GAMMT - Chapter 16
Chapter 16: Annoying
Under normal circumstances, he should have been killed instantly by the blast.
However, as the smell of his scorched hand filled the air, Qin Minfeng struggled to chant, his fingers already activating an Arcane art.
"Cool down… no, Thunderflame Arcane, attack!"
Qin Minfeng had intended to lower the Arcane temperature on his body, but through his muddled thoughts, he saw the dark figure descending, blue and red light flickering around her.
She was casting an Arcane spell!
Qin Minfeng's mind cleared instantly. This person was truly talented, worthy of being the male lead. He actually managed to change his spell mid-cast. With a shift of his hand seals, a level-four Thunderflame Arcane formed into a small ball the size of an egg. Lying on the ground, he raised his hand and tossed it upward.
Fu Chuan, who was descending, saw it. Logically, it would be difficult for her to dodge in mid-air, but a nimble strand of Feathered Spider Silk was attached to her. With a flick of her finger, the silk cord tightened, yanking her sharply to the side.
The small Thunderflame ball flew past her head and slammed into the filthy alley wall behind her. It exploded with a crackle, blasting away bricks and paint. As the debris scattered, Fu Chuan landed with a soft thud. Before the sound of her shoes hitting the ground had fully registered, her spell was already complete.
It was a composite spell, one she had been chanting ever since she used the Feathered Spider Silk to leap to this location.
Just as Qin Minfeng was about to cast another spell, tender shoots sprouted from the dirt on the ground, rapidly growing into several thorny vines that coiled around his limbs in a chain reaction. This was Forest Thorns.
As the thorns grew, Arcane Missile and Flame Blast followed.
A barrage of attacks from three arcane elements—wind, fire, and forest—erupted all at once upon his body.
An onslaught!
A second fiery explosion burst forth, its destructive power even greater than the Little Flying Thief from before. It was enough to make Qin Minfeng smell the stench of death… In that instant, The Old Man didn't even have time to save him. The assassination was too sudden, too swift. They had no idea who their opponent was. Who could possibly guard against such a precise ambush from above?
His first instinct was to prepare for detachment, but it suddenly failed.
The Old Man was shocked, but in the glare of the flames, he saw Qin Minfeng's savage expression.
"You are the vessel that serves me, so you should die for me!"
"Get over here!!!"
Qin Minfeng forcibly recalled The Old Man, activating his ability to bind the system and have the system's spirit body take control for him.
The Old Man was forced to contribute all his power, shielding Qin Minfeng from the majority of the damage. At the same time, Qin Minfeng injected The Old Man's soul power into the system, forcibly activating a secondary teleportation ability.
"No!" The Old Man was unwilling, but… it had already been activated.
Just as Qin Minfeng's body, half-engulfed in flames and dripping with blood, was about to be teleported away, Fu Chuan, though not expecting the male lead to be so ridiculously overpowered as to pull off such a slick move, reacted quickly. There was no time to cast another Arcane spell, but her agility was high. Aided by the pull of the Feathered Spider Silk, she dashed forward, closing the distance to Qin Minfeng's back in a flash… and drew the thin-bladed knife, half an arm's length, from her waist.
Swish!
The blade sliced through the air. Qin Minfeng was formidable, managing to dodge just enough to save his neck. Simultaneously, a purple bracelet hanging from his wrist suddenly ignited, transforming into a rapidly forming, curving bolt of lightning, about the thickness of a thumb, which shot straight for Fu Chuan's head.
But Fu Chuan was agile. She quickly sidestepped to dodge while raising her hand…
His right arm was severed completely, falling to the ground with a spray of blood. Along with it, the backpack he was carrying also dropped.
With a hum of light, Qin Minfeng vanished with the teleportation array.
Fu Chuan received a notification.
"Target has escaped. However, the undead character Master Ah Sai has been killed. His soul crystal has been obtained. Please check your inventory."
Fu Chuan saw a violet halo of light fly toward her. She reached out and grasped it, finding a palm-sized crystal in her hand that emitted a blue glow.
It was designated as a Blue-tier treasure, but because it was a soul crystal, its rank was slightly higher than other items of the same tier, making it immensely valuable.
