Chapter 56: Chapter 56: The True "King
"Let me repeat: He only executed this strategy after filing a report."
"Yes, I cannot absolutely guarantee that the situation in the shantytown district would have become worse had he not done this... but in all likelihood, it would have."
"I trust him, sir."
"Yes, sir!" Li Kang’s body snapped taut. He gave a military salute, even though he knew the person on the other end of the line couldn’t see it. "I will obey your command without question!"
After hanging up, Li Kang relaxed completely. "Alright, no more standing around guarding the District Government Office! Let’s go find Chu Bamboo in the shantytown district."
Wall Announcements all but cheered, grabbing the car keys from the wall to go start the steam-powered car.
Guan Fei followed closely behind Li Kang. He held back for a long while but ultimately couldn’t contain his curiosity. "Who was that on the phone? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you act like that..."
After a brief silence, Li Kang coldly uttered five words. "Governor Su of Jinghai City."
At that, everyone fell silent.
Because that man was the true "king" of Jinghai City.
...
「Union Headquarters.」
Li Kang strode into the Director’s Office and saw the head hanging from the ceiling.
He sucked in a sharp breath.
Yes, he’d heard from Chu Bamboo that Zhou Ze was dead. But he never imagined a death like this...
The sheer indignity of it was overwhelming.
No wonder the shantytown district was in an uproar.
Especially... He cast a furtive glance at Chu Bamboo.
Chu Bamboo wasn’t sitting. He leaned against the wall, quietly gazing at Zhou Ze’s head. He hadn’t even taken it down from the light fixture to properly tend to the remains... His stance was crystal clear.
"Who? Who did this?" Guan Fei’s temper erupted after a moment of stunned silence, his eyes blazing red.
The person he respected most was, of course, Chu Bamboo. As for Zhou Ze, his feelings were more complicated. There was a measure of admiration, yes, but at the same time, he and his family had major disagreements with Zhou Ze’s methods during his time as head of the union.
Compared to the union’s founding days—an extremely radical period where the sentiment was to hang every last Factory Director from a lamppost—Zhou Ze’s leadership style could be summarized as follows:
You take a step back, and I’ll take a step back. Live and let live, and we’ll all be better for it.
I won’t come after the lives and fortunes of you Factory Directors, but in return, you can’t treat the workers like disposable assets and trample on human life.
Zhou Ze was extremely charismatic. Strictly speaking, the Factory Directors much preferred dealing with him over Chu Bamboo. For the workers, however, it was a different story.
Still, no matter what, seeing him die such a miserable death, it was impossible for Guan Fei not to feel a surge of anger.
This was, without a doubt, an act of contempt and humiliation toward every single person in the shantytown district!
"A Transcendent." Chu Bamboo’s reply was a terse two words.
Li Kang nodded slightly. "Are you sure? Fine... If that’s the case, then the Captain’s Office has no choice but to get involved."
He wasn’t surprised. In fact, he had suspected as much before he even arrived.
"Any other clues?" Ning Linglong reflexively pulled out a notebook and pen, ready to take notes. Her eyes held a strange glint.
To be fair, she had always felt awkward around Chu Bamboo. ’The man who saved my father is also my blind-date prospect, not to mention four or five years my junior. Who could handle a situation like that?’
Now, however, Ning Linglong found herself thinking, ’He might be a bit young, but... he’s undeniably a powerful, decisive, and captivating man.’
’Hmm...’ Recalling everything she’d seen since entering the shantytown district, Ning Linglong suddenly thought, ’Going on a blind date with a man like this... maybe it wouldn’t be so unacceptable after all?’
"The suspect is likely a Second Realm, possibly even a Third Realm Cultivator," Chu Bamboo said calmly. "Their profession is related to assassination, and their awakened Divine Technique is probably one of concealment."
"So, a Cultiva— Huh?!" Ning Linglong froze mid-word. She instinctively glanced at Chu Bamboo. Only after he nodded in confirmation did she manage to jot down the information.
"What’s the big deal about a Cultivator?" Chu Bamboo picked up on her reaction. ’And why is her attitude so different from last time...’
’Oh, right. Last time, it wasn’t confirmed that a Cultivator was involved until after I was killed and worked backward from the Real World to reach that conclusion.’
"Cultivators... are very rare," Li Kang said softly, an unreadable light flickering in his eyes.
"One more thing," Chu Bamboo said after a moment of consideration. "Barring any surprises, that assassin’s next target is me."
Guan Fei’s fists clenched instantly. Rippling muscles bulged from beneath the thick layers of his flesh. They knotted together, veins popping out across their surface like writhing worms... It was a terrifyingly ferocious sight, as if his blood vessels might burst at any second.
Li Kang pretended not to notice, his brow deeply furrowed. "Are you certain?"
"Yes." Chu Bamboo nodded.
After pacing back and forth for several laps, his brow knitting tighter with each step, Li Kang finally said, "Why don’t you just stay in the Underground Temple for a while? Lay low until this blows over."
"Wait!" Wall Announcements was stunned, instinctively raising his hand. "Captain, that can’t be right, can it?"
Li Kang shot Wall Announcements a sideways glance and gave a slight nod, signaling him to say his piece quickly.
"But—things have already escalated this far! We have to catch the killer and execute them. How else are we supposed to quell the turmoil and rage in the shantytown district? Even if... even if we aren’t strong enough, we should report it up the chain! Doesn’t the Captain’s Office have any Third Realm experts, or even stronger ones?"
"We do," Li Kang nodded. "And?"
Wall Announcements: "?"
"Never mind anything else. Even if I wanted to personally guard Chu Bamboo, it would be nearly impossible. I could only spare a day, at most." Li Kang pressed a hand to his forehead, a headache coming on. "Why don’t you try and guess why the Police Chief Bureau was built next to the Government Office? Or why the Government Office was built next to the Underground Temple Base?
"And why is our officially assigned residential district located right next to the compound where all the leaders live?"
Wall Announcements: "..."
’It all made sense! They were there to protect the leaders.’
’No wonder Li Kang had asked Chu Bamboo if he was willing to live in the Underground Temple.’
’Without a doubt, if someone of Li Kang’s level couldn’t spare the time, it was even more impossible for higher-level officials to get away—’
’No matter how big the uproar in the shantytown district, the leaders’ safety was still more important.’
Meanwhile, a look of realization dawned in Chu Bamboo’s eyes as well.
’No wonder.’ He had been wondering if the powerful elites of Jinghai City were all Transcendents themselves. ’Otherwise, there’s no explaining why they aren’t assassinated every other day...’
