Chapter 1 Night Rain

It was raining in the mountains at night.

Outside the cave, the rain mingled with a certain chaos, creating a noisy atmosphere with the power of nature.

Zheng Fan sat there silently with a grass stem in his mouth. Opposite him sat A' Ming, who casually kept his waterskin close at hand.

In his own words, sometimes drinking blood was for survival, and other times it was for life.

Helian Baozhu was asleep inside the cave, wrapped tightly in a marching blanket.

Although they intended to use her, using her was one thing, but neither Zheng Fan nor the devils were degraded enough to torture a little girl.

There were only the three of them in the cave.

Xue San patrolled the perimeter. As an assassin, he was confident in scouting for the team at this time.

The Blind Man was on a tree outside the cave, draped in an animal skin blanket. The signal was poor inside the cave; the radiation was stronger outside, just like the router at home.

Fan Li,

was silently submerged in a pool below, with only his head above water for air, covered with dead leaves.

In this world, there are two organizations best known and recognized for their intelligence gathering.

One is the Great Yan Secret Spy Agency, and the other is the Silver Armor Guard.

In Zheng Fan's view, the Great Yan Secret Spy Agency was a bit rough. Perhaps because Great Yan had not been a "unified" country for a long time, its Secret Spy Agency was not very well-developed or powerful. Furthermore, alchemists and other Fangshi organizations were incorporated into the Secret Spy Agency, making it more like a mixed bag.

Only in Yinlang County, under the command of the Jingnan Marquis, due to the "husband and wife shop" arrangement, was the role of the Yan Secret Spy Agency maximized, achieving remarkable results.

In comparison, the Silver Armor Guard felt more professional than the Yan Secret Spy Agency. Its business capabilities, resource mobilization, and organizational framework were all a level above the Yan Secret Spy Agency.

Even when the Yan-Qian war began, the Qian Silver Armor Guard was active in the shadows, playing a significant role, impossible to eradicate completely.

However, due to the Qian army's overall defeat, the Silver Armor Guard was suddenly perceived as being far inferior to the Yan Secret Spy Agency, which was unavoidable.

Nevertheless, Zheng Fan believed that when it came to playing the intelligence game and remaining hidden, the devils under his command were truly the best of the best, the elite of the elite.

They were only at a disadvantage because he was not strong enough and his reputation not prominent enough. When his side truly rose up, the world would see a truly different "intelligence organization."

Then he would have Si Niang design a new flying fish suit,

Hehe.

Just then,

the Blind Man's voice began to sound in everyone's minds.

This "mind link," also known as the "team chat channel," could not be maintained continuously due to power constraints. It was only activated in critical moments.

Moreover, after making a few blunders and discerning some of the others' thoughts, the Blind Man had learned his lesson after being glared at by Zheng Fan and the other devils.

Each time he constructed the "mind link,"

he would pick up the microphone like a rural funeral band after setting up their old-fashioned sound system:

"Testing, testing, one two, one two three..."

This served as a reminder not to think nonsense in their minds.

Of course, the main reason was that Fan Li was present. Heaven knew what that simpleton was thinking.

For example, he might be thinking:

The master actually wants me to hide in a puddle; I might as well chop him with an axe!

"San'er has signaled. Someone is approaching. Everyone, get ready. Combat readiness level one."

Zheng Fan and A' Ming exchanged glances and put on the clothes they had placed beside them. These were Helian Baozhu's guards' clothes, somewhat damaged, but not a major issue.

After getting dressed, Zheng Fan leaned backward, while A' Ming curled up against the wall, pretending to be tired and dozing off.

The Blind Man in the tree used his telekinetic power to pull some branches closer, further concealing himself.

Fan Li in the pool simply submerged himself completely under the water.

Zheng Fan waited,

To be honest, this kind of "invite the enemy into the net" gambit was extremely difficult to pull off, with a high probability of failure, but it was indeed the most effective method at present.

"Don't panic. The closest person is thirty meters away. Three people are coming."

The Blind Man's voice echoed in everyone's minds like an announcer.

Zheng Fan adjusted his breathing, his knife pressed beneath him.

A seventh-rank martial artist was considered a minor grandmaster in the secular world, able to thrive either as a retainer for wealthy families or by joining the army.

Perhaps he had seen too many war scenes and grown accustomed to that atmosphere, but suddenly switching back to solo mode felt somewhat unfamiliar.

"Ten meters."

"Five meters."

"Master, two people have reached the cave entrance, and one is by the pool. These three are all quite strong and cautious."

"There are probably others on the perimeter. San'er is watching. We need to eliminate the three here quickly and quietly.

