Chapter 45: [Shadow-Like Pursuit] [Skill Book]

Dongshan City, Qingfeng Diyue Villa.

Zhang Youqian frowned deeply. On the table in front of him sat two cell phones, both displaying incoming calls.

He didn't even need to guess to know who they were.

Niu Youde and Li Batian.

Zhang Youqian checked the time; it was already past seven in the evening.

That very morning, he had made solemn and confident promises that, come hell or high water, they would see their money today.

And the result?

Manager Wang and Wang Dalong, whom he had sent to collect the cash, not only failed to retrieve a single cent, but they had also—dammit—lost the last five million of his own savings!

Zhang Youqian couldn't exactly be called destitute right now.

But he was truly running low on hard cash!

The gold ring on his finger, the thick gold chain around his neck—oh, and that gold tooth of his—these were all hard assets.

Take his villa, for instance; it was still worth a good few million!

Combining all sorts of miscellaneous items, he could probably scrape together over ten million, but... he just couldn't bear to part with them!

Every single one of these possessions had been earned drop by drop through years of harrowing usury and loan-sharking!

Besides, converting these items into cash took time! You couldn't just sell them on a whim!

"This time was just a mishap." Zhang Youqian shook his head, a sinister and ruthless smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "So what if a routine visit involving violent intimidation failed? I've been in the loan sharking business for so many years; I've long since formulated the thirty-six stratagems of debt collection!"

"Even though this attempt failed, I still have thirty-five other methods up my sleeve!"

Zhang Youqian could afford to wait, but...

With that thought, he looked back at the two cell phones resting on the table.

Finally, biting the bullet, he answered one of them.

"What the hell is going on? Where's the money? Where is my money?!"

Niu Youde's furious, explosive voice instantly blasted through the receiver!

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"That damn village where the loan was made is utterly devoid of a conscience! They borrowed our money and refuse to pay it back. But don't worry, Brother Niu, give me just a few more days, and I will definitely collect the money!" Zhang Youqian forced himself to say through gritted teeth.

"In a while? Three days after three days, will you or will you not be able to get the money back?!" Niu Youde demanded, deeply dissatisfied.

"Brother Niu, it's not that I don't want to. I sent my men today, and as a result—" Zhang Youqian sighed, helpless.

"A bunch of useless fools! I'll have my men sneak across the border into Huaxia. I refuse to believe they still dare refuse once they get a taste of my people's methods!" Niu Youde said coldly.

"No need for that right now!" Zhang Youqian hurriedly interrupted, trying to stop him. "Brother Niu, give me one last deadline of a week. If the money still isn't collected by then, then... then you can send your men!"

When he uttered those final words, Zhang Youqian clenched his jaw so hard it ached.

If Niu Youde's people got involved, the situation would completely spin out of his control!

If things went wrong, the aftermath would be catastrophic. Zhang Youqian knew very well what kind of people Niu Youde employed!

Murder and arson?

Those four words weren't even enough to fully describe them! That was a pack of absolute, unhinged maniacs!

They were entirely incomparable to Wang Dalong and his crew of petty, disorganized small-town punks.

After expending an immense amount of effort, Zhang Youqian finally managed to pacify Niu Youde, and then he answered Li Batian's call.

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[Congratulations to the host for drawing the skill: Shadow's Trace]

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[Congratulations to the host for drawing the item: Skill Book]

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[......]

In Tazhai, Lin Wentong used up all thirty thousand wealth points on the lucky draw.

In total, he drew two things:

[Shadow's Trace] and the [Skill Book].

One skill and one item.

"Shadow's Trace?" Lin Wentong muttered to himself. Just the name of this skill sounded full of aura and prestige!

[Shadow's Trace: Once used, the user can follow right behind a target like their own shadow, without making the slightest sound or emitting any presence.]

"This..." After reading the skill description, Lin Wentong thought to himself: *This skill is practically tailor-made for an assassin.*

"Should I go moonlight as an assassin?"

Lin Wentong shook his head, brushing the absurd thought aside, and turned his attention to the newly drawn item, the [Skill Book].

