F-class thief? Sorry, I can steal anything.

Chapter 103 Since that's how it is! Don't blame me for making a huge mess of things!

Mu Wanqing's question was like a poisoned dagger, aimed precisely at Chen Yifan's throat across the radio waves.

recognition?

He has nothing.

Once you admit it, it's like having the words "A walking treasure trove, come quickly" engraved on your forehead.

deny?

A person portrayed as having killed "Shadow Fiend" claims to know nothing about the most important thing about Shadow Fiend.

Ghosts believe.

He remained silent.

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

This brief silence was filled with an undercurrent of suspicion and probing. Chen Yifan could even imagine Mu Wanqing's expression at that moment.

He must be frowning, his eyes sharp, rapidly assessing his own value and risks.

He cannot be passive.

"That issue is no longer important."

Chen Yifan finally spoke, his voice eerily calm.

Mu Wanqing was taken aback.

"The important thing is that the whole world now believes that I have the key."

Chen Yifan didn't give her time to think and continued speaking.

"Regardless of who the source of the information was, he has achieved his goal. I am now that piece of flesh thrown into the shark tank."

His voice paused, then his tone shifted, becoming cold and direct.

"And you, Mu Wanqing, the young lady of the Black Gold Chamber of Commerce."

"You and I are bound together by a [Pact of the Abyss]."

"My life, in a way, is connected to your future, so before this piece of my flesh is devoured by sharks, do you think you can stand aside?"

Are you threatening me?

Mu Wanqing's voice turned cold.

The temptation of inheriting the throne of the King of Assassins is too great.

She could naturally tell that Chen Yifan was warning her that if she wanted to take action, she should consider the weight of the contract's backlash.

"Chen Yifan, you need to understand that this world isn't just about me and the Black Gold Chamber of Commerce..."

"No."

Chen Yifan leaned against the cold wall.

A chill seeped into his spine, making his chaotic thoughts clearer.

"I'm just reminding you, Miss Mu."

"We're all in the same boat. If I, the grasshopper, fall into the fire, who will be burned on the other end of the rope?"

"Besides, do you really think I'll have that key?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Not bad.

Under the ironclad rules of the Abyss Contract, neither she nor anyone from the Black Gold Merchant Guild could kill him.

If she violates the contract, the resulting backlash would be an unbearable price for someone like her who aspires to reach higher levels and completely control the Black Gold Chamber of Commerce.

Moreover, according to the contract terms, she even has an obligation to "protect" Chen Yifan and his family...

If you go against it... the backlash you suffer will only be more severe.

That bastard!

From the very beginning, he had meticulously planned his own fate.

Furthermore, how could an S-class wanted criminal who had just escaped from prison possibly still be carrying such an important item...?

Could it be that the key... is actually in the hands of the authorities?

"What do you want?"

After a long while, Mu Wanqing's voice rang out again.

The initial sense of probing has completely disappeared, replaced by a method of balancing the pros and cons.

"I need you to do something for me. It's not a request, it's a deal," Chen Yifan said. "Protect my family."

"Send them to your territory. Use the Black Gold Chamber of Commerce's highest level of security to ensure their safety. They cannot be disturbed in any way until I have resolved all the trouble."

Chen Yifan's tone was flat and straightforward, yet it carried a sense of command that stemmed from a contract and brooked no refusal.

This was the only way he could think of to break the deadlock.

Official sources are unreliable, Wang Jianguo is under surveillance, and his self-built "fortress" is as fragile as paper in the face of a legendary assassin.

Ironically, the only person he can entrust his family to now is this woman he has bound to with the Abyss Contract.

Those inviolable rules.

It became the most solid and reassuring promise between the two of them.

"Um?"

There was a hint of surprise in Mu Wanqing's voice.

"You sent them to me, aren't you afraid I'll use them to manipulate you?"

"So what?"

Chen Yifan chuckled softly, but there was no warmth in his laughter.

"If you dare to touch them, it's like cutting off your own future with a knife. I think Miss Mu understands this better than I do."

