<h4>Chapter 1142: Chapter 1149: Old K’s Fate</h4>


    "Fatty, is this kind of safe hard to crack?" Ling Chen asked.


    "From what I understand, this kind of safe has a double password system. Besides an eight-digit code, it also requires retinal and voice recognition. Unless all three are correct, if even one step is wrong, everything inside will be automatically destroyed," Hu Fei exined. "Looking at Ling Beichuan’s demeanor, I doubt he’ll tell you the password."


    "What should we do then? Should I... try and think of something?"


    "You just need to deal with the retinal and voice recognition systems; I can handle the eight-digit password."


    "Okay, I’ll get it sorted for you as soon as possible."


    Immediately, Ling Chen gathered everyone and transported the safe downstairs, then arranged for a truck to take it to the base. This safe was secretly protected by Ling Beichuan and surely hid many secrets. If he could uncover them, perhaps he’d gain deeper insight into the southern Ling Family.


    Returning to the base, Jiang Hao was already waiting for Ling Chen’s return.


    "Chen."


    "What do you need me for?"


    "It’s like this..." Jiang Hao leaned over and whispered a few words into Ling Chen’s ear. After listening, Ling Chen lightly nodded and said, "Let’s go, take me to meet him."


    Shortly after, the two arrived at an interrogation room inside the base. As the door opened, Ling Chen immediately saw a middle-aged man, hands tied with chains, sitting on a chair with a few people watching him.


    "Chen!"


    Upon seeing Ling Chen, everyone in the interrogation room greeted him.


    Ling Chen nodded in acknowledgement, then focused his attention on the middle-aged man. After a few nces, Ling Chen slowly spoke, "Are you Old K? No need for introductions, I believe you know who I am."


    "Mr. Ling, I don’t know why you’ve brought me here," Old K asked calmly.


    "You know perfectly well, there’s no need for me to waste words."


    Old K smiled and said, "Mr. Ling, I think you may have misunderstood. I’m just hired help, and everything I did was under Zhu Hong’s orders. At most, I’m an executor. So if you want revenge, it’s Zhu Hong you should be targeting, not me. I think we can sit down and have a talk. As long as you release me, I’m willing to ept some conditions."


    "I don’t think there’s much for us to discuss. An eye for an eye, it’s only natural. You and I are not new to this game. If you’re caught, you should be prepared. Jiang Hao!"


    "Chen, what are your orders?"


    "Break his arms and legs, toss him to the streets to beg, and find someone to watch over him, don’t let him escape." With that, Ling Chen turned to look at Old K and said, "I’m giving you a chance to live: whenever you can beg for a million, I’ll let you go."


    Upon hearing these words, a change finally appeared on Old K’s face. To people like them, death isn’t frightening. As Ling Chen just said, he’s been mentally prepared since he entered this line of work. However, living a fate worse than death is the most painful experience.


    He would rather die than be a cripple.


    "Mr. Ling!" Old K suddenly stood up, but the people beside him immediately pressed his shoulders, forcing him back down.


    "Mr. Ling, I am not afraid to die, but you cannot humiliate me this way."


    Ling Chen said calmly, "You caused the death of my friend; this is merciful treatment already. If you have any objections, I have more ways to deal with you. Do you want to try them?"


    Before Old K could respond, Jiang Hao had already signaled to his subordinates. A young man picked up a steel rod and smashed it directly onto Old K’s knee.


    Crack!


    With a crisp sound, Old K’s face instantly turned pale, and the interrogation room was filled with his screams.


    Ling Chen didn’t stay to watch, leaving Jiang Hao there, he walked out of the interrogation room alone. He wasn’t a good person, nor a kind one. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth were his principles.


    Old K killed Wei Jun, and he wouldn’t let the other go easily. Death? Ha! That’s too easy.


    A few days passed, and finally, with Ling Chen’s efforts, he acquired Ling Beichuan’s retinal and voice data. Meanwhile, Hu Fei had unlocked the first password of the safe. With the retinal and voice identification verified, the safe finally opened.


    However, Ling Chen was somewhat disappointed that there weren’t many documents inside the huge safe, only a few file folders. Picking up one of the folders, Ling Chen pulled out the documents inside and examined them closely.


    The document contents were rted to the northern Ling Family. In the past, Ling Chen might have been somewhat interested, but now, having learned the secrets, Ling Chen found these materials mundane, merely insignificant secrets without much use.


    "Ling Chen, you need to take a look at this file, I can’t quite understand it." At this moment, Hu Fei handed a document to Ling Chen.


    Just from reading the first line, Ling Chen’s eyes lit up immediately. In the desert, Ling Tao had once mentioned to Ling Chen that as of now, only two severed arms and one leg of Ling Gengqiu’s body have been found, while the other main parts remain missing. Also, ording to reliable clues and intelligence, Ling Gengqiu’s other parts should be buried in East Sea City. As for the specific location, no one knows yet.


    Over the years, Ling Beichuan settled in East Sea City mainly to search for Ling Gengqiu’s other body parts. Moreover, judging by the timeline in the document, Ling Beichuan had been searching in East Sea City for over fifty years.


    Regarding the affairs of the southern and northern Ling Families in East Sea City, Ling Chen learned quite a lot from Ling Tao.


    Although both forces want to enter East Sea City to search for Ling Gengqiu’s body parts, they both understand that once one force enters East Sea City, the other will surely take measures. By then, as soon as both forces meet in East Sea City, it would trigger an ultimate showdown.


    Neither the southern nor the northern Ling Families had absolute confidence in winning this internal fight; hence, neither dared to easily enter East Sea City. They knew well that if both forces entered East Sea City, it would ignite the fuse for a final battle.


    So now, both forces are merely engaging in localized struggles to weaken the opponent’s strength.


    After understanding these conditions from Ling Tao, Ling Chen also realized the heavy burden he carried. Now, the entire East Sea City is under his control, and what he needs to do is consolidate power to firmly grasp East Sea City in his hands. Once the two forcesmence their final battle, he will be the key determinant of victory.


    It seems the southern Ling Family has considered this issue too, which is why Ling Beichuan rescued Zhu Hong to curb his power development. However, Ling Beichuan never dreamed that the one he relied upon, Zhu Hong, not only failed to serve his purpose but also ended up being dragged down.