Chapter 293: There’s Something Wrong With This Chen Clan! A Dark, Windy Night Is Just Right
The man thought for a moment, then looked again at the situation on the tablet.
That woman named Liao Xiaoyin had already entered the Chen Clan.
After a moment, a piece of software on a computer beside him flashed and began receiving video.
It was exactly the footage shot by that Liao Xiaoyin, being received by the software.
As long as he learned the detailed situation inside the Chen Clan, especially the place where that tycoon stored information, he could arrange people to act.
After Liao Xiaoyin started recording, she, like other tourists, casually pointed her camera at the Chen Clan: “I finally came to visit the Chen Clan. The ancient buildings here really catch the eye.”
Many tourists around were doing the same, and some streamers were even live streaming.
So her behavior would not arouse much suspicion.
Liao Xiaoyin had to admit that the Chen Clan was really a great place for tourism, especially today, with not only cool weather but also such fresh air.
She was about to make money, so she was already in a good mood; now, with this climate and air, she felt even better.
Just as she was thinking this, her foot suddenly stepped on a stone, she stumbled, and directly twisted her ankle.
The pain that followed instantly ruined her mood.
But in order to keep filming to make money, she endured that trace of pain, continued walking forward, and continued recording.
Suddenly, she felt something land on the tip of her nose, and it was wet and hot.
She instinctively touched it with her hand and immediately felt nauseous.
She knew what it was.
Bird droppings!
A sharp scream burst out of Liao Xiaoyin’s mouth.
As a socialite, having bird droppings fall on her face was the greatest humiliation.
She hurriedly tried to find a place to wash her face, and in her panic fell to the ground, rolling to the side, scraping her hands and legs.
“Ms., are you alright? I will take you to get your wounds treated.” Two people from the Chen Clan Demon Subjugation Hall came over and carried Liao Xiaoyin away.
When the tourists saw they were people from the Chen Clan, they did not suspect anything and watched them take her away.
The Demon Subjugation Hall’s people were patrolling very diligently today.
Because the family had given an order: everyone who had bad luck inside the Chen Clan today had to be brought to Captain Huang.
The tourism police rest area already had a temporary holding function, which did not count as a violation.
Inside Shangyuan Village.
The man secretly monitoring was also confused as he watched the video that came back.
What was wrong with this Liao Xiaoyin? She was just filming and directly managed to hurt herself?
Through the video alone he could not tell exactly what had happened. Now the video transmission had already been cut off, which meant her mobile phone had stopped recording.
“Useless.” The man could not help cursing.
Fortunately, the other red dots had also entered the Chen Clan in succession; losing one person filming was not a big problem.
Soon, another red dot entered the Chen Clan.
But before long, something that shocked him happened.
The video coming from this person showed him choking on water, coughing for a long time, and then apparently not watching where he was going and slamming his head hard into something.
The miserable cry was painful even to hear.
In the end, this person was also taken away for treatment by people from the Chen Clan Demon Subjugation Hall.
When the third red dot entered the Chen Clan, the same situation happened: they inexplicably fell.
He realized this was not simple.
Videos about the Chen Clan he had seen online immediately surfaced in his mind.
Those said that people who had done bad things would have bad luck when entering the Chen Clan.
But wasn’t that fake, something hyped up by that tycoon Liu Ye with money to attract attention?
And now someone was telling him that having bad luck in the Chen Clan was real?
People online had previously summarized a pattern for having bad luck in the Chen Clan.
People who had done bad things and had not been punished would definitely have bad luck if they entered the Chen Clan, but those who had already been punished for their bad deeds would be fine.
For example, a man who stole something and had already done his time and been released would not have bad luck when entering the Chen Clan.
And if the bad deed had happened a long time ago, entering the Chen Clan would also not bring bad luck; as for exactly how long, those who summarized it had not made that clear.
Yesterday, when it was exposed that all of this had been driven by that tycoon, some people immediately said, “I knew it was strange. Why were people even summarizing this? Turns out it was all capital hype by the tycoon.”
