Chapter 558: Crucial Trust

Meng Chao also found the chain saber that the Vortex had used.

It was another counterfeit. It looked like it had runic symbols carved into it and a crystal embedded in it, and when the imitator swung it, it released really cool lightning effects.

But the crystal was low-grade, and the runic symbols were not very clear. There were a few missing strokes and wrong symbols, which gave it a sense of crudeness.

Sabers with Red Radiance Jade and chain sabers were actually pretty common weapons.

With just these two shattered weapons alone, it would not be enough to prove that someone had been imitating him.

Meng Chao then returned to the wall to investigate the Black Bone heir’s corpse.

He had been wary of the other’s strength and had not been merciful when he attacked. His saber had been enveloped by unstoppable spirit flames, and when he pierced the heir’s body, he also burned his heart, trachea, and lungs.

Just like Rattlesnake Xiang Wei, the Black Bone heir had already stopped breathing. Even if Asclepius himself arrived, he could not be saved.

Meng Chao then carefully compared the Black Bone heir’s chest wound with the wound on Rattlesnake Xiang Wei’s chest.

The two wounds were not made by simple tears and stabs.

Instead, they had been burnt by flames and electricity, so some of the tissues had already carbonized or even turned into powder.

Unless there was an experienced veteran forensic scientist around who could carry out the most detailed dissection in a lab with a complete set of equipment, it would be difficult to tell that the two fatal wounds did not come from the same weapon.

Right then, however, they did not have the time nor the facilities to slowly investigate the corpses.

Disorderly footsteps came from the distance.

The major forces of the lair had arrived.

Meng Chao quickly sized up the battlefield. His blood, hair, and fingerprints covered the ground and a lot of the corpses.

And forgetting about Rattlesnake Xiang Wei for the moment, the Black Bone heir had really been killed by Meng Chao.

Aside from the fatal wound on his chest, there were also nearly one hundred other wounds of various sizes on his body. All of them were left by Meng Chao.

This showed that before he died, he fought fiercely with his target.

Meng Chao’s body was also covered in the Black Bone heir’s fingerprints and hair.

And worse still, Meng Chao’s skin would probably be found under his fingernails.

This was all perfect, indisputable, and concrete “evidence”.

When Meng Chao returned his gaze to the Black Bone heir’s face and saw how distorted it was from extreme pain, he did not dare to bet that Phantom Bear Xiong Wei would be able to remain calm. Not after learning that his son had died a horrible death.

But even if the man could remain calm, he would tie up Meng Chao and put him under all sorts of restraints that would limit his fighting strength, then throw him into a dark cell. He would never let Meng Chao join the investigation.

This was something Meng Chao could not accept.

There were still ten hours before Leprosy Village went completely out of control.

They were in a critical situation, so he could not allow his and Dragon City’s fate to fall into other people’s hands.

Before the major forces from the gangs arrived, Meng Chao stole eight emergency kits from the corpses on the ground and quietly left the battlefield.

“Let’s go.” He returned to the corner and picked up Su Mulian.

Now that they had been acquainted for half a day, Su Mulian did not seem to be as terrified of him as when she first heard his name.

However, when Meng Chao grabbed her wrist, goosebumps still covered her skin as if the person who grabbed her was a monstrosity that looked like a tiger and had venomous fangs.

But she did not resist or ask any questions. She only followed Meng Chao obediently and retreated into the darkness.

Manager Song Jinbo of Glory Entertainment and Golden Tooth’s military adviser was waiting obediently in the darkness as well.

At that moment, Song Jinbo was scowling, as if he was thinking about something.

“Aren’t you going to run?” Meng Chao asked.

“I already did,” Song Jinbo mumbled. “But when I was hiding in the dark, I heard someone shout that you brought people over to ambush the pursuers and surrounded Rattlesnake Xiang Wei.”

“You didn’t believe it?” Meng Chao asked.

Song Jinbo smiled bitterly. “I don’t know whether I should believe it.

“The time doesn’t match up. Based on those people’s shouts, the fighting started more than ten minutes ago. At that time, you had begun slaughtering the gang members, and a few of the pursuers saw your face clearly.

“The problem is, at that time, you were carrying me while running through the tunnel toward the battlefield.

“How could a person appear at two places at the same time?”

“Good. As expected of a man who managed to become the manager of Glory Entertainment. You’re indeed not some ordinary person. Perhaps you’re the key that will help us unravel the mystery behind the scheme and save the lair,” Meng Chao said. “But we can’t stay here for long. We’ve already stepped into an even more dangerous trap. Let’s go back and discuss what we’ve learned. Then, we’ll be able to figure out how to launch a much fiercer counterattack!”

Song Jinbo hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind. He gritted his teeth and followed Meng Chao. They left the chaotic darkness as fast as they could.

The trio ran for a long time before Su Mulian tugged Meng Chao’s sleeve gently and dragged him to the side.

“Wait. We’re missing one person,” Su Mulian whispered. “Where is A’Ji? That child is still on the battlefield.”

