When the intense sounds of gunfire erupted from the depths of the forest, Lin Leyan’s face became extremely anxious.
The sounds of the gunfire swiftly became even more intense. Then, it abruptly turned sporadic before fading away completely.
Una who was handcuffed to the truck strained her ears to listen to the incoming sounds. However, she dared not move – there was a Four-eyed War Cat right beside her.
After a while, Chen Xiaolian walked out from the forest.
His body was drenched in blood and his clothes were all dyed red. Behind him were around two volunteers.
Seeing Hans who was being supported by Chen Xiaolian, Lin Leyan grew emotional and she rushed forward to meet up with them.
But when she saw that there were only so few volunteers behind Chen Xiaolian, Lin Leyan seemed as though she had just been struck by an iron hammer and she shuddered fiercely.
She looked at Chen Xiaolian only to see him shake his head.
Glistening tears trickled down Lin Leyan’s eyes.
The number of volunteers Chen Xiaolian saved, Hans included, amount to a total of only three people.
All of them were injured and Hans was suffering from the heaviest injury.
Chen Xiaolian had everyone enter the truck, even Lin Leyan. They all went up to the cargo area at the back of the truck.
The one remaining spot beside the driver seat was reserved for Una.
Una did not resist. Lin Leyan did not say anything as well… as for the Four-eyed War Cat, it had prowled back into the forest. However, the two of them had a faint feeling that things weren’t that simple.
It would appear that this Chen Xiaolian really could use magic.
The road that the truck was travelling on was rugged and bumpy. Chen Xiaolian chose not to drive forward at full speed. Instead, he drove forward at a steady speed.
Lin Leyan who was at the cargo area at the back took care of the injured volunteers. Thankfully, these volunteers were only suffering from external injuries. After having some food, they showed signs of recovery.
Una who was in the front fell into a state of fear and silence.
Chen Xiaolian drove the truck to the south for around 20 minutes before speaking up.
His silence earlier had caused Una’s heart to grow increasingly restless. Only when Chen Xiaolian finally opened his mouth did this African woman breathe a sigh of relief.
She understood that the real interrogation process had begun.
“Why would they relentlessly chase after you?” Chen Xiaolian asked. “As far as I know, Zayad has a lot of children. So, why would the rebel army expend so much effort to pursue you?”
Una considered her reply for a moment before slowly saying, “I…”
“I would like to remind you beforehand to carefully consider your answer before opening your mouth.” Chen Xiaolian’s eyes continued looking forward and he spoke with a calm voice. “If you lie, I will know.”
Una sighed and she spoke in a very serious tone. “Father does have a lot of children. But the ones that could gain his trust are far and few. That brother of mine is father’s eldest son. Father gave him authority over the military and trusts him a great deal when it comes to military affairs. But in other matters… he trusts me more.”
“Why?”
“I had studied abroad before. Naturally, I had used a fake name when doing so. In the civilized countries of the West, I learned the ways of Europe and America.” Una said carefully. “Thus, I would usually help my father deal with some… financial related stuff.”
Only then did Chen Xiaolian turn his head to look at Una. He said, “Continue.”
Una exhaled and continued in a whisper, “Father had kept some money abroad in an overseas bank account. That money… I can withdraw it.”
Chen Xiaolian revealed something of a smile and said, “So, they were doing it just for money?”
“The rebel army is very poor,” said Una in a very disdainful voice. “No, more accurately, all of Kombia is piss poor. That money father have would prove very useful for the rebel army – it is a very huge sum of money.”
“How much?”
Una bit her lips heavily and answered, “40 million… US dollars.”
Chen Xiaolian nodded his head a little.
Taking Kombia’s circumstances into account, that was indeed a sizeable amount even for a member of the very wealthy in Kombia.
“If this money is to fall into the hands of the rebel army, they would be able to use it to buy weapons and completely sweep across all of Kombia. They can also use it to hire other forces, recruit even more troops and build a new government… at any rate, they are in serious need of this money.”
Chen Xiaolian was silent.
Una looked at Chen Xiaolian and whispered, “I can give you this money… but in exchange, you must let me go.”
Chen Xiaolian remained silent.
Seconds and minutes ticked by and the truck continued moving forward through the bumpy road. But the atmosphere of silence only caused Una to grow tense.
“I can determine that what you said just now is the truth,” Chen Xiaolian finally opened up his mouth. His words caused Una to breathe a sigh of relief. However, Chen Xiaolian’s next words caused her heart to pound. “Yet, I could also sense that you are hiding something.”
Chen Xiaolian suddenly turned his head and sneered at Una. “So, what should I do? Even though what you told me is the truth, you deliberately hid something from me. Is that considered a lie?”
Una’s body shuddered.
As she was close to him, she could feel the bloody atmosphere coming off Chen Xiaolian’s body and also the intense smell of blood.
She started to shiver.
Chen Xiaolian gave her a glance and he suddenly asked in a hushed tone, “Do you know what a ‘quest’ is?”
