"Yes."

Before the old man in the black suit, a colossal virtual map immediately materialized. At its center pulsed a red dot, marking Li Wei's location.

"Six light spots have appeared within a hundred-mile radius of Li Wei. 'Six High-Challenger level martial artists within a hundred miles!'"

"Display the information profile for each of them, along with their distance from Li Wei," Li Yao ordered coldly.

Didi~ The virtual screen vibrated twice, and streams of data instantly flashed across both edges.

"Six High-Challengers. Besides the two bodyguards for Ah Wei, the other four are within City No. 3?" Li Yao's expression soured. In reality, this meant he only had four suspects, as the other two were already dead. "And the closest of these four is twenty kilometers away. At the speed of a High-Challenger, by the time he ordered the search, it would have only been about a minute ago; they couldn't have possibly covered twenty kilometers by now."

"Yao! Who exactly killed Ah Wei?" The blonde matron's Mandarin, though slightly accented, was fluent.

"Search for Mid-Challenger level... and Low-Challenger level!" Li Yao ground out through clenched teeth.

"How could it be Mid-Challengers and Low-Challengers?" The blonde matron’s face was etched with anxiety. "Given the strength of Kalong and the other one, how could they be killed by Mid-Challengers or Low-Challengers, without even time to send a distress signal?"

"Shut up!" Li Yao couldn't help but snap.

The blonde matron forced herself into silence.

"Within a hundred miles, there are a total of 21 Mid-Challenger level martial artists," the old man in the black suit reported. Twenty-one light spots, slightly paler in color, instantly emerged on the virtual map. "Low-Challenger level, there are exactly 21 within a hundred-mile radius." Light spots representing Low-Challenger martial artists reappeared on the map.

Li Yao’s words seemed to be wrenched from his very teeth: "Record the information for these Challengers, including their distance from Li Wei! Also, search for all Warriors and record them as well. Transmit everything to Vinnina and me."

"Yes." The black-suited elder bowed deeply.

Li Yao glanced at the dense cluster of flashing light spots on the map—countless dots. Clearly, compared to the Challenger ranks, the number of Warrior-level martial artists was more than tenfold! These several hundred spots were indeed dazzling. And among these hundreds of dots was Luo Feng's! Although it was widely rumored that Luo Feng possessed the strength of a Low-Challenger, according to his service records in the martial artist identity database, he was still only a 'High-Warrior level.'

For rank assessment, everything depended on combat achievements!

"Deploy the satellites to photograph Li Wei's location," Vinnina interjected.

"Due to weather conditions, the imaging quality will not be optimal. The final captured results, after expert interpretation and refinement, will be transmitted to you both in half an hour," the old man replied. In reality, satellite recording and photography were not as mystical or powerful as ordinary people imagined; there were many limitations, especially the immense impact of the weather on imaging.

"Mr. Li Yao, President Vinnina, we have 6 High-Challengers, 21 Mid-Challengers, 21 Low-Challengers, and 210 Warriors. All information has been sent to you both."

Li Yao and Vinnina looked down.

On their wristwatches, the profiles and data of each individual flashed rapidly—Luo Feng’s included! Of course, as a Warrior, Luo Feng was quite inconspicuous.

Just three minutes later, on the lawn of the mountaintop villa bathed in starlight, two saucer-shaped, deep-blue fighter jets lifted off, quickly ascending into the sky.

"Beep!"

"Signal identification: Passed."

Only then did the two deep-blue, saucer-shaped jets break free of the city's defensive perimeter. Had they blasted through without signal verification, they would have instantly been pierced by laser beams, turning into fiery wreckage.

Inside the cockpit, Li Yao and Vinnina were both clad in combat suits, their personal weapons strapped to their backs, their faces grim. The pilots flying the jets, along with the other six Challenger-level subordinates, dared not speak. They all understood... something horrific had occurred. The only son of the couple known as 'Vulture and Poison Scorpion' had been murdered! These two were no ordinary figures. They commanded astonishing influence and energy, both within the War God circle and the secular spheres of the Alliance.

"Yao, could it have been a Monster Lord?" Vinnina frowned.

"How could a Monster Lord suddenly appear on the highway? Even if they encountered one, why didn't they have time to send even a single message?" Li Yao’s facial muscles twitched, and a cold light flickered in his eyes. Right now, he seemed like a lone wolf who had lost everything, becoming even colder and more insane. "I have already dispatched Wang Tong, who is currently in Shun City, to check the scene. Once he arrives, we should have a clearer picture."

"Mmm," Vinnina nodded slightly.

On the desolate highway late on a winter night, the biting cold wind howled. The bloodstains of the four corpses had long since turned dark red. Two figures, one tall and one slender, were meticulously investigating the scene—Wang Tong and Li Tian, the two War Gods summoned urgently from Shun City at Li Yao’s request.

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"

Two streaks of deep-blue light descended rapidly from the distant horizon, soon hovering above the highway, before slowly settling down. "Swish!" Before the jets could fully land, the hatch of one of the cockpits sprang open, and two figures leaped directly out of mid-air—it was Li Yao and Vinnina! Vulture, Poison Scorpion, Shadow Blade, and Mighty Bear—these four had often cooperated. Mutual support among War Gods was quite common.

"Vulture, my condolences," Wang Tong sighed.

"Any conclusions?" Li Yao forcibly tried to keep his tone level, but anger still laced his words.

