novelPsychological Battle
| ← Ch.1076 | Ch.1078 → |
Translator: Sean88888 Editor: Elkassar1
When Sheyan and Aldaris came together, they naturally felt a sense of closeness to each other borne out of their prior acquaintance.
Azsa and Hedi Curry both recovered very quickly after the venom in their body was removed. They were prepared for the eventuality of losing a limb or two on this trip, so they had both purchased a potion called the 'Power of Lizard' before they came here. The potion could quickly regrow lost limbs or organs.
After resting for about five hours, Ronnie came over with a deadpan expression and asked the two of them to attend an impromptu meeting. Pokan had moulded a conference hall and stationed some guards outside, so even though it was already dark, there was no risk of the enemies sneaking up on them.
Azsa's arms had regrown with the help of the 'Power of Lizard' potion, but they were still as fragile as new buds, so they were currently encased in casts for protection. She looked a bit funny. She would have to wait for 24 hours to fully recover, but after a restful sleep just now, her spirit seemed a lot better.
Curry had lost both his eyes, but eyes apparently grew a lot faster than hands. He seemed to have fully recovered. He was currently wearing a pair of sunglasses because his new eyes could not be stimulated by intense light, making him look quite fierce.
This trip of theirs obviously did not get off to a good start. They had already lost 2 important members of their team less than 24 hours upon landing. The atmosphere in the conference hall was quite heavy. No one wanted to speak first.
Aldaris was seemingly the only one not affected by the heavy mood. He leaned indifferently on the wall and would flick his fingers to produce electric sparks from time to time to entertain himself. He looked as if he did not care about the others there at all.
Seeing that the awkward silence had lasted for quite some time, Curry, using the authority that came with being an MT, questioned Aldaris coldly, "Aldaris, why did you disappear less than ten minutes after the fight broke out? You even came back completely unharmed."
Curry was evidently implying that Aldaris had preserved his strength and escaped by himself. How could Aldaris just bear with this accusation? He snorted, but did not say anything in response. Instead, he displayed a holographic recording of him pulling away 7 One-Horned Flying Ants by himself with extreme difficulty.
Everyone was dumbstruck when they witnessed Aldaris' performance. No one could label him as a deserter now. However, what they did not know was that he had the 'Blood-Elude' ability, so there were many seemingly dangerous situations in the recording that Sheyan knew he could handle with ease. Sheyan could only silently admire Aldaris' Oscar-winning performance.
After the recording had finished playing, Aldaris suddenly turned the table on Curry.
"I was able to escape because I was lucky and I wasn't blinded by greed. Unfortunately, two of our companions had died because they put their faith in the wrong person and followed the wrong order."
Curry's face instantly stiffened. He was exactly the one who was the most vocal about making a profit off the One-Horned Flying Ants back then.
At that time, there were also some differing opinions within the team. Some had felt that they should prioritise the main mission. However, Curry insisted on staying where they were to wait for the other teammates, which was just an excuse. He only hoped to stay there so that they could kill a few more One-Horned Flying Ants.
Unfortunately, what they ended up facing was not a few more One-Horned Flying Ants, but a whole colony of them!
Under such circumstances, even if the whole team was present and Sheyan had exposed his identity as an MT so that they could perform a luxurious tri-MT formation, they would have lost all the same. But Sheyan's 'Pestilence Monarch' was simply way too strong, so if Sheyan was there, at least all of them would likely be able to escape with their lives instead of losing two important members at the start of the mission like they did now.
When Ronnie saw Curry being put in an awkward situation, he immediately stepped forward to speak for Curry.
"It wasn't Hedi's idea to gather at the mushroom rock. It's a f*cking order given by the higher-ups at the base! Not to mention that back then, Hedi didn't actually force anyone to stay there with us. And you guys, if you had gone to the mushroom rock as soon as you landed according to what we agreed on, maybe things would've turned out differently!"
Aldaris spared Ronnie a chilling glance and then completely ignored him, as if speaking to Ronnie would taint him. He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. Ronnie was so furious that he was ready to fight Aldaris there and then.
But any person who could be selected to come here was no idiot. Ronnie had not forgotten that Aldaris had survived against seven One-Horned Flying Ants by himself. That was much more impressive than Ronnie, who had almost lose his life when he was hunted down by a Ferocious Wolverine. More importantly, the unpredictable Seaman was clearly on the same side as Aldaris. Therefore, Ronnie could only bear with it.
