Chapter 37: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes

The sniper turned around and saw a young man with a crew cut standing behind him. The other smiled broadly, but the smile sent chills down the sniper's spine. Instinctively, he drew his sidearm and unleashed a wild barrage at the youth.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The bullets sped toward Chen Xian, but without suspense, every single one was blocked.

“Are you…are you human or ghost?!” The sniper’s eyes widened in terror.

“What do you think?” Chen Xian’s lips curled into a cold smile.

In a flash, he darted beside the sniper, delivering a swift knife-hand strike to the back of the man’s head. Though the sniper was a martial artist, he was utterly powerless against Chen Xian. His vision went black, and he collapsed like a pile of mud, unconscious and limp on the ground.

Chen Xian hadn’t spared his strength; it was likely the man wouldn’t wake until the next morning. He gave the sniper a cold glance, then swept his palm over the man’s head, erasing all memories of himself. With another flicker, he leaped from the nearly twenty-meter-high rooftop and sped off in a different direction.

One minute later.

Chen Xian stood behind a house, and before him lay another robust man, a sniper rifle slung across his back—the second of the three snipers.

He searched the man, found a cellphone, and his lips curved into a sly, cold smile.

Beep, beep, beep!

He quickly composed a message and sent it to the police reporting platform.

The message read:

“There’s a killer on the rooftop of Building XX in the Jinxiu Estate; another killer beside Building XX. Hurry and apprehend them!”

After sending the message, Chen Xian tossed the phone back to the man. Then, with another flicker, he headed toward his own townhouse, number 101, leaving the two killers for the police to handle.

Chen Xian surmised these two assassins were surely wanted criminals; once caught, they’d spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

Soon, he reached the door of No. 101. Instead of entering, he closed his eyes to check the information relayed by 002. The reason he allowed one assassin to escape was to uncover the mastermind targeting him—until he dealt with this hidden hand, he would not sleep in peace.

002’s report was that the assassin was fleeing frantically, without contacting anyone.

He then examined the mysterious tree in his mind, finding only a small portion had condensed into red; the rest remained transparent.

“It seems I need to absorb more attack energy to solidify the sixth fruit,” Chen Xian murmured, opening his eyes and entering the house.

At a glance, he saw four kittens imitating humans, seated upright with their hind legs, forepaws pressed together as if meditating.

He could clearly sense spiritual energy swirling around the little charm cat, carved from black jade—she was drawing it into her body. The other three stray cats showed no such aura.

At that moment, the charm cat opened her sapphire eyes and looked at him, mewing sweetly, “Master, you’re back! Did you bring me anything tasty?”

Chen Xian looked at her helplessly. “Didn’t I buy you a big bag of snacks just today?”

“Master, I ate them all!” The charm cat patted her little belly.

He sighed. “It’s too late tonight. We’ll buy more tomorrow.”

Hearing this, the charm cat’s folded ears twitched. “Alright then.”

Now, the three stray cats opened their eyes and ceased their training.

“You three, keep meditating! Five hours and you still haven’t sensed any spiritual energy—you’re useless. If you don’t feel it before dawn tomorrow, don’t follow me anymore!” The charm cat stood upright, paws on her hips, scolding them.

Her grown-up manner was both adorable and comical.

The three strays mewed pitifully and quickly closed their eyes again.

Chen Xian smiled wryly and stepped inside.

Just then, the shrill wail of sirens echoed through Jinxiu Estate. More than a dozen police cars pulled up, and squads of heavily armed officers poured out, rushing toward the two buildings.

A striking female officer with a voluptuous figure and handsome features led a team to the rooftop of one building. She was none other than Fang Jing, whom Chen Xian knew well.

When Fang Jing saw the assassin sprawled on the cold concrete, her face showed astonishment. Her large eyes widened incredulously.

“A-class fugitive Black Snake, real name Jiang Shan, a peak-level martial artist with godlike marksmanship and a gift for escape. He’s killed dozens of government officials, tycoons, and martial artists; even some with perfected inner force have fallen to his sniper’s bullet!”

Fang Jing knew the profiles of these A-class fugitives by heart. The police had hunted Black Snake for over ten years, but he had always evaded capture.

Who could have subdued Black Snake tonight, and in such a manner?

Fang Jing was filled with curiosity.

Soon, she cuffed Black Snake, chained his feet, and escorted him to the police car, where she saw the other assassin—this, too, surprised her.

This killer, nicknamed Poison Wolf, was every bit Black Snake’s equal.

The police then questioned the security guards at the gate, but gained little of value. For now, they detained the two major criminals and returned to the station.

…

Chen Xian, hearing the faint wail of sirens, knew the two assassins had been taken away. He entered the house, glanced at the flowers, fish, and insects, but didn’t start his treatments. Instead, he sat cross-legged and silently practiced the Supreme Chaos Technique, absorbing the faint spiritual energy of the world.

Time passed quietly, until dawn.

Suddenly, Chen Xian’s eyes snapped open, a cold light flashing in his gaze.

He’d just heard, through 002, the phone conversation of the released sniper.

“Mr. Ma, what intelligence did you give me? That Chen Xian isn’t just a peak-level martial artist—he’s immune even to armor-piercing sniper rounds! I’m powerless against him. Of the twenty million you gave me, I’ll return fifteen million…”

“Mr. Vulture, no need to refund the fifteen million. Help me with one more task.”

“What is it?”

“Capture Chen Xian’s parents and sister, and bring them to the Ma family office in H City.”

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

Hearing the exchange between Vulture and “Mr. Ma,” Chen Xian’s fists clenched, anger flooding his face.

“These bastards failed to get me, and now they’re targeting my family. Damn them!”

A dragon’s reverse scale—touch it and you die!

His family was his reverse scale.

For the first time, Chen Xian felt murderous intent.

Before, even when dealing with heinous villains, he’d only knock them out and hand them to the police—he’d never killed.

Now, he sprang to his feet and strode outside.

“Meow, Master, where are you going?” the charm cat called.

Without turning, Chen Xian answered, “To kill.”

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