Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 198 The Living Are Gone

Out of the hospital.

The messenger drove to the car rental shop.

Jin Ping'an's invitation... was well-intentioned, but meaningless.

The messenger arrived at the car rental shop to return the car.

To be honest, the cost of renting the car alone accounted for almost one-tenth of the commission Jin Ping'an gave him.

For a typical bounty hunter, encountering such a troublesome commission would be quite a challenge.

Asking for three or four times the commission fee is considered quite reasonable.

Those who are a bit stingy will also ask Jin Pingan to reimburse them for miscellaneous expenses such as car rental and accommodation.

However, the messenger didn't care about the money.

Thank you for your patronage. Have a safe journey.

After an hour of thorough inspection, it was determined that the vehicle had no damage or scratches.

The waiter refunded the deposit.

The messenger took the citizen card and put it in his pocket.

A citizen card is not only proof of a person's identity, but it also has the function of storing and spending money as a bank card.

However, it lacks a range of banking services, making it essentially a mobile payment method that replaces mobile phones; even if you deposit money in it, you won't earn interest.

However, most people will deposit some money into their citizen card as a means of daily consumption.

For example, if you lose your phone and wallet while traveling, you can still make a fingerprint payment by providing your citizen card number.

Most of the world's mobile payment methods are controlled by Asia Union. This simple and convenient payment method is the mainstream in today's society.

Of course, some people also use mobile apps to scan and pay; these people are drawn by the app's perks.

Even a small amount of interest is still money. If you deposit all your savings into the app, you can at least afford an extra cup of milk tea or two every day.

They lost their means of transportation.

The messenger walked on foot through the streets, looking around at this unfamiliar city that he had only recently come to know.

Even though the security situation in Qianhua City has been declining in recent years.

But compared to Nevada in the past, this place can still be called paradise on earth.

Ten years ago, the state of security in Nevada was so bad that Night City would be heartbroken and Los Santos would weep.

The criminals from all walks of life were so numerous that even Arkham would be ashamed of himself.

Ordinary people, apart from the main roads for commuting to get off work and grocery shopping, dare not venture into the alleys.

If you go on ten trips, you're likely to stumble upon illegal transactions or fight scenes at least three times, and you could easily lose your life.

Back then, the police in Nevada were practically equivalent to the cooks of cannibal tribes.

They either cook for those cannibals or become food; there's practically no other way.

In some areas, security was even maintained by bounty hunters hired by the local government.

This is something that has never been heard of in the Asian Union.

Although Qianhua City was colonized by criminals from Neva City, the vast majority of the tough guys were kept in the outer city of Jiuhua.

Most of the people loitering in the city are petty thugs who have become idle and lazy due to the influence of bad trends.

They have an impact on public order, but not a significant one.

Like a toad perched on a leather shoe, it doesn't bite, it's just disgusting.

Those who truly have influence are the tentacles developed by the group outside Jiuhua City.

It was just noon.

The commercial street was sparsely populated; the locals were either eating or on their way to eat.

The messenger declined the offer of a ride from a taxi driver by the roadside and strolled slowly under the scorching sun.

After going around in circles, he arrived at a public restroom in a park and stared intently at himself in the mirror.

'Shi Hongfang, you should be apologizing to someone else, not me.'

The reflection in the mirror contorted, its facial muscles slowly melting like wax figures in a fire.

'Jin Ping'an, the changes you speak of mean nothing to the messenger.'

The body in the mirror began to shrink, and the skin began to turn white. A completely new figure slowly emerged.

'because……'

Two minutes later, the body was completely set.

The messenger is long dead.

Ai Liang looked at her indifferent reflection in the mirror and shook her head.

He went to the bathroom stall and used telekinesis to unlock the door.

On the toilet seat in the stall was a handbag containing a change of clothes.

Ai Liang took off her polo shirt and casual pants, stuffed them into her handbag along with a paper bag, and then changed into her own T-shirt and shorts before leaving the bathroom.

Having regained her original identity, Ai Liang hailed a taxi.

Half an hour later, he opened the door and went into the bedroom.

Ai Liang went to the desk and used telekinesis to move it.

Behind the solid wood desk is a locked drawer containing a safe.

The lock doesn't have a key because telekinesis can open all lock cylinders, so there's no need to make a key.

