The Omniscient

Chapter 29: The Tactics of Darkness

With the fake gun exposed, Zhang Junwei, now held at knifepoint, realized he had lost any leverage to negotiate. Huang Ji’s composed demeanor made the situation even more unnerving—he behaved as if everything was under his control, as if nothing could surprise him.

Throwing the gun away the moment he touched it showed Huang Ji immediately knew it was fake. How familiar with firearms did he have to be to recognize that so quickly? This gun was an ultra-realistic replica, after all.

"Everyone, drop your weapons!" Zhang Junwei growled, shooting a fierce glare at the henchman who had fired the gun.

The group obeyed, lowering their weapons. Xiao Zha, however, took it further by punching the shooter in the face, knocking him to the ground. "You dared to fire at the boss?"

"It was just a fake gun…" the man stammered, cradling his head.

"Shut up! I’ll deal with you later!" Xiao Zha snapped before turning to Zhang Junwei. "Boss, maybe we should drop this job?"

Zhang Junwei didn’t respond immediately, taking a moment to reassess the situation before speaking to Huang Ji in a calm tone.

"Brother, may I ask who you are?"

Without looking up from the phone he was examining, Huang Ji replied, "The person looking for us is willing to call you directly."

"That’s true," Zhang Junwei admitted. "I even got an advance payment. Five grand in my pocket, guaranteed, even if I didn’t find you. I’ll admit it—I got greedy and decided to act."

Huang Ji smirked, holding up the phone. "The number labeled ‘666’ is the one that hired you, isn’t it?"

"Yeah."

Huang Ji continued, "If you dare to call them now and tell them you’ve found us, you’ll be dead. Not because I’ll kill you, but because they will."

"What? Why?" Zhang Junwei asked, bewildered.

Huang Ji explained, "If you had followed orders, simply reported Old Wang’s location, and let them send their own people to deal with us, nothing would have happened to you. You’d have walked away with your fifty grand."

"If you do nothing and don’t interfere further, you still profit—the five-grand advance is yours to keep."

"But you chose to act on your own, disobeying their instructions and alerting the target."

"We can run and disappear, but they will come after you. Not just out of anger but to ensure you didn’t learn anything from us."

"What could I possibly know?" Zhang Junwei frowned.

"It’s not about what you know—it’s about what they think you might know. Especially regarding the thing we took. If they suspect you coveted it, you’ll inevitably be dragged into this mess," Huang Ji replied.

Zhang Junwei sneered, "Do you think I’m afraid of them?"

"You’re way out of your depth," Huang Ji said. "Someone like you wouldn’t be contacted directly by ‘666.’ They must have reached you through someone else, right?"

After a pause, Zhang Junwei admitted, "Yeah, through Old Ma."

Huang Ji chuckled. "Can you afford to cross Old Ma?"

Zhang Junwei fell silent. Of course not—Old Ma’s influence extended overseas, with thousands of people relying on him for their livelihoods.

"And to someone like ‘666,’ Old Ma is just a chicken."

"What?" Zhang Junwei was stunned.

He recalled that when he had accepted the job, Old Ma had personally called him, urging him to take it seriously and not just pocket the advance payment without delivering results. Zhang Junwei had assumed it was simply a favor for one of Old Ma’s friends, someone who didn’t want to lose face.

"You’re exaggerating. If they’re that powerful, why would they hire someone like me?" Zhang Junwei asked skeptically.

"Who said they only hired you? Over the past three weeks, they’ve…"

"What? That would mean just the advances alone cost 250 million!" Zhang Junwei interrupted, incredulous.

Huang Ji didn’t expect him to believe it—he was merely planting the seed of an idea.

With that, Huang Ji deleted the number labeled ‘666’ from Zhang Junwei’s phonebook, as well as the call history. Zhang Junwei couldn’t remember the number offhand, and with the records gone, he wouldn’t be able to contact the client directly.

Of course, he could still try reaching out to Old Ma or other hired contacts in the area to retrieve the number.

Anticipating this, Huang Ji said, "If you think my warnings are exaggerated, feel free to ignore me. But for your own good, don’t call them back. No matter who asks, just say you didn’t find us."

With that, Huang Ji pulled the knife away.

"Fine, I’ll do as you say… but my men might not agree," Zhang Junwei said, abruptly sliding off the chair. Clutching the knife still lodged in his collarbone, he rolled far away.

At the same time, his men grabbed their weapons and charged, clearly understanding the implicit command.

As chaos erupted, Old Wang gritted his teeth and yelled to Huang Ji, "Let’s split them up! Half for each of us!"

Lin Li, holding a chair, jumped into the fray as well.

A chaotic brawl ensued. Though the opponents weren’t weak and were armed, Huang Ji remained calm. His own martial techniques were still incomplete, and while his strikes to weak points were effective, he needed time to deal with everyone.

Time, however, could lead to Old Wang and Lin Li getting seriously hurt.

This was why Huang Ji had deliberately allowed Zhang Junwei to escape earlier—he had a plan.

Moving swiftly, Huang Ji darted into the melee like a silent shadow. Dropping into a crouch, he avoided simultaneous strikes from three assailants.

With a diagonal sidestep, he evaded two kicks, lightly brushing one attacker’s elbow as if plucking a string. The seemingly casual touch disrupted the man’s strength, causing his back muscles to spasm.

Wasting no time, Huang Ji pivoted, zig-zagging through the crowd. In just five seconds, he had bypassed eight attackers, weaving through their ranks like a phantom and arriving at the warehouse door.

"What kind of movement was that?" the gang members muttered, stunned.

Though their formation wasn’t overly tight, Huang Ji’s ability to avoid and deflect eight attacks while slipping through the group was like something out of a dream.

"He’s trying to escape!" someone shouted.

"Doesn’t matter—the door’s locked!" another said smugly.

Confident the door was secure, they turned to pursue Huang Ji.

But to their surprise, Huang Ji wasn’t trying to escape.

Huang Ji reached out and flipped the light switch.

"Click!"

The warehouse was plunged into complete darkness. The sudden absence of light left everyone momentarily blind, their eyes unable to adjust fast enough. It was as if they had gone completely blind, unable to see their own hands in front of their faces.

This applied to everyone—except Huang Ji.

"Bang!"

"Thud!"

"Crash!"

"Ahh!"

"Turn the lights back on! Someone, please!"

"Wh-what the hell is going on?"

"Who hit me?!"

"Argh!"

In the darkness, chaos erupted. Shouts, crashes, and cries of pain filled the air. Yet as time passed, the sounds of struggle gradually subsided, growing weaker and fewer until only groans remained.

Seventeen seconds later, the lights flickered back on.

Old Wang and Lin Li squinted as their eyes readjusted, only to be met with a shocking sight: every one of Zhang Junwei’s men lay sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain. Some couldn’t move due to cramps, others were paralyzed on one side, unable to muster any strength.

Huang Ji had effortlessly subdued them all with just a bit of strategy. Counting the time it took to turn off the lights, the entire ordeal lasted barely over twenty seconds.

In darkness, Huang Ji had an overwhelming advantage. Thanks to his Information Sense, he didn’t need vision at all. His synesthetic perception allowed him to fight as effectively in complete darkness as in broad daylight.

This ability far surpassed "hearing and striking based on sound"—it was as if he could see through sound itself.

His opponents, on the other hand, were completely helpless in the pitch-black environment. They couldn’t even land a single hit on Huang Ji as he dismantled them with ease.

By employing this tactic of fighting in darkness, Huang Ji didn’t just level the playing field; he flipped it entirely. It didn’t matter if he was up against a few men or a hundred—none would stand a chance.

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