MTLNOVEL Chapter 68:
Chapter 68: Framing the Blame! Controlling Everything Behind the Scenes! Playing Games in the Palm of Your Hand:
A barrage of fists and kicks struck Zhao Lei. Having been pampered all his life, Zhao Lei had never experienced such pain before.
His screams filled the room.
After delivering a brutal beating, Zheng Feifan decided it was enough and stopped. He asked coldly, “I’ll give you a chance to reconsider. Will you lift the ban on Xu Hongjiao?”
Zhao Lei, still filled with anger and pride, spat back, “You’re dead. No one has ever hit me before. I’ll have you killed for this…”
Zheng Feifan sneered, unimpressed. “It seems you haven’t learned your lesson.”
With that, he resumed his relentless assault.
He believed that sometimes the simplest solutions were the most effective.
His method?
Beat them until they submit. It was crude, but it worked.
These spoiled second-generation rich brats couldn’t handle physical pain and would usually cave after a good beating. Of course, he knew they’d likely seek revenge later, but he wasn’t worried.
“Are you ready to listen now?” Zheng Feifan asked, pausing for a moment.
“Do you even know who I am? Do you understand what you’ve done? Your family will suffer for this.” Zhao Lei threatened through gritted teeth.
Crack!
Another series of blows landed on him.
“I’m done talking. You say goodbye.”
Zhao Lei finally gave in, his voice weak but filled with resentment. He had never been through anything like this in his life, and he swore to himself that he would kill Zheng Feifan.
“Wouldn’t it have been easier to just agree from the start?” Zheng Feifan said with a shrug. “You made me do this.”
With the situation seemingly resolved, Zheng Feifan decided it was time to head home for dinner. But before he left, he issued a final warning, “If I don’t hear that the ban on Xu Hongjiao has been lifted by tomorrow, I’ll return. Next time, it won’t just be a beating…”
He left the room, noticing the hatred in Zhao Lei’s eyes. But he didn’t care.
Zhao Lei was just a spoiled rich kid. If he wanted to come after him, let him try—he’d face the consequences.
“Master, are you alright?” Zhao Lei’s bodyguard groaned as he struggled to get up, his chest aching. He moved to help his boss, who was now lying on the floor, bruised and beaten.
Zhao Lei’s face was swollen and his eyes were filled with fury. “Find out who that bastard is. I want him dead. I want his entire family wiped out!”
…
Back at the Xu family villa.
Xiao Wanling joined them for dinner, but she was unusually quiet. She didn’t tease her best friend Xu Hongjiao like she normally did, and this change in behavior puzzled Hongjiao.
What she didn’t know was that Xiao Wanling’s heart had been racing ever since Xu Hao’s close and intimate tea-making lesson. The thought of it still made her blush, and she couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact with Su Wanqiu, Xu Hao’s wife. It was as if she was a mistress avoiding the wife’s gaze.
As soon as dinner was over, Xiao Wanling made up an excuse and hurried out of the Xu villa.
Meanwhile, in his study room, Xu Hao reviewed the message sent by his secretary, Li Kun. It contained a video, captured by surveillance cameras, showing everything that had happened at the Brilliant Bar earlier that day.
The Brilliant Bar was one of the many businesses managed by the Blood Massacre Society. The footage showed the fight between Zhao Lei and Zheng Feifan, which amused Xu Hao. He had always known that the protagonists of novels like The Return of the Urban Dragon King were more brawn than brains, but seeing it unfold firsthand was something else.
Xu Hao had assumed that the protagonist, Zheng Feifan, would simply warn Zhao Lei, perhaps threatening him a bit. Instead, the fight had escalated immediately, which surprised him.
“Well, this makes things easier.” Xu Hao thought to himself. The confrontation between the two men played right into his plans.
Taking out his phone, Xu Hao sent a message to an unknown number. It was time to put his strongest soldier into action.
