Chapter 60: Easily Managed!

"Target me?"

"That's entirely unnecessary. I have always been a law-abiding, model citizen."

Duan Lingxiao shook his head, speaking with a confident tone.

"Law-abiding?"

An Ruoqing was stunned.

What kind of law-abiding do you call that, Big Brother?!

From the first time you appeared until now, the number of people you've killed could form a reinforced company.

If this is considered law-abiding, then ghosts must truly exist!

Are you redefining what it means to be law-abiding?

"Of course. The people I kill are those who deserve to die."

"Killing those who deserve to die—surely that makes me a model citizen?"

Duan Lingxiao said as if it were only natural.

"People who deserve to die? Hmph, whether someone deserves to die should be determined by law enforcement agencies! You are an ordinary citizen, and you have no right to judge whether someone deserves to die. The state authorities have not bestowed this power upon you!"

An Ruoqing said coldly.

As a member of the Dragon Squad, she had always been a defender of law enforcement authority.

She believed that the primary prerequisite for strict law enforcement was ensuring that such authority remained fair, just, and solemn.

And Duan Lingxiao's actions were clearly undermining the law enforcement authority of the state agencies.

It was a heinous act of replacing public power with private rights and lynch law.

"Damn it, it's really rare to find someone as naive as you nowadays."

Seeing An Ruoqing speak with such solemn earnestness, Duan Lingxiao couldn't help but be taken aback.

Because he could tell that An Ruoqing truly believed this from the bottom of her heart.

Of course, this notion wasn't wrong in theory.

However, it didn't align very well with practical logic.

He knew that many prominent and powerful noble families had roots that ran deep.

If you were to follow formal channels, you would never achieve your goal in a lifetime.

Want to exact revenge and seek justice?

Keep dreaming!

Just go to sleep and dream about it!

Want to appeal to higher authorities or seek resolution through petitions?

That's just a pipe dream!

If you actually try to petition, every level will block you, and every tier will suppress you.

Before you even reach your destination, you'll be persuaded to turn back.

How the hell are you supposed to play the game like this?

There are policies from above, and countermeasures from below.

You have your stratagems of Zhang Liang, and I have my clever plans of Zhuge Liang.

"What do you mean? Are you calling me stupid?"

Realizing his implication, An Ruoqing's face flushed with anger.

"It seems you aren't completely stupid."

Duan Lingxiao chuckled lightly.

An Ruoqing: "..."

"You wiped out the Lu family and the three major gangs of Jiangnan, killed two vice presidents of the Eastern Island Chamber of Commerce, and murdered the daughter of the Hong Kong He family... The things you've done these past few days are too numerous to record, deeply sinful, extremely grave, and exceptionally heinous."

An Ruoqing frowned, her slender, dark brows knitting together prettily as she spoke.

"So?"

Duan Lingxiao asked, completely unperturbed.

"So, you must come back with me to the Dragon Squad to face investigation. I know you killed people to help Xiao Mengxue, so it seems you do have a certain connection with the Xiao family."

"Don't worry, once back at the Dragon Squad, we will handle the matter impartially and give you a fair and just disposition!"

An Ruoqing said, sounding righteous and resolute.

"Since you know I did it for Xiao Mengxue, it shouldn't be hard for you to find out about all the hardships Xiao Mengxue has suffered over the past five years, right?"

"Where was your Dragon Squad back then?"

"Could it be that your Dragon Squad is merely an organization meant to protect wealthy aristocratic families, while ordinary people who suffer can only endure it in silence? Unable to speak out? Unable to resist?"

Duan Lingxiao sneered.

An Ruoqing's expression darkened. She did not refute him, because she realized that all law enforcement agencies, including the Dragon Squad, had handled this matter wrongly.

She had looked up Xiao Mengxue's records and knew she was the younger sister of Xiao Longhu.

Although Xiao Longhu's case had been overturned over the past five years, and he was posthumously held accountable for crimes such as corruption and bribery—

Regardless of whether those charges were valid or reasonable—

Five years ago, Xiao Longhu had indeed rendered extraordinary service to the Dragon Nation.

His contributions were immense, and his sacrifices were great.

Yet his sister had to endure so much suffering; it was truly indefensible.

