Chapter 211: Tom: Collecting Some Interest
Long before he got out of the car, Tom had placed multiple surveillance beacons in the alley, all of which were synced to his high-tech glasses.
With these beacons successfully deployed, Tom could now monitor the entire alley within a one-kilometer radius, displaying the footage directly onto the lenses of his glasses.
Moreover, the glasses provided a 360-degree, three-dimensional view and supported multiple split screens.
By placing just a few cameras in the alley, Tom’s glasses could divide the feed into multiple screens—an extremely useful piece of black tech for surveillance, lookout duty, and early warning.
Leaning against the bed, Tom opened the ancient painting that supposedly contained the treasure map. As he studied the artwork, killing time, he patiently waited to see who among the three factions would be the “lucky” one to trigger his surprise.
The bomb he planted wasn’t too powerful—just enough to ensure that once it was triggered, no one in the alley would survive.
If they dared to stand in his way of helping the princess obtain the treasure map, he would make sure they learned a painful lesson.
Tom wasn’t exactly an expert in ink paintings, let alone ancient ones. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t figure out where the treasure map was hidden.
“Did Taotie and I go through all this trouble just to snatch a fake painting?”
But after a moment’s thought, he dismissed the idea. Even if this painting was fake, it didn’t matter. If he remembered correctly, the girl sleeping beside him—soon to be his maid—was the one who had the real treasure map.
If this painting turned out to be a decoy, Tom wouldn’t mind using a few “special methods” to extract the real treasure map’s whereabouts from her before she officially took up her new role.
If she refused to talk, then that was fine too—Tom had a hundred ways to grind hard bones into powder and flush them down the drain.
One Hour Later
Tom’s expression shifted as he put the ancient painting back into its sealed bag. He tapped the side of his glasses, and instantly, the lenses displayed a live feed of the alley.
Under his watchful eyes, a team of black-clad soldiers, armed with submachine guns and pistols, slowly advanced toward Wan Xiaozhou’s car in a tight, tactical formation.
Their movements were extremely cautious—clearly, they were well-trained professionals.
Tom glanced at his watch and clicked his tongue.
“An hour? You sure took your sweet time getting here.”
“Looks like I overestimated the three factions.”
“But it’s not a total loss. Training a team of soldiers like this, from recruitment to full combat readiness, must have cost millions. Add in their weapons and equipment, and we’re talking about a rather significant loss.”
As he watched the black-clad soldiers surrounding the car, Tom reached into his pocket and pulled out a lipstick-sized device.
He twisted off the cap, revealing a red button underneath. Pressing his thumb lightly against it, he smirked.
This was the detonator for the bomb inside the car.
Tom had deliberately left this backup plan in case his little “gift” wasn’t triggered naturally. If the enemy was too cautious to touch the car, he could detonate it himself.
After all, he couldn’t let his carefully prepared gift go unclaimed—that would be such a waste.
This was something Tom would never allow!
But he didn’t press the button immediately.
He was curious to see if this squad would take the initiative to “accept” his little present.
Not that he was worried about them escaping—he had absolute confidence in his explosives.
If he pressed the button…
It would only take a second.
And in one second, none of them would leave that alley alive.
In the live feed, the black-clad soldiers had fully surrounded the car.
A man, likely their leader, pressed his earpiece, seemingly reporting something to a higher-up.
Tom squinted.
“Damn, I forgot to plant a listening device.”
He tried to read the leader’s lips, but the video quality wasn’t good enough for him to make out any useful information.
However, he did pick up one thing—these men were from the Helan family.
“The Helan family, huh?”
“That works too.”
“Might as well collect some interest while I’m at it.”
Tom shrugged and muttered to himself.
Since he couldn’t hear their conversation, he lost patience.
He was getting sleepy.
With a yawn, he casually pressed the detonator.
A soft click sounded.
Tom closed his eyes and counted to three.
And then—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rocked the night.
The car in the alley had erupted into flames.
The blast was so powerful that even from hundreds of meters away, the windows in Tom’s hotel room rattled from the shockwave.
“Ahh~”
“What a beautiful sound~”
“Now I can finally get some sleep.”
Tom put away the detonator, stretched lazily, and lay straight down on the bed.
With a casual kick, he sent Wan Xiaozhou rolling off onto the floor.
Without even bothering to remove his clothes, he simply closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
The Next Morning
Tom woke up and glanced at Wan Xiaozhou, who was still sleeping soundly on the floor like a pig.
Smirking, he tapped the side of his glasses again, pulling up a live feed of the alley.
The explosion had been thorough—the entire alley was charred black, now sealed off by authorities. The bodies had already been removed.
Tom nodded in satisfaction.
His explosive artistry was flawless.
Standing by the window, he lit a cigarette and gazed out over the bar street.
He mentally reviewed his actions from the night before, checking for any loose ends.
After confirming that there were no major flaws, he pulled out his phone and opened his food delivery app, ordering breakfast.
As he waited, he sent a message to Fang Xiaocao.
[Tom: Your loyal knight requires your assistance, Your Highness.]
[Fang Xiaocao: Tom, what’s wrong?]
[Fang Xiaocao: Are you in trouble?]
Fang Xiaocao replied instantly.
[Tom: I just need Your Highness to drive over and pick up your loyal knight.]
[Fang Xiaocao: No problem, send me your location.]
Seeing Tom’s response, Fang Xiaocao let out a relieved sigh.
“As long as he’s not in danger. Driving him around? Easy!”
Tom shared his location and set up a meeting time before putting his phone away.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
“The food’s here.”
Tom lifted Wan Xiaozhou from the floor and threw her back onto the bed before walking over to answer the door.
Outside stood a delivery guy with his breakfast.
Tom accepted the meal with a polite “Thanks” before closing the door.
Sitting on the bed, he enjoyed his breakfast.
Then, with a smirk, he picked up Wan Xiaozhou again and tossed her back onto the floor.
It was time to stage the scene properly.
After all, he had to leave a convincing “crime scene” for that perverted hotel clerk downstairs.
(End of Chapter 211)
