Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 26 Masked Man

Some people who were secretly observing were completely unaware of what had happened.

All they saw was that after the hooded man grabbed the burly man's wrist, something flashed, and the burly man collapsed onto the table.

Those with sharp eyes noticed a few drops of blood on the table and quietly slipped away through the side door.

After realizing what had happened, the regular customer packed up his things and ran towards the door like he was fleeing a disaster, just like an elderly father with rhinitis who had suddenly remembered that he hadn't turned off the gas and was calling his son to ask where he had put his lighter.

Some people who didn't understand the situation saw others run away and thought the cops had arrived, so they ran out as well. The underground bar, which was bustling just minutes before, was suddenly left with only the bartender and Ai Liang.

The bartender was also a little confused. Had they been exposed?

He immediately contacted the boss to report the situation, and the two waiters who were guarding upstairs rushed down with guns in hand.

"Awei! What happened? Why has everyone run away?!"

"I do not know either."

The bartender looked completely innocent.

After making his rounds, the lazy waiter spotted Ai Liang sitting in her seat and the burly man lying face down—or rather, the burly man's corpse.

Seeing the bloodstains on the table, the waiter sneered and pointed the gun at Ai Liang: "Don't you know you can't fight here!"

"Who stipulated it?"

"You T"

Just as the waiter was about to fire a shot to teach this arrogant fool a lesson, the boss's voice came through the earpiece. He carefully observed Ai Liang's attire, then walked aside and reported in a low voice.

After the report, he walked over to Ai Liang with a strange expression, picked up a rag and started wiping the table, and then told his companions to drag the body away.

After placing the two prepared tachira cocktails on the table, the bartender left with the waiter, and the entire bar immediately became quiet.

Soon, a tapping sound echoed through the bar, the source of which was gradually approaching Ai Liang.

A man with a black metal cane and an eye patch emerged from behind the bar; he was none other than Mus, Nevada City's most notorious underground intelligence dealer.

"I had someone mix your favorite flavor. Don't you want to try it? I spent a lot of money training this bartender."

Mu Si sat down opposite Ai Liang and greeted her warmly, "I hadn't heard from you for five whole years. I thought you were dead. What brings you here today?"

"I don't recall ever liking the fake liquor you sell here."

Ai Liang said.

He then took out a copper coin and flicked it in front of Mus.

“It seems to be the real deal.” Mus picked up the copper coin and examined it carefully before pushing over an anonymous bank card. “The fees for the past few years are all in here. You can check it.”

Ai Liang didn't mince words; she simply took out her old-fashioned mobile phone, entered her card number, and checked her balance. There was no room for sentimentality in this place.

“I’m still alive. You can sell this information as payment for keeping my funds safe.”

After checking the amount and confirming that there was no problem, Ai Liang put the bank card into her inner pocket.

"Really? You're not saying this on purpose, and then turning around and slitting my throat after I agree, are you?"

Mus was somewhat apprehensive when facing Ai Liang. After all, Ai Liang had massacred the entire Neva City underworld. Even knowing that Ai Liang only killed the most heinous criminals, it would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid in the face of this killing god. It's like knowing that the tigers in the zoo are domesticated, but if one suddenly runs up and licks your scalp, you still wouldn't dare to move.

“If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn’t be sitting here talking nonsense,” Ai Liang said. “Do me a favor.”

"Which unlucky guy have you set your sights on this time?"

Upon hearing that there was business, Mus immediately perked up, his legs stopped shaking, and his voice became more animated.

Mus was preparing to sell this intelligence to the victim, who was targeted by the throat-slitting maniac. Cough cough. No matter how much preparation he made, it was useless if he was being targeted by the Hermit. He was going to die anyway, so he might as well make as much money as possible while he was still alive. After all, you can't take money with you, so you might as well leave some to benefit the living.

"Help me prepare a set of camping gear; I'm planning to go for a walk," Ai Liang said.

“No problem. Someone who can afford a villa deep in the mountains must be rich.” Mu Si’s little abacus was clicking away; he was already calculating how much to ask for.

"I'm going out to clear my head, not to kill anyone."

Ai Liang repeated her intention.

"Come on, we've known each other for so long, how much of the intelligence you get is from me?" Mu Si patted Ai Liang's shoulder with a "we're best buddies" look on his face. "You just saw that Neva City was filthy again, and finally couldn't resist killing someone to warm yourself up, and incidentally give those little brats a heads-up. You haven't made a move in five years, this time the target should be a big shot, right?"

I think there's something wrong with your opinion of me.

