Chapter 175 – The Minor Character Ready to Take the Initiative

The Ruthless Man had no idea that at this very moment, the actions he would take had already been anticipated by the one who disrupted his ritual.

“If my guess is correct, the person stirring up trouble behind the scenes will soon set their sights on you.”

After releasing the disrupting Mist Waves and returning to the villa’s room, Su Ming abruptly made this statement without any preamble, causing Xu Qianqian to freeze in surprise.

“Set their sights on me?”

Xu Qianqian seemed unable to grasp Su Ming’s meaning immediately.

Looking at her reaction, Su Ming spoke frankly.

“You know, if all this is truly the doing of ‘Sin,’ then they have a collaborator among Longyao City’s upper echelons.”

“Now that someone in Longyao City has clearly used some method to disrupt their ritual, they will undoubtedly want to identify this person, or at the very least understand what exactly happened.”

“Given this, who would be more suitable for them to seek information from than that collaborator within Longyao City’s upper ranks?”

Su Ming’s words caused Xu Qianqian’s expression to shift slightly.

She roughly understood what Su Ming meant.

“…So you’re saying, if this is truly ‘Sin’s doing, they will definitely contact that collaborator at this time, asking them to provide information about who used what method to disrupt their ritual?”

Xu Qianqian pieced together the connections.

“Exactly.” Su Ming nodded. “And given their position in Longyao City’s upper echelons, it would be extremely simple for them to obtain any detection reports from the Base City’s detection department.”

This was a critical issue.

The disrupting Mist Waves Su Ming released had such significant commotion and powerful interference capabilities that they certainly wouldn’t escape the detection department’s notice.

The same detection department capable of predicting where the Spirit Demon Abyss entrance would appear would undoubtedly detect both the emergence of the disrupting Mist Waves and their launch location.

In other words…

“The fact that the disrupting Mist Waves were released from your Xu Family Young Miss’s villa might already be known to the detection department.”

Su Ming informed Xu Qianqian of this critical problem.

“And if the detection department knows, then that high-ranking official in Longyao City will certainly know too.”

And if that high-ranking Longyao City official knew, what difference was there from the suspected mastermind behind ‘Sin’ knowing about it?

This was why Su Ming said what he did.

“There’s a high probability you’ll become the target of the mastermind behind all this.” Su Ming looked directly at Xu Qianqian, speaking each word deliberately. “If handled poorly, this could become a far more deadly crisis than during the Huaming Campaign.”

This was what Su Ming wanted to convey to Xu Qianqian.

Xu Qianqian remained silent, offering no reaction, simply staring intently at Su Ming.

She knew that since Su Ming had anticipated this development, he must have some plan in mind.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have released the disrupting Mist Waves from her villa while knowing it could pose such great risk to her.

He wouldn’t harm her.

This much, Xu Qianqian felt certain of.

Sure enough…”Although this is a crisis, I believe you can turn it into an opportunity to flush out those hiding in the shadows.”

Su Ming’s words made Xu Qianqian’s eyes light up.

“You mean…?”

Xu Qianqian looked at Su Ming with intense focus.

“Exactly.” Su Ming smiled meaningfully and said, “Let’s set up an ambush and wait for those guys to walk right into our trap.”

This was precisely the stumbling block Su Ming intended to create for those scheming in the dark.

“We can follow the clues, first monitor who has accessed the intelligence department’s information to identify the Longyao City official collaborating with the Underground Professionals. Then we’ll set an ambush to capture all the attackers coming for you.”

“This way, we can extract information from these people about those who attacked the Wang Family and are secretly conducting dangerous rituals.”

“After that, we can take the initiative and capture all those bastards.”

Su Ming laid out all these calculations to Xu Qianqian in one breath.

Of course, all this was predicated on the assumption that the mastermind operating in the shadows was the Underground World mercenary group 『Sin』.

Only with this premise could they be certain there was a collaborator among Longyao City’s higher-ups behind this incident, allowing them to follow the trail and uncover all subsequent schemes.

If the other party wasn’t the Underground World mercenary group 『Sin』, then all these plans would become empty talk.

But being empty talk had its own advantages.

At the very least, they wouldn’t have to worry about the enemy easily tracing where the Mist Waves interference originated from, nor would they need to fear Xu Qianqian being targeted by dangerous individuals.

Although this would render Su Ming’s subsequent plans useless, releasing the Mist Waves interference would still create some obstacles for the enemy. No matter how you looked at it, Su Ming wouldn’t be at a loss.

The rest depended on whether Xu Qianqian was willing to cooperate, and fate’s arrangement.

