Although the souls of highly trained assassins are generally quite ferocious after death, these two were still confused when they died, and now that they have become ghosts, they are even more bewildered. They probably haven't even realized they are dead yet... Zhou Ziwei naturally wouldn't give these two ghosts another chance to act violently. Almost the instant he saw these two ghosts form, he immediately began to silently recite the magical six-syllable mantra in his sea of souls.
The moment these six words were silently recited, they immediately transformed into six enormous characters that flew out of Zhou Ziwei's sea of souls. Then, they suddenly exploded in mid-air, instantly turning into six huge red circles.
Since Zhou Ziwei's soul power underwent a qualitative leap in the bat cave, the halo formed by the Six-Syllable Mantra has turned red. However, at the beginning it was only a light red, but now the color of the halo formed by the Six-Syllable Mantra is much more vibrant than before. Zhou Ziwei estimates that the depth of the color is likely related to the amount of soul power stored in his sea of souls.
The more soul power one possesses, the deeper the color of the halo formed by the six-syllable mantra becomes, and vice versa.
Zhou Ziwei had long sensed the issue of color, but what he hadn't expected was that the six red halos he conjured with his soul's incantation this time actually contained a faint trace of blue lightning...
Blue lightning!
This…could it be that this six-syllable mantra, along with the power of the soul, has also been tainted by electrical energy? But…how is that possible? Isn't the six-syllable mantra a Buddhist mantra? How could this thing be mutated? It's actually been assimilated by electrical energy!
Zhou Ziwei was slightly stunned for a moment before realizing that the halo was not just redder and contained electrical energy. Moreover, the area it covered was much larger than before, and the speed was also much faster. This time, the six halos were more than twice as fast as before. They expanded to their limit almost as soon as they appeared, and then immediately contracted and entered Zhou Ziwei's sea of souls.
One, two, three, four... nine, ten... eighteen. In an instant, eighteen souls were purified and refined by the light ring formed by the Six-Syllable Mantra and merged into Zhou Ziwei's sea of souls, instantly filling it to the brim, once again reaching the limit that his sea of souls could hold.
How can there be so many souls here? Even including the two bodyguards from earlier, there should only be four...
Zhou Ziwei was taken aback when he suddenly received so much soul power, but then he realized that in the short time that had just passed, the security guards at the backstage entrances and exits, as well as the bodyguards brought by the celebrities, had been killed by these assassins.
Otherwise, these assassins probably wouldn't have been able to infiltrate this place so easily.
Fortunately, Zhou Ziwei had captured another mosquito on his way here. He had consumed the soul power of nearly a hundred remnant souls while establishing an independent soul body for that mosquito. In addition, he had previously replenished the soul power of the ladybug, the amoeba, and the three new cross-shaped darts he had on hand, which also consumed some of his soul power. This caused a shortage of soul power that had just been replenished in the afternoon. Otherwise, this absorption would probably have caused Zhou Ziwei's sea of souls to burst.
That was close! If I don't consume too much soul power, I can't keep absorbing like this in a daze. Otherwise, if I really think I'll only absorb the energy of three or four souls, but end up absorbing several times that amount and bursting myself out, that would be terrible.
Zhou Ziwei breathed a sigh of relief, and without pausing, he quickly made his way back to the location where the four assassins had set up an ambush... There were four assassins who had teamed up to ambush Chen Linlin's two bodyguards. He had taken care of two of them, but the other two were still hiding on the roof. Zhou Ziwei had already discovered their exact location using his soul power, so he naturally wouldn't let these two guys who had come to his doorstep get away so easily.
"Whoosh—" Just as Zhou Ziwei crept up to the two assassins, a noose was immediately lowered from the ceiling and suddenly looped around Zhou Ziwei's neck.
They can actually see me!
The fact that the opponent could accurately locate him in the dark and launch a surprise attack at the most opportune moment was definitely not luck. However, Zhou Ziwei soon understood what was going on—infrared night vision goggles.
When Zhou Ziwei scanned with his soul power, he saw that the two people were wearing masks on their heads, and on the masks were a pair of strangely styled glasses.
Zhou Ziwei initially thought it was just a protective device they used to protect themselves, and even wondered if these heartless guys would recklessly spray poison gas here in order to complete their mission.