Ai Liang stared coldly at Mu Si, but this misunderstanding had been going on for a while, and he was too lazy to correct it.

"Is it really impossible to say who it is? Or is the target this time so tricky that not a single word can be leaked?"

"I told you, I went out to clear my head. Don't make me say it a fourth time."

Mu Si looked at him like he'd seen a ghost: "You didn't really retire from crime, get married, and have kids, did you? You asked for the bank card because your wife confiscated your secret stash?"

Hearing this, Ai Liang couldn't hold back any longer and asked directly, "Who spread this message?"

"Ahem, I heard it from someone else."

"Who else is that?"

Faced with Ai Liang's questioning, Mu Si began to describe the man's appearance, including a bunch of nonsense such as two eyes, a mouth, and hair that was neither too long nor too short. Ai Liang immediately concluded in her heart that he was the one who spread the rumor.

But now is not the time to dwell on such things.

"Anyway, that's what everyone in the underworld says, after all, you haven't been active for five years. There's also the saying that the Hermit is a vengeful ghost who will disappear after his revenge is over; the Cleaners, a secret department dispatched by the Asian Alliance to deal with the chaotic security situation in Neva City; the X cult madman who kills and sacrifices; compared to that, my version is relatively normal."

Moose took a sip of his cocktail to calm his nerves.

"Alright, let's not argue anymore. We have wilderness survival gear right here. You've asked me for something else besides a set of gear, right? Tell me, and I'll definitely help."

"No."

"Really not?"

"No."

"you sure?"

"If you keep rambling on, I won't play along."

Ai Liang directly exposed Mu Si's purpose. He would never chat with people like this before. He always paid for the goods and didn't want to say a word more than necessary. Even if it was common gossip, he would feel like he was being cut in half to tell others for free. Today's unusual chat was obviously suspicious.

If it weren't for the fact that this old vampire hadn't embezzled the savings, Ai Liang would have left the moment she got the bank card.

"Alright, actually quite a few people have been looking for you lately."

Seeing that Ai Liang was getting impatient, Mu Si stopped hiding his purpose.

"Looking for me shouldn't have anything to do with you," Ai Liang said.

With a bitter expression, Mus said, "It does have some connection. After all, I became Nevada's top intelligence dealer because of your reputation. Since they can't find you, they naturally turn their attention to me."

You mean, this is my responsibility?

"No, no, no, I haven't even had a chance to thank you for lending me your fame yet." Mu Si quickly waved his hand and smiled apologetically. How could he dare to complain to Ai Liang?

"Two people insist that I pass on a message to you. I'm just an information broker with no fighting ability, so since I'm keeping your savings safe, why don't you listen to it?"

I knew that old vampire had no good intentions. No wonder he offered to help; he was waiting for this all along.

Ai Liang snorted coldly without answering, but she also showed no intention of leaving. Considering their years of acquaintance, Ai Liang decided to help him this time.

Upon seeing this, Mus was overjoyed and rubbed his hands together like a greenbottle fly.

"Actually, it's nothing major. There's this guy who claims to be Xia Qiyuan's nephew. He says he's an old friend of yours and wants to have a chat with you. This guy comes to ask about things every now and then, and lately he's been sitting here with me all the time without drinking. It's really annoying. This kid has connections, so I don't dare to mess with him. Why don't you go and meet him when you have time?"

"Just taking up space without drinking is affecting your business, isn't it?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ai Liang understood the whole story. Given Xia Qinian's personality, he would definitely order a lot of drinks every time he came. Mu Si clearly couldn't bear to let this fat sheep go, just like a green tea bitch deliberately stringing people along. Now that he wasn't ordering anything, he immediately wanted to kick him out. If it weren't for Xia Qinian having some connections, he probably wouldn't have told him about this today.

These speculations were fleeting and didn't take much time to materialize.

Ai Liang nodded and asked, "Who is the other person?"

Xia Qinian alone wouldn't be enough to make this top intelligence dealer bow down and beg for his help, so the key lies with another person, someone that Mu Si definitely can't refuse.

When the other person was mentioned, Mu Si's smile became somewhat forced. He didn't speak, but simply got up from his seat and gestured for Ai Liang to follow.

The two walked past the bar and into a corridor, where they opened a meeting room used for intelligence transactions.

“This customer is no ordinary person. He only asked me to give this to you and instructed that no one but you should open it.”

Mu Si opened a hidden compartment under the sofa, took out a portable mobile phone charging case, and handed it to Ai Liang.