…
The day flew by, and by evening, Zhao Lei was lying in a hospital bed, bandaged and bruised, his face covered in ointment. As he lay there, he flipped through the information on Zheng Feifan.
The report described Zheng as a security guard at Qingtian Electronics Co., Ltd. He had been trafficked as a child and had returned to the country only recently. His father had died in a car accident, and Zheng was the last member of his family. Notably, his father had been close friends with Xu Hao and had once been a shareholder of Xu Group. After his death, Xu Hao had even attended the funeral to pay his respects.
Zhao Lei began to piece everything together.
This man, Zheng Feifan, wasn’t someone Xu Hao had specifically sent. He was just someone with ties to the Xu family who had acted on his own when he saw Xu Hongjiao being banned.
Regardless, Zhao Lei didn’t care. This man had beaten him, and now Zhao Lei wanted him dead.
Lost in thought, Zhao Lei’s mind was filled with wicked plans. He didn’t just want to kill Zheng Feifan; he wanted to wipe out his entire family. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, interrupting his plotting.
“Come in.” He yelled impatiently.
A nurse entered the room, pushing a cart of medical supplies. She silently went about her business, preparing a syringe and administering an injection.
At first, Zhao Lei didn’t think much of it. But as the liquid entered his bloodstream, he realized something was wrong. His body began to burn from the inside out. The pain was unbearable, and his face twisted in agony as his pupils dilated.
The nurse leaned down and whispered in his ear, “My boss has a message for you. He says that if you don’t lift the ban on Xu Hongjiao, it won’t just be a beating next time. This is what happens when you don’t keep your word.”
Zhao Lei’s eyes widened in terror.
Zheng Feifan was trying to kill him?
He had dismissed Zheng Feifan’s threats the previous day, never intending to revoke the ban.
After all, he had never backed down to anyone in his life. But now, as his life slipped away, he realized he had underestimated his opponent.
He wanted to scream for help, but no sound came out. His eyes, filled with desperation, pleaded with the nurse, but she remained cold, emotionless. She simply packed up her things and walked out.
Zhao Lei’s mind raced as his life ebbed away. He was the eldest son of Zhao Media, and there were still so many pleasures he hadn’t experienced yet. If only he had kept more bodyguards around him. His father had always assigned four personal bodyguards, but Zhao Lei had found them inconvenient and only kept one. And now, that bodyguard was still recovering from his injuries, leaving Zhao Lei defenseless.
In his final moments, as darkness began to consume him, his blurry vision fell upon the report on Zheng Feifan. A sudden surge of regret coursed through his failing body.
No, even if it meant death, he refused to go down without a fight.
He wouldn’t let Zheng Feifan off so easily. After all, Zhao Lei was his only son, and if he died, Zhao Lei’s father would stop at nothing to avenge him.
Zhao Lei, struggling to keep conscious, raised his trembling hand. His fingers barely touched the name “Zheng Feifan” before his strength gave out.
With one final exhale, his consciousness faded away.
Just then, the nurse, who had been pushing a cart outside the door, unexpectedly returned.
She glanced at Zhao Lei’s lifeless form, a smirk forming at the corners of her lips, concealed by the mask she wore. Her mission was complete.
This nurse wasn’t just any ordinary caregiver—she was the deadliest assassin under Bing Hao’s command. The method of framing had been suggested by Xu Hao himself.
He wanted to cast suspicion on Zheng Feifan, making it seem as though he had a hand in Zhao Lei’s death.
If the goal had simply been to kill, a higher dosage of poison would have sufficed, but timing had to be precise.
When it was checked, Zhao Lei’s death left no traceable evidence.
Satisfied, the nurse exited quietly, pushing the cart down the hallway.
The bodyguards stationed outside noticed nothing amiss. It wasn’t until a doctor came to check on Zhao Lei that the grim reality of his death was discovered. The hospital quickly fell into chaos.
