This Spiritual Energy is Lethal!
Chapter 368: Blacklist

Chapter 368: Chapter 368: Blacklist

Chen Ke narrowed his eyes and fell into deep thought.

The two women came from two different foundations, each adamant in their discourse about time travel. Chen Ke couldn’t help but wonder if the two women knew each other.

Now, he had his own speculation: Xu Jing and Lin Yaying might come from the same era, but that era had two rival foundations, both dispatching their special agents to the year 2009, each carrying out their activities for their respective purposes.

Or, these two could be from different eras but might originate from the same foundation. It was possible that due to various reasons, humanity’s Cradle Project turned into the Connection Project...

There was one commonality in the statements from Lin Yaying and Xu Jing: they both split reality into two.

One was the present that Chen Ke belonged to; the other was the present they belonged to.

By changing the time of Chen Ke’s present, they could indirectly change the time they existed in.

As for the methods of altering time, the two also held different views, but the principles were nearly the same.

Only through large-scale alterations and interventions in Chen Ke’s reality could they influence the reality they existed in.

However, Xu Jing denied the existence of time as a concept and instead used a more physical analogy of pillars and ropes to describe humanity’s position in the universe, and she hadn’t mentioned that they couldn’t intervene personally.

On the contrary, it seemed Xu Jing intended to solve the problem herself... it just so happened that she encountered Chen Ke.

Whereas Lin Yaying’s account was more aligned with Chen Ke’s understanding of time. In her version, the foundation seemed more like a mere observer, exerting influence without getting directly involved.

Who should I believe... Chen Ke felt bewildered.

Xu Jing needed Chen Ke’s help to deal with the Clan, and Lin Yaying simply requested him to fulfil an assassin contract.

In terms of compensation, the Symbiotic Stone Lin Yaying would provide was undoubtedly more enticing to Chen Ke.

But Xu Jing’s words were not to be taken lightly; when too many things got changed, the year 2009 could end up destroyed and replaced just like 2006.

"What’s worrying you, Chen Ke?" Li Moyang noticed Chen Ke’s doubtful expression, thinking he was worried about being erased after the changes in time.

"No, it’s nothing," Chen Ke waved his hand dismissively.

"You’d better not carry any psychological burden. Changing some things will definitely cause part of history to disappear and be rebuilt, but on the other hand, changing someone else’s is always better than having yours changed, right?" Lin Yaying said with a laugh.

"You’ve got it wrong, Miss Lin. I’m the kind of person who never worries about what happens 15 hours from now, so I don’t have any psychological burdens," Chen Ke responded.

"Good, I was really worried you were the type who’s overly benevolent," Lin Yaying chuckled.

"People who are overly benevolent can’t be assassins," Chen Ke said.

"Good. With that said, many things should be easier to push forward. Is there anything else you want to ask?" Lin Yaying inquired.

"The Symbiotic Stone. Talk to me about that stone... I want to know more," Chen Ke said.

It was this stone, as compensation for his blind assassination, that was the sole reason he chose to sit here and have a proper conversation with Lin Yaying.

"This stone can prolong a person’s life significantly. Its principle is to replace the failing organs in the body and continue to function. The energy of the stone is limited; the older you get, the more failing organs you have, and the shorter the duration the stone can supply energy," explained Lin Yaying.

"I’m only in my twenties, so can the stone only supply energy for 40 years?" Chen Ke asked.

"It’s not how you calculate it. I estimate you’ll live a healthy life up to 60... Although I think it’s highly unlikely for an assassin to be that lucky... Once you turn 60, with the stone, you could live to be 100," Lin Yaying answered.

Chen Ke was briefly excited, a glint of vitality flashing in his eyes, but that glint quickly disappeared.

The effect of the Symbiotic Stone had to be real. Corrigan had used one, and both Xu Jing and Lin Yaying’s accounts matched. On this matter, both women hadn’t lied to him.

For a moment, Chen Ke forgot all about the countdown of his life.

