Chapter 312 - 311: Fight to the Death? Are You Worthy?

"Caught you," made Li Jing’s face turn a bit unsightly.

This time, he was careless.

Having fully understood that Bei Yi and Adela were created by Augustus, and that the latter knew they both had independent personalities, he should have been aware.

Bei Yi and Adela weren’t the hidden artificially intelligent constructions, void of growth due to the avoidance of scientific researchers, as he had imagined. Quite the contrary, they were continually in touch with their creator.

More to the point.

Their creator was a greedy and dangerous scientist.

Just as Xiaoyu’s character was improving step by step under his mastership, Bei Yi and Adela’s characters, in their interactions, would gradually gravitate towards Augustus.

Augustus is no virtuous man.

Leaving aside his use of Adela as a plaything.

His discreetity in bringing Adela to Jianghai, attempting to obliquely seize power over Quan Chang, was enough to explain a lot.

In order to seize Quan Chang, what he needed to do was not as simple as just hacking into the Management Bureau’s system.

He needed to defeat the Jianghai Management Bureau.

Only then would he have a chance to get Quan Chang...

Artificial intelligence with independent personalities is not a cause for concern.

What’s horrific is.

What they are exposed to after they are created, and how they gradually evolve under these conditions.

At this moment.

Li Jing must also admit.

Bei Yi and Adela were smarter and more cunning than he imagined.

During his time in White Hawk, his true identity was never revealed.

The identity he registered with Kregar Adventure Guild was that of a Daohe man.

However, even so, Bei Yi, who had slipped away, still suspected that he was a Longyu man and made contact with Adela.

Where was the problem?

Li Jing frowned.

Even if Bei Yi guessed that he was a Longyu man, there was no reason why she could predict that he would find Adela shortly after returning to the country.

While pondering, Adela began to speak with a smile on the computer screen.

"You don’t need to be so nervous, Bei Yi and I don’t want to trouble you."

As she spoke, she continued lightly.

"You have a more mature artificial intelligence in your hands. If you fully start, it won’t matter where we hide, you will find us sooner or later, unless we reconcile to live our life in obscurity. Your power is also very strong, so strong that even Evlyn is afraid. This is not an emotion she should have, but she really felt it. You taught her what it means to fear."

"..."

Li Jing was silent.

Adela’s words excessively praised him.

However, for Evlyn, Bei Yi, and Adela, he indeed was an insurmountable existence.

After all, they were artificial humans adept at the technique of Curse to Death.

Which, for him, with his robust physique and abundant vitality, held no significance.

Upon hearing Adela’s explanation, Li Jing finally understood where the problem lied.

Evlyn was not aware of his actual strength.

Li Jing believed he had not revealed much in White Hawk.

However, Evlyn felt fear because of him.

This meant one thing.

When he went to the lowest level of the Desert Fortress, Evlyn and Bei Yi did not leave but hid in secret, using some method that deceived his Primordial Spirit’s perception.

They had always been sneakily spying on him without his knowledge.

Otherwise, the two could not possibly have known about Xiaoyu’s existence.

If the two were peeping through the security system inside the fortress, Xiaoyu would have noticed it when she connected with the supercomputer, so the two must have been physically spying in secret.

What made Evlyn admire him was not him himself.

But the edge of his Flying Sword Blue Edge...

Exhaling lightly, Li Jing stepped forward and sat in front of the laptop.

"I underestimated you. What do you want?"

In response to this question, Adela’s mouth curved upwards, and she chuckled softly.

"It indeed doesn’t take much effort to have a conversation with a smart person."

As she spoke, she continued.

"We have nothing to ask of you. We just hope to survive and ask you not to hound us. This kind of request, it isn’t excessive, is it?"

"Not excessive."

Li Jing blandly admitted.

"Since that’s the case, I’ll take that as your agreement."

Adela laughed and continued.

"I’ve reserved your real identity. I have not deeply dug into your information at Longyu to show sincerity and to ensure our safety for now. As long as you don’t trouble us, we won’t trouble you, and we certainly won’t harm your family. We all benefit from this, do you agree?"

Upon hearing her words, Li Jing fell silent for a moment, then raised his eyes neutrally.

