“I see you’re quite tall and strong. Since you can’t call your underlings, why don’t you come at me yourself?” Yan Guishan said to Crow.

“Big brother, I was wrong. We have no grievances or enmity. I’m just doing a job for money. The real culprit should be held accountable,” Crow said with a mournful face.

Compared to ordinary people, Crow was quite a fighter, capable of taking on ten or twenty people alone. But the Yan Guishan before him was no ordinary person. Crow didn’t even have the courage to make a move against him because they were not on the same level at all.

“Trash, and you call yourself a boss?” Yan Guishan spat, ignoring Crow for the moment and turning his attention to Shen Kang.

“What did you just say you were going to do to me?”

“It’s a misunderstanding, a complete misunderstanding. You love my wife, right? I’ll give her to you. You can do whatever you want with her. I have no objections at all. I sincerely wish you happiness,” Shen Kang said, seeing that Crow was no match for Yan Guishan. He cursed Crow a few times in his heart and then admitted defeat to Yan Guishan.

He had long been tired of his wife, and seeing the situation, he immediately decided to sell her out to save himself. As for being cuckolded, he could only endure it.

Hearing Shen Kang’s words of surrender, Yan Guishan’s anger did not subside but instead intensified. He was no longer a real man, so hearing Shen Kang offer his wife only fueled his rage.

He picked up a knife from the ground and walked towards Shen Kang. Soon, Shen Kang’s screams of agony echoed through the air.

After venting his anger, Yan Guishan felt much better and then walked towards Crow. However, at that moment, several needles flew from the shadows.

Yan Guishan reacted quickly, dodging many of the attacks, but one needle still pierced the back of his hand. He immediately pulled out the needle and wanted to chase after the hidden assailant, but as soon as he took a step, he collapsed to the ground, half-kneeling.

“These needles are poisoned!” Yan Guishan’s face changed dramatically.

…

In the shadows, after releasing the needles, Wang Haoran received a system notification. The needles were coated with a substance that temporarily sapped a person’s strength, but it wasn’t lethal. It wasn’t that Wang Haoran was soft-hearted; he just wanted to keep Yan Guishan around to exploit him further.

Wang Haoran estimated that Yan Guishan still had nearly two hundred protagonist halo points left, which was still quite valuable. Yan Guishan himself posed no threat to him now. The real threat was that shameless war god.

On the other side, Crow saw Yan Guishan half-kneeling on the ground and cautiously approached, testing the waters:

“Big brother, if you want to leave, please go ahead. Today, I, Crow, admit defeat.”

Yan Guishan tried to struggle to his feet, but as soon as his knees left the ground by an inch, he fell back down.

“So you can’t muster any strength, huh?” Crow finally confirmed, and his previous cowardly demeanor changed as he puffed out his chest.

“Crow, hurry… hurry and finish him off!” Shen Kang cried out in pain.

“Don’t worry, even if you didn’t say it, I wouldn’t let him off easily.”

Crow picked up a knife from the ground and walked towards Yan Guishan with a sinister expression.

…

Wang Haoran had no interest in watching the scene unfold any further. After leaving the factory, he received another system notification. He left the factory and took out his phone to call Ling Duanya.

When he had infiltrated the factory earlier, Wang Haoran discovered that the goods in the factory were smuggled items. To completely take down Crow and his forces, Wang Haoran didn’t mind playing the role of a concerned citizen.

The call connected quickly, and Wang Haoran pretended to be trembling as he said:

“Officer Sister, I… I want to report something…”

…

Night.

Black Peony Bar.

Zuoqiu Chenyu sat in her office, dialing a number every so often, but each time there was no answer. This made her increasingly anxious. The number she was dialing was Wang Haoran’s.

Ever since she heard that Wang Haoran was going to Crow’s territory, Zuoqiu Chenyu had been restless. It wasn’t that she was worried about Wang Haoran, but rather about herself. If something happened to Wang Haoran, she would be doomed as well, since she was still under his poison.

“Zuoqiu, Zuoqiu!” At this moment, a reckless underling burst into Zuoqiu Chenyu’s office.

Zuoqiu Chenyu was already annoyed, and hearing the underling’s shouting, she angrily picked up the ledger beside her and threw it:

“Are you looking to die, shouting like that!”

“Zuoqiu, good news, great news!” The underling said with joy.

“What good news?” Zuoqiu Chenyu asked sullenly.

“Crow’s smuggling operation has been busted, and over a hundred of his underlings have been arrested. Crow won’t be able to cause trouble anymore!” The underling reported.

“Are the police really that capable? Busting Crow’s smuggling operation and arresting over a hundred of his underlings? How many officers would it take to accomplish that?” Zuoqiu Chenyu was incredulous.

“Someone broke into Crow’s headquarters and injured over a hundred of his underlings. Some had broken legs, others broken arms. When the police arrived, they couldn’t even run,” the underling said.

“Who was the person who injured Crow’s underlings?” Zuoqiu Chenyu asked urgently.

“That, I don’t know,” the underling shook his head.

“Could it be him?!” Zuoqiu Chenyu pondered.

Wang Haoran had mentioned in the afternoon that he was going to deal with Crow, and now in the evening, she heard that Crow’s lair had been busted. The timing was too coincidental.

Buzz buzz.

The phone on the desk vibrated. Seeing the caller ID, Zuoqiu Chenyu quickly answered, her voice filled with relief:

“I’ve been calling you for so long without getting through. I thought something happened to you!”

“I was busy with other things and couldn’t answer the phone,” Wang Haoran replied lazily, lying on the king-sized bed in the presidential suite of a hotel, wearing a bathrobe.

“Was the Crow incident… your doing?” Zuoqiu Chenyu asked.

“Who else could it be?” Wang Haoran retorted.

“It seems I underestimated you. I didn’t expect you to be so powerful, able to take on over a hundred of Crow’s men alone,” Zuoqiu Chenyu exclaimed in amazement.

[Ding, Zuoqiu Chenyu feels admiration for the host, increasing her favorability by 10. Current total favorability is 30 (very friendly).]

[Ding, the host has influenced the plot direction, gaining 300 villain points!]

Wang Haoran chuckled to himself. It seemed Zuoqiu Chenyu didn’t have the full picture and thought he was the one who injured Crow’s underlings. But in reality, it was all orchestrated behind the scenes. Taking credit for it didn’t bother him in the slightest.

“Now that you know how powerful I am, have you fallen in love with me?”

“Fallen in love with you? You’re thinking too much,” Zuoqiu Chenyu replied with a cool, mature voice.

With a favorability of 30, Wang Haoran wasn’t surprised by Zuoqiu Chenyu’s attitude. At that moment, the sound of water in the suite’s shower stopped, indicating that the person inside had finished. Wang Haoran didn’t want to waste time bantering with Zuoqiu Chenyu any longer:

“You lost the bet, so make sure you have the red wine ready. I might come to find you at any time.”

Beep beep.

Zuoqiu Chenyu heard the busy tone from her phone, as Wang Haoran had hung up right after speaking. Remembering the bet with Wang Haoran, she felt a mix of frustration, helplessness, and a bit of shy embarrassment.