Chapter 173: 173 She can see other people’s memories_1
"How did you realize something was wrong?"
When they arrived at Wen Jiang’s room, the hotel management had already begun a very tense investigation. In Card City, if an incident involving a Spirit Card Master being injured or dying occurred, that hotel could forget about surviving there. Hua Zhuo still didn’t understand. She had already ordered people to capture Bai Lang for interrogation and had analyzed the situation. Bai Lang had waited several days for the cleaners to finish before reluctantly making his move. The bottle containing the substance had been taken to the laboratory for analysis to determine its exact contents. Even Hua Zhuo hadn’t detected any issue by smell.
"The smell was different." Wen Jiang sank into the sofa, squinting her eyes and sighing. "I’ve been smelling the usual scent in this room for several days. I noticed immediately when it was different. Bai Lang is clever, but cleverness is useless against me. He should have acted on the first day. Then, I wouldn’t have been familiar enough with the usual scent to notice a change, and I might have actually fallen for his trick."
However, Bai Lang had waited for several days, thereby missing his chance.
What a pity, indeed.
Zero Egg chimed in, "Normally, people planning to make a move would wait a few days; that’s a common line of thought."
Hua Zhuo was extremely shocked. She had smelled both bottles and hadn’t detected anything amiss. It was unimaginable to her how Wen Jiang could have sensed something was wrong the moment the cleaner opened it.
Hua Zhuo couldn’t help but be alarmed by Fiend’s tactics. "For an average person, it would be impossible to notice. He’d stayed by that assistant’s side for so long, yet he still couldn’t resist making a move on you."
That was just Wen Jiang for you.
If it had been any other professional player, Hua Zhuo felt her scalp tingle at the mere thought of such a possibility.
She slapped the armrest angrily. "Fiend really plays for high stakes!"
Having planted agents in Yunxia so early on, what exactly were they planning? Perhaps it wasn’t just for seven years. For many years, Yunxia must have been riddled with Fiend’s people, their ultimate goal unknown.
"Moles like that are certainly not easy to plant; otherwise, Bai Lang wouldn’t have waited so long to act. Even if something had happened to me, it wouldn’t have been easy for you to trace it back to him." Even if suspicion reasonably fell upon Bai Lang and his associates, without concrete evidence, it would be difficult to prove he was involved.
Wen Jiang continued her analysis, "That substance was likely designed with a delayed effect, either to take my life or to affect my spiritual power, giving him enough time to escape."
By then, Mount Flower would truly have been unable to catch anyone.
Sure enough, not long after, news came back from Card City’s chemical laboratory. The bottle had indeed been injected with a new type of poisonous gas. Furthermore, this gas was linked to a group of scientists who had recently absconded, with the International Association hot on their trail. The gas was colorless and odorless. Prolonged inhalation could affect a Spirit Card Master’s mental state, not causing severe harm but capable of momentarily clouding their mind. And it would dissipate quickly.
After hearing this, Hua Zhuo immediately said, "Their goal wasn’t to take your life, but to cause you problems during the competition."
If a Spirit Card Master cannot concentrate during a competition, the impact is significant.
Wen Jiang added, "When one’s mind isn’t focused, their perception of their surroundings also diminishes. Bai Lang observed me for so long; he must have concluded that he couldn’t deal with me directly."
During this period, Wen Jiang had always been out alone. She didn’t have bodyguards and dared to walk about boldly. Bai Lang must have surmised that Wen Jiang’s countermeasures were strong and that he might not succeed using conventional methods. So, he opted for poison first.
He never imagined he’d meet his end before his mission could even truly begin.
Hua Zhuo deeply acknowledged how formidable Wen Jiang was.
No wonder she wasn’t afraid of getting hurt. Such a covert poisoning attempt didn’t even last three minutes before being exposed, and on top of that, she could directly view others’ memories.
Hua Zhuo’s earlier worries resurfaced. If such a terrifying person decided to cause trouble, even she wouldn’t be able to stop them.
Wen Jiang chuckled lightly. "Lady Hua, there’s no need to be afraid. As a person, I don’t provoke others unless they provoke me first."
"That’s difficult," Hua Zhuo shook her head. "Since you said he’s with Fiend, news of his capture will spread quickly. It’s just a matter of what Fiend will do next."
As she spoke, she prepared to leave and investigate further. She had originally come to protect Wen Jiang, but now it seemed completely unnecessary.
Did Wen Jiang really need her protection? If anything, Wen Jiang might end up protecting her. All these secretive little tricks were truly insignificant before Wen Jiang. Hua Zhuo was genuinely convinced now.
As Hua Zhuo was about to leave, Wen Jiang suddenly asked, "Have you seen Yu Jian recently?"
Hua Zhuo stopped abruptly, turned her head, and looked at Wen Jiang. "No. Why, do you think she’ll come looking for you?"
"Not just for me, possibly for you too," Wen Jiang said with a smile. "She suffered such a major setback because of Song Ji back then. Last year, when she returned to Imperial City, she still tried to provoke you. I believe this woman is definitely petty. I’ve come to Card City, and so have you. I find it hard to believe she wouldn’t follow."
Hua Zhuo said hesitantly, "Not many people know I’ve come to Card City."
Wen Jiang nonchalantly delivered a verbal jab, "You in your wheelchair are so conspicuous; only a blind person wouldn’t notice."
No matter how secret one tries to be, someone will always spread the news. Besides, that woman has a System; she could probably just check the surveillance.
If someone else had directly mentioned Hua Zhuo’s wheelchair, they would have likely panicked, worrying they had misspoken. But Wen Jiang said it so naturally that Hua Zhuo could only sigh helplessly. She had undergone psychological counseling for over a decade and had long since come to terms with her situation; she could only listen when Wen Jiang spoke about it.
Suddenly, a glimmer of hope appeared in Hua Zhuo’s eyes. "If she does come looking for me, could you catch her?"
Wen Jiang answered directly, "Difficult."
The other party has a Heaven’s Mandate System. Even with all her confidence, Wen Jiang had firsthand experience of how terrifying such high-tech could be, thanks to Zero Egg. Even if Zero Egg seemed foolish, a System possessed tools that could muddle memories and casually create a batch of SSR Spirit Cards. Moreover, its true master was a deity. Wen Jiang couldn’t claim to have the confidence to forcibly control that woman. Song Ji and his group of top S-Rank Spirit Card Masters had failed to do so back then, and it was just as doubtful for her now. It wouldn’t be wise for her to engage in a life-or-death battle with that woman in Card City, especially since, on the surface, there was no obvious enmity between them currently. They hadn’t even had any interactions.
"I see." Hua Zhuo wasn’t disappointed. In fact, it would have been more alarming if Wen Jiang had claimed she could do it.
As Hua Zhuo left, Zero Egg, still figuratively shivering, finally spoke up.
’Host, tell me, how did you manage that just now? How can you see other people’s memories?’
It was still fixated on this. Logically speaking, without high-tech like itself infiltrating someone’s mind to plant a device, peeking into memories should be virtually impossible.