After all, how could such extraordinary mysterious powers exist in reality?
So what was going on now?
Had the bad-luck-in-the-Chen-Clan thing become real again?
What about the promised hype?
If that was the case, then all those people who had taken the job to go film in the Chen Clan were going to fall into the Chen Clan’s hands.
He knew better than anyone what these people were doing. They were promised a fifty-thousand reward each; that was more than just some petty wrongdoing.
He had already guessed what was going on, but he had no intention of warning the others, because he wanted them to verify it further.
If the Chen Clan really had such mysterious power, then he had thought of something terrifying.
Was it that the tycoon used the Chen Clan to attract attention, or that the Chen Clan used the tycoon to attract attention?
If it was the latter…
Thinking of this, he suddenly felt a cold sweat down his back.
Soon, the remaining red dots arrived as well. They all entered the Chen Clan, and when he saw that all of them suffered misfortune, it was almost confirmed.
Most importantly, he noticed that they had all been taken to the same place; all the red dots were in one location.
This further convinced him that everything orchestrated by the tycoon Liu Ye had been a fishing operation.
Frightened, he hurriedly packed his things. He did not dare stay here any longer. After quickly leaving Shangyuan Village, he parked his car by the roadside and entered the sea of rapeseed flowers.
He gave up on the idea of stealing research data; getting some seeds back was now more important.
But although the rapeseed flowers had already produced many seeds, they were not yet ready to be used as seeds as-is; he could only pick out a small amount that might be usable.
This would take quite some time.
Luckily, no one knew his identity.
In the Chen Clan courtyard.
Chen Han’s gaze was now fixed on the two Feng Shui Stones in front of him, and the Feng Shui Spirit Record Stone in his hand had projected two more Feng Shui Ornament phantoms.
Previously, using the Feng Shui Spirit Record Stone together with a Feng Shui Ornament had produced a “Hidden Wind” ornament phantom. That had given him the idea that he might use this method to obtain carving methods for other Feng Shui Ornaments.
Now it proved workable; two more carving ornament phantoms appeared.
These two phantoms were different from the previous “Hidden Wind” ornament.
One was a brush holder, the other a small-tower-shaped ornament phantom.
Both were Feng Shui carvings for “Wenchang” Feng Shui Ornaments.
Wenchang-type Feng Shui Ornaments are very helpful for studying. Placed beside a desk, they can enhance thinking ability, increase concentration, and so on.
This was not particularly useful to him personally.
But he could still hand them over to other people in the Chen Clan to increase the Chen Clan’s foundation.
Especially since Feng Shui Ornaments are highly accepted by the public, and many wealthy people like to buy them.
Once his uncle learned how to make these Feng Shui Ornaments, he could also bring along a few talented disciples within the clan.
As for the Artifact Refining Furnace, he had already thought up an explanation: the same as for the Spirit Fire Stove and the Spirit Pressure Cooker, that there was an underground Feng Shui Array there leaking energy.
Ordinary fire inside the furnace, once infused with this energy, was no longer ordinary fire, and could therefore be used to consecrate Feng Shui Ornaments.
Was that not quite reasonable?
As Chen Han was thinking, he heard approaching footsteps and put away the Feng Shui Spirit Record Stone.
It was Chen Dagou coming in. “Xiao Han, I’ve already brought more than a dozen people to Captain Huang. If we keep going, there will be too many. Should you come take a look?”
“Alright, let’s go have a look.” Chen Han nodded; it was a good time to go complete the task.
The two left the courtyard together and went to the rest area the Chen Clan had arranged for Huang Xin and the tourism police.
Huang Xin had long been waiting.
He had already been notified to coordinate with the Chen Clan’s operation today, so aside from sending a few people out on necessary patrols, everyone else was on standby here.
The Chen Clan Demon Subjugation Hall members would bring people over, and his people would take over and hold them.
