Around eight in the evening, at the Wu family residence.
Wu Lingxuan sat alone on the sofa, the solitude she detested most at this moment leaving her with no one to accompany her.
Her most beloved younger brother had taken the blame to protect her.
From now on, Wu Lingxuan would be utterly alone, and she simply couldn't swallow this bitterness.
Hatred surged within her, and Wu Lingxuan craved revenge!
*Knock, knock, knock.*
A gentle knock came from outside.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Hu Ziming, the Wu family's head chef, entered. He quickly walked up to Wu Lingxuan and said excitedly, "Patriarch, we've found out! The one targeting us is Su family's Lu Ming!"
Lu Ming, as expected, it was him again.
Wu Lingxuan had suspected it would be Lu Ming from the start. Only Lu Ming would go to such lengths; others in the Su family wouldn't have the ability to overthrow the Wu family in one fell swoop.
"Lu Ming! You hurt my brother, I won't let you off!" Wu Lingxuan completely shed her hypocritical facade, vowing to utterly destroy Lu Ming.
But how?
Hu Ziming suggested, "Should I take a group of brothers to ambush Lu Ming and assassinate him, to avenge Brother Hao?"
Wu Lingxuan shook her head, "No, you can't do it."
After numerous encounters, Wu Lingxuan had a decent understanding of Lu Ming's capabilities and knew his combat skills were exceptional. Simply having Hu Ziming and his men go would be far from enough to deal with Lu Ming.
A stratagem was required.
Wu Lingxuan narrowed her eyes and slowly said, "The Wu family's strength is inferior to the Su family's. A direct confrontation is impossible. You might not only fail to kill Lu Ming but could also be killed by him. We need to find a way to force Lu Ming to his death!"
What way?
Hu Ziming pondered, "Kidnap his fiancée, Jiang Mengxin? Then use Jiang Mengxin to force Lu Ming to commit suicide?"
Hearing the word 'suicide', Wu Lingxuan's eyes sharpened, and an idea struck her.
She patted Hu Ziming's shoulder and said, "Yes, we must force Lu Ming to commit suicide, but we can't go after Jiang Mengxin. The Su family will be extremely vigilant against us during this period. People of Jiang Mengxin's and Su Wanran's caliber are 99% unlikely to be captured."
But if not Jiang Mengxin, whose life could be used to force Lu Ming to commit suicide?
Wu Lingxuan provided the answer.
"The refugees!"
"Ah?" Hu Ziming was stunned, "No, Patriarch, please forgive my ignorance, but I don't understand. What do the lives of refugees have to do with Lu Ming, and why can they be used to force him to commit suicide?"
Wu Lingxuan explained, "From this moment on, you and a group of men will go into hiding and exclusively kill refugees! Then you will spread the word that unless Lu Ming dies, you will not stop! We will use public opinion to pressure Lu Ming into suicide. At that point, even if Lu Ming doesn't want to die, the refugees, to protect themselves, will force Lu Ming to commit suicide."
This plan was extremely wicked.
It was pure moral coercion!
Lu Ming had no connection with the refugees initially, but through Wu Lingxuan's manipulation, they were placed in opposition.
If Lu Ming didn't die, Hu Ziming would continue to kill in secret; only when Lu Ming died would the refugees be safe.
To protect themselves, the refugees would undoubtedly force Lu Ming to commit suicide.
Wu Lingxuan wouldn't have to act herself. She could use the refugees to force Lu Ming to his death, once again achieving 'killing with a borrowed knife'! If nothing else, in the art of using others to achieve her goals, Wu Lingxuan was unmatched.
Hu Ziming nodded and said, "Alright, I will operate in the shadows, exclusively killing refugees, to force Lu Ming to commit suicide!"
With that, he prepared to leave.
"Wait."
Wu Lingxuan called out to him, then went to her room. She rummaged through her wardrobe and found a devil mask, handing it to Hu Ziming.
She instructed, "From now on, you are no longer the chef Hu Ziming, but the Hell Demon. Do you understand?"
Hu Ziming put on the mask and nodded affirmatively, "I understand!"
"Good, go and do your work."
"Yes, Patriarch!"
Hu Ziming hurriedly left the Wu family residence, disappearing into the shadows. From this moment on, a terrifying Hell Demon, who caused people to tremble at the mere mention of his name, would appear in Mist City, exclusively killing refugees!
...
At the same time, at the villa on the mountainside.
Lu Ming and the others returned home. After showering, they lounged lazily on the sofa, relaxing and enjoying fresh fruit.
Anna, responsible for security, conducted a thorough check of the entire house. "No issues. The security system is very robust, and there are people on duty 24 hours a day outside. Outsiders simply cannot get in. Unless it's an attack by missiles, they won't be able to break through."
Such stringent requirements were Lu Ming's doing.
Because of their interactions over this period, Lu Ming's understanding of Wu Lingxuan had deepened, and he knew she was a dangerous and ruthless woman who was not to be trifled with.
She was vengeful.
If you offended Wu Lingxuan, she would definitely retaliate, especially after her own brother was sent to prison.
This debt would not be settled lightly.
Lu Ming himself had little to worry about. His primary concern was that Wu Lingxuan might target Jiang Mengxin and Su Wanran, which was why he had Anna upgrade the security of the entire residence.
With everything handled,
Su Wanran stretched her arms and said languidly, "Lu Ming, you're protecting us so well. Are you planning to keep us locked up from now on, wanting to indulge in your harem? Tsk tsk tsk, keeping two women at once, you're a bit of a playboy."
Lu Ming rolled his eyes, choosing not to engage with her.
Jiang Mengxin commented, "Lu Ming, aren't you being a bit overcautious? I think the Wu family, having suffered such a massive blow, wouldn't be able to retaliate immediately."
Lu Ming didn't bother to argue with her, attributing her comment to a lack of foresight.
He stated calmly, "The next period is crucial. Wu Lingxuan will definitely launch a retaliatory action. You must follow my arrangements and not run around."
"Got it," Su Wanran and Jiang Mengxin replied in unison.
Just then, a series of urgent phone rings sounded. It was Su Ru calling.
Su Wanran picked up her phone, "Hello, Auntie? What is it?"
A voice, laced with urgency, came from the other end: "This is bad, something big has happened! Quickly turn on the TV and watch Mist City Television's news channel, hurry!"
Hmm?
What had happened to make Su Ru so anxious?
Confused, Su Wanran found the remote and turned on the TV, tuning to the news channel. A live news report was being broadcast, apparently about a murder.
Mist City was a large city; murders weren't uncommon. It could be due to various reasons, a crime of passion.
However, Su Ru shouted, "It's not a crime of passion! Look closely, the perpetrator is targeting Lu Ming! No, I think they're targeting the Su family!"
"What?" Su Wanran froze for a moment and then looked intently at the news.
On the news, a photo of the killer was shown: a mysterious man wearing a devil mask.