"You seem to be very practiced at this. Didn’t Augustus teach you about not hurting family members?"

"Of course, we will utilize anything that we can."

Adela spoke naturally and laughed.

"Furthermore, the idea of not harming family members is something you people at Longyu believe in. Augustus doesn’t understand this concept, he is good at exploiting it."

"So here’s my question."

Li Jing asked with a friendly smile.

"Since you’re willing to use everything, how can I trust that if I let you go now, you won’t cause trouble for me in the future, or threaten me using my family?"

"You don’t need to trust us."

Adela shrugged on screen and said,

"You found White Hawk with just a few small clues, and you even directly found Bei Yi, which proves that you are not as stupid as Augustus. I know I can’t deceive you, but it’s clear that we now have the control..."

Before she could finish talking, Li Jing shook his head.

"I don’t like being threatened, especially when it comes to my family. I was just looking for you originally. If you were no longer at Longyu, the matter would have ended. But now it’s different."

He continued solemnly.

"You should learn that there are certain lines you should not cross."

Facing Li Jing’s resistance, the calmness on Adela’s face slowly disappeared.

"This kind of attitude benefits no one."

"So, should I choose an attitude that benefits you?"

Li Jing tilted his head.

"So you want to have a showdown with us?"

Adela furrowed her brows.

"A showdown? Are you worthy?"

Li Jing smirked dismissively, then took out his cell phone.

"While there’s still time, I suggest you hurry up and confirm my identity to pass on as a last word to Bei Yi, allowing the game to last a bit longer. By doing so, it will be easier for me to locate you."

Having said this, he immediately sent a voice message to Xiaoyu’s main body.

"Xiaoyu, monitor the Management Bureau and the Civil Affairs System, launch indiscriminate attacks against any sources attempting to pry into the identity information related to your mistress and me, and confirm their location. Notify me immediately once you have results. Don’t worry about leaving traces. Implement this 24/7 until I retract this order. Also, keep an eye on the road surveillance throughout Jianghai City, attack immediately if any tampering signs are found."

He sent the voice message, and Xiaoyu responded at the speed of light.

"Received."

Faced with this situation, Adela turned grim.

Just when she was about to speak, Li Jing waved his hand and produced a data cable.

Adela’s expression changed at this sight.

The next second, the video communication was cut off.

Then sparks as from a short-circuit shot out of the laptop’s keyboard on the table.

The screen dimmed, followed by a puff of blue smoke indicating its breakdown.

With the laptop ruined, Li Jing chuckled with a tease.

Adela was vigilant, but also overly clever.

As he had said.

Originally, he just wanted to find Adela alone.

If she was no longer in Longyu, it would be the end of the matter.

He would not go abroad to find the Artificial Human for a little bit of experience.

Now, things were different.

Li Jing was not a fool.

He could admit that he had been careless, but he wouldn’t be so naive as to be threatened.

Nor did he need to be threatened.

With Xiaoyu around, if Adela dared to probe his information, she would be obstructed immediately.

Perhaps she could successfully obtain his information, but her location would be traced by Xiaoyu down the line.

On the contrary, if he chose to ignore it, Adela, Bei Yi, and Evlyn would eventually find him and make demands.

Li Jing stood up, opened the window and transformed into a lightning bolting into the air, activated the Heavenly Eye and scanned the streets.

After confirming that there was no suspicious energy body around, he took out his cell phone and dialed Liu Sisi’s number.

The phone was quickly received.

Then, Liu Sisi’s puzzled voice came out.

"Li Jing?"

"It’s me."

Li Jing replied, saying,

"I’m sorry, there’s been a slight incident, and I have to make a trip. I’ll try my best to solve this within these two days and return as soon as possible."

Having said this, he continued,

"You and Xiaoyu should be out shopping now, but cut it short and go to Brother Jiu right away. I’ll call her and ask her to accompany you for the time being."

"..."

Liu Sisi.

With her quick wit, how could she not sense something wrong based on Li Jing’s words?

She and Jiu Li had just met a couple of days before returning to work at the Management Bureau.

A bright and pitiful girl, it was hard to imagine she was a Late Six Realm fox demon.

In contrast, Yulian, who had the word ’foxy’ written all over her, seemed to fit the image of a fox demon.

