Chapter 968: Past Events |
“So, the question now is, are we choosing one out of three, two out of three, or do we just want them all?” Li Hanxing said, stroking his chin. “I suspect that the options provided by this module are actually based on our numbers, perfectly set up for one-on-one surveillance.”
Liu Xing gave Li Hanxing a sidelong glance and replied, “Wake up, my friend. Do you really think the three of us have the ability to conduct one-on-one surveillance? These three targets are no pushovers. If we’re discovered, we could be the first casualties of this side quest.”
“Liu Xing is right. These three targets are all extremely formidable. Bao is like a one-punch man, capable of taking down a youngster with a single blow; Leopard is a bloodthirsty assassin. If he sets his sights on us, our demise is inevitable; as for Bai Liang, he’s likely a high-intelligence criminal with an IQ of 99. Combined with his abilities, he’s unpredictable and hard to defend against,” Sun Huiwen nodded. “So it’s better for us to act collectively to avoid unexpected accidents and minimize casualties.”
Li Hanxing nodded helplessly and said, “Alright then. We do need to be cautious in our operations in Morio Town. After all, it’s truly a place where hidden talents abound. Ghost might even know if the fruit vendor next door can wield the dog-beating stick technique.”
Liu Xing smiled and said earnestly, “Now the problem comes back to us: who should be our first surveillance target? I think it’s best to track Bai Liang because Leopard is a key member of the Morio Town Protection Association. There are probably many people keeping an eye on him, so we’re likely to be spotted and possibly expelled from Morio Town. As for Bao, I don’t think we need to intentionally follow him. Bao is essentially a ticking time bomb—he will explode when the time comes, regardless of whether we track him or not. So if we do follow him, we can only catch the early signs of his impending loss of control a few minutes in advance.”
Hearing Liu Xing’s reasoning, Li Hanxing directly slapped the table and said, “Alright, let’s go track Bai Liang later. But come to think of it, there should be more than one side quest in Morio Town, right? Should we look for opportunities to trigger another one or two?”
Liu Xing immediately shook his head and said seriously, “Friends, meddling leads to trouble. There are indeed many side quests in Morio Town, but these are mostly about eliminating assassins and infiltrators sent by Swollen Woman. These guys are no joke; a single misstep could result in us being directly killed. So I think it’s best we honestly help Mai Yuqiang eliminate the last target, and then we can head to Nagoya, where bigger business awaits you.”
Li Hanxing shrugged and said nothing more.
After deciding on the surveillance target, Liu Xing and the others went to Mai Yuqiang’s study room and found the notes about Morio Town that Mai Yuqiang had mentioned earlier.
Of course, for Liu Xing and his team, the most interesting aspect of this list was that the names of these assassins were all familiar, and their methods had discernible patterns because they were mostly based on characters from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Their methods were all related to their abilities.
This also hinted that Bai Liang’s ability was indeed similar to Yoshikage Kira’s.
Other than that, Liu Xing and his team didn’t find any noteworthy information. If anything, the only thing was that Morio Town would have at most one assassin and one infiltrator operating together at the same time, and most of the time, there was only one assassin or infiltrator causing trouble. Therefore, Liu Xing and his team felt they didn’t need to worry about encountering chaos or demons... at least, that’s how they thought.
At that moment, Zhang Jingxu suddenly called Liu Xing.
Could it be that Zhang Jingxu and his team had already arrived in Nagoya?
Liu Xing thought about it as he answered the call.
“Liu Xing, we’ve arrived in Nagoya. How’s everything on your end?” Zhang Jingxu asked.
Liu Xing replied somewhat surprised, “You guys are really fast. I thought you’d be arriving in Nagoya tonight or tomorrow. I’ve run into some issues here, so I might need to stay in Morio Town for a while longer to help someone solve some problems.”
Then Liu Xing briefly explained the situation in Morio Town to Zhang Jingxu and his team.
“Morio Town is interesting. We have a mission here to win over Morio Town or, in other words, to gain the support of the Morio Town Protection Association. With the strength of the Morio Town Protection Association, whether you join the Public Faction or the Warrior Faction, you can enter the decision-making layer of that faction,” Zhang Jingxu said with a smile. “Originally, we were all planning to accept this mission so we could find an opportunity to meet you, Liu Xing. With your connections, we might actually persuade the Morio Town Protection Association to join our Warrior Faction. But it seems we might have been overthinking it.”
“Oh, so the Warrior Faction is still unaware of Morio Town’s true situation?” Liu Xing responded, somewhat surprised.
Liu Xing had assumed that Swollen Woman’s “information blackout” on Morio Town was targeted at ordinary people. He didn’t expect that not even the entire Warrior Faction could uncover the truth about Morio Town.
It seemed Swollen Woman was genuinely invested in Morio Town.
At this point, Zhang Jingxu continued, “Yes, the Warrior Faction knows very little about Morio Town. They know that there are many skilled individuals from all over the world, especially from China, residing in Morio Town. These experts are all quite formidable, but they’ve all chosen to live in seclusion in Morio Town, focusing solely on this small area. So neither mythical creatures nor secret cults can cause trouble in Morio Town, or rather, they don’t dare to. As for why we arrived in Nagoya so early, it’s because our original plan to enter Nagoya as a team was changed to entering separately.”