But his lips soon curled into a faint sneer because he knew that Azsa had already had a discussion with Curry prior to this, and they had come to a mutual agreement. Only Seaman and Aldaris were still kept in the dark. Very soon, those two would have their flesh cut off from their bodies!
Azsa indeed chose to step out at that moment. She said faintly, "I had a quick discussion with Hedi Curry just now. We both agreed that there's no use discussing what had happened before. Since everyone's on the same boat, we must act as a collective unit before the main mission is accomplished. Do you guys agree?"
As soon as Sheyan heard the first few words Azsa said, he immediately realised that his interests had likely been compromised. He instantly started thinking of countermeasures. This was not to say that Aldaris was not as alert as Sheyan was, it was just that Sheyan was also an MT himself, so he would naturally consider things from an MT's perspective! He could smell that something was wrong right away.
As expected, Azsa then said, "So Hedi and I both agreed that, apart from personal equipments, we need to treat other things such as food, water, cyborgs, and also the crushing extractors as the team's properties. Of course, there'll be some who will suffer some losses, but I can guarantee this on my reputation: they'll certainly be able to recoup their losses during the remainder of our trip."
'Just as I expected, ' thought Sheyan as he smirked. Only he and Aldaris had brought three cyborgs with them, while the others had only one. As for the crushing extractors, of course Sheyan and Aldaris each had one too. Sheyan had made Ronnie's his own, while Aldaris had also taken Dardanian's when Dardanian's cyborg had died under the claws of the One-Horned Flying Ants.
If they acted according to what Azsa said, Sheyan and Aldaris would have to contribute six out of the nine cyborgs left in the team! In addition, Sheyan knew very well that this was just the beginning. Like when a swindler swindled money from someone, they would first ask for a hundred dollars, then two hundred, and if the victim did not want their prior investment to go to waste, they would have to keep forking out money!
When Azsa spoke, her eyes had never left Sheyan. This woman's shrewdness and ability to manipulate others were no inferior to Zi's. She was a smart and competent one, and more importantly, she had no bottom line when it came to getting what she wanted.
Not only was she strong, she was also good at using her feminine charm as her asset. She would first conquer men with the domineering attitude of a queen, and then compensate them with the body of a gentle woman!
Azsa definitely understood well the value of Sheyan's mixes. Even a blind man could see the value of something which could increase all attributes by 10%. That's why she had come up with this way which was akin to boiling a frog in warm water to slowly get Sheyan on her side. In her plan, Sheyan would definitely lament such a major loss, but he would also certainly treat this sacrifice as an investment in her — and thus be further drawn to her side. Such was the cleverness of this woman.
But wait a minute. Wasn't this reasoning hard to understand? Sheyan would suffer a loss, but that would pull him closer to her?
Let me give you a simple example. Let's say that a certain clerk lost a few thousand bucks to a deputy director on the poker table. Did he not suffer a loss? But if this clerk met with any disputes in the department, who would be the first person he would go to? The deputy director.
Seeing Sheyan and Aldaris remain silent, Ronnie went over to Sheyan's Cyborg No. 2 to grab the backpack the cyborg was carrying. He had long noticed that it was the backpack containing the crushing extractor he had spent a large sum of money on. It was truly a thorn in his eye!
But in that instant, a streak of white-coloured electricity jumped out and flashed past Ronnie's face! It was so close to him that the fringe on his forehead curled up!
Aldaris said in a cold voice, "Next time, you won't be so lucky."
Ronnie gripped his dagger and slowly pulled it out from his waist. When the glossy blade rubbed against the sheath, it made a chilling sound.
"Are you going against the team's decision? Seaman himself hasn't said anything, Aldaris, " Ronnie slowly spat out each word.
Sheyan suddenly stood up and flashed the group a smile.
"I was actually thinking of how to say no without hurting some people's feelings. But this is good too. I think Aldaris has made my opinion very clear."
Azsa's expression instantly darkened, but she obviously would not give up so easily.
"It's a miracle that you've managed to survive for so long. In this accursed place, how do you expect to complete the mission without the protection of us MTs?"
Sheyan narrowed his eyes."I remember that without us, the MTs were lying in the woods, waiting to die."
| ← Ch. 1076 | Ch. 1078 → |