Chapter 520 – The Mastermind Behind the Scenes

“Cough, cough…”

Jianqi clutched his abdomen, coughing twice. “I can’t believe he managed to hurt me…”

His expression didn’t reveal much pain, but the constant stream of blood from his nose, and even the blood seeping from the corners of his mouth, made for a rather tragic sight.

Compared to Ling Mo’s main body, Jianqi looked decidedly more disheveled.

It took him a few minutes to find something to wipe the blood off his face and to brush off the footprints on his clothes.

“How disgusting…”

Jianqi stuffed the blood-soaked rag into his clothes, cast a venomous glance at the Regimental Commander’s corpse, then looked at Tom lying nearby.

He had clearly heard Tom’s scream just now.

And the Regimental Commander’s action of knocking Tom out had naturally been noticed by him.

“This Regimental Commander definitely had issues… What reason did he have to protect this Big Guy? If he hadn’t cared about him and let him stay conscious, he wouldn’t have been killed by me so easily. He might have even used the Big Guy to buy himself some time to escape… Though he surely wouldn’t have escaped.”

Jianqi walked over to Tom’s side, his gaze suddenly turning cold. His fists clenched, and a dangerous glint flashed in his eyes. “If I kill this Big Guy and observe Ling Mo’s reaction and attitude, I can see the connection between him and the Regimental Commander… But…”

After a moment of contemplation, Jianqi slowly released his grip. “Consider yourself lucky.”

Normally, even if Tom died under suspicious circumstances, Yuwen Xuan would likely not pursue the matter too aggressively for the sake of stability.

But that’s under normal circumstances, and Yuwen Xuan is a madman. A madman’s actions can’t be judged by common sense.

Most importantly, the look in the Regimental Commander’s eyes before he died made Jianqi very uneasy…

It was probably just an illusion, but if it was real, it was best not to touch Tom…

“I’ve finally managed to extend my reach into X City; I can’t just recklessly destroy Fire…”

Jianqi touched his hair, glanced at Tom on the ground, then cleared his throat and walked towards the Air Force Corps member.

“Getting so angry that I ended up killing this damn Regimental Commander… I’ll leave you to take full responsibility for this.”

Jianqi lifted the Air Force Corps member, squatted down, and spoke to his tightly shut eyes in a negotiating tone. “Hmm… let’s arrange it this way: you knocked out Tom, killed the Regimental Commander, and your motive… well, it was because you felt disappointed and confused by the Regimental Commander’s actions… Basically, some personal reason that I couldn’t possibly know, right? …And then, as you were committing the crime, I just happened to come across you…”

“Uh, no, this place is a bit too secluded. I wouldn’t have any reason to pass by here, would I? So let’s say, during your escape, I ran into you…”

“That’s better! Come on, let’s find a suitable spot. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt too much…”

Dragging the Air Force Corps member by the collar, Jianqi and he slowly disappeared around the corner of the hallway…

…

Later that evening, Ling Mo and his group were brought in by Tom.

Seeing that Tom was indeed unharmed, Ling Mo, although he had anticipated it, couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

“Ling Mo, let me tell you, I almost didn’t make it today!”

Tom came rushing in frantically, arms wide open, heading straight for Ling Mo.

If it weren’t for the large bump on Tom’s head, courtesy of Ling Mo himself, Ling Mo would have kicked him away.

“Well, this is what you call a reunion after a disaster!”

“Let go… let go…”

Ling Mo, looking helpless, endured a bear hug from Tom before eagerly pushing him away.

“What happened?”

At Ling Mo’s question, Tom immediately launched into an exaggerated recount of the events.

“Look!” Tom pointed at the large bump on his head, saying, “I even got injured!”

“You think that’s an honor? Don’t be so proud about getting ambushed, okay?”

Ling Mo rolled his eyes and said, “Is that what Jianqi said?”

