Luo Han smiled with satisfaction.
It was far too overbearing—this Obedience Magic was an absolute lock against thugs with such weak wills.
“Take me to the highest-ranking person you can see.”
“Understood.
My cousin, Wang Di, is a mid-level supervisor in charge of debt collection here.
He’s inside; I can see him at any time.” Wang Dong, the man who had been smoking earlier, stepped forward.
“Take me to him.
If we run into anyone on the way, just brush them off.
And don’t call me ‘Master’ in public.”
Wang Dong immediately went over to open the corrugated iron door and tilted his head toward Luo Han.
“Please, follow me.”
Luo Han followed him inside, leaving the other guard behind to continue standing watch.
Inside was a dim corridor with mottled walls and puddles on the floor.
As they walked, Wang Dong whispered, “My cousin is in the second-floor office.
He should be tallying up debts right now.”
“Fine,” Luo Han replied briefly, observing his surroundings.
The corridor was about thirty meters long, branching at the end.
Rowdy shouting drifted from the left—the main arena area.
They encountered a few people along the way, but Wang Dong easily bluffed his way past them.
To the right was an iron ladder leading upward.
Luo Han followed him up.
Climbing the ladder brought them to the second floor.
This area had been converted into offices and a monitoring room.
Several rooms lined the hallway, with signs on the doors reading “Finance,” “Scheduling,” and “Security.”
The man stopped in front of a door at the far end of the left side and knocked.
“Open up, Cousin.
Someone’s looking for you.”
“Huh?
I’m busy,” a raspy male voice called out from inside.
“It’s me, Cousin.
I’ve got an urgent family matter.”
There was a two-second silence, followed by the sound of a chair dragging across the floor.
The door opened.
A middle-aged man in his thirties with a buzz cut and a slight potbelly stood there, wearing a button-down shirt.
Seeing Luo Han, he knit his brows.
“Family matter?
Who is this—”
His words cut off abruptly.
Luo Han had already raised his hand.
This time, he increased the output of his mana.
In an instant, the man’s soul was forced onto the scales of Obedience Magic, and the weight dropped.
Wang Di’s body jerked violently.
His eyes widened, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
He was resisting; this mid-level supervisor had a stronger will than the guard at the door.
Luo Han could feel the psychic tug-of-war, as if his invisible hands were pressing down on a balloon that was trying to expand.
Unfortunately for Wang Di, his strength wasn’t enough—it only bought him an extra second.
Wang Di’s resistance gradually withered.
His gaze shifted from struggle to confusion, and finally to calm.
He took a deep breath, his expression turning submissive as he looked at Luo Han.
“Master, what are your orders?”
He stepped aside to clear the path, but Luo Han remembered the monitoring room he had seen earlier.
“Take me to the monitoring room first.”
“Obedience Magic.” The lackey in the monitoring room opened the door for Wang Di and succumbed instantly.
After securing the area, the group returned to Wang Di’s office.
Luo Han stepped inside.
The room wasn’t large: a desk, two filing cabinets, and a whiteboard on the wall covered in names and numbers.
On the desk were stacks of cash and several ledgers.
Wang Dong stood at the door.
“Should I head back now?”
“Go.
Act as if nothing happened,” Luo Han waved him off.
The door closed.
Luo Han sat in the chair behind the desk, while Wang Di stood before him with his hands down, his eyes full of respect.
“Tell me about the Blood Combat Society,” Luo Han said, getting straight to the point.
“Understood, Master,” Wang Di nodded, his tone as natural as if he were discussing the weather.
“Start with the leadership structure. This story is hosted at g.com.
Be clear.”
“The Blood Combat Society has three levels,” Wang Di answered fluently.
“The lower level consists of thugs, guards, and service staff—forty-two people in total.
The middle level consists of department heads.
That includes me, in charge of lending and collections; Brother Gu, who handles security and scheduling; Sister Li in finance; Old Zhou for match arrangements; and Ah Fei for external liaisons.
Five of us in total.
The upper level consists of the true bosses.
There are three of them, though they don’t come around often.”
“And their identities?”
“President Zhao—Zhao Tianxiong.
On the surface, he’s in the construction materials business, but he’s actually the largest shareholder of the Blood Combat Society.
Brother Long—Chen Tianlong—is responsible for dealing with other factions.
Sister Hong—her real name is unknown—handles money laundering and smoothing things over with officials.”
“Where is Zhao Tianxiong now?”
“He should be at the ‘Golden Tripod Club.’ That’s his base of operations.
He usually meets a few friends there around this time.”
“Take me there.
Tell him there’s an emergency with the accounts that must be reported in person.”
“Yes.”
On the way, Luo Han learned more.
This Zhao Tianxiong had been a businessman even before entering the Collision World.
He hadn’t entered the Collision World directly at first.
Instead, after the second phase of the Collision World opened, he gathered intelligence on the new mode from others and hired a large number of people to help him inside the world.
Relying on his sharp mind, he had flourished within the Collision World.
The Golden Tripod Club was located on the edge of the city center, a standalone eight-story building with a low-profile, dark gray glass curtain wall.
Several luxury cars were parked at the entrance, and uniformed valets respectfully opened doors for guests.
Wang Di drove while Luo Han sat in the back.
The car entered the underground parking lot and stopped in a reserved space.
“President Zhao is always in a private suite on the sixth floor,” Wang Di said as he unbuckled his seatbelt.
“They know my face, so I can get straight to the reception area on the sixth floor.
But to actually get inside, we’ll need President Zhao’s permission.”
“Understood.
Create an opportunity for me to be alone with him if possible.” Luo Han took off his black robe to make his attire look more natural.
The two took the elevator up.
