One last bout of madness

The police chief froze and looked at Le Shuya, seemingly recalling something. He asked tentatively,

"Excuse me, are you Mrs. Lin?"

Le Shuya nodded.

The police chief frowned.

"Does this case involve Mr. Lin Mo?"

Le Shuya took a deep breath and said,

"No. Lin Mo is the one I'm here to report."

The police chief paused, then asked for confirmation,

"You want to report your husband?"

Le Shuya nodded.

Then he looked at Cheng Yu, who also said,

"I'm here to report Lin Mo as well."

The police chief's expression turned serious.

"Please come inside so we can discuss this in detail."

Looking at the pile of irrefutable evidence before him, the police chief's face darkened like a thundercloud.

Cheng Yu had provided evidence of Lin Mo's collusion with Wang Long. Of everything Wang Long had done over the past three years, nine out of ten incidents bore traces of Lin Mo's involvement.

Le Shuya had provided evidence of the methods the Lin Group had used over the years to swallow up other businesses, along with its vicious coercion of local residents into relocating and other acts that could outright be called criminal.

And all of this had happened within his jurisdiction. The Lin Group was a major business renowned throughout Jiangcheng. While other companies had their share of dirty secrets, only the Lin Group was filthy to this extent.

This was his greatest dereliction of duty. He took a deep breath and said,

"Mr. Cheng, Mrs. Lin-no, Miss Le-thank you both very much for bringing me this evidence. I will give you, and the people of Jiangcheng, an answer."

With that, the police chief shook hands with Cheng Yu and Le Shuya in turn. Just as he was about to leave, his phone rang.

He took it out and frowned at the caller. Someone higher up? Still, he answered.

"Hello, is this Zhang?"

A man's voice came from the other end. The police chief paused.

"Yes. May I ask who this is?"

"Never mind who I am. I'm calling to ask how long you can keep Lin Mo's case under wraps."

Chief Zhang froze, then his anger flared. He growled,

"If you won't let me ask who you are, then stay out of this case. Do you know how many bullets Lin Mo's crimes have earned him?"

"I may not have been all that proactive these past few years, but I will not tolerate a criminal walking free."

The caller seemed not to have expected such a strong reaction from Chief Zhang. Then his voice turned cold.

"I hear you're due for a promotion soon. Do you not even want to keep your current position?"

Chief Zhang sneered.

"Then let's see whether you can fire me before I get him into court."

While Chief Zhang argued with the caller, Cheng Yu quietly walked over to the pile of evidence and searched through it. Then, while Chief Zhang and Le Shuya weren't looking, he took an A4 sheet out of System Space and slipped it into the pile.

After hanging up, Chief Zhang noticed Cheng Yu searching through something and asked,

"Mr. Cheng, what are you doing?"

Cheng Yu pulled the A4 sheet he had just planted out of the pile and said,

"I imagine that caller is the official shielding Lin Mo. I remembered there being evidence of their collusion in this pile. Luckily, I found it."

Chief Zhang was delighted. He had already resolved to see this case through even if it cost him his job, but now he had received an unexpected bonus.

He stepped forward and clasped Cheng Yu's hand.

"Mr. Cheng, you truly are my lucky star."

Lin Mo was driving toward the Lin Group. Not long ago, he had called a powerful figure in the provincial government, hoping to buy some time. He knew his hands were dirty and would never withstand an investigation, so he had to move his assets as quickly as possible.

Just then, his phone rang. He hurriedly answered, but before he could speak, the caller said,

"I can't suppress it. Leave Jiangcheng immediately and go to Province X. Leave the country from there. Remember to take a boat out of Jiangcheng. Don't take a plane or anything like that. That's all. Don't contact me again."

Before Lin Mo could react, the call ended. He slammed his fist into the steering wheel and cursed inwardly,

Damn it! Who the hell did this to me?

He thought of his wife back home, and of his child elsewhere, who would be born before long.

Gritting his teeth, Lin Mo bitterly told himself,

I have a system. I still have its skills. Sooner or later, I'll be back.

He made a call, arranged for an illicit boat, and drove toward the wharf.

Meanwhile, he silently said to himself,

Shuya, Tang Tang, wait for me. I'll be back.

At Cheng Yu's home.

Yog stretched and said to Miss Puppet behind him,

"Come on. Let's witness the end of this lucky fellow who obtained a fragment of my authority."

Miss Puppet placed a hand over her chest.

"As you will."

Time slowly moved into the afternoon, and the sun began to set.

The Lin Group was shut down, and Lin Mo's whereabouts were unknown.

Cheng Yu drove slowly toward Jiangcheng's East Wharf.

Hmm, let's open the script and check. Yes, this is the wharf. Cheng Yu resisted the urge to look at Lin Mo's outcome. The boss had said the ending had changed, but he no longer wanted to know.

He would leave himself something to wonder about, as a final mark of respect for this opponent. Lin Mo had been his first opponent, but he certainly wouldn't be his last.

Soon, Cheng Yu arrived at East Wharf. As soon as he got out of the car, he called the police station to say he had found Lin Mo's whereabouts. Then he called Le Shuya and told her he had found Lin Mo. If she wanted to settle things, she should come.

Sure enough, as Cheng Yu approached, he saw a young man in a white wife-beater, board shorts, and flip-flops, seemingly waiting for something.

As it happened, Cheng Yu was wearing the same suit he had worn to Li Xuehong's birthday banquet. He spoke,

"What refined tastes you have, Mr. Lin. Your company has been shut down, yet you're still in the mood to enjoy the river breeze. Clearly, your ways are beyond the understanding of ordinary people like us."

Lin Mo's face darkened as he said,

"What are you doing here?"

Cheng Yu spread his hands. "I came to witness your end, Mr. Lin."