He had also seen the online news about the fifty-thousand bounty and was quite eager.
He felt he was about to earn another merit.
So when he saw the Chen Family Head arrive, he immediately stepped forward to greet them. “Chen Family Head, Hall Master Dagou.”
Chen Han replied with a smile, “Captain Huang, I came to see those people.”
“Chen Family Head, please come with me.” Huang Xin understood what he meant and led them inside.
The lobby of this attic had been turned into an office hall, with a number of questioning tables set up.
One section had been cordoned off as a temporary interrogation area.
Chen Han went in and sat down inside.
Chen Dagou stood behind him.
Huang Xin arranged for people to bring them in one by one. He himself entered and sat to the side, notebook ready to record.
After a while, a young man was brought in.
Seeing the Chen Family Head there, the young man obviously froze.
After being brought here by the Chen Clan people, he had already felt that something was not simple.
He just did not know what was going on.
Chen Han did not waste words with him. He directly used the Joyous Union True Word Technique, looked at him, and asked, “Why have you come to the Chen Clan this time?”
The man clearly jolted, then a hint of confusion appeared in his eyes as he spoke, “I’m just here for tourism. My girlfriend’s best friend is very pretty, and she flirted with me, so while my girlfriend and boss were on a business trip, I took the chance to come here with her best friend.”
After saying that, the man snapped back to normal and awkwardly asked, “Chen Family Head, officer, this isn’t something you’re in charge of, right?”
“Go.” Huang Xin was speechless and had the man taken away.
Next, a second woman was brought in.
This one was even more ridiculous; she had an itch for petty theft and liked to lift small things. On the high-speed train to Linhe County, she had swiped someone’s watch.
This kind of thing Huang Xin did not even want to bother with; it was not the fifty thousand he was hoping for. But since they had encountered it, they would hold her and transfer her to the county later.
At this moment, in the attic.
Liao Xiaoyin was a little dazed. She did not understand why she had been brought here. This was clearly a place where the police worked.
The key point was that while she was being held here, bugs flying in were biting her, leaving several welts on her body.
She finally saw people being led out and not brought back, and she became hopeful, wishing her turn would come soon so she could get out earlier.
When she was called, she followed excitedly, and was taken to another room. When she saw the Chen Family Head of the Chen Clan, she froze.
Chen Han directly used the Joyous Union True Word Technique and asked her, “Why have you come to the Chen Clan?”
Liao Xiaoyin was stunned, and almost subconsciously blurted out, “I can take jobs on my computer. As long as I go to locations designated by clients to take photos or videos, or post things online, I can get bonuses and revenue.”
“This time I took a job posted by someone named Night Owl, which was to come to the Chen Clan and record video, and the footage would be transmitted out through a piece of software on my phone.”
“Before this I already went to many places to shoot, such as…”
Huang Xin more or less understood after listening to her explanation.
He finally slammed the table and shouted, “Do you know this is espionage? Do you know your videos might harm many people?”
Liao Xiaoyin had come back to her senses. Frightened by his roar, she burst into panicked sobs. “How was I supposed to know? I was just shooting videos and making posts. I didn’t know. I just wanted to earn some money to support myself so I wouldn’t have to rely on those disgusting men who think above their station. Is that wrong?”
“Damn…” Huang Xin was completely speechless at this and immediately had someone put cuffs on her, then took out his phone to report up the chain.
Now that real fifty-thousand cases had appeared, he had already earned his merit; the rest should be handled by the higher-ups.
Biting off more than he could chew would not help.
…
In the sea of rapeseed flowers.
Night Owl moved through the flowers. After spending quite some time, he finally gathered some seeds he thought might be usable.
When he was about to come out, he saw some people and quickly stopped, hiding himself.
He recognized one of them as a leader from Linhe County, and another as Professor Bao.
Behind them were clearly guards, presumably uncles or professional security personnel.
These people were all instinctively protecting that middle-aged man.
