novelHunting (2)
| ← Ch.497 | Ch.499 → |
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
"Third..."
Solomon no longer looked at the Lion King, instead, he looked around repeatedly, as if he was looking for something, "Have they arrived?"
Deng deng deng...
There was a knock on the Lion King's door, followed by the steely voice of a soldier reporting. Zuo Dongting pressed the button beside his hand to allow the soldiers entry. A middle-aged man with the lieutenant colonel pin, who was as strong as a metal tower, walked in with a three-foot-long box and stopped in front of Zuo Dongting.
"General, this is your personal parcel."
The well-sealed box was gently placed on the desk in front of Zuo Dongting. The martial dao grandmasters could easily smell a whiff of pungent blood from the perfectly sealed box without even opening it.
The smell of blood comes in many forms, but it was very easy to distinguish this particular smell from the others. It was human blood! More importantly, the blood was still very fresh.
"Aren't they supposed to arrive by now?" Solomon seemed to be talking to himself. He looked to the front again and said, "Did you receive a long box? Please take a look at it if you did, the parts of your grandson are inside. We were concerned that you missed your grandson too much, so we took special care and sent you one of his parts. If you still miss your grandson in the next few days, I could send another part to you again, for example..."
One minute wasn't considered short nor long. Zuo Dongting sat on the sofa and felt like he was going through the longest minute of his life as he watched his grandson's arm being chopped off with a blade by an angry man.
Zuo Dongting realized that the young man who swung the blade said nothing throughout the process of swinging the blade to leaving after the arm was chopped off. He was silent, and remained silent from the beginning till the end; silently chopped the arm, silently sheathed his blade, and silently left. The compelling silence that was projected through the screen felt as if there was an actual mountain crashing down on him.
Zuo Dongting could feel the anger of Qin Fen, the young man on the projection screen, at that very moment.
"Dear General Zuo."
Xing Wuyi's image replaced Qin Fen, that contempt pair of gold-rimmed spectacles shone brightly like the sun, which gave everyone the urge to smash it to pieces.
"You are a veteran of the battlefield. I am just a young inexperienced little fox. Any tricks that were used in front of you would just be like a children's toy. It would be an insult to both your wisdom and my wisdom."
Zuo Dongting's eyebrows inadvertently frowned. He hated how this young man looked as if everything was taken for granted whenever he spoke. He hated himself more that he agreed with what the young man said.
"You killed two of Qin Fen's masters, I'm sure you won't deny that." Xing Wuyi found a chair and sat down. He placed his right leg on top of his left leg and gently swaying his toes. He leaned back slightly into his chair, subtly emanating the aura befitting a member of an influential family, "We are young men, it is natural that there might be a lack of consideration, and we do not know how to look at the big picture most of the time. Take the mutiny of the Asian Military Region for example. The consumption of too much personal powers let armies from other states seize the opportunity to expand further; something that we would've never considered. As such, I shall just cut straight to my purpose of sending you this video."
Xing Wuyi habitually pushed the frame of his glasses and his body that was leaning backward slowly leaned forwards. The lens reflected two rays of icy light that was as cold as the snake. Words as cold as winter came out from his red lips and white teeth, "We are going to kill you."
Zuo Dongting observed every movement of Xin Wuyi and was slightly shocked, his stern face turned into a smile. This was the most arrogant sentence that I've heard since I sat on this chair today! Even the Snake King carried subtlety in his words when speaking to me. None had ever dared to speak boldly like that to me.
"Are you smiling?" Xing Wuyi pointed at his handsome face, "I am smiling too. Isn't that ridiculous to hear? However, this is the truth, we are just more honest than others by telling you our plans. Of course, even if we don't, you would still know about it one way or another. I'm doing all these just to make you angry, violent, and unable to maintain your composure, only to kill you in the end."
Zuo Dongting looked at Xing Wuyi in the projection and applauded gently, he raised up his chin slightly and praised, "Congratulations, you did it."
"You're welcome, thank you for your compliment."
Xing Wuyi nodded politely, it felt more like a video conversation rather than a pre-recorded video.
Zuo Dongting sneered, with slight disdain in his tone, "Petty tricks."
"Petty tricks."
Xing Wuyi also muttered the same words from his smiling mouth. He smiled and looked at Zuo Dongting who was obviously in shock, "Wasn't that interesting? I love to guess the thoughts of people through the information I can get my hands on. From the information I got about you, you had a sixteen point three one percent chance to utter 'petty tricks'. Although the chances are slim, I'd like to bet on this phrase."
