"Boss, he's a Martial Cultivator—a Rat Lord."

The bodyguard in black immediately spoke to Su Yu with a grim expression.

As soon as he said that, it all clicked for Su Yu. He finally understood why his construction site was suffering from a rat infestation.

So the rat infestation at the construction site wasn't the work of some Rat Spirit, but was deliberately caused by someone.

This was the frightening thing about Awakeners. Among all Awakened Abilities, Elemental powers were supreme, followed by Biological Controllers.

Tu Xiao'an watched the black-robed man's dramatic entrance with great interest, his eyes narrowing.

'Ding... Lin Fan, Level 21. A genius-type Awakener. After awakening, he gained the ability to control rats.'

'Another Biological Controller,' he thought. 'Much stronger than that Mosquito Controller I ran into back in Bai Town.'

"Who are you? How have I, Su Yu, offended you? Why would you unleash a plague of rats on my construction site and kill several of my workers?"

Su Yu's face was a mask of fury. He hadn't imagined this could be the work of a person—that made it even more outrageous.

Lin Fan ignored him, instead surveying the layer of ice covering the construction site. A pang of regret hit him as he looked at the rats frozen inside, perfectly lifelike.

Then, he turned to Tu Xiao'an and said coldly, "Friend, do you have any idea how many of my rats you just killed with that little trick?"

"If I didn't kill these rats, should I have just let them kill people?" Tu Xiao'an replied coolly.

Lin Fan stared at Tu Xiao'an icily. "This has nothing to do with you. I suggest you stay out of it."

"I'm the one Boss Su hired to solve his problems. And clearly, the problem isn't solved yet."

"You..."

The face beneath Lin Fan's black hood darkened. He looked at Su Yu and said, "So, you do have some tricks up your sleeve, Su. You even managed to hire an Elemental Master. Looks like heaven itself is on your side."

"Who are you? What's your goal here?" Su Yu was certain he'd never met this man before. Besides, he was a businessman interested only in making money; there was no way he would have offended a Martial Cultivator like this.

"My goal?" Lin Fan revealed a handsome face from under his black hood and spoke with deep meaning, "Isn't it obvious enough?"

Su Yu frowned, the realization dawning on him. "You want this site to fall into ruin. You don't want it to be completed, do you?"

"You're not as stupid as you look, though I was being pretty obvious."

"Then why did you have to kill anyone? Several of my workers died for nothing!"

Lin Fan replied flatly, "If a few people didn't die at the site, how would you ever learn to be afraid?"

"Who hired you to do this?"

'This is obviously a business dispute,' Su Yu thought. 'The luxury complex this site will become must be getting in the way of someone's profits. That's why they're resorting to dirty tricks, hiring a Rat Lord to make sure my project isn't completed on time.'

"You don't need to know who hired me. All you need to know is that I take money to solve problems for people. So don't blame me."

Even though he had Tu Xiao'an protecting him, Su Yu didn't want to fight this man to the death. "How much is the person behind this paying you? I'll give you double. Just leave my construction site."

"Once I take a job, I see it through. Who do you take me for? Some kind of turncoat?" Su Yu's suggestion, far from pleasing the man, seemed to have angered him.

Lin Fan suddenly glanced at Tu Xiao'an, then said to Su Yu, "I'll give you a proposal. If you agree, I'll leave immediately."

"Let's hear it first."

"Halt all construction on this site for one year. After that, you can do whatever you want. But for this entire year, not a single tile can be added."

Hearing this, Su Yu angrily refused at once. "That's impossible. I can't agree to that."

'This whole area is a new development,' he thought. 'Many residential complexes nearby will be finished in the next few years, and this district is set to become the new darling of Wencheng's wealthy elite.'

'My project consists of towers over thirty stories high, plus other recreational buildings. It'll take at least three years to finish.'

'Every second already counts. If construction is delayed by another year, the opportunity will be lost.'

'By the time my complex is finished, all the rich buyers will have already moved into other developers' properties.'

Vaguely, Su Yu began to understand who had sent the black-robed man. In this district, there were two prime parcels of land.

He had won the bid for one, and the other had been won by the influential Yang Family of Wencheng.

Both sides were rushing to complete their work, afraid of falling behind the other.

Clearly, it was the Yang Family. They didn't want his project to be finished first, so they had resorted to these despicable tactics.

"Since you refuse, don't blame me for what happens next." Having been flatly rejected, Lin Fan let out a cold sneer.

Su Yu retorted angrily, "Your rat army has been wiped out. What other tricks could you possibly have?"

"Haha..." Lin Fan laughed as if he had just heard the world's biggest joke. "Do you really think all the rats in the world can be wiped out by one person?"

A Rat Lord was no joke. If he wanted to, he could summon a massive number of rats here.

"Brother Xiao'an, what should we do?"

Su Yu could only turn to Tu Xiao'an for help. Without him here, the man probably wouldn't have even bothered to waste his breath talking.

Tu Xiao'an understood the situation. This man had just taken someone's money to stop Su Yu's construction project from being completed.

He shrugged his shoulders and pointed out, "Brother Su, didn't you hire Master Yu? Just have Master Yu drive this guy away."

Yu Zitong nearly stumbled. The opponent was a rat-controlling Awakener, who would be incredibly difficult to deal with.

But the Bai Family's reputation couldn't be stained. Yu Zitong stepped forward and addressed Lin Fan, "Young man, the Bai Family is taking charge of this matter. I am a Demon Hunter from the Bai Family, and I advise you to leave now."

"The Bai Family?" Lin Fan's expression changed, but he quickly calmed down. "You're a Demon Hunter from the Bai Family, but where is the Demon here?"

"If you think my rats are Demons, then feel free to catch them."

Lin Fan couldn't care less if he took any of the rats frozen all over the ground.

"You..." Yu Zitong was left speechless.

Tu Xiao'an reminded him, "Master Yu, do you see that little white mouse on his shoulder? That's an Awakened Spirit Monster."

The black-robed man hadn't just appeared amidst a tide of rats; a unique little white mouse was also perched on his shoulder. It was adorable and seemed to sparkle, its fur a pure white that outshone snow, giving off a faint luster. A single glance was enough to know it was no ordinary rodent.

Tu Xiao'an had already used his Insight ability on it. This was a Rank Two Rat Spirit. It might look small and cute, but its appearance was dangerously deceiving.

"Right, it's a Demon! I can sense Demon Qi," Yu Zitong exclaimed in pleasant surprise.

Lin Fan smiled, his expression perfectly composed. "You want to capture this rat on my shoulder? Fine. Be my guest."

Yu Zitong had no intention of fighting himself. "Golden Pupils!" he bellowed.

'A cat to catch a rat,' he thought. 'And my cat is the best there is.'

ROAR—

A whistling roar tore through the air at the construction site. Golden Pupils transformed into a streak of golden light, shooting abruptly toward the black-robed Lin Fan. The sharp claws on its forelegs extended an inch mid-air, sharp enough to kill with a single scratch.

"Hmph..." Seeing it approach, Lin Fan snorted coldly. "Who says cats are the bane of rats? There's no such thing as a natural enemy. Only strength decides everything."

"Baozi, why don't you go and greet that annoyingly screechy cat?"

As he spoke, the little white mouse on his shoulder let out a jeering squeak, "Yes, yes! I hate these damn cats more than anything. I'll kill every single one I see!"

With that, the little white mouse shot out toward the streak of golden light.

BANG—

An explosive force erupted in mid-air. The cat and the rat landed in an open area of the construction site, facing off in a tense standoff.