“I know,” Meng Chao replied faintly. “It’s fine. Ignore him.”

“What?” Su Mulian asked in disbelief. Her eyes were wide from surprise. “We brought him out of Leprosy Village, but he’s still a boy. How could we just cast him aside?”

“Since he managed to survive until now, it means he was born lucky.” Meng Chao smiled confidently. “Trust me. I don’t think he’s a regular child. If we let him roam freely on his own for some time, he might come back on his own and bring us a pleasant surprise.”

Su Mulian could not understand what Meng Chao meant, but he did not intend to explain any further.

Even so, Su Mulian decided to believe him unconditionally, just like usual.

The trio walked past multiple twists and turns before they returned to the shelter they had found earlier.

Meng Chao injected four gene medicines into himself and drank a week’s worth of high-calorie nutritional fluid.

Then, he cast two Middle Stage Healing Skills and five Initial Stage Healing Skills.

With Su Mulian’s healing working together with Kindling’s healing, he released a long sigh after five minutes, and some color returned to his cheeks.

He gave a simplified version of the entire event to Song Jinbo. He chose to tell only the most important parts as well as the fact that he saw the Vortex’s real face.

Song Jinbo was first dumbfounded, then shocked.

“If it’s really as you said, then we only have ten hours left before the situation in Leprosy Village worsens to the point of no return!

“And during these precious ten hours, the gangs’ attention has been shifted by the abnormal beast to you, so it’s about to be wasted!

“Phantom Bear Xiong Wei does indeed have a favorite son named Xiong Ying. He has a fluorescent tattoo on his neck, and it shines ridiculously bright in the dark or when he circulates spirit energy.

“Xiong Wei has seven children. His eldest son and second daughter died in battle early on, while the other four children are only of mediocre talents. They will have a hard time taking up the responsibility for the whole gang. But his youngest son showed talent for cultivation since young, and his appearance and personality were very similar to those of his father, so he was loved by Xiong Wei. It was also a reason why he intended to teach him and make him inherit Black Bone.

“If the person you killed is really Xiong Ying, Phantom Bear Xiong Wei will go mad!”

Meng Chao smiled in anguish. “Alright, looks like to the gangs and the outside world, I haven’t just killed Bullet Xue Wei. I’ve also killed Rattlesnake Xiang Wei and Xiong Ying, the heir of Black Bone.

“Worse still, I did indeed kill Xiong Ying. All the clues left on the battlefield will prove that I killed him. This is what you call indisputable evidence!”

Su Mulian looked at Song Jinbo with hopeful eyes. “Thank goodness you’re willing to trust us, Manager Song. Could you explain to everyone that Meng Chao was with us at that time? You could tell them that he couldn’t have possibly had the time to kill Rattlesnake Xiang Wei while Xiong Wei was an accident because of the Vortex’s actions?”

“Of course I would be willing to explain it, but would the furious Black Bone leader believe me?” Song Jinbo asked. “I’m from Golden Tooth. The deceased Xiong Ying is from Black Bone. Black Bone and their supporter, Universe Corporation, are both eager for success and extremely ambitious. They’ve always had a delicate relationship with Golden Tooth.

“The situation right now is really messy, and this matter is just bizarre and odd. If I were Phantom Bear Xiong Wei, I wouldn’t readily believe anything anyone says.

“Forget about Phantom Bear Xiong Wei, I don’t even have the confidence that I’d be able to convince the people from Golden Tooth, because the key isn’t to explain this matter, it’s to explain this matter within ten hours while the abnormal beast continues fanning the flames. The difficulty of the latter is more than ten times higher than the former!”

“That’s right. Manager Song, you’ll definitely be of crucial help, so we can’t send you over to make crude explanations,” Meng Chao said calmly. “The Vortex might seem to have gained the upper hand in the current situation and cornered us, but it’s not as if we don’t have trump cards that will allow us to launch a counterattack.

“Our first trump card is that we gained Manager Song’s trust; he’ll be a key figure. He also understands the situation among the gangs.

“Our second trump card is that I dealt physical damage to the Vortex, which shows that it might be able to change its shape and disguise itself as anyone, but when it’s not attached to anyone, its offensive and defensive abilities are relatively weak.

“The most important thing I learned, however, is that it can’t withstand heat. When it’s burned by flames, the carbonized substances it leaves behind is different from the substances left by normal people when burned.”

In truth, Meng Chao had more trump cards, but those cards were not fully under his control. For example, the “child” who went missing mysteriously.

Meng Chao could only act according to the situation.

Right then, the most important thing was to figure out the situation. “Manager Song, where are Man-eating Shark Zhou Chong, Snake Eye Mo Lan, and the other key witnesses?”

Before, Song Jinbo thought that Meng Chao was on the monsters’ side and refused to speak even when threatened with death.

After that was cleared up, he naturally shared what he knew. “They’re in Lair Clinic, the best medical center in the lair. They’re together with the veteran hunters and elites who managed to escape. They’re being treated and are under observation.”