Chapter 151: Breakthrough Point

When Zhang Ning arrived at the original owner's home and listened to the desperate and eager cries of the original owner's parents, he could not truly empathize. If it had been his Master and senior martial brothers, Zhang Ning would have already rushed forward to meet them long ago.

It was only at this moment that Zhang Ning realized not just anyone could call him "Ning."

However, Zhang Ning was now able to maintain an expressionless facade. He simply adopted a silent and taciturn demeanor, which surprisingly failed to arouse any suspicion from the original owner's parents. After staying at the "home" for a period of time, Zhang Ning finally figured out the reason behind the original owner's departure.

The original owner's parents were absolute do-gooders, self-righteous martyrs of altruism. They had no idea that Bolin City was a playground where the God of Laughter and Brightness let his subordinates indulge and play; they only knew that over the past few years, this city had grown impoverished with soaring crime rates, and they could not simply turn a blind eye to it. Therefore, not only did they donate vast sums of money, but in their spare time, they even volunteered in person. And then, the situation began to develop in a clichéd and dramatic direction.

In the hospital where they regularly volunteered, a patient was in urgent need of a kidney transplant, and the person whose tissue type matched his was unexpectedly their own child, Qian Ning. Though they still retained a sliver of reason, after much deliberation, they did not actually intend to gamble with their child's future health, and thus they kept this matter from Qian Ning.

The fatal flaw, however, was that Qian Ning happened to see the unsigned relevant documents at home; his parents had clearly... hesitated. Unable to accept such hesitation, the original owner had run away from home.

Yet this was merely the breaking point for the original owner. From Zhang Ning's perspective, judging by the frequency of his parents' returns ever since he was "recovered," what they loved most was still this Bolin City, rather than their own child.

Zhang Ning respected them, but he believed that one should first learn how to be a human being before striving to be a saint.

Zhang Ning himself was a somewhat selfish person. If forced to choose between saving the world and saving his own family, Zhang Ning would undoubtedly choose to save his family first, and only tackle saving the world if he had spare capacity.

Viewed in this light, Zhang Ning truly seemed born for the demonic path.

Once he understood the specific situation, Zhang Ning intended to leave, planning to secretly look after the original owner's parents through various means afterwards. He simply did not know how to make an appropriate "exit," especially since, at least initially when he had gone missing, they had been genuinely grieved and worried.

Just as one evening when Zhang Ning had yet to figure out a plan, he felt another intense vibration.

And this time, the earth shook and the mountains swayed!

One hour earlier

Chu Hanyu, who had been cooped up at home doing nothing all day, opened the door to welcome a guest—not a salesman or anyone who would normally be barred from the vicinity, but Tao Ruanting, who introduced himself as Tao.

His attitude this time was subtly different from the last.

"In other words, you need me to go and meet one of your superiors?" By the end of his sentence, Chu Hanyu's tone carried a hint of playful amusement.

Tao Ruanting, a man as shrewd as an old fox, naturally picked up on it. Yet he acted as though he had heard nothing, maintaining his smile as he replied, "No, we do not mean to force you. If you are willing, we will arrange a meeting. At a suitable time and in a suitable place, of course!"

He wore a courteous and affable smile throughout, leaving no room for criticism and making most people feel that any underlying aggressive undertone was merely their own imagination.

Yet Chu Hanyu happened not to be one of those "most people."

Thus, Chu Hanyu understood immediately: they were treating him as a breakthrough point.

Chu Hanyu casually flipped through the thick stack of documents they had brought, which had been bound into a manual. Sitting opposite him, Tao Ruanting's eyes were filled with absolute certainty: Chu Hanyu would accept this meeting!

Countless analysts within the organization had already made a preliminary judgment on this.

Speaking of which, what had astonished everyone previously was that not a single database contained any records whatsoever concerning Chu Hanyu. And they had mobilized state-level resources!

How could it be that after such a long time, the information on a mere individual could not be found, as if he had never existed in this world from birth until now, or as if he had never been exposed to any surveillance cameras, never visited any hospitals or public places?

That was impossible.

Furthermore, even thorough investigations had yielded not a single clue. There was only one possible explanation: unless they were pitted against another organization of matching caliber, this person was a formidable hacker!

Only such a person could possibly become a "Nobody" amidst countless databases.

Since they had formed a rough judgment regarding Chu Hanyu's identity, they naturally had a countermeasure ready.

What would a hacker of this caliber hope for? In the end, wasn't it just a safe place to finally settle down? No matter how glorious and tempestuous their past exploits had been, no one wished to live life on the run forever!

Therefore, policies had been issued from above: regardless of what financial crimes Chu Hanyu was eventually found to have committed, his punishment could be negotiated and handled with administrative expediency under extraordinary circumstances. They simply had to use him—this dependent—as a breakthrough to establish a connection with that supernatural adult!

The reason they were convinced Chu Hanyu was Zhang Ning's dependent lay precisely in his attitude.

From the few existing surveillance clips regarding Chu Hanyu, his attitude toward Zhang Ning was undeniably obsequious and ingratiating. No supernatural individual would pretend to act like that toward another unless they were entirely dependent on them, so he must be a dependent who had latched onto Zhang Ning.

This mutually verified Chu Hanyu's identity as well: only a top-tier hacker could detect the birth of a new supernatural being from the subtle clues left by countless surveillance cameras that even the state had failed to notice, and only such a person could remain by Zhang Ning's side almost from the very beginning with such swiftness.

However, they did not believe Chu Hanyu held any genuine loyalty toward Zhang Ning. After all, Zhang Ning might keep Chu Hanyu by his side simply because he looked pleasing to the eye and treated him well, treating him like a pretty doll. But who could predict the future? He was still so young, and children lacked steadfastness.

If Chu Hanyu were a smart man, he would know what choice served his interests best!

In the manual Tao Ruanting brought, aside from the opening pages detailing the information they had already uncovered about Chu Hanyu to exert pressure on him, and the final few pages outlining the costs and responsibilities Chu Hanyu would have to bear for this matter, the entire middle section was filled with the benefits, related favorable terms, and green-light policies he would receive in the end—regardless of whether this endeavor succeeded or failed, and no matter how long he secretly worked for them.

The scope and magnitude of the benefits contained within were so comprehensive that even Tao Ruanting, who held a high position and had weathered countless trials, found his heart pounding with temptation. Tao Ruanting believed that as long as one was a mortal being, then... uh...

Tao Ruanting watched in wide-eyed disbelief as Chu Hanyu merely flipped through a few pages and tossed the manual aside, a look of involuntary astonishment breaking across his face. Such an uncontrollable expression had never once appeared on Tao Ruanting's face ever since he had ascended to his current position.