Chapter 54: What Are You Looking For?

Inside the suburban villa.

Listening to the man's words, Shang Moting's lips curved slightly, but there was not the slightest trace of warmth in his eyes.

He reached out to his side, and Fang Cheng handed him the firearm tucked into the small of his back.

Shang Moting cocked the hammer, then raised the muzzle and aimed it straight at the man.

The man showed no trace of fear, acting as though he knew for a fact that Shang Moting would never actually pull the trigger.

"Which hand touched her?" Shang Moting lowered his head slightly, his brow pressing down over his eyes, his gaze sharp as a blade.

The man let out a cold laugh, ignoring him.

Shang Moting pulled the trigger, shooting him directly in the left shoulder.

A flash of surprise crossed the man's face before he slowly lowered his gaze to look at his own shoulder.

As the searing pain began to spread, the man clutched his shoulder and cried out, "Shang Moting! Have you lost your mind?!"

Shang Moting fired another shot, striking his left arm.

"Aah...!" The man screamed at the top of his lungs.

Then, Shang Moting aimed at his right shoulder and right arm successively, firing a shot into each.

Both of the man's arms went completely limp, hanging uselessly at his sides as his knees buckled and he collapsed onto the floor.

"Why shouldn't I kill you?" Shang Moting asked coldly. "What makes you think you're anything?"

"You, you..." The man glared at her—no, glared at him, teeth clenched. "How dare you! She won't let you get away with this! She won't let that girl go either!"

"Care to guess how much longer she'll be able to hold onto that position?" Shang Moting looked down at him.

"You ungrateful bastard!" the man spat.

Shang Moting let out a scoff, shifting the barrel of the gun to aim directly between the man's brows.

Bang—

Everything fell completely silent.

Shang Moting tossed the weapon back to Fang Cheng. "Let them know on that side: whoever comes next will meet the exact same end."

"Understood," Fang Cheng replied.

Shang Moting walked out of the villa, where Wei Zhishu was waiting for him outside.

"Boss, Yue Tai wants to see you," Wei Zhishu said.

"Not interested," Shang Moting replied.

Yesterday, Fang Cheng had given him a detailed, blow-by-blow account of everything that had happened at Lin Ting's villa.

The forces backing Lin Ting were a truly terrifying entity.

They had been able to lure away the people guarding the Yue Tai base, orchestrate everything seamlessly without anyone's knowledge, and then casually blow the entire base sky-high when the situation called for it.

And she hadn't just prepared one location.

Her network of influence was distributed across every single continent.

Yue Tai had genuinely been terrified yesterday.

Coupled with the fact that... he had initiated a full-scale crackdown on the Yue family starting yesterday.

Times were tough for the Yue family right now.

Yue Tai had come to plead for mercy and negotiate a truce.

As long as Shang Moting refused to see him, there was simply no way for Yue Tai to reach him.

For so long, things had been peaceful in the capital, leading the Yue family into the delusional belief that even the Shang family was within their capacity to challenge.

Well, this was the perfect opportunity to make them face reality once and for all, while also sending a chilling warning to anyone else who lacked the self-awareness to recognize their own limitations.

Wei Zhishu glanced at the schedule on his phone. "Then that leaves only matters at the company. There's quite a backlog of documents waiting for your signature."

"Let's head back to the office," Shang Moting ordered.

"Yes."

...

Shang Moting's residence.

Study.

Time ticked away, second by second.

Lin Ting meticulously worked through the code, layer by layer.

She had no idea how far along she was in her progress, but she could only keep pressing forward.

From morning until afternoon, maintaining such an intense level of concentration began to take its toll, and her vision started to blur slightly once more.

Fortunately, she managed to crack the final layer just in time.

The bookshelf swung open to both sides.

A dark passageway lay revealed beyond it.

It was pitch black inside.

Lin Ting stepped inside, cautiously feeling along the walls on either side in search of a light switch.

Instead of turning on the lights, however, she accidentally brushed against something hidden in the paneling.

The security mechanism activated.

Shang Moting had returned home from work.

Upon entering the living room, he asked the housekeeper if Lin Ting had gone out.

The housekeeper replied that she hadn't seen the girl since her intravenous infusion was finished, and she hadn't been able to find her around lunchtime either.

No one had caught a glimpse of her ever since.

The housekeeper assumed she must have gone out.

