Life Game In Other World
Chapter 544: The Bringer of Fear (Vote for us this month with a big - )

Chapter 544: Chapter 544: The Bringer of Fear (Vote for us this month with a big Chapter)

The black SUV sped past other vehicles on the road, weaving through the streets under the cover of night like a swift serpent.

Soon, it reached the boundary of the bustling area, but just as it was about to enter the dilapidated district, the entire vehicle suddenly made a sharp turn, veering into a small path on the right and entering another slightly worn-out neighborhood.

"My people have issues? Was I betrayed?"

Heish’s hand rested on the steering wheel as she leaned back in the driver’s seat.

Just moments ago, she had made a perilous decision, abandoning the safety measures she had put in place and instead heeding He Ao’s words, turning into a region she had never been before.

Her gaze swept over the surrounding buildings, faintly lit in the darkness.

If North Vitland District, the heart of Vitland City, was characterized by clean and tidy, opulent villas, then the chaotic West District was akin to dilapidated and dirty shanties of peculiar shapes.

Plante District was different from both North Vitland District and West District, its most prominent feature being ’ordinary,’ with highly repetitive high-rise buildings, and similar, densely packed convenience stores and supermarkets.

These buildings were neither opulent nor decrepit; they were just somewhat old and dreary, standing shoulder to shoulder, gazing at each other.

Loud music from overhead signaled the start of Senator Ned’s election campaign advertisement once again.

This area also had the highest concentration of Ned’s campaign ads.

Plante District was the largest and most populous district in Vitland, securing votes here was almost equivalent to winning half of Vitland.

"A speculation," He Ao said in a measured tone.

"Who do you think betrayed me?" Heish asked in a low voice, her breathing calming down.

He Ao watched Heish, not speaking immediately. Instead, he glanced at the bracelet she wore on her wrist, "The person who is going to call you next,"

Ding-a-ling-ling—

Almost as soon as He Ao’s words had ended, Heish’s bracelet started to vibrate.

The ringtone of her bracelet was peculiar, somewhat reminiscent of an old-fashioned model, carrying a crisp and noisy sound.

This clamorous ringing in the silent car cabin sounded like the tolling of death’s bell.

Heish glanced at her bracelet and after a brief pause, she raised her hand and answered the call.

Instead of placing the bracelet to her ear for a private conversation, she directly switched on the speakerphone.

"Boss, you out yet?"

From the phone came a voice with a slight rustling sound, one that He Ao recognized, belonging to the doorman who had stood at the entrance of the bar that day.

"I’m out, ran into some little trouble,"

Heish raised her head to glance at the rearview mirror; the white SUVs that had been following no longer seemed to be in pursuit, "We are taking another route to shake off our pursuers, looks like we might have to loop around."

"Got it, boss,"

The voice on the phone responded.

"I’ll contact you when I’m close."

Heish reached out and ended the call.

Then she took a deep breath, gazed at the road ahead, and asked in a soft voice, "How did you discover that I was betrayed?"

"The red-haired man acted very familiar with our relationship," He Ao said calmly, "He seemed to know that we had just met today."

"But that could only prove he might have thoroughly investigated me. What made you suspicious?"

Heish asked softly.

"Your navigation,"

He Ao answered calmly, "We were guided to the Welme Medical Consortium building by your navigation. That building has several underground parking lots. Theoretically, the navigation should lead us to the busiest one or the one closest to us."

He flipped open his wristband, and a map of Vitland City was projected out, with an optimal route planned by Eve from the Dense Forest Bar toward the Welme Medical Consortium building,

"But in reality, coming from the Dense Forest Bar, the parking lot we just entered was not the closest one. And of course, having seen the whole parking lot was an ambush, this proves that this parking lot was not the busiest either."

He Ao leaned against the rear seat cushion, most of which had been torn apart during the fight with the red-haired man, revealing large chunks of plastic stuffing inside,

"Someone tampered with your navigation, leading us into a trap they had set,"

He smiled, "In fact, this was also the most critical step of the trap. It was essential that we walked into it unsuspectively. If we had arrived near a different parking lot, and the smart parking assistant then guided us into the further, trapped parking lot, it would have easily aroused our suspicions, and the entire trap would have been exposed.

"So they must have paid a lot of money to bribe your man to plant a virus in the main control computer of your car.

