Published at 8th of September 2019 05:20:06 AM
Chapter 511
After a brief silence, Smith spoke in a tremulous voice .
"Alright, I'll be there right away . "
After hanging up, Lou Cheng examined his surroundings, but failed to spot any valuable leads . He turned his eyes back to the unconscious Joseph .
He made it look all too easy in the previous fight, defeating the martial artist in one fell swoop with his combination attacks . However, that was only what it looked like on the surface . In truth, to achieve such an effect, he had gone all out without any reservations . Centering around his Ice Mirror, he perfectly combined prediction, force, secret arts and footwork into one harmonious body . That was the key to taking down his opponent deftly .
Defeating a quasi-Inhuman mighty one wasn't as easy as it sounded!
That was exactly why it was impossible for him to conceal the characteristics of his kung-fu . Even without exposing his appearance, there was a chance that Joseph could uncover his identity in the future, after regaining consciousness, and that would poses a problem .
Lou Cheng had already put some thought into the matter . When he first came up with Operation Connecticut Criminal Extermination, he already had it all mapped out . Against a weak enemy, he could easily conceal the characteristics of his kung fu and throw in a little technique from the Geruga Sect . Against a strong enemy who was proven guilty, he was prepared to be merciless . It wasn't uncommon for martial artists to sustain severe brain injuries during a "bout" . The American government might even be pleased at the result . According to what Master said, they desperately needed martial artists who went through a "hard reset" for their Artificial Weapons Project .
But considering that he was alone in a foreign land with no intel and no leads, he felt that he was in no place to find anyone guilty or sentence anyone to death . Also, his actions might leave a mark elsewhere, so he gave up on the idea and brushed it off as a fantasy . That was before he met Smith .
These people are with the secret service . They probably have more tricks up their sleeves than I do when it comes to dealing with such situations… But if they fail, I'll do it myself, "one step at a time" . . . While Lou Cheng remained absorbed in his thoughts, Smith pulled up outside the mansion and maintained the interference on the alarm system . Walking into the mansion, he picked up a packed meal that dropped onto the floor, before closing the door .
His gaze shifted from Lou Cheng— in the guise of a low drooping cap and thick-rimmed glasses— to the unconscious Joseph sprawled across the floor . The muscles on his face began twitching, and his eyes turned bloodshot . He looked as though he wanted to leap onto his enemy and sink his teeth into his flesh . Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www . webnovel . com for visiting .
"You are so fast! Sunny's father is not even here yet . I'll start with a preliminary investigation," said Smith . Having gone through years of training and evolving a supernatural ability of his own, he regained his composure in no time .
Lou Cheng nodded slightly .
"I can help if you have trouble finding the evidence," he said in a low voice .
With his detection skills after making a breakthrough in Ice Mirror, he might be able to "see" more than trained eyes and catch on to something .
His confidence came from his communication with the spiritual gem, along with other evidences, and by then he was almost certain that Joseph was the "Butcher"— every Connecticut girl's nightmare .
Also, taking into account the large number of supernatural ability users and spiritual mediums in America, the case wouldn't have gone cold if the decisive evidence lay elsewhere . That could only mean one thing . Joseph's mansion was the key to the mystery . Lou Cheng believed they could find something in there as much as Smith did .
"Okay . You can start by covering your tracks," instructed Smith . He pulled out a set of devices and began his search from the collection room on the first floor . A smooth, glossy bone carving caught his attention, but he did not have the means to analyze and determine what it was, so he settled with a brief check and scraped off some parts for further analysis .
By injecting pure Flame and Ice Force into him, Lou Cheng destroyed all symptoms of Emperor Yan Force and Ice Spirit Force lingering in Joseph's body . He then cleaned up the traces of battle in the living room . Anything that could be linked back to him .
Before long, just as Smith was getting impatient from finding nothing, the doorbell chimed .
Lou Cheng poised for attack, his eyes turning into a slit and his hair standing on ends . Smith walked out from the collection room and waved him off .
"It's Sunny's father… We've got to hurry . We have ten minutes before the delivery boy comes knocking . "
He paced to the door, took a glance at the surveillance system and disabled the lock . From outside came a middle aged man with grey hair and a jowly face .
"Cole…" Lou Cheng muttered confusedly under his breath .
Wasn't this Cole from the Geruga Sect who trained alongside him under Joseph's student Lin Deluo?
Just that afternoon he had been curious as to why someone with the ability of a Professional Ninth Pin never became an official disciple— insisting that he had to awaken his own spirit before he "promoted" . . .
Seems like he had an ulterior motive…
Cole's eyes latched onto the sprawled Joseph the moment he entered the door . His teeth made a gritting noise, and his jaw trembled in anger . His gaze was so malicious, spiteful and intense that it threatened to carve a hole in his enemy's flesh .
"Uncle Cole, we don't have much time," reminded Smith .
Breathing heavily, Cole pulled his gaze away and began to inspect the room .
He didn't recognize Lou Cheng in his thick rimmed glasses and baseball cap, but he took him for a nameless superhero and nodded gratefully .
"He's Sunny's Dad?" Lou Cheng asked in a low voice when Cole wistfully went off to inspect somewhere else .
With the level of surveillance Smith conducted on him, he couldn't have not known Cole to be his classmate .
"Yes . Uncle Cole wanted to become Joseph's student so he could get the chance to guard this place," said Smith, sullen and pained .
"He's not afraid of being exposed?" Lou Cheng asked doubtfully .