But the male lead had escaped. Damn it!
Fu Chuan was wary of the male lead's bug-like cheat abilities. Tonight's assassination was the absolute limit of her planning and execution. The opponent had used a cheat, just like in those web novel plots where the male lead has a soul-grandpa to sacrifice his life for him. Qin Minfeng had gone down the same path. Whether The Old Man did it willingly or not, the male lead had escaped.
"I can only consider this as having cut off his biggest current cheat. It should at least suppress his development speed. After all, his rapid early-stage progress relied heavily on The Old Man's guidance and planning. Now, he has the system but lacks theoretical knowledge. He should be less difficult to deal with than before."
Fu Chuan was helpless in this situation and unwilling to waste any more time, as she could already hear the engine of a distant airship starting up.
She decisively composed herself, quickly picked up the backpack that had fallen from the male lead, and raised her hand, aiming the ring on her finger at the five-story building across the way.
Swoosh!
A transparent strand of Feathered Spider Silk shot out, quickly adhering to the building's rooftop. The elastic force recoiled, granting Fu Chuan a gravity-reducing ability that instantly launched her from the ground, silently soaring in an arc five or six meters high and over a dozen meters long.
At that moment, the tracking guards from the Economic Department's investigation team activated thermal imaging system on their airship. The system's remote surveillance feed was also transmitted to the wrist-mounted projector on Zhou Linlang's ship, where she was in charge. She saw thermal readings appear. The alley was bright with the heat of the fire, but there were no signs of any human presence.
"Inspector Zhou, he's gone. It seems he escaped again."
The tracking guard's voice was a bit weak. They couldn't believe they had failed to track him twice in one night. Was there really such a troublesome character on a garbage planet like X5 Star?
According to Inspector Zhou's earlier confidential assessment, the target was supposedly only a level-4 Arcanist. What the hell was going on?
"An order has been issued to the spaceport to prohibit any airships from departing. He can't leave for now. Could it be that he knew we were tracking him and hid in advance?"
Zhou Linlang also found it incredible. Had she underestimated this Qin Minfeng?
Tapping her fingers on the table, she suddenly said, "Activate the satellite surveillance directly. Lock onto that area and analyze all moving organisms."
The target might have found a way to evade thermal imaging system.
But before the Economic Department's team could activate the satellite, Fu Chuan landed on the rooftop with a soft tap. She quickly ducked into the corner by a chimney, then shot out another line, escaping several hundred meters in just a few leaps. She then dropped into a dark alley, swiftly took off her jacket, turned it inside out, pulled up the hood, and walked out of the alley in a few strides.
A few minutes later, the satellite system swept across the entire small town area of X5 Star. All residents exposed on the ground were visible under the powerful surveillance system.
Under the surveillance, every alley was laid bare.
The street Fu Chuan had walked into was also being monitored, but the investigation team couldn't make out anything specific. Their eyes were starting to blur.
It was too dense.
Outside the alley, the streets were bustling and filled with fragrant aromas. She emerged into a street packed with food stalls. It was dirty, but the smells were genuinely enticing, and it was teeming with people.
Fu Chuan walked through the crowd with the backpack on, casually buying some octopus balls to eat. As the shop owner handed her the steaming paper bag, he looked up and saw that the girl wearing a mask had a pair of exceptionally lively and striking eyes. Perhaps because she was in a good mood, they seemed to hold a smile, giving them a somewhat flirtatious quality.
"Here you go, miss."
"Thanks."
Fu Chuan flicked a few copper coins, which spun and clattered into a metal bucket.
Zhou Linlang arrived at the alley and received the analysis results of the collected samples. By judging the elements, she determined the type of Arcane art used.
"A composite Arcane of wind, fire, and wood. Although the level is low, the coordination is excellent. It's a high-end application of low-level Arcane arts."
She thought of Qin Minfeng. There was something strange about him. He clearly lacked the necessary knowledge base, yet he possessed corresponding abilities and behaviors, as if he had an expert guiding him from behind.
Could this also be his handiwork? He fought with someone else… successfully repelled them and escaped?
But the Arcane types didn't match.
Qin Minfeng already had Thunder Arcane. Cultivating four elemental Arcane arts simultaneously would be a huge drain on energy and resources.
