Chapter 197: Acting Skills
As the dim yellowish light in the room cast a feeble glow at the entrance, it barely outlined the figures of those entering through the door.
After opening the door, Ye Zi stood calmly in the corner of the doorway, her expression serene and her gaze cold, as if she had exchanged her soul, completely transforming her demeanor.
One by one, figures clad in various tight black outfits entered through the not-so-large doorway. The only uniform attire among them were the grass-black heavy leather military boots.
In front of Yang Chen stood seven men, each with a different expression—curiosity, excitement, amusement—varying, but one thing was evident: none of them were to be underestimated.
Leading the group was a man with fair skin and a well-proportioned figure. His prominent feature was his aquiline nose, but what stood out the most to Yang Chen was his gaze, a gaze that exuded an overwhelming sense of confidence, as if he held everything in his hands.
The man with the aquiline nose stepped forward and extended his hand to Yang Chen. "Nice to meet you, I'm Duan Ren, leader of the Dragon Team, a division of the Flame Dragon Iron Brigade."
Yang Chen shook his hand briefly. "Yang Chen, male public relations officer at Yulei International."
"Why not reveal your true identity?" Duan Ren asked with a smirk.
"What identity?"
"The rebuilder of Zero, the heir of the Pluto Hades Ring," Duan Ren said smoothly. "Forget about other identities, you won't deny these two, will you?"
Yang Chen scratched his head. "Love what you do, do what you love. Being a male PR officer now, those are all things of the past. Why bring them up?"
"Whether you want to bring it up or not, our conversation can't proceed without it."
"Can't we skip it?" Yang Chen asked with a smile.
"No," Duan Ren replied flatly.
Yang Chen sighed. "Then go ahead, I'm listening."
Duan Ren grinned triumphantly. "As the team leader, let me introduce my team members to you."
Meanwhile, rain continued to drizzle from the sky, but none of them seemed to care about seeking shelter from it. They stood in the rain-soaked darkness, watching Yang Chen sit at his position, drinking and eating.
Duan Ren went on to introduce each of his team members:
Tsunami, a middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses, giving off a corporate worker vibe, was the deputy team leader, mainly responsible for logistical support in technology.
Fire Cannon, a burly man with a full beard, a strategic assault specialist, proficient in firearms and heavy machinery.
Bigfoot, a man in his thirties with a square face, skilled in close combat and rear support.
Whirlwind, a young man with spiky hair and handsome features, adept at tracking and combat due to his exceptional lightness skills.
Night Wolf, with a gloomy expression, was a tall man with dark skin, a strategic sniper who could conceal himself without a trace, and execute lethal kills.
When it came to introducing Ye Zi, Duan Ren paused for a moment, deliberately saying, "Ye Zi, why don't you introduce yourself to His Excellency, the Lord of Pluto."
Ye Zi glanced at Yang Chen, her expression slightly unnatural, but still said coldly, "Codename, Ye Zi, proficient in espionage and coordination."
Yang Chen smiled meaningfully. "Your acting skills are indeed impressive. I didn't realize something was amiss until you appeared at the door. It's a perfect arrangement, perfect acting. Especially those stories Ye Zi told earlier, I still don't feel like they were false. Perhaps that's the highest realm of acting, knowing it's fake but feeling it's real."
Ye Zi listened to Yang Chen's words, biting her thin lips, silent.
"Thank you for the praise, but there are certainly things His Excellency, the Lord of Pluto, didn't anticipate," Duan Ren smirked, glancing at Night Wolf beside him.
Night Wolf nodded and spoke in his deep voice, "Remember this voice?"
Yang Chen was taken aback. Night Wolf's voice was the same as the one he heard on the train, the one called "Black Loach"!
This discovery truly astonished Yang Chen. Night Wolf, at first glance, appeared to be a highly trained operative proficient in combat techniques, but the Black Loach he saw back then was simply a rugged, rustic man from the mountains!
Yang Chen applauded sincerely. "As far as I know, the Flame Dragon Iron Brigade is divided into two factions, the 'Dragon Team' and the 'Eight Departments'. Although the Dragon Team has over a hundred members, due to the lack of individual combat strength, the Eight Departments, where each member is a top-notch world-class agent, are on equal footing. But now it seems that the Eight Departments still have many shortcomings compared to the Dragon Team. At least, even if those few people in the Eight Departments disguise themselves, I doubt they can disguise themselves to the point where I can't tell they are agents, but you can."
"To be able to deceive the eyes of the Lord of Pluto, I also find it quite surprising, but it's understandable. After all, our Dragon Team has the most elite equipment."
Just as Duan Ren finished speaking, the one remaining man who hadn't been introduced snorted.
This man had slightly long hair, reaching below his neck, a sharp face, and a burly stature. There was a cross-shaped scar below his left eye.
"Feel proud if you want, what's with the pretense? I, Lao Long, despise people like you!" he sneered.
