n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chapter 352 A Trap!
The next day, I continued to search around the Icy Forest Graveyard map. Once again I found a large amount of Spirit Recovering Grass. In the afternoon, Matcha sent me a message.
âBoss, Our First Divisionâs Wang Jiang is coming to Suzhou from Hangzhou. Heâll be here at around 1. Did you know about this?â
âI didnât. What happened?â I asked.
Matcha opened her voice message and said, âIt seems like itâs about Rainyâs problems. After Rainy is finished with her classes, sheâll come here as well. Sheâll probably be here in an hour or so. It should be the problem regarding her brother, soâ¦â¦â
I frowned, âWhy didnât Rainy listen to me. Hmph. If they come, then theyâll come. Go pick them up later and Iâll come over to the studio as well.
âOkay. Iâll contact them then. Theyâre probably almost here. Iâll make a reservation at Hu Spices then.
âOkay. Thanks for telling me. Iâll come over right now.â
âOkay!â
â¦â¦
In the afternoon, I wasnât with Wan Er and Dong Cheng like usual. Instead, I was standing in front of Hu Spices.
In the restaurant, Matcha, Song Han, Old K and Fox were there already. There were also two others. One was the 20 year old Rainy who was still in college. She was fairly pretty so Iâd give her a 7. The other one was Wang Jiang. A 20 year old youngster with large eyes. Seeing me come over, he immediately stood up and respectfully said, âGuild Master!â
I laughed. âNo need to be too polite. Sit.â
Rainyâs eyes were red and swollen as she looked at me and said, âBoss, I really⦠I really donât know what to do. There isnât any information regarding my brother. The police couldnât find any clues about his whereabouts either. I think⦠If I stay in Suzhou, Iâll be able to find him. At least⦠at least Iâll be closer to himâ¦â¦â
I took a deep breath and said, âRainy, donât worry too much. Theyâll find your brother. You⦠You should stay over at the studio tonight. Stay with Matcha. That way Iâll feel a little more assured about your safety.
âOkayâ¦â¦â
â¦â¦
After settling Rainy and Wang Jiang down, I stayed at the studio for a bit to check over whatâs been happening. Although we have a large shop with a massive fortune, the studio did not meddle with any of [Zhan Long]âs funds. All the profits were used to buy equipment for the guild members. Good thing Matcha and Old K were able to level fast, the studioâs improvement was very impressive.
In the afternoon, Rainy cried a few more times. Wang Jiang carefully comforted and looked after her. We could all tell that this kid really cared for Rainy. Maybe it was the result of love. As for what happened to Rainy, we canât do anything but pray. Qin Meng ending up in Blood Scythe hands means that his life was left up to fate.
I waited until around 10 at night before changing into a nice shirt and bringing out Xiao Hei.
Matcha smiled, âBoss, Where are you going in the middle of the night all dressed up like that?â
âUhâ¦â I wavered. âTo help Rainy look for her brother. Haha. Leaving in the middle of the night is a bit more convenient.â
Sitting on the sofa, Rainy stood up, âBoss. Really? But⦠but somehow I feel like youâre lying to me. I feel like youâre going to a bar, dressing all nicely and stuff. You also brought along a guitarâ¦â
I replied, âRainy, you gotta trust me. If I say Iâm helping you find him, then Iâll be looking for him.â
âOkayâ¦â¦â
Rainy forced a smile, âThen work hard, Boss!â
âOkay. Stay here and wait for my good news!â
âOkay!â
â¦â¦
After leaving, I went straight to the base. There, a twenty-person squad was all ready. I quickly changed into my battle gear as well, and put my badge onto my shoulder with a âPaâ sound. Next, I put two army knifes on each of my holster and strapped Xiao Hei onto my back. I had my handgun as well. Since the operation didnât need it, there was no need to bring a sniper rifle.
Everyone was ready. Wang Xin waved his hands and said, âLi Xiao Yao will lead. Since Shen Bing is familiar with the area, sheâll go as well.â
On the side, a fully equipped Shen Bing smiled and nodded, âOkay!â
I stared, âSister Shen Bing, youâre going as well?â
âWhat? Afraid that Iâll drag you down?â
âNot, Butâ¦â¦â
âNo buts. Letâs go!â
âOkayâ¦â¦â
â¦â¦
After getting into the car, we ventured deep into the city at night. At around 12PM, the car stopped in a small alleyway. I gave my signal, and the group quickly got off the car without a sound. Shen Bing carried a sub-machine gun and was trying to get off as well. I grabbed her hand, and she turned to stare at me, âHey. What are you doing?â
I looked at her. âSister Shen Bing, youâll follow me. Make sure to be carefulâ¦â¦â
âOkay!â
In front, a member unlocked the door to the mall and with his signal, everyone entered. When we got in, Shen Bing turned on her flashlight and thoroughly scouted the mall. Shen Bing whispered, âThat door, itâll lead us underground. Letâs go!â
Two members swiftly opened the door and went straight down.