"And with your caution, this person who could plant a virus in your car computer must be one of your trusted aides, which means they were probably involved in preparing your contingency plan,"

He Ao paused, then continued, "This means that your enemy is fully aware of your contingency plan and can set another trap along the way you arranged, waiting for you to fall into it. So the vehicles that came after us later did not go full force but only fired a few symbolic shots and then gave up, because they knew the real trap was still ahead.

"And the problems caused by taking action in the chaotic West District are much less than those in North Vitland. Those SUVs should have been caught by the Vitland City Police if they had fired a few more shots."

"You’re very astute,"

Heish sighed, pulling a lady’s cigarette from the slit of her skirt and lighting it, "Ruoen has been with me for seven years."

In fact, when the doorman called, she already knew that He Ao’s concerns were valid.

The doorman’s tone was off, with an overly eager questioning, and he shouldn’t have called just as they were turning the corner, because theoretically, the doorman couldn’t see Heish and He Ao’s condition at the moment.

Although he didn’t show in the content of the conversation that he knew Heish’s current state, he was too eager.

As a companion of several years, Heish was very clear about the character of her subordinate.

From these details, she had actually already known that she had been betrayed.

Betrayal in the West District is nothing rare, even commonplace; for the hungry people of the West District, it’s normal to follow another person’s order for a higher price.

Of course, there are also loyal and virtuous people in the West District, but obviously, Heish hadn’t been lucky enough to encounter one.

She sighed, delicate smoke swirling around her pale fingers, "I’ve been complacent these past few years, grown slack."

He Ao watched her somewhat lonely figure with calm eyes.

In truth, Heish had been in the sight of the person who set up the trap from behind the scenes a long time ago; the one she was dealing with might have been exposed long before, and Heish’s deals had always been under the enemy’s surveillance.

The reason the enemy hadn’t acted was probably just waiting to catch Heish in the long run.

From the enemy’s arrangements, they hadn’t attempted to kill Heish, probably hoping to capture her and extract some information.

Of course, as a C-level like Heish, she could also provide an important raw material for the Gene Potion— the blood of a Transcendent.

So if Heish truly got captured, her fate might not be any better than death.

However, from tonight’s events, He Ao had basically confirmed that the Mysterious Person was associated with the Welme Medical Consortium. Not only that, but the Mysterious Person also likely established a new lab outside of Jess’ laboratory and, using Jess’ research data, carried out experiments on higher-order Gene Potions in parallel.

And the red-haired man just now did not recognize "Jess" which proves that those who are chasing Jess and those who today set up the trap in the underground parking garage of the Welme Medical Building to try to capture Heish are not the same group.

However, considering these trap-setters could make use of Gene Potions, they must also have some connections with the Mysterious Person.

So the question arises, does the force related to the Mysterious Person have the capability to mobilize two big waves of people within the city?

Who might be the people that set the trap in the West District to ambush Heish?

He Ao’s current clues about the Mysterious Person end with the "Introducer" Thorne, so his next target is to find this Thorne and learn more about the Mysterious Person.

All this information converged in He Ao’s mind, and slowly, he began to organize it.

"Sorry for getting you involved in such a dangerous affair,"

After a brief moment of regret, Heish quickly readjusted her mood, she extinguished her cigarette, turned to look at He Ao with a hint of apology in her voice, "I didn’t expect things to get this complicated."

"It’s okay," He Ao shook his head and smiled, "So what’s your next move?"

"I don’t have just that one team at my disposal," Heish smiled, "Over the years I’ve still managed to build up some reserves, even the Welme Medical Consortium would have to pay a price if they want to move against me."

After leaving the thick of the encirclement, this top female intermediary of Vitland gradually returned to her own familiar territory.

At this time, she also gazed at He Ao, "What about you, is there anything I can do to help you?"

In the recent battle, the unfamiliarity between them had quietly worn off, establishing a basic level of trust.

And to Heish, she had previously mentioned that if a C-level were to appear in this mission, an additional mercenary fee would be paid, so she asked He Ao about his needs.

"Do you know Thorne?"

He Ao asked softly.

"I do, ’Introducer’ Thorne, a sly old wolf," Heish’s hands rested on the steering wheel, "Do you have a conflict with him?"

"One of his past commissions involved me," He Ao asked calmly, "Do you know where Thorne is most likely to appear?"