"A demon who killed at least 40 innocent girls wouldn't remember their relatives one by one . Plus, Uncle Cole divorced Sunny's mother way back . He only visited Sunny a few times a year . " Smith paused . "It's something he always regretted…"
Sponsored Content
While they were talking, Cole seemed to feel or hear something, and a layer of mist drifted from his grey-white eyes . He swung around, walked into the collection room, and muttered as he stared hard at a blood-red gemstone .
"Is that you, Sunny?"
"Is that you, Sunny?"
He reached out with quivering hands, stroking at the surface of the ruby . Suddenly, the gem gleamed, as though a strong light had been cast onto it . Scarlet light spilled and gently "fondled" Cole's cheeks .
"Sunny… Sunny!" cried Cole . The mist in his eyes condensed into gouts of tears that rolled off his cheeks, across his coarse face and grey-white stubble .
The surrounding gemstones and sculptures began to resonate, each sparkling in their own glory, enveloping the collection room in melancholy and sorrow .
"Sunny…" Smith repeated incessantly as he bounded for the ruby . He vaguely felt the blonde girl's warmth, as if it was yesterday once more .
He believe he had found the lead . . .
Stimulated by the surge in spirituality, Joseph slowly regained his consciousness, looking around in the wails of "Sunny" . He sensed that the spirit objects were radiating out of control .
"You caught me…" he sighed plaintively .
"Why? Why?" Smith swung around and bounded to Joseph . "Why did you kill Sunny?"
"Sunny?" Joseph clearly didn't remember who Sunny was . Or perhaps he never knew her name in the first place .
After a brief pause, he smiled without a tinge of guilt, and answered,
"For their pure and sacred spirits . "
Cole held the blood-red gemstone in his hands, his eyes reflecting its scarlet light .
"Where did you hide her body?" he shouted .
A satisfied look spread across Joseph's face, so creepy that it made their blood run cold .
"
Sponsored Content
A part of it went into the spirit object . The rest became a part of me . "
Gag… Lou Cheng almost retched up the coffee from earlier when he understood what he meant .
"Demon! You demon!" Cole cursed as he paced towards Joseph .
Poor Sunny . She was murdered in cold blood for such an absurd reason, when she had done nothing wrong . She never even knew why she was killed!
She must have been so lost . So confused . So baffled .
Joseph paid no heed to their reactions and struggled to have a look at the "delivery boy", but all he could see was his jeans, shirt, black-rimmed glasses and baseball cap .
Slightly less than 6 feet tall . Physique covered by clothes . Skin matted with ice crystals . Can't tell which race he's from… But his spirit is strong . Very strong…
"So, you must be the new Superhero in town?" Joseph rasped, his blue pupils darting around . He wanted to know why the stranger stuck his nose into the matter and assaulted him .
"No," Lou Cheng replied curtly .
Well, I can't tell him the purpose of this "visit" was eliminating all threats to Ke . Can't expose my weakness to Smith and Cole . . .
If Joseph killed those women for their pure and sacred spirits, then the premise of him only targeting young girls was wrong . With the talent Ke showed when she entered the still stance, she could have actually became a target . . .
"In the name of justice then? Look at that, the Nemesis of Crime and Evil!" Joseph scowled .
"Not really," Lou Cheng confessed .
Joseph froze .
"So why did you come here? Why mess with me?" he blurted confusedly .
Lou Cheng hesitated before pushing the bill of his baseball cap down .
"I had nothing better to do . "
Which is true, if I had something better to do, I wouldn't have had the time to construct those fantasies . Just so happens that I'm also quick to put my thoughts to action . . .
Sponsored Content
"Nothing better to do…" Joseph repeated stupidly . He never expected that to be the reason .
I got targeted because he had nothing better to do?
F***! S***! What kind of lousy reason is that!
The rage in his heart burned . He was dying to get up so he could tear Lou Cheng to pieces with his teeth .
In that moment, he was lost, confused and baffled, just like what Sunny and the others felt when they were murdered in cold blood . At the same time he was filled with hatred and pain .
In his misery, Smith thought Lou Cheng was taunting Joseph, and that made him feel a lot better . He walked over, took out a palm-sized metallic box from his coat, and from inside he produced a syringe, needle and container that held a liquid with pale gold glow .
Smith injected the liquid into Joseph after assembling the syringe and needle . He turned and smiled at Lou Cheng .
"Muscle relaxant . Prevents him from moving a muscle in the next hour, and, has a serious side effect of damaging recent memories . He might have been able to resist it had he been in his best shape, but right now? God bless him . "
"Nice," Lou Cheng nodded approvingly .
Smith stood up, glimpsed at his watch, and turned to Lou Cheng .
"Let me send you off . Uncle Cole, you guard the scene," he said .
"Okay," Cole replied in a deep voice, his eyes fixated on Joseph .
When Smith and Lou Cheng had driven off in the sedan, far from the mansion, hysterical laughter erupted from Cole as he crept up to Joseph .
For the first time, the calmness on Joseph's face vanished; it came to his realization that he might not last until his lawyer arrived .
"Hey! What are you trying to—" he shrieked .
…
In the sedan, Lou Cheng glanced at Smith and sighed .
"You already know what's going to happen in that mansion . "
"Uncle Cole has the resolve to take full responsibility for whatever happens in there," Smith replied indirectly .
Without saying anything else, Lou Cheng closed his eyes .