Chapter 177 – 「Ming Wang」

Longyao City, Xu Family Estate.

At daybreak, a ceremonial car drove into the estate, stopping before the gates of the Main Residence.

Xu Qianqian stepped out of the vehicle, accompanied by a mysterious figure clad in a cloak and hood, their face concealed by a mask and their right hand gloved—completely obscuring any identifiable features.

“Young Miss!”

The welcoming party flanking both sides of the gate bowed in unison as Xu Qianqian arrived, their gestures as routine as ever.

Xu Qianqian nodded with detached composure, her gaze flickering toward the mysterious figure beside her.

Sensing her glance, the figure gave an imperceptible nod.

Lowering her eyelids, Xu Qianqian hesitated no further. She strode forward, leading the way toward the Main Residence with the mysterious person in tow.

Along the path, stewards and servants bowed one after another upon seeing Xu Qianqian, yet their eyes held unmistakable wariness as they observed the “shrouded” individual accompanying her.

Unfortunately, neither Xu Qianqian nor the enigmatic black-clad figure paid any heed to the stewards and servants, proceeding directly toward the top floor on one side of the Main Residence.

Before long, Xu Qianqian arrived before a study.

Inside, a man stood with his back to the door, gazing out the window as if admiring the scenery beyond.

“Father.”

Xu Qianqian entered the study, her eyes fixed on the man as she spoke slowly.

The man turned around just as gradually, his attention shifting to Xu Qianqian.

It was none other than Xu Yongfeng.

Gone was the amiability he had displayed during the previous family banquet; instead, he seemed to have adopted a demeanor similar to Xu Qianqian’s—cold, composed, and severe.

He first cast a sidelong glance at the mysterious figure beside Xu Qianqian before speaking.

“You’ve been too reckless.” Xu Yongfeng’s tone was icy, as if simmering with anger. “Why didn’t you consult me before taking such critical actions?”

Xu Yongfeng was genuinely furious.

Xu Qianqian had already informed him of everything.

From obstructing the Mist Waves affair to the covert collusion between the Mo Family and 『Sin』, and even—following Su Ming’s instructions—revealing her plan to act as bait to lure out the enemy. She had laid it all bare.

She needed Xu Yongfeng’s assistance, after all—to unite the remaining forces in Longyao City and set an inescapable trap to capture the likely incoming 『Sin』 terrorists.

Given this, she had to disclose the plan and her collaboration with Su Ming to Xu Yongfeng in advance.

This left Xu Yongfeng both deeply shocked and intensely angry.

Shocked that Xu Qianqian had acted behind his back to disrupt 『Sin』’s ritual and exposed the identity of the high-level traitor in Longyao City he had long been searching for.

Angry that she had undertaken such actions without consulting him at all—acting first and reporting later, making herself a target of 『Sin』.

Had Xu Yongfeng known of this beforehand, he would never have allowed Xu Qianqian to become the bait.

Now that she was 『Sin』’s target, the slightest misstep could cost her life.

“Why act so rashly?” Xu Yongfeng demanded with considerable frustration. “Though I don’t know where you obtained that item capable of disrupting the ritual, there was no need for you to handle it personally. Had you entrusted it to me, I have plenty of people who could have taken your place.”Hindering the release of Mist Waves didn’t necessarily require Xu Qianqian to handle it personally.

Assigning someone else to a different target could equally disrupt the Sin’s ritual, serve as bait for Sin’s targeting, and expose the Mo Family in the process.

Yet, Xu Qianqian took this task upon herself, becoming the dangerous focal point – how could this not infuriate Xu Yongfeng?

Facing Xu Yongfeng’s anger, Xu Qianqian merely offered a light explanation.

“I didn’t think that much about it at the time – I just acted on impulse.”

Her words drove Xu Yongfeng to fury.

But this was indeed the truth.

At that moment, Xu Qianqian genuinely hadn’t considered the consequences, only knowing that hindering Mist Waves could create obstacles for their enemies, which naturally made her approve of its immediate release.

It was only afterward that Su Ming explained all the connections to Xu Qianqian, making her understand the seriousness and operational aspects of this matter.

Therefore, there was nothing wrong with Xu Qianqian’s explanation.

The problem lay with Su Ming.

After all, Su Ming was the one who, fully aware of all developments, still released the hindering Mist Waves at Xu Qianqian’s villa.

