Chapter 52: The Campaign Against Xiao Kaitian Intensifies

“That bastard!” In the office of the Kanagawa Police Headquarters, Hideo Hattori smashed the tea tumbler he usually toyed with, his frustration evident as he tugged at his tie and exhaled in heavy bursts, as if trying to quell the fury burning within him. “Xiao Kaitian and Rin Ogiwara, I truly underestimated you both.”

The storm of public opinion on the internet and in the media grew ever larger, especially in a country like this, which revered freedom of culture. Behind a strong sense of social responsibility, the tide of public sentiment was powerful enough to drown any side that found itself at the disadvantage.

He had just used the force of law and government to suppress Xiao Kaitian, only for his opponent to immediately rally the masses, wielding public opinion as a weapon to force his hand. His superiors had convened more than one meeting over this, and at each, his colleagues of equal rank cast snide, gloating glances his way—he noticed them all.

If this continued, his career as Chief Inspector would soon come to an end. He slumped heavily into his chair, nearly breaking it. “Takeda-kun, what should we do next? I’ve been acting on your family’s advice all along. You can’t just stand by and let things go now that the results are dire.”

Tetsu Takeda sat on the sofa, hands entwined, his head buried between them, exposing only a pair of gloomy eyes. What he had thought a foolproof plan had unexpectedly been overturned. His assessment of Xiao Kaitian had proved woefully inadequate, and he had underestimated the impact of the protective gloves.

“I admit my miscalculation. But Hattori-kun, at this point, we’re in the same boat,” he said, straightening up, his neck emitting a series of cracking sounds. “Trust me, I want Xiao Kaitian dead more than anyone.”

It was not mere talk; Tetsu Takeda spoke from the heart. Aside from his admiration for Jiang Churan and her “strange” attitude toward Xiao Kaitian, he harbored a kind of innate enmity toward Xiao Kaitian.

But this operation had been a failure. He had learned the Bounty Hunter Guild intended to move against Xiao Kaitian, so he had hoped to let others do the dirty work, exploiting the conflict between both sides. Hideo Hattori dispatched police forces to intervene, thinking they could completely corner Xiao Kaitian and force him to compromise, after which he could be eliminated. Who would have thought that Xiao Kaitian enjoyed such immense support from the public?

“Takeda-kun,” Hattori’s tone had grown heavy. The situation was no joke—if Xiao Kaitian turned the tables, losing his position would be the least of his worries. “We’ve got all the information on Xiao Kaitian’s company. Everything appears legal and above board. We tried to crack the chip program you wanted, but it was entirely futile. Some kind of hacker code is embedded in it, and it even destroyed the entire police department’s computer network.”

The more he spoke, the worse he felt. He rubbed his brow and exhaled a cloud of frustration. After repeated setbacks, he began to wonder if this heir to the Takeda family was nothing but an incompetent fool.

Tetsu Takeda clenched his hands tightly. He was no stranger to doubts from within his own clan, and the pressure weighed heavily on him, whitening the joints of his fingers. “Since that’s the case, why don’t we act directly?”

“Act directly?” Hattori sneered, wondering just how brainless this man could be to suggest such a simplistic approach. He deeply regretted partnering with the Takeda family. “Wasn’t it you who said you’d handle Xiao Kaitian, and I’d help you take over Musashi? But look at this—Xiao Kaitian’s still alive and well, and now you say you want to act directly?”

“Yes,” Takeda lifted his head, his long bangs casting shadows over the upper half of his face. “We’ll choose the location, prepare the personnel, and have Xiao Kaitian come to us.”

“An ambush? That requires bait…” Hattori retorted with a cold smile. “What do we use—wait, do you mean his sister, Jiang Churan?”

“No,” Takeda’s cheek muscles twitched. “Not her, but one of your people.”

“My people?” Hattori was baffled.

“Sakura Harui,” Takeda spat the name through gritted teeth. “I’ve found out she has a decent relationship with Xiao Kaitian. He’s unlikely to let her come to harm.”

“I see…” Hattori paused, recalling Sakura Harui’s file—she was a minor figure, but she had indeed crossed paths with Xiao Kaitian.

“Just bring her along, no need for any tricks. Or are you concerned about something?” Takeda crossed his legs.

“What would I be concerned about?” Hattori scoffed, shaking his head dismissively. “But what about Sakura Harui afterward…”

“Just kill her. Is there a problem?”

“None.” Hattori finally looked pleased, a smile spreading across his face. “Then I’ll await your notice.”

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Kanto branch of the Bounty Hunter Guild, Takashi Aoki’s hand trembled as he swallowed several pills, half-reclining in his chair, his pallor slowly returning.

“Useless—you’re all useless.”

The people seated on either side of the long conference table bowed their heads once more.

“Viper is dead. Dead and gone. But what’s the meaning of this report you’ve compiled? An unknown assailant? The corpse is in pieces, and you tell me an unknown person did it?”

“Do I need to go on television and issue a wanted notice, huh?” One hand clutched his chest, while the other slammed the table, sounding a rhythmic thud. “Up to now, you still haven’t figured out whether Xiao Kaitian was the killer!”

“Branch President,” one leader stammered, hands shaking, lips quivering. “You know Viper’s methods—normally, no one else is allowed to follow him. So when we found him, there was only his body at the scene.”

“Judging by the signs of struggle and the traces of blood that didn’t belong to Viper, without any information on Xiao Kaitian, it’s hard to make a match.”

“More importantly, Viper was a C-ranked assassin. Ordinarily, even a martial artist of the Xuan Realm wouldn’t be able to kill him. We think that no matter how formidable Xiao Kaitian is, he couldn’t possibly be a martial artist of the Earth Realm.”

“Think?” Aoki’s forehead veins bulged. “What use is speculation to me? What I want is a solution!”

All those at the table bowed their heads in unison, silent as quails.

They were truly afraid now—this dark contract was far too sinister.

Aoki’s blood pressure surged again; he felt he needed another pill.

“Um…” Finally, someone newly promoted, seated at the far end, raised a hand to speak. “Branch President, since the current contract level can’t resolve this, why not issue a new dark contract on the World Bounty Hunter Network, targeting Xiao Kaitian at a B-level? What do you think…”

“B-level…” Aoki’s mind spun. That would require a massive sum of money. He licked his lips.

“Or,” the proposer continued, “since he’s from Han-Tang, we could let Han-Tang’s martial artists…”

“Nonsense! Do you think Han-Tang’s martial artists are so easy to deal with?” Aoki waved dismissively. “But your first suggestion is worth considering… A B-level contract…”

At last, the operation against Xiao Kaitian was fully upgraded!