I also extended my Yi Hai and didnât feel any super powers within a 5 kilometer radius. I could tell that something was wrong, but we couldnât turn back now. After following them, we entered the secret room in the basement. The hall was dark and felt damp on my skin. My shoes made a crackling sound with every step. There was also a strange odor pervading the air.
âWhat happened?â Shen Bing asked when she noticed my reaction.
I blinked a bit. âI smell somethingâ¦â¦â
âWhat do you smell?â
âThe scent of human bloodâ¦â¦â
ââ¦â¦â
By then, three members surrounded the door in front of us and said, âBoss, behind this is the 3rd level basement. Itâs locked electronically. What do we do? Force it open?â
âMove!â
I unsheathed Xiao Hei and rushed forward and slashed the lock with one stroke!
âKeng!â
The lock broke in half and activated the alarms. Shen Bing quickly moved forward and disabled a wire, causing the alarms to shut off. After the doors opened, an even more foul scent wafted through.
I quickly lifted my hands and turned on the flashlight on the gun to scan the dark room. There were large containers all over the room; all of them were filled with human body parts. Some of them only had limbs soaked in some sort of water. There were some scales on the limbs as well. These were probably some failed experiments.
âDonât touch anything!â I yelled.
Shen Bing held a heat detector, âLi Xiao Yao, I see⦠I see that the container in front of us has a strong life force. Whatâs going on?â
âWhat? It detected a strong life force?â
âYeah!â
One of the members quickly moved forward, extended his hands to try and turn off the switch connected to the container.
âStop!â
I quickly yelled and walked forward. Looking at it, there was a message lighting up on the top. I couldnât understand it at all. Shen Bing walked up as well and said, âIt seems like there should be a human⦠or should I say, some sort of animal in hereâ¦â¦â
âBoss, do we open it or not?â One of the members asked.
I gritted my teeth. âIf we donât open it, weâll be going back empty-handed. You guys move away. Iâll open it!â
âWhy?â Shen Bing asked.
âItâs safer this way!â
Shen Bing pulled me away. âNo, youâre the leader. How can you go and do such dangerous task?!â
I sighed and said, âSister Shen Bing, just listen to my order. Itâs because Iâm the leader that I have to do it. Everyone fall back until I make sure itâs safe. Quickly.â
The members all quickly retreated. I walked up and extended my hands towards the lever for the huge container and slowly opened it. After opening it, a âChi Chi Ya Yaâ sounded out and steam began leaking out. After looking inside, I was surprised to find half a human body in there, containing only the chest area to the head. The rest were cut off already. However, this personâs eyes were still open. He revealed a mocking smile and stared at me, âYouâre finally here?â
I suddenly noticed a trigger beside his head that activated time bomb. It was starting to tick!
Sheet!
I quickly yelled, âFall back now, thereâs a bomb!â
The countdown was set to only a second. As I started yelling, I could already see the bomb starting to explode. I quickly raised my internal energy to the maximum level, as the air around me started to spin. This was the only mode of protection that I could think of. After turning, I quickly hugged Shen Bing who was the closest to me.
â¦â¦
âBoom!â
A loud explosion echo sounded from behind me. My body felt scorching hot as Shen Bing screamed. The explosion hit at least 10 meters around us. The other members quickly ducked for cover in order to dodge the incoming debris.
I felt a piercing pain on my back. I knew that no matter how strong my internal energy was, I couldnât block a modern day bomb, So I gathered all my energy around me to protect Shen Bing.
My mind went blank. All I could think about was Shen Bingâs desperate screams.
â¦â¦
âLi Xiao Yaoâ¦â¦ Li Xiao Yaoâ¦â¦â
After waking up again, I was lying down in the center of a hall. Shen Bing was crying while hugging onto me. After seeing that I woke up, she rubbed her tears and said, âYou finally woke up. You finally woke up. Thank god⦠Thank godâ¦â¦â
I used my strength to try and move my body. After looking around, I said, âSister Shen Bing, We⦠We fell into a trap, didnât we?â
Shen Bing nodded with tears in her eyes, âYeah. Those Blood Scythe bastards. Planning a trap like this for usâ¦â¦â
âWhat are the casualties?â
âOne dead and six injured. Youâre also heavily injuredâ¦â¦â
I tried to feel my bodyâs situation and said, âTwo bomb fragments are piercing my backâ¦â¦ Take me back to the base quickly.â
âOkay.â
Fortunately I began gathering my energy before the blast. If I hadnât, those two bomb fragments wouldâve pierced my body. Then I wouldâve really been dead.
â¦â¦
Back at the base, Wang Xinâs eyes were red from waiting. He slammed his fist on the desk, âBastards. Those bastards are really fucking crazy. Iâ¦â¦ Iâll⦠definitely destroy them all!â
I shakily stood up and extended my arms towards Wang Xinâs shoulders, âDid the medics arrive? Get the bomb fragments⦠outâ¦â¦â
â¦â¦