“The reason is simple. The Shimazu Family hasn’t finished handling matters in Kagoshima, so they lack a leader to lead the team. The situation with the Oda Family is similar. After Oda Eiji’s sudden death, the Oda Family couldn’t find a suitable leader, or rather, many within the Oda Family were vying for that position. After all, once you secure that spot, even if you can’t become the next head of the Oda Family, you can still hold a high-ranking position. So the internal affairs of the Oda Family are quite lively. As for other factions, they’re no better, each with their own schemes.”
Hearing this, Liu Xing sighed and said, “Fortunately, our side is a small organization without too many troubles. So, Zhang Jingxu, have you guys already arrived in Nagoya?”
“You could say that. Although other factions have sent a few foot soldiers to Nagoya to fill the ranks, these guys are definitely no match for us,” Zhang Jingxu replied with a smile. “Alright, we need to go to a meeting now. If you need anything, feel free to contact us. We can come to Morio Town to support you at any time.”
After hanging up with Zhang Jingxu, Liu Xing thought about what to say to Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen when he heard footsteps outside.
It seemed Mai Yuqiang had returned.
Sure enough.
When Mai Yuqiang found Liu Xing and the others in the study room, the first thing he did was ask about his conversation with Dio.
Liu Xing didn’t hide anything and informed Mai Yuqiang about the two targets Dio had identified.
Mai Yuqiang frowned and said with some surprise, “Oh? I didn’t expect Bao to be an assassin sent by Swollen Woman... Although I had noticed some signs, I thought Bao was still a decent person. As for Leopard, I’ve had my suspicions for a while because Leopard is... how should I put it? He’s both sociable and antisocial.”
???
Looking at the puzzled faces of Liu Xing and the others, Mai Yuqiang continued, “Here’s the situation: Leopard usually acts alone and doesn’t collaborate with others, even with those he’s close to. However, in daily interactions, Leopard is very personable. He knows the birthdays and preferences of all the members of the Morio Town Protection Association, so every year when someone has a birthday, he gives them gifts. Therefore, he has good relationships with most members of the Morio Town Protection Association, and even those few members he’s not close with don’t show him the cold shoulder.”
Liu Xing nodded, finding Leopard’s behavior somewhat strange.
*Multiple Friends, Multiple Paths*
In a more utilitarian sense, it’s best to make friends who are valuable. Of course, "value" varies from person to person. Even if some friends don’t provide direct benefits, they at least offer some form of emotional satisfaction. For example, a rich second-generation might always have a sycophant around who, despite being useless and sometimes even troublesome, can flatter them effectively, making them feel very satisfied.
Back to the main point, theoretically, Leopard befriended the other members of the Morio Town Protection Association to ensure that these members would help him when needed—like being more considerate in battles or stepping up if he ran into trouble.
But Leopard prefers to work solo and has no intention of collaborating with others.
So why does Leopard bother to befriend the members of the Morio Town Protection Association? Is he just looking to hear their gratitude and praise?
To Liu Xing, this seemed irrational. It was like having a classmate in school who was on good terms with everyone but never asked for anything in return and even avoided situations where others might reciprocate. How would you feel about such a person?
Wait a minute.
Thinking about it, Liu Xing suddenly considered a possibility, “So Leopard is trying to subtly change others’ perceptions of him, essentially buying people’s loyalty. Then, when the right opportunity comes, he could legitimately become the powerful president of the Morio Town Protection Association?”
Mai Yuqiang nodded and said seriously, “Exactly, that’s what I think. When I was in high school, I encountered someone similar to Leopard. He didn’t become class president initially, so he spent a whole semester deliberately befriending his classmates without showing any intention to become class president. Then, in the second semester, he hinted to a few of his closest friends, and those fools went to the homeroom teacher to request a re-election of class officers. As a result, he unsurprisingly became the class president.”
Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised, “Oh? I thought you’d only encounter such opportunists in college. Didn’t expect people to be so manipulative even in high school.”
Mai Yuqiang shrugged and laughed, “Of course, I’ve always been like that since I was young.”
“Huh?!”
All three of Liu Xing’s companions looked bewildered at Mai Yuqiang, not expecting that the “guy” Mai Yuqiang was referring to was himself.
This made Liu Xing feel somewhat embarrassed.
However, Mai Yuqiang continued naturally, “Liu Xing, you’re not wrong. I did seem a bit opportunistic back then. But that was because the original class president and I didn’t get along well from childhood. Our fathers were peers, so we were often compared by adults. Although it was all in good fun, my competitive nature is very strong, so I came up with this lousy plan to snatch the class president position…”
As Mai Yuqiang spoke, his expression suddenly became forlorn. “But looking back now, he probably realized my plan early on, yet he didn’t stop me. So, he let me take the class president position... and he ultimately died because of me...”
Liu Xing and the others didn’t know what to say for a moment.
Fortunately, Mai Yuqiang wasn’t a tragic figure. After a brief moment of melancholy, he smiled and said, “Alright, let’s not talk about that anymore. Let’s continue discussing Leopard. When I saw Leopard’s actions, I realized that he was likely aiming to become the real power behind the Morio Town Protection Association. However, I didn’t pay much attention because there are more people eyeing that position besides Leopard and Dio.”
[Thanks for reading at Patreon.com/maxnkoga , if you supporting this novel, a heartfelt thankyou, enjoy the content!]
Chapter 969: Revenge