Chapter Forty-Six: Distracting the Eye

In a villa within the Jingbei Safe Zone, An Qing paced anxiously around his bedroom, making a call to someone. His face was tight with worry, and only when the call finally connected did he allow himself a sigh of relief.

“What’s happened now? Another incident?” came a woman’s voice from the other end.

“The people I stationed near Yi Qinfei’s house just got back to me. Jingbei Industries took his son away.”

“Didn’t you say that kid had already left Jingbei? How did he come back and get picked up by Jingbei Industries? He’s Yi Qinfei’s son—if they use him as leverage, plenty of people on my side won’t support me anymore!”

An Qing sounded frustrated. He hadn’t been able to sleep, and ever since yesterday he’d been receiving reports—attacks, protests, unrest in different parts of the city. Public opinion had reached a boiling point. It wasn’t just Jingbei Industries under siege; small guilds and independent operators were taking advantage of the chaos, turning everything into a tangled mess.

Then came the unexpected call from Zhao Zhilong, who said the people tailing Yi Shen reported that Jingbei Industries had taken him. Given current events—one subordinate dead, another missing—Zhao Zhilong’s certainty was enough for An Qing to accept the intel as truth.

“Jingbei Industries took Yi Qinfei’s son?”

As expected, Jiang Jinying sounded doubtful after An Qing’s report.

She fell silent for about twenty seconds before speaking again: “I’ve asked around on my end—no news so far. It’s possible someone’s trying to mislead you.”

“Mislead me? Who else would want that kid besides Jingbei Industries? Me? Or you?”

An Qing’s tone rose. He did suspect someone from Blood Slaughter’s side might be involved. After all, Jiang Jinying had previously mentioned that Yi Qinfei’s wife was already in their hands. If they found Yi Shen too, Blood Slaughter would have even more chips at the negotiating table.

“I’m still looking into it. Let’s wait and see for now. You’d best keep an eye on what’s happening at the First Martial School. Students are the most likely to cause trouble, but also the easiest to win over.”

Jiang Jinying had no interest in arguing further. After ending the call, she immediately sent people to investigate.

Blood Slaughter had indeed dispatched people to search for Yi Shen, but so far, nothing had come of it. With each new order, undercurrents began to swirl through the Jingmen Safe Zone once more.

...

Yi Shen had no idea that the decoy he’d casually thrown out—just to muddy the waters—would spark such a reaction from An Qing. From the moment he returned to his family’s villa to the time he dealt with the two heavies and left, less than two hours had passed.

The long-faced heavy drove, hands shaking, all the way to the city’s outskirts. Although Yi Shen had promised to spare him, for some reason a murderous urge kept welling up inside him.

He remembered that he’d felt the same way when he killed the three Jingbei Industries champions in the knowledge rift. It hadn’t been as strong then as it was now, but even though it was his first time fighting his own kind, he’d felt nothing but cold indifference toward those he killed and the round-faced heavy.

If the long-faced heavy hadn’t pleaded for his life, invoking his family, Yi Shen would probably have disposed of the body without a second thought.

“Post-battle syndrome?” Yi Shen rubbed his temples.

This cold detachment helped him maintain absolute calm in battle, but he knew it was a dangerous thing. He worried one day he might lose control, become a remorseless killer. There had been reports before—high-level explorers going mad and attacking cities, causing thousands, even tens of thousands, of casualties.

Yi Shen’s power already exceeded the norm by a wide margin. If he ever lost control and unleashed destruction, his unlimited-teleportation ability alone would make him a calamity for the entire Jingmen Safe Zone.

Fortunately, he still had enough self-control—for now. The fact that he ultimately spared the long-faced heavy was proof of that.

The man was just a low-level errand boy, a member of Peach Blossom Cove. He could prove useful—a pawn to draw out bigger fish.

After a surprisingly cordial conversation, Yi Shen learned the heavy’s name was Bai Hongjiang. He wasn’t a local—he’d moved here from the neighboring Hanzhong Safe Zone after marrying his wife. He was now part of Peach Blossom Cove.

Previously, he’d mostly watched over one of Zhao Zhilong’s KTVs—his size and presence provided plenty of deterrence. Through Bai Hongjiang, Yi Shen learned things he couldn’t have found online.

For example, Zhao Weimin wasn’t the only casualty; several senior Peach Blossom Cove members were still missing in Moonlight Land, their fates unknown. The current acting president was An Qing, who had promoted his own people to maintain stability, causing fierce internal dissent.

Some believed that, with Zhao Weimin dead, the other senior managers were unlikely to have survived, and Peach Blossom Cove needed to plan for the future. Others insisted that unless there was proof of the core group’s demise, nothing was settled. Though An Qing had been vice president, his main role was logistics—if any core members resurfaced, at least two or three had greater claim to the presidency.

Rumors and poaching of Peach Blossom Cove’s remaining talent further fueled instability, leading many to consider defecting. The blow to Peach Blossom Cove was immense, and it was no wonder that more and more large guilds were reluctant to risk themselves by exploring and leveling up.

According to Bai Hongjiang, the KTV he’d overseen had been smashed up during the chaos.

Whether out of self-preservation or genuine intent, he swore he’d cut ties with Zhao Zhilong and never reveal a word about Yi Shen.

Yi Shen found his claim plausible, though he didn’t trust him entirely. He found an abandoned house near a half-finished building for Bai Hongjiang to lie low in for a few days and watch how things developed.

The man was shrewd—if properly handled, he might yield even more useful information.

As for himself, Yi Shen wandered the city for a while, changed clothes two or three times, and finally returned to the area where Zhu You and the others lived.