"You can look at this by yourself, I won't get involved." With that, Mus left.

Ai Liang opened the box, took out the phone inside, and sat down on the sofa.

I received a call shortly after turning on my phone; it seems the other end was constantly watching it.

"Hey?"

"Is it the Hermit?" A very rude male voice came from the phone.

"It's me. What's up?"

Ai Liang still used that accent that couldn't be distinguished by gender or age.

"Hmm, how many people from the Cat's Eye Gang died in the underground parking lot five years ago?"

The person on the other end seemed to have some doubts about Ai Liang's identity, so they asked for some undisclosed information that only the parties involved and the police knew.

"8."

Without hesitation, Ai Liang blurted out, "Asking such questions is pointless. Just state your purpose."

"Haha, just kidding. I knew it was you the moment you took down that white guy who harvested a kidney. Oh, by the way, you can call me 'Mask Number Three'."

Was this guy present when the fight just started?
Ai Liang couldn't help but frown.

"I wasn't there."

The person on the other end of the phone seemed to guess what Ai Liang was thinking and said, "I just hacked into the bar's security camera and saw your performance. It was a clean and swift throat-slitting."

"Just say what you want to say, I don't have time to chat with you."

"Then I'll get straight to the point: are you interested in joining our organization?"

"Goodbye."

Ai Liang was about to hang up the phone when she found that the screen was unresponsive, and only a slightly teasing voice came through: "You're so impatient. Can't you just let people finish speaking? If you don't listen to some things, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Ai Liang didn't indulge him. She put her phone on the coffee table and turned to leave. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of people trying to win him over since he debuted. He was tired of hearing their reasons, which were nothing more than power, money, and sex.

"If you leave like this, don't blame me for exposing your abilities."

At those words, Ai Liang stopped in her tracks, her face ashen as she returned to the coffee table and picked up her phone again: "What do you mean?"

"Oh, so you're finally willing to listen to me? So all of you are so self-important and arrogant, only taking others seriously when your true colors are exposed."

The person on the other end of the phone spoke in a sarcastic tone.

"answer my question."

"What do you want to ask?" He paused for a moment, then raised his voice like a boss sitting with his legs crossed in an office, speaking in the tone of someone addressing an employee on leave: "Why do I know your secret?"

Ai Liang didn't say anything.

"Hey, come on, even a fool could figure that out. How could an ordinary person take down an entire gang with just a short knife? Take that Cat's Eye gang that harvested kidneys, for example. Nearly half of them were armed, and there was even a gunfight at the scene of the deaths. But what happened? Apart from some broken limbs, none of them had any other fatal injuries. They all died from having their throats slit. Do you think reality is a movie?"

The person on the other end of the phone said in an admiring tone, "Of course, after seeing your decisive strike in the bar, my opinion has changed a bit. It's really possible for someone with martial arts skills to reach your level."

Everything has its ups and downs, and his tone quickly returned to its original state.

"But just because you can do it once or twice doesn't mean you'll be unscathed every time. Especially after the reputation of the throat-slitting maniac spreads, will people still be waiting for you to come knocking on their door without any precautions? Yet you did it continuously for five years, until you disappeared five years ago. Let me guess, you couldn't bear the negative effects of that stuff anymore?"

Does he know about my situation?
Ai Liang's heart began to race after a long time; the last time her heart raced was ten years ago.

"what do you want to say in the end?"

Having said that, Ai Liang began to trace the source of the call by following the cell phone signal. Since electromagnetic waves are not easy to control and he had not received any corresponding training, it would take some time to trace the source. For now, he could only stall this guy and buy time.

"After five years of continuous use of the 'Bio-Enhanced Armor' or 'Cursed Objects,' your body should be nearing its limit. Do you want to continue to possess this power?"

Augmented armor? Cursed artifact?
Was he talking about superpowers?

Hearing this, Ai Liang finally realized that after all that talking, it seemed that the two of them had never been on the same wavelength from the very beginning.

"Oh right, you probably don't know, I'm talking about the name of the thing you're using."

"I do not know what you're talking about."

After realizing that he wasn't talking about his own abilities, Ai Liang instantly lost most of her interest.

Although there was still a little curiosity about what the 'Bio-Bio Armor' he mentioned was, it became insignificant under the shock of the misunderstanding that the secret had been exposed.

It's like a beggar who makes a living by begging every day is suddenly treated to a month-long state banquet. When he returns and goes to a hotel for a lavish meal that he can't usually afford, he will find it tasteless.

Ai Liang is currently in this state.

(End of this chapter)