Chapter 90: Conspiracy (Part One)

“Huh...”

Hong Ling quickly spotted the woman on the screen. Yet the very instant she saw her, she fell silent, overcome by a strange, wordless exasperation, and the expression on her face turned most peculiar.

There, on the screen, the woman in the raincoat stood all alone, one hand pressed to her forehead as she gave a soft sigh, as though utterly helpless before her companion’s antics.

Explosives were indeed flying toward her from every direction, yet none of them harmed her in the least. Instead, they simply passed straight through her body...

Yes, passed straight through. The woman’s body seemed made of water; whenever those things struck her, it was as though they had hit the surface of a pond. They passed cleanly through, bringing up only sprays of water, and then her body would instantly return to normal.

Naturally. These two were clearly members of some mysterious organization, and from the way they spoke, they were obviously partners of some sort. Since the man had an ability, the woman surely could not be ordinary. Otherwise, they would never have stood as equals.

Still, this power was a little too absurd, Hong Ling thought in surprise.

If the man’s ability was explosion, then this woman’s must be water.

At this point, if she could simply turn her body to water whenever she was attacked and evade all harm, then wouldn’t nothing be able to hurt her at all?

After the explosion man had vented his fury in the room for a while, he finally calmed down a little. After exchanging a few words with the raincoat woman, the two of them prepared to leave.

But just as they reached the doorway, an unexpected development occurred.

Hong Ling had just begun to relax, thinking those two plague stars were finally leaving, when the figure suddenly appearing at the door made her heart lurch violently. She hurriedly put her headset back on.

“Two of you, I know where the person you’re looking for is!”

Inside the room, just as the man and woman were about to turn away in disappointment, a strange voice rang out from the doorway.

“Who’s there?”

They both looked toward the entrance at once. Seeing the young man who had appeared so abruptly, wariness rose on both their faces.

Perhaps the earlier explosions had been so loud that neither of them had noticed anyone outside.

At the doorway stood a man in a security guard’s uniform, holding both hands up to show he meant no harm.

In the shelter room, Hong Ling stared in astonishment at the person by the door. It was none other than Han Ke, the man Kong Zhe had almost killed that day.

“It’s him... Could he be here for revenge?”

Inside the room, once the explosion man and the raincoat woman clearly recognized the newcomer, they actually relaxed.

Although he was an awakened one, he was only level five. They were confident that someone so weak was absolutely no match for the two of them. Added to that, Han Ke’s disheveled hair and miserable state made it obvious he had fallen on hard times. Their looks toward him therefore took on a shade of contempt.

“Come on now, no need to be so hostile,” Han Ke said with a smile. “I’m not your enemy. On the contrary, we have a common enemy. We might even be able to work together.”

The explosion man narrowed his eyes and looked Han Ke over again.

“Fine, speak plainly. What do you want?”

There was already a trace of threat in his tone. This man already knew their mission, and the organization’s intelligence absolutely could not be leaked. If it were, they would suffer severe punishment. He would decide his next move based on the man’s answer. If the fellow had no value, then the explosion man would kill him on the spot.

Feeling the killing intent hidden in the other man’s eyes, Han Ke’s forehead began to glisten with sweat. He was starting to regret stepping out so recklessly. At the very least, he should have made some preparations and left himself a way out.

But now he had no retreat left. He could only steel himself and say, “My goal is very simple. I have a grudge against that man. I hope the two of you can help me kill him... Oh, and that man is surely carrying quite a few treasures. After he’s dead, if any of his possessions interest you, take them. I won’t ask for a single cent. How about it?”

The explosion man fell silent for a moment. Then, stroking his chin, he studied Han Ke and asked with a somewhat profound look, “From what you’re saying, you can’t beat that man at all, can you? So you want us to be your cannon fodder?”

“No, absolutely not!” Han Ke hastily denied it.

Though there was indeed some truth to that thought in his heart, this was no time to admit it. Only a fool would confess now.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Han Ke forced a smile and explained, “I admit that man is stronger than me, but not by much in terms of level. At the very least, I can say for certain that he’s no match for the two of you. Just based on the abilities you’ve shown, you already outclass him by a mile.”

There was an old saying: no amount of flattery ever goes amiss. Even though they knew his words contained some exaggeration, the two of them still found themselves quietly pleased.

Still, they were no simpletons. Having seen all manner of schemes within the organization, they were certainly not going to believe him so easily.

“We can agree to this,” the raincoat woman said, “but you have to tell us everything that happened that day, from beginning to end. Not a single thing can be left out. Otherwise... heh heh.”

Her cold laugh carried a threat. As for agreeing or not, it was only lip service. Their real goal was simply to complete the mission. If this man could truly lead them to the target, then what harm was there in promising him first? Besides, now that he knew the organization’s secrets, they could never let him live. At most, they would help him settle his grudge and fulfill his wish before sending him on his way.

“Fine, no problem!”

Han Ke had not the slightest idea that they had already condemned him to death. In his view, there was no conflict of interest between them. Though their tone was threatening, they had at least agreed, and that made Han Ke breathe a quiet sigh of relief.

As for what had happened that day, he had never intended to hide anything. After all, these two were not trying to pry into his private affairs; they wanted intelligence on their opponent.

So Han Ke began to recount the events of that day from start to finish, from the moment he received the assignment that morning, to the moment he led his men into this room...

“Wait. What did you just say?”

Just as Han Ke was speaking more and more smoothly, the explosion man abruptly cut him off. At the same time, the raincoat woman beside him was staring at him in shock.

This made Han Ke’s heart sink. Had he said something wrong?

Yet he did not seem to have said anything particularly strange. He had only been narrating the events of the day like a ledger of trivialities. Why did these two look so astonished?

He quickly replayed what he had just said in his mind, and soon confirmed again that there was nothing wrong.