: New Relics

That night, outside Bubble Plaza, Qiao Yuan held an umbrella, waiting for Bao Bao to talk with Captain He and others, probably to submit a report or something.

He wasn't quite sure about the specifics.

But Simon will surely like it.

This relationship is really complicated. What exactly does a scoundrel who colludes with Caesar see in him? He thought about it and still found it a bit strange.

Although his identity does have some value—he was born an orphan and is a student at Galaxy University, and his sister is a genius recruited by Ember, his baff is stacked up.

In Simon's eyes, he must be the kind of clean-cut and excellent tool person, right?

And they can be discarded at will.

Qiao Yuan felt he needed to think about it some more.

You should think about it this way: when exactly did Simon begin observing him...?

He pondered and gradually got a clue, guessing it probably started when Caesar was arrested. That day, more than a hundred members of the Jin organization gathered outside the Donglin Fresh Market, and they became familiar with each other throughout the Tiandu branch after that.

That's right.

The fact that even Director Fan personally made a big fuss that day must have been because of this reason, which led Simon to start observing him.

Suddenly he understood everything.

Simon probably wanted to recruit him because he was interested in his crime-solving abilities. After successfully dealing with Caesar and Lina, this must be the only reason. After all, even Director Fan admired his "good luck."

Therefore, from Simon's perspective, he actually also had the ability to use someone else to do his dirty work.

Caesar, who was not captured, was of great value; once captured, he became an uncontrollable pawn.

Since he did all the work, he indirectly helped Simon solve his problem.

Just like that Veronica.

All the bad things were done by his subordinates or his subordinates' subordinates. Simon was the only one who was completely innocent. Even if Caesar had really gotten into trouble back then, because of the program implanted in his hippocampus memory bank, he wouldn't have been implicated.

Even if they are discovered, the other party has plenty of ways to cover it up completely.

Simon should have known that the other party had great power because he was able to transport Caesar from outside the city to the main city right under the nose of the Legalist Heavy Industry!

From this perspective, Simon is far more dangerous than Caesar; he's a thorough businessman, only concerned with what's valuable and what's not.

They can discard their chips at will.

But that's not the key point.

In short, although Caesar seemed to be making a big fuss, in Simon's eyes he was probably just a dispensable puppet. It was only because of the conflict between Caesar and the Legalist heavy industry that he pushed the other side out.

Even if he didn't intervene, Caesar would ultimately just be a pathetic wretch who benefited Simon.

But observation comes at a price, and the snake man's death was just the beginning.

Qiao Yuan licked his lips and glanced at the time again. It was 8:22 PM. There were still 18 minutes left before Baldy and the others went in. It would normally take 15 minutes to drive there. Hmm, there was plenty of time.

There are two more timelines left today.

enough.

At that moment, Yan Baobao walked over again, waved to him, and said, "Time to get off work, let's go."

"Alright," Qiao Yuan said with a smile, waved to Captain He, and then jumped into the hover taxi that had just landed and was waiting.

The interior of the car featured the typical gray and white industrial style of Fajia Heavy Industry taxis, along with warm orange lighting, similar to that of Huanxi Prefecture outside the city. He had ridden in the car quite a few times in the past few days.

Although they look similar, the experience is more comfortable, mainly because the ergonomic sofas on this car have a massage function, the car body has better sound insulation, and you can also switch between various scenes on the windows.

He is now sitting face to face with the baby.

Inside the car were two gray sofas facing each other, with a foldable brown tabletop in between.

The reason he was so concerned tonight was that he was thinking about buying a new car. He still had 85 yuan in his account, so he simply said to his baby, "It's so troublesome to travel in the rain. If we had a car..."

"You want to buy a car?" Yan Baobao was still wearing Yu Jin's black mecha suit. Her already impressive figure was accentuated by the curves of the mecha, and even when she was just sitting, she exuded a graceful charm.

Qiao Yuan nodded slightly: "Yes, a little."

The baby muttered, "You just said that the computer and home theater cost 10 yuan. You probably don't have much money left. Let's save it for now, and I'll buy you a car when I earn money later."

"Okay, we'll talk about it later." Qiao Yuan's gaze softened. The baby is always like this, she's never changed.

He originally wanted to show Yan Baobao his bank account.