Zhou Linlang quickly had the lab technicians accelerate the analysis of the blood collected from the ground. "Has the DNA sequence been analyzed?"
"It has. It matches the DNA sequence information for Qin Minfeng that you sent over. But there's no blood from a second person. It's all Qin Minfeng's."
This confirmed her suspicions were correct. Qin Minfeng was the party in the transaction and had tried to flee, only to be ambushed by a third party. The ambush was successful, and he was heavily wounded, but he still managed to escape…
Zhou Linlang grew curious. Was this tiny X5 Star really so complex?
And filled with unexpected characters who punched far above their weight. Who would target Qin Minfeng?
Suddenly!
Zhou Linlang looked thoughtfully toward the south.
"Evading thermal imaging would require a tool to lower body temperature. The shrapnel at the scene indicates the first explosion was from a Little Flying Thief, and the second was a composite Arcane spell. This attack must have cost at least a million copper coins."
Wealthy, low Arcane level but high skill, holds a grudge against Qin Minfeng, and is well aware of Qin Minfeng's deal with the Li Corporation, which means they must have had some contact with the situation.
Very few people fit these criteria, but there was one unlikely possibility.
"Check if the Xie Clan's airship has left X5 Star."
A moment later, her subordinate reported back.
"No, it's still docked in the town."
Oh?
A subtle look entered Zhou Linlang's eyes.
Five minutes later, she arrived as quickly as she could in front of the residence that a certain wastrel young master had sold just a few days ago. She knocked on the door with a series of sharp raps.
The door opened. The Xie Clan guards were somewhat taken aback and instinctively tensed up. After all, a visit from an official with real power was rarely a good thing.
"Excuse me, is there something you need, Lord Zhou?"
"It's nothing. Young Master Xie Keli acted heroically before, successfully eliminating the bandits and saving many people. In recognition of his contribution, I've come to trouble you late at night to deliver a midnight snack."
The guards were at a loss for words, but they didn't dare block her way, so they could only let the group of high-ranking officials rush into the house.
As soon as they entered, the prosecutors heard the sound of wailing.
It was on a loop, much like a recording…
Zhou Linlang paused for a second, then strode forward and pushed the door open with a click.
Inside the room!
A person was hugging an urn, crying while eating potato chips. Startled by the sudden opening of the door, they choked and then let out a hiccup.
He was here.
Zhou Linlang didn't speak to Fu Chuan. Her eyes just swept across the room, silently inspecting everything. She found no recording device, nor any other lingering traces of anything suspicious.
There were, however, quite a few empty snack bags on the floor.
"What… what do you want? Did I just hear you say you brought me a midnight snack?"
The scum, Young Master Xie, asked with a mix of surprise and timidity.
Having found no clues, Zhou Linlang's earpiece relayed another investigation result from her subordinate—a residual image from a surveillance camera in a nearby alley that night.
The figure that flashed by seemed to be a woman.
In that case, it had nothing to do with Xie Keli. And theoretically, if he didn't have an airship, it would be very difficult for him to get back here in such a short time, unless he was an Arcanist of level 15 or higher.
Zhou Linlang knew she had likely made a mistake, but she didn't let it show. She smiled faintly. "Yes. Good evening, Young Master Xie."
"Good evening."
"I won't disturb your mourning any longer. Goodbye."
Just as Zhou Linlang was about to close the door, Fu Chuan called out to her. "Wait."
"Hm?" Zhou Linlang turned to look.
The scum, Xie Keli, asked sheepishly, "Um, what about my midnight snack? Didn't you say you brought me a midnight snack?"
Midnight snack? What midnight snack?
Did I say that?
Zhou Linlang: "…"
Fu Chuan muttered under her breath, "What's the deal? Are civil servants this stingy? Did they eat it on the way here?"
Zhou Linlang, who had rarely lost her composure in her many years of service, felt her expression stiffen for a moment. It took her three seconds to produce a flawless smile.
"What would you like to eat?"
"Australian lobster and African Wagyu beef."
"…"
Zhou Linlang suddenly understood the prejudice her subordinates held against this scum, Xie Keli.
He really was… a bit annoying.
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