Chu Ping had come again today, naturally to accompany Director Bao, who had been sent by the higher-ups.
The higher-ups attached great importance to these rapeseed flowers.
When they reached the edge of the rapeseed sea, Chu Ping said, “Director Bao, we in Linhe County have already worked with Chairman Liu to plan planting zones. After the new year, we will begin large-scale planting in Linhe County, which will not only meet many domestic needs but also bring many positions to Linhe County and lead everyone to prosperity.”
Director Bao frowned. “County Magistrate Chu, I did not come down to guide this kind of development. That is not my concern. I am here to guide you on how to prevent these results from being taken away by others.”
“But along the way I have been very disappointed. Linhe County has not paid enough attention to this. Not only are the inspections on the roads lacking, but supervision over the flower sea area is also inadequate.”
“There are loopholes everywhere. Take the tourists in the flower sea, for example. Do you have any plan for screening them? How do you know they are not people with ulterior motives?”
“Chairman Liu spent a great deal of money conducting experiments and research here in Linhe County, and this is the attitude of the Linhe County authorities? Not even basic seriousness?”
Chu Ping felt awkward when he heard this and exchanged a glance with Bao Jing.
They really wanted to say, “Leader, you’ve gone on and on, but you do not understand these rapeseed flowers at all.”
Naturally, they would not say that.
Chu Ping could only respond, “Director Bao, we in fact already have strict arrangements in place. You just have not noticed.”
As he spoke, his telephone ringtone sounded.
He quickly answered and, after listening to the report, turned to Director Bao with a wide smile. “Director Bao, we have already captured several fifty-thousand targets here and are preparing to escort them to the county. Would you like to interrogate them? Perhaps beyond this matter, they have done things elsewhere too.”
“…” Director Bao was clearly stunned and even a little embarrassed.
He had just said there were loopholes everywhere, and yet in such a short time they had captured several fifty-thousand targets. That meant they did have tight arrangements.
But on the whole journey, he had not noticed any of it.
How awkward was that?
He had come to offer guidance but could not even see their deployment, and he had spoken so loudly.
Who could understand what he was feeling now?
He glared at the people who had come along with him. If he had not noticed anything, had they not noticed anything either?
Humiliating.
In the end, he could only dryly say, “Then let’s go take a look.”
“Director Bao, please.” Chu Ping immediately invited him, breathing a sigh of relief inside. After this, they should be able to get through this inspection.
Night Owl watched the group leave and smiled coldly.
To hell with their tight arrangements; he had just stolen seeds right under their noses.
Once he got the seeds back and registered a patent, the leaders of Linhe County would be in trouble.
They would definitely be the first to take the blame.
Night Owl did not hesitate. He left the Chen Clan as fast as he could, drove out of Linhe County, and had to admit that Director Bao had been absolutely right: Linhe County was full of holes.
Like this…
He drove at speed to another city, then made some moves, and after three hours reached Linhai. From there he went to a remote foreign company on the outskirts.
This city was deeply connected to the international community, so there were many foreign-funded companies.
After Night Owl entered the company, a greeter led him inside to an underground laboratory.
Officially this lab did not exist, but its research equipment was among the most advanced in the world, focused specifically on plants and agricultural crops.
As for what they were really researching, those in the know understood.
After Night Owl entered, he handed the seeds he had brought back to a middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man immediately passed them to a researcher, and then said to Night Owl, “Night Owl, you truly are the elite among us. After this incident was exposed, they should have been guarding tightly, yet you still managed to get the seeds. Did they not check people going in and out?”
Night Owl really wanted to say, “To hell with checking; Linhe County treated us like fools, but we are not that stupid.”
But he would not say that. Instead, he described it as thrilling. “Their security was very tight, with checkpoints every so often. I had to work very hard to bring these seeds back.”
“Good, well done.” The middle-aged man praised him, then took Night Owl to the restaurant to give him a proper meal.
Night Owl was a bit hungry and quite satisfied by this hospitality. Now he just had to wait for his merit to be recorded.
