Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 211 - 131: Siyang City Has Its Own Market Conditions Here

Chapter 211: Chapter 131: Siyang City Has Its Own Market Conditions Here

The owner of the ramen shop and the employees he hired were all pure assassins. They didn’t need to know the specific identity of the target or the reasons their employers wanted them dead; as long as the money was in the account, they would kill.

What Duan Mingyuan regretted was that the killers in the ramen shop were so pure that they usually hadn’t even seen the faces of the employers, which prevented him from learning the employers’ specific identities.

These were all details Duan Mingyuan found out afterwards.

He also learned that in Siyang City, there were many killers just like the ramen shop owner; the convenience store you’ve visited, the gas station you’ve passed by, and even the sanitation workers on the streets could all potentially be members of this assassin organization, and their means of livelihood was to dispose of people who were overly curious for their employers.

Duan Mingyuan glanced at the soy sauce bottle quietly sitting on the ramen shop counter. Just moments ago, they had completed a harmonious and friendly exchange, where the ramen shop owner bared his soul to him and told him everything he knew.

This was another typical case of "leniency for those who confess" in Siyang City.

Although he didn’t uncover the secrets of the employers and the underground exchange, Duan Mingyuan at least gained the ramen experience that the shop owner had honed over decades. From now on, he was also a ramen master, and once he returned to Yunhai Bookhouse, he could show off a little to Jiuyue.

"Are you all okay?"

Duan Mingyuan looked at the two people who were still as stupefied as chickens, their bodies rigid in a manner resembling small animals targeted by a natural predator, frantic and pitiable.

Realizing something, he said, "Don’t worry, although the owner and clerks of this ramen shop are assassins, they don’t dismember their targets to make food. The ramen only uses the fresh pork bones bought from the market each morning, the quality is guaranteed."

He could assure the two that although ramen was the owner’s side business, it received serious attention. The owner was quite fastidious about both ingredients and craft.

"That’s not the problem—wait, no, that seems to be a problem too."

Xing initially wanted to retort, but upon considering Duan Mingyuan’s words, she turned pale and couldn’t help but glance at the pork bones in her bowl that she had barely touched.

If there were human flesh in the bowl, she feared she would never be able to eat meat again for the rest of her life.

However, what truly sent her and Zheng Liu into a state of shock was Duan Mingyuan’s recent actions. Had they not witnessed it with their own eyes, they would never believe that all the killers in the room had transformed into seasoning bottles, bowls, chopsticks, and such items in the blink of an eye, settling quietly onto the table without making a sound.

If someone were to burst into the ramen shop at this moment, they would never guess that, aside from them, there were many others there just minutes before.

"Are they... still alive?"

Zheng Liu asked softly.

Although Duan Mingyuan regarded himself as a public servant, he didn’t give these people any chance of regret or surrender, and the ramen shop became completely silent the very next second after he blinked.

Duan Mingyuan said, "They live on in my heart."

In the form of Life Energy.

This response sent an even stronger chill through their spines.

This man, who claimed he was not adept at combat and worked as a medical support, was much more decisive in killing than real assassins, and he showed no signs of distress or guilt afterwards.

This made both of them recognize a terrifying truth.

This was definitely not the first time Duan Mingyuan had done this; to him, killing seemed no different from eating bread.

One does not become distressed or feel guilty after eating a piece of bread.

"Let’s go, the person in charge of the liaison station is waiting for us."

Duan Mingyuan interrupted their thoughts, leading the way by lifting the rolling door of the ramen shop.

Before leaving, he looked back at the deathly silent ramen shop one last time, noticing the soy sauce bottle on the counter.

In this way, the manager and his staff could forever stay with the ramen shop they cherished, a return to the ordinary which might not be such a bad ending for a group of killers who risked their lives on the edge of a knife.

About half an hour later, Duan Mingyuan finally met the person in charge of the Siyang City liaison station.

The man named Star River had an appearance that exuded the sharp image of a shrewd middle-aged man.

Names like "Star River" and "Da Jiang" were aliases adopted upon becoming station masters; from the moment they became responsible for the contact stations, their past names and identities ceased to be relevant to them.

After the meeting, Star River asked Zheng Liu and Xing to rest in the cubicle for a while and took Duan Mingyuan into a room on the inside of the bar.

Compared to Da Jiang, who used his own home as the contact station, the economic status of the Siyang City contact station was evidently much wealthier.

"The current situation is very bad, the girl being alive will cause many in Siyang City to lose sleep."

After locking the door of the small conference room, Star River said gravely.

It was foreseeable that, for a long time to come, those who couldn’t sleep would try every means to get rid of Xing.

"If she had died in the alley, this matter would have ended there, at least for the association," he said.

Star River didn’t understand Duan Mingyuan well, but if it had been a former high-ranking member of the Royal Hunting Court, they would never have done something like bringing the dead back to life.

That would bring them, and the entire association, big troubles.

"Did you reveal her whereabouts?"

Duan Mingyuan asked.

"I didn’t need to do that, I just didn’t stop her. She’s just like her master, never listening to advice."

Star River took a deep breath, "I’ve advised her master many times to stop the investigation; it’s no good for them. But every word I said felt like it was falling on deaf ears... However, now is not the time to talk about that. You and that young policeman have also made their list, and we should discuss how to remedy the situation."

"Remedy?"

"I’ve pulled some strings and found someone who could speak with them. They’ve made a request for you to issue a public statement as a representative of the association, in cooperation with the local police. Whatever you do, you must convince the citizens that the company case has been resolved, and in short, do whatever possible to suppress the matter. Afterward, they’ll allow you to leave Siyang City safely."

"What about Zheng Liu and Xing?"

"They know too much."

Star River quickly noticed the difference between Duan Mingyuan and the former leaders of the Royal Hunting Court; the new leader seemed to have no sense of the bigger picture.

It was precisely because of this that the association had been thrust into such a passive situation.

Everything had started from the moment he allowed Xing to be resurrected from the dead, an act that had completely ignited the unease in people’s hearts. They wished Duan Mingyuan would remain quiet, even more than they did for Xing.

It made them suspect that if Duan Mingyuan could bring Xing back from the dead, he might also be able to resurrect all those who had been silenced in the past.

If that were the case, no one would be safe anymore.

"I see, the reason you asked me here from the beginning wasn’t to solve the case," Duan Mingyuan realized.

It was neither to investigate the disappearance of the old hunter nor to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of the 13 people.

Those involved in the underground dealings naturally knew the shady nature of their business.

"They just needed an authoritative figure to make a public statement."

"This is also an opportunity for the association to re-enter the public eye. It was supposed to be a win-win deal."

"What about the 13 missing people? As far as I know, there are others besides me who are taking action on this matter."

"They expect to handle these trivial matters themselves."

Star River emphasized his tone, persuading, "While there’s still a chance to rectify things, it’s time to turn back."