Use first and repay later: Advance the future cultivation fruits

Chapter 73: 73, a coin

“Jiayi.”

Lin Qing adjusted his uniform collar and asked, “No one noticed me on my way here, right?”

“According to the plan, only the main road surveillance caught a glimpse of ‘Chu Tianyao’,” Zhao Jiayi nodded and said, “As for the other surveillance nearby, I’ve already destroyed them with telekinesis in advance.”

She was constantly observing the underground warehouse beneath the bar with her telekinesis.

The reason Lin Qing could confidently barge into the bar and rapidly enter the underground warehouse was all thanks to the route provided by Zhao Jiayi after her telekinesis detection.

Even before he went in, he already knew about the existence of the short, plump Mr. Lu and Councilor Wang.

Upon hearing from Zhao Jiayi that Councilor Wang had revealed a tattoo of the Bright Society and was a managing member, Lin Qing didn’t hesitate to kill him as soon as he broke in.

After all, the one taking action was the fugitive Chu Tianyao, what did it have to do with Patrol Officer Lin Qing?

“We can start now.”

Lin Qing showed a hint of a smile, “I’ve already cut off their escape route; even if they want to move, they can only transfer through the clearly visible back door of the bar now.”

Zhao Jiayi nodded, immediately controlling a cell phone with her telekinesis and sending an anonymous tip to the Patrol.

Once she had successfully sent it, the phone also shattered to pieces under the force of her telekinesis.

“Whew!”

Lin Qing’s hands flickered with a metallic sheen, which then turned into a series of afterimages, smashing the broken phone into dust immediately.

This unregistered phone had been prepared in advance to send the anonymous tip.

There was no need to worry about the tip falling on deaf ears.

Because at the end of the tip, it was signed ‘concerned citizen Chu Tianyao.’

There were also keywords like Yuanhong Society, missing persons case, along with detailed times and locations in the message.

After the Patrol System’s intelligent search identified these keywords and the detailed locations, it would prioritize the tip and review surveillance in the vicinity of the street.

Once the facial recognition from surveillance footage spotted ‘Chu Tianyao,’ they would immediately issue the most urgent temporary task.

The entire process might not even take a minute.

“Team leader.”

Zhao Jiayi suddenly said in shock, “That guy with the surname Lu has quite an imagination; he thinks you’re in a living hell, preferring death to such a life, so you killed Councilor Wang directly.”

Lin Qing nodded slightly and said, “That means Chu Tianyao’s situation is similar to what we speculated, not someone on the same boat as the Yuanhong Society, probably poisoned and forced to obey.”

Of course, there’s no need for sympathy for Chu Tianyao’s plight.

He was already a fugitive from Qinghu Island Prison with hundreds of lives on his hands; his sins so grave that his death would be no loss.

“Team leader.” Zhao Jiayi suddenly spoke, “That Zhang Zhiren has started to move those captives.”

“No problem, they won’t make it in time.”

Lin Qing stated calmly, “I deliberately sabotaged the doors of the warehouses holding the captives earlier, making them harder to open and delaying them slightly.”

The Patrol Bureau in Xiao Shan District was centrally located in the district, less than twenty kilometers from there.

With the Patrol’s speedy vehicles and priority in transit routes, the on-duty Patrol could arrive in just a few minutes.

“Team leader.”

Zhao Jiayi suddenly frowned slightly and said, “Those enforcers, to hurry those captured onto the vehicle, have been brutally forceful, crippling several as a warning to the others.”

“Hold on a bit longer,” Lin Qing said, “Just let them bring the people out from the underground warehouse, easier to catch them red-handed; it’s enough if those people can survive.”

Zhao Jiayi silently bit her lip and continued to observe with her telekinesis.

However, there was a hint of sadness in her eyes.

Lin Qing glanced at her and asked, “Have you experienced something like this before?”

“…Yes.”

Zhao Jiayi hesitated for a moment but still nodded slightly and said softly, “I’ve witnessed it many times, watching people just like me being led away… Although I never spoke to them, they are my compatriots, and since it happened so frequently, everyone has become numb…”

Seen it many times? Numb?

Lin Qing was taken aback for a moment.

Even though today’s public security was not as stable as it appeared, criminals still dared to traffic people only in secret, thus such occurrences remained rare.

But listening to Zhao Jiayi, it seemed as ordinary as everyday life.

“Did you hear what the Bright Society wants with so many people?” Lin Qing asked.

“They never said.”

Zhao Jiayi shook her head and added, “But living people… they always have their uses. Among those treated as goods were a little girl, probably that ‘excellent prospect’ mentioned by Zhang Zhiren.”