Ai Liang twisted the keypad.

With a click, the safe opened.

What's inside isn't cash, checks, gold, or jewelry; it's what most people would consider junk.

But these things have special significance for Ai Liang.

Ai Liang tore open the paper bag and took out the documents, contracts, property certificate, and bankbook inside.

He folded the items neatly and gently tucked them into one of the compartments of the safe.

Ai Liang sat cross-legged on the ground, quietly looking at the things inside.

Each item here represents a certain stage in his life.

Moreover, it had some influence on Ai Liang's personality.

The hermit's cell phone and dagger, the messenger's citizen card and a bloodstained bullet, Yue Qihua's game activation code, and Yang Xingyue's daisy dog ​​tag.

Now, there is another item in this box—Anshen's legacy.

Although Ai Liang didn't care about An Si'en's life or death, her choice was almost exactly the same as the messenger's choice a few years ago, which eventually touched Ai Liang's heart.

Everything Jin Ping'an experienced was remarkably similar to what the messenger had gone through a few years ago.

However, the darkness the messenger faced was far more terrifying than that Jin Ping'an faced.

After experiencing that despairing darkness, even the most resilient messengers lost the will to live.

Ai Liang sympathizes with the messengers because they are the same kind of people, people who once yearned for the light but were defeated by the dark reality.

However, Ai Liang possessed power and could vent her anger by wielding a knife, while the messenger lost everything, including the will to live, and ultimately chose to end his own life.

Jin Ping'an's choice gave Ai Liang an opportunity for change.

He originally planned to live a normal and ordinary daily life in Qianhua City for a while.

The ability to empathize is constantly decreasing and emotions are lacking.

This forced Ai Liang to abandon her plan.

He saw another possibility in Jin Ping'an.

Since I became cold and indifferent because I received too many negative emotions, I realized that I was not.

Would actively engaging with positive emotions make a difference?
Thus, the messenger was temporarily reborn.

When the messenger shot himself, Ai Liang copied his memories and personality.

Even standing in front of the messenger's former best friend, the other person wouldn't recognize him as an imposter.

As long as you are careful not to let others realize that Ai Liang and the messenger cannot coexist, there is no need to worry about your identity being exposed.

Ai Liang wants to use this identity to do some good deeds and see if she can redeem her humanity.

Moreover, Jin Ping'an's plea for help after the kidnapping case served as a wake-up call for Ai Liang, making him realize that his humanity was gradually fading away.

That's why the messenger intervened in a series of events.

This method has proven to be effective.

When Ai Liang saw An Si'en's body, her heart was indeed briefly touched.

Although he quickly regained his composure, at least he cared about the lives and deaths of others.

Ai Liang's series of actions were essentially for her own benefit.

However, as the saying goes, judge by actions, not intentions.

If you pretend to be a gentleman your whole life, then you are a gentleman.

Regardless of Ai Liang's motives, as long as the final outcome is good, that's all that matters.

In the process, Jin Ping'an cracked down on organized crime and maintained public order. Through these events, Ai Liang gradually regained her humanity and slowed down the rate at which her emotions disappeared by constantly interacting with people.

It's a win-win.

Children pay attention to details; adults only care about the results.

Ai Liang slowly closed the safe. Before closing it completely, he thought for a moment and took out the messenger's citizen card again.

The operation in Thousand Flower City requires a cover identity, and a messenger is a good choice.

The messenger has a stain on his record, that's undeniable, but setting aside what happened seven years ago, he can certainly be called a messenger of justice.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have received the medal of honor awarded by the Asian Union.

Using a messenger's identity to perform good deeds is theoretically reasonable.

As for the messenger still being blacklisted by the Asian Union, that's a problem...

This is Qianhua, not Nevada.

Qianhua City is the territory of the Shi family.

Shi Hongfang's family was not simply wealthy, unlike the big boss who hired the messenger back then.

As the de facto controllers of Qianhua City, the Shi family holds a pivotal position in the Asian Union Council.

The fact that the Medal of Honor's immunity from death was still in effect after the messenger committed such a heinous act is largely thanks to the Shi Hongfang family.

With the family of this old friend of the messenger protecting them, the Asian Federation will at most issue a few perfunctory warnings.

