Chapter 101 The Shadow Changer 4
What happened next was entirely predictable.
Although he could command shadow clones, this suddenly appearing man in a black suit was clearly an ordinary person. If the real Shadow-Changing Monster were to appear, he would probably run away the moment he saw Zhu Shi, Ma Zao, and my face.
Perhaps in the goldfish's eyes, the opponent was a mysterious and ruthless former professional assassin with extraordinary killing skills, but those skills were of little use here. As for the shadow clones that appeared around them, they were all show and no substance, posing no real threat whatsoever, which added a touch of humor to the situation.
I don't know when this person started eavesdropping, or how he interpreted our conversation. In any case, he failed to grasp that more than half of us are not ordinary people. Perhaps he assumed that since Chang'an hadn't sought our help beforehand, it meant we lacked the resources to handle the situation. What a huge misunderstanding.
I immediately unleashed a massive amount of flames, filling every inch of the private room. The surrounding shadow clones were reduced to ashes in the flames.
Zhu Shi seemed to have used a sound barrier just like last night, so the sounds of traffic outside the street could not be heard, and presumably the sounds inside the private room did not travel outside.
Chang'an was still able to barely accept the changes in the situation, while the goldfish seemed to have its worldview shattered, watching everything as if in a dream.
Under my control, the flames did not harm anything except the shadow clone, including the man in the black suit. It's no wonder he's a former professional assassin; faced with this sudden turn of events, he reacted immediately and tried to turn and rush out the door.
"--return."
Ma Zao put down her straw and cola, and pointed at the man in the black suit.
With just that one finger, the latter's foot, which had only taken a step, inexplicably retracted itself. He was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly tried to turn around and take another step. However, the strange force that had struck him seemed to still be in effect, and this time he only took half a step before retracting it on its own.
A look of terror crossed his face as he tried to move again, but this time he couldn't even take a single step. His body twisted back before he could even turn, and the terror on his face seemed to vanish as if in retrospect. His subsequent struggles became even weaker, and all that could be seen was his body trembling inexplicably.
In less than a second, his body could no longer even tremble, and his facial expression remained unchanged, as if all his struggles had been canceled before they even began. He was frozen in place like a petrified victim being stared at by a Gorgon.
This seems to be one of the uses of Asahizawa's power of return.
"She's a superpowered person too?" Chang'an's surprise was tinged with envy.
The goldfish was completely dumbfounded: "What is all this...?"
Even Zhu Shi looked surprised.
I have a bit of a "lowbrow" sense of humor; I enjoy seeing other people's shock at my power.
Seeing that some of their attention was diverted to Mazao's "public display of talent," I felt equally pleased. Yes, my Mazao is that amazing—although I wouldn't say it outright, I might genuinely have feelings that come close to that.
Why do I think this way? Is it because I unconsciously consider myself the first person Asahi met in this era? I pondered my own feelings.
Asaha seemed completely uninterested in the others' astonishment; she focused solely on asking for my opinion: "What do we do next? Should we interrogate him to find out the monster's true identity?"
I thought for a moment, then asked, "Can you make him speak while remaining frozen in place?"
She nodded, her raised fingers relaxing slightly. The man in the black suit, though still unable to move his limbs and torso, seemed to have thawed above his neck. He frantically twisted his neck, revealing his helpless embarrassment.
I got up and walked over, wondering where to begin my questioning. First of all, I couldn't expect him to talk honestly, and even if he did, there was no guarantee he'd tell the truth. He was a former professional assassin; who knew how effective ordinary torture would be against him?
So I simply skipped those unnecessary steps and took the black rope heart-locking ring directly out of my pocket.
The blurred right hand pierced the chest of the man in the black suit, seizing his heart.
I thought to myself, regardless of our stance, I really have to thank Lu Youxun for giving me this ring; it's come in handy now.
Ten minutes later, we had a general understanding of all the information we could get from him.
First and foremost, the most important point is that the Shadow Man is indeed in that nightclub, and he is now the nightclub's unsung hero.
He appeared before the nightclub owner about three months ago and proposed a partnership. This so-called partnership was actually a blatant attempt to exploit the nightclub owner's connections within the local upper class through force. I know nothing about the intricacies of upper-class social interactions, but according to the man in the black suit, although the nightclub owner is a woman engaged in this shady business, she seems to wield considerable influence within the upper class.
The Shadow Changer appears to be a member of the local upper class, but the man in the black suit is unaware of his true identity; only the nightclub owner knows. As a clandestine backer, the Shadow Changer also provides assistance when the nightclub's operations are threatened.
The shadow clones that appeared earlier were transferred from the Shadow Changer to the man in the black suit. This transfer process wasn't complicated; the Shadow Changer simply ordered the shadow clones, which possessed some intelligence, to follow the man in the black suit. And the ones who kidnapped and beat Chang'an two days ago were shadow clones sent out by the man in the black suit.