“I understand what you mean.”

True to her character, even knowing she might be targeted by extremely dangerous Underground Professionals and facing imminent danger, Xu Qianqian showed no trace of fear.

Rather, taking the danger upon herself actually suited Xu Qianqian’s intentions.

With the danger focused on her, Su Ming wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire again because of her.

This was something Xu Qianqian was quite pleased to see.

So, even though all this was caused by Su Ming, not only was Xu Qianqian not the least bit troubled, she actually appeared eager to proceed.

However, Xu Qianqian still pointed out the risks involved.

“Setting an ambush is indeed a good idea, but with just our strength, can we handle the attackers who are very likely to come for us?”

This was Xu Qianqian’s only concern.

After all, their opponents were terrorists who had destroyed the Wang Family – an organization whose strength and influence were no less than the Xu Family’s, if not greater. If their own capabilities were insufficient, not only would capturing people through ambushes be impossible, but avoiding being counter-ambushed would already be fortunate.

If things turned out that way, the plan to follow the clues would become pure nonsense.

“You fool.”

Su Ming didn’t hesitate to mock her.

Naturally, Su Ming had considered this point thoroughly. Otherwise, why would he release the Mist Waves interference to make the enemy target Xu Qianqian?

Wouldn’t that be sending Xu Qianqian to her death?Su Ming dared to do this precisely because he believed there was great potential in this matter, and Xu Qianqian’s risk wasn’t as high as it appeared.

The reason was simple.

“This is a problem facing the entire Longyao City, not just the two of us,” Su Ming stated. “The major Families and influential forces in Longyao City are even more eager to root out the traitors among the higher-ups and eliminate the terrorists operating in the shadows. However, they’re at a loss for solutions—unable to find the culprits or uncover any clues, leaving them stuck in a stalemate.”

Under such circumstances, if Xu Qianqian were to fully disclose the plan of following the clues, not only the Xu Family but also the other major Families and influential forces in Longyao City would seize this rare and valuable opportunity and act together.

What Su Ming wanted Xu Qianqian to do was straightforward.

“Tell your father about this matter, and have him collaborate with his allies and the other Family forces in Longyao City to participate in this ambush operation.”

Su Ming’s words were an eye-opener.

“With so many major Families and influential forces protecting you, the likelihood of anything happening to you would be greatly reduced.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Qianqian fell into contemplation, weighing the feasibility of the plan.

To be honest, the potential was immense.

If everything unfolded as Su Ming predicted, this would undoubtedly be the best method to resolve the current deadlock in one fell swoop.

She believed that the upper echelons would willingly participate, clinging to this lifeline.

If things progressed as smoothly as anticipated, the chaos in Longyao City could potentially be quelled.

“Of course, I’m only offering a suggestion. The final decision rests with you,” Su Ming added. “If you think it’s unworkable, I do have other ways to divert the enemy’s attention and prevent them from targeting you.”

The method was simple: go to other locations and release the Mist Waves interference a few more times.

This would not only continuously trouble the enemy but also confuse their perspective, making them believe that the release points of the Mist Waves interference were unfixed and that the person disrupting their rituals might not necessarily be Xu Qianqian.

Whether to stay out of harm’s way or take the risk was entirely up to Xu Qianqian’s own judgment.

In response, Xu Qianqian didn’t hesitate much and directly gave her answer.

“I’m not afraid of danger,” Xu Qianqian said calmly. “Compared to overt threats, I fear the dangers that spread in the shadows even more.”

The chaos in Longyao City was already foreseeable.

It was clear that if those scheming in the shadows weren’t dealt with, this Base City could face a crisis even greater than the Huaming Campaign.

Xu Qianqian couldn’t turn a blind eye to this.

Even Su Ming had to act because his relatives lived in Longyao City, so how could Xu Qianqian, with her vast Family and responsibilities, remain aloof?

This was no longer a matter concerning one or two individuals. No one who knew the truth could stand by indifferently, acting as if it had nothing to do with them.

Naturally, Xu Qianqian was no exception.

“I’ll contact my father and start working on this,” Xu Qianqian raised her eyes and asked, “What about you? What do you plan to do?”

Clearly, Xu Qianqian had also discerned that Su Ming couldn’t remain uninvolved in this situation.Obstructing the release of Mist Waves proved that Su Ming also wanted to stop those scheming in the shadows, eliminating unstable threats for Longyao City.

Even if Su Ming’s motives weren’t for righteousness but rather for his friends, family, and ensuring he had a place to call home, the fact remained that he had taken action, demonstrating he couldn’t turn a blind eye to this either.