“Eh?”
Seeing the blank expression on Una’s face, Chen Xiaolian felt somewhat disappointed.
“Your father is already dead,” Chen Xiaolian said coolly. “Did you know that?”
There was shock on Una’s face as she replied, “No… that is impossible! He… before Kabuka fell, he had already brought his personal guards together with him as he left.”
“I am not lying to you.” Chen Xiaolian smiled and continued, “It’s that warehouse within the city, right? I had gone to the military warehouse; he died before my very eyes. I was there when he breathed his last.”
Una’s face became distorted and she asked, “You… killed him?”
“Something like that.” Chen Xiaolian thought about it – although Bai Qi was the one who killed Zayad, saying that he was the one to kill Zayad was not exactly wrong either.
Una suddenly released an animal like cry. With both hands clutching her head, she began sobbing.
The corners of Chen Xiaolian’s mouth curled into a sneer and he waited quietly as she sobbed for a moment before coldly saying something unexpected, “Stop putting on a show. Seriously… your acting is terrible, you know that? You are clearly not that sad, why pretend like you are? Your crying is too fake, you know?”
Una was stunned.
With one hand on the steering wheel, Chen Xiaolian extended his other hand into his chest and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. After lighting up a cigarette, he took a drag and deliberately puffed the smoke toward Una’s face.
“Matters are getting more complicated and also more interesting.” Chen Xiaolian sneered before continuing, “I was not the only one who wanted to kill your father.”
Chen Xiaolian puffed again and said slowly, “There is a group of people… no, maybe there is more than just one group. At any rate, your father had become an assassination target.
“From what I know, there is no way that those people would take action for just some tens of million dollars. They must surely have an even bigger target.
“I also know of something interesting. Interestingly, after your father died… you, have become the new target.
“This is very interesting. I had killed your brother, Zayad Jr., but he was not a target. Instead, you are.
“I am very curious… when you were working under your father, what kind of role did you play?
“A mere custodian of some properties worth tens of million US dollars? No, I believe there’s far more to it.”
After saying that, Chen Xiaolian cast a stare at Una and said, “I am more curious about one thing though. You see, I realized an interesting detail about you.”
“What detail?”
“The way you reacted to me, that look of shock and fear does not appear genuine.” Chen Xiaolian smiled faintly and continued, “I am not being conceited here. However, there is a very big difference between someone like me and an ordinary human. You had witnessed my prowess, my ability to casually deal with your guards and also my ‘pet’. Yet, even though you had seemed highly shocked then, that expression of yours had a certain difference compared to the expressions of others.”
“I… I don’t understand what you are saying.”
“Don’t understand?” Chen Xiaolian smiled and continued, “The expressions of shock on the others, like that female, Lin Leyan was one that could be described as ‘Oh my God, to think that there could be someone like this’. But yours was more to ‘Ah! It’s another one of those guys!’ Although both types of emotions are also expressions of shock, there are still differences between them.”
After saying that, Chen Xiaolian turned his head to look Una in the eyes. “I am very confident in this feeling of mine. Before this… you have met some other people with abilities like mine, right?”
Una fell silent.
Finally… after struggling for a moment, the woman finally spoke up.
“Kombia… have something that’s even more valuable.”
“What is it?”
“Mine, a type of mine.”
…
On the riverbank…
Most of the corpses on the ground were in pieces; torn arms and limbs were strewn all over the place.
The scene was simply a battlefield of the Shuras!
A lean looking figure who wore a robe was standing in the middle of it all. He wore a steeple-crowned hat on his head and had a black feather inserted into the tip of his hat.
His pair of eyes shone as he looked around. The corners of his mouth were pursed as a hint of a cold smile appeared on his face.
He stepped forward and his boots made its way across the corpses of the rebel soldiers. At the same time, he extended his hand to gently pinch his nose.
There was someone else not far from him. That person was crouched down on the ground, searching for something.
The one who was crouched down finally picked up a finger and shoved that bloody item into his mouth. After sucking on it for a while, an expression of joy appeared on his face and he gave a light sigh. “Time of death is not too long ago. The taste of blood is still very fresh.”
The lean figure halted five steps behind that crouched figure and knitted his eyebrows. Then, he directed a look of disgust at the crouching figure and said, “You are a really nauseating fellow.”
The crouching figure harrumphed and raised his head to check his surroundings. “Most of the dead here were killed by fangs and claws of some wild beast. Very simplistic and crude. Care freely soaking themselves in blood, I like this way of killing. Clearly, we’ve encountered one of our own… these people are definitely of the same type as us. They are either the type that can transform or the type that rears wild beasts as pets.”
“The same as us.” The lean figure sighed. “If there is an intervention by someone who is the same as us, things would get troublesome. Has the target fallen into that party’s hands?”
“How am I supposed to know,” answered the crouching figure who got up. “But since we did not get any system prompt, it would seem that quest target no. 2 is still alive. We should still have a chance.”