Chapter 196: The Storm is Coming
“I’m fine!”
Fang Xiaocao shook her head and gave a weak smile.
“Help me over there. There’s still something left to do.”
Taking a deep breath, she instructed Tom.
Tom nodded and supported Fang Xiaocao as they approached Taotie.
At this moment, Taotie, due to Fang Xiaocao’s mental intervention, had not lost consciousness but remained kneeling on the ground, his eyes blank.
Fang Xiaocao took a deep breath, ignoring the sharp pain stabbing through her brain, and once again cast her hypnosis on Taotie.
His injuries were far too severe!
There was no way he could escape the approaching police.
Letting him get captured was absolutely not an option for Fang Xiaocao.
She had exhausted an enormous amount of her mental power just to control him, leaving her extremely weak. The piercing pain in her brain made her feel like she could lose consciousness at any moment.
Right now…
What she needed to do was hypnotize Taotie again—make him believe he wasn’t injured.
She had to use hypnosis to deceive his brain.
To trick every organ in his body!
To make his kidneys secrete more adrenaline so he could evade the police pursuit.
Fang Xiaocao forced herself to maintain the hypnosis.
Under her mental influence, Taotie’s expression visibly changed—his spirit revived, and his eyes regained their sharpness.
Seeing this transformation, Fang Xiaocao let out a sigh of relief. She knew she had succeeded.
“Taotie, my knight, stand up!”
“As you command, my princess!”
Taotie responded in a deep voice and stood up.
His towering, muscular figure was like a steel wall standing before Fang Xiaocao, making her seem as small as a potato in comparison.
Looking at this blood-covered yet imposing warrior, Fang Xiaocao nodded in satisfaction.
Taotie was undoubtedly the strongest fighter she could recruit!
In the short term, there would be no one else like him!
Perhaps even in her lifetime, she would never meet another warrior who could rival him.
“Call the Blacklist immediately. Withdraw the kill order on me and have them send reinforcements. Erase all traces inside the villa!”
“The police will arrive soon. Move fast!”
Fang Xiaocao issued her first command to Taotie.
“Yes, my princess!”
Taotie bowed his head respectfully and responded, as obedient as a kitten—none of his previous ferocity remained.
Under Fang Xiaocao’s watchful gaze, Taotie took out his phone and made a call.
“This is Taotie. All operatives in Tang City, move immediately. Come to Villa No. 5 for support. I was ambushed by the Nemesis and have been severely injured. Civet is dead. The police are almost here. The cleanup and body double teams must arrive within three minutes to eliminate all traces.”
Taotie coldly issued his orders before hanging up.
Seeing this, Fang Xiaocao frowned.
“Why didn’t you revoke the kill order on me?”
She questioned in a firm voice, mentally preparing to activate all the restrictions implanted in Taotie’s mind.
Taotie was too dangerous!
If he broke free from her control, she would be doomed.
“Princess, I was in charge of your assassination mission.”
“I can personally halt the operation.”
“But the kill order was issued internally by Capricorn within the Blacklist. I have no authority over her.”
Taotie explained obediently.
Hearing this, Fang Xiaocao finally relaxed. That was reasonable—Taotie wasn’t lying.
“Alright, Tom and I will leave now!”
“You handle your injuries and come find me later.”
She nodded and instructed.
“Safe travels, my princess!”
Taotie lowered his head respectfully.
“Tom, carry me out of here!”
Fang Xiaocao ordered.
Her immense expenditure of mental power had left her so weak she couldn’t even walk.
Without hesitation, Tom lifted her onto his back. With a swift leap, he jumped through the floor-to-ceiling window and sprinted toward the outskirts of the villa district.
Once Fang Xiaocao had left, Taotie also picked up the corpse of his secretary, Civet, and exited through the same window.
He deliberately chose a different route from Fang Xiaocao and soon disappeared from Villa No. 5.
Moments later, a group of operatives arrived at the villa.
Among them was a body double who closely resembled Taotie—his presence stood out among the rest.
These doubles were cultivated by the Blacklist specifically to assist high-value targets with cover-ups, fake deaths, and evasion.
The cleanup team rushed into the villa.
They began methodically erasing all evidence.
Every trace of blood, every mark was thoroughly eradicated using special Blacklist chemicals.
Even the surveillance footage from the entire villa district was wiped clean.
Not just that—
The cameras on the surrounding streets were also erased.
The operation was so meticulous that no evidence remained!
No one would ever know who had been here.
Even the corpse of the “refined scum” was taken away with them.
After confirming that no body double was needed, the substitute simply wandered around briefly before leaving.
Meanwhile, Tom carried Fang Xiaocao to a hotel.
Lying on the bed, Fang Xiaocao recalled the name Taotie had mentioned during his call—
Nemesis!
That must be the organization led by the woman who owned Villa No. 5.
An organization built to oppose the Blacklist!
“Heh…”
“The name suits them well!”
Fang Xiaocao chuckled.
“Princess, do you need me to take you to a hospital?”
Seeing her pale and weak, Tom asked with concern.
“No need. I’ll be fine after some sleep.”
Fang Xiaocao waved him off with a smile.
Despite facing life-or-death situations today, the fact that she had managed to control Taotie—this human-shaped beast—and turned him into her ally made her feel triumphant.
Now, she had a direct path to uncovering the Blacklist’s secrets.
At the same time, she had gained a new understanding of Tom’s strength.
His terrifying close-combat abilities, though slightly inferior to Taotie’s, were still formidable.
Fang Xiaocao couldn’t help but admire—
No wonder he was a globally recognized assassin on both the official and underground rankings!
His strength was monstrous!
Tang City Airport
A plane from the capital slowly descended.
A group of strikingly handsome men and beautiful women stepped off the aircraft.
If Fang Xiaocao were here, she would immediately recognize some familiar faces.
Helan Xiaoyue!
The Yu siblings!
They were here!
A Hotel in Tang City
A black Volkswagen stopped in front of the hotel.
The car door opened, and a long-missing figure, Wan Xiaozhou, gracefully entered the lobby and checked in.
Tang City Suburbs
Zhi Qi and her group sat around a campfire.
For the past few days, they had been camping out, not setting foot in the city.
Whenever they ran out of supplies, someone would bring them more.
“Zhi Qi, where are we going next?”
One of her companions asked.
Zhi Qi smiled mysteriously, took a sip of her drink, and said—
“The time is just right. We’re heading back to the city today.”
(End of Chapter 196)
