Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Everything depended on timing, location, and people.
Zhuo Zhuo had submitted an application to the Capital Museum for in-depth research as soon as he first saw the clown wood carving.
The curator, unaware of the details, approved the application, deeming it compliant with regulations.
The application was submitted, and the approval came down today.
Li Yuebai was stunned.
He had intended to wage a protracted war, but unexpectedly, someone was about to send the item away right under his nose?
Officially, it was said to be sent to the Capital Museum, but in reality, since Zhuo Zhuo handled the matter, it was highly likely that it could be secretly sent elsewhere.
Li Yuebai suddenly stood up.
“I would like to ask, what is the procedure for transporting cultural relics?” Li Yuebai glanced at Zhuo Zhuo and said in a deep voice, “Can safety be guaranteed?”
“Safety?” The secretary was somewhat puzzled: “Mr. Gu is worried that the transportation process will be like that time…”
Last time, when the curator transported cultural relics, there was a minor incident, but the relics weren’t lost. So the secretary’s first thought was that kind of thing.
“Come on, secretary, let me explain.” Zhuo Zhuo snorted coldly. “He means he doesn’t trust me to handle this alone.”
“Oh, of course it will be handled not just by Expert Zhuo.” The secretary hurriedly replied, “There’s a set procedure, it’s very safe.”
According to regulations, Zhuo Zhuo could not open the safe alone and take out the clown wood carving alone— because there was a possibility of switching it midway. Therefore, this process must be completed under the supervision of everyone.
“Gu, I don’t know what your purpose is, but this time, you can’t just snatch the item from me in front of so many people. After all, even the police have to follow the rules, right?” Zhuo Zhuo smiled provocatively at Li Yuebai, then took off his white coat and casually tossed it, along with his phone, to Xiao Tian. Under everyone’s gaze, he walked step by step towards the safe.
Xiao Tian held Zhuo Zhuo’s white coat and phone, somewhat at a loss, and afraid that Zhuo Zhuo would ask for them back later, he followed behind Zhuo Zhuo like a little eunuch, serving him step by step.
Zhuo Zhuo walked to the safe, covered the combination lock with his hand, and entered the password.
With a click, the safe opened.
Li Yuebai stared intently at Zhuo Zhuo.
Zhuo Zhuo reached inside and took out the clown wood carving.
Li Yuebai could see clearly that it was the same clown wood carving from the previous photo— rough, dirty, not very well-crafted, with gaudy colors that had faded somewhat due to oxidation…
With so many eyes watching, Zhuo Zhuo couldn’t have switched it out on the spot. He simply held the clown wood carving triumphantly in his gloved hand, even waving it provocatively at Li Yuebai.
His bright red hair was dazzling, and without his white coat, his arrogant and frivolous demeanor only grew stronger. His eyes were filled with a passion for something, and Li Yuebai couldn’t immediately tell whether he was being controlled by a dormant entity, or genuinely risking his life for Gao Chengyu… or…
Then, in the blink of an eye, a soft thud sounded at Zhuo Zhuo’s feet. Several small, unidentified spheres fell onto the clean tiled floor and exploded.
Immediately, a plume of white smoke rose.
Smoke grenades!
And an upgraded, high-intensity version unlike anything he’d ever seen before!
The smoke was thick, instantly spreading and obscuring Zhuo Zhuo’s figure; even his arrogant smile was gone, replaced by a white haze.
“Damn it!” Li Yuebai cursed, rushing forward.
He hadn’t expected Zhuo Zhuo to be so audacious; this time, he really wasn’t leaving himself any way out, actually using a smoke grenade in front of so many people!
Footsteps echoed through the smoke— he was taking advantage of the chaos to escape!
Li Yuebai could see nothing clearly, so he could only follow the footsteps, avoiding stumbles and bumps with his memory. Finally, he caught up with the person at the doorway. He swiftly reached forward with his right hand, hooked the person’s shoulder, and with a slight twist, turned the person around. At the same time, he tried his best to discern the sounds in the air. There was nothing, no sound of a blade striking, no sound of a pistol being cocked. The person had no weapon. This was the restoration room, a restricted area of the museum. Only the security team and police officer Ye Qing were authorized to carry guns. Zhuo Zhuo and his team, as experts, were not allowed to carry weapons.
