Chapter 66 Complaint, Disobey Orders, and a Final Settlement "But because of that kind of reason..."
Along with the applause came a casual male voice.
"Congratulations, your new right leg looks great."
Recognizing the voice, Badger Tooth immediately turned around and strode down the stairs beside the boxing ring. "Mr. Long, what brings you here today?"
That's what they asked, but what Badger Tooth really wanted to know was: when did the Dragon's Spine arrive?
“The rhinoceros horn is an important legacy left to me by the previous generation of Dragon Spine. No matter how busy I am, I have to take care of it, right?” As if seeing through Badger Tooth’s thoughts, Dragon Spine laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “On a side note, you, who are usually cautious and even a little hesitant, have handled the matter in Dala Harbor quite well and generously.”
Badger Tooth hesitated to accept this rare compliment.
Because he knew very well that he had only modified the action plan proposed by Fu Ze to address the limitations of the rhinoceros horn's abilities.
Thinking of Fu Ze, Badger Tooth's gaze toward the Dragon Spine held an added layer of unfathomable fear.
In his understanding, Fu Ze's return to L City without reporting was somewhat overstepping his bounds, but considering the serious attitude and swift action taken by the Kangming Group towards those investigating the "key," the other party did indeed have reasons to do so.
After all, you only have one life, and you have to use it carefully, even if it's the King of Heaven himself.
Even if Fu Ze made a mistake, he should absolutely not have been punished by being thrown onto that cruise ship that was about to be used to test the power of the [Key].
Bypassing Badger Teeth, Dragon Spine casually sat on the wooden bench closest to the boxing ring and got straight to the point: "Deer Ear told me that you seem to be planning to make a move against Yuan Jianxing."
"If you're going to take action, you should at least do it discreetly. If she complains, I'll be in a real bind." As he spoke, he rubbed his temples in slight distress.
“Even if she hadn’t complained, I would have told you about it.” Rhinoceros Horn turned around and jumped off the boxing ring.
Upon landing, his legs bent one after the other to cushion the impact, and then he stood up steadily.
It was as if he had always moved with perfect coordination, as if he were on two legs.
As he bent his knee, the barely healed wound on the middle of his right thigh stretched and burst open again, splattering blood all over the ground due to inertia.
Seeing this, Badger Tooth couldn't help but gasp.
But the dragon spine seemed completely unmoved, not even blinking.
"What's the reason?" Longji clenched his five fingers together and waved his palm twice on the side of his neck. "It can't be like what they write in those novels: this kid will definitely become a threat in the future, and must not be kept."
Although the dragon spine was mentioned very casually, it seemed to be just a friendly joke.
But Badger Tooth, who had dealt with Hara Mihoshi more thoroughly, knew that this joke was surprisingly close to the reality.
In less than a month since Yuan Jianxing arrived in L City, he first proved his worth to the L City Adjudication Bureau by punishing a rich kid who caused trouble at the club and incidentally finding contraband. From then on, he no longer got involved in trivial matters.
He also resolved some long-standing cases, which helped him establish his prestige among the executives.
Finally, overcoming all internal and external obstacles, they cleverly used a scheme to demolish two long-standing illegal buildings, which directly alleviated the terrible traffic situation in L City, earning praise and admiration from the residents of L City.
If there truly are any "chosen ones" in this world, then this is certainly one of them.
Just as Badger Tooth was racking his brains trying to figure out the perfect way to describe Yuan Jianxing's danger to Dragon Spine, Dragon Spine suddenly stopped smiling and said in a serious tone that Badger Tooth had never seen before, "But have you ever thought that he is a 'black swan'?"
Black swan? What black swan?
Badger Tooth thought he had misheard.
However, the word was so niche that he couldn't immediately think of another word with the same pronunciation that could lead to misjudgment.
With his fingers interlaced in front of him, Longji said, "These 'black swans' are the most important part of the whole plan."
"At least for now, every 'black swan' event that dies reduces our influence, and in the final moments, our voice will be weaker."
The words "black swan," "one less to lose," "plan," and "last moment" left Badger Tooth completely bewildered.
He turned to look at the rhinoceros horn, only to find that the other party's expression was calm, as if he had known about it all along.
