Chapter 23
Each of the top-ranked professional assassins has their own unique and celebrated methods of killing. Chi Xia heard that the number one assassin on the list would first sever the nerves connecting the victim's subconscious before killing them, thus stripping them of their talents.
At first, Chi Xia thought it was cruel and unnecessary. It was just a matter of dying anyway, so why make it so complicated and not give the deceased a quick death?
To strip someone of their talent, one must first understand the location of all the nerves in a human being, accurately locate the main gate of the conscious nerves, and remove the nerves. This is the ultimate punishment. To clearly perceive the disappearance of one's talent is to slowly torture a person's spirit and consciousness.
But after witnessing Lin Mu's resurrection with a mechanical heart last night, she suddenly understood why that cruel guy could stand at the top of the rankings.
Those stripped of their talents cannot be reborn, because talents are connected to the spirit. Even if someone's head is blown off and their heart is crushed, as long as they are an awakened being and their talents remain, fragments of their talent genes can be extracted, allowing them to be resurrected through technological means. Conversely, if their talents are removed, they cannot be reborn using any technological means.
In other words, anyone killed by the number one on the leaderboard will be permanently removed from this world.
Although Lin Mu's resurrection is an extreme case, and not every dead person has such an opportunity, it still shocked Chi Xia quite a bit.
First, why was Lin Mu resurrected?
Chi Xia remembers clearly that Lin Mu's bounty was as high as two million. The buyer wanted to make his death look like an attempted murder that was turned into a counterattack, which took Chi Xia a lot of effort.
She followed Lin Mu for over a month, investigating his social circle and daily activities. She listed several people who were opposed to him: his childhood friend whom he had noted as Long Er in his contacts, his wife Li Yue, and his rival Fang Sheng.
A year ago, Lin Mu defied public opinion and took the position of deputy director of RT Machinery Factory with an annual salary of two million. This was because he had exposed to the company's judicial department the shady dealings of his competitor, Fang Sheng, who had embezzled a batch of net profits from RT's mechanical organs.
The photo of Fang Sheng, with bloodshot eyes, being sent to prison with "conclusive evidence," can still be found online today.
As for Long Er and his wife, it's an interesting love triangle. The three of them grew up together. His wife, Li Yue, was Long Er's girlfriend at first. The two dated for nearly ten years and had a very deep relationship. Later, Lin Mu and Huang Tengda created a misunderstanding and stole her away from home, taking Li Yue with them.
However, what he gained did not make him restrain himself.
After marriage, Li Yue was devoted to Lin Mu and gave birth to a son and a daughter. However, during Li Yue's third pregnancy, Lin Mu cheated on her with his female secretary. The secretary was pregnant and the mistress came to her door, pushing Li Yue down and causing her to become a vegetable. She also miscarried her third pregnancy.
From then on, the female secretary entered Lin Mu's mansion, took over his residence, and became the leading lady.
The incredibly dramatic emotional entanglements allowed Chixia Galin to perform without any burden, as if he were completing a beautiful work of art.
She brought Lin Mu and Long Er, who was furious about losing his wife, to the same table. Long Er was seeking justice for his ex-girlfriend Li Yue, who was now in a vegetative state, and got into an argument with Lin Mu. The two started fighting, and Lin Mu choked Long Er to death. Long Er struggled and pushed, and Lin Mu hit the roots of a ten-year-old plant in the corner of the restaurant and fainted.
Chi Xiashi, who had been waiting patiently, appeared, sharpened the old stump, and inserted it directly into the back of Lin Mu's head. He squatted there and waited for Lin Mu to die before cleaning up the scene and leaving.
Logically speaking, Lin Mu is a scumbag. He should just be dead. Why bring him back to life?
Chi Xia thought about it all night. In the past, she rarely asked questions when she was paid to do things, but this time she couldn't help but wonder: Who was the one who wanted Lin Mu dead? Who was the one who resurrected Lin Mu? And who was the one who killed Lin Mu again, and what were their respective purposes?
The car accident scene left Lin Mu's body, cutting off the public domain while preserving the private domain, the delayed rescue, the isolated junior police officer, and even the planned explosion.
Clearly, the other party came prepared, and the more Chi Xia thought about it, the more chills ran down her spine.
"Knock knock knock!"
After the knock, Xin Ran's voice came through, "Teacher Xia, if you don't get up soon, you'll be late for work."
Chi Xia, sporting dark circles under her eyes, sat down at the dining table. Xin Ran tapped the table, "Didn't sleep all night?"
Chi Xia was still in a daze, staring blankly at the other person for two seconds before being snapped out of her daze by Xun Jiang, who brought over breakfast and snapped his fingers in front of her. "Teacher Xia, did you not get enough rest last night?"
Chi Xia thanked her and accepted a bowl of clear soup noodles. "Mmm."
Xun Jiang assumed she was still shaken by the car accident the night before, so he sat down beside her and gently comforted her, "It's okay, those kinds of things happen every day. If it wasn't us, it would have been someone else. Don't be afraid, Xin Ran and I will always be traveling with you from now on."
Chi Xia, who hadn't had enough rest, nodded blankly. Xun Jiang put his own fried egg on her plate as well, saying, "Eat more, you'll have the strength to not be afraid when you're full."
Xin Ran frowned. "Brother Xun Jiang, where's mine?"
Xun Jiang: "You only have two in your refrigerator."
Xin Ran pointed at Chi Xia's bowl, "Give her both of them, am I not your good brother anymore?"
Even though she was a little dazed, Chi Xia still caught the key information in a second. She looked up at the two of them, and finally looked at Xin Ran, "What did you call Dr. Xun?"
