Chapter 158: Preparations Before the Great Battle

Returning to the apartment building, Ou Xiaolu saw Charles gesturing and pointing at several men who were laughing hysterically, as if trying to question them about something.

TIE Zhongxiao, meanwhile, was practicing goose-stepping and forward punches on the side, acting as if physical training was the only serious matter at hand.

Seeing Ou Xiaolu approach, Charles hurried over, while Tie Zhongxiao merely glanced in their direction before continuing his movements.

"Rhino, we caught a few guys. Do you think they've gone crazy? Ever since we grabbed them, they've just kept on laughing. We have no idea what's going on in their heads."

Ou Xiaolu glanced at the men who were still laughing maniacally. "They're already dead."

"Rhino, I know, I know! Is it because they're about to go *boom* and blow up?" Charles said, hopping around, seemingly having recovered his usual goofy persona.

"Boom your head! I mean they are already brain-dead. They're laughing like that simply because of the effect of the lipstick. Go wipe the lipstick off their faces and see for yourself."

Hearing this, Charles quickly wiped the lipstick off one of the men's faces. Sure enough, the moment the lipstick was removed, the man cut off his laughter, dropped his head, and breathed his last breath right then and there.

Still somewhat skeptical, Charles wiped two more, and both met the exact same fate—the moment the lipstick was wiped away, they dropped dead on the spot, with no exceptions.

At this point, Tie Zhongxiao also came over to inspect the situation. As a martial arts grandmaster, he had the most precise understanding of the human body. He simply pressed a hand against one of the men's bodies. "They've been dead for at least an hour. How did you figure it out?"

Tie Zhongxiao was asking Ou Xiaolu. Ou Xiaolu couldn't very well explain that when he had just walked in, those guys laughing hysterically were neither enemies nor allies, but merely street-side background props—which naturally meant they were already corpses.

He could only say, "I ran into one like this before. Even if I didn't kill him, he dropped dead the moment he was captured."

Tie Zhongxiao nodded affirmatively. "I was originally planning to ask about their defense perimeter, but it seems there's no need anymore."

Right at that moment, the sound of police sirens echoed from downstairs. Ou Xiaolu took a look and saw a large number of police cars rushing toward the building.

"Looks like they're here for these corpses. I'll get rid of these things." With that, Ou Xiaolu tapped a nearby door. The door turned red, and he dragged a corpse and threw it right behind it.

Although Charles had no idea why Ou Xiaolu was doing this, he started hauling corpses as well. In no time at all, every single body had been tossed behind the red door.

Tie Zhongxiao knew what lay beyond the red door, so he directly asked, "Do you want me to go over and process them?"

"No need, let A-Luo handle it. He's an expert at dealing with corpses."

Tie Zhongxiao said nothing more. Truth be told, having him process the corpses wouldn't be as fast or efficient as A-Luo's sweeping dark wind and grinding iron filings.

At that moment, the police stormed up. Brandishing their weapons and aiming them at Ou Xiaolu and the others, the leading officer declared, "Someone reported that a homicide took place here."

"Oh, please speak with my lawyer," Ou Xiaolu indicated his phone, which was still on an active call. "Also, please leave this apartment building. The entire building belongs to me."

The police were momentarily stunned. Usually, they would rush into an apartment building and run up to someone's specific doorway. Situations where an entire apartment building belonged to a single individual were rare indeed.

After all, people wealthy enough to do that wouldn't live in a regular apartment building; they would choose to live in a villa or their own private estate.

Seeing the police standing there in a daze, Ou Xiaolu took a step forward. "What? Do you need me to make another call to my lawyer?"

Only then did the police officers awkwardly back down, retreating to the entrance of the apartment building. However, they blocked all exits, apparently determined not to let anyone leave.

Before long, the lawyer rushed over. He first negotiated with the police, only to discover that they had dispatched officers based solely on someone else's tip without a shred of evidence. He began berating the officers loudly, acting as if they had blocked the doors to his own home rather than Ou Xiaolu's.

Yet no one knew that Ou Xiaolu wasn't even here anymore. For a police response backed by neither evidence nor written materials like a search warrant, he didn't even need to show his face. If wealthy people had to run down to the police station every time the police showed up on a whim, how would they ever find the time?

In fact, the moment the police retreated outside the apartment building, Ou Xiaolu had already realized that someone was trying to trap them inside and prevent them from leaving.

He was certain that even with the lawyer present, it would be the same—they would always find one excuse or another.

Under these circumstances, Ou Xiaolu didn't even need to think to know who was behind this. It seemed the person eager to eliminate Charles was getting somewhat desperate; this must be their most critical moment.

Therefore, Ou Xiaolu and Tie Zhongxiao departed directly through the air. Ou Xiaolu dragged Emilia while Tie Zhongxiao carried Charles, and the two leapt across numerous city blocks from the rooftops before finally descending to street level.

As for Ou Xiaolu's autonomous vehicle, since it was parked in the apartment building's underground garage, they had no car to ride in this time.

Yet among the four of them, apart from Charles who was absolute dead weight, the other three possessed superhuman physical stamina, allowing them to run across the entire city of New Town without the slightest issue.

Consequently, they didn't hail a cab, but instead sprinted swiftly according to the map.

Guided by the map, they soon arrived at the location specified by [Prop: National Treasure Map].

"Circus Grand Hotel. Looks like those people came out from here," Ou Xiaolu said with certainty as he gazed at the distant building.

Afterward, he turned his head toward Charles. "Shut your mouth, clear your mind, close your eyes, take a deep breath—inhale, exhale. Good, just like that. Slowly exhale, and inhale again. Now, what do you feel?"

"Feel? I don't feel anything... Wait, I didn't move just now, how did I—"

As it turned out, Charles had somehow turned halfway around, facing an apartment building directly opposite the Circus Grand Hotel.

"Your little trick is quite effective." Tie Zhongxiao nodded approvingly. "Looks like this dark-skinned fellow is truly destined for that item. How are we getting in now? Are we fighting our way through?"

"Fighting is definitely happening. I estimate that the item shouldn't open up a spatial pocket on its own like the earth veins do; it's likely buried somewhere underground. Once we enter the apartment building, we'll run straight down to the basement. Charles will lead the way. Once we find the entrance, Senior Tie will hold the line outside, and we'll charge in to grab the treasure."

"Alright, let's do it."

With that, Tie Zhongxiao charged toward the apartment building. At the same time, Ou Xiaolu gave Emilia a meaningful look, hoisted Charles up, and followed right behind.