He was only 24 years old, so young. Moreover, he had over four million union coins and a hot Latin lover.

He even thought about breaking the stone in half and sharing it with Lucina, each taking a piece to go live quietly in another city.

But he suddenly remembered that he had only 15 hours to live, and how long he could survive had nothing to do with his physical age.

"You look rather disappointed?" Lin Yaying said.

"No, no... I was just lost in the joy of the forthcoming immortality and became a bit dazed," Chen Ke sighed.

Would the Symbiotic Stone have any effect on the life countdown?

His body was no different from that of a dead person; if he really implanted the stone into his body, it would probably have to power the replacement of all his organs. It was hard to say if it could last for 40 years.

Besides, this stone is meant to be embedded in the body... On further thought, Chen Ke found it indeed a bit unaesthetic...

"Good, since you are satisfied with the compensation of the contract and are willing to sit down and talk properly, let’s discuss your work," Lin Yaying said, taking out a beautiful envelope from her jacket pocket.

Chen Ke watched her open the envelope and took out a folded piece of parchment.

"This lists the names of the people who need to be dead by September 2009," Lin Yaying said, unfolding the parchment and handing it to Chen Ke.

Chen Ke took the parchment, turned it a different way, and then started to read carefully.

It was a rather lengthy list; some names were already crossed out with black lines, meaning those people had been dealt with.

Chen Ke estimated the long list of names; there were about forty or fifty people, separated by numbers, such as twelve names under the number 9.

"All these people need to...?" Chen Ke asked in confusion.

"You don’t have to take care of them all," Lin Yaying explained.

"What do these numbers mean then?" Chen Ke asked further.

"That indicates the month by which they have to die. In several months, years, or even over a decade, they will pose a threat or obstacle to Li Moyang, so they must be eliminated," Lin Yaying answered.

By September 2009, these twelve unlucky ones would be dead... even though they have done nothing as of now and may not even know who Li Moyang is.

"Lin Yaying told me, some on this list wanted me dead, some would cause me losses in business, and some could just put me in a bad mood... In any case, they all have to be dealt with," Li Moyang raised his glass.

Chen Ke picked up the bottle and poured more wine for Li Moyang.

"The ones you need to handle are for December, some business rivals. In fact, you have already dealt with one, Corrigan. Honestly, Si’s consortium is no longer a problem now. After Corrigan’s death, the company fell into internal strife and won’t last ten years before going bankrupt. The next company is Lescott Spirit Production, and your target is the president’s wife, Harlowin," Lin Yaying said.

"A few major spiritual production syndicates of the United Federation have formed a monopolistic alliance called ’the company.’ If we can dismantle them, it will be much easier for capital from the Fei Huang Republic to enter this industry," Li Moyang said.

"Do we have a photo of the target?" Chen Ke asked.

"When you killed Corrigan, you didn’t ask me for a photo," Li Moyang spread his hands.

"It depends on how quickly you want these people to meet their end. And honestly, there are nine people on this December list from different Spiritual Ability Enterprises, all of them at the presidential level... The deaths of so many influential figures in succession will surely alert other people. And the most important point... it’s impossible to kill without leaving any evidence, especially for such concentrated actions," Chen Ke said.

"We can’t protect you; you’ll have to find a way to protect yourself. If you get caught, we’ll disown you, and no one will believe what you say," Lin Yaying said with a smile.

Chen Ke felt annoyed by this woman’s attitude, which was far inferior to Xu Jing’s; at least Xu Jing could keep the Administration Bureau far away from him.

"It sounds like I’m just a disposable glove," Chen Ke complained.

"The foundation will not negotiate with a tool. Think about your compensation, the Symbiotic Stone," Lin Yaying said with a smile.

Chen Ke had nothing to say, he looked over the list again, and suddenly, two familiar names rolled into his sight, tensing all the muscles in his body.

July, Wang Ailin...

October, Diana Prince...