Chapter 92: The Six Saintly Ranks

As Melissa led her seven Union spies in an assault on TK Group’s headquarters, Zhang Wen and Vicky were sitting at a window-side table on the first floor of the inn, enjoying a sumptuous dinner.

As long as this cute yet fearsome little assassin didn’t cause him trouble, Zhang Wen was more than happy to maintain a pleasant relationship with her. Thus, the two sat facing each other, occasionally whispering in conversation or gazing out the window, resembling a blissful young couple.

However, just as the atmosphere between them grew warmer, a sudden commotion erupted on the street.

“It’s happening! It’s happening!” Many people shouted in terror, fleeing from the northern end of the street toward the south.

“Hey, what’s going on?” More people, confused, asked the fleeing passersby.

“TK Group’s headquarters is under attack! Eight experts above the Champion level! Run quickly! Don’t stay here—you might get caught in the crossfire!” An out-of-breath middle-aged man shouted the reason for their escape after being pressed by the crowd.

TK Group’s headquarters was no more than half a street away from Linwei Street No. 137, and its fearsome reputation naturally made it well-known in the area. Soon, the vast majority of pedestrians joined the exodus. Many customers dining in the inn also hastily paid their bills and fled in panic.

“An attack on TK Group’s headquarters? Who would do such a pointless thing?” Zhang Wen, just finishing the last bite of his dinner, wiped his mouth and watched the fleeing crowd.

Vicky, like Zhang Wen, turned her head to look out the window. Soon, the fleeing crowd had completely vanished, leaving only an empty street behind.

Frankly speaking, at first, Zhang Wen wasn’t particularly interested in the news of an attack on TK Group’s base. As one of the five major organizations on Phira Planet, it would be strange if TK Group didn’t have a few enemies.

However, just as Zhang Wen was about to ignore this boring incident and take Vicky back to Shura’s room, five figures suddenly appearing on the street changed his mind.

With just one glance, Zhang Wen could tell that the five men who had suddenly appeared were all top-tier experts at the Saint level. Moreover, their demeanor was incredibly familiar to him.

Their expressions and movements reminded Zhang Wen of Edward and Phoenix, the two he had encountered on his way back to Thamis Academy—reckless, life-disregarding desperados.

Five Saint-level desperados suddenly appearing no more than half a street away from the battlefield just as TK Group’s headquarters was under attack—Zhang Wen certainly didn’t believe this was just a coincidence.

On the other hand, these five clearly weren’t working for TK Group. Otherwise, TK Group wouldn’t still be just one of the five major organizations on Phira Planet—they would have already dominated the entire underworld.

Could they be the ones who attacked TK Group? Zhang Wen mused silently, his gaze unintentionally sweeping over Vicky. Then he was surprised to notice that when Vicky saw those people, she looked puzzled, repeatedly scanning behind them as if searching for something. Soon after, a cheerful girl came running up from behind, laughing loudly, and Vicky’s expression returned to normal.

Vicky knew those people—and not just superficially! They likely came from the same organization! Zhang Wen immediately confirmed this.

Watching the six Saint-level figures disappear at the end of the street, Zhang Wen suddenly had an idea. He left one hundred Imperial Ducats on the table and signaled to Vicky.

Since those six Saint-level experts were clearly involved in the earlier attack on TK Group’s headquarters and were likely from the same organization as Vicky, Zhang Wen naturally wouldn’t miss such an opportunity to uncover her background! Whether they were enemies or allies of TK Group, there would certainly be clues inside TK Group’s headquarters!

Having made up his mind, Zhang Wen immediately took Vicky back to Shura’s room. Then, under Vicky’s pure gaze, Zhang Wen, with a deep sense of guilt, tightly bound the fearsome little beauty to the bed using sheets and ropes, and stuffed an apple into her mouth.

“I’m really sorry—I don’t want to do this either. But… bringing you along to TK Group’s headquarters makes me a bit uneasy. Please bear with it for a while. I’ll come back as soon as I can!” Finally, Zhang Wen smiled apologetically at Vicky before turning off the light.

After leaving the inn, Zhang Wen immediately rushed toward TK Group’s headquarters at top speed. In no time, he arrived at the TK Group’s skyscraper, half a street away. Looking up from the bottom, Zhang Wen could clearly see the large hole on the top floor still spewing thick smoke.

However, just as Zhang Wen was looking up, several henchmen blocked his path.

“Hey! Kid, what are you staring at? Do you even know where you are? Do you think you can just barge in here?” Seeing Zhang Wen in casual clothes, the henchmen instinctively assumed he was an easy target.

