Urban Seduction: Housewives Club Chapter 2128 - 449: The Zhang Family Collapses 4

"Time’s up. Whatever’s left, we leave behind for the Zhangs to choke on." Zhang Jianyuan released a deep sigh, yet he refrained from returning the ring to Zhang Lingtian. Rather, he effortlessly slipped it onto his own finger.

A piercing gleam sparked in Zhang Lingtian’s eyes, though he swiftly averted them, dropping his stare to the ground to mask his face. "Father, what’s the plan?"

"We move. Now," Jianyuan declared resolutely. "If we linger until the others reach their limits, the Ancestor will watch every soul in this compound. Should that occur, we’re stuck forever."

The entire show in the meeting hall—the grand address, summoning the Alliance—hadn’t been because he truly believed the Alliance would rescue them. It served as a diversion. He aimed to hold the clan together briefly enough to seize a chance to escape. Without offering that hope, chaos would erupt, and the Ancestor would seal the estate completely.

"Genius, Father," Lingtian praised, even as his tone remained dull.

They crept into the rear garden, where a slim, streamlined flyer awaited. It measured just two meters across and five meters in length. Lingtian’s gaze brightened instantly upon spotting it. This wasn’t a standard transport; it represented advanced technology, reportedly five times swifter than any other aerial vehicle.

With it, their odds of making it out alive soared to ninety percent.

Jianyuan climbed into the controls, signaled his son to strap in beside him, and activated the starter.

Whirrr—

Accompanied by a soft buzz, the flyer rocketed skyward like a missile. Within two seconds, they reached a height of a hundred meters.

The Zhang estate resembled a ticking bomb at that moment. Tension gripped everyone, and with the atmosphere screaming "doom approaches," no one felt like celebrating. Silence blanketed the entire property. Though the flyer wasn’t noisy, its hum tore through the stillness like a buzzsaw.

As clan members glanced upward and recognized the occupants of that vessel—and its launch point—their spirits plummeted. The Family Head was abandoning them.

From the manor’s core, a bellow thundered that rattled the panes: "YOU FILTHY ANIMAL!"

Yet fury can’t halt a propulsion system. The Ancestor and all others stood powerless in their wrath. The flyer had become a silver blur racing northward. Its velocity was such that even if the Ancestor sacrificed his vitality to pursue, he’d only swallow exhaust.

In moments, the vessel breached the estate’s boundary, dissolving into the shadows.

Then, the heavens cracked.

A piercing, steel-like clash of a sword resounded through the air. An enormous curve of pale radiance erupted from below, crashing straight into the flyer’s body.

The Zhang family required no speculation. That came from the stern youth. But rather than dread or fury, an odd relief spread among them. Betrayers always draw more loathing than foes.

Jianyuan’s flyer was constructed sturdily, however. And as Wang Yue avoided deploying his trademark "Level 8 Gale" to preserve his disguise, his ordinary sword method lacked the force to bisect the craft. The blow landed solidly, but the frame endured.

Even so, it achieved its purpose. The collision robbed ninety percent of the flyer’s drive. It started to sway wildly aloft, seeming ready to plummet like a rock.

Wang Yue refused to let them escape so simply. He launched from the earth, soaring tens of meters high, and delivered another slash.

Now half the distance away, the attack would pack double the deadliness. With the flyer already compromised, this blow promised to reduce it to wreckage.

Yet prior to the sword-glow making contact, a dull boom sounded from within the vessel. A small, solo ejection capsule burst from the front. It flared with acceleration three times the flyer’s pace, streaking into the darkness like a meteor.

Wang Yue’s eyes widened in surprise. By the moment he steadied himself for pursuit, the ultra-small capsule had vanished.

He exhaled briefly. Pursuit seemed pointless. Despite his Level 7 cultivation and divine-velocity footwork, he couldn’t match a dedicated evasion engine.

Muttering, he shifted focus to the central flyer.

Fortune played odd tricks. The fierce kickback from the capsule’s departure had yanked the primary craft rearward sufficiently to dodge Wang Yue’s follow-up blow.

But within the cockpit, Zhang Lingtian felt no fortune. Misery etched his features.

He’d anticipated his father might sacrifice him in a pinch, but not so abruptly. Nevertheless, the youth wasn’t entirely helpless. He promptly stuck his head out and yelled toward Wang Yue below.

"Senior! Wait! Don’t kill me! I’ll trade seventy percent of the Zhang family’s resources for my life!"

Seventy percent?

Wang Yue’s curiosity stirred. He descended to the surface. "Get down here and we’ll talk." In the Mortal Shedding realm, sustained flight eluded him.

Lingtian realized defeat. He brought the flyer down, clambered out, and faced Wang Yue with lowered head, appearing utterly defeated. "I’ll give you seventy percent of our cultivation resources. Just let me live."

"Seventy percent?" Wang Yue laughed lightly. "That guy who just bolted was Zhang Jianyuan, right? If you really had seventy percent of the loot, you think he’d leave without it?"

"You’re right, Senior. He did take my spatial ring," Lingtian confessed. "But there wasn’t much in there. Most of the real hoard is hidden elsewhere. If you promise to let me go, I’ll give you the coordinates right now."

Far off in the distance, Zhang Jianyuan at last exhaled hugely in relief. He’d escaped. He lifted his right hand, eyeing the spatial ring he’d snatched from his son.

Though he’d forfeited all else, this would secure his entry into the Kong family in the Capital. It formed his "fresh start" capital.

Seconds later, Jianyuan’s expression contorted. He erupted into wild, furious guffaws. "Haha... good. Very good! That’s my boy!"

The ring brimmed with contents, true enough. But merely the surface layer held worth. Beneath lay nothing but useless debris and trash.

Considering Jianyuan’s suspicious disposition, he typically would’ve verified it twice, but the stress had overwhelmed him. Inspecting it before his son would’ve seemed callous, and then the assault struck.

A flawless blend of mishaps, and he’d been duped thoroughly by his own kin.