Zhu Ziqian was the true shadow of the Yu family.
In the pitch-black night, he had helped the Yu family eliminate several influential businessmen, clearing all obstacles for the Yu family's development.
As if that weren't enough, Zhu Ziqian added, "I even killed someone. His identity was rather special."
"Who?" Chen Jinzhao frowned.
Zhu Ziqian pointed above his head.
Chen Jinzhao immediately recalled an incident from a couple of years prior when a prominent figure in the city had drowned while swimming. It now seemed highly likely that Zhu Ziqian was the culprit.
Interesting.
More and more dark secrets about the Yu family were surfacing.
However, Chen Jinzhao's initial intention wasn't to inquire about the Yu family's scandals, but rather about Zhu Ziqian's true identity.
"Take me to get that notebook," Chen Jinzhao said.
Zhu Ziqian nodded repeatedly.
Completely devoid of any fight left, he got up and led Chen Jinzhao to the second-floor bedroom, his hand trembling as he opened the bedside table drawer. In the most conspicuous spot within the drawer lay a pitch-black handgun.
Of course.
Zhu Ziqian dared not draw the gun and fire.
If he missed, he would lose his own chance to live.
Chen Jinzhao smiled upon seeing this. This Zhu Ziqian was indeed cautious, lacking even the courage to draw his weapon. He took the notebook that Zhu Ziqian handed him, flipped through a few pages, and his brow furrowed.
Hmm...
Yu Lingxiao was a person who could no longer be described as merely wicked.
Chen Jinzhao also found records of a massacre, where an eighty-year-old elder and a child less than two years old had both been brutally murdered.
No wonder some people called him the local emperor of Ninghai!
He held the power of life and death, taking or bestowing it upon others at will. What else could that be but an emperor?
The Yu family had to fall.
"Everything I know is in here. I've hidden nothing from you. I hope you'll spare my life." Zhu Ziqian also claimed to have hundreds of millions in savings and offered to give one hundred million to Chen Jinzhao.
Chen Jinzhao put away the notebook and sneered, "Don't rush. I have other things to ask you."
Zhu Ziqian's expression shifted slightly, clearly sensing what was coming.
"Who exactly are you?" Chen Jinzhao asked.
Zhu Ziqian weakly replied, "I am who I am, Zhu Ziqian. I'm also a killer hired by the Yu family."
Chen Jinzhao glanced sideways at Zhu Ziqian, whose heart tightened as if he were being stared at by a wolf or a leopard. "I'm asking where you're from and what your purpose is."
Zhu Ziqian opened his mouth, about to say something.
Chen Jinzhao interrupted him coldly, "You know what I'm asking. My patience is wearing thin."
"I truly don't know what you're asking. I'm just an ordinary person. Other than working for the Yu family, I have no other assignments." Since Zhu Ziqian remained evasive, Chen Jinzhao showed him no mercy.
Bang!
Chen Jinzhao's fist struck Zhu Ziqian's chest.
The force was precisely controlled.
Zhu Ziqian's heart skipped a beat, and he spasmed, struggling to breathe, as if he had brushed past death. Only after tens of seconds did Zhu Ziqian's erratic heartbeat gradually return to normal.
At this moment.
Zhu Ziqian was drenched in sweat, looking at Chen Jinzhao with horror.
What a terrifying person!
No!
He was a butcher, knowing precisely how to torment someone to instill the greatest fear in an enemy.
"Who exactly are you?"
This question.
Was asked by Zhu Ziqian.
Chen Jinzhao's face was impassive. "If I wanted to make your life worse than death, I would have a thousand and one ways. Of course, if you don't believe me, you can try. It just so happens that I haven't taken action in a long time."
Zhu Ziqian's scalp tingled. He felt as if he were facing a demon king.
"You..."
"What do you want to know?" he finally succumbed to the pressure.
"Your origins, your purpose."
Zhu Ziqian looked deeply at Chen Jinzhao, faintly guessing Chen Jinzhao's background. Thus, he had no choice but to brace himself and say, "I come from overseas, belonging to the international organization Black Blood. I have an important mission in China."
"The primary objective is to steal Wen Fu's research results. If that fails, the secondary objective is to abduct Xu Nianqing of the new generation. If that also fails, then both must be assassinated!"
"This is my mission."
Chen Jinzhao thought to himself that his guess was correct; Zhu Ziqian was indeed from Black Blood.
"Were you involved in the last mission?" Chen Jinzhao asked.
Zhu Ziqian's heart became serious. He realized his guess was also correct; Chen Jinzhao was indeed from the Chinese military! After a moment of hesitation, he nodded. The international students at Ninghai University often contacted Zhu Ziqian.
The core members of Black Blood did not know each other.
However, those international students were merely expendable resources at the lowest level of the Black Blood organization, with no requirements for identity confidentiality.
"Who, who exactly are you?" Zhu Ziqian's cold sweat beaded.
"Me?"
"I am who I am, Chen Jinzhao."
Zhu Ziqian tried hard to recall, and then his face drastically changed, as if he understood something. "You, are you the one who killed Edward? The one known as the Eye of the Candle Dragon?"
Chen Jinzhao asked with a half-smile, "You know me?"
Zhu Ziqian gave a bitter smile.
More than just knowing him, the name "Eye of the Candle Dragon" was thunderous. Everyone in Black Blood knew that name.
He was also fortunate that he hadn't stubbornly refused to speak, otherwise, Chen Jinzhao would indeed have had many ways to make his life worse than death, just like Edward, who had died miserably on Lingfeng Mountain that day.
"I've told you everything I know. Can you spare my life?" Zhu Ziqian trembled all over.
Chen Jinzhao shook his head. "You're still hiding something from me."
Zhu Ziqian tried hard to recall but couldn't figure out what else he could be hiding. Chen Jinzhao prompted him, "How do you contact the organization, and how do you contact others within the organization? There are several other Black Blood members like you in Jiangnan. Think carefully and tell me."
"I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything."
"Black Blood has a branch in Jiangnan. Besides me, there are two other core members. One is codenamed Nightingale—also the head of the Jiangnan branch. The other is codenamed Pangolin, with a similar status to me. My codename is Wild Boar. Each time we meet, we wear masks and use voice changers, so we don't know each other, to avoid being wiped out in one fell swoop."
"Before each meeting, Nightingale contacts us through Black Blood's self-developed encrypted communication device and then designates a location."
Chen Jinzhao suddenly became interested in this Jiangnan branch.
Since these people didn't know each other, didn't that mean Chen Jinzhao could impersonate Zhu Ziqian and meet Nightingale? At that point, Chen Jinzhao could wipe out the entire Jiangnan branch.
And thus, eliminate future troubles!
Zhu Ziqian seemed to have guessed Chen Jinzhao's thoughts and couldn't help but shudder, offering a few seconds of silent mourning for Nightingale and the others.
The end of the Jiangnan branch was fast approaching.