Lin Mo's pupils contracted. He pointed at Cheng Yu.

"It was you! You were the one plotting against me!"

He rushed forward, grabbed Cheng Yu's collar, and roared,

"Why?! How did you know so much about me?! Who was it?! Who the hell was it?! Which of the Lin Group's executives is working for you?!"

With a gentle push from Cheng Yu, Lin Mo flew straight into the railing, which was at least ten meters away.

Of course, the ceiling for combat power in this world was only Black Iron One-Star. With his Black Iron Three-Star strength, Cheng Yu could have sent Lin Mo straight into the middle of the river if he had used just a little more force.

Lin Mo stared at Cheng Yu in terror. He raised a trembling hand and pointed at him.

"You... you're a martial artist too! It wasn't that Elder Bai never went to assassinate you! He failed!"

"Bingo. Correct, but there's no prize," Cheng Yu said, spreading his hands.

Lin Mo abandoned the idea of pulling the gun from his pocket and attacking Cheng Yu. If even Elder Bai was no match for him, there was no way Lin Mo could hurt him.

He glared viciously at Cheng Yu and said,

"Why are you working against me?!"

Cheng Yu replied helplessly,

"Because I don't like you."

Lin Mo's eyes widened. That was his reason? Could he come up with anything more ridiculous? He took a deep breath and said,

"Can you at least let me die knowing the truth? Who leaked my secrets?"

Cheng Yu smiled.

"Your wife, Miss Le Shuya."

"Impossible! Impossible! How could it be Shuya?! It could have been anyone but her!"

Cheng Yu spread his hands. "Do you think I have any reason to lie to you?"

Lin Mo's eyes bulged like a bull's. Then he burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha! I suppose this is karma. I had a mistress and a child behind her back. It's only natural that she hates me!"

That should do it, Cheng Yu thought. He interrupted Lin Mo's attempt to explain it all to himself.

"Sorry, but if the mistress you're talking about is Tang Tang, I think you've misunderstood something."

Lin Mo froze. He had no idea what Cheng Yu meant, but Cheng Yu slowly unlocked his phone, found an audio file, and played it.

"Brother Yu, I told Lin Mo the baby was his, just like you said. But I did it with him. You won't leave me because of that, will you?"

Lin Mo went still. That was Tang Tang's voice. Her voice was very distinctive; there was no way he could fail to recognize it.

The recording continued.

"Brother Yu, listen to this. That idiot even bought me a villa near Jiangcheng. Once the baby's condition is stable, come over, okay? I miss you."

"And Brother Yu, that idiot said he'd give half the Lin Group to our baby. What a complete fool. Hehehe."

"That idiot is useless in bed. Brother Yu, how about I come see you in a little while? Would that be okay?"

Lin Mo went mad.

"Aaaaah! Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!"

A ball of light began to emerge from his body and float toward Cheng Yu. Lin Mo lay on the ground, frantically reaching for it with both hands as he muttered,

"Mine. My system. My system."

Just then, a hand reached out beside Cheng Yu and seized the ball of light.

Cheng Yu looked at the hand's owner, then at Miss Puppet, whose expression never changed, and greeted them softly,

"Boss, ma'am, you're here."

Yog nodded.

"We've been here for a while. We came to witness this lucky fellow's end."

Lin Mo looked at Yog.

"Mr. You! Who the hell are you?! You're definitely not human!"

Cheng Yu looked at Yog. Seeing that he remained silent, Cheng Yu slowly spoke,

"This is Your Eminence Yog-Sothoth. Both your system and mine belong to Your Eminence. My luck was a little better than yours, though. Your Eminence chose me as Your Eminence's agent."

Lin Mo froze, muttering under his breath until his muttering finally became a roar.

"Mr. You, Yog, Yog! Yog-Sothoth! Aaaaah! Why?! Why?! Why wasn't it me?!"

Just then, an immense will began to descend, and Cheng Yu felt a crushing pressure wash over him.

Yog gave Miss Puppet a look. She punched the space beside her. Cheng Yu heard only the sound of shattering glass, and then the pressure disappeared.

Holy shit, Cheng Yu exclaimed inwardly. She just smashed the World Consciousness, didn't she? She must have! This lady really does speak the gentlest words and throw the most vicious punches.

Then Cheng Yu heard a familiar voice.

"Mr. Cheng?"

Cheng Yu turned and saw Le Shuya standing there. Evidently, she couldn't see Yog or Miss Puppet.

Cheng Yu nodded.

"Miss Le, you're here."

Walking up beside Cheng Yu, Le Shuya looked at the crazed Lin Mo and asked softly,

"How did he end up like this?"

Cheng Yu spread his hands.

"Maybe he couldn't accept the truth."

Just then, Lin Mo spotted Le Shuya and limped toward her.

"Shuya, you only betrayed me because I found a mistress, right? That has to be it, right?!"

Le Shuya shook her head and sneered.

"I don't love you, so why would I care? I planned to make you pay before I even married you. Did you think I didn't know how my parents died? You brought all of this on yourself!"

Lin Mo froze.

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha! Hahahaha! Hahahaha!!"

He clutched his head and laughed, louder and louder. Then he pulled a gun from his pocket and said madly,

"Then die with me!!!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

No bullets came out of Lin Mo's gun.

The shots came from the guns of the police officers who had just arrived.

Lin Mo steadied himself and aimed his gun at Le Shuya again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Another volley rang out. Lin Mo collapsed in a pool of blood, his eyes fixed fiercely on the sky, as though resenting heaven's injustice.

The sun began to sink below the horizon, marking the end of the day and symbolizing that a new one would soon begin.

"Congratulations to the host for earning the achievement:

Fragment Collector (silver three-star)."

"Congratulations to the host for earning the achievement:

Madman (bronze one-star)."