Putting that aside.

Now Li Jing wanted Jiu Li to accompany her for a while, which obviously meant he had encountered big trouble, and this trouble might threaten her safety.

Under such circumstances, to Liu Sisi, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise.

After all, her man is a patrol officer on duty.

Criminals do not argue with you.

After a brief silence, Liu Sissi responded.

"I understand. Is there anything I should watch out for?"

"There’s nothing special to note, just go about your business."

Li Jing said and continued,

"If I haven’t contacted you in two days, you and Brother Jiu should go to Guodu together. Originally, she came from Guodu, so going back for a while is no big deal. Wait for me to settle the matter, and then I’ll pick you up in Guodu."

"Alright."

Liu Sisi replied, then murmured,

"Be careful out there."

"Got it."

Li Jing chuckled and hung up, and then dialed Jiu Li’s number.

It was unclear whether Jiu Li was sabotaging her work while browsing on her phone, but the call was instantly picked up as soon as it went through.

"Li Jing?"

She sounded surprised, then reluctantly found words,

"You heartless man finally remembered me..."

Before completing her sentence, her voice abruptly lowered.

"I’m hiding in the bathroom pretending to shower, the devil Yulian is in the room, spit it out if you have something to say."

"..."

Li Jing fell silent.

Jiu Li was truly unique by faking a shower to avoid Yulian.

How did she come up with that?

Hearing Yulian being referred as the devil rather than a little sister, Li Jing also felt relieved.

This shrewd fox demon, she must have suffered terribly from Yulian recently, living a life worse than death.

Given a chance to escape from this misery, she should be more than willing, shouldn’t she?

Without much thought, Li Jing spoke in a low voice.

"For some time now, I hope you can take my place and accompany Sisi, ensuring her safety. The day after tomorrow, she will go to Guodu. If I haven’t finished with my matters, I’ll have to trouble you to go with her..."

Before he could finish the sentence, Jiu Li interrupted resolutely,

"It’s in my hands!"

All played out exactly as Li Jing had expected.

Before he even finished speaking, without uttering what benefit Jiu Li could reap from everything, Jiu Li swiftly agreed.

While he was torn between laughter and tears, Jiu Li asked with puzzled hesitation.

"What trouble have you gotten yourself into? Why do you suddenly need me to protect your wife?"

"Just a minor issue, mostly as a precaution."

Li Jing casually put, briefly explained the situation.

Upon learning about the peculiar circumstance, Jiu Li commented.

"The life you lead as a patrol officer is quite exciting. An artificial human equipped with an independent personality Artificial Intelligence, capable of cursing to death anyone in the Late Six Realm. Even in my comic, I wouldn’t dare to draw such things, you actually encountered it."

Continuing, she added.

"Leave this matter to me, don’t worry. With me by your wife’s side, she will never come to harm. I have handled genuine Miao Region Witchcraft before, this mere Curse Art is nothing, I have a solution for it."

Upon hearing that Jiu Li had dealt with genuine witchcraft, Li Jing raised his eyebrows.

The reason he chose Jiu Li to protect Liu Sisi was mainly because, as unreliable as this wicked fox may seem on the surface, in reality, she is sharper than anyone.

Being an "old fox" with an actual age of at least two hundred years, she is knowledgeable, experienced, and incredibly powerful.

With her present, Liu Sisi’s safety can be greatly guaranteed.

Li Jing didn’t realize Jiu Li had such extensive "experience".

Real Miao Region Witchcraft is far more advanced than Western Curse Art.

In fact.

The Western Curse Art itself is a "lightweight" version of Miao Region Witchcraft, modified to be less powerful and less complicated in execution.

Only after it became popular in the West, did Miao Region Witchcraft gradually fade from existence within the Longyu region.

If Jiu Li was capable of handling Witchcraft, she can certainly handle Curse Art.

"Alright, for now, I’ll leave Sisi in the care of Brother Jiu."

Li Jing blurted, continuing.

"As for the matter of compensation, we’ll discuss it after I’ve taken care of business."

"There’s no need for compensation."

Jiu Li chimed in, expounding.

"I’m not short of money or food right now, what I lack is freedom. If you truly wish to compensate me, why not find a chance to persuade Yulian to let me be."

