Chapter 144: What You Want?

Truth be told, Ji Li never thought things would come to this.

He had underestimated either Xue Tinghai’s cunning, or his resolve.

For the Fourth Branch, Yanagawa Tomiko’s importance even outweighed that of Kondo Sei to the Seventh.

They only had five people to begin with. With Sister Qing already dead, Ji Li never imagined Xue Tinghai would go so far as to burn his boats.

And the sacrifice—none other than their most unusual Japanese staff in this mission!

As they fled, sirens wailed all around. Ji Li knew clearly:

The police were his own doing, yet Xue Tinghai had twisted them into shackles against him.

Still, that was nothing more than a show of force.

Those chaotic, aimless officers posed no real threat to him.

His mind now was fixed on one thing only—Xue Tinghai’s scheme.

If he were Xue Tinghai, why sacrifice Tomiko as bait? What could he gain?

“We’re outnumbered in this mission. Even with Sin Artifacts, the Seventh Branch isn’t something mere artifacts can counter.

If I use Tomiko’s life to hook them, then the goal must be… the task itself.”

The thought of task hit him hard. Ji Li froze mid-run, forcing Mei Sheng and Chi Rou to stop as well, eyeing him oddly.

But he was lost in reasoning.

Specific task… the words echoed in his mind.

All along, he had suspected the Fourth Branch’s orders differed from theirs.

Before, the differences lay in timing and manpower. But now that concrete tasks were issued, wouldn’t there also be a split there?

The more Ji Li thought, the clearer it became. Linked with Fang Shenyan’s theory of conflict, Xue Tinghai’s actions pointed to completing their specific mission.

Yes, a conspiracy—and one so perfectly laid that Ji Li could see it yet not escape it.

Tomiko’s death wasn’t mere intimidation. It was the opening move in something larger.

And perhaps… tied to Sin Artifacts themselves.

“Manager! Th-the police!”

Chi Rou’s shrill cry snapped Ji Li back.

Two uniformed officers, flashlights in hand, were heading toward them.

They hadn’t expected to run right into him.

Ji Li glanced toward the road below. Few pedestrians, but plenty of cars.

Escape was the only choice.

They vaulted down. Ji Li fixed on a sedan stuck at a red light.

He tugged at the door—locked. Without hesitation, he drew his gun.

“Out!”

The terrified couple inside couldn’t understand his Chinese, but the gun made everything clear.

The two officers had spotted them and were rushing over, whistles shrieking. Reinforcements would soon close in.

Ji Li’s eyes went colder. The couple still hadn’t unlocked the doors.

He hadn’t wanted to fire—not here, not now. This mission was messy enough already. But Xue Tinghai’s plots had forced him to expose himself to the police, ensuring trouble later.

No time to care. Ji Li sighed, raised the gun, and fired.

Bang!

The window shattered, shards spraying across the driver’s leg.

The small sedan’s glass was weak; at such close range the shot left Ji Li’s own ears ringing.

But it did the job. The two officers flinched back in fear.

No one could have guessed a foreigner, fresh in Kyoto, would be armed.

The hotel had allowed it, of course. A man with no ID could still fly; carrying a pistol was nothing unusual under their rules.

The driver screamed in agony—until a knife pierced his throat.

Not Ji Li’s blade, but Mei Sheng’s.

Ji Li frowned. It hadn’t been necessary. The broken glass was enough for them to take the car. Killing only stirred the police further.

Yet Mei Sheng dragged the corpse out, silenced the woman as well, and climbed in—her face utterly still, not a twitch in her eyelids.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?”

Mei Sheng sensed Ji Li’s suspicious gaze and spoke softly.

Ji Li sneered. “This isn’t what I wanted. It’s what you wanted.”

The blood-soaked sedan finally rolled onto the road.

Half a minute after they had gone, the two policemen hiding in the grass crept out and called for reinforcements.

They were unarmed. Ji Li wasn’t.

Chi Rou sat alone in the back seat, her eyes on Mei Sheng and Ji Li changed in flavor.

She had thought Ji Li was naturally brutal—but this cold, aloof Mei Sheng was even more twisted at heart.

Even Ji Li hadn’t killed them. Mei Sheng had taken it upon herself to silence them forever.

Now, sitting in the blood-smeared passenger seat, she pulled out a handkerchief and carefully wiped her hands, still slick with the woman’s blood.

Ji Li’s glance caught the torn skin at her thumb joint.

It showed her killing hadn’t been as effortless as it seemed. Her grip was wrong, her strength clumsy.

She had the mindset for slaughter, but not the skill.

That gave Ji Li a strange curiosity about her. He couldn’t help but admit—the hotel’s way of picking recruits was something else.

It accepted all kinds of monsters.

Just then, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Watching the road, he pulled it out.

On the screen: Fang Shenyan.

Ji Li smiled knowingly. He had been wandering the city aimlessly, waiting for intelligence from Fang’s side.

When he answered, the muffled howls of a gagged, living person came through the line.

“264 Deer Park Street. Akira is in my hands.”