Long Aotian’s voice lowered as he asked, "What is it?"
"Liu Liwei told me someone was targeting Jin Xiaochen. Jin Xiaochen is an artist signed by Fenglin Entertainment, under Lin'er’s management. That's why I'm here," Zhou Gangyi explained.
Long Aotian frowned upon hearing this. "Is the target specifically Jin Xiaochen, or Fenglin Entertainment as a whole?"
"I'm not sure yet. We'll have to see how things unfold to confirm," Zhou Gangyi replied, admitting his uncertainty. He believed whatever Liu Liwei said.
"Alright, call me if anything comes up," Long Aotian said before hanging up.
Long Aotian wasn't worried about Zhou Gangyi handling things outside. If a member of the Dragon Team couldn't manage such a minor matter, he'd be considered useless.
Looking at the phone he’d just hung up, Zhou Gangyi muttered to himself, "Master doesn't even care to check on me. I thought he was calling to invite me for a meal."
After putting down the phone, Zhou Gangyi resumed his stakeout. If nothing happened by midnight, he planned to head back.
Not long after that thought crossed his mind, he saw a man leap over the wall and into Jin Xiaochen's villa.
Zhou Gangyi rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn't mistaken. Judging by the man's agility, he was no ordinary person.
"Master, it's an emergency. I might not be able to handle this. Requesting backup," Zhou Gangyi quickly sent a text message to Long Aotian. He then got out of the car and hurried towards Jin Xiaochen's villa.
Murong Chenggong had arrived at Jin Xiaochen's villa undetected. As he jumped onto the second floor, he discovered Jin Xiaochen and her agent dining on the first floor.
Murong Chenggong leaped down. Jin Xiaochen's agent had no time to cry out before being knocked unconscious.
Jin Xiaochen, seeing the stranger before her, panicked. She tried to reach for her phone to call the police, but before she could even grasp it, Murong Chenggong struck the back of her head, rendering her unconscious.
"Heh heh… she looks even better in person than on TV. This is going to be fun," Murong Chenggong chuckled, admiring Jin Xiaochen as she lay slumped on the sofa, her head resting on his hand. He was like a hunter admiring his captured prey, commenting on its appearance.
After a while, Murong Chenggong couldn't contain himself and reached out to touch her. Just then, he sensed someone breaking into the villa from outside. He frowned, thinking, "Who the hell is ruining my good time?"
"Who are you?"
"Who are you?"
They both asked at the same time.
Zhou Gangyi had been waiting outside the villa and could have reached the scene within seconds. In those crucial seconds, Jin Xiaochen had already been knocked unconscious.
"I'm asking you! You're ruining my fun. You're asking for death!" Murong Chenggong's face was grim, radiating hostility.
His perfectly good mood had been ruined, and anyone would be displeased.
He had been anticipating this all afternoon, and just as he was about to succeed, a bumbling fool bursts in. Would you let him get away with it?
Clearly not.
"You're a cultivator," Zhou Gangyi stated with certainty.
"You know about cultivators? Then you're not ordinary either." Murong Chenggong was taken aback. Anyone who could identify him as a cultivator must be of the same kind.
"Could it be that this guy also has designs on Jin Xiaochen? Coming to get a share?"
"He looks decent, but turns out he has such wicked intentions."
Zhou Gangyi was completely unaware of Murong Chenggong's thoughts. He said sternly, "You've violated the cultivator's covenant by openly attacking ordinary people. Surrender, and you might receive leniency."
"Are you out of your mind? Surrender and get leniency? Did you forget to take your meds before leaving? How can you say something so idiotic?" Murong Chenggong bombarded Zhou Gangyi with questions, looking at him with utter contempt.
"If you want to fight, fight. What's the point of all this blabbering?"
"Tell me your damn name. I don't kill the nameless." Murong Chenggong, seeing that Zhou Gangyi was no ordinary person, continued his inquiry.
"Dragon Team, Zhou Gangyi," Zhou Gangyi stated calmly.
"Oh, speak of the devil. Is this what Long Aotian has trained, all you trash?" Murong Chenggong wasn't in a hurry; instead, he was amused. So what if the Dragon Team was here? At most, he'd kill them all today, leaving no witnesses.
He had initially intended to simply enjoy Jin Xiaochen's company and leave. Now that things had changed, it had made Murong Chenggong develop murderous intent towards them.
"Then there's nothing more to discuss." Zhou Gangyi assumed a fighting stance.
"Come on, let me see the strength of the Dragon Team." Murong Chenggong beckoned to Zhou Gangyi with a flick of his finger, his attitude showing he didn't take Zhou Gangyi seriously at all.
Murong Chenggong was, after all, an expert in Internal Force. As far as he knew, only Long Aotian among the Dragon Team members possessed Internal Force, and he was the only one Murong Chenggong needed to pay attention to.
As for the rest, he felt he could do as he pleased in the secular world of China.
A successful hunter often appears in public as prey. Murong Chenggong was precisely in that position now, waiting in the guise of prey for Zhou Gangyi's attack.
Zhou Gangyi knew he couldn't defeat the man before him. He needed to stall until his master arrived. Any fool would charge head-on; he needed to use his brain.
"The space here is a bit confined. If you have the guts, come out and fight me." Zhou Gangyi glanced around.
"You won't deliberately stall for time and wait for reinforcements, will you? Do I look like an idiot?" Murong Chenggong asked himself, pointing at himself.
After saying that, Murong Chenggong initiated the attack first. The sooner he dealt with this, the safer it would be, avoiding further complications.
"Do you think this is a TV drama? I'll pretend to be tough and blabber on, then your reinforcements arrive and beat me to a pulp?"
He might not watch much TV, but he wasn't an idiot.
"If you can't even discern this much, what's the point of you cultivating?"
Seeing that Murong Chenggong had attacked so decisively, Zhou Gangyi had no choice but to meet him head-on.
"Who says cultivators are simple-minded? Many are brainless, but this guy clearly isn't. His intelligence is completely online."
"Aside from blindly trusting his own strength and being arrogant, I can't find any other intellectual weakness in this guy."
The moment they exchanged blows, the difference in their power was immediately apparent.
Zhou Gangyi was merely at the introductory level, possessing only External Force, while Murong Chenggong had already cultivated Internal Force. They were not on the same level.
Zhou Gangyi's punch was repelled, sending him crashing into the wall. Blood spurted from his mouth. He looked at Murong Chenggong in astonishment. "An Internal Force expert."
"Haha… you have some discernment. It's a pity you followed the wrong person. I won't waste any more of your words. Be more careful in your next life."
Murong Chenggong's fists moved rapidly, transforming into a gust of wind as he struck towards Zhou Gangyi.
"Act fast, talk less, or you'll suffer greatly. That's the hard truth."
"If you can kill them, why linger?"
Looking at the incoming fists, Zhou Gangyi gave up and closed his eyes. He knew he couldn't escape. The disparity in their strength made him abandon resistance.
"After all, the more I resist, the more excited the enemy gets. I might die, but I won't let you have your fun."