Lin Qin’s gaze trailed Ma Yushu’s car, following seamlessly without betraying a hint of his presence.
Ma Yushu drove, his wife and child in the back seat.
His muscles were rigid, only his eyes alive, darting to the rearview mirror with a faint pang of guilt—but just a pang. His hands stayed steady, unwavering as he drove his family toward hell.
Ma Yushu’s wife was unaware that the “Ma Yushu” trending in Silver Hammer’s news was her husband, Ma Bai.
She only knew that, after trouble at Weiwei Company, her husband had rare time off and was taking her and their child out today.
She’d meticulously prepared camping and barbecue supplies, determined to make this family outing perfect.
At the camping park straddling the upper and mid-districts, she chatted and laughed, leading the child to set up tents and grills, while Ma Yushu stood still, quietly waiting for someone.
Soon, a light tap landed on his shoulder.
Ma Yushu turned, startled by the face. “You…”
Mr. Kenan ignored him, striding past to call out brightly, “Sister-in-law!”
Ma Yushu’s wife looked up.
Through her husband’s work, she’d met Kenan before.
A flicker of surprise crossed her face. “Mr. Kenan, are you here with family too?”
“No.” Kenan shook his head. “I’m a lone wolf. When I’ve got nothing on, I come here to wander, clear my head.”
Knowing Kenan was a big name in Silver Hammer, she hid her reluctance to have their family time disrupted and politely invited him. “Join us, then.”
Kenan flashed his signature affable smile. “Great. I won’t stand on ceremony.”
As Ma Yushu’s wife busied herself with the child up ahead, Kenan gave the frozen Ma Yushu a shove. “Go on, don’t leave your wife to do all the work.”
Ma Yushu’s eyes held a plea. “Mr. Kenan, I…”
Despite his cold, profit-driven heart, he wasn’t entirely a monster.
He wanted to keep his distance from his wife and child, to lessen the pain of parting.
Kenan raised a hand, delivering a gentle but firm pat to his back. “I tell you to go, and you dare refuse?”
In that mix of warmth and menace, Ma Yushu’s hair stood on end. He shuffled forward mechanically, clumsily skewering meat.
The child, unrestrained by nature, ran off to play, forcing his mother to chase him back repeatedly.
Eventually, she took him to play nearby, leaving Ma Yushu and Kenan to handle the barbecue.
Suppressing his churning emotions, Ma Yushu asked while working, “Where… are they being sent?”
Kenan: “Sure you want to know?”
Ma Yushu lowered his eyes. “Never mind. You decide.”
The child’s laughter floated from afar.
Kenan’s smile widened. “Cute kid.”
Ma Yushu bowed his head, enduring a sharper stab of pain.
But then Kenan said, “Take them back home.”
Ma Yushu’s head snapped up. “…Wha—”
“I see your sincerity.” Kenan placed a skewer of synthetic meat over the glowing coals, wincing as the heat singed his finger. He blew on it softly. “I’m not taking those two today.”
Before Ma Yushu could rejoice, Kenan added, “Besides, someone’s watching me. Not a good time to act.”
Ma Yushu: “…Who?”
Kenan: “Might be my new cash cow.”
Ma Yushu racked his brain. “Lin Qin?”
Kenan flipped the skewer. “Hope it’s not him.”
He sighed, mildly annoyed. “That kid’s a headache. I’ve tailed him, dug into him, and he’s clean as a whistle. People like that are hard to use—need some dirt to make them pliable.”
Kenan glanced at Ma Yushu. “If you hadn’t stirred up this mess, I’d have given you the job.”
Ma Yushu, spared from doom, was elated but hid his joy.
Another thought struck him. “What about… the money?”
“Of course, I’ll lend it,” Kenan said, shocking him again. “Kill you, and what happens to my twenty-five million? Toss it for a bang? Even I’m not that wasteful. At least get Motobu Ryo back to break even.”
Ma Yushu’s heart soared, his spirit restored. “Good! Great!”
With Kenan’s guarantee, he ate the picnic with rare peace of mind.
As the family prepared to leave, Ma Yushu was nearly tearfully grateful to Kenan.
Kenan watched him usher his wife and child into the car, then sat on a park swing, waving casually, signaling he had more to say.
Ma Yushu, with a couple of camping items left behind, settled his family in the car and approached Kenan with a beaming smile.
But dozens of steps out, nearing Kenan, a deafening explosion roared behind him.
Ma Yushu stumbled, knocked forward by a terrifying heatwave.
Dread pooling, he turned in horror—
The back half of his car had fused with the front.
The two people inside were gone.
All he saw was towering flames.
His legs buckled, and he collapsed.
Kenan leaned down, patting his shoulder amiably. “You got personal accident insurance for them, right?”
Ma Yushu, face gray, turned stiffly, trembling as he nodded.
Kenan said kindly, “Cash out the insurance and give it to me. For three months, I won’t charge interest. After that, if you’ve got nothing, I’ll start eyeing your insurance.”
Ma Yushu let out a sobbing groan. “Their… insurance… it’s ten million combined.”
“I know,” Kenan said. “Since you couldn’t do it, I did it for you.”
Standing, he hauled the limp Ma Yushu up, clapping his shoulder firmly. “Go. Hurry up and have a good cry.”
As Ma Yushu staggered forward, wailing, he saw a figure emerge quietly from the black smoke and flames, leading his wife and child.
Ma Yushu and Kenan froze in unison.
Ma Yushu reacted first.
