Chapter 67: Where's the Gift?

First, he went outside to the weeds, set down the surveillance equipment, and left with the fly-sized camera.

Returning to the Life-and-death Arena, there were still three arenas where people were fighting, and a crowd was engaged in combat.

The screams and roars continued, but the fights on the stage lacked their usual ferocity.

“I won’t kill you. Get off.”

On the arena, a man in black defeated his opponent but only confiscated his weapon.

Jiang Changkong frowned slightly—this wasn’t right.

In the Life-and-death Arena, aside from him, would anyone else hold back?

Could it be that they had been influenced by him?

Puzzled, Jiang Changkong went to find Lu Wuhai.

In the narrow space, Lu Wuhai had been waiting for a long time.

Lu Wuhai said calmly, “No goods today.”

“The arena today is quite good—less bloody,” Jiang Changkong whispered.

Lu Wuhai replied evenly, “Learning from you.”

“I came to tell you to hurry up and find goods. I need Star Stones to break through.”

Jiang Changkong said indifferently.

Lu Wuhai’s gaze sharpened. “Are you about to enter the late Star Sea Stage?”

Jiang Changkong didn’t answer and simply turned to leave.

Exiting the narrow space, Jiang Changkong left the Life-and-death Arena.

Just after stepping out of the underground area, Jiang Changkong frowned—someone was following him.

He quickened his pace, and the person behind sped up as well.

Jiang Changkong rushed into the weeds, dropped the fly surveillance device, and vanished after a few swift movements.

“We lost him.”

Three men in black charged into the weeds but didn’t even catch a glimpse of Jiang Changkong’s back.

“What about the surveillance?” the leader asked.

“The target blended into the martial market. The crowd is too dense, and everyone is in black and masked. It’ll take time to identify him.”

“Let’s go ask He Long. If we don’t catch the person who dared to rob our Star Stones within three days, we’ll shut this place down.”

The leader snorted coldly and turned back into the underground Life-and-death Arena.

Jiang Changkong didn’t know who was following him, nor did he need to.

If even Chu Jun knew that the person who stole the Special Starstone had appeared, other factions must know as well.

A mid Star Sea Stage expert who uses a blade and stole a Special Starstone—that was far too easy to identify. The military would surely suspect him as well.

Arriving at the previous location where he had placed the equipment, the screen displayed the surveillance footage from earlier.

The flies hadn’t followed him inside but were instead flying around the martial market.

In the dark sky, several flies were hovering in the air.

If not for Jiang Changkong’s exceptional eyesight, it would have been hard to spot them.

“The entire martial market is under surveillance now. I wonder if Brother Wen has made any progress.”

Jiang Changkong watched the surveillance footage with a hint of seriousness.

Ding-dong

Speak of the devil—Zhou Wen sent a video.

Cao Ye, Zhang Tao, Li He, Zhuang Xuanqing, and Song Jun were all there.

According to the school’s online information, Zhuang Xuanqing and Song Jun had left campus. It seemed they were nearby, perhaps even in the martial market.

This group was transporting Star Stones away from Jiangcheng.

Zhou Wen: “Changkong, these Star Stones are all depleted—their Star Power has been completely absorbed.

They’re probably being taken out of the city to be discarded, but given their status, they shouldn’t be doing this kind of work.”

Star Stones drained of Star Power?

These were just waste stones. Given their status, they shouldn’t be handling such tasks.

Could it be that these depleted Star Stones were hiding weapons?

Jiang Changkong felt it necessary to give Zhou Wen a heads-up: “Keep watching. Don’t be too surprised by anything that happens.”

“Okay,” Zhou Wen replied and continued monitoring.

Several hours passed without any discoveries on Jiang Changkong’s end. Zhou Wen sent more messages, several in a row.

“Firearms, bombs.”

“Under the abandoned Star Stones are bombs.”

“These guys are insane, they’re burying bombs.”

Jiang Changkong rubbed his temples and said, “Wen-ge, I already told you, don’t be too surprised by anything you see.”

Even after the heads-up, he was still this shocked.

“You knew all along?” Zhou Wen calmed down a bit and replied.

“I’ve reached the Star Sea stage. Cao Ye naturally wants to use other methods to deal with me.”

Jiang Changkong said calmly, “Keep monitoring, tell me the location, and continue watching.”

