Forge a path to success.

Chapter 44 Assassination Mission
Chu Hengkong lay in the passenger seat, groaning in pain.

He had just finished his training for the day. In the past few days, Ji Qiufeng's requirements had been rising steadily. The training time had increased from two hours when he returned from the swamp to four hours. In addition to the daily routine of sparring, he practiced that cramping stance to death. He felt like he was turning into a human sponge, constantly squeezing water out of him until he was dry.

Fortunately, he has almost learned it, otherwise he would have had to take a week off.

"Brother Chu, why don't you take a break today?" Lu Xing, who was driving, said cautiously. "I don't think you're fit to go to work right now."

"Drive your car... I'm perfectly fine..." Chu Heng's voice was barely audible. Lü Xing made a few strange sounds with his tongue and parked the SUV on the side of the road. Under the gloomy sky, the 16-story Bangxing Building looked like a gray tombstone.

Chu Hengkong wiped his face with a hot towel, put on his green coat, and got out of the car. Lü Xing quickly turned off the engine and followed behind him. They walked briskly to the familiar door, knocked, and then hurried footsteps came. The middle-aged man who opened the door shook hands with them one after another, full of gratitude.

"Detective Chu! Officer Lü! Please come in quickly, please come in quickly," Hai En said excitedly.

The once disheveled man was now impeccably dressed, his physique even appearing somewhat more robust—a complete transformation from his former self. The reunion of his daughter had deeply affected Hein, utterly changing his life. Tina floated over obediently to greet them, carrying a storybook. Only the little dog shrank into a corner upon seeing Chu Hengkong, clearly deeply traumatized by him.

"What are you hiding? I won't hit you unless you bite," Chu Heng chuckled. He noticed two dumbbells on the living room floor and asked, "Mr. Haien, have you been working out lately?"

“Yes, yes.” Hein nodded repeatedly. “I think men still need… a little muscle! That way, if something happens, they can protect their families… although my daughter doesn’t need my protection…”

Tina chuckled softly, and Chu Hengkong smiled too. "It's good that you mean well." They sat down on the sofa, and Lü Xing took on the role of his helpful assistant, asking about all sorts of trivial matters, while Haien answered somewhat nervously. "How have you been feeling lately... Have you experienced any unusual sensations during these two months of sealing... Are things going well with the neighbors...?"

This was like a routine questionnaire, serving two purposes: firstly, to confirm that Tina's presence wouldn't bother those around her, and secondly, to reassure the father and daughter that the detective was always looking out for them and they didn't need to worry about being harassed by villains. After asking the last question, it was almost time to say goodbye. As usual, Lü Xing asked, "...Is there anything I can help you with?"

“Yes,” Tina said. “I have something I want to talk to the detective about.”

Lu Xing was taken aback and exchanged a glance with Chu Hengkong. "Then Uncle Lu, go out for a smoke first." After Lu Xing left, Chu Hengkong gestured for the two to relax. He noticed that Hai En's expression was somewhat uneasy.

“Detective Chu, I know my family really doesn’t deserve to trouble you anymore, but…” Hai En stammered, “I feel you should be informed about this matter… but… for my own selfish reasons…”

"Don't worry about it," Chu Hengkong encouraged them. "Just say it."

Then Tina spoke in her childish voice, talking about a family downstairs who had a very good playmate. She talked about how that playmate's family was very similar to hers: a father who worked hard but couldn't earn much money, and a mother who was tricked into going to a club... Their child was very beautiful, and the parents always hoped that the child could grow up healthy and become a teacher or a doctor in the future... Then one day, the mother broke down and cried in her home because her child was about to be taken away, to a place she would never return to.

Hein was terrified. He felt he was causing the detective too much trouble, but his pitiful empathy prevented him from standing idly by. He stole glances at Chu Hengkong's expression and found the detective listening quietly, as usual, without showing any particular emotion. For some reason, Hein felt a chill run down his spine.

"When did this happen?" Chu Hengkong asked.

“It was the morning before yesterday, and the person who was supposed to pick up her daughter hadn’t arrived yet,” Tina said. “I didn’t dare tell you directly. I felt that if I asked her father to go find you, they would definitely find out.”

"Well done." Chu Hengkong placed a yellow crystal in Tina's hand; it was a relic from their long-distance communication trip to the swamp. "Could you take this crystal downstairs?"

Tina nodded.

"After I leave, give it to the aunt downstairs. Tell her that Detective Chu knows about this and that she shouldn't worry." Chu Hengkong squatted down, patted Tina's little head, and forced a smile that seemed too innocent to him.