“Zhuo Zhuo, you’re too hasty,” Li Yuebai said in a low voice, as he forcefully pushed the person to the ground and pressed his knee into his chest.
He searched the person’s body. Nothing, no weapon, no artifacts, nothing was taken.
Where had he hidden the clown wood carving?
It didn’t matter, as long as the person was caught, as long as he was properly interrogated…
Li Yuebai grabbed the person’s right hand, took out handcuffs, and cuffed the other end to the door frame.
Amidst a flurry of footsteps, Li Yuebai heard the calm click of a bullet being chambered deep within the repair room.
It was Ye Qing; Ye Qing’s side was under control as well.
The smoke gradually dissipated, and everything quieted down.
“I caught him,” Li Yuebai whispered.
He held the handcuffed man firmly, rendering his hands immobile.
“What a coincidence,” Ye Qing’s voice held a hint of helplessness, “I caught him too.”
“Huh?” Li Yuebai uttered a questioning sound.
Those present were likely stunned.
Undoubtedly, there was only one Zhuo Zhuo in this world.
Who was this person he had handcuffed?
Who had Ye Qing caught? Between the one in his hand and the one in Ye Qing’s hand, surely one of them was correct?
As the smoke cleared, Li Yuebai took a deep breath and looked at the person he had handcuffed.
It was Wang Wen, Team Leader Wang.
Wang Wen, tall and thin with a refined and scholarly appearance, was now being roughly pinned down in the doorway, completely powerless to resist. His shirt was torn, and he looked bewildered, his face pale, and his breathing rapid— a truly indescribable scene.
Li Yuebai felt for a moment that he was nothing short of a beast.
“Xiao Ye,” he whispered, turning to Ye Qing, “the one you caught must be the real Zhuo Zhuo…”
The real…
Ye Qing was calmly stepping on someone, the muzzle of his gun pointed directly at that person’s forehead.
As for who that person was…
Xiao Tian cowered in fear, afraid to struggle, letting Ye Qing step on him, covering his face, unable to look directly at Ye Qing’s gun.
…Still not Zhuo Zhuo!
“Damn it, where did Zhuo Zhuo run off to?” Li Yuebai roared in frustration, slamming his fist against the doorframe.
This is how villains in movies usually act when they’re exasperated.
After the smoke cleared, the experts and staff who had recovered quickly retreated. The security team began searching for Zhuo Zhuo’s whereabouts, but to no avail.
The clown wood carving, naturally, had also disappeared along with Zhuo Zhuo.
“Um…” Wang Wen coughed wearily, “Mr. Gu, could you please let me go?”
He had been bullied so badly by Li Yuebai that his voice was hoarse.
“Sorry.” Li Yuebai nodded awkwardly and guiltily, hurriedly looking for the handcuff key: “Right away.”
But the key wasn’t in his pocket.
“Sorry, I lost the key.” Li Yuebai gritted his teeth, squeezing out this awkward answer.
Ye Qing was doing slightly better, finally managing to remove the boots from Xiao Tian’s body.
Suddenly, everyone had left, leaving only the four of them in the restoration room.
“Zhuo Zhuo escaped!” Li Yuebai released Wang Wen, jumped up abruptly, and waved to Ye Qing: “Chase him!”
Ye Qing silently put away his gun and followed Li Yuebai out of the restoration room.
“…Um…” Wang Wen weakly protested, trying to remind these two irresponsible public servants that there was still a pair of handcuffs waiting to be removed, but he was completely ignored.
Meanwhile, in Damascus, Syria.
Damascus, on the Mediterranean coast, was an ancient city with over four thousand years of history, once a paradise on earth, filled with palaces and temples, its streets lined with roses, and poets from three continents left behind countless beautiful songs.
But in this century, the city had long been destroyed by war.
The surface was ravaged, scorched earth everywhere, but underground lied a different world.
The underground caves were dark and deep, yet incredibly magnificent, filled with West Asian-style domes and staircases… Countless fireflies dance in the darkness, emitting a cold, eerie glow, and beside the staircases was a clear pool of water, its surface seemingly shimmering with gems.