Xun Jiang picked up the conversation, "I forgot to tell you, Xin Ran and I used to be neighbors."
Chi Xia belatedly realized why Xun Jiang had helped Xin Ran cover for her. Thinking of something, Chi Xia looked at Xun Jiang and asked, "Dr. Xun, what do you think about Teacher Xin buying such a big house all by herself?"
Before Xin Ran could stop him, Xun Jiang continued, "It's not cost-effective. You just sleep all day, and the property management fees are so high. You have to travel all that way back and forth. I don't know what he was thinking. If it were me, I wouldn't care about the size of the house. The main thing is that it's cozy. It's enough for a family of three or four. A house that's too big not only wastes electricity but is also hard to clean. Let me tell you, Xin Ran..."
Chi Xia didn't hear a word Xun Jiang said after that. She was in a good mood watching Xin Ran get slapped in the face. She happily finished a whole bowl of clear soup noodles and two poached eggs.
Afterwards, Xun Jiang drove the two to the college first, and then drove himself to the hospital alone.
Xin Ran and Chi Xia walked along the tree-lined path to the office, and Chi Xia couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Xin Ran: "I said the house belonged to a friend because I didn't want you to overthink it."
Chi Xia: "I simply thought it was just about collecting rent."
Xin Ran: "Part of the reason."
Chi Xia tilted her head to look at him, "I think that's the main reason. Just tell the truth that the house is yours. Do you think I'd cheat you out of rent?"
Xin Ran laughed awkwardly, "Aren't you going to ask me why I bought such a big house?"
Chi Xia: "Everyone has their own reasons for doing everything. Besides, we're just colleagues, why ask so many questions? I'm grateful to someone who offers me a place to stay at a reasonable rent."
Xin Ran: "I'm relieved to hear that. Now it's my turn to ask you a question: how did you suddenly become homeless?"
As they walked up the stairs to the office, Chi Xia rolled her eyes at Xin Ran. "Will you die if you don't gossip?"
Xin Ran took the lead and went up the stairs. "I think the difference between the living and the dead is that the living have an infinite curiosity to explore the world, and the center of the world is people, is me. The things that happen to the people around me constitute the best proof that I am alive."
Chi Xia laughed angrily, "You have so many fallacies."
Xin Ran laughed too, "So, how exactly did you become homeless?"
Chi Xia stopped and looked at Xin Ran seriously. "If you stop asking these pointless questions, I can add five hundred to my monthly rent."
Xin Ran's eyes lit up, and she instantly made a gesture to seal her mouth, raising her hand, "Supporting patron, please."
In fact, another way to prove that you are a living person is to integrate into a lively group, such as an office.
"Nana, you only have two hands, and you want three big gold bracelets from her? If things don't work out between you two, won't she be traumatized?"
"What do you know? If a man isn't willing to spend money on you before marriage, he'll definitely be a miser after marriage. I think Nana did the right thing. A thousand words are not as good as real money."
"I've heard that some men will ask for all the gifts they've given back when they break up. It's better not to take them all back at once, otherwise it'll be a sign of mutual disgust."
"That's not how it works. Some men are very generous. Even after breaking up, they can still be friends and occasionally have meals or watch movies together."
Cheng Mo smiled, looking at the third large gold bracelet on Anna's wrist, "You like gold that much?"
Anna: "Asking someone to give you diamonds? They don't have that kind of money. Besides, not liking gold isn't a sign of being crazy."
Lin Keli rarely gossiped. She manually adjusted this week's announcement, "Just so you know, everyone remember to organize the home visit content and upload and share it."
"Don't even mention it. I went to the student's house yesterday, and the whole family was playing mahjong and they were short one player. They made me fill in for them. After playing three rounds, I realized that the student's family was trying to give me money in a roundabout way. I really felt bad for them."
"So subtle! I went to that classmate's house and they just took me everywhere, giving me a black card with no spending limit. Anyone free tonight? Want to come along?"
"Are you two coming or not?" Another deep male voice rang out, and everyone fell silent.
Xin Ran and Chi Xia stood at the office door. It wasn't that they were intentionally blocking Director Ma's way every time; it was just that they couldn't get involved in the topics being discussed inside, and it would be a little awkward to just walk in.
It was that male teacher at the door again. He laughed and said, "Why are you two blocking the director again? Anyone who didn't know better would think you were covering for us."
Everyone laughed and cast curious glances at Xin Ran, who wasn't in a wheelchair and looked like a young man recovering from a serious illness.
The three entered the room, and Director Ma glanced at Xin Ran, "Now that you're better, start preparing for the home visit."
Xin Ran smiled and said, "Yes, Director."
Director Ma then looked at Chi Xia, "Why are you two always together?"
Chi Xia smiled, looking very proper. "After I went to the hospital to take care of Teacher Xin last time, he introduced me to a landlord who rents out apartments for me. It's just a few steps away now, so we came together."
Director Ma nodded expressionlessly, "That's pretty good. Sometimes when it's late, we can wait for each other, and it's safer to go home with a male teacher."
Chi Xia replied obediently, "Okay, thank you for your concern, Director."
"bite!"
I hadn't been sitting down for long when the class bell rang.
Thinking about having to face Ye Feng again, Chi Xia felt a headache coming on. She guessed that he was deliberately creating an ambiguous identity in order to cooperate in investigating the Demon Fishing Academy, but a teacher-student relationship would be too awkward.
"Teacher Xia, shall we go together?" Xin Ran picked up her textbooks and stood to the side.
Chi Xia stood up, caught a glimpse of Director Ma's scrutinizing gaze, pushed up her large-framed glasses, and smiled, "Okay."
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