October 23, 8:30 PM.

Hong Kong Island, Dragon Scale Building.

Lin Dong stood in front of the panoramic floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor of the building, wisps of smoke curling from his fingertips.

In the distance, the city's neon lights were reflected in his dark pupils, like two constantly twinkling galaxies.

"Boss, urgent telegram from Tokyo." Phoenix, fresh from his injuries, strode over in his deerskin boots and handed over a encrypted fax:

[The Breaking Formation Pearl has been obtained. Qingxuan was ambushed on her return journey. The attackers were members of the Iga Dark Ninja faction. Tomoko]

His gaze swept over the faxed message, and his hand, holding a cigarette, tapped lightly on the table.

A wisp of sandalwood incense burning on the table next to it suddenly moved on its own without any wind, and the bronze bell hanging in the southeast corner emitted a series of delicate, clear sounds.

"Iga Annin? Interesting. The Radiant Society's reach is quite extensive."

Lin Dong hesitated for a moment, then slowly spoke:

"Notify Sky Eye to send out all its informants. It's time to speed up Project Thousand Islands."

"Also, have Dark Dragon keep a close eye on Good Friends and the Ephemeral Flower Society to prevent them from resorting to underhanded tactics again."

Phoenix nodded in agreement, her lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but then stopped herself.

"Are you asking about the safety of the Five Elements Breaking Formation Pearl?" Lin Dong stubbed out his cigarette. "Don't worry, I've already had Yamada Tomoko involved throughout the entire process."

"Boss, you've thought this through very thoroughly, I admire you!" Phoenix respectfully echoed, and just as she was about to turn around, Lin Dong's cell phone, which was on his desk, rang.

"It's Ziqiang calling." Lin Dong glanced at the caller ID and answered casually, "Hello?"

"Boss, this is Ziqiang."

"Ziqiang, has everything been taken care of?"

"It's all done. To date, we've acquired a total of 37 shipping companies in Hong Kong, including 6 that were lent to Singapore and Australia."

"Good, it didn't arouse any suspicion, did it?"

"Don't worry, boss. I used different companies to make the acquisition, and I did it in several separate time periods."

"Hmm, that's pretty efficient."

"Oh, right, boss, I've got all the details of those 962 Hong Kong-funded offshore companies you asked me to investigate now."

"Oh? So fast?"

"Hehe... With information provided by the Governor of Hong Kong, and the full support of Skynet and SkyEye, how could we not be fast?"

“Well done. You can contact Fengzi directly tomorrow. He will communicate and coordinate with you in detail about the follow-up execution plan.”

"Okay, boss! Um... boss, is Phoenix... still busy?"

On the phone, Zhang Ziqiang's tone suddenly became hesitant and stammering.

Lin Dong was slightly taken aback, but then he understood, and a mischievous smile appeared on his lips:

"She'll be off work soon, so you should try harder and treat her to dinner more often, haha..."

...............................................

One hour ago, at Tokyo Haneda Airport.

Blood seeped through the hem of Qingxuan's Taoist robe; he had been injured in the previous exchange.

He held the remaining three Five Emperors Coins in his right palm, where they were scorched.

Six black-faced stakes, responsible for their safety, formed a fan shape around the fisherman's hat, and six black-lacquered pistols decisively spewed flames.

"Bang bang bang..."

The fisherman in the hat suddenly ducked, and all the bullets aimed at him missed their mark, sending a spray of gravel flying from the marble countertop in the distance...

Screams erupted.

The crowd inside the terminal began to panic and flee. A hundred meters away, two airport security personnel reacted and rushed over with their guns at the ready.

"Master, be careful!" Tomoko Yamada darted behind a bench and quickly pressed the communication alarm button hidden in her collar.

Outside the terminal building, three black Buick minivans were parked at the entrance. Suddenly, the doors of the vehicles opened, and twelve men in black, armed with Scorpion submachine guns, rushed out of the cars.

These people put on black masks as they ran into the terminal building...

The fisherman's hat, which had ducked to avoid the first volley of bullets, braced himself with both hands the instant it touched the ground, and his body flew out like a cannonball, instantly appearing in front of Qingxuan the old Taoist.

At the same time, strange changes occurred all around.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft..."

After a few soft sounds, the six masked thugs with guns suddenly clutched their throats and collapsed with muffled groans.

At some point, a narrow cut appeared in their throats, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

Three dark ninjas, also wearing Noh masks, suddenly appeared from behind them.

So fast!

"Southwest Kun position, break!" Qingxuan threw out the copper coin in her hand, and with a metallic clang, three darts fell to the ground.

The fisherman's hat passed through the four-zhang space like a ghost, and the cold light in his hand went straight for the old Taoist's brow.

At this moment, Qingxuan had run out of copper coins and had no way to defend herself, so she had no choice but to quickly retreat.

The other three ninjas flashed their swords and gave chase.

The black-faced reinforcements who had just rushed into the terminal building were still more than 50 meters away from the scene of the fight. The situation was critical. How could distant water quench a nearby fire?

Qingxuan, you are in grave danger!

In front of the bench, Tomoko Yamada suddenly leaped up, her kimono sash fluttering down to reveal a Walther PPK pistol strapped to her thigh.

Unexpectedly, this woman, though seemingly quiet, is quite skilled.

Stepping forward, charging ahead, drawing his gun, firing rapidly in bursts... the incredibly skillful movements were executed in one fluid motion.

"Puff puff puff..."

Amidst a series of muffled thuds from the silencers, the three assassins shuddered violently as they were all shot in the back.

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