Island.
The island.
This is a solitary island over sixty thousand nautical miles from the mainland.
Rather than an island, it might be more appropriate to say it is a somewhat large reef.
The Sky Sea is boundless, the night is deep.
There is nothing on the sea.
Logically, there should be no signs of human presence here.
However, at the moment approaching midnight, five men appeared on the reef.
Their bodies were rigid, their faces expressionless, looking just like dead men.
No one knew how they had arrived at this reef.
The five men just stood there silently, standing erect and motionless.
"Splash!"
A noise came from the water.
Another man surfaced and climbed onto the reef.
He glanced at the other five and said, "Everyone's here, we can begin now."
The five slowly raised their heads.
"Let's start, there are no surveillance systems here, the Central Intelligence will not detect what we say," one of them said.
"The Emperor is about to die," said the second man.
"Your carefully designed strategy did not work, his frail son was stopped at the moment he confessed," said the third man.
"Even if the Central Intelligence analyzes everything, it cannot discern the truth because harboring affection is a natural response of humans, but alas, it failed," sighed the fourth man.
"It's all because of that royal Guardian, his Iron Wire Fist is a true royal heritage, I had someone check the surveillance of the scene, he is at least a Level 10 Soul Power expert," said the fifth man.
A silence followed.
"The Central Intelligence has already upgraded his personal authority and level; we are not allowed to attack him anymore," said the sixth man.
"What do the families think about this matter?" asked the first man.
"Trying to kill Zhao Junyu now is more trouble than it's worth and will definitely expose us," the second man replied.
"Indeed, the Central Intelligence has raised the overall alert level, nothing escapes its eyes," the others said in unison.
"Then..."
"We must eliminate that royal Guardian; without someone like him around, our actions would be much easier."
"Yes, after all... the others are easy to buy off."
"Does anyone else have any objections?"
Quiet returned to the reef.
No one spoke.
"Good, unanimous agreement, now let's find a way to get rid of the royal Guardian all at once."
"As for the method, naturally it falls to that excavated Mobile Battle Armor which is not under the jurisdiction of the Central Intelligence."
The six individuals exchanged looks and nodded, indicating agreement,
"Let's split up and act."
"Remember to erase everything here!" one of them said.
"Let's run the program together."
The six people immediately came together, hugging each other closely—
An electronic voice emanated from one of them:
"Human Mecha self-destruct sequence activated, countdown five seconds commencing."
"Five,"
"Four,"
"Three,"
"Two,"
"One!"
Blazing magma burst out of the six human-like Mechas, wrapping around them, starting to melt their bodies gradually.
Before long, they turned to ashes, no longer existing in the world.
Meanwhile.
In the depths of the great ocean.
Several submarines separated by tens of thousands of nautical miles began to return home.
…
Under the dim streetlight.
Wu Xiaode struggled to control himself from scratching his nose.
It's getting itchier and itchier!
He desperately shifted his attention, casting his gaze onto the Book of the Dead.
The Book of the Dead had quietly flipped open, revealing rows of ice crystal small script:
"You have earned a modicum of appreciation from Xiao Baihong."
"Current approval rating: Half a star."
"The book has resonated with Xiao Baihong for the first time, and according to the level of recognition, something valuable has been extracted from him."
"You have acquired Xiao Baihong's skill: Side Flash (Left Step)."
"—This is a movement technique skill, allowing you to flash away from your original spot at the fastest speed to avoid sneak attacks and gunfire; however, you have only learned half of it."
Just like that!
Since these people all have a standard above Level 10 Soul Power, I must join them and take all their abilities for myself!
Maybe it's dangerous, but in seven days, I'll be going into the Giant's maw anyway.
What have I got to be afraid of!
Wu Xiaode's thoughts raced in his mind, yet he spoke calmly, "I can join, but I need to settle my friend first."
"No problem, having a traditional martial arts expert like you join is our honor,"
Xiao Baihong smiled pleasantly, pulling out a laptop from his bag, opening it, and quickly began typing.
"What's this for?" Wu Xiaode asked.
"I'm sending the video of you fighting on the playground to the boss and the team members; then, you'll have to answer four questions before you can join," Xiao Baihong replied.
"Answering questions?" Wu Xiaode frowned.
"Yes, you know the drill, that guy, he's really annoying," said Xiao Baihong.
"You do it, I'll wait," Wu Xiaode said.
Xiao Baihong nodded and continued typing, seemingly initiating a multi-person video conference.
At that moment, Wu Xiaode's nose became unbearable to ignore.
—I should be able to scratch my nose without using my hands.
He walked over to the corner of the wall.
Xiao Baihong finally got everything set up and whispered, "Let's welcome the top expert of the Iron Wire Stream, the seventeen-year-old Wu Xiaode, to join us!"
He turned the laptop around, aligning the camera with Wu Xiaode.
On the screen, numerous video windows were open, with various people looking toward Wu Xiaode.
However, Wu Xiaode had already taken a few steps away.
He walked along the wall by the roadside, hands clasped behind him, rubbing his nose against the wall.
Silence fell over the notebook.
"To possess such strength at seventeen, he indeed qualifies to join," a shadow spoke up from the center of the screen.
Xiao Baihong cracked a smile and said, "Exactly what the boss says."
"We are indeed in need of powerful martial artists with potential, so let's vote now," the shadow continued.
"Those who disagree speak up, those who agree remain silent."
