Volume One, Chapter 43: Something Has Happened

"Boss, boss, are you listening? Many members of the organization are dying to catch a glimpse of you."

"Besides, you're retiring right after this mission anyway, so just let us meet you..."

The voice on the phone pulled Fang Mo's attention back. He took a deep breath.

"Let's talk about meeting later. Let's get this trouble sorted out first."

The voice on the other end sounded somewhat disappointed and blurted out anxiously, "You have no idea, a lot of people in the organization suspect that you're some sort of ancient monster in your forties or fifties, otherwise how could you have such profound attainments in hacking?"

An ancient monster in his forties or fifties?

They had all heard his voice, yet they actually thought he was that old?

Were they all deaf?

Could they not hear the youthfulness in his voice?

Fang Mo's face flushed with anger.

"I'll go fucking... I'm not talking nonsense anymore, just send me the stuff. Oh right, I can only join the operation next week because I'm getting married this week, hanging up now."

Calming himself down, Fang Mo directly hung up the phone.

He still didn't really want many people to know his true identity as "Zheng," the legendary figure of the Dragon Group.

After all, "Zheng" was not only renowned in the hacking world, but also a terrifying existence feared by countless people on the dark web.

The number of enemies who wished "Zheng" a dead and mutilated corpse was countless.

Over the years, Fang Mo had ruined the plans of goodness knows how many people.

On the dark web killer leaderboard, "Zheng," the king of hackers, had almost always firmly held the top spot on the bounty list, and his bounty reward was increasing year by year.

If his identity were exposed, it might bring danger to himself and his family.

"Damn it, not only do I work for Huaxia for free without a single cent of salary, but whenever any critical issue pops up, they still have to come begging me. Contract workers aren't treated like this."

Fang Mo grumbled angrily, and by the way, opened his phone to check his email.

Sure enough, the inbox showed 99+ unread messages, with the joint letter from the five major families right at the top, followed by the official request letter from the Huaxia government.

"This time, they've really stirred up quite a huge commotion."

The next moment, Fang Mo suddenly froze.

"Wait, could the plummeting stock prices of Sister Yuelan's company be related to the massive digital currency theft from the Huaxia Bank and the crazy depreciation of the Huaxia currency!?"

There should be some connection.

"However, since all members of the Dragon Group are in Jiangcheng, it's a bit troublesome. A while ago, in order to retire, it seems I let slip some news, loudly proclaiming that I was going to get married. If I hold a wedding ceremony with Sister Yuelan, will it catch the attention of anyone with ulterior motives?"

"Probably not. After all, who could possibly imagine that the renowned 'Zheng' is actually just a punk in his early twenties?"

At this thought, Fang Mo's tightly furrowed brow slowly smoothed out. Adopting his usual gentle expression once more, he slipped back into the room to take care of Sister Yuelan.

...

On the other side, inside the office of the Jiangcheng State Security Bureau, a super VIP dressed in a Zhongshan suit was pacing anxiously across the room.

Right at that moment, his phone rang. Without a moment's hesitation, he rushed over to the phone and answered it.

"It's me. How is it? Did 'Zheng' agree?"

"Mm."

"He's willing to join the organization's operation this time."

Hearing this, the Zhongshan-suited VIP let out a sharp, heavy sigh of relief.

"That's great. Although those foreign-exchange digital currencies haven't flowed into the capital market for use yet, just to be safe, your operation needs to happen as soon as possible. After all, nobody can be certain when these unhinged maniacs will transfer the funds again."

"Well."

To the Zhongshan-suited man's surprise, upon hearing this, the other end of the line fell silent for a moment.

"As for as soon as possible, that probably won't quite work."

"Because 'Zheng' said he still has some personal matters on his plate and can only join the operation next week."

"What?!"

The Zhongshan-suited VIP froze, and the next moment, frowning deeply, he forcibly suppressed the anger rising in his heart.

"Doesn't 'Zheng' realize the importance of this operation? What matter could possibly be more important than this mission?"

"Ahem..."

"He said it's getting married."

Poof!

The hand holding the phone trembled, veins bulged on the VIP's forehead, his face alternated between green and red, and he was rendered utterly speechless for a long time.

A major life event like marriage seemed, for 'Zheng' as an ordinary citizen, to genuinely be more important than an operation.

...

Fang Mo briefly looked over the information on his phone, unable to analyze too many useful clues from this known information.

With that thought, he turned and walked back into the room. In the time it took for a single phone call, Sister Yuelan's foot-soaking water was almost getting cold...

He had to go change the foot-soaking water for his sister.

Ning Yuelan was a very quiet sleeper; the woman slept quite peacefully that night. Fang Mo himself forgot when he had fallen asleep, but when he woke up, he found himself actually lying on the bed.

