"Aaaah..." The brown-haired man screamed hysterically, struggling desperately, but his efforts only served to intensify the agonizing pain in his scalp.

"I truly admire the ancient Chinese," Blackjack grumbled indistinctly, puffing out smoke rings from his cigar, "they possess a fine tradition—they essentially eat everything! I think that’s a rather admirable cu... custom. Tsk, tsk, look what I've brought! I want my dear Jennifer to try the taste of barbecued P-heart!"

The lit tip of the cigar touched the brown-haired man’s groin again, eliciting a desperate wail from the man: "I’ll give you the money back!"

Blackjack laughed, instantly dropping the cigar to the ground. He affectionately wiped the spittle from the brown-haired man’s face with his cuff. Embracing the man intimately, he cheered with effusive enthusiasm, "Dear brother, we are all lambs in God’s pasture; we are like one family and should help each other for mutual benefit! You see, it’s that simple, just that simple! Return the money to me, and I’ll immediately take my men and leave. How does that sound?"

Jenny, covered in blood and groaning on the floor, shrieked, "Oh no, Bailey... don't do this... that money... that's our money!"

Blackjack kicked Jenny, sending her into unconsciousness. He frowned and said, "...Damn it, Shanice, though you were once my mistress, you cannot adopt my bad temper! You can’t claim that money becomes yours after it passes through your hands. While I often turn money that passes through my hands into my money, only I can do that; you cannot! That is my money, absolutely not yours. What do you think, dear Mr. Bailey?"

The brown-haired Bailey trembled violently, stuttering out an address, "All the money is there. We were planning to wait for the heat to die down and then leave London with the cash, but..."

Blackjack angrily drove his knee sharply into Bailey’s lower abdomen, causing Bailey to curl up like a shrimp deep-fried in oil. He shook his head and sighed, "Wait for the heat to die down? How could that be? For my money, I will hunt you down for the rest of my life; how could I let the heat just dissipate like that? Hmm, my money, not a single cent is missing, right?"

Bailey wailed, "Not a single cent is missing; we haven't touched that money at all!"

Blackjack smiled with satisfaction, puffing out his belly proudly, chuckling smugly, "Then, that’s wonderful... but we need to calculate this bill carefully!"

His eyes darting rapidly, Blackjack cheerfully exclaimed, "You stole my money three days ago—seven hundred and fifty million in cash. That’s undoubtedly a huge sum! According to the rules of loan sharking in the underworld, the interest for three days plus the principal, you should return to me..."

Bailey looked up in terror, crying out, "No, no, no... you can't calculate it like that!"

Blackjack kicked Bailey in annoyance, roaring, "If not calculated by the rules of the street, should I calculate it according to the rules of an interest-free loan from the Federal Bank? You seduced my woman, slept with her at least hundreds of times—I’m not even arguing with you about that—are you really going to quibble with me over a small amount of interest?"

After calculating for a moment, Blackjack exclaimed happily, "Considering the year-plus relationship Jennifer and I had, I won't use the compound interest method. At a ten percent daily interest rate, for the seven hundred and fifty million cash you took from my pocket for three days, you owe me two hundred and twenty-five million in interest."

Bailey stared at Blackjack with a face like dead ash. Blackjack muttered to himself, calculating, "Hmm, two hundred and twenty-five million, plus the three million cash I donated today while pursuing you, and that fifteen hundred cash... you owe me a total of two hundred and twenty-eight million plus one thousand five hundred!"

Blackjack, his smile brilliant, gently patted Bailey's cheek, saying with a grin, "See? It's reasonable and logical, isn't it?"

The despairing Bailey screamed, "I don't have that much money!"

Blackjack smiled even more brightly, "No, you have that much money... Aren't you an employee of the Tianji Intelligence Department? Intelligence, at certain times, can be exchanged for money, can't it?"

Bailey’s face became almost transparent. He asked hoarsely, intermittently, almost to himself, "H-how did you know about my..."

Blackjack puffed out his chest swaggeringly, his smile cordial as he declared, "Boss Blackjack is omnipotent and knows everything... Remember, you owe me two hundred and eighty million. I'll waive that fifteen hundred remainder for you. You must repay me quickly, or your fate will be quite miserable!"

Beckoning with a finger, Blackjack's subordinates swarmed in, wrapping the stunned Bailey and the unconscious Shanice in two body bags, and quickly sped out of the apartment building.

It had started to drizzle outside, though no one knew exactly when. Blackjack stood by the roadside, delicately touching his wet hair with his fingers. He glanced contentedly at the nearby scenery and commanded smugly, "I am in a very good mood today. I am very satisfied with the efficiency of the Lunri Public Security Bureau’s work. Hmm, I’ll donate three patrol helicopters to them tomorrow..."

"There need to be at least thirty reporters on site, understand? I want the entire Federation to know that Blackjack is a great philanthropist who understands social reciprocity and gives back to society!"

The bald man respectfully acknowledged Blackjack, "Yes, Boss. Your good name will soon spread across the entire Federation!"

A strange laugh echoed from the mouth of the alley across the street: "Oh? Jack, you truly are a great man. Heh heh heh!"

