An unexpected turn

"What happened? Why are you so flustered?"

Chen Yiming looked at Chen Shaojie, who had jogged out, and asked.

After leaving the house, Chen Shaojie turned to close the door behind him. Only when he heard it click shut did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Cousin, something's wrong with this family."

Before he could even catch his breath, Chen Shaojie leaned close to Chen Yiming's ear and whispered.

Chen Yiming fell silent. Instead of immediately asking why, he closed his eyes and recalled the couple who had opened the door earlier.

He soon spotted the telltale signs.

The rhythm of their steps differed from that of ordinary people. The muscle memory martial artists developed over years of training could not be completely erased with a simple disguise.

They could fool people like Chen Shaojie and He Chunping, who had yet to get started in martial arts, but deceiving Chen Yiming face-to-face would take someone who specialized in disguise.

"Tell me in detail."

With that in mind, Chen Yiming motioned for Chen Shaojie to continue where he had left off.

"This family has a son and a daughter, but I didn't see either of them. When I asked where their children were, they said they'd gone to a relative's house to play."

"Anything else?"

"I compared their faces to the photos on their ID cards, and something felt off. They only looked about ninety percent alike, and their bearing was completely different."

"Did you check the rooms?"

"Yes. I even ran my hand over the sheets in their children's rooms. There was a thin layer of dust. It didn't feel like anyone was living there."

Chen Shaojie reported everything he had learned.

"I see."

Putting his cousin's findings together with the clues he had noticed in his recollection, Chen Yiming had a rough idea of the truth.

The couple had most likely murdered the family who owned the house, then disguised themselves to take their place.

"Shaojie, this couple might be pretty strong. If I fail to control my strength later and accidentally kill them, will that affect the bounty?"

A question suddenly occurred to Chen Yiming, and he asked it.

Earlier, Chen Shaojie had only told him that the bounty was paid per person captured. He had not mentioned whether a different rate applied if they broke someone's limbs or accidentally killed them during an arrest.

"What a memory I have! I forgot to explain something this important to you."

Chen Shaojie slapped his forehead, then continued:

"Once the City Patrol arrests these people of unknown identity, they're actually all handed over to the Logistics Department, then sent to work on the front lines. Supposedly, they're assigned specifically to dangerous jobs.

You get the full bounty for someone who's intact and uninjured, half for someone maimed, and nothing at all for someone dead.

The department also tests their blood to determine how strong the captured people are. I heard that someone in the Apprentice Realm is worth the bounty for ten ordinary people."

At that, Chen Yiming understood.

This household registration check was not simply meant to clean up the disorder in the urban villages. Its main purpose was to provide a pretext for arresting outsiders who had slipped into East Lake City, treating them as prisoners, and assigning them to dangerous jobs no one wanted to do.

The thought sent a sudden chill through Chen Yiming.

Could members of the City Patrol arrest actual residents of the urban villages as unidentified outsiders just for the money, while someone in the Logistics Department turns a blind eye and processes them to meet their quota?

We'd better move out tomorrow.

Chen Yiming became even more determined to move.

He made his decision in an instant and instructed them:

"You two wait outside. I'll go in alone and subdue the couple. If I can't restrain both at once and one gets away, protect yourselves. Don't try to stop them when you're no match for them. Wait until I deal with one, then I'll chase the other."

With the restriction against killing them, even Chen Yiming could not guarantee that he would subdue both at once. Still, he had undergone three physical transformations. At worst, he would have to spend a little time chasing them.

The couple was also highly unlikely to have undergone more than three Body Metamorphoses. Most Mutated Beasts in the Wilderness Zone outside the city were only at the level of a Third Body Metamorphosis. Against opponents at the same level, escaping was usually no problem even if one could not win. Someone that strong could already live in the Wilderness Zone long-term and would have no need to hide in an urban village.

"Okay. We promise we won't act recklessly. We'll follow your lead, Cousin."

Chen Shaojie nodded and gave his assurance.

That was precisely why he had chosen Chen Yiming as his partner rather than someone else. With their family connection, at least he would not deliberately be used as cannon fodder.

"Consultant Chen, please be careful too."

He Chunping, being a young woman, voiced her concern.

With their plan settled, Chen Yiming stepped forward, ready to catch the couple off guard by breaking straight through the door.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps slowly began to sound.

They came from two places: the corner of a house ahead and the corner of another house behind them.

A moment later, the unidentified couple blocked both ends of the alley where Chen Yiming and the other two stood.

The man now looked completely different. He stood a little over two meters tall, with long hair hanging to his shoulders and eyes as big as brass bells. Despite the winter cold, he wore a short-sleeved shirt, exposing his heavily muscled arms.

The woman had changed less. Her figure remained the same, but her original face had been replaced by one that looked no older than thirty. She held a dagger that reflected a dazzling white gleam under the lights.

The husband was named Zhao Baolong, and the wife Dong Fen. Both had undergone two physical transformations and had originally belonged to a gang of bandits in the Wilderness Zone.

Caught up in the war to the west, their bandit leader, who had undergone three physical transformations, had died unexpectedly. Unable to survive in the Wilderness Zone any longer, the gang had scattered, each member seeking a way out. The couple had been forced to sneak into the city and hide in this urban village while waiting for the war to end.

"Cousin, what do we do?"

Chen Shaojie glanced left and right, his whole body beginning to tremble as he asked nervously.

With both ends blocked, the situation was completely different from what they had planned for. There was nowhere even to hide.

"Consultant Chen..."

He Chunping's words became halting. Clearly, she was panicking too.

She was a young woman, and although she had some grounding in martial arts, she had never experienced a bloody fight. Her only experience consisted of a few bouts in the ring.

Unlike Zhong Chaofeng and Lin Yongxin, these two were new recruits who had received only basic training. This was their first encounter with a situation like this.

Chen Yiming did not answer, choosing instead to assess the situation first.

Ideally, one of the couple would guard against the three of them escaping while the other attacked. That would let him subdue one instantly before moving on to the other.

Otherwise, if he attacked first, the two burdens beside him were very likely to be taken hostage, sending the situation out of control.

If Chen Shaojie were taken hostage, Chen Yiming could hardly attack again at the risk of getting him killed. It would be difficult to explain to their relatives afterward.