A blanket was draped over him, and he could hear the faint sound of Ning Yuelan making a phone call in the bathroom.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes and stretched.

Seeming to hear the movement in the room, Ning Yuelan directly hung up the phone and came out of the bathroom.

"You're awake? I saw you pass out right next to me and fall asleep last night. It was raining outside, and you didn't even know to pull a blanket over yourself—aren't you afraid of catching a cold!"

Ning Yuelan had changed into a clean set of clothes, taken her painkillers, and drank brown sugar water, having enjoyed a comfortable sleep.

The woman's complexion looked visibly much better today.

She wore a clean white shirt, but it wasn't styled like typical office worker attire.

Instead, the top two buttons were left open, and from the second-to-last button down, one side of the shirt was tucked into her pants. It was clearly just an ordinary shirt, yet Ning Yuelan wore it with a fashionable, chic boss-lady vibe.

Presumably, she had had someone from her company deliver it to her.

Otherwise, given yesterday's emergency, aside from intimate apparel, she basically had no way to change out of anything else in the resort's private dining room.

Just being seen in such a disheveled state in front of the person she loved had already filled Ning Yuelan with shyness and mortification.

If she had been forced to return home in dirty clothes, the woman probably would have died of disgust.

Fang Mo rubbed his eye sockets.

"I'm fine, Sister Yuelan. How are you? Are you feeling better?"

"Mm."

Ning Yuelan chuckled softly. "Thank you, hubby."

As soon as the word "hubby" left her lips, Fang Mo's cheeks visibly turned crimson once again.

The woman deliberately softened her voice into a sweet, rich tone to utter those two words, carrying an infinite temptation. Fang Mo felt a sudden surge of heat rush straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

He quickly changed the subject.

"Sister Yuelan, what's wrong? Did something happen? I noticed your phone kept ringing."

Only a few dozen seconds had passed from the time Ning Yuelan stepped out of the bathroom until now, and the incoming call notifications on her phone hadn't stopped for a second. Fang Mo wasn't blind.

Ning Yuelan bit her red lower lip with her teeth.

"It's nothing, just some minor issues."

Knock, knock, knock—

Right as she finished speaking, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

The door opened, and Wu Jiabei and the other girls barged in with anxious expressions on their faces. "Ning Yuelan, something terrible has happened! Have you seen the news? Your company's stock prices plummeted straight down right after the market opened today."

"I heard someone hacked into your company's database, causing a massive leak of personal information belonging to clients and employees. Is that true?"

Hearing this, Ning Yuelan froze.

"Has the news spread this fast?"

"Brother Shen!"

"Mm!"

Shen Changqing walked along the road, encountering familiar people who would greet each other or nod in acknowledgment.

Yet no matter who it was,

no extra expression lingered on anyone's face, as if they were completely indifferent to everything.

To this,

Shen Changqing had long since grown accustomed.

Because this was the Demon Suppression Division, an institution dedicated to maintaining stability in Great Qin, whose primary responsibility was to slay evil monsters and ghosts, alongside a few other side duties.

It could be said that

everyone in the Demon Suppression Division had blood staining their hands.

When a person grew accustomed to life and death, they would naturally become indifferent to many things.

When he first arrived in this world, Shen Changqing had felt somewhat out of place, but over time he had gotten used to it.

The Demon Suppression Division was massive.

Those able to remain in the Demon Suppression Division were either powerhouse experts with terrifying strength or individuals with the potential to become powerhouses.

Shen Changqing belonged to the latter.

Within the Demon Suppression Division, roles were divided into two main professions: one was the Guardian Envoy, and the other was the Demon Subjugation Envoy.

Anyone entering the Demon Suppression Division started from the lowest tier as a probationary Demon Subjugation Envoy,

then climbed the ranks step by step, with hopes of eventually becoming a Guardian Envoy.

His predecessor had been a probationary Demon Subjugation Envoy within the Demon Suppression Division, the very lowest rank among Demon Subjugation Envoys.

Armed with his predecessor's memories,

he was extremely familiar with the environment of the Demon Suppression Division.

Without taking too much time, Shen Changqing stopped in front of a pavilion.

Unlike other areas of the Demon Suppression Division filled with a murderous aura, this pavilion stood out like a crane among chickens, radiating a different kind of tranquility amidst the bloody atmosphere of the Demon Suppression Division.

At this moment, the doors of the pavilion were wide open, and people occasionally entered and exited.

Shen Changqing hesitated for just a moment before stepping inside.

Entering the pavilion,

the environment abruptly shifted.

A scent of ink mixed with a faint smell of blood rushed towards him, causing his brow to twitch instinctively before smoothing out again.

The bloody scent clinging to everyone in the Demon Suppression Division was practically impossible to wash completely clean.