Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 210 - 130: Apples and Ramen

Chapter 210: Chapter 130: Apples and Ramen

Zheng Liu found the ramen he was eating utterly tasteless despite its rich color, aroma, and flavor—all because of the disturbing news Xing had brought.

If one were to think more pessimistically, Xing’s death was categorically due to her knowing far too much, which led to her silencing by the people involved in the underground transactions. The waters were deep, touching upon high-profile figures in business and politics. Compared to those people, the three of them were nothing but unknown small fry.

Continuing the investigation might lead to a dead end—literally.

"Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling—!"

The ringtone of Duan Mingyuan’s phone startled Zheng Liu, who looked around, feeling as though the city was fraught with danger. Even the seemingly honest and straightforward ramen shop owner now appeared to him as a lethal poison master, poised to lace their bowls with toxin.

Duan Mingyuan wasn’t picky and seemed unaffected; he relished his meal and casually answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Mr. Mingyuan?"

The voice on the other end belonged to a middle-aged man who introduced himself, "I’m Star River, the person in charge at the Siyang City liaison station."

The voice seemed to belong to someone a generation older than Da Jiang. Even before the downfall of the previous Royal Hunting Court, he had been an old-timer in the Association, boasting far more experience in managing relationships with relevant authorities than Da Jiang.

"Hello."

"There’s an urgent matter, so let’s get straight to the point."

Star River’s voice was tinged with urgency as he stated, "I know you are currently at a ramen shop in the port area. Someone has tampered with your car. After you finish your meal, do not return to your car; instead, use public transport to come to the Association."

"Understood."

The call ended.

"What’s wrong?"

Zheng Liu heard bits and pieces of Star River’s instructions and couldn’t help but feel skeptical.

Someone had tampered with his car?

That was a police vehicle, public property!

"There might be a bomb planted in your car, intended to kill us."

Such incidents were commonplace in movies. According to movie enthusiast Jiuyue, the more the car belonged to the authorities, the more likely it was to get bombed, "Hmm, the soy-sauce duck leg at this ramen shop is quite good, too bad Jiuyue isn’t here."

"Old Duan, is this really the time to be eating?"

Zheng Liu slammed his hand on the table and stood up. They were being targeted by assassins, and he truly didn’t understand how Duan Mingyuan could still eat at such a critical moment.

"An empty bag cannot stand upright."

Duan Mingyuan said, implying that since they were already on the assassins’ radar, he didn’t believe the killers would spare them any pity for skipping a meal.

In times like these, it was more important to stay calm and consider their current predicament.

"Why would an assassin plant a bomb in your car?"

"Is that even a question? Obviously, it’s because we know too much."

Zheng Liu was utterly panicked. Even if they avoided the car bomb, the assassin would still resort to other methods. With their limited strength, how much longer could they struggle to survive in this city?

His first instinct was to report the incident to the station, but then Zheng Liu hesitated.

Who could guarantee that no one at the station was involved in the underground dealings?

If he reported it, he risked exposing their whereabouts to the killer.

"No, the only one who knew too much was her. It was after she told us about the underground exchange that we were targeted by the assassin."

"...I’m sorry."

Xing lowered her head.

She indeed dragged Duan Mingyuan and Zheng Liu into this mess. It was only natural that they resented her for it. Perhaps it would have been better if she had just quietly died in the alley.

"I’m not blaming you, I’m curious how they knew that you gave the information to us."

Normally, those involved in the underground dealings wouldn’t expect someone, who was supposed to be dead, to come back to life. When they reached the alley, they only encountered an old officer from the port district branch. Before parting, he specially urged the officer to not mention the incident to anyone and to just say that the Hunter Association had taken the body, keeping the old officer’s safety in mind.

"You mean... that old officer betrayed us?"

"That’s what I thought at first, until the shop owner added poison to our bowls."

Apart from the old officer, the ramen shop owner and the few customers in the place, everyone had witnessed them entering with Xing who was supposed to be dead.

And they had their deceased friend, Mr. Poison Master, to thank for that.

Mr. Poison Master was an expert in poisons, a top-tier poisoner in the Imperial Court. Compared to him, the shop owner’s poisoning skills were far inferior.

Upon hearing this, the store owner behind the counter paused.

The customers and the waitstaff silently moved towards the door, pulled down the roller shutter, and hung up the closed sign.

"If you’re still waiting for the poison to take effect, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed."

"Ugh—!"

Zheng Liu stuck his fingers down his throat, retching non-stop, "I knew it, I thought there was something off about the taste when I was eating the noodles, but I thought it was just my imagination!"

He had ordered pork bone ramen but could taste apple in it.

Even the shop owner now looked puzzled.

Although the shop owner couldn’t understand how Duan Mingyuan had detected it, the poison he used was colorless and odorless. How could a mere junior officer possibly taste it?

Xing also retched, "I was just about to say, there’s an apple taste in the noodles!"

"The poison in the noodles has already been neutralized by me. The apple taste was my addition; I thought apple might add an interesting flavor to pork bone ramen... what, don’t you like it?"

Like hell they would!

For a moment, everyone stared at Duan Mingyuan, the same thought crossing their minds.

Who on earth would put apple in pork bone ramen?

"Hmm, it seems you’ve missed out on an easy death," the shop owner snorted. To prevent the atmosphere from turning comical, he felt he needed to intervene, "If you’d just died quietly from the poison, you could have avoided some physical suffering."

As he spoke, the dark muzzles of guns pointed at Duan Mingyuan and the others at the counter.

"Since the poisoning has been exposed, it seems the only ending left for you is to be shot to death."

Duan Mingyuan, also adhering to the spirit of not wasting, finished chewing on the duck leg, neatly arranged the bone and the empty bowl on the plate, and reminded them, "Normally, assaulting an officer is a grave crime. In such a situation, we should be advising you to lay down your weapons and surrender peacefully, hoping to be treated leniently, but you seem to have made up your mind..."

He stood up, facing the gunmen who had surrounded them. With one pull of the trigger, they could turn the three of them into sieves in an instant.

"Given that, please make sure not to lay down your weapons, and do resist to the end. After all, we are public officials, and to act against unarmed people would be somewhat unseemly."