"He could show up anywhere,"

Heish watched the road ahead, "Unlike me, he’s a cunning and cowardly intermediary. Currently, I know he has three overt residences in Vitland and four secret ones. He chooses one of these to live in every night, and it’s said that even his favorite mistress doesn’t know where he’ll be sleeping the next night."

As the local boss, Heish had more comprehensive information than He Ao; previously, when He Ao had Eve gather information online, they only found two possible residences of Thorne.

"So how can we meet him?"

He Ao asked in a low voice.

"Money,"

Heish’s tone was brisk, "A high-value commission will draw his attention. Although he’s timid and afraid to die, he’s even more greedy. As long as you can afford the right price, he will do anything for you."

"Even if it means putting himself in danger?"

He Ao inquired.

"He would be willing to take the risk for enough commission money,"

Heish answered.

In other words, as long as the commission fee is high enough, he wouldn’t even care about his own life.

"If you want to meet him, I can help you set up a high-value commission."

Heish also noticed He Ao’s thoughts and quickly said, "As long as the price is right, he’d meet you even if you were his enemy."

"He shouldn’t take on any other commissions right now."

He Ao shook his head.

In terms of wealth, the Mysterious Person was absolutely the person Jess had seen in Vitland who cared the least about money; the Mysterious Person was not only wealthy, but also very willing to spend for his purposes.

If Thorne would truly do anything for money, then he ought to have been hired by the Mysterious Person by now to serve as bait to lure He Ao.

From this perspective, if He Ao started his investigation from the two public residences of Thorne that he had previously found, he should also be able to obtain clues about Thorne quite easily—of course, the clues would most likely have been left by the Mysterious Person’s people.

His thoughts whirling in his mind, He Ao looked at Heish and continued to ask,

"If we considered today’s assassination attempt on us as one unit of strength, are there any conglomerates in Vitland capable of deploying three units of such strength at the same time? For example, the conglomerate splits its forces into three, one to ambush us at the Welme Medical building, another to set up a trap in the West District trying to ambush us a second time, and the final one to do something else."

"It’s possible, but unlikely,"

Heish pondered for a moment before answering, "After witnessing our strength, the forces that tried to ambush us in the West District should be very strong, with at least several C-levels, and a large number of personnel required. For the big conglomerates in Vitland, such strength within the city is already very strong.

"Even the Welme Medical Consortium wouldn’t be capable of sparing another batch of forces within the city. The conglomerates are used to hiring gangs for jobs, using them as gloves, and generally don’t keep too many people in the city."

That is to say, the Mysterious Person might not have that many hands on deck.

In fact, this was indeed the case. The forces the Mysterious Person was now using to chase He Ao and capture Heish seemed to include many mercenaries.

However, the Mysterious Person had stronger methods and had even brought in some mercenaries, so perhaps he had more personnel than Heish imagined.

But before this incident, He Ao had already wiped out an elite mercenary squad hired by the Mysterious Person.

Such foreign mercenaries entering the city had to go through strict scrutiny and were unlikely to come in great numbers.

And the strength He Ao displayed tonight clearly exceeded the level that these people who planned to capture Heish were prepared to handle.

If the people who captured Heish belonged to the same power as the Mysterious Person or were even the Mysterious Person’s personnel, after witnessing He Ao’s strength, they would muster more personnel to the trap set up in the West District to ensure Heish’s capture.

If they were short on personnel, the redeployed staff would have to be drawn from other tasks.

He Ao’s thoughts raced.

The people capturing Heish did not recognize ’Jess,’ which meant they and the people who tried to kill ’Jess’ might not be on the same side, with intelligence not being shared.

Even if the people who tried to kill ’Jess’ were called to capture Heish, the information about their isolated tasks wouldn’t be easily connected.

Moreover, throughout the entire process just now, from the banquet to the underground parking lot, and even the elevator in between, He Ao had deliberately avoided cameras and left no front-facing images.

Now, with a strong C-level by Heish’s side helping him, this intelligence should have been passed on.

But no one should know yet that this strong ’C-level’ is ’Jess.’

This means a certain information disparity had emerged.

He Ao raised his wristband, opened his mailbox, and Heish’s timed email had just come in. He saw the Talent Sequences 111: Terrorist’s secret recipe.

His gaze quickly skimmed the detailed materials and settled on the promotion ceremony at the bottom.

[Promotion Ceremony: In the deepest darkness, bring fear to those who walk under the cloak of night]

He Ao lifted his head, looking ahead,

"Heish, can you do me a favor?"