At such a critical moment, Zhang Wen had no time to waste with these small fry. He glanced at them, then his body suddenly flared with the aura of a Champion-level warrior.

“Ahh!” The henchmen were so frightened they fell on their butts, as if they wanted to hug each other and cry. Why were they so unlucky today—meeting a ten-stage expert with every random person?

“Hey! Tell me—did five men and one woman, six Saint-level experts, come through here?” Zhang Wen casually picked up one of the fallen henchmen and asked.

“N-no… I don’t know! I really don’t know, sir! Please spare me! I have an eighty-year-old mother at home and an eight-month-old baby…” The henchman cried, tears and snot streaming down his face.

“Tch! Waste of time.” Zhang Wen muttered in frustration, tossing the henchman back to his companions. Then he leaped into the air and flew straight into the smoke-filled hole on the top floor.

Arriving at the top floor of TK Group’s headquarters, Zhang Wen first saw a pile of TK Group henchmen lying on the ground. They had been knocked out by Melissa’s seven Union spies when they first stormed the building.

From these unconscious henchmen, Zhang Wen naturally couldn’t find any clues about the six individuals. Therefore, he followed the path Melissa’s group had taken and arrived at the deepest core chamber.

Passing through the iron gate of the core chamber, the first thing Zhang Wen saw was the shocking large hole in the center. Then he quickly discovered the seven corpses discarded in the lower room by the six Saint-level assassins.

Seven corpses? After carefully counting twice, Zhang Wen couldn’t help feeling puzzled. Earlier, at the inn, he had clearly heard the escaping middle-aged man say that eight Champion-level experts had attacked TK Group’s headquarters. The witness had clearly stated the number “eight” instead of a vague “seven or eight,” proving that he must have seen clearly, and the number was likely accurate.

The Saint-level group had left without taking any hostages or prisoners. Looking at the carnage on the top floor, it was clear TK Group hadn’t had time to clean up yet.

So where was the eighth person? Had they escaped? Zhang Wen shook his head. Impossible. How could a mere Champion-level martial artist possibly escape from six Saint-level experts?

Then where had this person gone? Zhang Wen raised his head, puzzled, scanning the surroundings. Finally, his gaze fell straight on the psychic control terminal deep in the hall.

Around the psychic control terminal were scattered fragments of raw crystal, proving that the terminal had definitely been opened before. Moreover, the core components inside the machine were completely destroyed.

Yet now, the psychic control terminal looked as if nothing had happened—it was closed normally.

If this didn’t raise suspicion, then nothing in the world would.

Without further hesitation, Zhang Wen picked up an energy blade from the ruins below and jumped back in front of the psychic control terminal.

The energy blade quickly flared with red battle energy. Zhang Wen swung his right arm powerfully, slicing off the top of the psychic control terminal’s outer shell like cutting through tofu.

“Exactly as I thought!” After removing the shell, Zhang Wen immediately spotted Melissa stuffed inside the cylindrical container.

When Zhang Wen pulled Melissa out of the container, he could no longer feel her breath, and her heartbeat was so weak he could barely detect it.

“Damn it!” Zhang Wen hurriedly cut the ropes binding Melissa’s hands and feet, laid her flat on the ground, pinched her nose, and performed two rounds of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Then, he tore open the remaining half of Melissa’s tight combat suit, exposing her chest, and began performing rhythmic chest compressions.

When Melissa regained consciousness, she almost thought she was dead.

When Saia first sealed her inside the thick shell of the psychic control terminal, Melissa had struggled desperately. First, she tried to gather a bit of psychic energy, hoping to contact the outside through the terminal’s wires.

Her attempt, obviously, failed. That effort alone cost her five minutes. Then, Melissa tried to calm herself, slowing her oxygen consumption. Her endurance allowed her to survive for another ten minutes.

However, her breathing gradually became more difficult, and the suffocating feeling constantly tormented Melissa, making her tremble with fear.

Finally, immense fear overwhelmed Melissa. She desperately pounded on the thick metal plate, hoping someone would hear her cries for help.

But Melissa’s struggle was in vain, only accelerating the depletion of her already limited oxygen. She gradually felt her limbs go numb and weak, until she couldn’t even breathe despite using all her strength. She could only cry, until everything faded into complete darkness.

In the chaos of unconsciousness, Melissa suddenly felt as if she heard something. Then she felt someone kissing her, touching her breasts.

“Am I dead?” Melissa opened her eyes and uttered her first words after “resurrection.”