“Yeah. Although he arrived late and the Regimental Commander was already dead, I still think he deserved it! You have no idea how much I wanted to punch him… But Captain Yuwen seemed quite upset. Could it be that he wanted to keep the Regimental Commander around to torment him slowly, or maybe he had some sort of agreement with him? I can’t figure it out…”

“Hmph, he’s really good at pushing all the blame away…”

Ling Mo snorted inwardly and asked, “So, is the situation completely stable now?”

“Yes, basically anyone with power and influence has been brought under control. The previous helicopter also took away another batch, and there’s no chance of any more trouble.”

Tom rubbed the back of his head and said, “But because of the ambush, Captain Yuwen conducted another sweep and actually found a few guys hiding weapons. They’ve been locked up too. So now, everything is completely under control, and you guys don’t need to wait outside for support anymore.”

As he spoke, Tom suddenly lowered his voice and chuckled, “You’re quite famous in the Air Force Corps, but don’t worry, they haven’t seen you.”

“Even if they know now, what difference does it make?”

Ling Mo pinched the bridge of his nose and said.

With the help of his avatars, Ling Mo had spent quite some time in the Air Force Corps.

The truly arrogant ones were just a handful of people with power. The others were just following orders.

Eliminating them wouldn’t affect the core of the Air Force Corps.

Take the pilots, for example. These people were the treasures of the Air Force Corps, but they didn’t hold any real power.

Entering the Air Force Corps now, Ling Mo felt somewhat different.

Previously, he had snuck in, surrounded by danger. But now, he walked in as a victor, openly and confidently.

A few days ago, he was a target for the Air Force Corps, an annoying pest they wanted to eliminate.

But now, he was the mastermind who had controlled the fate of the Air Force Corps…

“Hey, you guys are here.”

Just as they reached the upper floor, Ling Mo and his group encountered Jianqi.

The two of them exchanged glances but couldn’t read anything from each other’s eyes.

“Lucy, Vice Captain Zhang will be discussing future plans with us later. You should join us.”

Jianqi smiled at Ling Mo and then turned his gaze to Lucy.

“Oh, alright,” Lucy nodded.

On the surface, it seemed Jianqi was there to fetch Lucy, but Ling Mo sensed that Jianqi was more likely there to gauge his reaction.

However, Ling Mo didn’t give him the satisfaction and acted naturally.

Jianqi’s expression remained calm as well.

“He’s quite the actor… But even if I don’t go looking for trouble with him, by the looks of it, he’ll come to find me sooner or later.”

Ling Mo felt that same dangerous vibe from Jianqi again. To his slight disappointment, the virus hadn’t affected him at all.

“Still, even if the virus didn’t affect him… it seems getting beaten up wasn’t a pleasant experience, was it?”

Fixing his gaze on Jianqi’s red nose, Ling Mo suddenly smirked and said, “Mr. Jian.”

“Can you use my full name…”

Jianqi’s eye twitched as he looked at Ling Mo.

“I heard you caught a troublemaker, and it looks like you got injured. That must have been tough.”

As soon as Ling Mo finished speaking, everyone’s eyes immediately focused on Jianqi’s face.

A red nose paired with that broom-like Mohican haircut…

“Ha!”

One of the Falcon members accompanying Tom to greet Ling Mo couldn’t help but laugh, though he quickly covered it with a cough.

Lucy tried to keep a straight face, but her cheeks were starting to turn red, showing how hard she was trying to hold it in…

Li Yalin glanced at Xia Na and said, “It does seem like it was tough…”

“Senior Sister, hush…”

The gentle expression on Jianqi’s face vanished, and his smile became strained.

But seeing Ling Mo’s sincere expression, he couldn’t lash out…

“Thank you for your concern,” Jianqi said. “But this place isn’t completely peaceful yet. Mr. Ling, you should be careful too.”

“Likewise.”

Ling Mo smiled slightly.

An undercurrent surged between their seemingly calm conversation. As they passed by each other, Ling Mo heard Jianqi’s deliberately lowered voice: “We’ll meet again…”