But now he guesses that the glasses the two people were wearing were infrared glasses specifically designed for night vision.
Come to think of it... Since the other party was going to cut off the power here, they must have been prepared in advance. Otherwise, if they were all completely in the dark, they probably wouldn't even be able to find the target. How could they then complete the assassination mission?
The attack was indeed insidious. The dark noose that suddenly hung down from above in the darkness was naturally difficult to defend against. However, having witnessed everything and seen the two bodyguards killed by their move, how could Zhou Ziwei not be on guard? Therefore, as soon as he approached the two assassins, he had already subtly grasped the two daggers he had just seized from the two assassins he had killed. Just as the two unfortunate men above lowered the noose, he threw the two daggers at them as if they were hidden weapons, and at the same time, he quickly retreated, dodging the noose above his head.
"Huh..." The two assassins were clearly not expected that Zhou Ziwei could react so accurately. Slightly startled, they quickly dodged to the side and each pulled out a weapon that was exactly the same as the two daggers that Zhou Ziwei had shot out.
What they never expected was that the two daggers, which weren't particularly fast, had been dodged by their quick reflexes. But before they could throw their own daggers in retaliation, the two daggers, which had been hiding in the air, suddenly drew an arc in mid-air and then their speed suddenly doubled... With two "thud" sounds, they simultaneously pierced the back of the two men's necks.
Impossible... How could the dagger he shot possibly turn in mid-air? No... This can't be real!
The two assassins still firmly believed that it was just an illusion, but their bodies were no longer under their own mental control, and they fell directly from the ceiling.
The two daggers had naturally been given two independent soul entities by Zhou Ziwei using his soul power. Otherwise, how could he have easily controlled the two daggers to turn in mid-air? Although Zhou Ziwei could have easily killed the two assassins on the roof using other methods, his soul power was already at its peak. Absorbing any more might cause his sea of souls to explode.
This is definitely a very dangerous number, which is why Zhou Ziwei deliberately used up some of it on these two daggers.
Moreover, even if Zhou Ziwei's method of killing those two people was detected by the assassins' accomplices using some unknown means, they would only think that Zhou Ziwei was a master of hidden weapons, and would never think of any other aspect that would allow Zhou Ziwei to better conceal his trump card.
Four...hehe...this is just an appetizer, there's more to come...hmm, the Night Elves probably have over thirty assassins left, it really is a long and arduous journey...
Zhou Ziwei had learned from the intelligence Wu Di had obtained that the Night Elves were merely a third-rate assassin organization among the world's major assassin organizations, and that they probably controlled no more than forty assassins. As for the exact number, even Wu Di couldn't possibly find out!
Of course, this number only refers to the actual assassins who carry out assassination missions under the Night Elves.
As for those who take on missions, such as Miss Zhang in the underground love bar, and those in departments responsible for intelligence gathering, there are many more. However, non-combat personnel are not included in Zhou Ziwei's plan to eliminate them.
Zhou Ziwei didn't necessarily need to eliminate all the assassins in the Night Elf organization. He estimated that if he could take down more than half of the assassins, the Night Elf organization would be close to collapse.
Even if the organization doesn't completely recover, it will inevitably be severely weakened and become more low-key.
Naturally, they wouldn't continue pursuing a mission that their employer had already cancelled, just to save face for the Night Elves. In that case, the threat they posed to Zhou Ziwei would naturally disappear.
However, it remains unknown how many assassins the Night Elves will deploy for this assassination attempt against Chen Linlin. Zhou Ziwei can only hope that the Night Elves will take this operation seriously enough. Otherwise, if they retreat immediately after losing seven or eight assassins, Zhou Ziwei will have to find another way to continue investigating their lair!
After pulling the two daggers, which had already acquired independent souls, from the back of the two assassins' necks, and wiping the dark blood on their clothes, Zhou Ziwei turned around and found Chen Linlin hiding next to the fire hydrant. Without saying a word, he grabbed her and ran towards the garage.
"Ah...don't run so fast!" Chen Linlin, still wearing high heels, stumbled and almost fell several times as Zhou Ziwei dragged her along at breakneck speed. She asked in surprise, "What happened, Sister Xiao Ai...where is the person who called me earlier?"