"Well, I’m afraid I might not be of much help there."

Li Jing coughed, smiling awkwardly.

"Xiaoyu’s business-minded, I would advise against..."

Before he could finish, Jiu Li interjected with a "tch" sound.

"If you can’t persuade her, why don’t you come up with another solution? Simply take her, given that she’s a demon, she wouldn’t wish for any formalities. Let her conceive your child, once she has a baby to take care of she wouldn’t have time for work..."

Halfway through the sentence, there was a sudden "bang" over the phone.

Immediately after, Jiu Li’s shocked scream rang out.

"No! Xiaoyu, listen to my explanation! I just..."

From there on, the phone call went silent.

Li Jing stowed away his silent phone, speechless for quite some time.

Jiu Li’s quandary had refreshed his perception.

Advising him to impregnate Yulian, in order to solve her freedom problem.

How did she come up with that idea?

Thank goodness Jiu Li was probably overheard by Yulian, if not, he wouldn’t know whether to complain or not.

After all, one must accommodate when asking others for help.

Shaking his head, Li Jing dialed another number he hadn’t contacted in a long while, Ren Jie.

After the phone rang for a while, someone picked up.

Following that, Ren Jie’s lazy voice sounded.

"Yo! What wind blew you here today? Why did King Li suddenly think of me?"

"I need a bit of your help."

Li Jing casually replied, adding.

"Don’t worry, the price is very attractive."

Once he said this, Ren Jie immediately perked up over the phone.

"How attractive are we talking?"

"Depends on what you can do."

Li Jing replied, continuing.

"Are you free at the moment, how about we meet and talk?"

"I’m free, it’s not my shift today."

Ren Jie answered, instructing.

"You just come to the Dark Alley and we’ll meet at my pawnshop."

"Sure."

...

A few minutes later, Li Jing, like a flash of lightning, arrived over the Dark Alley.

He surveyed the surrounding Earth Realm using his Heavenly Eye, then turned into a flash of lightning and landed near Ren Jie’s pawnshop. He found a corner free from prying eyes to cancel his Charming Shadow.

Then, he came out of the corner and entered the pawnshop.

At this time in the pawnshop, there was only one female demon who Li Jing had met before.

Ren Jie had not shown up.

But she had obviously greeted the female demon watching the shop.

No surprise, the bored demon woman watching the shop alone immediately got up when Li Jing came in.

"Patrol Officer Li, please come inside."

The female demon spoke, gesturing towards the inner door.

"My boss is waiting for you in the inner room."

"Hmm."

Li Jing gave a warm smile and walked towards the inner door as instructed.

As he pushed the door and entered the inner room, he instantly spotted Ren Jie. She was lying leisurely on an antique mahogany settee, wearing a pink off-the-shoulder T-shirt and a pair of hot pants, grasping a simple and unadorned palm fan.

This sight greeted him as soon as he walked in, causing a smile to tug at Li Jing’s lips.

Ren Jie’s getup was very trendy.

Not only were her sleek long legs on display, her smooth bare shoulders were also in sight.

If you saw her on the streets, she would fit right into the scene of a young and attractive girl.

But when coupled with this palm fan and the settee, it did feel a bit weird.

Ren Jie appeared unfazed.

Upon seeing a certain person enter, her spirits lifted and she propped herself up with excitement.

"You came rather quickly, I thought I would have to wait for a while."

With that, she lightly patted the edge of the bed.

"Come, sit down and talk."

At her words, Li Jing opened his mouth, wanting to say something but held back.

He wanted to say.

We’re not very familiar, we’ve just worked together once, isn’t it a little inappropriate to talk at the bedside?

But considering he didn’t come for casual tea, it seemed there was no need to go to a table. Li Jing stepped forward and sat down next to her.

Just as he was about to speak, Ren Jie sidled up to him, making faces.

"Skip the small talk, what do you want me to do?"

"Find a person."

Li Jing spoke, paused then added,

"To be exact, a criminal."

"A criminal?"

Ren Jie raised her eyebrows and asked,

"Is it about the Taihe Grand Hotel incident?"

"Yes."

Li Jing nodded and said indifferently.

