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Cui Ming didn't know how to respond, as he was hesitant to draw conclusions. If the target really was the Crow, what kind of growth in strength could have occurred over the past ten or twenty years? Could five against one defeat Wandering? He wasn't sure. In theory, a group attack was a good strategy, but when the opponent's strength reached a certain level, there was little difference between one-on-one and a group fight. Just like Zhir.
Ultimately, Cui Ming replied, "I have some confidence." The target definitely wasn't at Zhir's level; otherwise, they might as well give up and wait to be slaughtered. To have confidence, he needed to improve his own strength. It was impossible to enhance quality, so he had to increase quantity. Currently, there were two practitioners in Dawn City: Evelyn and Zhao Wei. Evelyn wouldn't make her presence obvious, but Zhao Wei would dare to step in and help if she wore a mask. A few cold shots from Evelyn would suffice; if they couldn't leave anyone behind in a seven-to-one situation, then so be it.
A seven-to-one scenario was the ideal outcome, but many things needed to be done to achieve this best-case scenario. Tomorrow, Jayce would go to the nursing home, and today Cui Ming had one crucial task: to persuade Evelyn. Evelyn was key; she had two strong abilities: traps and long-range precision headshots with immense damage that not even non-support practitioners could withstand. Her other ability was observation—Evelyn's skills in assessing the scene and judging situations were unmatched by anyone but Cui Ming. If he could get Evelyn's help, they could either avoid fighting or go for the seven-to-one strategy.
Time was tight; Cui Ming glanced at the clock—it was already ten-thirty in the morning. Without waiting for lunch, he left alone. This time he didn't go through Zhao Wei but directly invited Evelyn to lunch. She agreed over the phone but mentioned she was busy today and suggested they eat at a small restaurant across from the police station for a couple of dishes.
Evelyn's profession made her alert to the fact that Cui Ming wanted something from her. It might be something that put her in a difficult position, but since Cui Ming had asked her out, she felt she couldn't refuse.
At noon in the small restaurant's private room, with seven dishes and a soup served, Cui Ming poured soup for Evelyn and began explaining his current situation, expressing how much he needed her help.
Evelyn slowly ate her rice while listening attentively. After she finished listening, she pondered for a while before saying, "Cui Ming, using Jayce as bait is something the police won't allow. Jayce is a person of political importance; if there's any intelligence suggesting he might be attacked, the police have an obligation to protect him. But fundamentally, it's protection—not using him as bait."
Cui Ming replied, "Evelyn, I know my plan conflicts with your identity as a police officer, which is why I'm asking you privately for lunch. I may have some confidence, but anything can happen. I truly don't want any accidents involving Jayce during my plan; I really need your help."
"I also don't want anything to happen to Jayce in Dawn City. You think this person is likely the Crow?"
"There’s a possibility; the chance of it being an assassin is quite low. The noble families have trained some assassins over the past few centuries, but excellent assassins have one major flaw—they find it hard to step into the limelight. Their training and creed make it difficult for them to become outstanding leaders. The target is clearly someone who acts as a liaison and leader for Leopard Woman's group; if they were an assassin, I believe it would be more advantageous for them to join Leopard Woman in the desert. As long as it's not an assassin, Jayce should be safe."
"Unless he's the Crow," Evelyn mused. "Can we defeat the Crow?"
Once again came this question—an undeniably difficult one to answer because the Crow was fleeting. Cui Ming said, "The likelihood of it being the Crow is only 20%. Even if it is the Crow, I think we can still fight back. Seven against one; Evelyn, you are Key Point—once you set up a trap and land that critical headshot at just the right moment combined with your observational skills and judgment ability, you can completely control the situation."
Evelyn asked, "Do you know what I'm worried about?"
"What?"
"The fate of Jayce. But looking at the current situation, even if I don't do it, you will." Evelyn nodded. "Alright, but there's a condition: you have to follow my orders."
Cui Ming immediately nodded, cautiously saying, "Actually, there's one more thing that you might not be too happy about."
"I don't know anything; I pretend to know nothing." Evelyn ate quickly. Before Cui Ming had even picked up his chopsticks, she had finished her meal and placed her bowl down. "Wait for my call; do not act on your own. If you mess around behind my back, I won't let you take anyone away."
The key point was that Cui Ming and his group intended to kidnap the target, which fundamentally conflicted with Evelyn's work. Even knowing that Cui Ming's group were good people, Evelyn couldn't hand the person over to them. Besides, sometimes Cui Ming's methods lacked right or wrong, and it was uncertain whether they would end up causing trouble for themselves.
Cui Ming was surprised and stood up to see Evelyn off. "I thought this issue would take a lot of talking." As a smart person, it bothered him that she agreed so readily. How cheap...
Evelyn reached the door and said, "Cui Ming, you have helped me a lot, and I think this favor is significant. I hope you can treat Dawn City as your home city and be willing to stand up when Dawn City needs you."
Cui Ming nodded. "You can rest assured about that; we have a deep affection for Dawn City and feel a strong sense of belonging."
"Good, it's settled then." Evelyn said. "I will set up the traps this afternoon, but there are many people in the nursing home, so I can't guarantee success."
