Chapter 69: The First Move of the Dark Chess
In the suburbs of Bangkok, Mohist private training ground.
The morning light penetrated the bulletproof glass, casting diamond-shaped spots on the ground of the shooting range. Ruan Xingchen, wearing noise-canceling headphones, shoulder-rested an AWM sniper rifle, the barrel of which was mounted on a fixed shooting platform, his gaze locked on the bull's eye three hundred meters away through the scope.
She was wearing a tight black training suit, her long hair tied in a high ponytail, beads of sweat oozing from her forehead, and her arms holding the gun were slightly red from being tense for a long time.
"Put your elbows down harder and hold on."
Mo Xiaohan stood behind her, his left hand gently supporting her elbow, his right hand covering her gun-grip hand. His chest rested faintly against her back, his breath brushing against her ear, the sound low and clear.
"Slow down your breathing, steady the crosshairs in the scope, and then pull the trigger." His fingertips slid down the gun to the trigger. "Sniping requires calmness. A single beat of your heartbeat can mean the bullet will miss by an inch."
Ruan Xingchen pursed his lips, adjusted his breathing as he said, and gently accumulated force on the trigger with his fingertips.
"Bang!"
The bullet shot through the air and accurately tore through the red circle of the bull's eye.
Ruan Xingchen's eyes lit up, and he turned to look at Mo Xiaohan, the corners of his lips unconsciously raised: "How is it?"
Mo Xiaohan lowered his eyes to look at her, his stern features softening slightly. He raised his hand and wiped the thin layer of sweat on her cheek with his thumb.
"Not bad," he murmured, but added, "But not enough."
Ruan Xingchen raised an eyebrow: "What's not enough?"
Mo Xiaohan suddenly grabbed her wrist, turned her around, and pushed her back onto the shooting platform. The dagger was pressed against her chest, while his fingertips gently stroked her collar with a dangerous intimacy.
"You're too slow to react." Her slightly flustered face was reflected in his dark eyes. "In actual combat, the enemy won't just stand there and wait for you."
The moment Ruan Xingchen glared at him, her knee had already driven fiercely into his lower abdomen. Taking advantage of the moment he dodged to the side, she snatched the dagger with her backhand, pressing the tip of the blade firmly against his chest. "How about this?"
There was a cunning glint in her eyes as she panted. The next second, she suddenly leaned forward and left an intimate red mark on his Adam's apple.
Mo Xiaohan's eyes suddenly darkened. He lowered his head and bit her lips, his voice muffled between his teeth: "...We'll make up for the fighting class next time."
"Now, do something else."
At the same time, on a private plane bound for Bangkok, Victor Berg leaned back in the leather seat, his gray-blue eyes scanning the information handed over by his confidant.
Ruan Xingchen, a graduate student at Peking University School of Medicine, was lured to Bangkok and completely disappeared from all social media platforms. Due to the long period of loss of contact, his student status has been registered as a special case.
My father passed away at a young age, and I have been dependent on my mother since childhood. My mother, Nguyen Thanh Nghia, works for Doctors Without Borders, often on missions abroad, and her whereabouts are uncertain. Information about her is strictly blocked within China.
The attached page was a photo from their school days: Ruan Xingchen was wearing a white coat and recording data in the laboratory with her head down. Her profile was as clean as a piece of white paper without any dust on it. She was completely different from the woman who was now pulling Mo Xiaohan's tie and kissing him.
"Interesting!" Victor raised his eyebrows, his lips curled up in a playful arc, "How could such a clean little girl be by Mo Xiaohan's side?"
The confidant standing by hesitated for a moment and added, "It is said that... Mo Xiaohan dotes on her extremely and even allows her to participate in the decision-making of core affairs."
"Spoil?" He chuckled, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes, "Who would someone like Mo Xiaohan 'spoil'? Find out what kind of bond there is between her and Mo Xiaohan!"
He closed the file, took out a gold-embossed invitation letter from the folder, and handed it to his confidant beside him.
"Submit it to the Mo Group in the name of Berg Pharmaceuticals."
The confidant bowed his head and took it, responding respectfully, “Yes, sir.
Victor looked at the rolling clouds outside the porthole, and a dim light flashed across his eyes.
"The game begins."
In less than half a day, this invitation letter penetrated through layers of security and landed in the top-floor office of the Mo Building.
Mo Xiaohan stood in front of the French window, holding the invitation letter from "Berg Pharmaceuticals" in his hand——
"We cordially invite Mr. Mo Xiaohan and his partner to attend the Berg Medical Group Charity Dinner to discuss medical cooperation in Southeast Asia."
The signature was embossed in an elegant cursive script - Victor Berger.
The gilded edges exude a biting coldness under the light, like some kind of silent provocation.
"What did you find out?" he asked without turning his head.
A-Tai lowered his head and reported, "Victor Berg, 28 years old, half-German and half-Burmese, is the actual controller of Berg Pharmaceuticals. He's ostensibly in the pharmaceutical business, but our informants in Europe suspect he's involved in the underground arms trade."
Mo Xiaohan tapped the window glass with his fingertips, his eyes as cold as ice: "Anything else?"
"I can't find out more..." Artest's voice dropped slightly. "The Berg family's influence in Europe is complex and intertwined. With our current authority and presence there, we're not yet able to access deeper information."
Mo Xiaohan narrowed his eyes.
This kind of obstruction, where one knows there is a problem but cannot find out the root cause, is itself the most dangerous signal.
He turned and threw the invitation into the shredder.
"Notify the European informant and continue the investigation at all costs."
Amid the hum of the shredder, Mo Xiaohan's gaze fell on the photo on the desk - Ruan Xingchen was standing in the garden, her fingertips gently stroking the petals, the sunlight streaming through the corners of her smiling eyes, creating a soft halo.
The coldness in his eyes melted unconsciously for a moment, but was quickly covered by a deeper coldness.
Any potential threat must be nipped in the bud.
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