Chapter 1433: Killing Intent
The concert organized by Zhou Qiuyan and others didn’t stand out in any way this night; everything appeared normal on the surface.
However, behind the scenes, there was an atmosphere of some strange disturbance. Ye Fan and Mengyao took Lu Qianqian and Qi Sixue to the concert site, causing quite a few unexpected complications, with the forces on the Asai side being the most active.
While Lu Qianqian was entertaining Zhou Qiuyan and others attending the gathering, Asai revealed himself, engaging in a battle of wits in a tracking and counter-tracking scenario with Qiu Wen, who was tailing him.
After the gathering, Zhou Qiuyan left the Lu Family’s private residence with a lingering reluctance, departing Jin City.
If not for other activities, Zhou Qiuyan would naturally have hoped to stay at the Lu Family’s private residence for a few more days.
It was already one in the morning.
On the streets outside the bustling city, Asai used all his skills to rush towards his hideout, extremely cautious along the way. He was very careful to avoid being tracked, and after multiple tests, he did not find anyone following him.
"Something’s not right, I keep feeling someone is following me, but after several tests, I haven’t discovered anyone. What’s going on? Did I sense it wrong, or is someone really tracking me, and they are just very skilled in tracking, so I can’t detect them right away?" Asai muttered to himself, a deep, obscure expression hanging on his face under the dim lights.
The reason for his suspicion was purely due to a sixth sense, a feeling that was extremely ominous.
As a strong individual, such feelings are unreliable, but somehow he always felt a breath of unease approaching, making him extremely anxious, constantly feeling like he was being watched.
In the past, such feelings of unease rarely occurred, but now, these emotions were quite intense.
"Is it because I’m in a foreign environment that I have such a feeling?" Asai pondered, his eyes revealing a thoughtful expression. He affirmed, "Anyway, being cautious never hurts."
He held onto the idea that he was indeed being tracked and tried repeatedly to lure out the possible trackers, probing many times without any discovery, with no evidence of being tracked at all.
"Seems like I’m just overthinking it." Asai made this judgment.
Three hours later, Asai was already close to his hideout. By now, he could generally conclude that no one was following him, but he still felt uneasy due to these unsettling emotions, so he concealed himself in a corner and waited motionlessly.
Once hidden, he made no more moves, looking extremely desolate in the chilling autumn night.
Half an hour passed... then an hour.
As dawn was about to break, Asai finally moved his numb and aching body and headed towards his hideout.
Several subordinates came out to receive Asai and led him inside. This was an abandoned old building, uninhabited for many years.
Such a place was perfect for someone like Asai, who couldn’t see the light of day, to hide.
As long as he wasn’t discovered, the hiding place wouldn’t be exposed.
"Since when did I become so jittery, when there’s clearly nothing going on, yet I struggled a whole night?" Asai complained, then left part of his men on guard as he lay down to sleep.
The ones who went out with him had long arrived at the hideout before him, but unlike him, those subordinates lingered longer in the city and more populous areas, returning only after confirming no abnormalities.
It’s not that they wanted to be so cautious, but when going out for tasks, one must guard against being tracked; regardless of whether there are enemy trackers, mastering counter-tracking skills is particularly important.
Counter-tracking has been ingrained in these people’s bones, and whether or not there is anyone following them, they will perform such maneuvers.
Asai and his group, totaling thirty, are an unseen force under Asai’s command.
"Ran the whole night, finally back at the hideout, if you want to compete with me, you’re not quite there yet." Qiu Wen revealed herself, her expression somewhat fatigued from strategizing and counter-tracking with Asai all night.
Nevertheless, the achievements were quite remarkable.
She discovered Asai’s hideout, a gain that couldn’t be better.
With some distance from the hideout, Qiu Wen contacted Ye Fan.
"Master, found the enemy’s residence, initial assessment suggests no less than ten people. The exact number requires further investigation," Qiu Wen reported this message upward.
"Stay calm and wait for me." After a brief consideration, Ye Fan made this decision.
Since they had tracked down Asai and others’ whereabouts, and these enemies are hiding in the dark and have extended their assassins’ hands previously, naturally, they couldn’t allow these enemies any chance for survival — eliminating these foes would be the optimal way to reduce threats.
Therefore, Ye Fan’s plan was to wipe out Asai and his group, aiming to intimidate those behind Asai.
For existences like Asai, the hidden forces in the shadows were the targets Ye Fan wanted to eliminate.
Around nine in the morning, a vehicle stopped in front of Qiu Wen.
Ye Fan, Zhang Lu, Yang Shu, and Shen Tingting alighted from the car.
Zhang Lu, Yang Shu, and Shen Tingting were called in by Ye Fan as reinforcements, just in case; since the aim was to annihilate Asai’s entire group, they couldn’t allow them any chance to escape — blocking every escape route was imperative, requiring careful management, especially in the act of crushing the enemy forces, to prevent untimely complications.
Following Ye Fan’s instructions, Zhang Lu and the others were eager to dive into the imminent battle.
"Remember, our goal is to obliterate this group of enemies, preventing any of them from escaping to achieve the aim of intimidating the forces behind them." Ye Fan told Qiu Wen, Zhang Lu, Yang Shu, and Shen Tingting.
"Of course, if we are striking decisively, we ought not to give them a chance to breathe, nor allow them to flee," Zhang Lu responded fiercely.
"Got my point, let’s move. You four hide around the old building, preventing the enemies from jumping out to flee, I alone will enter the building and deal with them. Any escaped remnants will depend on you to kill them," Ye Fan instructed.
"Yes!" Qiu Wen and the four adhered to Ye Fan’s intent without rebutting.
Qiu Wen, Zhang Lu, Yang Shu, and Shen Tingting dispersed and lay in wait around the old building.
Ye Fan walked towards the entrance of the old building with an air of confidence, heading straight inside with the intention to maximize the obliteration of the enemies and fulfill the goal to eradicate them.