Lin Qing, however, was reminded of past experiences.

In the apocalypse, to survive, those who sold themselves were not rare.

Those who abandoned humanity in the apocalypse were common, but those who retained it were rare.

And those who wanted to remain human often ended their own lives, willingly or not.

He was relieved, for it was only because of his Entropy talent that he could live like a person.

Only those with capabilities had the right to choose…

So, what he needed most was strength.

That was the only way to achieve his goal.

Only with great strength would he be able to climb higher, increment his Order Level, and gain more opportunities to become stronger.

“Almost ready,”

Lin Qing glanced at the shoulder badge symbolizing wings of freedom, lightly brushed off a speck of dust with his fingertip, and said, “Let’s go in.”

…

The dim, deep blue sky began to brighten, a ray of dawn piercing the horizon.

On White Elephant Street, behind the walled rear entrance of the Night Cat Bar, two large black trucks parked, their bodies adorned with the unusual circular symbols. The back doors of the trucks were now open.

Inside the trailer were compartments measuring two meters long, half a meter wide, and forty centimeters high.

Apart from two narrow aisles in the middle, the entire trailer was filled with compartments that resembled coffins, and many of their covers had already been sealed.

In a trailer only about ten meters long, three meters wide, and less than three meters high, there were astonishingly over a hundred coffin-like compartments.

“Quick, hurry up!”

The enforcers of Yuanhong Society brandished their batons viciously, urging people with bags over their heads to get onto the truck, berating and beating them, forcing them to lie down in the compartments willingly.

Mr. Lu, a short and plump man, stood emotionlessly nearby, watching the scene unfold.

He had been in charge of escorting those seized from various cities and districts by custody organizations for years, and was all too familiar with it.

Even…

He too, once upon a time, had gone through the same ordeal, but unlike most others, he had survived the gene modification experiments.

“Mr. Lu.”

Zhang Zhiren approached with his men, and behind him was a lackey holding a little girl of about eight or nine years old. Her mouth sealed by a restraint mask, her eyes showed she was accustomed to the numbness.

“This child is so young but already confirmed to have excellent potential. If she is cultivated from an early age, her future potential will be even greater.”

Zhang Zhiren smiled and said, “She should be worth more points, right?”

He ran one of the leading enterprises in the province, had enough money; he didn’t care much about wealth.

It was the status and points of the Bright Society that gave him access to more desirable things—strength, knowledge, intelligence, and even the life-extension technology of Intelligent Star Group!

“Not bad,” Mr. Lu glanced at the numbed girl and said flatly, “She should get a 50% bonus.”

Zhang Zhiren couldn’t help but reveal a pleased expression.

However, Mr. Lu suddenly turned his attention to the right hand that the little girl clenched tightly and frowned slightly, “What’s that in your hand?”

The girl’s face was numb, and like a puppet, she slowly opened her palm.

In it was a badly worn one-yuan coin.

“Throw it away,” said Mr. Lu in a flat tone.

He didn’t care what significance the coin had for the little girl; all he knew was that he wanted to avoid all accidents during transit.

The little girl looked silently at the coin in her hand, but didn’t act like a marionette; she hesitated, looking at it.

Mr. Lu narrowed his eyes slightly.

Suddenly—

“Director Zhang.”

A man in a suit approached urgently with a tense expression and whispered, “Just got a message from our mole in the Inspection Bureau; the Patrol Team from Xiao Shan District Bureau has set out in formation and is heading this way!”

“What?”

Zhang Zhiren frowned slightly, then spoke in a low voice, “Move faster; we have plenty of time to evacuate.”

What about these two transport trucks?

Trucks bearing the urban circle mark couldn’t be searched by anyone outside the urban circle, not even the Patrol Chief!

Just then—

“Boom!”

A loud noise rang out as a large section of the rear courtyard wall of the Night Cat Bar suddenly collapsed, kicking up dust in every direction.

With the barrier of the wall gone, the light of dawn pierced through the dust, dispelling the gloom of the courtyard.

“Swoosh!”

At the same moment, a blurry figure swooped through like the swift wind, instantly breaking through the dust and appearing in front of the crowd.

Under the light of dawn, the statuesque and solemn black Patrol uniform and the badge with two pairs of wings on the shoulder instantly changed the expressions of the Yuanhong Society’s members.

“Lin Qing, second-level Patrol Officer from the Xiao Shan District Patrol Bureau.”

Lin Qing scanned the crowd and remarked, “Oh? Looks like the evidence is irrefutable, no need to search then. Surrender without resistance, and anyone who dares to defy… will be shot on the spot.”