Zuo Dongting felt chills on his cheeks. As a leader, he enjoyed controlling others the most, but this nasty young man had been always been displaying his manipulative abilities since his appearance. He even gambled on something with such a slim chance.
"Okay! Back to the main point!" Xing Wuyi sat up straight, "You would actually be able to see through my tricks no matter how I arrange your assassination."
Zuo Dongting was sure that he really hated this young man named Xing Wuyi to the bone. The only undefeatable speech in the world was a speech with complete truth and honesty. It would naturally be better for both sides to be honest when dealing with business, but it was clear that they were not talking business right now. The nonchalant conversation revealed a sharp intent of murder. With the whole situation being controlled by Xing Wuyi's words, he held the initiative firmly in his hands.
As the leader of one of the strongest factions of the East Asian Military, Zuo Dongting did not like the feeling of being controlled.
"Temptation, anti-temptation, saving the hostage, leaving the hostage..." Xing Wuyi shrugged his shoulders and opened his arms, "Everything was useless! After knowing the opponent's true intentions, I could even think about the possible tricks they would use by calculating their base cards. In such a situation, the more complex my planning is, the more flaws can be found in it due to its complexity."
In addition to hatred, Zuo Dongting admired Xing Wuyi, albeit begrudgingly. It was not an easy feat for him to get on the same level as Zuo Lin with only two years of military experience. Perhaps it could be said that his grandson wasn't comparable to Xing Wuyi in many aspects; perhaps Zuo Lin would not lose to Xing Wuyi in strategy calculations, but having full control of the bigger picture and the sense of magnanimity wasn't something Zuo Lin could possess.
"If Du Zhanpeng was still alive..." Zuo Dongting sighed. If Du Zhanpeng was still alive, things might've been better. At least Du Zhanpeng with the help of Xing Wuyi would not give Zuo Lin any chance to prove his worth. That way Zuo Lin would not end up being taken as a hostage.
"After so many words and actions, all I wanted to tell you was to bring Mourad along to the Sahara Desert if you want your grandson alive, we will set up the ambush there. Of course..." Xing Wuyi pushed the glasses up behind his ears, "I will also be awaiting your arrival there, hope to see you after seven days at exactly thirteen o'clock. As for the coordinates, it's listed in the subtitles below. Oh! Yes, we will only accept your and Mourad's arrival. If we find out that you brought along other people, don't blame us for killing the hostage and defecting to Du Hen."
Zuo Dongting looked at the eyes of Xing Wuyi on the screen for a few seconds, knowing that this young man wouldn't stoop that far to lie or change his plans spontaneously. That was exactly what he thought and said.
"Seven days... seven days..."
Zuo Dongting trod around his office with his hands behind him. This was obviously a poorly-made old fashion trick to use the hostage as a lure for the rescuers. In fact, a lot of police soap operas featured such daring criminals pulling off similar tricks to trick the agents of justice.
There weren't many technicalities involved in this trick. However, due to its lack of technicalities, it was also difficult to be solved by others with high technology content.
Zuo Dongting had to admire Xing Wuyi for knowing when to switch and use direct confrontational tactics at a young age.
In front of a renowned military strategist and one of East Asia's highest commanding officers possessing infinite resources, the more complex the plan, the easier it will fail. Zuo Dongting just needed to simply open one of the rings and everything would be finished.
Xing Wuyi abandoned all intrigues and tricks in favor of direct confrontation! If one cannot use cunning tricks against their enemies, why not confront them directly? Does it matter if they know? Could they do anything even if they knew?
Zuo Dongting knew that he must go personally! The main purpose of this trip was not to save the grandson Zuo Lin, but to kill someone — Xing Wuyi!
Within the short duration of the video, Xing Wuyi calculated the reactions of the viewer many times, even to the point where the time taken for the viewers to receive the parcel was calculated. That was the most terrifying part.
A group of young people engulfed four families in a short period of time and successfully conquered them all. Although it was surprising and something to be envious about, this wasn't a matter to lose sleep over, as more people were amazed that the new generation could defeat the older ones.
With the appearance of Xing Wuyi, Zuo Dongting has an instinctive intuition that the group of young people who bravely swept across two continents with bloodshed possessed strong intelligence. Everything he did was to tell Zuo Dongting that if he didn't go, they will kill his grandson. Beyond the surface of the kidnapping was actually a protest!
"If you don't come, then I will survive! If I survive, what will happen? I think you should be very clear about that."