Yan Baobao checked her savings and said with a smile, "I only have 100,000 yuan right now, so it seems I can't buy the hovercar. I'll save up some more, and it should be enough by the beginning of next year."

"No need, no need, I have money."

"Didn't you already spend it all?" Yan Baobao looked over confidently. "Don't spend any more money. My monthly salary is over 30,000, and with bonuses, I make 50,000 to 60,000 a month. It'll take a long time."

Qiao Yuan coughed and said, "Actually, I made a small profit today. You can see for yourself."

He eventually showed the account to the baby, feeling it was necessary.

From infancy to adulthood, the baby has been the breadwinner for the family. We didn't have a choice before, but things are different now.

Yan Baobao stared in surprise, her big eyes blinking, and blurted out instinctively, "Did you rob a bank?"

"Hehe," Qiao Yuan laughed, "Don't buy me a car, okay? I still have to pay rent next year. I'm just lucky to have the capital of nearly 100,000 yuan from before."

"As for cars, let's go take a look together sometime and pick out one or two new cars we like."

Yan Baobao nodded with a bright smile: "Okay, but it's better not to spend it all. Just buy a mid-range hovercar."

"Okay, whatever you say, baby."

In fact, one million is not much in the main city, not even enough to buy a bedroom, but for them it is a huge sum of money.

It's fine to show it to Yan Baobao, because if it snowballs again, it will cost tens of millions. After buying a large number of high-level potions, there won't be much left.

However, he doesn't plan to spend it all at once; he wants to keep some capital, at least one or two million, for future snowballing.

His main concern was that the baby shouldn't be too burdened, shouldn't have to worry about money anymore, and should enjoy life as much as possible. Who knows when the main city might face a new multi-faceted crisis, or when Legalist Heavy Industries and Twilight Group might go to war.

In the grand scheme of things, they are all just insignificant little people.

But he also knew that Yan Baobao was extremely proud and would never ask him for money.

She was extremely independent when she was in the welfare home, and now that she earns 50,000 to 60,000 yuan a month, it's even more impossible for her to do that, but it's always a good thing to say it.

It would be good to explain if the baby ever found out that he had hundreds of millions of dollars in cash in his account.

Before I knew it, it was already 8:30 pm.

They were still some distance from the new district of Velen when he realized that if his baby went in wearing the Ember armor suit, wouldn't that alert the enemy?

It shouldn't be that bad.

He remembered the bearded man mentioning that at 20:40 the so-called chief saintess would come out to perform, at which time all the lights in the venue would be turned off, leaving only the stage lights.

The bar is so big, with thousands of customers inside. They probably only attracted attention at the entrance. Those three guys entered through the back door, so the person they wanted to kill must be in a private room. It shouldn't be a big problem.

Let's go through the timeline once then.

Qiao Yuan changed his destination to the back entrance of the Chief Saintess Bar.

Yan Baobao habitually took out two strawberry-flavored lollipops and handed one to him.

At 20:38 p.m., he once again arrived at the bustling Old Velen Chief Bar.

The three guys were still chatting under the awning as the car sped past the back door.

[Anchor point: The three-person plan.]

[Time: Two minutes later.]

In an instant, Qiao Yuan arrived beside the three of them, watching them put on masks that resembled those worn during Halloween.

The bald guy is Mickey Mouse, the bearded guy is SpongeBob SquarePants, and the other black guy with dreadlocks is Patrick Star.

He then followed the three men through the back door, and thanks to the Pioneer's photographic memory, everything on the dark road was completely stored.

To remember more clearly and comprehensively, he kept looking around, scanning each room with the green sensor in his hand: the corridor, the corners, the stairs, the private rooms.

He didn't know much about it, but it looked like a radar on the screen, with two lines of constantly changing parameters in the upper left corner, like a locator.

The only strange thing about this machine is that you have to cut your finger with the bald head and squeeze out a drop of blood into the interface.

Soon, a red light appeared on the green radar, and all three of them turned their heads to look at the VIP room with golden doors at the end of the second-floor corridor.

Qiao Yuan also wrote it down.

VIP room number V02-002.

At that moment, the bald man wearing the Mickey Mouse mask winked at the bearded man wearing the SpongeBob SquarePants mask: "Go, distract him and open the door, otherwise it will cause a commotion. The security at this Saintess Bar is no joke, I don't want to attract the cops."