“No. You’re alive.” Seeing Melissa awaken, Zhang Wen stopped the CPR.

“Still alive?” The newly awakened Melissa was somewhat dazed. She struggled to lift her head and saw the familiar background and a face that seemed somewhat familiar.

“Are you… the representative teacher from Almeythius Academy?” As her breathing returned, Melissa’s memory rapidly revived. However, her body still had no strength at all.

“Yeah. You’re right. Now, it’s time for you to tell me who you really are.”

“I…” Melissa tried to sit up, but halfway up, she tilted sideways and fell into Zhang Wen’s arms. Finally, unable to rise, Melissa could only lie in Zhang Wen’s arms and said, “I am the Union Envoy, Countess Melissa Dantes of the Empire.”

“Union Envoy? Countess of the Empire?” Zhang Wen frowned. He didn’t understand how TK Group had gotten involved with a Union envoy.

However, just as Zhang Wen was about to continue questioning her, a sudden gust-like “whooshing” sound came from deep within the hall. After the psychic control terminal was destroyed, TK Group had finally restored the psychic energy supply to the floating elevator, preparing to send people up to clean the battlefield.

“No… I can’t be captured!” Melissa panicked and tried to stand up, but her attempt only resulted in Zhang Wen getting more physical advantage.

“Alright, stop trying to be tough. I don’t plan on facing them either. I’ll take you with me.” After a moment’s thought, Zhang Wen smiled, scooped Melissa into his arms, quickly ran to the hole, and leaped out.

Back at TK Group’s headquarters, Saia had already stripped Melissa halfway, and later, while performing first aid, Zhang Wen had basically removed the rest. Now, Melissa was almost completely topless. If Zhang Wen carried her like this into public, both would immediately become the center of attention.

Therefore, the moment he landed back on the well-lit ground, Zhang Wen turned and took her into a nearby alley.

By now, Melissa had mostly regained her senses. As Zhang Wen entered the alley, she had already noticed that the remaining half of her combat suit had been torn open, her full, beautiful breasts completely exposed. At the same time, Melissa also recalled the sensations she felt upon waking up. And those sensations that made her blush were clearly from the man now holding her.

“Alright, you can put me down now.” After a few turns in the alley, Melissa suddenly whispered.

“Careful.” Zhang Wen smiled and replied, helping Melissa stand up.

“Thank you.” Melissa said, awkwardly covering her chest with her arms.

“No problem. Just a small favor. But if you really want to thank me, I do have quite a few questions for you.”

“Ask away.” Melissa hesitated briefly, then nodded with a bitter smile. Their Union operation had completely failed—there was no point in keeping secrets anymore.

“Great. First question—you just said you’re the Union Envoy. So why would the Union Envoy be in TK Group’s headquarters?”

“Because of a man called the Black Viscount—he’s the target of our operation. We received intelligence that he was hiding in TK Group’s headquarters, so we decided to try to capture him while TK Group was dealing with the Cassares bounty fighters. Unfortunately, we ended up falling into his trap.” Melissa answered readily, though her voice was full of bitterness.

“The Black Viscount? Never heard of him. Who is this guy, and why are you after him?”

“That… is a long story.” Melissa looked at Zhang Wen with a bitter smile. “Have you heard of the Mithril Union?”

“I have.”

“Oh! Then that makes things easier. The Black Viscount is the strategist of one of the Mithril Union’s three major factions—the Pantheon—and a man with far-reaching influence. The entire underworld of the Southern Sector is connected to him in some way. As for why we’re after him, the reason is simple. About a year ago, somehow, he managed to obtain the method to produce our Union’s official currency! In other words, the counterfeit money he prints is indistinguishable from our real currency! Our banks can’t even tell the difference…”

“What? How is that possible? Aren’t the official currencies of the three major powers now using psychic energy anti-counterfeiting technology? Isn’t the absolute uniqueness of psychic energy supposed to make counterfeiting impossible?”

“That’s what people say, but the facts are right in front of us. He has successfully produced counterfeit currency that’s indistinguishable from the real thing! His fake money has flooded the Union through the underground networks. Last year alone, two of our administrative planets were ruined by his counterfeit currency. Now the entire Union’s economy is on the verge of collapse. If he does it again, the Union will be on a countdown to total collapse.”

“Alright, I get it.” Zhang Wen nodded slightly, his lips curling into a faint smile. “Now I have just two final questions. Who were those six Saint-level experts who helped the Black Viscount set you up? And where is their base?”