Zhou Wen was still somewhat flustered: “Should we notify the law enforcement bureau, the school? Or even the military?”

“Wen-ge, I trust you, which is why I asked for your help. There’s no need to alert anyone.”

“As long as we have evidence, and I already know about the trap, I won’t fall into it.”

Jiang Changkong said, “This is a major achievement for our rise. When work is assigned, you’ll have credit for it.”

Zhou Wen fell silent for a moment: “I understand. Once we have the evidence, they’re dead for sure. This many firearms aren’t comparable to a single Starlight Force Bomb.”

With just one Starlight Force Bomb, the school might still be able to protect them.

But this many firearms are enough for the Federation to tear them apart.

Jiang Changkong said a few more words, and the two ended their communication.

These people could get their hands on firearms, but where the firearms came from was still unknown.

This matter likely involved a group of big shots.

But it didn’t matter. He only needed to confirm one thing.

These people were worth a lot—enough to exchange for many Star Stones, whether dead or alive.

He didn’t say much more to Zhou Wen, lest this guy get uneasy and leak the matter.

If that happened, the credit wouldn’t be as significant, and the lion’s share would surely be taken by the law enforcement bureau or others.

“Next step, who should I choose?”

Jiang Changkong pondered. He wasn’t very familiar with the people in the underground Life-and-death Arena.

But he could still find one or two of He Long’s men.

A hundred third-grade low-tier Star Stones—he figured they wouldn’t miss out on that.

Tonight, he’d start scouting for candidates.

However, after watching the surveillance all night, he still hadn’t found a suitable candidate.

The sky had already brightened. Time to buy a ticket and return to the city.

Zhou Wen was still monitoring, having stayed up all night, keeping watch.

Back home, Jiang Changkong chose to catch up on sleep.

He slept until evening, when he was woken by Chu Jun’s phone call—it was time to go to Wu City.

After changing clothes, Jiang Changkong hurried to the school.

Cao Ye and the others had already gathered. Fang Chenggong led them, waiting for him at the school gate.

“Changkong is here. Let’s head out right away.”

Seeing Jiang Changkong arrive, Fang Chenggong smiled.

“Teacher Fang, seniors, sorry to keep you waiting.”

Jiang Changkong apologized, a hint of embarrassment appearing on his face, as if he felt truly sorry.

“It’s fine, we only waited a short while. Let’s go.”

Fang Chenggong smiled and led them toward the outskirts of the city.

Jiang Changkong asked curiously, “Aren’t we taking a vehicle? I heard there are buses to Wu City.”

Cao Ye explained, “No, our Martial Arts School has a shortcut. With our pace, it’s faster, not slower.”

Song Jun laughed, “That’s right, Changkong junior. I heard you’re quite capable, cracking the Zhang Hua firearms case—that’s a major achievement.”

“Yes, Changkong junior is amazing, fighting his way through Star Demon hordes.”

Zhuang Xuanqing said enthusiastically.

Li He and Zhang Tao also chimed in with praise, the group nearly lauding him as if he were a Celestial God descended to earth.

Fang Chenggong merely wore a faint smile, saying nothing as he led the way ahead.

A group of people left the city, with Jiang Changkong continuously humbling himself: “It was all luck, just luck.”

As the sky gradually darkened, Jiang Changkong estimated they were nearing the location where the bomb was buried.

Fang Chenggong stopped in his tracks: “Changkong, go ahead and take a look. There’s a gift prepared for you there.”

“A gift for me? Teacher, out here in this desolate wilderness, there’s a gift?”

Jiang Changkong looked at the thicket of weeds ahead, curious, though his heart was filled with murderous intent—Fang Chenggong was one of them too.

“This is your teacher’s heartfelt effort. He was too embarrassed to give it to you in person, so he entrusted me to arrange it,” Fang Chenggong said with a smile, like a kindly elder. “Hurry along now, don’t let your teacher’s intentions go to waste.”

“Then I’ll go. Teacher Chu Jun is too shy—could it be a third-tier weapon?”

As he spoke, Jiang Changkong dashed forward quickly.

Fang Chenggong and the others slowly retreated. This bomb was powerful, with a wide blast radius.

“Teacher Fang, where is the gift?”

Jiang Changkong’s voice came from ahead.

Fang Chenggong produced a remote control in his hand and pressed it gently: “Now there is.”