“Dead…” Zhou Ziwei knew there was no need to hide it from Chen Linlin anymore, so he immediately told her, “Someone is trying to kill you… Your two bodyguards have been killed. We must leave here immediately, or you may be in danger at any time.”
"Ah... dead... how is this possible?" Chen Linlin said in utter shock, "They were bodyguards that Daddy specially sent to protect me. I heard they were all former special forces soldiers. How could they be dead so quickly..."
Zhou Ziwei shook his head helplessly, then suddenly stopped, took out a cell phone from his body, turned it on, and shone it on the ground next to him.
Suddenly, Chen Linlin saw two strangely dressed people lying not far from her feet... two dead people!
"Oh my god—"
Chen Linlin was so frightened that she instinctively wanted to scream, but Zhou Ziwei, who was prepared, immediately covered her cherry-like mouth.
"These two are two of the assassins who attacked those two bodyguards earlier. The other two are not far behind... As for your two bodyguards... their bodies are currently hidden in the ceiling above your head. If you insist on seeing their bodies to believe it, then I'll try to get them down. But if you don't want to summon all the assassins immediately... it's best not to shout."
Zhou Ziwei's words made Chen Linlin's expression stiffen for a moment, but she quickly calmed down.
Chen Linlin was not an ordinary girl after all. Her father was one of the top ten richest men in Hong Kong, and he had inevitably experienced many ups and downs. Even though Chen Linlin did not have the opportunity to come into contact with those dangerous and disgusting things under her father's protection, she had seen the pig run even if she hadn't eaten pork. Therefore, her psychological resilience was naturally beyond that of ordinary girls.
"So... someone really wants to kill me... what should we do now?" Chen Linlin hesitated for a moment and asked, "Why don't we immediately join up with the other performers at the concert? The security for the entire concert group is quite strong. I believe that with so many people united, even if those assassins are arrogant, they won't be able to gain anything, right?"
Zhou Ziwei shook his head and said, "No... their assassination plan was obviously not something new; they've been well-prepared for a long time. So, there might already be people within the concert group who have been bribed. Therefore... we can't trust anyone now. Let's leave this damn stadium immediately!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Linlin realized that the possibility Zhou Ziwei mentioned was not nonexistent, and that if an assassin were to appear within the choir, the consequences would be far more terrifying.
After thinking for a moment, Chen Linlin couldn't help but say, "Then... then let's call the police first! As long as the police arrive, we'll be safe."
"The police?" Zhou Ziwei curled his lip in disdain and said, "If you really dare to pin your hopes on them, then you can only wait for them to come and collect your corpse. Don't even mention it... If you still believe me, then... come with me!"
After hearing Zhou Ziwei's words, Chen Linlin stood silently for a moment before softly asking, "You can make me believe you, but... first you have to let me know who you really are, right?"
Zhou Ziwei's expression froze for a moment, then he said with a wry smile, "You finally figured it out? I knew I couldn't hide it from you for long."
Chen Linlin pursed her lips and said, "I have to admit, your makeup skills are indeed terrifying. If I only looked at your face, I might never have realized that you are no longer the Xiao Ai I knew. But... as you probably guessed, my relationship with Xiao Ai is not ordinary. We... used to be able to fall asleep almost every night by hugging each other, so... I've long been used to Xiao Ai in the dark, used to the aura she exudes in the dark. But you... are different from her. This feeling is strange, but I just know that you are not Xiao Ai. Without light, I can't see your face clearly, so I won't be deceived by my own eyes anymore."
"You already knew, didn't you?" Zhou Ziwei asked, rubbing his nose, somewhat annoyed. He never imagined that his disguise would be exposed in the dark.
"Hmm... When you pulled me this way after the power outage, I... I already sensed something was up, but... I didn't dare to call you out on it. I didn't know what you were trying to do to me by pretending to be Sister Xiao Ai. I could only pretend to be confused until I ran into my bodyguard. But now it seems... you don't seem to have any ill intentions towards me, right?"
As Chen Linlin spoke, she blinked her big, innocent eyes and looked at Zhou Ziwei in the dim light of her phone screen. Although she spoke as if it were a lighthearted conversation, Zhou Ziwei could tell from her slightly rapid breathing that she was actually very nervous. It seemed that Chen Linlin still harbored a strong sense of wariness towards him.
