Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

“That’s exactly what I’m planning to do too. There are many suspicious points about the whole thing. As long as the questions are answered, it will be possible for us to reverse the outcome.”

Li Yao activated his portable crystal processor and marked the experts that he sensed just now on the hologram of the Seven Seas Grand Market, recreating the scene of the assassination.

“When you rode here on the bulletproof limo just now, these were the suspicious people near the Commodity Market. They were all bodyguards and assassins whose capabilities were above average.”

Pointing at the shining red spots on the hologram, Li Yao said, “Director Jin, please take a look at it. Which of them were bodyguards, and which ones were assassins from the outside?”

Narrowing his eyes, Jin Yuyan observed for a while and pointed quickly. “After learning that there might be a traitor among the four gods of death, Qi Yuanbao and I did not let other people know. While we created a ‘real stand-in’ through the ‘Soul Transfer Technique’, we also pretended that the defense was just like before, hoping that the traitor would reveal himself.

“As it turned out, since three days ago, a dozen batches of suspicious people had snuck into the Seven Seas Grand Market and got discovered by us. However, in order not to alarm the enemy, we simply indulged them while they snuck and infiltrated, but we watched them closely.

“Look, here, here and the gunner hiding here—they were all the assassins sent by the four families. Perhaps they had received rigorous assassination training from the four families, but when it came to stealth and assassination, who could’ve escaped the attention of Black Flag King, Red Lady, Hanged Man, and Revenant From The Dead Sea?

“In the end, we planned a ‘Heavenly Dragnet Operation’, hoping to fish up all the flies, fleas, and mosquitoes that had snuck into the Seven Seas Grand Market before the final battle with the fleets of the four families!”

Analyzing the location of the assassins of the four families quickly, Li Yao asked, “So, the rest of them were all your people? So, you had locked onto all the assassins. No wonder you were bold enough to show up in public. Where were the four gods of death? Please point them out.”

“Here, here, and here.”

Jin Yuyan pointed at the red spots and said, “It was part of the plan that I showed up in public in the Commodity Market every other day in order to tempt the assassins of the four families to attack.

“In fact, I wasn’t afraid of the assassins of the four families very much. The key was the ‘god of death’ that had been bought over. It was like a thorn on my heart. If I could not pluck it out, it would’ve been impossible for me to go to sleep.

“Therefore, the deployment of the four gods of death was also meant for them to monitor each other. If one of them attacked me, other people would discover him immediately. Even my brother-in-law Qi Yuanbao was not an exception. In fact, he was the one who offered it. He spoke to me sincerely that he must be exposed to the eyes of the other three gods of death too, in order to clear his suspicion as much as possible.”

“Of course.”

Li Yao sniffed and said, “Even if Wuying Qi intended to kill you, it shouldn’t have been now but after the battle of Seven Seas was won and the four families’ coalition fleet was crushed. So, Qi Yuanbao was naturally free to express his loyalty.

“After I raised a riot in the Commodity Market, the super gunner who shot you must’ve been ‘Red Lady’, and she was here, right?”

“Exactly, that was her.”

Jin Yuyan said somewhat frustratedly, “Since decades ago, after deciding that we had to compete with the four families until the end, the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors had realized that we did not stand any chance in head-on battles at all, and head-on battles were not necessarily required either. Therefore, we paid special attention to special operations, assassination, sabotage, and other concepts in unrestricted warfare. The elites of the four assassin groups were also trained to become special troops.

“Red Lady, leader of Bloody Skull, used to be one of the best gunners in the Imperium. She later became the chief tutor of gunmanship in the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. Leading a special squad of gunners, she was hiding among the skyscrapers and protecting my safety from the high stance. I did not expect that she would be the one who betrayed me and the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors!”

“So, this should be what happened—”

Li Yao said, “After I intentionally detonated the smoke grenades and stun grenades near the Commodity Market, the assassins of the four families were all exposed. The Red Lady could not afford to wait any longer but had to assassinate you while the opportunity was not bad. The moment she attacked, Black Flag King, Hanged Man, and Revenant From The Dead Sea sensed her. Among them, Black Flag King and Revenant From The Dead Sea immediately reacted and went after her after realizing that she was a traitor, and she fled in a hurry too. As a result, the three gods of death got away from our sight, leaving ‘Hanged Man’, the last god of death, on the spot next to you. Everybody knew that he was responsible to protect you from nearby, and it was normal that he did not chase after the traitor.”

“Exactly.”

Jin Yuyan nodded his head. “That’s what happened.”

“However, the bullet that Red Lady shot out was disrupted by me and shouldn’t have blown up your head—neither yours nor your stand-in’s.”