"But finding her is no longer simply about the case, it’s become a personal matter. You have considerable influence in the Dark Alley. You know many monsters and demons lurking all over North City. I hope you can find her for me."

As he spoke, Li Jing took out his phone, found the photo of the star who resembled Adela, and handed it to her.

"This is the face she’s using. I don’t care how you find her, as long as you can determine her whereabouts. If you can do it within today, I’ll give you five hundred thousand Spirit Crystals."

Ren Jie was a smart woman.

Li Jing’s statement, "I don’t care how you do it," implied that he hoped Ren Jie would use any means necessary, utilizing all her available and non-available connections to find the woman as quickly as possible.

This naturally made her curious.

How did this criminal offend Li Jing?

How did she elevate a simple case to a personal vendetta?

That made Li Jing so determined to deal with her...?

Who did she offend to bring this upon herself?

There are so many people to mess with, why mess with the star who toppled two bases of the Demon Beast Union singlehandedly?

Just when she wanted to ask, the phrase "five hundred thousand Spirit Crystals" echoed in her ears, making Ren Jie shiver.

Five hundred thousand Spirit Crystals!

Even if she sold herself, she might not be worth that much!

Propping herself up, she leaned against Li Jing and examined the picture of the star on the phone screen. After contemplating for a while, Ren Jie stated,

"Transfer the money, and I’ll find her for you."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing turned his head.

"You’re confident?"

"I do indeed have considerable influence in the Dark Alley, and I know many monsters and demons. But whether they’re willing to heed my command is another story."

Ren Jie continued,

"To interact with them, my investigator status is useless and my demon identity is even more so. As the saying goes, money makes the world go round; I need money to invest in the process."

Then, with a twinkle in her eyes, she grinned.

"As long as you confirm she’s in Jianghai, I guarantee I can find her within six hours. If she’s in the Earth Realm of North City, I can provide results within two hours."

Ren Jie was smart, and so was Li Jing.

Her words were clear: She didn’t just have connections in North City, she had them all over Jianghai County.

Without hesitation, Li Jing turned around, wrote a message and sent it to Xiaoyu.

Ren Jie knew her place and waited patiently behind him without peeking.

Subsequently, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

She quickly took out her phone.

Upon confirming that a message from Spirit Crystal Bank had arrived and that she had received five hundred thousand Spirit Crystals, a radiant smile blossomed on Ren Jie’s delicate face.

"Boss, you wait on the bed. I’ll go make a few calls and come back to keep you company."

Having said this, she didn’t even bother to put on shoes, she just walked out barefooted.

Seeing this, Li Jing didn’t worry about anything else and simply lay down on the bed.

Initially, he thought about using the Dark Net courier’s network.

But now Ren Jie seemed confident, so it seemed unnecessary to involve that side.

They probably wouldn’t have much useful information anyway.

The Darknet couriers are valuable for their access to Darknet services and inside info, but they’re not good at finding people.

Jianghai City is huge, and the Dark Net only sports one courier per region.

Li Jing believes Ren Jie was not blindly confident, and he also believes that she wouldn’t dare to cheat him out of his money.

If she was confident, then she really was confident.

That’s good, it means less to worry about.

With nothing else to do, Li Jing sent a message to Xiaoyu asking if she and Liu Sisi had already met up with Jiu Li and Yulian.

The matter was quickly confirmed.

They not only had met up with the two but had also formed a group to shop together.

Not only were Jiu Li and Liu Sisi together, but Yulian was also with them, hence, Li Jing didn’t worry about it anymore. He closed his eyes and began thinking about how he was going to recover the money spent on this endeavor.

Out of necessity, he had sought after Ren Jie.

This whole process cost him five hundred thousand Spirit crystals.

Although Li Jing didn’t blink an eye at the high expense,

The main reason being that he believes Ren Jie has the capacity to do it, not because he’s not stingy.

Even though he’s not lacking in wealth, spending this large sum of money for nothing, he was very unwilling.

There’s a difference between spending money where it’s needed and places where it shouldn’t be spent.

Just to resolve Adela’s case, there was absolutely no room to recover costs.

Even if you count Bei Yi and Evlyn, it’s still impossible.

There’s no way around it.

Artificial humans just aren’t worth the money.

So.

How should he make up for this sudden expenditure?