A' Li, wait for my signal and kill the one by the pool directly.

Master, one will come from the left side of the cave entrance. Attack him directly with your blade.

A' Ming, leave the one at the right side of the cave entrance alive!"

In a fight, life and death hang in the balance. There is no room for error. To intentionally leave someone alive, either you are many levels above them in martial arts, or they cannot kill you with a single strike.

"They're coming, they're coming. They're really careful. Be careful. They will probe into the cave in about five seconds."

At this moment, the Blind Man's callouts felt like having a teammate in a chicken-eating game who was using a cheat.

"Blind Man, shut up."

A' Ming said in his mind.

They were already so close. Did he still need to call out their positions?

Speaking in their minds now would only affect their reaction speed.

The Blind Man stopped talking as expected.

Zheng Fan also sensed someone probing into the cave.

"Master, you go first," A' Ming said.

Zheng Fan's body suddenly trembled, and he drew the long knife from under him, springing up in a carp-like leap and then lunging forward, the blade slashing horizontally.

The opponent reacted quickly, immediately blocking with his sword, but because of Zheng Fan's seventh-rank martial artist power, all his qi and blood were poured into the long knife at that moment, causing the opponent's block to be shattered instantly, and the weapon in his hand flew away.

Zheng Fan supported himself on the ground with his left hand and pushed down, his right hand thrusting the blade forward again.

"Puff!"

The blade pierced the opponent's chest.

In fact, with Zheng Fan's strength, he could have won in a fair one-on-one fight, let alone with an ambush. In just two exchanges, the opponent was killed by Zheng Fan.

On the other side, almost at the same time as Zheng Fan moved, A' Ming's body slithered downwards like a snake. The opponent only saw the person in front of him leaving behind only an outer coat. Immediately, a chilling aura enveloped his back.

Being a well-trained individual, he stabbed his sword towards his armpit without hesitation.

"Puff!"

The sword pierced A' Ming's body,

But A' Ming remained unfazed.

A' Ming's left hand grabbed the opponent's neck, instantly exerting force, while his right fingernails directly pried open the opponent's teeth, taking out a small poison pill hidden under their teeth in the blink of an eye.

Finally, A' Ming turned again, coming in front of the opponent, using his left hand to hold his neck, and his right hand to punch the opponent's abdomen fiercely.

"Bang!"

The opponent knelt on the ground.

At this point, Zheng Fan, who had freed up his hand, immediately stepped forward and kicked away the sword in front of the opponent, then took out a rope and helped A' Ming tie up the person.

"Master, put a gag in his mouth first."

Zheng Fan nodded and stuffed A' Ming's usual nail file into the opponent's mouth to prevent him from biting his tongue and committing suicide.

The matter on this side was over, and the matter on the other side was also over.

The person standing by the pool had not expected that there was a huge creature lurking under the water for a long time. After Fan Li grabbed his ankles with both hands, he was dragged directly into the pool. With another punch, bubbles of blood began to appear on the surface of the water.

Seriously, even if it were the Sword Saint of Jin or Bai Li Jian, if they were caught off guard by Fan Li, they would probably be finished.

The Blind Man used his telekinetic power to support his body as he came down from the tree, peeling an orange in his hand.

Next was his job. After all, Helian Baozhu was a little girl. Directly searching her soul would not fit everyone's aesthetic style.

But now that they had caught an adult, there was no need to be so polite.

"The master's strike just now was truly fast, accurate, and ruthless. This subordinate was watching from the tree and found it very pleasing to the eye."

The Blind Man walked over while offering insincere flattery, probably hoping that he might accidentally advance in rank.

A person must have dreams.

Zheng Fan ignored the Blind Man and began to search the survivor's body.

The Blind Man walked over and nodded to A' Ming, who began to strengthen his suppression of the survivor.

This was an adult male, with a relatively fair face, currently staring at the people in front of him with extremely angry and resentful eyes.

"Aiyo, yoyo, tsk tsk tsk, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, relax and enjoy it, you'll be fine in a moment."

The Blind Man lamented as he placed his hands on the other person's head, preparing to start the soul search.

"No need to search his soul."

Zheng Fan suddenly said.

"Huh? What's wrong, Master?" The Blind Man was somewhat surprised but obediently stopped his movements.

Zheng Fan sighed,

Feeling somewhat helpless, somewhat saddened, and also somewhat...amused,

raising a waist牌 (yao pai - waist牌) that he had just found on the other person,

and on the waist牌 were engraved three large characters:

密谍司 (Mi Die Si - Secret Spy Agency)!