Unparalleled medical and martial arts skills, saving the CEO's fiancée at the start.

After withdrawing from the island in the middle of the river, Ye Chen had the entire island sealed off.

Qiao San transferred a small boat from the provincial capital and patrolled the river day and night, openly displaying a sign indicating it was a river patrol vessel.

He Jianping also had several trusted brothers take turns guarding the two landing points on the south and north sides of the island, and all unfamiliar faces were put under control first.

But Wu Ying and Wen Jiuhong seemed to have vanished into thin air, remaining completely silent for several days.

What has been most alarming Ye Chen these past few days is the emergence of some new faces in Jiangcheng.

Song Tiezhu's men staked out highway entrances and long-distance bus stations, discovering that many young people with southern accents were entering the city in batches, in small groups, dressed casually, not staying in hotels, and specifically looking for rental rooms in urban villages that did not require registration.

One of them even went to the coffee shop opposite the Jiang Group building, sat there for three hours, only ordered the cheapest Americano, and kept glancing at the entrance.

Ye Chen showed the surveillance screenshots to Fang Zhe, who said that he had seen two of them before in the outer hall of the main headquarters; they were people who had practiced swordsmanship with Tu Er.

"Tu Er is locked up in the basement. Are these people here to rescue him, or to do something else?" He Jianping asked.

Ye Chen peeled a lollipop and slowly folded the wrapper into a small square: "They all have it. The Blackwater headquarters sent people here. If they don't bring Tu Er back, they won't be able to explain themselves when they return. However, Wen Jiuhong is not the kind of person who would go to great lengths for one person. He seems to be waiting for everyone to arrive so that he can tear the Jiang Group apart in one go."

"So we're just going to wait here?" He Jianping asked anxiously.

"Who said I was waiting?" Ye Chen smiled, but his eyes didn't.

He walked to the cutting board, spread out the map, and used a red pen to draw several circles around the locations of several urban villages on the outskirts of the city.

"We are hunters. Hunters are most efficient when they strike when their prey thinks it's hidden. Brother Song, have your men keep a close watch on these spots. Record everyone who enters or leaves. Ayiguli, you're good at light footwork. Go and check tonight to see how many knives and sticks they have in their houses. When a few more of them pop up, we'll surround them and attack the reinforcements. Don't rush to close the net. Force Wen Jiuhong out too."

Jiang Ruoxi wasn't idle either.

She had Xiao Zhou review all the company's recent visitor records and business collaborations, and also re-examine the list of all employees who had left or changed positions in the past six months. They actually found a few suspicious individuals.

Two salespeople who had been with the company for less than three months had impressive resumes, but their background checks were sloppy.

There was also a contract worker in the HR department who always wore a mask to work, saying she had rhinitis, but the company's physical examination couldn't find any record of her condition.

Jiang Ruoxi didn't want to alert the enemy, so she only asked He Jianping to arrange for someone to investigate secretly.

She knew that Wen Jiuhong's specialty was burying people in the ground in advance and then letting them sprout when they were needed.

Who knows how many more such seeds are hidden beneath the giant tree that is the Jiang Group?

On the third night, Ye Chen received a call from Song Tiezhu, who said that a knife-wielder had been lost at the secondhand market in the west of the city.

The knife-wielder clearly entered a lottery shop, but disappeared after exiting through the back door.

Song Tiezhu led his men to investigate the alleys in that area, and found that only one narrow passage between walls led to the old dormitory in the neighboring logistics park.

Ye Chen immediately called people over, and they found several pieces of tile that had just been trampled and broken at the base of the back wall of the logistics park.

There were very fresh climbing marks on the wall.

That's where the person climbed up.

Ye Chen didn't enter the logistics park; he just had someone guard it outside.

A very bad premonition rose in his heart. Next to the logistics park was a transit warehouse of the Jiang Group, where a batch of building materials had recently arrived. There were only two security guards on site, and they were outsourced.