Climbing the steps, one could see a wide platform, on which sat a large round table carved from black marble, large enough to seat dozens of people.
Now, only one person sat at that table.
The man was pale, his clothes were of indeterminate material, and he had delicate, well-defined features. His light gray hair was a bit long, and he wore a platinum-rimmed monocle over his left eye— he was impeccable. Only a gruesome, unhealed bullet hole remained on his forehead.
On the table before him sat a small flowerpot filled with thorns, from which hung several tiny skulls— so small, clearly children’s skulls, looking very fresh, with blood still dripping from them.
A dozen or so men in black robes stood respectfully around the marble round table, but none dared to sit down.
A subordinate unfurled the parchment scroll in his hand, glanced at it, and spoke in a strange voice, a jumble of Romanian and English: “You’re a fool. The people you sent to retrieve [JOKER] still haven’t sent back any news.”
“The process of obtaining [JOKER] has taken far too long. So many days have passed, and it’s still unsuccessful. I seriously doubt the executor’s abilities…”
“It would be such a waste if we couldn’t obtain such a powerful dormant entity as [JOKER]…”
“You’re a fool. Your former subordinates in China are, after all, still human. They might not be entirely loyal to you anymore. Perhaps they’ve already harbored rebellious intentions…” an aged voice expressed worried doubt.
“Perhaps they’ve taken [JOKER] and escaped, setting up their own faction.”
The murmur of discussion filled the dungeon, creating an uneasy atmosphere.
The man wearing a monocle frowned, then slightly twitched his fingers.
One of the black-robed subordinates, still uttering words of “incompetence,” suddenly fell silent.
A sharp thorn pierced his lips and tongue, dripping black blood.
The other black-robed subordinates stood frozen, afraid to scream, move, or struggle.
“Your concerns are beyond my authority,” the man with the monocle sighed, speaking in Chinese. A hush fell over the table; all the black-robed figures were stunned.
Their current identities were vampires.
Before becoming vampires, some were vagrants, some were criminals, some were engaged in high-risk professions… But what they had in common was that they had all died or been severely injured in various accidents and battles, then been possessed by dormant entities, gaining a second life.
The dormant entities possessing them belonged to various different races, but none were as powerful and noble as Vlad III.
Therefore, they were naturally recruited by Vlad III and made to serve him.
Vampires in novels, movies, and TV series were always portrayed as dark, cold, and solitary figures. But these vampires, who entered the profession later in life, had been involved in gangs in their previous lives, so naturally they needed an organization, a backer.
Following Vlad III was thus the best choice.
Gao Chengyu didn’t intend to punish the subordinate who had spoken out of turn for too long and quickly withdrew the small spell.
Thorns, dripping with disgusting, viscous blood, flew off the lips and tongue it had pierced, arcing through the air before landing back in the flowerpot on the table and embedding themselves in the soil.
As a former business elite, Gao Chengyu knew better than anyone how to adapt to a new environment and a new identity, and how to use his abilities and special skills to achieve higher goals.
The new identity of Vlad III was merely a royal robe and a crown; what truly determined success or failure was the manipulation of people’s hearts.
He knew very well that in the current situation, his old subordinates back home would never betray him. They were deeply tempted by the prospect of vampire immortality and would only follow him more loyally and serve him.
“You’re so naive. Could it be that Gu… Gu… something, who’s thwarted our plan?” Finally, one of his subordinates stammered out a somewhat valuable opinion.
Gu Xisha, huh?
Gao Chengyu felt a throbbing pain in his forehead.
After his resurrection, he hadn’t rushed into action— Gu Xisha wasn’t an easy opponent; a meticulous plan was needed to capture him firmly.
But now, he had to speed things up. Gu Xisha wasn’t just sitting idly by waiting to be killed; instead, he had been launching high-profile attacks, disrupting his plans.
Would Gu Xisha intercept [JOKER] this time as well?
The more this happened, the more interesting it became.
A weak opponent didn’t even warrant the desire to be trampled underfoot.
But someone like Gu Xisha was the one he wanted to destroy from the inside out, to tear apart all dignity and personality.
Now it seemed he needed to accelerate the process.
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