The Beauty CEO's Personal Expert

Chapter 1573 - 1878: Antidote (3)

Upon hearing this, the man looked up at Ling Chen and said, "I’m only curious about one thing. Where did you learn about the Dark Pavilion? And how do you know the antidote is on me?"

"Friend, you haven’t answered my question and instead ask me a bunch of questions. Do you think that’s appropriate?"

The man sneered, "Actually, even if you don’t say it, I can guess. There’s a traitor among us, isn’t it Guo Hong and the others? If I remember correctly, today is the last day of Wang Dong’s monthly deadline; if he doesn’t take the antidote, he’ll certainly die. You just hurriedly left with the antidote, must be going to deliver it to him, huh. Humph! A bunch of traitors, having the guts to betray the leader. Even if they got the antidote, so what? They still can’t escape death, just barely survive a while longer."

"You’re quite clever. Yes, you’re right. However, nothing is absolute; perhaps they won’t die. You’re the one handling the antidote, so I think you should know where to find more."

"I’ve already said, I know nothing. Just kill me directly, don’t waste time on me."

"Friend, are you really not reconsidering? I believe no one desires death. If it were me, as long as there’s a glimmer of hope for survival, I’d certainly seize it."

Upon hearing this, the man snorted softly, seemingly ignoring Ling Chen’s persuasion.

Seeing the man refusing to confess, Zhu Qing drew a dagger from her waist and pressed it against the man’s neck, saying coldly, "Since he’s worthless, why not let me kill him directly."

Feeling the chill from the dagger, the man’s expression changed slightly but soon returned to calmness. Seeing the man’s expression, Ling Chen suddenly smiled and gestured to Zhu Qing to withdraw the dagger.

"Rest assured, I won’t let you die so easily," Ling Chen said. "What I said before was merely to scare you."

Upon hearing this, not only did the man look surprised, but even Tong Zhentian and Zhu Qing were taken aback. What was this situation? Was the threat just now fake? Even if it was, shouldn’t it remain unspoken?

As their minds raced, Tong Zhentian and Zhu Qing looked at Ling Chen with puzzlement, seemingly wanting to understand his thoughts. "Everyone, don’t worry, my people are coming shortly," Ling Chen said. Just as his words fell, someone entered the command center — it was Ling Gengqiu.

Drawing near, Ling Gengqiu glared at Ling Chen irritably, saying in a low voice, "Hurry up and say what you need to; I just struck up a conversation with a beauty and it was going well."

Ling Chen pointed at the man before him and said, "Old brother, help me check if he’s been poisoned."

Without another word, Ling Gengqiu went straight to the man and checked his pulse. After a moment, he shook his head, saying, "This guy’s body is quite healthy; nothing’s wrong."

"I know." Ling Chen nodded, saying, "Old brother, I won’t hold you up from your business. Go ahead and carry on."

As Ling Gengqiu left, Tong Zhentian said with some surprise, "He didn’t take poison?"

"I found it odd earlier — why were there only sixteen pills in the bottle? So I suspected either he had taken the antidote in advance, or... never was poisoned at all, which is why I invited the old brother to examine him. As it appears now, this friend’s identity in the Dark Pavilion is quite unusual. Guo Hong told me that the Dark Pavilion’s leader likes to use poison to control his subordinates, forcing them to act." Ling Chen scrutinized the man before him, saying, "You haven’t been poisoned, suggesting your position in the Dark Pavilion is special, at least trustworthy to the leader. Otherwise, he wouldn’t entrust you with distributing such an important antidote. What do you think, am I right?"

After Ling Chen’s analysis, a subtle change finally appeared in the man’s expression.

"I’ve just said, I won’t kill you, so even if you wish to die, I won’t let you have your way. The only thing you can do is cooperate and tell us everything we want to know."

"Impossible!" The man’s tone was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Alright, you have guts, I appreciate that," Ling Chen said, extending his hand towards Zhu Qing, who understood and immediately handed him the dagger. Without hesitation, Ling Chen raised the dagger and thrust it fiercely into the man’s thigh.

A painful howl echoed as blood instantly stained the man’s pants red.

"What are you doing?" The man yelled at Ling Chen angrily.

"This is just the beginning," Ling Chen said flatly, drawing the dagger out from the man’s thigh. Blood gushed from the wound, dripping onto the floor.

"Zhu Qing, take him away, keep him under strict watch, and most importantly, don’t let him die."

Zhu Qing responded and immediately took the man out of the command center.

"Ling Chen, what’s your plan?" Tong Zhentian asked.

"It’s troublesome since he won’t cooperate. Since he’s responsible for distributing the antidote, he definitely knows others. As long as he cooperates, finding those Dark Pavilion people won’t be a problem." Ling Chen then shifted his topic, asking, "By the way, Elder Tong, why haven’t I seen Master Su and Elder Du, where have they gone?"

Tong Zhentian shook his head, saying, "I’m not sure either. Why, do you have business with them?"

"I..." Ling Chen was about to reply when hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from the doorway. Looking closely, Jiang Yunkai had hurriedly arrived at the command center, urgently saying, "Chen, something’s wrong outside."

"What happened?"

"A participant just entered the individual competition arena; who knew that guy was vicious and has already disabled several people. The referee tried to stop him but ended up injured too. You better go take a look quickly!"

Upon hearing this, Ling Chen didn’t hesitate, immediately rushing with Tong Zhentian towards the individual competition arena. By then, many spectators had gathered around to watch the spectacle. On the arena stood a lean middle-aged man with a severe look, with several heavily injured people lying around him.

Tong Zhentian said gravely, "Is this guy deliberately here to cause trouble?"

Ling Chen pondered for a moment, seeing more and more spectators, nodding, "I’m worried he’s from the Dark Pavilion attempting to create chaos deliberately. Elder Tong, better stop him while you still can."

"Alright, I’ll go!"

"Be careful, these people are bold enough to expose themselves; they likely have backup plans."

Tong Zhentian responded and prepared to step onto the arena. However, at that moment, a blurred figure suddenly darted across the crowd’s heads. Ling Chen rubbed his eyes, thinking he might have seen wrong. Upon focusing again, there was an unexpected figure on the arena — accurately, an old Taoist.