The motive was simple: Chang'an's activities of collecting evidence of crimes inside the nightclub had already been discovered, and the man in the black suit wanted to take him down. The shadow clone technique, even if the operation was exposed, wouldn't reveal the nightclub; using it as a pawn was perfectly appropriate.
However, before taking action, he needed to know the extent to which Chang'an had collected evidence of the nightclub's crimes and whether he had leaked it to others. Therefore, the shadow clone he sent only beat Chang'an rather than directly killing him.
His original plan was to first weaken Chang'an to the point of near collapse, causing his psychological defenses to crumble. Then, his shadow clones would contact him using Chang'an's phone, allowing him to interrogate Chang'an remotely. Unexpectedly, before that step even began, the two shadow clones he dispatched inexplicably lost contact, while Chang'an reappeared two days later, full of energy.
This is the truth behind what happened in Chang'an two days ago.
"So that's how it is..." Chang'an said with lingering fear. "Just in case, let me ask you again, what kind of liquidation method do you mean by 'liquidation'?"
"Speak." I squeezed the black-suited man's heart tightly.
The latter looked pained and involuntarily spoke the truth: "It depends on the level of evidence you've collected and the extent to which you intend to harm us. If you're just a spineless coward who completely collapses after a beating, and everything you did before was just youthful impetuosity and acting on impulse, then I'll let you go home."
"But if you really have some guts and know you'll die but still choose to oppose us, then I have to admit you're a real man, and I'll have to kill you as a true enemy."
"So you were planning to let me go? Aren't you an assassin?" Chang'an asked in surprise.
“He’s a former assassin.” The man in the black suit spoke with a hint of weariness.
He sounded like he had some stories to tell, but now was clearly not the time to listen to them. I pulled my right hand out and removed the black rope-locked heart ring. Zhu Shi took out a sheathed longsword from the black guitar case and knocked the man in the black suit unconscious. Actually, I wanted to burn him to death on the spot, but since Chang'an was still watching, I had to stop for now.
I feel much better now. The mystery of the attack on Chang'an, which had been bothering me for so long, has finally been solved, and I feel so relieved.
Unfortunately, the man in the black suit was unaware of the Shadow Changer's true identity. The nightclub owner knew, but it wasn't convenient for us to barge in and interrogate him; doing so might provoke the Shadow Changer. After all, the information came to us willingly, so we couldn't expect too much from him.
...Speaking of which, could it be that he delivered himself to our door because he was captured by Asaha's jinxed nature?
I looked at Asa, and Asa blinked innocently.
“Brother, after you finish, hand over all the evidence you’ve collected to the family, and then that nightclub will disappear forever,” Zhu Shi said to Chang’an.
"Huh? Is our Zhu family really that powerful?" Chang'an asked hesitantly.
“A few years ago, a demon hunter family like ours wouldn’t have much influence over secular society, and the same goes for nightclubs that involve a lot of powerful people. But things have changed in the last two or three years.” Zhu Shi seemed to be explaining to me, “Now the relationship between the official forces and Luoshan is tense. If those nightclubs that even little girls frequent are exposed, they will become material for Luoshan to criticize the legitimacy of the official forces. So the official forces will definitely be more eager to suppress them than we are, and they will use as many severe penalties as possible.”
"Our family is a demon hunter family?" Chang'an was surprised.
Zhu Shi was taken aback: "Huh? Grandpa didn't tell you anything?"
Chang'an said blankly, "He just told me to stay in the room obediently..."
"Shouldn't Grandpa explain the truth to you first?" Zhu Shi asked, puzzled at first, then seemed to realize something. "Could it be that he plans to directly break the seal on your demon blood, so he's doing preparatory work? That makes sense. Once the seal is broken and you regain your childhood memories, it will save you the trouble of explaining and convincing him..."
Upon hearing these words, the goldfish next to her displayed an expression that was like witnessing a large-scale chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) performance, yet she had no choice but to believe that it was all true—a look of utter bewilderment.
Although this is the second time I've heard these things related to Chang'an, I have to say, these words really don't sound like lines from a real-world story. Have I really unknowingly wandered into a fantasy battle story set in Chang'an?
"Huh? Demon blood? Seal? Memories?" Chang'an was shocked again. "Do I actually have those kinds of settings that sound like they belong to a protagonist in a classic shonen manga?"
"Alright, alright, now's not the time for that," Zhu Shi sighed wearily. "Let's discuss the Shadow Changer first. Assuming the Shadow Changer really is in that nightclub, how can we find him?"
Perhaps influenced by me, Zhu Shi also started calling that strange man the Shadow Changer.
Regarding the current problem, I have a preliminary idea.
(End of this chapter)
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