"I think I've made myself clear." Having formally stated his stance on Yuan Jianxing's matter, Longji returned to its previous leisurely state.
After handing a damp towel taken from the boxing gym's sterilizer to Rhinoceros Horn, he strolled out of the gym.
Although Badger Tooth was completely baffled by what Dragon Spine was actually trying to say, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing those words.
He didn't actually agree with Rhinoceros Horn's idea of going head-to-head with Yuan Jianxing, but he could never go against Rhinoceros Horn's wishes.
Fortunately, Rhinoceros Horn has never gone against the will of Dragon Spine, whether it was the previous Dragon Spine or the current one.
However, right after Dragon Spine left the boxing gym, Rhinoceros Horn let go of her hand.
The towel fell to the ground, slowly absorbing the blood that had flowed from the rhinoceros horn's leg.
The vast boxing arena was completely silent.
Badger Tooth felt his pupils and voice trembling: "Rhinoceros Horn, you..."
Do you know what it means to throw away the towel that Dragonspine gave you?
Do you know how Dragonspine treats those who dare to disobey his orders?
Isn't Fu Ze's lesson enough?
Do you know that you personally promised before the death of your most respected predecessor that you would wholeheartedly assist the next leader, and that your actions are abandoning and disregarding what you value most in loyalty and righteousness?
All my thoughts boil down to one question: Why did you defy orders so brazenly?
However, before he could finish his question, Rhinoceros Horn interrupted him, "Do you know why I lost this leg?"
Badger Tooth nodded hesitantly.
He was a little confused about the situation.
Even if Xijiao didn't know before, he should know from the conversation just now that he was there when the accident happened.
So why would he ask that question?
Fortunately, Badger Tooth was smart enough that, based on the previous conversation, he tentatively guessed: "...Could it be related to Yuan Jianxing?"
Rhinoceros Horn said coldly, "That's right."
Badger Tooth was somewhat puzzled. Judging from the timeline, Yuan Jianxing should have been only thirteen or fourteen years old when the incident occurred. He couldn't possibly have caused any trouble by openly or secretly confronting Rhinoceros Horn, who was nearly twenty years old and already had a certain influence and power within the group.
Moreover, there is no trace of Yuan Jianxing in the narrative preceding Rhinoceros Horn.
Rhinoceros Horn clearly read Badger Tooth's thoughts from his silence and continued to explain: "My boss at the time, Snake Eyes, once went back to the scene of the incident while I was in the hospital to find the expert who had accidentally lost the file box in the chaos of the gate leak."
As Badger Tooth knows, it was the research contents in that lost file folder that later became the strongest evidence to prove the expert's guilt.
"After searching everywhere without success, Snake Eyes finally gave up all hope and checked the surrounding surveillance footage to see if the file box had been washed away by the water to some other place."
Badger Tooth asked cautiously, "Then I found out that it was taken away by Hara Mihoshi."
The rhinoceros horn remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.
Badger Tooth pursed his lips slightly.
Even if Yuan Jianxing may have indeed been involved, it would be somewhat far-fetched to seek revenge ten years later for a reason that is not directly related to the accident.
And it's not rhinoceros horn at all.
In the perception of badger teeth, rhinoceros horn has always been something that can be lost.
"The chauffeur-driven car derailed and was thrown into an abandoned driveway. After it crashed into a wall and came to a stop, the car doors wouldn't open. I'll accept that if it was all a scheme." Rhinoceros Horn reached out and touched his newly scabbed thigh. "But what about that sudden gate leak? Was it just bad luck?"
Badger Teeth fell silent.
Luck is a really hard thing to explain.
Sometimes you put in a lot of effort, but in the end, you're just doing all the work for someone else.
"It's as if fate wants me to fail and hand over the fruits of my hard work to someone else." Rhinoceros Horn's voice was a little hoarse.
Badger Teeth might have heard and forgotten such discouraging words from others, but Rhinoceros Horn wouldn't say them so easily.
So... could it be that none of this was an accident?
Badger suddenly looked up at the rhinoceros horn.
At that moment, a beam of the setting sun slanted in through the skylight of the boxing gym and fell on Rhinoceros Horn, making him appear as if he were in darkness, except for his right leg, which was illuminated with a warm glow.
