Behind the Scenes

The headquarters of the Yujing Yuansheng Group stands at a total height of over 460 meters. With a minimalist and grand design, it was once one of Yujing’s landmark buildings and formerly the tallest skyscraper in the city. It wasn’t until a few years ago, when the Yujing Center Tower exceeding 550 meters was completed, that it lost its title as the number one.

Even so, this remains one of the most well-known locations in Yujing, and could even be called the city’s “business card” in certain respects. Even if many people from outside the city have never visited Yujing, they have likely seen pictures of the Yuansheng Building on the internet or elsewhere. This skyscraper, piercing into the clouds, stands above the city like a giant; its lights remain lit day and night, never ceasing.

At this moment, inside the building, within a massive yet excessively minimalist office, a white-haired elderly man stood before a floor-to-ceiling window with his hands behind his back, overlooking the scattered sparks of light below from his high vantage point.

The old man’s appearance was very ordinary, but he possessed an aura of natural authority that commanded respect without anger. When he was expressionless, it gave off an especially strong sense of pressure. His stature wasn’t particularly tall, but standing there, he was like a stubborn rock, unshakeable regardless of wind or rain.

If anyone with even a slight understanding of the Yuansheng Group were to come here at this time, they would recognize his identity at a single glance as the head of the group, Boss Yu Fu. He was in his sixties, but with a head full of white hair, he looked much like a man in his seventies or eighties, seemingly lacking the youthfulness and prosperity typical of the wealthy. However, while his appearance was aged, those eyes remained as fierce as a falcon’s—lethal and dangerous.

Behind Yu Fu stood a tall man who looked to be in his thirties. He was Yu Fu’s eldest son and the future successor to the Yuansheng Group, the Young Master of the Yu family, Yu Xing. Currently, this middle-aged man—who was very handsome due to inheriting most of his mother’s features—stood not far away, appearing somewhat restless and ill at ease.

Seeing that the old man continued to stand before the window in silence, he finally couldn’t help but speak first: “Father, A-Yuan knows he was wrong. Please let him off this time!”

It would have been better if Yu Xing hadn’t spoken; the moment he did, Yu Fu spun around abruptly. That ferocious gaze caused even Yu Xing, his own son, to feel an irrepressible surge of fear. Then, as expected, came a furious scolding.

“Let him off? Then who will let me off! If that beast were even slightly useful, things wouldn’t have been bungled into such a stupid mess!”

Yu Fu’s eyes flared with fire and deep disappointment. “Moreover, I clearly entrusted this matter to you. You knew full well that idiot is better at ruining things than achieving them—why did you let him help?”

“I… I…”

The eldest son felt wronged as well. He had always known his father disliked the second brother, but they were family after all. It shouldn’t be that they fought like enemies every time they met, right? So, when he received the task from the old man previously, Yu Xing thought to let his younger brother do it and do it well, so that the old man would know the brother was also somewhat useful—at least to ease their relationship.

Who could have known that after his idiot brother failed to buy the item, he would actually send someone to steal it? Of course, that was nothing; if it was stolen, then so be it, as long as no traces were left behind.

But good heavens! The person his brother sent actually killed the professor!

When Yu Xing first received this news, his head was buzzing. Although he knew his brother was incompetent at everything, he truly hadn’t expected him to mess up such a small matter. Then, with no other choice, he had to hold his nose and help clean up the aftermath. Later, worried that some accident might occur and the item the old man wanted would be lost, he had no choice but to make the trip himself.

He had been busy running back and forth, and now he was catching grief from both sides. His brother complained that he had snatched the prize, while his father was furious that the matter had been bungled. Young Master Yu hadn’t gained favor from either side; he could only sigh. What a mess!

Despite his internal dissatisfaction, Yu Xing restrained himself and tried to comfort his elderly father: “Father, this matter was indeed my fault. I promise there won’t be a next time. Please calm your anger.”

Changing his tone, he added, “And although A-Yuan messed things up, the item was at least obtained. Furthermore, I’ve already had people handle the scene; it’s impossible for the police to find any useful clues.”

“You don’t understand…”

Yu Fu shook his head and turned back around, his gaze falling out the window, harboring a complexity that others could not see clearly. Yu Xing didn’t understand at all why he cared so much about that necklace. But it was also his own fault; to avoid arousing suspicion from others, he hadn’t even explained much to his son, leading the son to mistakenly believe the necklace was no big deal and ultimately entrust it to that donkey-like second brother.

Now, although the item was in hand, Yu Fu knew very well that some things could not be hidden for long. He estimated that someone would soon track him down through minute clues. His eldest son thought he had done things flawlessly, but where in the world are there so many flawless things? Moreover, there are powers in existence that mortals simply cannot comprehend. Those are even more unreasonable!

