Chapter 329: Chapter 329: I Can Take Action for Personal Grudges
"Swish!"
"Slash!"
Lin Wan extended her right hand and grabbed the opponent’s wrist. The dagger was only seven or eight centimeters from her heart, but it couldn’t advance any further.
Lu Zheng reached out with his left hand, pinched the dagger between his index and middle fingers, leaving an imprint on the blade, stopping it dead in its tracks.
"Nani!"
The middle-aged man’s eyes widened in disbelief.
He pulled back hard, sensing that the two daggers seemed to be suspended in mid-air, immobilized.
In the next moment, his left wrist snapped with a "crack"...
"Ahhhh!"
Crying out in pain, he let go of the dagger aimed at Lu Zheng, flipped his right hand, and a blade appeared between his fingers, slashing toward Lin Wan’s neck.
"Smack!"
A swift kick to the groin, Lin Wan calmly withdrew her right foot. The man’s eyes bulged, his pupils dilated, and his half-moved right hand lost all strength. Helplessly, his knees buckled, and he knelt to the ground, instinctively covering his groin with both hands.
"Ohhh—"
"Smack!"
A swift chop to the neck, Lin Wan struck the back of his head. The man let out a dull groan and fainted to the ground.
Lu Zheng blinked, "Assassin?"
Lin Wan’s face was dark as she nodded, "Seems like it."
"Didn’t you hand over the evidence to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department?" Lu Zheng asked, "Why is someone still trying to kill you?"
"I don’t know either." Lin Wan shook her head.
At that moment, the phone rang. Lin Wan picked it up and saw it was Hong Liang calling.
"Brother Hong?"
"Lin Wan! Be careful, there might be assassins coming for you!"
"What!?"
"An assassin just came to kill me, but I took him out instead. I’m not sure if they know your whereabouts, just be cautious!"
Lin Wan hesitated, looked at Lu Zheng, who shook his head.
Lin Wan nodded, "Okay, Brother Hong, I got it. I’ll head over now!"
"No! Don’t come! If they don’t know your whereabouts, you’re safer out there. I’ll handle my end." Hong Liang said, "But I suggest you stop going out with Lu Zheng and come back to the country with me."
"I understand, thank you, Brother Hong." Lin Wan said, then hung up the phone.
Lin Wan looked at Lu Zheng, her expression serious.
"It seems the case isn’t over yet, even with everything handed over to the Police Headquarters, they’re still coming after you..." Lu Zheng squinted, "If I’m not mistaken, it’s because you succeeded in your mission and made them furious enough to want you dead."
Lin Wan was silent, unable to think of any other explanation.
Lu Zheng calmly said, "Your official duty is over, now the actions of the other side should be considered a personal vendetta against us."
Lin Wan wanted to speak but didn’t know where to start.
Say what, that it’s still official business and turn the assassin over to the Police Headquarters?
Completely useless!
If it were useful, the batch of assassins caught this afternoon wouldn’t have been larger, and they wouldn’t still be coming.
And with the assassins already targeting Hong Liang and herself, naturally someone on Hatanaka Shingo’s side is either destroying evidence or taking him out directly.
Furthermore, this person even tried to kill Lu Zheng!
So Lin Wan was also visibly angry, unable to suppress her fury.
"What should we do with this person?"
Lin Wan, by asking this, actually agreed with Lu Zheng.
Then she added, "Moreover, until now, we still don’t know who is really behind Hatanaka Shingo."
"That’s simple." Lu Zheng picked up the unconscious assassin and headed toward a nearby alley, "Wait for me here."
Lin Wan nodded and stayed put.
After about five minutes, Lu Zheng emerged from the alley, "Let’s go."
"Where to?"
"Back to the hotel." Lu Zheng said, "Stay in the hotel first, I’ll visit Hatanaka Shingo. Do you know where he’s being held now?"
"The arrest was approved tonight, he should be in the temporary detention room at the Police Headquarters."
"Alright!"
Lu Zheng and Lin Wan returned to the hotel. Just as Lu Zheng was about to leave, Lin Wan grabbed his hand.
Looking at Lu Zheng, Lin Wan had a serious expression, "If there’s a fight, let me join!"
Knowing Lu Zheng’s skills were more discreet, Lin Wan didn’t insist on going with him, but if a fight broke out, she wanted to face it together with Lu Zheng.
Lu Zheng smiled at her words, "Alright!"
...
After sending Lin Wan back to the hotel, Lu Zheng left alone, disappearing around a corner.
...
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, underground detention room.
Hatanaka Shingo lay dead on his bed, his eyes wide open.
"What a pity, but at least you’re not alone. Those two Interpol agents will be joining you."
An assassin commented briefly and was about to leave when a sudden pain in his head caused him to collapse, lifeless.
"Just in time."
In the modern world, once a person dies, the Divine Soul dissipates instantly, so it was fortunate Lu Zheng arrived in time to seize it.
The Mirror Observation Curse from the Golden Palace Secret Technique was cast, probing Hatanaka Shingo’s deepest secrets.
"Damn!" Lu Zheng shook his head, unable to hold back a comment, "Crime movies do have their merits, at least the main plots don’t fall apart."
Then he extracted the assassin’s Divine Soul and examined it as well.
Both Divine Souls were weak. Lu Zheng only needed a few fast-forward images to piece together the story, and it became clear.
The mastermind behind this was a Political Economy family from Japan.
Song Dao Family!
A renowned family in all of Japan, owning an estate sprawling over hundreds of acres in the outskirts of Tokyo.
Matsushima River!
The current Patriarch of the Song Dao Family, though just a civilian, wielded terrifying political and economic influence.
Hatanaka Shingo was merely a puppet pushed forward by the Patriarch.
Now...
The puppet was tainted and could no longer be used, so he was disposed of.
And those who tainted the puppet naturally had to be eliminated too, to set an example.
Of course, these last two deductions were Lu Zheng’s guesses. Even though Hatanaka Shingo’s backer was Matsushima River, Hatanaka Shingo couldn’t believe, even at death, that Matsushima River would kill him.
Moreover, the assassin sent to kill Hatanaka Shingo was from the same Assassin Organization as those who had come after them, yet he had no access to someone like Matsushima River.
Having identified the mastermind, Lu Zheng decided it was time for a visit.
...
Pine Island Manor.
The largest bedroom.
Observing the elderly man asleep beside a young model, appearing kind and gentle in slumber, who could have imagined he was a ruthless, calculating, cruel, and murderous mastermind?
Did I just prove my mastery of idioms?
Lu Zheng quietly mocked and stood there for a moment.
What now?