Chapter 32: Chapter 28: Clues to Parents’ Death
There was a dedicated fighting arena inside the old factory, where Ye Qingdie would often do combat training.
At this moment, Xu Mo was wearing a set of battle armor, holding a knife. Sweat dripped continuously from his forehead, and his bones felt like they were falling apart.
Opposite Xu Mo, Seth held a shield in his left hand and a heavy sword in his right. The sword wasn’t sharpened, clearly to prevent accidents during the fight. He was also wearing heavy battle armor to avoid accidental injuries.
The fighting arena was surrounded, and Ye Qingdie was sitting comfortably on a soft chair below, watching their fight with enjoyment, seemingly relishing Xu Mo’s struggle.
“Bang!” Seth’s body charged forward, causing the arena to tremble. He swung his shield directly at Xu Mo.
He was two meters tall, excelling in power, though speed was not his forte, thus requiring the shield to aid in combat.
Xu Mo suddenly fell to the ground, swinging his knife toward Seth’s legs. However, Seth’s reaction speed wasn’t slow; his shield struck the ground, scraping along the arena to collide with Xu Mo’s knife. Simultaneously, the heavy sword descended, forcing Xu Mo to push off the ground and slide to the side, using his knife to block the sword.
A loud crash sounded, and the heavy sword’s impact made Xu Mo’s wrist go numb. The knife almost slipped from his grip, but his strength had improved enough to barely hold onto it. Seth, however, didn’t give him a chance, continuously chopping down with his heavy sword. Soon, Xu Mo couldn’t hold on, and the knife fell from his grasp. Seth then stopped attacking.
Xu Mo lay on the ground panting, his arms numb, drained of strength.
“Seth, your power is too strong,” Xu Mo said, sweating profusely, addressing Seth.
“This is the fighting arena, which limits your potential. If we were outside, with your agility, it wouldn’t be easy for me to hit you,” Seth said to Xu Mo, “You’re not suited for ring combat; you’re better at life-or-death hunting.”
Though Seth was strong physically, he wasn’t stupid. Through rounds of combat, he had noticed that Xu Mo had strong reactions but lacked in power and endurance; he was better at ambushes and assassinations.
“Seth, you can go now,” Ye Qingdie said.
“Okay.” Seth nodded, removed his gear, and walked out of the fighting arena, leaving Xu Mo lying there.
Ye Qingdie looked at him and laughed, “Feeling okay?”
“Again?” Xu Mo said angrily, “Do you want to try?”
“Hmm?” Ye Qingdie paused, then smiled at Xu Mo, “Where do you want to try?”
“Uh…” Xu Mo shrunk his head at Ye Qingdie’s smile. Did she understand him?
“Indeed, still a little brat,” Ye Qingdie, seeing Xu Mo didn’t dare respond, laughed, “Today is just the beginning; as a member of the organization, from now on, the organization will give you special training. Besides being skilled in mechanics and combat techniques, you need to understand different combat modes.”
“??” Xu Mo looked at Ye Qingdie, though her words made sense…
“When did I become a member of the organization?” Xu Mo asked, bewildered.
Was he forcibly recruited?
“What’s with the look? You think you can just walk away after seeing everything?” Ye Qingdie stared at Xu Mo.
“…” Xu Mo was left speechless.
Just seeing everything means joining?
“You still haven’t told me what kind of organization this is,” Xu Mo said. He somewhat trusted Ye Qingdie since Uncle Fang had vouched for her with his life, but it didn’t mean he completely trusted an unknown organization.
Moreover, Xu Mo wasn’t willing to sacrifice himself.
He didn’t have that high of an awareness.
Ye Qingdie stood up and looked at Xu Mo, “Come with me.”
Xu Mo stepped down from the fighting arena and followed Ye Qingdie.
They walked to a giant blackboard covered with numerous photos and writings.
Xu Mo glanced at it and saw that the writings recorded the criminal activities of the people in the photos. Most of the cases were related to human trafficking. It reminded him of how Uncle Fang had tracked a trafficking case to a church and ended up losing his life.
Ye Qingdie pointed to a photo, which was ironically of Tang Sen, who had died in the casino yesterday, and it was marked with a cross, indicating that the target had been eliminated.
A clue extended from Tang Sen’s photo to another familiar face, Cobra.
Clearly, Cobra was also a target to be eliminated.
Xu Mo looked at the crime records for Cobra, which were horrendous: murder, loan sharking, human trafficking, committing all sorts of crimes, yet such a person could live well with the Law Enforcement Team turning a blind eye.
“What do you think our organization is like?” Ye Qingdie asked Xu Mo.
“Law Enforcement Team?” Xu Mo responded. It felt like he was watching a crime film from his previous life. Ye Qingdie was introducing him to criminal cases. Compared to the outside Law Enforcement Team, Ye Qingdie and her group seemed more like a Law Enforcement Team.
Ye Qingdie was surprised by Xu Mo’s words, then laughed. It was the first time she had heard such an analogy.
But it was quite fitting.