Yu Fu felt anxious and couldn’t help but cough violently several times, startling Yu Xing into rushing over to support him. But he was stopped by the old man’s raised hand.

“Go do your own business. Don’t mention the second brother’s matter again. He must be allowed to cool his head during this period.”

“This…” Seeing his father’s resolute gaze, Young Master Yu could only nod in the end. “Alright.” The man turned and left.

In the massive office where only one person remained, although it was brightly lit, it felt strangely empty and cold. The white-haired old man continued to stand by the window. He didn’t know how much time had passed before a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He instinctively turned around, but this time, before he could respond, the door was pushed open from the outside.

His secretary walked in first. Before Yu Fu could even wonder why he appeared here, he saw the man behind him. His expression changed: “What are you doing here!?”

“Boss Yu, good evening.”

The Eye Hunter smilingly released the secretary he had brought with him. The moment he let go, the other man collapsed unconscious onto the floor. Yu Fu didn’t care about that; he only stared fixedly at the intruder. Just as he was about to say something, he immediately noticed the man’s incredibly wretched appearance and frowned: “You’re injured? Who wounded you? The Bureau? Were you discovered?”

He asked several questions in a row. The Eye Hunter merely smiled.

The man, enduring waves of dizziness and weakness, found a random place to sit down. He didn’t hide anything; panting heavily, he said: “That’s right. I was caught up to by those hounds from the Bureau. Now, I need your help.”

“I don’t recall anything like this in our agreement.”

Boss Yu remained expressionless, but the Eye Hunter didn’t care at all. He continued to smile and said: “There indeed isn’t anything in the agreement, but there’s no choice; I’m at the end of my rope. Boss Yu, you wouldn’t want the Bureau people to catch me inside your office in a moment, would you?”

“Are you threatening me?”

“How can you call it a threat? It’s just that I’m a person who is rather afraid of death, so if I’m caught by the Bureau in a moment, there’s no telling what I might say.” Facing that cold gaze, the Eye Hunter spoke unhurriedly: “For example, that my employer behind the scenes is actually you, Boss Yu. For example, that you used me to secretly kidnap many people. Or for example, that not long ago… hm, you obtained a strange necklace.”

“…”

Yu Fu fell silent. For a full ten seconds or more, he finally spoke slowly: “But by running to me now, what’s the difference between that and directly telling them I am the mastermind?”

“As long as I’m not caught, they have no evidence.” The Eye Hunter’s smile became increasingly radiant. He had intentionally led the pursuers here because, under normal circumstances, he was certain this old fellow would absolutely not help him! Only by forcing him into a corner would he himself have a thread of hope for survival. Yu Fu’s influence in Yujing was enormous; only through him could things be temporarily smoothed over and help him leave this place!

As for whether he would be resented later? What kind of trouble would this bring to Yu Fu? The Eye Hunter felt that none of that was his concern. As long as he left Yujing, he couldn’t care less whether Yu Fu lived or died. To put it bluntly, this was a blatant threat. The Eye Hunter signaled he was dropping the act because he had truly been forced to a dead end; it was either a fate worse than death in the Bureau’s hands or a gamble for a slim chance at life. He had no choice.

Yu Fu looked at him in silence. Time passed second by second, and finally, he slowly closed his eyes. “Then it seems I have no room for choice either.”

Inside the Yuansheng Group headquarters building, Jiang Xun’s expression was somewhat peculiar. Speaking of which, this was his second time coming here. Last time was to investigate that necklace, but it ended with zero results. This time was to track the Eye Hunter. He truly hadn’t expected this fellow would run into the Yuansheng Group building!

Why would the Eye Hunter run into such a place?

First, the possibility of this being his nest could be excluded. A place with so many people and eyes—both in terms of location and atmosphere—was completely unsuitable as a secret base. Of course, it was possible the Eye Hunter was just that crazy, taking the path less traveled. But in Jiang Xun’s view, that possibility was extremely small.

Since it wasn’t a nest, what was he doing here? One had to realize the Eye Hunter’s situation was not optimistic at all; he was so weak it was hard to say if he could even handle an ordinary person. At a time like this, instead of returning to a base to find a way to treat himself, he ran to a place like this. It was strange no matter how one thought about it.

Unless his head was clouded and he ran to the wrong place, or he was insane, or else…

Jiang Xun looked at the Yuansheng Group logo with a thoughtful expression. After thinking, he pulled out his credentials.

A short while later.

Following the elevator all the way up, he was soon welcomed into that massive Chairman’s office. Inside the hollow office, the young man’s gaze was immediately drawn to the corpse lying on the expensive carpet.

Eyes wide with anger, the face still seemed to carry a thick sense of disbelief. The fatal wounds were in the forehead and chest, where massive blood holes existed simultaneously, with blood still continuously welling out from them.

“The Eye Hunter…”

Yes, the Eye Hunter was dead.