Translator: CinderTL
"Did anyone else follow us?" Jiang Cheng asked Huai Yi.
"No one from the hotel," Huai Yi replied, panting heavily. "But there are quite a few outside. I saw at least seven or eight people."
"Where are they?"
Huai Yi looked out the window. "Across the parking lot."
After regaining control of the situation, Jiang Cheng bound the unconscious man and tossed him onto the bed. He then tied the woman's hands behind her back and secured her to a chair.
Sitting opposite her, Jiang Cheng stared coldly at the woman. "Who sent you?"
"My background is not something you can inquire about. I advise you not to cause yourself trouble," the woman said, her bound state failing to diminish her arrogance. "And let me tell you, I brought many people with me this time. If they don't hear from me within fifteen minutes, they'll storm in here and slaughter both of you."
Jiang Cheng suddenly seemed to realize something. He stroked his chin and nodded. "You're right, I almost forgot."
"Give me your phone," Jiang Cheng said, reaching out to Huai Yi.
Though puzzled, Huai Yi knew this wasn't the time to ask questions and handed over his phone.
"Hello, I'm reporting a crime. There's a prostitution ring operating near the parking lot across from the Golden Sail Building. Yes, they're in a car right now. Please dispatch officers immediately." Jiang Cheng hung up. "Problem solved."
After answering the phone, Huai Yi asked in confusion, "Why can't you use your own phone?"
"I can't," Jiang Cheng shook his head. "Filing a false police report can land you in jail."
Huai Yi: "???"
The woman's expression shifted between dark and bright. These two were proving more difficult to handle than she'd anticipated, especially the young man before her, who radiated an unfathomable aura.
It was clear he was the one who held the power to make decisions.
The woman focused all her attention on Jiang Cheng.
"I mean no harm," she said, her tone softening as if preparing to sit down and discuss their current predicament. "I simply want that Red Blood Covenant. If you give it to me, I've brought the bargaining chips—they're in that briefcase over there."
She gestured toward the entrance, where a black briefcase leaned against the wall.
Jiang Cheng remained silent, his cold gaze fixed on her.
"This price is already quite generous. It's unrealistic for you to expect more, and my authority only extends this far," the woman continued. "I must also warn you that the item is useless to you, and..." her tone sharpened, "...it's dangerous."
Jiang Cheng had been waiting for this. "What danger?" he asked, staring intently at her.
"I can't say," the woman replied, meeting his gaze.
Jiang Cheng picked up the woman's gun, attached a silencer, then stood up and pressed the barrel against her head. "Don't be so rigid. Give me a chance to reconsider?"
If it had been anyone else, the woman might not have been so terrified. But Jiang Cheng was different. His eyes were utterly calm, as if killing someone meant nothing to him.
Cold sweat trickled down her back. She wanted to live, but she knew who had ordered her to do this and where they came from. If they found out she had betrayed them, the consequences would be far worse than death.
Just as she steeled herself to endure, Jiang Cheng's phone suddenly rang.
He answered without hesitation, even with the woman and Huai Yi present. A man's voice, deep and slightly raspy, came through the line.
"Let her go," Gong Zhe's voice was instantly recognizable. "She's working for us."
"Did you send them?" Jiang Cheng looked at the woman, his eyes narrowing slightly. She felt a chill run through her.
"No," Gong Zhe replied. "This is a misunderstanding. We're after the Red Paper."
In just a few sentences, Jiang Cheng understood the situation. They were after the Red Paper, and because the transaction had been conducted through Huai Yi's account, they had no idea Jiang Cheng would be here.
If it had been the middle-aged man, the process would have been much simpler.
After all, Jiang Cheng was asking for a favor, and Fatty was still in the woman's hands. He didn't want to push things too far, so he told Huai Yi to release her.
"Brother Jiang," Huai Yi exclaimed, "are we really letting her go just like that? What if they come back for revenge later?"
"They won't," the woman said, looking at Huai Yi. "I promise I won't come back to your villa in the middle of the night with a gun. You have to trust me."
Huai Yi hesitated for a moment before turning and entering the bathroom.
"What are you doing?" Jiang Cheng asked.
"I'm still looking for a rope to strangle her with," Huai Yi's voice echoed from the bathroom as he rummaged around. "I won't be able to sleep peacefully otherwise."
Finally, after Jiang Cheng repeatedly assured him, Huai Yi calmed down.
At that moment, Jiang Cheng noticed something peculiar about the woman. A tiny camera was hidden on her second button.
From the moment she entered the room, every movement within had been captured on camera.
It was only after seeing himself that the other party had directly called his phone.
"What's the purpose of the Red Paper?" Jiang Cheng asked. "Why would you go to such great lengths to acquire it?"
"It's a Red Blood Covenant," Gong Zhe replied calmly. "Each sheet represents a Gate that once went out of control. Give it to me; you have no use for it."
"I was going to give it to you, but it's no longer possible," Jiang Cheng said. "I lost it."
Upon hearing that the Red Blood Covenant was lost, Huai Yi and the woman who had just been unbound stared at Jiang Cheng in disbelief.
The voice on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment. "Where did you lose it?"
"I'm not sure exactly, but it must have happened between leaving the company and arriving at my studio," Jiang Cheng said with a forced casualness. "So I'm afraid I won't be able to complete this deal. Your Bargaining Chip is still here, untouched. I'll have someone return it to you."
"You lost the Blood Contract on the road?" The woman's face turned deathly pale, and she looked at Jiang Cheng as if he were an idiot. "Do you realize that if someone finds it, it could trigger a new Supernatural event!"
"What do you mean?" Jiang Cheng asked, surprised.
"Even though you resolved that Supernatural event, you didn't destroy the Gate. It's only dormant."
"When you meet the right person, this Gate will awaken again," the woman said excitedly, her voice trembling. "And the more deeply it's been corrupted, the faster it will awaken. It will control new Disciples of the Door like zombie ants, turning into a mobile supernatural event—a walking Gate!"
"The only way to completely destroy a Gate is to have it devoured by another Gate. But ordinary Disciples of the Door dare not attempt such a feat with a Gate that has been thoroughly corrupted and gone out of control. One wrong move, and the Gate within their own body could be affected."
"There was an incident once where a Disciple of the Door, on the verge of being completely corrupted, made a desperate gamble and forcibly devoured another Gate represented by a Red Blood Covenant. The result was catastrophic."
"The Supernatural Incident Level was immediately classified as A-Class. Many lives were lost before the matter could be suppressed."
(End of the Chapter)
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