"Don't wander off, and don't worry," Chu Hengkong said. "The police officer keeps his word. He promised to kill him for you, and he will."

Tina nodded vigorously and said crisply, "I believe Detective Chu!"

Chu Hengkong said goodbye to the two men and went downstairs alone. Downstairs, Lu Xing saw him and quickly stubbed out his cigarette, stamping the butt several times. As he got into the car, he whispered, "Brother Chu, there are people watching outside."

Chu Hengkong stared blankly out the window, pondering whether to proceed with the patrol as planned to avoid alerting the enemy, or to seize the opportunity to arrest a few prisoners. Just then, the car's communicator glowed red, and a familiar voice came through the private channel.

"Hello, Chu Hengkong, can you hear me?"

"Yes. What is it?"

"Return to headquarters immediately." Ji Huaisu's voice sounded tense. "There's an emergency meeting!"

·
"Eradicate the Maivia Club within 24 hours," Ji Qiufeng said.

This was the first thing Chu Hengkong heard upon entering, and it was also the core issue of this emergency meeting. Ji Huaisu was particularly excited, and Jie An's face was pale, but they were both equally surprised. Chu Hengkong spoke for them, saying, "So urgent?"

"Can we stop for a second?" Ji Huaisu finally came to her senses. "I absolutely support Dad's actions, but isn't 24 hours too rushed? I was just thinking about what to have for lunch five minutes ago, how did it turn out like this?"

Ji Qiufeng placed a small bottle on the table, and Ji Huaisu immediately fell silent, his expression as solemn as if facing a formidable enemy.

It was a small object resembling a perfume bottle, with dozens of shiny facets, each engraved with a different phase of the moon. By rotating the bottle, one could see the changing phases of the moon from full to new moon. The liquid inside was a viscous black liquid that, despite the absence of external interference, undulated and writhed as if alive.

Staring at the bottle, Chu Hengkong had a strange feeling, as if he were looking at something living, breathing. The crystal bottle was bone and flesh, and the black liquid was its blood. Instinctively, he wanted to look away, but he found himself staring intently at the black blood in the bottle. Ripples spread across the blood, carrying a familiar scent: the fragrance of white roses, the smoke of cigars, the smell of gunpowder, and the stench of blood seeping into the night…

"Heng Kong!" Ji Qiufeng shouted in a low voice, and put the cap on the bottle.

Chu Hengkong seemed to wake from a dream. He closed his eyes briefly before speaking, "What is this?"

"The blood of the illegitimate son of Shuoyue," Youyou said somberly, its blue eyes narrowing like two slender knives. "It's a heretical path, different from the Firefly Corpse. This heretical path is born with the ability to perform rituals!"

The word "ritual" triggered Chu Hengkong's memories, and he raised his tentacle: "A summoning ritual?"

“Yes, but it’s not nearly as friendly as you experienced,” Youyou said. “The Shuoyue Bastards… aliens related to the moon… are a heretical sect that values ​​‘family relationships.’ These heretics regard each other as blood relatives, and when their ‘family’ grows to a certain size, they gain the ability to summon ‘elders.’”

"It's like a person summoning a demon," Chu Hengkong guessed.

“But it will be faster and worse than that,” Ji Qiufeng said. “Among all the heretics, only the line of the illegitimate sons can summon a superior being far stronger than themselves through ‘blood.’ If the ‘elder’ truly responds to the call… the situation will become very bad.”

"Father, what do you think it will be?" Ji Huaisu asked in a low voice.

"It's hard to say. The Abyss Outer Path doesn't distinguish between points of matter. The 'elders' who can be summoned must have a combat strength of at least level 5..." Chu Hengkong pursed his lips; he too felt tense. This was truly a deadly, insane place. Just minutes ago he was thinking about how to take down the gang, and minutes later the issue had escalated to the survival of the city. He was fortunate that his heart was strong enough to withstand such a contrast, but others lacked that composure.

Jie An stared wide-eyed, as if only now realizing what had happened. He collapsed onto the table, letting out a painful wail: "Please, have mercy on me! I finally made it back from the swamp, and now it's an evil god again!!"

“It could also be aliens,” Chu Hengkong said. “I’ve read about alien evil gods that look like octopuses in novels before.”

"Can that thing be caught with a sperm ball?" Ji Huaisu asked.

Chu Hengkong tried to explain: "No, that's not a work of art..."

"Damn it, damn it, can you guys just shut up?!" Jie An wailed. "That's an evil god on the moon! Shouldn't we be holding hands, hugging, and writing our wills or something? Why are you all so calm?"