It didn’t take long for the news to reach Zhao Lei’s father, who was at Zhao Media headquarters in the imperial capital. Initially, he thought it was some cruel joke, but the anger quickly set in when the truth hit him. His disbelief morphed into fury.
“Book me a flight immediately!” He yelled at his secretary.
Upon arriving at the hospital in the magical capital, Mr. Zhao stormed in. His bodyguards stood silently, heads lowered like scolded children.
“How… how did my son die?” Mr. Zhao’s voice quivered with a mixture of sorrow and rage.
The personal bodyguard, the most capable of the group, stepped forward. “After an autopsy, it’s been confirmed—the young master was murdered.” He spoke with a heavy heart.
The bodyguard detailed how Zhao Lei had been attacked by Zheng Feifan at the bar. The blow had left him severely injured and unconscious. After being rushed to the hospital, Zhao Lei never regained consciousness.
“Who killed him?” Mr. Zhao demanded, his face a mask of fury. “Tell me everything!”
The bodyguard recounted the events from the previous night, including how Zhao Lei had been severely beaten by Zheng Feifan, who turned out to be a powerful Bright energy master.
“Before leaving, Zheng Feifan made a threat. He said that if we didn’t lift the ban on Xu Hongjiao by tomorrow, it would be worse than a beating.”
As the bodyguard finished, he produced a document Zhao Lei had been reviewing—a report on Zheng Feifan. At the bottom, there was a bloody fingerprint.
“We believe the young master left this message before he died.”
Mr. Zhao’s face turned pale with fury. “Zheng Feifan, you killed my son. I’ll make you wish you were dead!”
Seeing Mr. Zhao’s overwhelming grief, the bodyguard hesitated before speaking again.
“There’s something strange about this,” he said cautiously.
Mr. Zhao turned his piercing gaze toward him. “What are you suggesting?”
“We’ve investigated the timeline. During the attack on the young master, Zheng Feifan was still working his shift as a security guard at the Sunny Electronics Co., Ltd. Also, the nurse who was supposed to tend to Zhao Lei was found unconscious, replaced by someone else. It doesn’t make sense for the killer to torture him and leave a fingerprint unless they wanted to frame someone.”
“You’re saying someone else could’ve done it and tried to put the blame on Zheng Feifan?” Mr. Zhao considered, his anger momentarily giving way to thought.
The bodyguard nodded. “It’s possible. Maybe the real killer wanted to create a diversion.”
Mr. Zhao considered this but ultimately shook his head. “My son only offended the Xu family. Whether it was Zheng Feifan or someone else, everyone involved will be buried with him. I don’t care.”
Knowing Xu Hao’s cunning, Mr. Zhao wasn’t afraid to take action, even if the evidence was shaky. He was determined to make Zheng Feifan pay.
After paying his respects to his son’s body, Mr. Zhao gave his orders. The ban on Xu Hongjiao wouldnt only remain—it would intensify. Zhao Media would launch an even more aggressive smear campaign against her.
His son was dead, and he no longer cared about the consequences.
He also dialed a number he hadn’t used in years. Ten dark masters, men he had helped and who owed him a favor, would be called upon. They would hunt down Zheng Feifan. He didn’t want the police involved—death would be too merciful. Zheng Feifan needed to suffer.
That night, unaware of the storm heading his way, Zheng Feifan enjoyed dinner with his fellow security guards. Afterward, as he strolled home, he casually scrolled through the news on his phone.
Zhao Media’s relentless campaign against Xu Hongjiao continued. Clearly, Zhao Lei hadn’t heeded his warning. A smirk formed on Zheng Feifan’s face.
“I guess I’ll have to teach him a more painful lesson tomorrow.” He thought.
But as he walked, his steps suddenly halted. He sensed a presence—several, actually. Strong, dangerous, and filled with killing intent.
Zheng Feifan’s heart skipped a beat. He knew he had enemies in the dark world, and now, it seemed they had finally come for him.
His eyes narrowed as a group of shadowy figures approached…