“Although it’s fitting, I don’t like those three words. Those big shots control the voice of the underworld, and they set the rules. Is the Law Enforcement Team really enforcing the law, or are they controlling the underworld?” Ye Qingdie said, “As for us, there is too much darkness in the underworld. We mainly investigate human trafficking cases. Both Tang Sen and Cobra are involved. There are black market spots selling children.”
Xu Mo felt moved by Ye Qingdie’s words. Uncle Fang had broken into the church and was labeled a thug and killed, but who were the people in the church and those behind them?
Is the Law Enforcement Team really enforcing the law?
“If you want to know what kind of organization we are,” Ye Qingdie looked at Xu Mo and said, “I don’t know either. I only know that we are doing the right thing.”
“How many people are in the organization?” Xu Mo asked.
“I don’t know. Members of the organization are independent of each other,” Ye Qingdie smiled, “Most of the ones I know you’ve already seen. As for the others, I don’t know who they are or how many there are. Others don’t know about our existence either. The organization is more like a collection of independent individuals, not conspicuous at all.”
Xu Mo nodded. It was easy to understand. They were an “underground” organization. If they were exposed, they’d be eliminated. If everyone knew about each other, it would be a big problem if someone got caught or betrayed.
Of course, now Ye Qingdie might not necessarily reveal everything to him.
“Welcome to the organization, Brother Xu Mo.” Ye Qingdie extended her hand and smiled.
“Did I agree?” Xu Mo retorted.
“You’ve seen what you shouldn’t see, and you know what you shouldn’t know. What do you think?” Ye Qingdie smiled brightly, making Xu Mo involuntarily take a step back, “What’s in it for me?”
Ye Qingdie paused, then smiled. The kid had an interesting thought process.
“The organization will train you, help you improve your skills, and provide weapons. Isn’t that enough?” Ye Qingdie said, “As for other benefits, you’ll need to grow up a bit more.”
“??”
Xu Mo’s gaze drifted down from her beautiful face, asking expectantly, “Really?”
Ye Qingdie froze, then cracked her knuckles, making a crisp sound, and took a step toward Xu Mo.
“You want to freeload off me?” Xu Mo raised his hand to block her.
Freeload off him??
That bastard!
“What do you want?” Ye Qingdie asked, smiling, cunning flashing in her eyes.
“Help me get rid of Cobra first,” Xu Mo said. Cobra was a threat. He didn’t have enough strength, but the other side had the ability. He wanted to borrow Ye Qingdie’s strength to clear the immediate threat.
Moreover, Cobra was already a target for them, so his request wasn’t unreasonable.
“Are you worried about retaliation for killing his men?” Ye Qingdie asked, “You haven’t exposed your identity; you won’t be in danger for now. We can’t touch Cobra for the time being. He holds important clues.”
“Clues?” Xu Mo thought of his parents’ death, wondering who ordered Cobra.
Were the clues Ye Qingdie and her team were tracking related to this?
“No, it’s not that reason. Cobra sent people to kill my parents. Ryan and his team were the killers,” Xu Mo said, looking at Ye Qingdie to see if she knew anything.
Ye Qingdie seemed stunned, a bit surprised.
“You mean, you already had a grudge with Cobra, and you killed Ryan in the fighting arena for revenge?” Ye Qingdie asked.
“Yes.” Xu Mo nodded.
“Who were your parents, and why did Cobra kill them?” Ye Qingdie asked.
“My parents were ordinary workers at the armory. They seemed to have discovered something and reported it to the Law Enforcement Team. Later, Cobra’s people came. I survived by luck,” Xu Mo replied.
Ye Qingdie fell silent after hearing Xu Mo’s words, then seemed excited, whispering, “Which armory?”
Xu Mo thought for a moment and said, “I think it was Valen Armory.”
“Are you sure?” Ye Qingdie’s eyes brightened.
“Yes.” Xu Mo nodded, sensing Ye Qingdie’s reaction was somewhat unusual.
Ye Qingdie smiled brilliantly and patted Xu Mo’s head, “Good boy.”
“???”
Xu Mo glared at Ye Qingdie angrily. A head pat? Is this humane at all?
“Wait for me a moment.” Ye Qingdie left, leaving Xu Mo clueless. He pricked up his ears and saw Ye Qingdie instruct Xiao Qi, who then walked out of the factory.
Ye Qingdie then returned and said to Xu Mo, “Your parents’ death might be linked to an important clue, related to the trafficking cases we’ve been investigating. As for Cobra, he has long been our target. However, acting against him isn’t easy. Aside from his strong abilities, he has powerful backers.”
Ye Qingdie had mentioned before that Cobra was a tool for certain people.
It seemed like Cobra was linked to higher-ups in the underworld. Removing Cobra would require significant effort and come with considerable risk.
“Give me your address. I’ll have someone keep an eye on your place. Meanwhile, train well these days. When the time is right, I’ll inform you to eliminate Cobra,” Ye Qingdie said to Xu Mo.
Xu Mo nodded. Why did he feel that in trying to get rid of Cobra, he might get sucked into an even bigger whirlpool?