A bait! Everything Xing Wuyi did was to show his calculations skills to Zuo Dongting, he even dared to gamble only with a sixteen percent chance. Cooperating with this group of brave and ferocious young men, it couldn't be sure that he would not make a name for himself in the future. If he doesn't kill Xing Wuyi now, then the Zuo Clan would never have a day of peace! To the point where sect-annihilation was a possibility!
Losing Zuo Lin? Zuo Dongting could afford the loss! He wasn't the only grandson of Zuo Dongting, Zuo Lin was just the favorite and the most promising one for Zuo Dongting.
However, Xing Wuyi must die! The final sentence of the projection was also a signal sent to Zuo Dongting! If you don't kill me after seven days, I will defect to Du Hen. By that time, killing me will be an even harder task! Don't forget the value of I, Xing Wuyi in the eyes of the Snake King — it is incomparable to the likes of Lier Hao! By then, you can only dream of killing me. As long as I live for another day, you will have to worry for another day! I need not worry, I am younger than you, I can await your death! After your death, sect-annihilation will be the next and final chapter for the Zuo Clan.
After seven days would be the best chance to kill Xing Wuyi! Zuo Dongting took a deep breath and quickly dialed a series of phone numbers, "Strengthen the defenses and be on the lookout for attacks anytime soon."
The same order was quickly spread across a huge network that was invisible to the naked eye. At the same time, the personnel of the major families was mobilizing quickly. The international weapons smuggling cartel became active once again.
Shenjing Military Headquarters.
Zhao Huzi stood in the office of the Snake King, facing Du Hen, who was sitting in the office chair and resting with his eyes closed.
The sun shone through the big window of the room onto Du Hen's face. However, it gave people the feeling that they couldn't see through his true feelings. Even though Zhao Huzi's appearance was crystal clear, there was no warmth to be felt from him even under the hot sun.
"You have been standing for a long time." Snake King closed his eyes and broke the silence.
"General." Zhao Huzi stared at Du Hen puzzled, "Why wasn't I informed about Lier Hao going to Saturn for a mission?? Why did you approve the military order from Zuo Dongting? Those are your men! This mission was obviously a deathtrap."
"It was a deathtrap, I know." The Snake King opened his eyes, the room did not warm up from his bright eyes, but rather had a sharp drop in temperature from his chilling words, "In this world, everyone's life has a value to it. Sometimes a death would bring along three benefits, such as Lan Caihe of Tianmen, a martial artist of such caliber, be it sending a sniper or sending two martial artists of equal rank to kill him; it would be harder to kill him next time if he survived. The combined strength of Lier Hao and Second Brother Qiang wasn't even sufficient to compare with one of Lan Caihe's toes. Wasn't killing him a case of hitting the jackpot?"
Zhao Huzi locked his fingers together as the Snake King continued, "After his death, some of Zuo Dongting's anger was appeased, which temporarily maintained the peace of the Asian Military Region. As for the third, Qin Fen's anger would also affect the Zuo Clan. In my opinion, their deaths were valuable and it was beyond the value of their lives."
"Xiao Zhao, we are to accomplish big affairs." Du Hen waved his hand, "How is it weird or unjust for a few people to die to achieve big affairs? You were the one who discovered Qin Fen, try to communicate with him more this time. After everything ends, the sovereignty of Saturn will naturally be his. I'm sure he's aware of the odds."
Zhao Huzi's face became pale and metallic, "General, maybe you still do not know about it, but Qin Fen doesn't pick up my phone calls now, it was Xing Wuyi who received my call every time. Do you want to hear Xing Wuyi's response?"
"Qin Fen asked me to deliver to you three sentences. The first sentence: do you want to purge Zuo Dongting? The second sentence: I will purge him as a means to repay your kindness. The third sentence: those whose courses are different cannot lay plans for one another!"
Du Hen looked at the confident disappearance of Xing Wuyi with a blank expression, his lips gradually emerging into a confident smirk, "Those whose courses are different cannot lay plans for one another? Sure enough, the outcome was the same as what I expected when I made the decision at that time. Qin Fen had already decided to leave, and nothing could bring him back."
Zhao Huzi's body shook suddenly, as if a big earthquake was causing his body to shake, his two eyes turned into a big round shape, "General, even you knew..."
"Qin Fen is not a divine beast martial artist of the army. Not in the past, today, nor the future." Du Hen shook his head gently and pitifully, "I used to think that he was, but from his actions, I knew that he would not be. There are two reasons why he's currently still in the army. The first reason is that he has yet to repay our kindness. The second reason is a funny one: he wanted to retire honorably to receive the military pension."