Nodding, Shang Moting headed upstairs.

He made a beeline for the study.

He had a strong intuition that he would find Lin Ting right there.

Reaching the study, he pushed the door open and strode a short distance inside.

Everything looked completely normal at first glance.

All the objects were right where they were supposed to be.

However... the bookshelf bore subtle traces of having been moved.

It had been opened, and then closed again from the inside.

Without hesitation, Shang Moting pulled the bookshelf open and stepped through.

The space inside was remarkably spacious, and the lighting system was motion-activated, illuminating automatically the moment someone walked in.

Shang Moting walked straight ahead.

As he reached the innermost area, the field of view widened dramatically.

It was a private collection room.

Countless expensive and rare artifacts were stored here.

Yet, there was no sign of Lin Ting.

Rows upon rows of display shelves stretched out before him.

Shang Moting continued walking deeper inside.

When he reached the fifth shelf, a hand suddenly struck out from his side, aiming a fierce chop at his neck.

With lightning reflexes, he caught her wrist in a tight grip.

"What's this? Planning to knock me unconscious before I noticed you, and then make your escape?" Shang Moting asked, holding her hand firmly. "And then what, just pretend none of this ever happened?"

"Yes," Lin Ting answered evenly. "Though since you've already caught me in the act, knocking you out doesn't hold much meaning anymore."

"It still has its uses," Shang Moting said, holding her wrist and pulling her closer to his side. "Escaping is still infinitely better than getting caught by me."

Lin Ting chuckled softly. "If I were afraid of being caught by you, I never would have come here in the first place."

"So you assumed I wouldn't be able to catch you?" Shang Moting inquired.

"Precisely," Lin Ting replied.

Every ounce of her confidence stemmed directly from her own capabilities.

Shang Moting let out a low laugh.

Lin Ting added, "If you don't believe me, you're welcome to try."

"Not interested." Shang Moting suddenly caught the distinct scent of blood in the air.

When he had first encountered her in the room, he had quickly scanned her from head to toe and hadn't noticed any visible injuries.

However, she was dressed entirely in black.

Shang Moting scrutinized her appearance more carefully.

That was when he noticed that the fabric around her waistline appeared slightly darkened.

"You're injured?" Shang Moting asked.

Lin Ting let out a soft sigh, deciding to be honest. "Got ambushed by a petty little trap."

Holding her hand, Shang Moting began leading her back toward the living quarters. "You triggered the defense mechanism at the entrance?"

"Mhm," Lin Ting murmured. "I even cleaned up the room afterward for you. Aren't I thoughtful?"

Once the mechanism had been triggered, a barrage of fine, short arrows had been unleashed.

Lin Ting had spent quite a while dealing with them, and once the danger had passed, she had meticulously tidied up the entire scene, dumping all the debris away in the farthest corner.

Shang Moting remarked, "What? Were you expecting me to shower you with praise?"

"That won't be necessary," Lin Ting replied.

Leading her back to his master bedroom, Shang Moting had her sit down on the bench at the foot of the bed, retrieved a medical kit, and squatted down in front of her.

Without warning, he reached out to lift the hem of her shirt near her waist to inspect the injury.

Startled, Lin Ting immediately pressed her hands down over her clothes. "You..."

Lifting his gaze to look at her, Shang Moting noticed something off about her eyes again. "Is your vision acting up again?"

"I—I'm a young woman, you know," Lin Ting pressed down on her shirt, her face instantly flushing crimson. "Even if I'm trying to seduce you, it's—it's still daylight out, and you're just stripping my clothes off!"

Meeting her eyes for a moment, Shang Moting dropped his gaze back to her waist. "Keep holding onto your shirt yourself; I just need to look at the wound."

"Oh." Lin Ting hesitantly lifted the fabric herself just enough to expose the area.

Given his aggressive posture just a moment ago, she genuinely thought he was about to rip her clothes right off.

Fortunately, the wound was superficial.

The arrow must have merely grazed past her flank.

Shang Moting picked up a swab to disinfect the wound.

Lin Ting winced and shuddered from the sting, but didn't dare make a sound.

She could clearly sense that Shang Moting was in an extremely foul mood right now.

He was furious.

And rightfully so, she supposed. If someone broke into her private underground vault, she would be furious too.

"What on earth were you trying to find in there?" Shang Moting suddenly asked.