Translator: CinderTL
To the young man's surprise, Gong Zhe only flipped through a few pages before handing the electronic tablet back.
"What's wrong?" the young man asked, his eyes filled with confusion. "Mr. Gong, do you think these are fake too?"
"They're not fake."
"Then why won't you consider—"
"While they're not fake, I already knew all this," Gong Zhe said. "He's using information we've long been aware of to stall us, buying time. He hasn't revealed a single useful thing."
"But how could he know what we know?" The young man's expression turned slightly panicked. "Or has he already guessed our identities?"
Gong Zhe shook his head. "It's An Xuan. He recognized An Xuan and assumed the Night Watcher had kidnapped him. That's why everything he confessed was already known to An Xuan." He pointed at the electronic tablet. "This is the Nightmare event they both experienced together."
"Damn it!" The young man's eyes narrowed. He hadn't expected this timid, obese Fatty to pull such a trick on them.
"Mr. Gong, hand him over to me. I guarantee I'll have him spill everything he knows within three days."
Gong Zhe looked at the young man. "But you can't harm him. At least, he must be returned without a scratch."
Hearing this, the young man's body stiffened. After a moment of thought, however, he nodded firmly. "Understood."
"Mr. Gong!" A man in his early thirties stumbled into the room, his face pale with panic. "They... they've escaped!"
"Who escaped?" the young man snapped. "What's the rush? Speak slowly."
"The two specialists sent by the Night Watch Executive Department," the middle-aged man explained. "They knocked out our escort and then disappeared. A hole was cut through the back window. They must have escaped through it."
"Escaped through the window?" the young man asked incredulously. "What were the people in the Surveillance Room doing?"
The young man was now the most anxious. As the equivalent of a butler here, he knew all too well the family's punishment for any failures.
"It's strange," the middle-aged man continued. "Everything in the Surveillance Room seems normal. They must have infiltrated our defense network—no, not must have, they definitely did!"
The young man immediately pulled out his phone and exported a map. "There are only two routes they could have taken to leave the villa."
The map clearly showed two winding lines, representing the possible escape routes.
"Those people are ruthless," the middle-aged man who had just entered gritted his teeth. "They came in six cars with over twenty people, but those two only cared about saving themselves, completely ignoring the rest!"
"They must have learned Mr. Gong was returning and panicked about being exposed, so they fled early," the young man said, picking up the phone to arrange an ambush and pursuit.
This was their territory, not a place they could come and go as they pleased. And judging by their frantic behavior, they must have discovered something extraordinary.
The most terrifying part was that as the masters of this place, they still didn't know what had been discovered.
Just as the young man connected the call to issue orders, a hand reached over, snatched the phone, and hung up.
"Mr. Gong?"
Gong Zhe looked toward the Gate. "That diversionary tactic only works once. They're still here."
"Notify the security team to seal off all entrances and exits of the villa. We're not going anywhere. We'll wait for them right here."
Hearing this, the man in his early thirties rushed back, presumably to make arrangements.
"They... really came for that person?" With no one else around, the young man asked cautiously, "That Fatty?"
The young man hadn't expected this obscure Fatty to trigger such a massive wave. The Night Watch Executive Department was even risking a complete break with the Xia Family to wade into these murky waters.
Who exactly was this Fatty?
"Perhaps, perhaps not," Gong Zhe said, his voice calmer now. He habitually adjusted his suit button before turning to leave. "Take me to see this Fatty."
Hearing this, the young man hurried forward, blocking Gong Zhe's path. "Mr. Gong!" he said urgently. "I suspect those people don't know where he's being held. They're likely lying in wait nearby. If we go there recklessly, we might expose the detention site."
Gong Zhe's lips twitched, the scar on his jaw pulling into an ugly smile. "But we can also uncover their true motives, can't we?"
The young man hesitated, then immediately understood. If those people had already obtained what they wanted, they would remain hidden, waiting for an opportunity to escape.
But if they hadn't found what they were looking for—or the person they sought—they would inevitably try to follow Gong Zhe once he appeared. After all, everyone understood the weight this man carried.
Common sense dictated that the Xia Family, startled by this incident, would immediately dispatch personnel to check whether any important items were missing.
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As a descendant of one of the original thirteen families who founded the Night Watchers, Gong Zhe undoubtedly possessed secrets unknown to outsiders.
The young man and Gong Zhe walked along the rugged mountain path, one in front of the other. There was no actual road here, only untouched wilderness.
Heaven only knew how much effort they had expended to carry the Fatty up here.
After a while, they reached a forest cabin concealed by camouflage netting. The cabin was built into the mountainside, covered in moss, and constructed not of wood but of massive, heavy mountain rocks.
At the gate, Gong Zhe gestured for the young man to enter first. Less than a minute later, Gong Zhe opened the door and followed him inside.
The interior was much larger than expected, with a portion extending into the mountain itself. It was divided into five rooms.
Besides the Fatty, there was also a grim-faced old man sitting cross-legged on the floor, wearing a gray robe that looked as if it hadn't been washed in ages.
Upon seeing Gong Zhe enter, the old man merely lifted his eyelids slightly before closing them again.
"Mr. Gong," the young man whispered, "Did anyone follow us?"
"No."
Just as Gong Zhe answered "no," the Gray-Robed Elder suddenly let out a silent laugh. His lips curled back, revealing a tangle of sharp, interlocking teeth.
Each room here was completely isolated. Fatty was locked in the second-to-last room, idly playing with the excess flesh on his belly when he heard a commotion outside.
He sniffed the air, as if catching a strange scent. Then, his head spun, and he collapsed to the floor.
A moment later, the gate opened, and Gong Zhe entered.
"Guard the gate," Gong Zhe instructed, turning to the young man. "I need to examine his internal condition."
(End of the Chapter)
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