You went on a blind date and presented an A-level wanted criminal as a meeting gift?

What happened on the Victoria cruise ship was like a storm carrying a virus, sweeping through the upper echelons of Jiangcheng and even Beijing at an unimaginable speed.

Chu Yunfei, the arrogant eldest son of the Chu family in the capital, was exposed for money laundering at his own banquet by an unknown criminal investigation consultant. His personal martial arts bodyguard was crippled, and he eventually went insane from the shock, barking like a dog in public. He was then sent to the Jiangcheng Mental Health Center overnight.

This is no longer a simple slap in the face; it's like stomping the Chu family's face, skull and all, into the ground and then pouring cement on it.

When the news reached the capital, a Ming Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain vase worth millions was smashed to pieces on the ground inside the Chu family mansion.

Chu Tianxing, the current head of the Chu family and father of Chu Yunfei, is a powerful figure in the capital who can cause a stir with a stomp of his foot. When he looked at the secretly filmed video on his phone of his son crawling and screaming on the ground, his face, which always wore a dignified smile, was twisted into a grotesque mess of anger for the first time.

"Lin Chen...the Su family..."

Chu Tianxing practically spat out those words through clenched teeth, his eyes blazing with a murderous intent so intense it was almost tangible.

He knew that this matter had gone beyond the scope of regular business competition and political maneuvering.

Lin Chen's unpredictable methods, especially the way he ultimately drove Chu Yunfei to a mental breakdown, were simply beyond the capabilities of ordinary people.

Conventional methods of retaliation are unlikely to be effective against him.

Chu Tianxing sat in his study for an entire night.

As the morning sun shone in the next day, he picked up a black, encrypted phone without any markings and dialed a number hidden deep within the dark web.

"It's me, Chu Tianxing."

His voice was hoarse and cold.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a synthesized voice that had been electronically processed and was indistinguishable between male and female.

"Mr. Chu, you should know the price of contacting us."

"I know."

Chu Tianxing closed his eyes.

"I have only one request: kill Lin Chen, and everyone around him."

"I will make him pay the most terrible price for what he has done. I will make the entire Su family live in eternal fear."

"Target information."

"Jiangcheng City, Criminal Investigation Consultant, Lin Chen."

The synthesized voice on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, as if it were retrieving data from a database.

"Lin Chen... is quite interesting."

"The head of the Asia-Pacific region is very interested in this goal."

The synthesized voice sounded again, this time with a hint of eerie mockery.

"The court took on this case."

"We will send our top executive officer, codenamed 'The Joker'."

"He will not only kill your target, but he will also turn everything around him into a grand circus performance filled with despair and wailing."

Money is not a problem.

"We don't want money."

The synthesized voice laughed.

"The Joker likes to collect interesting souls."

"After this is done, we want half of the Chu family's underground shipping routes in Southeast Asia."

Chu Tianxing tightened his grip on the phone, but finally managed to squeeze out a single word through gritted teeth.

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone, a hint of heartache and a deeper resentment flashed in Chu Tianxing's eyes.

The Tribunal, a legendary dark web organization comprised of the world's most elite criminals, is a deeply entrenched and ruthless force.

"The Joker" is the most feared ace in the Tribunal's Asia-Pacific region, an extremely perverted high-level hypnotist and bomb expert who enjoys creating despair and fear.

To deal with Lin Chen, he sacrificed half of the Chu family's underground lifeline.

But he believes it was all worth it.

He couldn't wait to see what kind of beautiful screams Lin Chen and the women around him would let out during the clown's "circus performance".

……

Three days later, in the president's office of the Ye Group.

Ye Qingcheng looked at the cooperation contract in front of her from "Global Mining Group," a company registered in Panama. A rare hint of confusion appeared in her usually calm, icy blue eyes.

This is a contract for the development of rare mineral resources on a remote island in the high seas.

The contract terms were extremely favorable, with the other party giving up almost 60% of the profits. They also specifically requested that Ye Qingcheng, the president of the Ye Group, personally go to the island to sign the contract as a sign of sincerity.

"The profits are abnormally high."

Ye Qingcheng dialed Lin Chen's number, her voice tinged with wariness.

"It's like they're throwing money at me, trying to lure me in."

"I checked this company, and its background was as clean as a blank sheet of paper. All the registration information was flawless, but the more it was like that, the more I felt something was wrong."

Lin Chen was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone, then his signature, slightly lazy laugh came through.

"Of course something's wrong."

"There are no free lunches in the world, only traps."

Lin Chen was lying on a rocking chair in his own tea room with his eyes closed, his mind racing with the two skills: [God-level Psychological Profiling] and [God-level Actuary Mastery].

The contract details described by Ye Qingcheng instantly formed a complete behavioral model in his mind.

Names were explicitly named, huge profits were made, and the contract was signed on an isolated island... all these elements pointed to one extremely clear motive: kidnapping or murder.

From the very beginning, Ye Qingcheng was their target.

The timing of this trap, which appeared right after Chu Yunfei's accident, was too coincidental.

Behind this lies an even more insane and reckless revenge from the Chu family.

"They want to play big."

A cold smile curled at the corners of Lin Chen's lips.

"Since they're after you, then I must be one of their targets as well."

"Then we'll call the police and cancel this meeting."

Ye Qingcheng said decisively.

"It's too late."

Lin Chen shook his head.

"If you refuse to meet with an opponent of this caliber, they will have a second or third plan."

"It's too tiring to guard against thieves for a thousand days. Let's just turn the tables on them."

"Are you crazy? This is a trap!"

Ye Qingcheng's voice involuntarily rose a few decibels.

"I knew it was a trap."

Lin Chen's tone remained calm.

"But only prey will avoid traps."

"And we, we must be hunters."

He sat up from the rocking chair, his eyes flashing with a mixture of excitement and murderous intent.

"Qingcheng, haven't you always wanted to see what I'm like when I get serious?"

"This time, I'll show you."

"Go to the appointment as usual, the bigger the entourage, the better."

"Bring any security team you want; they're all just cannon fodder anyway."

"And what about you?"

Ye Qingcheng's heart skipped a beat for no reason.

"I?"

Lin Chen smiled.

"I'll use the VIP channel."

The smile on Lin Chen's face vanished instantly after he hung up the phone, replaced by a chilling expression.

He dialed Su Qingge's number.

"Qingge, do me a favor."

"explain."

Su Qingge's voice was as capable as ever.

"Prepare a batch of specialized underwater infiltration equipment for me, including but not limited to high-pressure oxygen cylinders, tactical waterproof backpacks, miniature signal repeaters, and military-grade plastic explosives."

Su Qingge remained silent on the other end of the phone.

She knew Lin Chen too well; every time he asked for these strange and unusual things, it meant a bloody storm was about to break out.

"Where are you going?"

"Let's go fishing in international waters."

Lin Chen looked out the window and said calmly.

"In addition, three days from now, have the Coast Guard's rapid response force stand by twenty nautical miles off the coast of Siren Island, awaiting my signal."

"Siren Island? Isn't that a private, deserted island?"

"That won't be the case for long."

A cold glint flashed in Lin Chen's eyes.

"The scenery there is beautiful; it would be a suitable cemetery for some people."

Su Qingge didn't ask any more questions; she only said one word.

"it is good."

Trust has long transcended words.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Chen went to the basement.

There were various "toys" that he had previously obtained from the system displayed there.

He took out several metal discs, no bigger than coins, from a box; these were his newly made miniature EMPs.

He then checked the remaining amount of the memory-erasing spray.

After doing all this, he lay back in the rocking chair, closed his eyes, as if it had nothing to do with him.