He was the true culprit who made Xu Qianqian become Sin’s target.

However, Su Ming had explained that if they weren’t executing the bait plan, he intended to release several more hindering Mist Waves elsewhere to divert the enemy’s attention and prevent them from suspecting Xu Qianqian.

Thus, Su Ming didn’t feel particular caution was necessary at the time, and after obtaining Xu Qianqian’s confirmation, he immediately released the hindering Mist Waves.

Xu Yongfeng, unaware of all this, could only assume it was Xu Qianqian acting willfully.

“I shouldn’t have spoiled you so much, making you dare to do anything.”

Xu Yongfeng scolded angrily.

Xu Qianqian accepted this calmly, showing no signs of reflection despite her father’s reprimand.

Seeing her like this, Xu Yongfeng could only feel helpless.

Scolding seemed to have no effect on her.

As for physical punishment, he could never bring himself to strike his only daughter.

No matter how angry or furious he felt, Xu Yongfeng knew he was powerless when it came to this daughter.

So Xu Yongfeng resigned himself to the situation.

“From now on, you are not to take a single step outside the Xu Family Estate. Stay honest at home.”

Xu Yongfeng stopped blaming Xu Qianqian and instead issued a house arrest order.

Only then did Xu Qianqian react.

“Is this really appropriate?” Xu Qianqian looked directly at her father. “The opponent is likely Sin’s underground professional mercenaries. Even the Wang Family was breached. If I stay here, the Xu Family might become their target and suffer attacks.”

Xu Yongfeng was naturally aware of this.

But this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Confrontation with a suspected underground organization like Sin will undoubtedly be intense. Having the battlefield elsewhere in the city would actually be more unsettling.” Xu Yongfeng said calmly. “Rather than that, it’s better to fight on our own territory where we’ll have geographical advantage and human support – at least that’s an advantage for us.”

Though confining the battle to the Xu Family Estate might significantly impact the estate, it would indeed allow them to maximize their geographical advantages.Whether it was setting up an ambush or protecting Xu Qianqian, doing it on their own turf was always better than elsewhere.

“I’ve already obtained your grandfather’s approval and communicated with the various Family forces in Longyao City in advance. We’ve unanimously decided to take this opportunity to root out and resolve the previously stagnant situation.”

Xu Yongfeng delivered this news.

This informed Xu Qianqian that although her father was very angry, even he considered this a good opportunity to capture the enemies who had been hiding in the shadows.

To this end, without Xu Qianqian’s knowledge, Xu Yongfeng had already begun making arrangements. Not only had he reached an agreement with his father, the current Family Head of the Xu Family, but he had also gathered the forces of other factions in Longyao City in advance, preparing to set up a genuine dragnet.

Even if their opponent was Sin, the largest mercenary organization in the underground world and one of the overlords among Underground Professionals—whose strength was astonishing and beyond what Longyao City alone could handle—what Su Ming could think of, these political leaders naturally could as well.

They unanimously believed that even though Sin possessed formidable power, with multiple forces keeping each other in check, it would be impossible for Sin to deploy its full strength against Longyao City.

If it truly came to that, Longyao City could seek assistance from the other three Base Cities and unite the strength of all Four Base Cities to confront Sin together.

Moreover, if other Base Cities beyond the Four Base Cities learned that a full-scale war with Sin was breaking out here, they would also come to aid.

After all, Underground Professionals were still Underground Professionals—they had committed unforgivable crimes in various places. Especially for a world-class terrorist group like Sin, the number of forces they had offended and the extent of the harm they had caused were immense. If Sin truly intended to deploy its full strength, these forces would only rejoice, not worry, and would gladly seize this opportunity to capture Sin in one fell swoop and eradicate it completely.

The members of Sin surely knew how many people in the world wished to eliminate them and wouldn’t be foolish enough to give others the chance to destroy them.

Thus, they would inevitably be unable to deploy too much of their strength.

In that case, Longyao City had no reason to be overly cautious of Sin—they could confront them head-on without hesitation.

If they could provoke Sin into acting recklessly, it would instead earn them assistance and gratitude from the forces of other Base Cities. No matter how you calculated it, this deal was a win.

In summary, after learning about Xu Qianqian’s situation, Xu Yongfeng discussed it overnight with the higher-ups and Family forces in Longyao City and ultimately decided to wade into these troubled waters.