The laughter held unmistakable mockery. Blackjack's subordinates were instantly enraged and prepared to rush over to drag the person out for a 'lesson'.

Blackjack, however, froze, trembling as he asked, "Boss, is that... is that you?"

"Heh heh heh, it is I!" The dense fog parted as Gu Yechen, dressed in a Taoist robe and flowing cloak, walked slowly forward with an eerie smile.

Blackjack was so overjoyed he nearly leaped up. He hastily rushed forward, personally opening the car door to welcome Gu Yechen into his luxurious vehicle, and hurriedly ordered his subordinates to drive away.

Seated comfortably in Blackjack's lavish car, Gu Yechen shifted his body contentedly. "It seems you’ve been doing well. Giving you three years to develop was underestimating your abilities."

Blackjack sat respectfully before Gu Yechen, a hint of pride in his smile as he replied, "This is also thanks to the support from behind, Boss. Without the channels you provided through the Copper Oak Club, how could I have developed to this extent in such a short time? And the funds you provided, and the super-powered individuals you sent—they all helped me immensely!"

Gu Yechen scrutinized Blackjack, his eyes blazing with fanaticism and respect, practically worshipping Gu Yechen like a deity. Gu Yechen was very pleased with Blackjack's demeanor.

After a moment of silence, Gu Yechen suddenly smiled and asked, "Jack, will you remain loyal to me forever? Look, you are now a major figure in Western Europe's underworld!"

Blackjack broke out in a cold sweat, collapsing into the seat with a desperate shout, "Honorable Boss, how dare I? Compared to you, what am I? Of course, I will always be loyal to you; my loyalty to you will never change!"

Blackjack had nearly fainted from Gu Yechen’s words. Precisely because he was already a major figure in the underworld, he had sufficient channels to know the situation at the Federation's upper echelons—who was Gu Yechen? A former Federal Congressman, a former Director of the Special Operations Bureau, and especially, he had the backing of the giants in the Asian Dao Alliance. Jack wasn't foolish; although Gu Yechen had vanished from official Federal institutions, this only meant Gu Yechen had matured.

Having mixed around for so many years, Blackjack could distinguish between a pawn and the player moving it.

Gu Yechen’s withdrawal from the limelight might appear to outsiders as a forced, regrettable departure, but in reality, it marked the beginning of Gu Yechen moving from being an overt pawn to playing the game from behind the scenes. Charging ahead on the front lines versus controlling others to charge ahead from the rear—these were two completely different concepts.

Blackjack deeply understood that everything he possessed originated from Gu Yechen!

Gu Yechen looked at the anxious Blackjack and couldn't help but reveal a satisfied smile.

Flipping his palm, a clear jade medicine bottle appeared in his hand. Gu Yechen crushed the bottle and handed a Two Extremes Heaven-Seizing Pill to Blackjack.

"I will guard you. Swallow this, and you will have the hope of cultivating the Dao. As my subordinate, good things must naturally go to you!"

Blackjack was so overjoyed that his whole body stiffened. Cultivating the Dao, the hope of cultivation? Blackjack was a complete waste, lacking even the aptitude for practicing Federal Martial Arts, yet Gu Yechen claimed that simply by swallowing this pill, he could cultivate the Dao? He knew the immense standing of the Asian Dao Alliance; among the Earth’s hidden powers, the Asian Dao Alliance had always firmly surpassed the Church and the Alliance of Gods!

Could he also become one of those extraordinary beings who could fly and burrow through the earth, possessing infinite power?

Blackjack knelt before Gu Yechen, bowing his entire body in absolute reverence!

Three hours later, Gu Yechen quietly departed Blackjack’s car, leaving him with an order: approach members of the Vatican Church and the Alliance of Gods with full effort, especially striving to befriend Bishop Andre and the confidants around High Priest Bobby.

Gu Yechen left Blackjack with two cultivation manuals. One was the secret scripture of the Asian Dao Alliance’s heretical sect, the Yin-Yang Harmony Sect: The Nine Sons Ghost Mother Refining Scripture.

The Heaven-Seizing Profound Technique was specialized in gathering Yin and supplementing Yang, rapidly increasing internal power and cultivation, and it was excellent at concealing one’s aura; unless facing an evil cultivator practicing the same technique, it would be extremely difficult to detect Blackjack’s cultivation.

The Nine Sons Ghost Mother Refining Scripture could cultivate at least nine, and potentially an infinite number, of soul clones, specializing in dealing with all methods of soul searching.

With these two techniques, Blackjack would no longer need to fear being discovered when approaching members of the Church and the Alliance of Gods. For Blackjack’s absolute safety, Gu Yechen also left him several spiritual artifacts specifically designed to conceal aura and protect the primordial spirit. These artifacts were all sourced from Heaven Star.

As soon as Gu Yechen left, Blackjack's car lurched to a stop outside a five-star hotel. Blackjack, awkwardly clamping his legs together, staggered into the hotel, heading straight for the restroom in the lobby amidst a trail of stink.

The Two Extremes Heaven-Seizing Pill had successfully granted Blackjack the aptitude to cultivate the Dao, and it had also successfully kept him squatting in that hotel lobby restroom for the entire day.

Gu Yechen's next destination was Paris.