Li Yao said, “Then, there would only be one explanation to the uncanny explosion of your stand-in’s head. Her brain—well, or should I say your brain, had been planted with certain minor explosion devices earlier, which could be detonated remotely by other people.”

“Yes.”

Jin Yuyan said gloomily, “If what you said is true, Blackstar the Great must’ve hoped that I could die at the most appropriate moment without a single second of delay.

“The most convenient approach to achieve the purpose was to plant certain remotely-controlled crystal bombs in my head.

“However, I was an expert in the Divinity Transformation Stage after all. Even though I was not battle-type, my control and senses over my body had reached the highest. Planting a tiny crystal bomb in my head, mixing venom that would release slowly in my food over a long period, or other similar approaches would’ve been easily detected by me. Then, they would be discovered.

“However, if what controlled my body was not my own soul but the soul of a relatively weak warrior, and with the rejection reaction between the soul and the new body, it would be much easier to play tricks under such circumstances!

“To ensure the safety of the ‘Soul Transfer Technique’ and the status of my physical body, my personal bodyguard had to receive modifications from Qi Yuanbao and Wuying Qinxin every day. It was more than easy to play tricks during the procedures.

“With a great war coming near, there were millions of affairs I had to attend to every day. Naturally, it was impossible for me to keep an eye on the brother and the sister every second, which turns out to be a horrible mistake!”

Jin Yuyan smashed his fists. Finally, viciousness and sullenness leaked out of his peaceful face.

Li Yao listened quietly and thought hard. A moment later, he said cautiously, “Even if Director Jin’s speculation is not the whole truth, it can’t be far away from it. There’s just one thing that baffles me. Even if the enemy did plant microbombs in the head of your physical body, why did they choose to detonate it at such a moment?

“You had been the director of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors for decades. Your connections, prestige, and control over the Business Alliance must’ve been incomparable for Qi Yuanbao and Wuying Qinxin, right? After you died, whether or not the murderer was captured, and no matter how they were to stabilize the situation, people’s confidence in the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors would certainly waver, casting a shadow on the upcoming battle.

“Blackstar the Great does not look like such an impatient man. Why would he want you dead at such a critical moment?”

Jin Yuyan was slightly stunned by the question. He thought for a long time.

The more he thought, the brighter his eyes became. In the end, he even put on a smile.

“We have a chance now.”

Jin Yuyan said delightedly.

“How so?”

Li Yao hurried to ask.

“The reason is simple. If it were Blackstar the Great who gave the order in person, he certainly wouldn’t have hoped that I died now, which was not in his best interests. Like you said just now, it was his purpose to let my strength be drained in the battle of Seas before I was killed!”

Jin Yuyan said, “However, are the interests of Wuying Qi, as the ‘decision-maker’, and the interests of Qi Yuanbao and Wuying Qinxin, as two ‘executors’, absolutely the same? Wuying Qi does not want me to die right now, but what about Qi Yuanbao and Wuying Qinxin? There are a lot of changeable factors in all this!”

Pondering for a moment, Li Yao asked, “What changeable factors?”

“The possibility that I may change my belief and surrender to Blackstar the Great completely as an obedient dog under his feet!”

Jin Yuyan sneered, “Qi Yuanbao and Wuying Qinxin betrayed me only because they were greedy about the control of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors. Or rather, Wuying Qi bought them over at a high price because he thought that they could replace me and control the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors.

“However, what if I am still willing to cooperate after learning the truth that Wuying Qi is residing inside Li Linghai’s body, or even to kneel down and lick Blackstar the Great’s toes?

“Yes, under most circumstances, it’s absolutely impossible. I will not trust Wuying Qi, and Wuying Qi can hardly trust me 100% too.

“But it is undetermined after all. Whoever masters the Imperium in the end, they will need a financial minister! If I am willing to surrender to Blackstar the Great 100%, there will be no place for Qi Yuanbao and Wuying Qinxin. Or rather, after learning the truth, I may burst into fury and launch crazy retaliation against them.

“For the two of them, only my death could’ve completely eliminated the uncertainty and ensured their control of the Business Alliance of Ten Thousand Sectors so that Wuying Qi’s promises such as titles and lands could be fulfilled. Even though my death might’ve resulted in the instability of the army, the opportunity was still too great to be missed out!

“That is to say, the assassination was not a direct order from Wuying Qi, but Qi Yuanbao and Wuying Qinxin’s own doing without asking for permission!”

Li Yao rose abruptly, his eyes glittering. “It’s possible that Blackstar the Great is unaware of what has happened in the Seven Seas Grand Market yet. We still have a chance!”