Chapter 53: Moth Flying into the Flame

Dian Jing had no idea she’d been tricked.

She was still using tools to compare the photos Yang Liuqing had sent her.

Soon, she discovered a crucial piece of information.

The house number.

The spot where Yang Liuqing had been photographed without his knowledge happened to be right next to a residence.

Staring at the blue house number plate, her breathing grew a little rushed.

This was an incredibly valuable lead.

With the house number, she could trace Yang Liuqing’s exact location.

And the surveillance network there!

Dian Jing quickly entered the West District Street information into her map app, pinpointing the house number’s exact location.

Then, she hacked into the cameras in that area.

Using AI recognition, she searched for anyone resembling Yang Liuqing.

The entire process only took a few minutes.

“Hahaha, got it without lifting a finger!

…No, wait—I paid for this!”

Now she had to not only recoup her losses but also rake in a fortune.

Dian Jing adopted Yang Liuqing’s approach to seize the initiative.

The difference was that she bought an admin loudspeaker to send a forum-wide notification.

She had the latest intelligence on Yang Liuqing in her hands.

Now she would sell it simultaneously.

This was similar to Yang Liuqing’s time-limited payment.

The difference was that after all buyers paid, they would receive Dian Jing’s mass-sent intelligence at the same time.

The moment the news was released, the forum exploded once again.

Just as night was about to fall, that guy finally deigned to surface.

Dian Jing set the time and began organizing the video intelligence.

“To the west, there’s a river and an industrial zone leading straight to Pengcheng.

If you let her escape, you’ll be a laughingstock for the rest of your lives.”

Looking at the map, this route wasn’t complicated.

As long as a few intersections and narrow alleyways were blocked off, Yang Liuqing would have a hard time getting out.

As long as she hadn’t reached the river, there was still a chance to intercept her.

“She chose to hide in the west of the urban village—a smart choice.

After the initial search, it’s actually safer there.

Too bad it was all for nothing.”

After organizing the important information and packing it into a file, her work was officially done.

For the rest, once the time came, the AI would forward it to everyone.

“Whoa, fifteen million that fast? Cha-ching~”

With just a few clicks of her fingers, that much money rolled in with ease—Dian Jing felt absolutely delighted.

At this rate, over twenty million was well within reach.

These guys all wanted the newest intelligence the moment it dropped, so of course they wouldn’t buy secondhand.

She’d squeezed every drop of profit out of this wave.

Now all that was left was to enjoy the show.

“Yang Liuqing, oh Yang Liuqing. I just love you so much.”

Dian Jing blew a passionate kiss at Yang Liuqing’s photo.

Since last night, she’d been raking in big money nonstop.

It felt way too good.

Once this was all over, she could go vacationing anywhere and enjoy life.

When the time came, everyone who was going to buy had already bought in.

The AI automatically sent everything out, forwarding the latest intelligence on Yang Liuqing to all buyers simultaneously.

“It went surprisingly smoothly.”

Looking at the bustling forum, Yang Liuqing still found it hard to believe.

“Don’t overestimate others, Xiao Qingqing.

This world is just one giant makeshift troupe.”

Ke Li spread her hands.

“Besides, this time I personally played Xiao Qingqing and provided the whole trail of clues.

If they can actually tell real from fake, that’d be a real miracle.”

“Master, the plan was a success.”

Ke Ling clenched her little fists, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.

This method of breaking the deadlock wasn’t exactly hard, but it wasn’t easy either.

It was the result of the three of them working together.

“But we can’t let our guard down yet.

Next, we wait for them all to charge west, and we slip away later.”

“Yeah.”

Yang Liuqing nodded gently.

“Everything rides on this one move.”

The hunters who’d obtained the intelligence quickly sprang into action.

Ayiguli and Xin Tong, who were cooling off outside Meijiayi, suddenly noticed the target group’s flow beginning to shift.

Everyone was heading west, and fast.

“The big fish’s about to surface?”

Ayiguli blinked, hopping down from a white plastic chair at the street-food stall.

“Looks like it.”

Xin Tong stood up and gazed westward.

“We need to find the target before they do.”

“Easier said than done.”

Ayiguli made a hand gesture, and the black-uniformed team members immediately gathered around.

This left the passersby baffled.

What was going on?

The sky wasn’t even fully dark yet—were they about to put on some show?

“Move out.”

At Xin Tong’s command, everyone surged westward.

Their speed was equally swift.

At that moment, the sun sank, golden afterglow scattering, announcing nightfall.

Rows of streetlights flickered on with a whoosh.

Like some kind of signal, it spurred all the hunters to move faster.

The narrow urban village grew lively.

The various forces that had been scattered around now converged onto one stage—naturally, sparks were bound to fly.

“I’ll f*ck every woman in your family! Get over here and die!”

As the saying goes, foes are fated to meet.

And when true love collides, the only option is to destroy each other.

True to Yang Liuqing’s expectations, a brawl broke out on the spot.

“Told you all to leave earlier.

You didn’t listen.”

Hei Maliu adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, looking at the Tixianren and Zhanzhengjiqi ahead.

His right hand gripped a thick black rod over 2 meters long, pointing it at them.

Its surface gleamed like metal.

This guy was an expert with a staff.

“It’s you again, you macaque.”

The Tixianren—a petite girl with a doll-like face who had also bought the intelligence and come here—rolled her eyes in annoyance.

He was causing trouble for the second time.

If she didn’t teach him a lesson, she’d definitely be looked down on by her peers.

“Scram.”

The tall trench-coated man, Zhanzhengjiqi, spat out a single cold word.

In response, a staff came swinging at him.

Hei Maliu, dressed in a black suit with a red tie, swept it horizontally.

Zhanzhengjiqi raised his arm to block.

A dull thud rang out.

Zhanzhengjiqi’s pupils contracted twice as his arm went numb.

This Hei Maliu—his strength was immense!

And that iron rod was hard as hell!

“How annoying.”

The Tixianren waved her little hands impatiently, and the sound of slicing cut through the air.

Hei Maliu dodged urgently.

The ground where he’d just been standing immediately showed several long, deep gashes.

This Tixianren could control invisible, razor-sharp threads!

“Die!”

Just as he avoided her attack, an iron fist came flying at him from the front.

It was Zhanzhengjiqi, striding forward.

Even before the fist arrived, its wind pressure distorted Hei Maliu’s face.

If he actually took that punch, his skull would burst open.

How could he dare meet it head-on?

He sidestepped to create distance and thrust his rod forward.

“Boring.”

Sensing that his body had been touched by the iron rod, Zhanzhengjiqi showed no intention of stopping.

But at that instant, something unexpected happened.

The black iron rod suddenly extended forward, slamming him away.

Not only that—the rod erupted with violent flames.

“Careful, that’s not an ordinary rod!”

The Tixianren’s eyes sharpened as she spotted iron chains connecting the extended sections of the black rod.

Nine segments in total!

Was he using the staff-as-whip technique?

Zhanzhengjiqi was blasted several meters back by the rod.

Hei Maliu didn’t press the advantage, instead seizing the moment to go after the Tixianren.

This woman, who excelled at mid-to-long-range combat, had to be taken out early.

The rod swept through the air, shooting out like a venomous snake, lunging straight at its prey.