"I can admit defeat if I'm not as skilled, I accept that." Rhinoceros Horn looked up at the small patch of sky visible through the window at the top of the boxing ring. "But for that reason... why should I?"
"And in the process of Yuan Jianxing becoming the 'CEO,' how many white swans will lose their 'legs' for the same reason?"
Badger Tooth instinctively wanted to ask what the "reasons and causes" and "black swans and white swans" were, but in the end he restrained himself.
Clearly, both the rhinoceros horn and the dragon spine knew something, but neither of them intended to reveal it.
...Never mind, if I don't know, I don't know.
Simply following orders might bring more happiness.
"Okay, it's Yuan Jianxing, right? I'll think of a way."
This time, Badger Tooth said it was very easy.
Because regardless of success or failure, the fate of himself and Rhinoceros Horn, who dared to defy Dragon Spine's orders, was already sealed.
Then there's nothing to fear.
-
The return of the rhinoceros horn and badger teeth was much faster than Hara Mihoshi had imagined.
The last batch of goods they personally delivered was stolen just after crossing the border. From the perspective of maintaining customer relationships or dealing with trouble, it seems reasonable to assume that the two of them would have been stuck there for a while.
But they just came back like that, as if Cummins Group didn't care about the deal at all.
This is unreasonable.
...Not necessarily.
Put yourself in the dragon's back; if you had something like the "key" in your hands, the arms trade would indeed be insignificant.
【key】
Yuan Jianxing leaned back in his chair, subconsciously tapping his pen on a piece of paper covered with symbols only he could understand, his eyes fixed on the screen in front of him displaying dozens of open files.
These case files are all from cases that occurred in L City in the past two months that could not be explained by common sense and were ultimately filed with difficulty.
If we take into account the extraordinary abilities granted by the "key" and change our way of thinking, we can surprisingly find certain commonalities in these cases.
Although there may be discrepancies between the previous [teleportation] and [mirror image], at least a dozen extraordinary abilities have begun to be used by different people.
Setting the pen aside, Yuan Jianxing raised his hand and rubbed his eyes.
Initially, he was indeed angered by the almost provocative act of Wan Chuanqiu being assassinated in his office, and went straight to the Adjudication Bureau to propose a plan to "demote" him and come to L City for a secret investigation.
But now, as he gradually comes into contact with the relevant content using Fu Ze as "bait," he discovers that the complexity of the whole matter has far exceeded his imagination.
It's definitely not something he can handle alone.
Delaying it is definitely not an option.
According to their own calculations, someone will acquire a new [Key] ability every few days.
However, acting too hastily could easily alert the enemy.
Having learned from Fu Ze's example, he would not easily allow anyone to participate in this unbalanced contest, thereby causing tragic and unnecessary casualties.
Speaking of Fu Ze.
Yuan Jianxing looked at the separate group in his messaging app, the only account in the group, and the new profile picture that had been changed just two days after the account was taken over.
This guy has been having a lot of fun on his own these past few days.
Now that the other party has obtained a new identity, as long as they don't run into a rhinoceros horn or badger teeth head-on, they won't be in any danger.
However, just to be on the safe side, let's temporarily transfer him to V City after we finish our current tasks.
Then ask a friend to help find a house that faces south, is quiet, has separate wet and dry areas, and includes a separate study, so that this guy won't always be itching to "sell himself".
I'll also go back to V City and discuss countermeasures with the Adjudication Bureau, and ask Xu Xiezhi for her opinion.
Just as Yuan Jianxing opened his phone to check if there were any suitable tickets, an executive walked up to him with something in his hand.
“Brother Xing, the guy you demolished the family’s illegal building has sent you a warning letter.” The other party placed a letter with a wax seal bearing the family crest on his desk. “He didn’t show up in person; he sent a child to deliver it.”
After receiving the letter from the other party, Yuan Jianxing first examined its appearance. After confirming that it was indeed just an ordinary letter, he used a knife to pry off the wax seal and handed it to the executor.
“Compare the details with the clan crests held by other members of their family to rule out the possibility of forgery.”
The other person responded and turned to leave.
He pulled out the letter and unfolded it; a few printed words caught Yuan Jianxing's eye—
[6 PM, Clock Tower Square, let's settle this once and for all!]
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