"Therefore, Qin Fen doesn't have much affection for the military. He is not Du Zhanpeng, who deeply loved the military. He was able to fight for everyone around him not because of his love for the military, but rather due to his relationship with those around him. Qin Fen isn't truly passionate about the military, he won't be able to bring the military to its heights. As such!" Du Hen emanated chills from his eyes, "We shall let him fight with Zuo Dongting! If he was lucky enough to kill Zuo Dongting, then we can finish him off afterward. It wouldn't matter if he failed either. By that time Zuo Dongting would be heavily wounded and we could take the chance to expand our influence."
"But... what about the divine beast martial artists?" Zhao Huzi stared at Du Hen without moving, "Wasn't your biggest dream to have a divine beast martial artist to lead the army?"
"Of course." The Snake King's eyes bloomed ambitiously, "Do you think I have been idle for the past two years? Xiao Yu had gotten together with many women, and counting those who were born and those who are yet to be born, the Du family has sixteen new members! If I, Du Hen, could train a Zhanpeng, it would be natural for me to be able to train sixteen more Zhanpengs! Sixteen Zhanpengs killing each other, do you think that the sole survivor will not have the chance to take on the title of a divine beast? It is just a matter of time with some delays in between."
Zhao Huzi looked at Du Hen with surprise. He hadn't seen Du Yu recently. He thought that he had retired behind the scenes and was doing something in the military headquarters. But Du Yu had unexpectedly become a breeding stallion instead.
Zhao Huzi returned to his room and sat on the lieutenant general office chair, looking at the sun in the sky. Suddenly he was hit by a feeling of fatigue. He never felt so tired and weak to the point of death even in the past battles he was in.
The choice of Yang Lie and the others had already spread through the crowds of Europe and the United States, as well as every corner of the Federation. It was naturally impossible for important institutions like the Shenyang Military headquarters to not catch wind of the news.
Zhao Huzi found himself envious of Qin Fen. He thought that Qin Fen's companions would leave him because of the orders from their families, he never expected such an outcome in the end.
Qin Fen brought along his friends who did not abandon him and conquered four influential families in a short period of time. He did something that shocked the whole world, bringing forth the sayings of the new to replace the old.
"I wonder where they are now..." Zhao Huzi sighed softly. Ever since Qin Fen finished his errands in Australia, he quickly disappeared.
When Xing Wuyi headed to the Australian location where Qin Fen was located, he was riding a huge transport plane. Right now, according to the military outbound records of the military headquarters, Xing Wuyi had actually made up his mind to leave by the time he applied for the weapons.
The Secret Class S - Level Multipurpose stealth battleship was a mini cosmic warship with a capacity of thirty-five persons, with the ability to move under tens of thousands of meters under sea level. It could also move on the ground, as well as flying out to space.
Xing Wuyi liked to use high-tech tools in combat. His habit was well known across the military, and he was also once praised by Du Hen for being able to utilize high-tech tools to their utmost potentials in battle.
As long as certain trackers were disassembled from the warship, even the military would have a hard time looking for it.
Going into hiding, the smartest choice! Zuo Dongting looked at the information backed by the intelligence systems and hardened his resolve on killing Xing Wuyi. This young man was indeed shrewd, he has a very clear understanding of his existential value.
If I find Xing Wuyi, I will kill him even with the use of missiles! Zuo Dongting was prepared for the scenario where he would appease the angry Snake King by ceding some of his interests to the Snake King. However, Xing Wuyi had already thought of it earlier, that someone would kill him even if his grandson, Zuo Lin, disallowed it.
Where did Qin Fen and the others go? The Snake King turned the globe around and inspected every corner of the Earth. Zuo Dongting was doing the same to look for possible openings of attack.
Desert? The Sahara? Zuo Dongting stared at the signage of yellow sand on the map. Were they hiding there? Otherwise, how would they appear in the Sahara after three days? If it was in another location, they would be tracked down by the military satellites as long as they activated their Secret Class S. By then, we could shoot down the Secret Class S directly and Xing Wuyi would then die as a result, as he wasn't a martial dao master after all.
The Arctic! Earth's coldest ocean!
In addition to the tall icebergs, there were massive glaciers, neverending chilling blizzards, and occasionally, playful polar bears.
Near the North Pole stood an iceberg as small as a big ice block. The iceberg silently stood among the whistling blizzard.
Among the clear white crystal ice, Caesar sat quietly, his eyes shut and immersed itself with the surroundings, like a hibernating frog.