The sixth floor was luxuriously decorated, with thick carpets, dark wood paneling, and an unknown fragrance lingering in the air.
Two bodyguards in black suits sat in the reception area.
Seeing Wang Di, one of them stood up.
“Supervisor Wang?
What brings you here so late?”
“Emergency accounting issue.
I must report to President Zhao in person,” Wang Di said with a serious tone.
“I found a discrepancy in the collection flow.
Someone might be tampering with the books.”
The bodyguard frowned and checked in via his earpiece.
A few seconds later, he nodded.
“President Zhao says you can go in.
But who is this?” He looked at Luo Han.
“An accountant I brought along.
He’s the one who found the problem.”
The bodyguard sized Luo Han up.
Seeing nothing unusual, he waved them through.
“Go on in.
President Zhao is talking business with friends, so don’t take too long.”
The door to the innermost suite was heavy.
Wang Di knocked and pushed it open.
The suite was massive, with a circular sofa in the center where three people were sitting.
In the middle was a man in his fifties with slicked-back hair, wearing a silk Tang suit and holding a cigar—Zhao Tianxiong.
To his left was a lean, middle-aged man, and to his right was a young woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
The three were conversing over red wine and fruit platters.
“President Zhao,” Wang Di bowed.
Zhao Tianxiong looked up.
When he saw Luo Han behind Wang Di, his brow furrowed.
“Wang Di, who is this?
Didn’t I say not to bring outsiders when I’m discussing business?”
“I was wondering if it would be convenient to report to you privately?
The discrepancies are quite significant.”
Luo Han remained calm, his gaze locked on Zhao Tianxiong.
He instantly activated his mental probe:
[Target: Zhao Tianxiong] [Strength: 30] [Agility: 26] [Intelligence: 20]
An Intelligence of 20 was within his controllable range, but it was right at the threshold.
Luo Han turned his probe toward the other two.
This time, the results made his heart skip a beat:
[Target A (Lean middle-aged man): Strength 9, Agility 19, Intelligence 25] [Target B (Woman with glasses): Strength 7, Agility 20, Intelligence 12]
Intelligence 25!
That was beyond his current control limit!
Zhao Tianxiong’s face darkened.
“Hmph.
Wang Di, I’ll deal with your incompetence later.
Fine, let’s talk in the inner room.”
The two followed Zhao Tianxiong into the inner chamber, and Wang Di turned to close the door.
“Spit it out.
What’s going on?” Zhao Tianxiong sat on the sofa, sounding impatient.
But someone was even more impatient than he was.
Before Zhao Tianxiong’s voice had even faded, Obedience Magic was already unleashed.
This time, the resistance was significantly stronger than it had been with Wang Di.
Zhao Tianxiong lunged up from the sofa, his cigar dropping to the floor.
He clutched his head with both hands, his expression contorted, a low growl escaping his throat.
“You…” Zhao Tianxiong hissed, his eyes fixed on Luo Han, yet he didn’t dare divert his focus to speak further.
Sweat broke out on Luo Han’s forehead.
He could feel the other man’s will—it was like a solid boulder, making the scales of Obedience Magic tip with agonizing slowness.
This guy’s consciousness was remarkably firm; he was no pushover.
Luo Han pushed his mana output to the limit.
The lights in the suite seemed to dim for a fraction of a second.
Zhao Tianxiong’s body trembled, and his eyes began to bloodshot.
He stumbled back, collapsing against the back of the sofa.
Zhao Tianxiong’s resistance shattered.
His body went limp, and he slumped into the cushions, panting heavily.
A moment later, he looked up.
The hatred in his eyes had turned to confusion, then to absolute subservience.
“Mas…
Master,” he rasped.
“The two people outside—have them restrained along with the others!” Luo Han commanded.
No one outside the Blood Combat Society could know that he had met with Zhao Tianxiong today.
Otherwise, if the Blood Combat Society underwent changes later, he would be investigated and suspected, as he hadn’t bothered to disguise his face.
Zhao Tianxiong picked up his phone and gave a few orders before returning to the outer lounge.
He sat back down and began to exchange pleasantries.
“Don’t worry, it’s nothing…” Even under control, Zhao Tianxiong was an old fox.
Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly lunged off the sofa.
He threw a heavy punch toward the lean man’s face, with Wang Di following right behind.
Simultaneously, the two bodyguards burst through the door and lunged at the woman in glasses to subdue her.
The suite instantly devolved into a chaotic brawl.
The lean man was clearly a trained fighter; he ducked Zhao Tianxiong’s heavy blow and reached into his coat to pull out a wand.
However, a blood-red light flashed across Zhao Tianxiong’s arm, and a follow-up punch sent the wand flying.
Wang Di then moved in with a low-angle sneak attack, completely disregarding his own safety.
The man, who seemed to favor magic-based skills, had no room to maneuver and was pinned down immediately.
The woman in glasses was pressed into the sofa by the bodyguards, a dagger clattering to the floor.
She screamed, “Are you insane?!
President Zhao, he’s from Black Tide Security!”
Black Tide Security—the famous company that had risen to prominence rapidly following the emergence of the Collision World.
Luo Han’s mind raced.
With an Intelligence of 25, the man was impossible to control with Obedience Magic.
But this person had to be dealt with, or everything from tonight would be exposed.
Luo Han walked over to the man and looked down at him.
“Your name.”
“Pah!” The man spat blood-flecked saliva.
“Kid, you messed with the wrong people.
Black Tide Security won’t let this go.”
Zhao Tianxiong stepped up and delivered a punch infused with a blood-red glow.
The man recoiled in pain, then looked at Zhao Tianxiong with newfound fear.
Luo Han first ordered the bodyguards out of the room, then used Obedience Magic to take control of the woman in glasses.