"Besides, how do you know I'll just sit here and wait to die?"

"you……"

Mu Wanqing was speechless.

That guy! He's as infuriating as ever!

"Alright, I'm leaving my family in your care," Chen Yifan said. "Once I've confirmed the location, I'll have your people come and pick them up."

He hung up the phone as soon as he finished speaking.

Chen Yifan stood there silently for a full ten minutes before turning around and pushing open his mother's bedroom door.

Only a dim bedside lamp was on in the room.

Wang Shufen and Chen Xue were not asleep; they were sitting side by side on the edge of the bed, seemingly waiting for him.

"Mom, Xiaoxue."

Seeing the unprecedented seriousness on Chen Yifan's face, Wang Shufen's heart clenched.

"Xiao Fan, what happened again?"

"It's alright." Chen Yifan walked over, squatted down, and held his mother's cold hand. "It's just that I need you to leave for a while."

"Leave? Where to? Didn't we agree..."

"Let's go to a truly safe place," Chen Yifan interrupted her mother, her gaze softening as she turned to her younger sister. "A place... even I can't find it."

Chen Xue's unseen eyes were "looking" at him.

Her face was a little pale.

But she didn't ask anything, she just nodded vigorously.

Wang Shufen looked at her son, then at her daughter, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

She had experienced a life-or-death separation once, so she understood this feeling all too well.

Before her husband went to war that year.

And so it was, using the calmest tone to deliver the cruelest arrangements.

"You...do you want to end up like your father?"

Her voice trembled, and every word was choked with sobs.

Chen Yifan felt as if his heart was being squeezed tightly by a hand, the pain making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

He looked up at his mother's eyes, which were filled with fear and pleading, and forced out a smile that looked worse than crying.

"Mom, don't worry."

He reached out and gently wiped away the tears from his mother's eyes.

"I'm not like my dad."

"He was a hero, always thinking about protecting everyone, but in the end he sacrificed himself."

Chen Yifan's voice was soft, but every word was piercing.

"I am not."

"I'm a selfish, cowardly person. All I want to do is protect you."

He conveyed his unwavering belief to his mother using a logic that bordered on the absurd.

"Therefore, I will not die."

"Because if I die, no one will protect you."

These outrageous words miraculously brought Wang Shufen's heart, which had been hanging in mid-air, back to its original place.

Yes, her son seems to care about nothing, but he has been shrewd since he was a child and never suffers a loss.

He cares so much about his family, how could he easily do something foolish?

"Okay... Mom will listen to you."

Wang Shufen wiped away her tears, and her eyes regained their resolve.

Chen Yifan stood up and redeemed a teleportation talisman from the Merit Shop.

He had no way out.

From the moment he sends his mother and sister away, he will truly be alone, facing the greed and murderous intent of the whole world.

"Grab me."

He held his mother's hand in one hand and his sister's hand in the other.

The scroll tears, space is distorted.

This time, the teleportation point was a dark alleyway more than ten kilometers away.

He sent the location to Mu Wanqing.

About half an hour later.

At the alley entrance, a black, unmarked minivan suddenly stopped.

The car window rolled down, revealing a cold, silver mask.

"Mr. Chen." The voice under the mask was altered, making it impossible to tell if it was male or female.

Chen Yifan didn't waste any words. He released his grip and took one last look at his mother and sister.

"Mom, take good care of yourself and Xiaoxue."

"Brother..." Chen Xue's lips moved, but in the end she just reached out and hugged him tightly, "You must come back."

"must."

Chen Yifan gently pushed his sister away, turned around, and disappeared into the darkness without looking back.

He dared not turn around.

He was afraid he would regret it.

The black van drove away silently, as if taking away all the meaning of his existence in this world.

In the empty alley, only Chen Yifan remained.

The evening breeze blew, stirring up the dust on the ground, and he felt an unprecedented loneliness.

But I also felt a chilling freedom, as if I had broken free from all constraints.

Fish bait?

That being the case.

Then don't blame me for making a huge mess of things!