The bearded man hesitated for a moment before nodding, though the SpongeBob mask looked particularly comical.

He took a deep breath, walked to the private room, and knocked on the door. Gradually, a voice came from inside: "Who is it? Even your mom's SpongeBob is here?"

As the door to the private room opened, a burst of laughter from men and women immediately filled the room.

Only the bearded man immediately spotted the blond old man dancing in the crowd, cigar in his mouth.

The old man had deep-set eyes, a slightly high hairline, a shiny slicked-back hairstyle, and a meticulously groomed mustache. Coupled with a custom-made white suit, he exuded the aura of a powerful figure.

People around them danced and cheered, and several women in bikinis knelt on the ground and shouted.

They seem to be obsessed with it.

To the left of the private room, there is also a floor-to-ceiling window offering panoramic views of the area near the stage.

At this moment, on the central stage on the first floor, the renowned Chief Saintess, wearing a purple masquerade mask and a rose-red strapless dress, was singing her heart out. Her voice was subtly alluring and magnetic, quite distinctive.

Hundreds of spectators around were screaming and shouting, the noise so loud it seemed to shatter glass.

The blond old man was thrusting his hips repeatedly in the direction of the chief saintess, laughing wildly and unrestrainedly.

His interest was interrupted by "SpongeBob SquarePants," and he suddenly turned his head and glanced at her, coldly shouting, "Get lost! You blind fool! If it weren't for the Holy Maiden being here tonight, I would have twisted your head off."

The bearded man stared at the old man without saying a word.

The cyborg bodyguard, whose entire body was implanted with prosthetics, was about to close the door when he glanced at the bearded man again: "Look at your mother, or I'll gouge your eyes out!"

He had barely finished speaking when a bald man wearing a Mickey Mouse mask burst in, clenched his fist at the blond old man, and unleashed the Eternal Night spell!

At that moment, the bearded man also acted decisively, clapping his hands together to create a huge storm that suppressed the cyborg bodyguard. Then he threw a powerful punch, and finally, "Patrick Star" quickly pulled out a silenced armor-piercing gun and shot all seven people in the house dead.

Although there are floor-to-ceiling windows right next to it, they are one-way glass and soundproof.

The blond old man, who was trapped by the Eternal Night spell, was enveloped by numerous black lines that bound him.

Qiao Yuan remained calm; this was the specific manifestation of the Eternal Night.

The number of black lines varies depending on the degree of the black line; the higher the degree, the more black lines there are.

It appears that this bald man is likely using the Double Night Technique, and is also at the third level of ascension.

The bearded man was a third-order storm type, but he was clearly much weaker than the bald man.

Patrick Star is even weaker, only at the second rank.

However, the trapped blond old man suddenly unleashed a violent aura, causing his eyelids to twitch slightly. This was an aura comparable to that of a fourth-tier tyrant.

Even at this moment, the blond old man, relying on his senses, frantically attacked the bald man, trying to break free of his restraints.

"Hmph, Old Jin, Old Jin, I'm no match for you one-on-one, what a pity!" The bald man bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and then pinched it hard again.

The black threads seemed to receive nourishment, instantly spreading out even more, making the blond old man's movements increasingly stiff.

At this moment, even Patrick Star's silenced pistol, loaded with armor-piercing bullets, could not harm the old man.

Qiao Yuan's eyes gleamed, sensing that the old man's physique was at least level 30, exceeding the level 20 that Bao Bao had mentioned earlier, which allowed him to defend against ordinary bullets.

The bald man started panting and yelled at the bearded man, "Give me a hand, you bastard! Damn it, this old geezer's on drugs all the time and he still has this much strength, damn it!"

He used almost all his strength to restrain the old man, then took out a black poison from his pocket and plunged the needle into the old man's eye.

The poison soon took effect, causing the blond old man to bleed from all seven orifices and die in violent convulsions.

Qiao Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly. It seemed that killing a strong person with a robust physique would be quite troublesome.

"Fuck your mother, you two just stand by and watch?" The bald man cursed as he turned around, only to be stabbed in the heart with a black poison by the bearded man in the same manner.

At the same time, Patrick Star fired all the armor-piercing rounds from the newly loaded magazine into the bald man's head.