"That's the point of this meeting. Our goal is to prevent that thing from descending and to handle this matter within the scope of a 'fight'." Ji Qiufeng waved his fan, reverting to his usual carefree demeanor. "Don't be too tense. The ritual requires a long period of preparation and will cause a great commotion when it's activated. So, as long as we take care of Maivia first, everything will be fine. Heng Kong, you used to be an assassin. As a professional, what advice do you have?"

"Assassination," Chu Hengkong said without hesitation.

"Tell me your plan."

Chu Hengkong picked up a black pen and started gesturing on the whiteboard.

"The next time Maivia throws a party, I'll sneak in disguise as a waiter, find my target, chop it up with one stab, and then go home..."

Ji Qiufeng's composed demeanor faltered slightly, and Ji Huaisu slammed his fist on the table, exclaiming, "What the hell? Is this what you call assassination? Where's the assassination in all of a sudden?!"

"I will dress up as a waiter," Chu Hengkong said earnestly.

Jie An couldn't take it anymore: "No, buddy, can you check your left arm first?"

Chu Hengkong glanced at his tentacles and realized that this previously infallible plan was not so easy to execute. He also felt helpless: "There's no better way. Maivia won't leave the base camp, and we can't infiltrate without the banquet. We can't expect him to go out and die on his own."

“I knew assassination wouldn’t work,” Youyou sighed. “Could we start with his ‘children’? If we eradicate the tainted blood, even with the head of the family, we can’t perform the ritual.”

“Mavia’s children live with him,” Ji Qiufeng pointed out. “Essentially, it’s a problem that he didn’t have a chance to make a move.”

"Damn it, we let them develop to this point without us even noticing..." Youyou gritted his teeth. "Let's prepare for a frontal assault."

"Don't engage in a firefight yet." Chu Hengkong frowned deeply. "Less than half of our team members have changed their equipment yet; we're not ready."

“But the enemy won’t wait for us to attack, kid.” Youyou flicked his tongue. “They might already be preparing the ceremony. We have to act fast.”

A silence fell over the meeting room. The situation had come so suddenly that everyone was scrambling to think things through. Chu Heng was deeply opposed to a direct confrontation; it would result in too many casualties, as sheer numbers weren't effective against Ascended Beings, and they didn't have enough manpower… But assassination also lacked a point of entry. Maivia's banquet had ended two days prior; the enemy leader wouldn't leave his lair to die…

Think about it, what would the enemy do now? They'd probably want to hold the ceremony as soon as possible, so they'd take extra steps... like gathering materials... or...

New "children"?
Tina's request flashed through Chu Heng's mind, and he recalled his long-held suspicions. He tapped the table.

“It’s not necessarily impossible,” he said. “I have an idea.”

·
Two hours later, Yako lay in bed, her mind in turmoil. She hadn't expected her plea for help to actually work; Tina had brought the yellow crystal. Could this be a talisman from the detective? Could it protect her daughter? She knew nothing, and that's why she grew increasingly anxious.

"Can you hear me?" A man's voice came from the crystal.

Sprouts sat up reflexively and said as quietly as possible, "Yes! I am Sprouts! I can hear you!"

"Chu Hengkong, Senior Detective of the Resurrection Unit," Chu Hengkong said. "I understand your situation. I have something I'd like to ask for your opinion on."

"Please speak..."

Yako listened with agonizing disbelief to the man's plan revealed in the crystal. The plan was simple, even brutal, yet it carried risks she couldn't ignore. She kept opening and closing her mouth, struggling to find a response.

"...The choice is yours," Chu Hengkong said. "Whether you participate in the operation or not, I will guarantee the safety of your whole family."

Yako closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her daughter's and husband's faces, Bai Mei's face, the scenes she witnessed every night in the club, all the chaos flashed before her eyes.

“…You’re the chief detective, I believe you.” The woman said softly but firmly, “I have no other choice.”

"Remember this. When you hear the wind, turn around and run home."

Chu Hengkong closed the crystal and put it in his pocket, letting out a deep breath. The light outside the car window seemed to peel away like silk threads, and the streetlights along the street were lighting up one by one.

Night is approaching.

Lu Xing placed his hands on the steering wheel, gazing at the brightly lit up affluent neighborhood in the distance. For some reason, he recalled the man beside him that evening who had walked alone into the abandoned building to exorcise a demon.

"Brother Chu, do you need a spear?" he asked.

"Find me a knife," Chu Hengkong said.

Use a stick to beat a dog, and a knife to kill someone.

　(This book will be available for purchase tomorrow! So there will be three updates tomorrow: one at 8:00 AM and two more at 8:30 AM.)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)