<h4>Chapter 1427: Chapter 1735: Captured</h4>


    "Don’t move!" Just as Zhu Hong was about to escape with Chen Quan, dozens of armed detectives suddenly burst forth from the surroundings of the office building,pletely surrounding Zhu Hong and Chen Quan.


    Facing the dark gun barrels, Zhu Hong immediately halted his steps, threw Chen Quan, whom he was holding, to the ground, and slowly raised his hands.


    "Cuff them." A detective quickly stepped forward, handcuffing Zhu Hong’s hands and, in passing, also ced a pair on Chen Quan who was on the ground.


    "Zhu Hong, you didn’t expect this, did you?" A voice came, and Xia Mutong appeared from the crowd, staring coldly at Zhu Hong.


    "It’s you?" Zhu Hong’s gaze turned somber as he looked at Xia Mutong, "How did you know I was here?"


    "I have my ways, naturally. You should know what crimes you’vemitted. Even if it’s not the death penalty this time, it’s at least life imprisonment."


    Zhu Hong frowned and remained silent; he hadn’t expected to be caught by the police.


    "Take them all into the car." Xia Mutong waved a hand, signaling to the others to take Zhu Hong and Chen Quan away.


    "OK!" In the hospital room, Hu Feiughed and high-fived Tang Guolun, "Ling Chen, how was it? My arrangement wasn’t bad, was it? Hmph! With Zhu Hong falling into the police’s hands, let’s see how he gets out of this one. After so much effort, we finally took care of that guy Zhu Hong."


    In contrast to the excitement of Hu Fei and Tang Guolun, Ling Chen appeared much calmer. He nced at the screen showing Zhu Hong being taken away and said somewhat perplexedly, "Don’t you find it strange? Why would Zhu Hong take such a huge risk to break into thatboratory to steal cell culture fluid? Even if that thing is of great use to him, with Zhu Hong’s cautious nature, he would certainly n everything in advance. However, from today’s actions, it seems Zhu Hong didn’t do much preparation, which is a bit out of character for him."


    Tang Guolun thought for a moment and said, "Maybe Zhu Hong thought no one had discovered his whereabouts. And with Chen Quan by his side, that was his greatest reliance. With a master from the Heavenly List protecting him, he wouldn’t feel he was in danger."


    Ling Chen shook his head and said, "Zhu Hong isn’t someone overconfident, especially knowing Beijing is my territory and still daring to move so conspicuously. It must be because that thing is very important to him." Saying this, Ling Chen turned to look at Hu Fei and asked, "Was Zhu Hong caught by the Beijing police?"


    "Exactly! I only passed Zhu Hong’s information to Xia Mutong. If we couldn’t catch him ourselves, we’d depend on the police for assistance."


    Ling Chen pondered for a while and said, "Even though Zhu Hong has fallen into the hands of the police, we still can’t let our guard down. You all know what kind of person Zhu Hong is. Someone might secretly rescue him. How about this? I’ll make a call to the people in Beijingter to try to keep Zhu Hong under our surveince."


    "That’s a good idea. If you want to personally solve this problem, you might as well take some time to go to Beijing."


    "We’ll see about that."


    "Alright, if there’s nothing else, we’ll head back first. You get some rest." After saying this, Hu Fei packed up hisptop and left with Tang Guolun.


    Not long after the two left, Jiang Hao came in from outside. In matters like this, Jiang Hao was quite tactful. Although he was Ling Chen’s brother and one of Ling Chen’s men, he wouldn’t ask about things he shouldn’t know. Just like earlier, he chose to avoid the situation.


    After resting for two or three days, Ling Chen’s injured cheek had scabbed and peeled off, with most of his body recovering. To the hospital doctors, this was nothing short of a miracle. In their view, severe burns on Ling Chen required skin grafts and cosmetic surgery, with no possibility of returning to his original state. Ling Chen’s change astonished them. If not for Ling Chen’s identity, these doctors would likely have researched him.


    That day, just after lunch, Ling Chen was about to take a short break when Tong Zhentian and He Ziyun appeared in his hospital room.


    "Elder Tong, Mr. He, what brings you here?" Ling Chen quickly got up from the bed.


    "You should stay lying down, no need to be so formal."


    "It’s alright," Ling Chen smiled and said, "My body has almost fully recovered. If Xiaozhu wasn’t worried about my health and insisted I rest a few more days, I’d have been discharged already."


    Once Tong Zhentian and He Ziyun were seated, Jiang Hao, whose leg and foot had mostly recovered, promptly brewed two cups of tea, handing them to the two elders, before greeting Ling Chen and leaving the hospital room.


    "Elder Tong, why didn’t you just call me if you had something to discuss? You didn’t need to trouble yourselves toe in person."


    Tong Zhentian began, "Firstly, we wanted to visit you, and secondly, we have something important to discuss with you."


    "Is it still about the Martial Arts Association?" Ling Chen immediately guessed Tong Zhentian’s intention.


    He Ziyun nodded and said, "Indeed! These days, Elder Tong has been running around for this matter but to no avail. As we feared, the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion made thorough preparations regarding this matter. Several martial arts seniors have expressed their stance. If they are selected for the martial artsmittee, they will treat each martial arts academy fairly and never abuse their power for personal gain. However, we all know that these are just empty courtesies. Them saying this means they’ve reached a consensus with the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion."


    Hearing this, Ling Chen frowned slightly and asked, "Elder Tong, is there no way to convince them to side with us?"


    "It’s futile." Tong Zhentian sighed helplessly, "If it were earlier, perhaps we could tempt them with benefits. But not now. Our greatest reliance was martial arts secrets, but since the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion revealed their depths, our advantage has vanished. I suspect the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion promised them a great deal of valuable items, so they are willing to join their camp."


    Ling Chen pondered for a while, feeling somewhat heavy-hearted; this was his most worrisome scenario, and it hade to pass. If they couldn’t secure five spots, they would be at a disadvantage in futurepetition. Thinking of this, Ling Chen spoke, "I have something that might work."


    "What is it?" He Ziyun and Tong Zhentian asked in unison.


    "Nine Elements Pill." Ling Chen slowly uttered, recalling the time when Ji Gang, while serving the God Organization, had kidnapped Ling Kun and threatened Ling Chen to exchange the Nine Elements Pill for Ling Kun. To that end, Ling Chen went to the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion and participated in the internalpetition of the Yangxin Pavilion as Su He’s disciple, ultimately defeating Wang Hao to acquire a Nine Elements Pill.


    Later, with the assistance of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, Ling Chen luckily rescued Ling Kun, preserving that Nine Elements Pill, which was never used. Perhaps, offering the Nine Elements Pill could persuade those martial arts seniors to join their own camp.