In fact, if they didn’t seize this opportunity, facing the chaos and danger that could arrive at any moment, Longyao City would truly become a plaything for Sin to manipulate at will.

What was once a situation with no leads had now suddenly gained momentum. Not only Xu Yongfeng but even the other higher-ups in Longyao City were eager to take action.

Therefore, aside from his dissatisfaction with Xu Qianqian becoming the bait, Xu Yongfeng was quite committed and enthusiastic about this operation.

Xu Qianqian, however, was surprised by how quickly things had progressed.

“Grandfather agreed too?”

Xu Qianqian murmured to herself.”What else can we do if we disagree?” Xu Yongfeng snorted coldly and said, “The situation is already urgent now, and our opponent is a force capable of wiping out even the Wang Family. Your grandfather wouldn’t stand by and do nothing about this.”

As he spoke these words, Xu Yongfeng finally turned his head to look at the mysterious figure standing quietly beside Xu Qianqian, who had been serving as part of the background until now. His eyes began to flicker with thought.

“But this person beside you—he’s not one of those private soldiers under your command, is he?”

Xu Yongfeng had finally brought up this individual’s presence.

Xu Qianqian immediately became expressionless.

“He’s not one of my private soldiers; he’s here to assist.”

Xu Qianqian said this with a blank face, as if she weren’t particularly close to the person beside her.

But as Xu Qianqian’s father, Xu Yongfeng could naturally tell that although his willful daughter appeared cold and indifferent, her tone betrayed a sense of relief she couldn’t quite conceal.

This made Xu Yongfeng raise an eyebrow.

“Then who might this be…?”

Xu Yongfeng asked aloud.

The one who answered wasn’t Xu Qianqian, but the person at the center of the conversation.

“Councilor Xu should know me,” the other party suddenly spoke up in a somewhat low and witty tone, saying, “After all, this isn’t the first time I’ve stepped in to help Young Miss Xu.”

These words made Xu Yongfeng pause for a moment before he seemed to recall something.

“Could it be that you’re the mysterious expert sent by the Yun Family Estate’s Young Miss to rescue my daughter during the Huaming Campaign?”

Xu Yongfeng’s eyes lit up as he fixed his gaze on the other person.

“That’s me.”

The other party readily admitted.

This person was, of course, Su Ming, who had disguised himself and concealed his identity.

“Might I ask Your Excellency’s esteemed name?”

Learning that Su Ming was the mysterious expert who had saved Xu Qianqian last time—the Yun Family Estate expert capable of repelling Gao Xu—Xu Yongfeng’s attitude became more formal.

Unfortunately, Xu Yongfeng had no idea that the mysterious expert before him was actually the “acquaintance of the Yun Family Estate’s Young Miss” he had previously invited to the family banquet.

“I have no name or surname.”

Su Ming’s eyes shifted slightly as he spoke.

“You may call me Ming Wang.”

I’m clearly not an extra today—I’m the one you should call King.

Su Ming mischievously played with the meme in his heart.

“Ming Wang…”

Xu Yongfeng rapidly searched his memory, trying to recall any information related to the title “Ming Wang.”

Naturally, he found none.

(A powerhouse capable of competing with an Upper-Rank Professional, even repelling Gao Xu—how have I never heard of him?)

Xu Yongfeng pondered silently but didn’t dwell on it for too long.

Since he was from the Yun Family Estate, it was very likely that the other party had been invited by the Yun Family Estate from another Base City.

The Cloudflow Commerce’s business spanned all Four Base Cities, and their connections were extensive. It was entirely possible they had befriended such a mysterious expert somewhere.

In that case, it was only natural that he hadn’t heard of the other party.

Xu Yongfeng stopped overthinking it.

“Your Excellency Ming Wang, we are deeply honored that you have come again to assist our Xu Family,” Xu Yongfeng simply said. “Might I ask if this is on Miss Yun’s behalf or your esteemed Madam’s?”

“Naturally, it’s on the Young Miss’s behalf,” Su Ming replied with a carefree laugh.

“I see.” Xu Yongfeng understood immediately.It seems that once again, it was the young man named Su Ming who sought help from Yun Langyue, prompting her to dispatch Your Excellency Ming Wang to lend support.

Xu Yongfeng’s thoughts aligned perfectly with Su Ming’s premeditated plan.

Su Ming successfully infiltrated the scene under the guise of a mysterious powerhouse, joining this major event.

(End of Chapter)