Han Song once said that Wen Jiuhong's people are good at finding "weak points".

That warehouse is their best target right now.

"Old He, take your men to the transit warehouse, but don't go in yet. Turn off the power around here. Brother Song, have your men flank from behind. Uncle Gui, you and I will go in." Ye Chen slung the Ku Zhao sword over his back and tucked a few silver needles into his belt, his movements quick and efficient.

Jiang Ruoxi came out of the study and saw that they were all fully armed. She asked softly, "Is something going to happen?"

Ye Chen said, "Someone might be planning to target our warehouse. You stay home, and let Guli stay with you."

Jiang Ruoxi didn't speak, but nodded at him, her gaze clear and deep.

When Ye Chen and the ghost servant arrived at the transit warehouse, He Jianping had already led his men to surround the front and back doors.

The warehouse was quiet, with two old waterproof lamps casting a yellowish glow under the eaves.

The security guard's electric scooter was still parked at the entrance, but the guard was nowhere to be seen.

Ye Chen's heart sank, and he drew his sword.

The ghost servant walked ahead, like an old leopard roaming at night, so light that it made no sound.

The two pushed open the half-closed iron gate and went inside. A strong smell of new building materials mixed with machine oil and wood hit them.

Deep inside the warehouse, two security guards were tied to pillars with their hands behind their backs, their mouths taped shut. They were still conscious, but had suffered some minor injuries.

Upon seeing Ye Chen arrive, the two whimpered and kept glancing at the back of the innermost shelf.

Just as Ye Chen was about to walk over, two dark figures suddenly darted out from behind the shelf, rushing out from the left and right, each carrying a hammer and a chisel.

The ghost servant rushed forward, his iron ruler flashing like lightning, striking the man squarely in the chest. The man was sent flying backward like a puppet with its strings cut.

Another one recklessly lunged at Ye Chen, smashing his hammer towards the top of his head.

Ye Chen dodged to the side, and with the hilt of his sword, he smashed the man's elbow. With a "crack," the hammer slipped from his hand, and the man fell to the ground, where He Jianping, who had rushed over, grabbed him and held him down.

There's one left behind the shelf.

The man didn't run away; instead, he turned his back to them and squatted in the corner, writing something rapidly on the cement floor with chalk.

As Ye Chen walked over, the man stopped what he was doing, turned around, and revealed a face so covered in grease that his age was impossible to discern.

He smiled at Ye Chen, his teeth dazzlingly white: "Ye Chen, you're too late."

After saying that, he bit down hard, and something in his mouth broke.

The ghost servant rushed up and pinched his chin, but it was too late.

Black blood spilled from the man's mouth, his eyes rolled upwards, and he slumped to the ground.

Ye Chen looked down at the line of chalk writing, which consisted of a string of strange symbols, resembling some ancient divination symbols or a child's scribbles.

He took a picture and sent it to Su Qinghan.

Su Qinghan quickly returned the call, her voice as cold as well water in the twelfth lunar month: "It's a death warrant from the Blackwater. Someone wants you dead. This symbol isn't for you to see; it's for your colleagues. It means that once you receive the order, you can take action."

Ye Chen squatted in front of that line of symbols and remained silent for a long time.

He finally understood that the knife-wielder hadn't come to blow up the warehouse, nor to steal building materials.

That person came here to die, and incidentally left their death warrant here.

Wen Jiuhong wanted to exchange the heads of the entire Blackwater Outer Hall for Ye Chen's life.

"What should we do, Brother Ye?" He Jianping asked.

Ye Chen stood up, slowly wiped the sword clean, and said in a soft voice, as if there was iron in his voice: "They cast a death warrant, which means they are in a hurry. When people are in a hurry, they will make mistakes. Let's turn this talisman into a death warrant for themselves."

He turned and walked to the door, picked up his phone, and sent the same message to all available resources: "Tonight, wipe out all the Blackwater gangs in Jiangcheng."