Suddenly, the middle-aged man took a phone call, then frowned at Night Owl. “Night Owl, are you sure what you brought back are new rapeseed seeds? The lab’s tests show they are just ordinary rapeseed seeds.”
“Impossible.” Night Owl shot to his feet in shock.
He knew very well he had picked those seeds one by one. How could they be normal?
They were definitely those new rapeseed seeds.
He immediately went with the middle-aged man to the lab to look at the test data. Those seeds were indeed the ones he had brought; he had left subtle marks on them.
But he could not understand why they had become ordinary seeds.
It should not be like this.
This made him think of the legends about the Chen Clan. Since having bad luck in the Chen Clan was real, what about the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation’s dream message?
Was some existence preventing him from taking things away?
Otherwise, how could this be?
The more he thought, the more cold sweat trickled down his back.
The middle-aged man frowned deeply. “It seems this operation has failed. We must carry out a second operation.”
Night Owl immediately said, “I do not know where I went wrong. Maybe I was exposed. I have to take a boat to the island right away.”
With that, he hurried off.
What a joke. If his guess was right, only a fool would go back. He had to leave this country; otherwise…
…
Time passed and night fell.
Chen Han once again walked to the dungeon teleportation array.
After capturing several fifty-thousand targets today, the Shushan Immortal Alliance task had been completed, but the reward surprised him greatly.
【Because you captured people of the Outer Demonic Path, experts of the Shushan Immortal Alliance used a special secret technique to obtain important information from them.
These Outer Demonic Path forces are secretly gathering on a Spirit Island and refining a special Magical Artifact, the Soul Summoning Banner. This Soul Summoning Banner can summon souls into illusions and even control them. It is extremely vicious.
The Immortal Alliance has obtained the location of the Spirit Island. Please go there and cooperate with the alliance to destroy the Soul Summoning Banner.
Congratulations, you have received a special reward: Outer Demonic Spirit Island Dungeon Map x1】
This was something Chen Han had truly not expected, because the task had been so easy, with several fifty-thousand targets delivering themselves to his door.
Chen Han checked the remark information for the Outer Demonic Spirit Island Dungeon Map:
【Outer Demonic Spirit Island Dungeon Map: This is a special dungeon map. The Outer Demonic Path Faction is refining a Soul Summoning Banner within it, and many people from the Central Plains have already fallen under its control. Please go destroy it as soon as possible. Activating the teleportation gate requires 10 Spirit Stones!】
This dungeon map required more Spirit Stones than any before.
And based on his gaming experience, such maps always had higher revenue.
Moreover, if his guess was right, this dungeon map should be where the masters behind the fifty-thousand bounties were gathering.
In that case, whether for their coming against the Chen Clan or for national duty, this dungeon map would have to be turned into a river of blood.
Crucially, the dark, windy night was perfect for killing.
So he did not hesitate. He used the Thousand Illusions Mask to change his appearance, and the old daoist priest appeared once more.
Then he took out the dungeon map and ten Spirit Stones and activated the teleportation array.
White Light from the teleportation array flashed, enveloped him, and swept him away, and he vanished from where he had stood.
Out on the vast sea, Night Owl was taking a speedboat with two trusted subordinates toward a hidden island.
He had truly been frightened by the Chen Clan. The rapeseed seeds he had picked with his own hands turning into ordinary seeds was absolutely not right.
He was sure no one had had a chance to switch them.
So there was only one possibility…
This made him decisively flee, planning to stay at their base for a while. As for any tasks targeting the Chen Clan, he would absolutely not touch them.
Seeing the island drawing near, he finally began to relax slightly.
Right then, he suddenly saw a blinding White Light appear in the middle of the speedboat.
Aside from the subordinate driving, he and the other subordinate stared wide-eyed at this scene.
He had no idea what was happening.
Until an aged figure appeared within that White Light, and in that instant, he felt like he could not breathe.