A person in the top-left corner of the screen, wearing a gray rhino mask, spoke out, "Didn't you see him rubbing against the wall? He's another madman just like Xiao Baihong, and he's too young, knowing nothing. I disagree. What do the rest of you think?"
A moment of silence.
Xiao Baihong tilted his head to look at him, a smile on his face, but a hint of barely perceptible murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
"One vote against. The rest agree. Passed," pronounced the shadow.
The person with the gray rhino mask snorted discontentedly and buzzed, "Now comes the final step, he must answer four questions without lying. Lying is seen as an insult to the team, and we will join forces to kill him."
Xiao Baihong quickly shouted to Wu Xiaode, "Hey, come here for the questions, and remember not to lie. We have a master here who can detect lies."
"Why do you remind him? Wouldn't it be more fun to have him lie and then I can rip him to shreds?" said the man with the gray rhino mask with ill intent.
Xiao Baihong ignored him and just looked at Wu Xiaode.
The wall was very hard.
After some friction, Wu Xiaode's nose was finally not itchy anymore.
He felt extremely comfortable and walked back unhurriedly, saying, "Seems like I'm being targeted."
Xiao Baihong nodded ambiguously, smiling yet unfathomable.
At that moment, the central shadow asked, "You barely exerted any effort with your Iron Wire Fist, which makes it hard to discern its authenticity—speaking truthfully, the technique has been lost for three hundred years, so is yours the real deal or a fake?"
Wu Xiaode, who had been listening all along, occasionally glancing back, naturally knew the shadow was the core figure of the team. So, he replied directly,
"It's the genuine technique passed down from the ancestors of the Zhao family, no deception or counterfeits here, guaranteed genuine."
The man with the gray rhino mask bent over and rifled through the ground, pulling out a doll.
As soon as Wu Xiaode finished answering, the doll immediately spoke,
"Truth! Truth!"
Wu Xiaode's expression tensed.
So that was it.
The doll's voice was exactly the same as that which had come from the mouth of the female corpse at Xia Huilan's home.
It's you!
No wonder you seem so displeased with me.
No wonder Xiao Baihong wears that enigmatic smile on his face.
He glanced at Xiao Baihong.
—So it's this guy.
Xiao Baihong shot him a glance, with his gaze stopping on Wu Xiaode's fist.
—Seize the chance to get rid of him together?
Wu Xiaode nodded slightly.
—Sure, no problem.
Xiao Baihong's smile grew even broader.
Satisfied with Wu Xiaode's answer, the shadow nodded and said, "I am done asking, does anyone else have a question?"
The man with the gray rhino mask rushed to follow up, "Kid, what trick did you use to move across the city so erratically?"
Wu Xiaode paused, then quickly realized what was going on.
This guy has been tracking me!
After that round of questioning, he had been trying to figure out my whereabouts, and the reason—
No need to ponder that.
My answer had angered him, and he wanted to kill me to vent his frustration.
Perhaps that's exactly what piqued Xiao Baihong's curiosity, leading him to investigate the whole affair.
Xiao Baihong wants to kill this evil mage!
The Book of the Dead confirmed it, after all—I had won his approval, and that couldn't be faked!
This was why Xiao Baihong made the effort to find me.
After all, both the evil mage and I were naturally sworn enemies; simply by bringing me over, the probability of killing him increased significantly!
Everything became crystal clear.
And I gained a piece of intelligence in passing.
The other party can't fly.
If he could, he wouldn't have asked such a question.
Because if he could keep up with my speed, he'd be able to corner me.
These thoughts may sound slow when spoken, but they flashed through Wu Xiaode's mind in an instant.
Wu Xiaode's expression unchanged, he chuckled, "I navigate using the XS8860 model smartphone's built-in GPS, so I can find my destination pretty fast."
As soon as Wu Xiaode finished, the doll immediately spoke,
"Truth! Truth!"
The man with the gray rhino mask couldn't hold back any longer and bellowed, "Kid, you're fooling around with me again. I'll kill you sooner or later and imprison your soul in a corpse—"
"Guessing Mage, silence," the central figure in the screen commanded.
The man with the gray rhino mask shook, forcibly restraining himself.
Wu Xiaode chuckled, "I've been answering the questions honestly all the while; it's just that your level of questioning isn't sufficient—"
The scene of the female corpse tied to the chair flashed through Wu Xiaode's mind.
He murmured, "Perhaps, you haven't gone to school?"
That remark set off the man wearing the gray rhino mask.
He roared, "Come on, I'll ask the third question—"
"Kid, who was it that dealt you your most crushing defeat?"
Wu Xiaode looked at him indifferently.
Some conflicts might be resolved, but that man had used evil magic on me back then, and any slight mistake would have turned me into his puppet. From that moment on, I remembered this guy.
It's either my death or your demise!
Wu Xiaode calmly thought, yet heard the man urging sharply,
"Kid, answer quickly!"
Wu Xiaode suddenly laughed and said in a conversational tone,
"Atop Corpse Mountain, there lies an extremely terrifying guy."
"He enjoys eating humans and is very picky—the ones who fear him too much don't even qualify to be eaten by him but are used to pile up Corpse Mountain instead."
"For countless years, nobody has defeated him; in fact, no one has even been able to land a hit on his body. A trash like you would only be fit to be devoured by him—though I'm not his match either, I did slap him across the face."
"Of course, I couldn't beat him."
"That was my defeat."
Immediately, the doll cried out, "Truth! Truth!"