"Of course I have no ill intentions towards you..." Zhou Ziwei had no choice but to patiently explain, "You don't need to know who I am, but I can tell you... I disguised myself as your assistant to get close to you, and it was indeed to save you... Of course, I have another purpose, but it has nothing to do with you. You just need to know that I won't harm you. Also... actually, I am also your fan, and I used to be your most loyal fan."
Volume 1, Rebirth of a Prodigy, Chapter 225: This is a Man!
"Are you my fan?"
Hearing this, Chen Linlin felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. So what if they were really her fans? Didn't fans know she could still do things to harm her? Those two security guards who rushed into the dressing room were her fans too, and they still tried to assault her, didn't they? Chen Linlin was one of the most dazzling divas in the Chinese entertainment industry in recent years. You could say that... many people might not know who the mayor of their city is, but very few people wouldn't know who Chen Linlin was.
Therefore, Chen Linlin herself doesn't even know how many fans she has.
A fledgling star might care about the number of their fans and treat them like royalty, but a top-tier star with hundreds of millions of fans has long since become numb to their enthusiasm, even somewhat annoyed by it. Therefore, she really couldn't understand why Zhou Ziwei would bring up the topic of fans... Was this a lame joke? It didn't seem very funny...
Seeing Chen Linlin's expression, Zhou Ziwei knew that she still couldn't trust him. It was understandable that Chen Linlin couldn't help it. Anyone would find out that the person closest to them was actually being impersonated by a stranger, and that they had almost... or rather, had been taken advantage of by that stranger. It would be difficult for anyone to have any trust in a complete stranger whose background they didn't know and who they had never even seen.
Left with no other choice, Zhou Ziwei leaped onto the roof, picked up the bodies of the two bodyguards who had just been ambushed by the assassin, and tossed them to Chen Linlin's feet. He then said calmly, "Look! These are your bodyguards. You heard them calling you, but in that instant, they were killed by the assassin without even having time to warn you... If you believe the remaining bodyguards can protect you, then go find them! I won't stop you. As for my other purpose, I can accomplish it even without your cooperation... Alright, time is limited. You have ten seconds to consider. If you still can't trust me after ten seconds, then I'll disappear immediately."
What Zhou Ziwei said was true. Staying by Chen Linlin's side would only allow him to protect her more effectively. Even if he wasn't by Chen Linlin's side, as long as he was nearby, he could still snipe any Dark Elf assassins he spotted. The only problem might be that he was too far away from Chen Linlin and wouldn't be able to protect her in time when danger came.
Zhou Ziwei wanted to protect Chen Linlin, and the only reason was that she was his favorite female celebrity in his previous life, and she was born on the same day, month, and year as him. He had no other intention than to pursue this top-tier star.
So if Chen Linlin really chooses not to believe him, then he can only leave with regret... The Night Elves' assassination operations will definitely not end here, but will only become more and more exciting and terrifying. The four assassins who just appeared must only be the weakest of the Night Elves. When a truly skilled assassin appears, if Zhou Ziwei is not by Chen Linlin's side, then Chen Linlin's fate is predictable...
Ten seconds had passed, and seeing that Chen Linlin still had no reaction, Zhou Ziwei shook his head helplessly. He didn't press Chen Linlin for her opinion anymore, uttered a "Take care," and immediately turned and left.
"Hey... wait a minute!"
Chen Linlin stamped her foot anxiously and whispered, "Can you answer one more question for me? What...what happened to Sister Xiao Ai? Where is she now?"
"After I knocked her unconscious, I stripped her naked and threw her onto the roof of the dressing room..." Zhou Ziwei had no reason to hide anything about this and immediately told the truth: "But if you still want to find her again, don't blame me for not warning you... Just now, while you were going on stage, she poured some white powder into your water glass... As for what that white powder is, I don't know. Maybe it's deadly poison, maybe it's just a little bit of sugar. As for whether you continue to trust your assistant, that's up to you to decide!"
Chen Linlin said in astonishment, "No... how could Sister Xiao Ai harm me? I... I won't..."