Duan Ren glared fiercely at the man. "Tian Long! Don't forget, I'm the overall commander of this mission! Don't challenge my limits!"
"You think I enjoy being pushed around by you, you incompetent fool! Lao Long, I want to fight this Yang guy. That old man in gray said he's better than me. I don't believe it! If not for that, we, the Eight Departments, wouldn't even bother with your Dragon Team's mission!" Tian Long grinned at Yang Chen. "Yang, after this mission, you must fight me. That old man in gray insists you're better than me. I won't believe it until I've fought you myself!"
"I'll deal with that later," Yang Chen chuckled inwardly. So this thunderous-voiced guy was Tian Long, one of the Eight Departments. According to the information in his memory, Tian Long had been a lay disciple of Shaolin since childhood, practicing Buddhist martial arts, and was also a practitioner of the orthodox Dragon Claw technique of Shaolin. In terms of techniques, he was flawless. Unless someone's strength exceeded his by more than twice, they wouldn't be able to break through his Buddhist Dragon Claw technique. He was also hailed as the strongest in terms of martial prowess among the Eight Departments.
But he hadn't expected that the old man who followed Lin Zhiguo, Lin Ruoxi's grandfather, Grey, was truly one of the Eight Departments. So who exactly was Lin Zhiguo? And what kind of concept was it for Lin Ruoxi to be his granddaughter?
On the other hand, Duan Ren seemed to have no good way to deal with Tian Long for now, so he temporarily put him aside and turned to Yang Chen with a sly smile. "Your Excellency, the Lord of Pluto, in order to be able to negotiate with you, we set up a trap. I hope you don't mind."
Yang Chen pointed to the unconscious figures of Ma Guifang and Mo Qianni lying on the table. "If you have something to say, just say it. Why drug my women and mother-in-law?"
"It's just a precaution. I don't like empty talk. There has to be some assurance before negotiations can proceed smoothly. That's a newly developed anesthetic that can induce a coma in the user's brain for a certain period without causing harm to the body," Duan Ren explained calmly. "Of course, if the antidote is not administered after a certain period of time, the user is likely to become a vegetable."
Yang Chen's gaze turned cold instantly as he looked towards the silent Ye Zi at the side. "Ye, is what he said true?"
Ye Zi trembled, avoiding Yang Chen's gaze and said, "What Leader Duan Ren said is true."
"You're the one who spiked the soup, aren't you?"
"Yes, I took the antidote beforehand. Although we know that this kind of drug poses no threat to you, it's different for them. They need the antidote," Ye Zi said truthfully.
Because one of the Eight Departments, Hua Yu, had witnessed Yang Chen's immunity to toxins, the Flame Dragon Iron Brigade was already aware of it.
After hearing Ye Zi's explanation, Yang Chen almost understood the sequence of events. It seemed that he had walked right into the trap. Ever since he and Mo Qianni had planned to return here, they had been calculated by this group from the Dragon Team.
On the train, with Night Wolf's disguise as Black Loach, coupled with Ye Zi's performance as the "innocent" Ye Zi, Ye Zi gained the trust of Yang Chen and Mo Qianni. And the rainy weather at that time made it unnecessary for Ye Zi to find any excuses to stay at Mo Qianni's house, making her acting even more convincing.
After all, being a member of the Dragon Team, not just an ordinary agent, even with Yang Chen's keen eyesight, he couldn't discern that Ye Zi's flawless performance was that of a spy.
The bowl of mushroom soup just now allowed her to easily drug it without arousing suspicion from Yang Chen. Otherwise, with Yang Chen's almost instinctive observation skills developed over the years, an ordinary agent wouldn't have been able to progress this far. Even if they could sedate Ma Guifang, they wouldn't be able to sedate Mo Qianni, who had been by Yang Chen's side all along.
Although he didn't know what the Dragon Team's true plan was, at this moment, his women and mother-in-law were already incapacitated, and the antidote had to be obtained through them. He had to cooperate with them for now.
Of course, all of this must have been planned by the Dragon Team. Yang Chen had no intention of forcibly disrupting this situation. Although poisoning the two women wasn't difficult for him, Yang Chen didn't want to antagonize the Flame Dragon Iron Brigade. It seemed that they had gone to such lengths to trap him because they wanted to obtain some help. Yang Chen decided to hear them out first.
Seeing Yang Chen remain silent, lost in thought, Duan Ren took it as Yang Chen being at a loss, and his self-satisfaction grew even more apparent on his face. After all, it was his scheme.
Whether it was the Lord of Pluto or the mastermind behind Zero, once they returned to the Yanxia country, whether they were dragons or insects, wouldn't they still have to obediently stay put?!
A cold smirk ran through Duan Ren's mind, though his face remained calm as he said, "I believe His Excellency, the Lord of Pluto, has already grasped the current situation. So, let me briefly explain. We hope that His Excellency, the Lord of Pluto, can intervene and help us complete this mission together."
Yang Chen poured himself a cup of rice wine slowly and sighed. "Go on."