As long as things don't escalate too much and the news of the messenger's return becomes widely known, the Asian Alliance will most likely choose to turn a blind eye and let the messenger operate freely.

Moreover, he could easily access the local intelligence network by taking advantage of Shi Hongfang's guilt towards the messenger and Jin Ping'an's trust, killing two birds with one stone.

This is much simpler than creating a completely new account and starting from scratch.

After planning what she would do in the next few years, Ai Liang put the safe back on her desk and put it back in its place.

Next, he will embark on the unknown path and take the second step in rediscovering his humanity.

…………

A private room in an underground bar.

Looking at the latest intelligence sent by his subordinates, Song Jie's face turned as if he had been held at gunpoint and had eaten three pounds of dung beetles.

The tension and fear made him feel nauseous.

This intelligence was none other than the news of Hu Yingshao's death.

However, unlike in the past, this time his intelligence network not only failed to obtain the autopsy report, but also couldn't get a decent photo of the scene.

This level of information blockade is something that ordinary forces cannot accomplish.

Song Jie stood up, holding his phone behind his back, and paced back and forth in the private room.

Ten minutes later, he gritted his teeth and dialed the number.

"Did you see it?" the other person asked.

“I saw it,” Song Jie replied.

"Now that you've seen the news of Hu Yingshao's death, you still contacted me. Have you made up your mind?"

"I want to know, just how confident are you in taking him down!"

Song Jie gritted his teeth, his face contorted with madness: "Can modern weapons kill that kind of monster?"

"I know what you're afraid of. You're just worried that I'm one of those fools in the movies who's blindly confident and uses firearms to attack aliens."

The man on the other end of the phone said slowly and deliberately, "Believe me, he can be killed. It's not difficult."

"Words are no proof; what evidence do you have to prove it?"

As an intelligence dealer, Song Jie never easily believes other people's sweet talk.

"Proof? I don't need proof. You have no choice but to believe me now."

With Hu Yingshao dead, it seemed the other side had Song Jie completely under their control.

His tone was no longer as polite as it had been last time.

"Don't forget, I can tell Janus at any time about you instructing Wang Youcai. You did a very clean job, but he never needs evidence to kill people, suspicion is enough."

Even someone as loyal as Hu Yingshao was casually disposed of after the kidnapping. Do you consider yourself more loyal than Hu Yingshao, or more valued than him?

"Don't forget that you also contributed to these things!"

Song Jie growled with a grim face, "We're in this together. If I die, you won't survive either."

"No, I can continue to live because I am different from you; someone can save me."

Song Jie's eyes widened.

Damn it! You bastard, you actually have connections?!

This sentence contains a wealth of information.

Song Jie remained silent for a long time, instead analyzing the meaning of the sentence in his mind.

If someone can protect someone from Janus, then that person's backer must be someone like Janus.

Only monsters can deal with monsters, does this mean he actually has the means to kill Janus?
Song Jie took a deep breath, suppressing the bitterness in his heart, and asked, "So, the person behind you has a grudge against Janus?"

The other person clearly had no intention of answering the question: "This has nothing to do with you."

Song Jie had expected the other party to say that. Intelligence is not something that can be easily extracted, especially when the other party knows his profession.

But he had no other choice but to compromise: "I agree to your terms."

Hu Yingshao's fate made Song Jie realize his own predicament; whether he betrayed or not, he was doomed to die.

Since Wang Youcai has already carried out a probing assassination attempt, let's go all the way and go down this path to the bitter end.

But Song Jie wasn't a fool to be used as a pawn. He planned to take advantage of his remaining usefulness to try and negotiate a little more: "Could you introduce me to your backer?"

Song Jie frankly said, "I won't ask you to guarantee my safety. Even if you do, I won't believe you without proof. So all you need to do is help me make a connection so I can meet your backer. Whether I can get protection or not depends entirely on myself. How about that?"

A qualified intelligence broker will not entrust their life to the verbal guarantees of others.

They are better at showcasing their value, making others appreciate their talent and take the initiative to protect them.

As one of the best among them, Song Jie naturally understands this well.

I'm sorry, I'll try my best to finish coding the rest...

I'm vomiting and having diarrhea right now, I'm really not feeling well...

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(End of this chapter)