"You don't believe me, do you?" Zhou Ziwei shrugged helplessly and said, "Fine! Given the relationship between the two of you, how could you possibly choose not to believe her and believe me instead... Never mind... If you want to find her, go back to the dressing room right now! I have to go... I hope we'll have a chance to meet again."
After Zhou Ziwei finished speaking, he turned to leave, but Chen Linlin suddenly grabbed his collar from behind. Zhou Ziwei turned around and looked at Chen Linlin in surprise, then waited silently without saying anything.
The fact that Chen Linlin was still holding onto his clothes proves that she wasn't completely distrustful of him; she was just going through a lot of internal struggle.
This is only natural, and Zhou Ziwei naturally understands it. Moreover... in reality, Zhou Ziwei wasn't really in a hurry to leave. To kill those assassins, it didn't matter where he was.
Staying here would indeed make them vulnerable to assassins who might be mixed in with the troupe, but if they left the stadium, they might also be attacked by snipers who might be hiding somewhere. So it's a trade-off, and Zhou Ziwei wasn't worried about Chen Linlin wasting time there.
At this moment, Chen Linlin was really conflicted. She didn't know whether she should trust the person in front of her, whose true face she had never even seen.
Although deep down she didn't want to believe her female assistant would really harm her, she also had a premonition that if she let this person leave her side, it could very well be a real disaster for her...
Just as Chen Linlin was about to make a final decision, the beam of a flashlight shone again ahead, and a middle-aged man in his thirties came running up, panting. From a distance, he shone the flashlight on Chen Linlin and Zhou Ziwei, and immediately said with a look of surprise, "Great... I finally found you, Miss Chen... Come with me... Director Yang and the others are all gathered over there, and they're about to leave through the employee entrance. Now we're just missing the two of you."
“Oh… well… I…” Chen Linlin relaxed a little when she realized that the person who came was a supervisor arranged by the concert organizer, but she still couldn’t decide whether to go with Zhou Ziwei or stay in the performance.
Just then... just as the supervisor was about to walk up to Chen Linlin and extend his hand to her, Zhou Ziwei suddenly moved.
Zhou Ziwei's movements were swift and decisive. He simply raised his right hand and thrust the black dagger he had been holding into the neck of the newcomer.
Because of the extreme speed, Chen Linlin only saw Zhou Ziwei's hand seem to tremble slightly, and then a bloody mark immediately appeared on the supervisor's neck, followed by a spurt of dark blood.
The supervisor glared at Zhou Ziwei with a look of utter terror, then his body went limp and he collapsed backward to the ground…
"Ah—" Chen Linlin was terrified when she saw Zhou Ziwei kill someone so decisively right in front of her. Although she quickly covered her mouth with her hand, she still couldn't help but let out a low gasp.
"Why...why did you kill him?" Chen Linlin watched as the victim's face was instantly turned completely black by the poison. She shuddered involuntarily, then glared at Zhou Ziwei and said, "He was just a minor official in the local cultural department. How could you...how could you not even spare an ordinary person?"
Zhou Ziwei gave a faint, cold laugh and said, "An ordinary person? The more skilled the assassin, the more they like to disguise themselves as the most mediocre ordinary person. And only mediocre ordinary people are the easiest to make people lower their guard... Look at what he's holding in his right hand!"
"His right hand?" Upon hearing this, Chen Linlin's heart stirred. She immediately squatted down, grabbed the deceased's right hand, and gently pried it open. She immediately saw that the man was tightly clutching a miniature syringe in his palm, with a small amount of pale yellow liquid inside the syringe.
"Think about the way he walked over! It looked like he was going to give you a warm handshake... Hmm, but while shaking hands, he hid a syringe in his palm... Heh... That's quite unique. Maybe he just wanted to give you some glucose to boost your nutrition..."
Chen Linlin didn't care about Zhou Ziwei's sarcastic tone; at that moment, she only felt a chilling fear rising in her heart.
Chen Linlin has never been an arrogant female celebrity. Whether in front of fans or on other occasions, she rarely takes the initiative to shake hands with others, but she also rarely refuses to shake hands with others.
But just now... if she had really shaken hands with that person without thinking, her fate would have been quite tragic.
There is no doubt about this. No matter how enthusiastic this person is, they would not "kindly" inject nutrient solution into someone without their consent!