noodles. Crowds of people streamed in and out.
The rich aroma of grilled meat drifted through the air.
"Stop the car. Get me some grilled lamb skewers, extra spicy," Wang Yiyang said suddenly.
"Right away, boss," Jian replied.
"Anyone else who wants some can put in an order. It's on me. Get as much as you like, but we've only got twenty minutes," Wang Yiyang added.
"Thanks, boss!" The three people in the car perked up and quickly used their communicators to notify the other cars.
Soon, two burly men got out to buy barbecue on everyone's behalf.
Wang Yiyang waited in the car. Twenty minutes later, one of Jian's men returned with a huge bag of skewers and began handing them out.
The convoy soon got moving again.
Wang Yiyang didn't care about the grease. He picked up the skewers from his seat and ate them one by one.
There was a mini-fridge in the car. He took out a few cans of chilled coconut milk and handed one to each person.
Everyone tucked into the barbecue with gusto, filling the car with the aroma of grilled meat.
"Boss, want me to get you some spicy rice noodles from the next street over? They're amazing—better than this barbecue!" Jian offered.
"..." Wang Yiyang gave him a cold glare. "Don't waste time."
"Uh... got it!" Jian nodded quickly.
"Bring me a box later. Extra spicy," Wang Yiyang added before lowering his head and continuing to eat.
"Right away, boss!"
A fine drizzle slowly veiled the night sky over the West Suburbs.
Without moonlight, the entire area was especially dark and quiet.
There had once been a large amusement park here. After a financial dispute, someone deliberately set fire to it, and more than ten murder cases followed.
The owner not only had to pay compensation, but also watched business plummet.
After that, the amusement park changed hands several times. None of its owners could keep it running, and each one suffered heavy losses.
Eventually, no one was willing to take it over. The last owner went bankrupt and jumped to his death.
The amusement park was abandoned.
A Ferris wheel, a carousel, a roller coaster, an old haunted house, bumper cars, and bumper boats.
There were also rows of toy houses whose dolls used to make sounds on their own. The dolls inside would pop out and make a noise whenever someone passed, thanks to some kind of automatic mechanism, startling them.
But now, every attraction was covered in grime. Part of the amusement park's land had been turned into suburban villas.
Through the drizzle, three black sedans came to a slow stop outside a three-story villa.
The doors opened at once, and a group of burly figures got out and opened their umbrellas.
Jian held an umbrella over Wang Yiyang as he stepped out, his manner respectful.
Wang Yiyang looked around. The first thing he noticed was the amusement park beside them.
"Is that the abandoned amusement park?"
"Yes, boss. I've heard there's something wrong with that place. It's best not to go in at night," Jian warned him.
"Oh?" Wang Yiyang didn't ask for details. He had no intention of inviting trouble. For now, the priority was to see Zhong Can.
"How are the Experimental Martial Artists from Yanhu Sect doing? Have they recovered?"
As he walked toward the villa, he asked casually.
"They're doing much better. Several Limit Martial Artists had their hands and feet severed, and since they've received artificial limbs, the wounds need time to adjust.
"But the other disabled martial artists can already move their new hands and feet fairly freely. They'll need more time before they can walk around, though. Their wounds haven't healed completely," Jian replied promptly.
With Lei Wei no longer someone he could trust, Jian had gradually become Wang Yiyang's new assistant and bodyguard.
"Good." Wang Yiyang nodded. He entered the villa and followed Jian to the wall behind the staircase.
A floor-to-ceiling oil painting, taller than a person, hung on the snow-white wall. It showed several angels and demons playing together.
Jian stepped forward and pushed the painting aside, revealing a hidden door in the wall.
He unlocked it with a key and went inside first.
Wang Yiyang and the others followed. The last three people stayed behind, turned around, and drew their guns to keep watch.
They descended the stairs behind the hidden door. After three flights and a turn, they reached a spacious underground hall.
The walls around the hall were plain concrete.
Four glass rooms had been built into the corners.
Each glass room was only three meters long and wide. A person was imprisoned in each one.
Zhong Can was in one of them.
He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, his expression calm and his body motionless. He wore a gray prison uniform and had a scruffy beard, but his eyes were still bright.
Wang Yiyang took a pair of white gloves from one of his subordinates and put them on. He didn't want to leave his fingerprints or sweat behind when he left.
Then he walked toward Zhong Can.
A simple intercom was attached to the outside of the glass room.
Someone nearby switched it on, allowing Wang Yiyang's voice to reach inside.
"How have you been these past few days, Zhong Can?" Wang Yiyang asked calmly. There was no anger over Zhong Can's betrayal of his grandfather, nor any other negative emotion—just calm.
"Not bad. I've had food and drink. What do you want?" Zhong Can's eyes moved as he slowly looked toward Wang Yiyang.
Though the glass was one-way, he seemed able to see through it.
Wang Yiyang knew Zhong Can was injured and hadn't fully recovered, but his heart still skipped a beat. He stopped approaching.
Based on the tests and their earlier fights, Zhong Can could take on his grandfather, Wang Xinlong, and the other two senior students at the martial arts hall, Nicholas and Xiao Hong, by himself. Later, he'd also faced two Mantis leaders alone.
According to the information Wang Yiyang had gathered afterward, the two Mantis leaders were at the Glimmer and Bright Light Ranks.
What surprised Wang Yiyang was that his grandfather, Wang Xinlong, had once been at the Grand Justice Rank, while Nicholas and Xiao Hong, the martial arts hall's two representative students, were both at the Glimmer Rank.
This little Yuekong Martial Arts Hall had one Grand Justice, one Bright Light, and two Glimmers.
No wonder it could intimidate the martial arts world of Yingxing City. It had even attracted Mantis's attention.
"Your strength is already close to the Grand Justice Rank, isn't it?" Wang Yiyang asked.
That was something he wanted to know.
Zhong Can smiled.
"I wasn't before. I am now."
Wang Yiyang understood at once. Zhong Can meant that he hadn't been at that level when he was captured, but had broken through during the days he'd spent locked up.
After a moment of silence, Wang Yiyang spoke again.
"Do you want to get out?"
"What are the terms?" Zhong Can knew he wouldn't be released for nothing.
"Work for me for ten years." Wang Yiyang wasn't making an unreasonable demand.
Ten years would be more than enough. Ever since he'd gained the identity of the Hypnotist Finn and acquired the ability to use Tasdak Symbol Hypnosis, he'd known that his mysterious system would one day reach unimaginable heights.
Forget ten years. He figured he'd be able to suppress Zhong Can with ease in just one.
Besides, given what Zhong Can had done, Wang Yiyang wouldn't have been out of line to execute him.
Before you continue