The Arctic! The land of extreme coldness became the strongest place to cultivate the supreme Masculine Internal Art! Since the breakthrough of Solomon, everyone went crazy trying to improve themselves for the upcoming battle.
In the snowstorm, Yang Lie wore thick warm clothes on his body. He gasped and struggled to walk in the snow. He had been in the snow for three days, moving without exerting his inner strength to fight the cold. Just like Qin Fen in the Sahara that day.
However, the Arctic was far crueler than the Sahara.
The Sahara might contain millions of years of history, but what of the Arctic?! That place was incalculable in years! Millions of years? That was nothing for the Arctic, as time was seemingly frozen there. Therefore, it was natural that he would fare worse than Qin Fen did when he was in the Sahara.
Yang Lie trod on the snow step by step. He exerted a lot of energy walking and yet he was happy. It was a different feeling for him to not use any of his martial strengths, just purely walking on the Arctic.
The Unity of Man and Nature! Yang Lie didn't know whether he was lucky or unlucky. On the second day of walking, he encountered an unprecedented blizzard. Among the blizzard lied a majestic aurora. At that moment...
Yang Lie was completely shocked. His journey in the United States had released the shackles in his heart that bound his martial strength. A recently free heart coupled with the sudden impact...
Xue Tian was sleeping, no matter when and where, as long as he willed it, sleeping wasn't a difficult task for him. Even in this land of snow and ice, he laid on the ground and slept without thick clothes.
In the snow, the three men advanced slowly side by side. Xue Tian, who was asleep, suddenly twitched his ears and bounced off the ground like a cheetah, crashing to the trio with a speed exceeding the wind and snowstorm.
"You are finally here!"
Without looking at Qin Fen, who was in the middle of the trio, Xue Tian hugged Lin Liqiang like a bear, who was equipped with designer clothing, "How did you find us here? The fox said no one in the world would be able to find us here, how did you do that?"
Enzo Rota was as cold in character as usual. As if the world around him wasn't as cold as him, he gave away the angered feeling of coldness to those nearby.
Enzo Rota was cold in character, but he was not ruthless. During the days of studying at Australia recruit camp, Lier Hao often tried to trick him, but his friendship was eventually silently accepted by Enzo Rota.
Those that were cold in character hardly made friends. However, once they made friends, it was very difficult for them to betray their friends, as they see friendships for a lifetime! Lier Hao was often drunk and wrapped himself on Enzo Rota's neck, getting him to talk more by asking him about his training with Qin Fen.
The scene was still playing back in his mind, but everything had changed.
Lin Liqiang smiled reluctantly and pointed to Qin Fen, "The biochemical beast in his body was developed by me personally. As its designer, I can certainly find it again."
"Yours."
Lin Liqiang took out a biochemical beast glowing with red light and said, "The functions and the non-hazardous fusion aspects are the same as Qin Fen's. The only difference lies in the control of fusion speed. As this is a newer model, it can control the fusion speed better than Qin Fen's. As long as you work hard on developing it, you will make quick progress. Infuse it with your true energy, and you can hatch and complete your first level of fusion."
"You really arrived at the right time!" Xue Tian grabbed the biochemical beast egg and displayed his amazing strength in front of Qin Fen!
Sixteen star-class! Humanity aura shield! The same sixteen star-class as Qin Fen! The same humanity aura shield!
The biochemical beast turned into a rainbow. Taking the resemblance of a thick rainbow dragon, it instantly wrapped around the entire arm of Xue Tian, and eventually, his entire body, like a huge rainbow wrapping around his body.
Lin Liqiang looked at the biochemical beast of level one fusion that was being cast by Xue Tian and said, "I don't care if this biochemical beast is called the Raging Blade."
As his voice fell, Xue Tian felt his blood boiling. The blade aura within him surged, tens of thousands of blade auras rose from his body, followed by a shout from his unstoppable, raging battle intent.
In an instant, the easy-going Xue Tian marched forward, katana in hand, tearing the air apart with his flashy Thousand-Blade Impact; he looked up the snowy skies, shouting in the blizzard, "Courage of swordsmen flowing within; with immense pride; like violent waves sweeping gates and mountains. Angering the hills and rivers, provoking the skies and valleys, I stand alone among the clouds, facing every direction unwavering; for my blade is capable of tearing the heavens apart!"
Wind and snow, the spirit of the sword transferred into the body, causing Xue Tian's true energy to once again spike, rising to the seventeen-star class!
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