Wang Tong, ignoring Li Yao's tone for the moment, pointed toward the four bodies. "All I can say is... it bears a strong resemblance to the methods of a Psychic!"

"A Psychic?" Li Yao and Vinnina both frowned.

"Of course, we cannot rule out that the scene was deliberately staged by the enemy to mislead us," Wang Tong added.

At this moment, some martial artist guards disembarked from one deep-blue jet, while five individuals wearing dark gray clothes and carrying various equipment cases jumped from the other. Among these five were two women—one East Asian and one Caucasian—and a venerable, white-haired old man.

"No one else is to enter the site," the white-haired elder ordered.

"Begin."

Immediately, the other four opened their instrument cases, taking out various devices to conduct the most precise investigation of the carnage site.

Time ticked by. Li Yao and Vinnina waited in silence. Wang Tong and Li Tian exchanged glances nearby, sighing inwardly. Vulture and Poison Scorpion were both immensely famous figures in the global War God community; perhaps only existences beyond the War God level could suppress this couple. Given their naturally ruthless personalities, the death of their only son meant they would surely seek revenge.

"Sir, Madam." The white-haired elder bowed respectfully. "We have results. Mr. and Mrs. Li, please come and look."

Li Yao, Vinnina, along with Wang Tong and Li Tian, walked over.

A data pad was placed there, showing a simulated video on the screen. The white-haired elder explained: "This elderly martial artist and the Caucasian martial artist likely died at the exact same moment. The method of death was the same: both had their heads pierced simultaneously from behind! This middle-aged martial artist and Young Master Li Wei died only slightly later than the elderly martial artist and the Caucasian martial artist."

Saying this, the white-haired elder clicked on the simulated video.

A segment of simulated footage appeared...

Two streams of light simultaneously pierced the skulls of the elder surnamed Liu and the robust Caucasian man. Following that, the two streams of light swept past Panya and Young Master Li Wei, slicing off their cranial domes and heads, respectively.

"That’s right," Wang Tong nodded. "I also checked. When the elderly martial artist and the Caucasian martial artist died, they probably hadn't even reacted. But Li Wei and that middle-aged man both had looks of sheer terror in their eyes... clearly, they saw it coming."

The white-haired elder continued: "Scrutiny of surrounding traces confirms absolutely no Monster Lord passed through here."

"Based on our analysis of the footprints around the area and the positions of the deceased, we deduce that the elderly martial artist, the Caucasian martial artist, and the middle-aged martial artist were simultaneously attacking a single point ahead, completely neglecting the sneak attack from the rear." The white-haired elder clicked the video, and virtual, stylized human bodies appeared.

Li Yao and Vinnina knelt beside Li Wei's corpse. Li Wei's head was reattached to his body, but the horror in his eyes remained.

"I checked! Within 30 seconds of Ah Wei’s death, there was not a single War God within a hundred miles!"

"One minute after Ah Wei’s death, the closest of the four remaining High-Challengers within a hundred miles was still 25 kilometers away!" Li Yao stated grimly. "This means... the killer must have concealed their true strength!"

Because power ratings were calculated based on combat achievements, some peerless experts might hunt down powerful monsters but credit the kill to a companion, resulting in low official rankings.

"Possibility one: The killer is an ordinary martial artist whose registered rank is low, but whose true strength is War God level!"

"Possibility two: The killer is a Psychic who hid their identity. Given that psychic power is usually two levels stronger than physical fitness, this person might be a Low-Challenger or Mid-Challenger. Of course, we can't rule out someone who is extremely skilled at disguise, appearing only as a Warrior on the surface!" Li Yao murmured.

"There is a third possibility: the killer is my enemy, a War God level expert who wasn't wearing a communication watch, so I couldn't track them." War Gods were well-informed; many knew the secret backdoor in the communication watches but simply chose not to publicize it, using the feature only for highly confidential matters by going completely unequipped.

Silence descended. Only Li Yao spoke near Li Wei's corpse. Vinnina stood nearby, silent, tears glistening in her eyes, while Wang Tong and Li Tian kept a respectful distance.

"No matter who it is, if they killed my son, I will never let them go!"

"Announce Ah Wei's death globally, let every martial artist know," Vinnina declared through gritted teeth. "I, Vinnina Polinas, will put up all the wealth I have accumulated over the years—a bounty of one hundred billion in Huaxia currency! Whoever brings sufficient evidence proving who murdered my son will receive the hundred billion!"

"I refuse to believe this killer has no relatives or friends! If he ever mentions it to anyone, if he blurts it out in a drunken stupor, if he lets the secret slip before the act... even the best friend will be hard-pressed not to betray him for such a massive reward."

"A hundred billion bounty. I want to make him unable to sleep peacefully, terrified he might talk in his dreams! I want to ensure he never dares to get drunk again! I want him to live every day in constant fear," Vinnina ground out.

Wang Tong and Li Tian gasped simultaneously.

One hundred billion?

This colossal bounty was enough to hire invulnerable entities surpassing the War God level. In fact, even the price for a legendary King-level monster often fell short of one hundred billion. With this kind of fortune, one could instantly enjoy countless worldly pleasures. It was almost certain that every intelligence network and every faction would scramble to find the killer in the face of such a staggering bounty.

Two chapters concluded!

[Note to Dear Reader: The current chapter marks the final page of this book.]