novelraw Chapter 394 - 384: Killing Machine!
Chapter 394 - 384: Killing Machine!
Jiangzhou Airport.
A middle-aged man with an expression so stern it made one instinctively want to keep their distance walked briskly out of the airport.
"Director Lin!"
As the middle-aged man exited, the door to a Red Flag car was swiftly pushed open, and three stern-faced men strode toward him.
"What’s the situation?" the middle-aged man asked coldly, ducking into the car.
"Director Lin, you were right! There are indeed four more groups that have infiltrated Jiangzhou! We’ve identified Superpower Users, Onmyoji, Werewolves, and Vampires!" one of the men reported, lowering his head awkwardly.
"Damn it!"
SMACK!
The middle-aged man’s hand swept across the back of the front passenger seat. In an instant, the swipe shredded the seat, sending fabric and stuffing flying.
"What the hell are you bastards paid to do?! Huh?! Where is the head of Southern China? Get him here, right now!" the middle-aged man roared.
"Director Lin, he... he went abroad on a trip! He’s still on the plane back to Huaxia!" the man who had spoken earlier gritted his teeth and said, his head bowed as if the words were hard to get out.
He knew this would only fuel Director Lin’s fury, but he had no choice.
"Abroad on a trip? Hah! Wonderful, just wonderful! Master Hua was right, you’ve all gotten too comfortable! You’ve all fucking forgotten the wisdom passed down by our ancestors: to be prepared for danger in times of peace. You’ve forgotten the entire purpose of the Guardian Institute! Tell him not to bother coming back! He never has to come back. As of now, he is expelled from the Guardian Institute! Announce it to the Martial Arts World at dawn!" Director Lin was the same middle-aged man who had followed Hua Xiaotian. Recalling what Hua Xiaotian had said at the Guardian Institute headquarters, and now learning of the state of the head of Southern China, he exploded with rage.
It seems Master Hua’s proposed reshuffle isn’t without reason at all!
"Director Lin, this—!" the three men cried out in shock.
Expelled? Announced to the Martial Arts World? Did he have to be so ruthless?
"You think it’s too much? Do you have any idea what Master Hua told me just over two hours ago? He is gravely disappointed in the current Guardian Institute. He said you’ve all grown complacent, that you’ve forgotten how to be vigilant, that the state of the Guardian Institute today makes him fear for our country’s security! Useless! Utterly useless! You’ve all become a bunch of fucking good-for-nothings! Master Hua made it clear: if even one of these bastards is still within Huaxia’s borders by dawn, the Guardian Institute will be immediately reshuffled! When that happens, it won’t just be that damned head who gets expelled. You, you, and even I could all be on the chopping block!"
Inside the speeding Red Flag car, Director Lin’s furious voice rose again.
Hearing the deadly serious tone in his words, the three men’s faces turned deathly pale.
Before they could respond, Director Lin glanced at his watch. It was already past ten-forty.
He continued in a grave voice, "There are just over six hours until dawn. If there is a single fish that slips through the net in that time, you all know what the consequences will be! Tell me, have you locked down the targets’ locations?"
"Director Lin, our people have had a net out since this afternoon and have them locked down! But... but we still don’t know the extent of their strength. Trying to capture all these groups in just a few hours... I’m afraid that might be difficult! After all, our manpower in Jiangzhou is limited, and... and those bastards aren’t wooden dummies. They’ll definitely flee if they find out the Guardian Institute is making a move!" one of the members said timidly.
"Do you think Master Hua gives a damn about that? Their infiltration of Huaxia is our Guardian Institute’s failure of duty in the first place! Damn it, this is all the time we have! If you don’t want the Guardian Institute to be reshuffled, then I don’t care what methods you use, by dawn, every last one of them must be dealt with! What’s more, I will take action personally!" With a furious wave of his hand, Director Lin, his face a mask of indignation, spat through gritted teeth.
"Yes, Director Lin!"
Faced with his unyielding stance, the Guardian Institute members shivered and replied in unison.
Master Hua was right. They really had grown too comfortable. So comfortable that the mere thought of battle filled them with panic and an indecisive, self-doubting mindset. The Guardian Institute? Perhaps in these long years of peace, those words had lost their original passion and fearless spirit.
「On the rooftop of No. 1 Villa.」
Sitting in a chair, Ye Jizu was lost in thought for a long time. As the underground king of Lingnan, his worldliness was far greater than that of many dignitaries.
A Magic Artifact. A Magic Artifact that could recognize its master. A Magic Artifact that made Zhuge kowtow in thanks for the benevolent gift. A Magic Artifact that prompted Qin Fan’s declaration that all ghouls and fiends would have to give it a wide berth. Just how powerful did something have to be? And he just casually gifted it to Zhuge? It was supposedly a thank-you gift for accompanying him to Macau, but Ye Jizu knew without a doubt that the so-called "accompanying" was nothing more than a sightseeing trip. And yet, it earned him a reward so magnificent it would drive countless experts into a frenzy?
At this moment, Ye Jizu had to admit it. He was green with envy.
He gulped a few times, glancing first at the silhouette of Qin Fan standing by the railing with his hands behind his back, then at Zhuge, who was dripping blood onto his Zen Stick. For some reason, his gaze shifted to the other Zen Stick lying idle on the table.
Driven by curiosity, he reached out and picked it up.
The moment he grasped the Zen Stick, however...
BUZZ—!
The Zen Stick began to shake wildly. It wasn’t trembling in fear, as it had in Qin Fan’s grasp. On the contrary, it was vibrating with excitement, trying to attach itself to Ye Jizu’s hand, to merge with him!
This was understandable. For an ownerless Magic Artifact, especially one like this whose evil spirit had been erased but whose malevolent will lingered, it desperately craved a bridge to a consciousness. Unfortunately for the artifact, Zhuge had always kept it wrapped in a yellow cloth blessed with Dharma power, so the Evil Spirit Zen Staff had never made direct contact with him. In Qin Fan’s hands, permeated by the Vast True Qi, it had been terrified. Only with an ordinary person like Ye Jizu could it feel the sense of a safe harbor, a chance to merge.
But as the trembling intensified, Ye Jizu found he couldn’t shake it off or let it go.
Cold sweat instantly beaded on his skin, and his face turned deathly pale. "Master Qin," he cried out in alarm, "what’s going on? I can’t let go of it!"
Turning to look at Qin Fan’s back, Ye Jizu was gripped by absolute panic.
WHOOSH—!
Beside them, Zhuge, who was in the middle of the blood-binding ritual, snapped his head up at the sound. Seeing the scene, he trembled and shouted, "Master Qin!!!"
"Couldn’t keep your hands to yourself, could you?" Qin Fan teased with a slight smirk, still facing the distant city lights.
Then, he leisurely turned and walked toward the Zen Stick. He grabbed the other end of it.
The moment Qin Fan grasped it, Ye Jizu was able to pull his hand away. In Qin Fan’s hands, however, the Zen Stick buzzed and vibrated wildly, as if trying to escape.
The hand holding the Zen Stick suddenly tightened its grip. Instantly, the Vast True Qi surged into it.
The Zen Stick grew still.
But Qin Fan had no intention of treating it like the one he had given Zhuge.
A righteous Magic Artifact? He didn’t need one. What he wanted was a weapon for killing.