"Thank you, thank you." Cui Ming shook hands with Evelyn. She withdrew her hand to indicate he shouldn't see her off; she needed to get to work immediately. Cui Ming closed the door and returned to eat while reflecting on various details. Executing this plan was actually exhausting, especially with Wandering being an ally with differing goals. However, Cui Ming enjoyed this kind of challenge; deep down, even if Wandering won, he wouldn't feel sad or upset because he could learn a lot.
...
Evelyn's unique abilities were unmatched by anyone Cui Ming knew; her stealth skills were exceptional. Evelyn set up three locations: the first was a hiding spot for the wind that must not be left; the second was Beiyue's hiding spot, which also must not be abandoned—everything from eating to relieving oneself had to be done there. The third location was the hiding spot for Evelyn and Cui Ming in a cave located three hundred meters from the center of the nursing home—two hundred twenty meters at its closest and four hundred fifty meters at its farthest—overlooking most of the nursing home.
Cui Ming's group was chosen because he had the ability to provide immediate support; Evelyn didn't want anything happening to Jayce on her turf. The chosen hiding spot was a cave inhabited by bats and rats. Evelyn instructed Cui Ming to wear grass-green clothing and covered the entrance with vines; all of this was completed that same night. Beiyue and Feng also brought food and water into their hiding place that evening.
The plan spans a total of two days and one night, starting tomorrow morning at nine and lasting until the following evening at nine, when Jayce will depart. Jayce's activities are limited to within a hundred meters of his godfather's villa, as his godfather has been reclusive due to health reasons and rarely leaves the villa.
The next day, under the bright sun, Evelyn spotted Jayce's car appearing on the highway, heading towards the sanatorium. It turned towards Jayce the Godfather's villa, prompting her to ask, "Where is your pawn?"
"I don't know either," Cui Ming explained. "He only assured me that he would be present in this area. By the way, he used to be a police officer."
"Oh?" Evelyn was quite surprised. There were police practitioners, but most were ordinary cultivators and did not reach the level of masters. Evelyn asked, "So he should be well-known?"
"Not really."
"What's his name?"
"Little Lu."
"Just a name?"
"That's all I know—he's called Little Lu."
"Is he strong?"
Cui Ming replied, "He defeated the Antarctic Witch in a one-on-one match."
"Really?" Evelyn questioned, then added, "I can't believe there are still unknown masters out there."
Cui Ming said, "By the way, Evelyn, how is the matter I asked you about?"
"Evelyn said, 'I set everything up long ago. If the Warden were to enter Dawn City through the main route, I would know. But I don't think the Warden will do that.'
'Recently, I've been on the move, and the Warden hasn't had reliable information to track me down. He has two options: wait for me to settle in one place or lie in wait. Previously, I was surrounded by experts, and I believe the Warden wouldn't confront me directly. The problem is, I currently have no idea where the Warden is.'
Evelyn looked through her telescope at the outside. 'The Warden... psychologically speaking, he has obtained the Soul Stealing Scroll and has been defeated by you before. I think he is likely to kill someone soon to enhance his own power. Moreover, given the Warden's characteristics, his lantern is filled with soul energy; killing can significantly boost his abilities. I'll contact the police across the continents to see if there have been any reports of multiple deaths or mass deaths of primates.'
'Thank you.'
'No need to be polite; the Warden is not a good person. Cui Ming, I don't think you need to fear the Warden; you have teleportation, and he isn't an assassin.'
'I used that move in front of the Warden before; he should know I have a life-saving technique. That makes me even more worried.' Cui Ming explained, 'The Warden is not a good person; I'm concerned he might target my friends. Logically speaking, he would likely choose to strike when I'm with Beiyue. I can't run... neither of us can defeat him.' In their battle in the desert, both he and Feng had been utterly defeated. Although they had both improved significantly since then, the Warden had become even stronger, especially with the repair of his Soul Lantern and enhancement from the Soul Stealing Scroll, which could dramatically increase his power in a short time.
Evelyn nodded. 'So you can't be alone with Beiyue.'
'Yes, I've considered using this method to set a trap, but there hasn't been any news about the Warden at all; I have no idea when he will come.' Cui Ming admitted honestly, 'I really can't defeat him, but if I can track his movements, I can eliminate him.' The information was on his side while no one knew where the Warden was. The good news was that this time the Warden didn't have skilled trackers like Wraith helping him or Toad's sudden underground escape techniques, so his abilities were somewhat limited.
Furthermore, there was the Fate Card; it would alert Cui Ming at his most dangerous moments. However, if he were alone with Beiyue and the Warden didn't have a clear intention to kill him, would the Fate Card still warn him? If the Warden were to ambush Beiyue, would it give a warning? What worried him most was if the Warden understood him well enough to directly attack Beiyue when she was alone and force him to reveal himself.
Beiyue had become his Achilles' heel; in reality, even without Beiyue, if the Warden captured Li Qing or Mi Xiaonan, Cui Ming would still be prepared to show himself—there would be no difference. However, in the Warden's view, capturing women was much more effective than capturing brothers. For instance, if both your wife and brother fell into water, who would you save?
In this novel, choosing either option is wrong and will lead to blame. But how would one choose in reality... cough, I won't say much more; knowing more friends who can swim can effectively alleviate the awkwardness brought by this dilemma—or you could just not learn how to swim.' (To be continued.)"
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