Just like last time, for the same reasons, Su Ming had let Little Hai’er go, allowing a potential source of turmoil in Longyao City to vanish. This time, based on the same rationale, Su Ming was prepared to intervene in everything.

Xu Qianqian wanted to know exactly how Su Ming planned to do it.

“As for me…”

Su Ming indeed had some ideas.

Although he didn’t want to expose his identity, this matter likely involved Little Hai’er, himself, and even his family and friends. Waiting idly at the Academy for the situation to unfold was out of the question.

As Xu Qianqian had guessed, Su Ming intended to intervene in all this.

However, that didn’t necessarily mean he had to reveal his identity.

“Don’t those who know about your last ambush incident think I’m the mysterious expert sent by the Yun Family Estate to protect you?”

Su Ming looked at Xu Qianqian and suddenly smiled.

“In that case, let me play the mysterious expert once more.”

Xu Qianqian understood the implication of Su Ming’s words.

In short, this time, Su Ming also planned to act while concealing his identity.

“You can keep me, with my identity hidden, by your side and claim that after learning you intended to put yourself in danger, you sought help from the Yun Family Estate again, and they once more sent the mysterious expert to protect you.”

Su Ming elaborated confidently.

“This way, I can openly participate in this matter.”

After all, it was his plan—how could he let Xu Qianqian face the risks alone?

Su Ming might be cautious, always wanting to remain an inconspicuous extra and develop slowly, but that didn’t mean he lacked responsibility.

In the past, when his strength was insufficient, Su Ming might have hesitated, wavered, or even retreated in the face of such situations. But now that he had the power to confront an Upper-Rank Professional head-on, even if he was far from unmatched, he had the confidence to face any circumstance.

Given this, as the proposer of this plan, Su Ming had no intention of withdrawing or standing by as a spectator.

At the very least, he had to ensure Xu Qianqian’s safety.

Otherwise, proposing this plan would simply be setting Xu Qianqian up for trouble.

“Are you sure?” Xu Qianqian couldn’t help but say, “The opponent is capable of defeating the Wang Family. Even if your strength has improved, you could still be in danger.”

“Don’t worry, you know my methods. If real danger arises, I have plenty of ways to escape.” Su Ming met Xu Qianqian’s gaze and continued, “Besides, as you said, I’m already at risk of being targeted. Since danger exists either way, I’d rather take the initiative than wait passively.”

Su Ming didn’t want to keep hearing obscure bad news from Xu Qianqian and spending his days overthinking.

If there was a way to resolve this once and for all, he might as well do it.If it really doesn’t work out, then I’ll just take all the important people around me and run away.

When it comes to survival and escape abilities, Su Ming believed few in this world could match him.

The bizarre assortment of items in his backpack weren’t just for show.

“Anyway, if you decide to execute this plan, I’ll definitely follow,” Su Ming said while looking at Little Hai’er. “Of course, you little lass will need to stay hidden to avoid being recognized. That would cause trouble later.”

Little Hai’er’s very existence was an unsettling factor for Longyao City. If exposed, not only the secretly active terrorists but even the major Families and powerful factions within Longyao City would become restless.

Su Ming didn’t want to create disputes and internal conflicts that would further destabilize Longyao City, which was already facing internal troubles and external threats while being in a precarious state.

That would only accelerate Longyao City’s downfall.

Considering this, and also considering that Little Hai’er’s current strength wouldn’t play a crucial role in conflicts at this level, Su Ming felt it would be better for the mermaid girl to remain in a safe place.

“Meeling! Meeling meeling!”

Whether Little Hai’er understood the situation or not, upon hearing Su Ming’s words, she immediately began waving her arms and dancing around.

But Su Ming directly reached out, pressed her small head, and stopped her.

“Do you still want Red Vein Stones? Do you want to become a high-level Phantom Demon quickly? Do you want to evolve?”

Su Ming’s rapid-fire three questions immediately drained Little Hai’er of her protest energy.

“Be good.”

Xu Qianqian patted Little Hai’er’s head to comfort her.

This indicated that Xu Qianqian also agreed with Su Ming’s approach, believing Little Hai’er should stay behind.

It wasn’t yet time for this mermaid girl to make her appearance.

For her to truly help Su Ming and become the assistance he envisioned, she needed to wait until she became a high-level Phantom Demon.

Once she became a high-level Phantom Demon, Little Hai’er would transform into a powerful enemy that even Four-Star Professionals would find difficult to handle.

Only then could Su Ming use her without any reservations.

(End of Chapter)