He raised an eyebrow. This [Skill Book] was priced at fifty thousand wealth points in the system mall, which translated to fifty thousand Huaxia yuan.

It was actually forty thousand more expensive than the enhancement serum.

[Skill Book: Can replicate a skill possessed by the host and bestow it upon a target for use.]

Upon reading this description, Lin Wentong's pupils constricted.

*It can replicate my own skills and let other people use them?*

"This..."

For a moment, the sound of hard swallowing echoed loudly in the room!

The value of this item was simply astronomical!

"Combine the enhancement serum with a skill book... What if everyone in Tazhai..."

At this thought, Lin Wentong drew a sharp breath, feeling only one emotion: utter terror and awe!

Just as he snapped back to reality, the phone on his bedside table rang.

Lin Wenwu: "Brother Dong, come down to the monitoring room and take a look. Some outsiders are sneaking around, trying to break into our Tazhai."

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One hour ago.

"Brother Long, we've reached Tazhai. Are we just walking in through the front gate?"

Wang Dalong and his three companions stopped not far from Tazhai, and one of them asked in a low voice.

Wang Dalong glared at the man. "The front gate has surveillance cameras, as if you didn't know!"

Earlier that day, simply because they had asked for directions near the front gate park, they had been caught on camera—a mistake that cost them five million!

"Walk around the perimeter. I refuse to believe this Tazhai has surveillance cameras covering the back, too!"

Wang Dalong patted his bald head and said with absolute confidence.

"The boss is wise."

The four of them made a wide detour, arriving at the back wall of Tazhai village, and stared up at the three-meter-high barrier.

What Wang Dalong had told Zhang Youqian hadn't been an empty boast; the three men genuinely possessed some physical skills.

They scaled the three-meter wall in one fluid motion.

"Zhang San, Li Si, you two head that way. Zhao Wu, stick with me. We'll rendezvous right here in two hours!"

Wang Dalong issued rapid-fire instructions.

"By the way, Boss, what do the higher-ups of this village look like?" Zhang San asked suddenly.

Before Wang Dalong could reply, Li Si chimed in, trying to act smart. "Didn't I say? Anyone wearing a jacket and looking like some kind of leader—that's definitely them!"

Wang Dalong thought about it and decided Li Si made sense. "We go with Li Si's plan!"

Soon, the four split into two teams and prowled off in different directions.

They were brimming with absolute confidence! So what if they got exposed?

Each of them was capable of handling three or four men single-handedly; even if their cover was blown, they could easily slip away!

It wasn't like during the day when there were thousands of people around. This was the middle of the night, and villagers went to sleep early. By the time the entire village was alerted, they would long since have vanished into thin air.

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However, what Wang Dalong and his men did not know was that Tazhai's surveillance network covered the entire village.

Inside the village committee monitoring room.

Lin Wenwu, who was on duty, immediately spotted the four figures sneaking over the back wall via the cameras.

If they had walked through the front gate, Lin Wenwu wouldn't have batted an eye.

After all, Tazhai wasn't a sealed-off fortress; plenty of villagers, passersby, and even tourists entered and left every day.

Therefore, entering through the main gate wouldn't have concerned him at all.

But...

Sneaking over the back wall under the cover of darkness? That naturally drew immediate suspicion!

What decent person climbs a wall after dark?

A thief? Were there even thieves in this day and age?

Suspicion flared in Lin Wenwu's heart, so he zoomed in on the surveillance footage and clearly made out the faces of the four intruders.

"Why does this bald guy look so familiar?" Lin Wenwu frowned.

Because it was nighttime, the surveillance feed wasn't crystal clear, but after squinting for a moment, Lin Wenwu finally recognized Wang Dalong!

"Isn't this the exact same group of guys who came to our Tazhai during the day?" Lin Wenwu's pupils shrank. "If I recall correctly, this bald guy was their boss, right?"

"For this bunch to sneak into Tazhai in the middle of the night... they are definitely up to no good!"

With that thought, Lin Wenwu picked up the phone and called Lin Wentong immediately.