Chapter 1498 - 1497
A young man was pinned to the wall by a long sword. The sword pierced through his chest, penetrated his body, and nailed into the wall.
The man retched blood from his mouth, his head drooped, the blood still dripping, but his life had already been lost.
This scene stunned the crowd that rushed in.
"He’s Sun Hao!" said Loli. "What’s going on here?"
Lin Fan had already swept his gaze around the entire room.
Immediately, Lin Fan walked over, lifted Sun Hao’s head, and reached into Sun Hao’s collar, pulling out a white handkerchief.
On the handkerchief, there was a line of text written in blood.
"Mr. Lin, I hereby notify you: Be prepared with 1 billion within a day. I will come to collect it. If I can’t receive the money, the next dead person will be Li Zixia! Tang Sect, Chen Jianping."
Lin Fan’s face darkened.
It indeed was the Tang Sect!
It seems the three disciples of the Tang Sect have returned to their sect, but the Tang Sect does not intend to let things rest. After all, Tang Sect members were not intimidated by Lin Fan; they decided to clash with him.
This time, the person sent by the Tang Sect is named Chen Jianping.
This Chen Jianping bribed the cook, Sun Hao, and poisoned Ye Tianyu. His motive was to send a warning to Lin Fan.
He truly can kill, not just talk about it.
If Lin Fan doesn’t meet the demands and hand over 1 billion, the next one to die will be Li Zixia.
Of course, this is what he wrote, but the next person he kills may not necessarily be Li Zixia; it might be someone close to Lin Fan, possibly Lin Shanshan or even Loli...
If Lin Fan wants peace of mind, he must obediently hand over 1 billion or, alternatively, be able to protect everyone around him.
The latter is obviously difficult, even if Lin Fan had a doppelgänger, it would be hard to keep an eye on so many people around him.
So far, no one knows who this Chen Jianping is: whether male or female, old or young. There is totally no concept; he is completely hidden, possibly anywhere, impossible to guard against.
This person hails from the Tang Sect, a master beyond doubt; none of Lin Fan’s associates can be a match for him. Moreover, he hides in the shadows; how could one possibly prevent him?
Basically, whoever Chen Jianping wants to kill, that person is doomed.
Faced with such a situation, what can Lin Fan do?
One thing is certain: Lin Fan absolutely won’t allow anyone around him to be harmed by the other party.
This person dares to use the lives of those dear to Lin Fan as leverage; he has assuredly angered Lin Fan.
Loli walked over, took the blood-stained handkerchief and read it. Her face changed and she asked, "What do you plan to do?"
Lin Fan replied coldly, "If I let this person bounce around until tomorrow’s sunrise, consider me defeated."
Tonight, he needs to find this Chen Jianping and stop him from bouncing around before tomorrow’s sunrise.
He wants to tell this person, tell the Tang Sect, they have messed with someone they shouldn’t have. He has already given Tang Sect a chance, letting those three disciples return, and were Tang Sect willing to retreat, Lin Fan wouldn’t pursue Tang Sect for trouble; Tang Sect could continue being his Hidden Sect.
Now, the nature of things has changed.
Tang Sect is relentless, forcing Lin Fan not to relent; Lin Fan doesn’t mind spending more time to annihilate the Tang Sect.
In reality, Lin Fan gave Tang Sect chances because Lin Fan didn’t want to deal with them the same way he dealt with the Yun Sect, traveling thousands of miles. But if the opposition insists on provoking Lin Fan, then Lin Fan can only be a bit more troubled.
For an entity like Hidden Sect, if not completely subdued, it would be hard to quell the conflict. Perhaps it’s best to uproot the opposition to prevent future troubles.
"The force behind this sword is not something an average person can achieve; this is the work of a martial arts master using inner strength. The person who killed Sun Hao is very likely Chen Jianping himself." Lin Fan probed Sun Hao’s neck gently and continued, "He hasn’t been dead for over an hour. I need to check all recent surveillance within a one-hour radius. Moreover, this person is likely still within a ten-mile range. If setting up surveillance, watch out for individuals with Shu Region accents."
Loli nodded, "Alright, I’ll arrange that now. We’ll activate the Celestial Net System in a moment."
Loli went to work on it.
Lin Fan approached Li Zixia: "Miss Li, from now on, you’ll stay with me; don’t part from me by a step."
Li Zixia, a bit shaken, asked, "What happened? Who exactly is the killer?"
Lin Fan replied, "Tang Sect, the people Ye Tianyu hired with 1 billion to save him. They didn’t get the money last time, so they are demanding it now. They killed Ye Tianyu but are targeting me, as well as those around me, including you."
Li Zixia asked, "Am I the next person they intend to kill?"
Lin Fan nodded, "I won’t let them succeed."
"Hmm, with you here, I’m not afraid," Li Zixia replied.
Although she says that, the threat is still significant as Ye Tianyu is already dead. Li Zixia, though not too knowledgeable about hidden sects, feels that this Tang Sect is even more terrifying than the Earth Wolf Gang.
Li Zixia pondered, and added, "Mr. Lin, if the other party is truly difficult to deal with, why not just give them 1 billion; if money can resolve it, I’ll spend it."
From Ye Tianyu’s decision to spend 1 billion to invite Tang Sect to help, the matter had already gone astray with a mistake, a mistake that must be paid for.
What Li Zixia hopes for now is to sell the company to Mortals to save it. Money can be earned later; Ye Tianyu has died, and up to this point, there is something more important to her than this 1 billion.
Lin Fan shook his head, "Even if you obediently hand over 1 billion, there’s no assurance the other party will relent. It’s hard to guarantee they won’t ask for more. I don’t like being passive; the more passive, the more they’ll think you’re easy to bully. Compared to being passive, I prefer inciting fear and despair."
Li Zixia knows all too well; this is Lin Fan’s style. In Europe, Lin Fan treated the Earth Wolf Gang the same way; otherwise, Lin Fan wouldn’t have traversed all the way from Barcelona in Spain, crossed the sea to Eastern Europe, and personally annihilated the Earth Wolf Gang’s lair.
What’s quicker, cleaner, and more thorough at solving a problem than wiping out the opposition?
To Lin Fan, there’s nothing!
Not long after, Loli walked over holding a laptop, saying to Lin Fan, "The Celestial Net System is connected, ready for surveillance."
Lin Fan deduced Sun Hao’s time of death to be one hour ago based on his body temperature. Given that he was killed by a single stab to the heart, Sun Hao died instantly.
At that time, the killer was inside the room, meaning the murderer left sometime within that hour.
Lin Fan retrieved surveillance from within a three-kilometer radius around Heping Road 18 for that hour. In today’s environment, filled with cameras, even intentionally avoiding them, it’s difficult to evade all.
As long as this person leaves any trace, Lin Fan can form an initial impression of the killer.
Subsequently, Lin Fan began to swiftly review the surveillance footage.
Time unknown passed.
Lin Fan pressed the pause button.
A figure appeared on the computer screen.
Lin Fan, looking at the figure, his eyes turned cold.