The bald man screamed in agony as his body was instantly reduced to a bloody mess.

Qiao Yuan was stunned. Good heavens, a direct backstab! And both of them had just put on gloves. Judging from their skillful technique, they must have done this many times before.

The bearded man snatched back the silver-gray metal briefcase containing the psychedelic jellyfish, and at the same time took out a black mask from the bald man's clothes.

In addition, the other party also obtained a ruby ​​pendant and a metal playing card with the King of Spades printed on it, and an embossed demon pattern on the back.

"I never expected it to be a keepsake. Old Jin was such a good man," the bearded man said excitedly.

Qiao Yuan also laughed.

Great, tonight was full of unexpected surprises, a great harvest, a grand slam.

He watched as the bearded man casually tossed the mask to Patrick Star beside him and said in a deep voice, "Let's go. That way, there's no need to go to Crimson Star anymore."

Patrick chuckled dryly, "Big brother, you're awesome! But am I really going to become a cult member?"

"Give it to me if you don't want it, damn it! This mask is a valuable item. Do you still want to get ahead?"

"I really want to!" Patrick quickly put away the Night Mask.

"Just think about it," the bearded man said, patting his chest. "If it weren't for the freckles on this face..."

Qiao Yuan looked on with bright eyes. Brilliant! With both masks in his arms, it saved him a lot of trouble.

As luck would have it, the two had just stepped out when they bumped into the bartender delivering drinks.

The waiter screamed after seeing the bloody scene in the VIP room out of the corner of his eye.

There was a commotion in the corridor.

The bearded man cursed, shoved the waiter aside, and ran frantically downstairs with Patrick.

Qiao Yuan followed along, calculating the time down to the second. Just as he was about to run out the back door on the first floor, he was stopped by several security robots.

After that, Beard used Patrick as a scapegoat and successfully escaped, but was soon hunted down by Yan Baobao.

The two chased each other, fighting for a kilometer to a commercial street, before being caught by a private armed squad from the Saintess Bar, who assisted in capturing Baby.

After reviewing everything, he felt that this outcome was unfavorable to him.

In that case, at most you can get the Night Mask from Patrick Star.

That's a huge loss.

Especially that relic... No, we have to change our plans and strike first!

Qiao Yuan watched for a while longer. After returning to reality, he and Bao Bao got off at the front door and went to queue up at the juice counter of the Saintess Bar.

The juice counter was on the second floor, and there were three or four people in front of it. Baby's Ember Mech Suit quickly caused a stir among the surroundings, especially the bodyguards.

The black-haired lobby manager quickly arrived upon hearing the commotion and politely smiled at Bao Bao, saying, "Are you two on official business? Please feel free to look around; our bar is very clean."

Yan Baobao didn't say anything, she was very cold, she just stood there coolly, which made many pretty girls who wanted to chat with Qiao Yuan quickly keep their distance.

Qiao Yuan laughed and said, "Just buying juice. I heard your juice is very popular."

"Oh, I see," the lobby manager's expression visibly relaxed. "That's right, haha. If you two are in a hurry, I'll get it for you as soon as possible."

"No need," Qiao Yuan shook his head. He couldn't let Bao Bao fall into suspicion of being bribed.

The lobby manager nodded: "Alright, if you two have any instructions, I'll be nearby. Our Holy Maiden has already made her appearance."

After saying that, he left.

Qiao Yuan silently calculated the time. It only took them two minutes to find the VIP room, and the entire murder process took just over two minutes.

At 8:45 PM, they bumped into a waiter as they left the private room, and went downstairs at 8:46 PM.

The baby was only a minute too late to notice, which allowed the other person to escape from the bar.

We need to stop them before they leave, kill them, and take all the good stuff.

Qiao Yuan gradually developed new plans. As time passed, when buying juice, Qiao Yuan also bought a large bucket of popcorn and asked for two pairs of transparent gloves.

It was 20:43 PM.

"Something seems off over there?"

He walked towards the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows of VIP room V2-002.

Yan Baobao pouted slightly, looking a little reluctant: "What's wrong? Didn't we say we'd go home after buying the juice?"

Qiao Yuan coughed and said to Yan Baobao, "We're going home, but did you hear anything? It sounded like gunshots."