The overwhelming joy of regaining what was lost momentarily eclipsed his greed.
He scrambled toward his wife and child, embracing the soot-streaked, dazed pair, sobbing uncontrollably.
Infected by his father’s emotions, the child whimpered, but Ma Yushu’s wife remained impassive, gazing at the weeping man with eyes so unfamiliar it was as if she’d never known him.
…
Lin Qin had tailed Ma Yushu all the way, waiting patiently through the picnic.
With no moves from Ma Yushu or Kenan, Lin Qin stayed dormant, biding his time.
When Ma Yushu settled his wife and child in the car and stepped away, Lin Qin seized the chance, slipping past their blind spots to approach the vehicle, intending to warn them.
By chance, Ma Yushu’s wife recognized Lin Qin from TV.
Before he could speak, she rolled down the window, smiling. “You’re that Lin Qin—”
Lin Qin cut to the chase. “Your husband may mean you harm.”
Without waiting for her reaction, he played the recording from his call with Ning Zhuo.
But just as the key part played, Lin Qin spotted an unmanned truck barreling toward them at an unthinkable speed.
Acting on instinct, he grabbed Ma Yushu’s wife by the collar, yanking her and the child through the window.
Thankfully, she was slight and clutched the child tightly, making their escape smooth.
The moment they cleared the window, the glass shattered at her toes.
…
Kenan watched Lin Qin from afar, sighing deeply as he sat back on the swing, swaying gently.
Lin Qin met his gaze, feeling a pang of regret.
He’d planned to save this evidence for Kenan’s next live interview.
Lin Qin had long sensed Kenan’s ruthlessness but hadn’t expected him to act in front of Ma Yushu—Lin Qin thought seeing his family die might turn Ma Yushu against him.
Yet Kenan had done it.
In Kenan’s eyes, Silver Hammer indeed divided people from beasts.
Only he was human; others were people or animals, depending on his whim.
To save lives, Lin Qin had to reveal himself to Kenan earlier than planned.
He wanted to pivot, act fast, and expose Kenan’s crimes publicly.
But he knew Kenan’s influence was vast; his plan might fail.
Breaking the eerie silence, Kenan’s communicator buzzed.
An interest reporter’s voice came through. “Mr. Kenan, we received a recording about you…”
Kenan, still watching Lin Qin, issued a calm order. “Please destroy it.”
Lin Qin wasn’t surprised.
As a key mouthpiece for interest company, Kenan had cultivated connections and clout for years.
Lin Qin advanced a few steps toward him.
Kenan didn’t flinch, sighing with regret. “Lin Qin, can’t you let Lin Qingzhuo go?”
Lin Qin replied, “Mr. Kenan, I can’t. You’ve done things, past and present, that make it impossible to forget what you’ve done.”
Kenan feigned shock. “What have I done? I mean, Lin Qingzhuo was officially diagnosed with mental illness. He hurt you badly, probably scarred your mind, making you paranoid, even tailing me… maliciously misjudging me.”
He tossed out a vicious barb. “…Did you inherit Lin Qingzhuo’s mental illness?”
Lin Qin replied politely, “I was adopted.”
Kenan smacked his forehead, grinning brightly. “Oh, sorry, forgot.” He’d hoped to paint “rising star Lin Qin” as a hereditary mental case.
But Lin Qin showed no signs of instability, calmly patting the sobbing Ma Yushu’s shoulder. “Mr. Ma, this accident is suspicious. Please come with me.”
To Ma Yushu’s wife, he added gently but firmly, “Madam, contact your family and take your child for a full checkup at the hospital. I’ll stay with you until they arrive.”
She looked at Lin Qin and nodded silently.
Ma Yushu, slowly coming to, glanced back at Kenan with confusion and pain.
Kenan shrugged casually: No insurance money from your wife and kid? Tough luck—buy more for yourself.
…
Meanwhile, all of Haina and Panqiao gathered in the lounge.
After Jin Xueshen’s incident, even mercenaries who’d drifted away, refusing to return due to old grudges, had reluctantly come back from far and wide.
But the base’s atmosphere was nothing like they’d expected.
One Panqiao mercenary, skeptical, sought out Kuang Hexuan, once the fiercest “anti-Ning Zhuo” leader, and got a chilling reply: “Ning-ge? He’s amazing! Trust me, even the boss is tight with him now. Watch yourselves—don’t mess with Ning-ge!”
Seeing Kuang Hexuan’s giddy fervor, the mercenary’s worldview shattered.
This Ning rabbit must know some kind of spell!
Now, these scattered Panqiao mercenaries eyed Ning Zhuo at the head of the room, their gazes akin to those sizing up a rumored Miaojiang sorcerer.
Ning Zhuo glanced at Shan Feibai beside him.
Shan Feibai was doodling on paper, unaware of the meeting’s purpose.
Propping his cheek, he flashed Ning Zhuo a sweet, playful smile, earning a covert rabbit-kick under the table.
Using the kick’s momentum, Ning Zhuo stood. “I have a plan and want everyone’s approval.”
He flicked a glance at Shan Feibai, then looked away. “I want to leave Silver Hammer.”
“Raise your hand if you agree. Stay still if you don’t.”
Shan Feibai, rubbing his knee, snapped his head up, staring at Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo avoided his gaze.
Realizing what this meant, Shan Feibai’s eyes lit with wild joy, reaching for Ning Zhuo’s hand under the table.
…Predictably, he got another rabbit-kick.