"It seems you still have a bit of conscience and haven't been completely brainwashed."

Seeing the shift in An Ruoqing's expression, Duan Lingxiao remarked.

"Even so, everything you've done is still wrong."

"Besides, you killed He Cailian this time. The Hong Kong He family has issued a bounty, and many assassin organizations both at home and abroad are stirring at the news. No matter how strong you are alone, can you withstand this wave of assassinations?"

"Even if you can, what about the people around you?"

"As long as you put down the butcher's knife and come back to the Dragon Squad with me, the Dragon Squad can protect you!"

"I hope you think carefully. Apart from the assassin organizations, Second Master Qi of the Qi family also wants to deal with you. You've offended quite a few people!"

An Ruoqing tried to persuade him patiently, using facts and reasoning.

She believed that once these words were spoken, Duan Lingxiao would definitely understand his predicament.

"Heh, you're right."

"But you got one thing wrong."

Duan Lingxiao shook his head and smiled.

"What?"

An Ruoqing frowned, asking consecutively.

"Your Dragon Squad isn't qualified to protect me!"

Duan Lingxiao laughed.

Powerful as the Dragon Squad was, it wasn't outrageous enough to cover everything.

In this vast world, Duan Lingxiao wouldn't claim to be invincible, but wanting to deal with him?

That was no simple task either!

"Arrogant and conceited! Blindly confident!"

An Ruoqing shook her head.

She had already had a taste of Duan Lingxiao's arrogance.

"The Dragon Squad monitors all movements across the borders, and not even the slightest detail can escape it. How could it fail to protect you?"

Before coming, she had naturally investigated Duan Lingxiao, knowing he acted wildly and executed punishments with extreme ruthlessness.

It had reached the point of utter disregard for anyone else.

Only upon experiencing it firsthand did she realize it was even worse than rumored.

"However, you just reminded me of something."

"I want you to work for me from now on and help me investigate all the forces that have targeted the Xiao family over the past five years, as well as the reasons behind them."

Based on the information Duan Lingxiao currently possessed, the largest force behind the attacks on the Xiao family was the Marquis of Southeast.

What about the others?

He always felt that things weren't that simple.

An Ruoqing belonged to the Dragon Squad; leveraging this identity would naturally make it much more convenient for her to investigate certain matters.

"Who on earth are you, and why do you care so much about the Xiao family's affairs?"

"Do you know Xiao Longhu?"

An Ruoqing asked with a frown.

The information she had uncovered showed that Duan Lingxiao definitely had ties to the Xiao family and likely shared a deep bond with Xiao Longhu.

Yet, Duan Lingxiao's specific background remained entirely unfindable.

This person seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

His name was Ling Tian, but within the entire Dragon Nation's identification system, not a single record matched.

Facial recognition data yielded no matches in the system either.

Therefore, she was extremely curious about where Duan Lingxiao had popped up from.

"That's none of your concern. You just need to do what you're supposed to do."

Duan Lingxiao said indifferently.

Not to mention that when he was sent to prison five years ago, those bitches from the Murong family had erased all his information from the national system.

Even if they hadn't, his facial features had undergone significant changes since then.

Coupled with his cultivation technique, which allowed him to precisely control his facial muscle movements, the system simply couldn't recognize him.

It would be a miracle if An Ruoqing could find anything on him.

"Aren't you afraid that I might agree now and turn back on my word later?"

An Ruoqing couldn't understand Duan Lingxiao's confidence at all.

"Of course not."

As his voice fell—

Several whistling sounds rang out!

A few silver needles instantly embedded themselves into An Ruoqing's heart.

"This is the Four Directions Heart-Capture Needle."

"Its function is very simple: it controls your heart, and apart from me, no one can remove them."

"If you want to go to the hospital for a check-up, be my guest. I dare say not a single doctor will be able to extract the silver needles."

"If you refuse to cooperate, you die."

"However, I believe that as a member of the Dragon Squad, assigned to investigate a case, you wouldn't refuse out of selfish motives, would you?"

Duan Lingxiao said calmly, radiating the powerful confidence of someone who held absolute mastery over the situation.

An Ruoqing's expression changed drastically, realizing she had been so easily manipulated.