Chapter 34 Ice Lotus, Yin Manshu
With a soft rasp, Jiang Shaoliu pulled the needle out of his ribs and looked at it silently.
He had already felt the needle when it shot out from the cyclone and broke through his Demon Fist.
It was not because his defense was not enough, but due to a momentary distraction during his final strike.
He blinked and said to himself, “Hmm, I need more practice.”
With his muscle power and true qi, his Demon Fist was invulnerable. However, his execution was imperfect because a few of his minor meridians were still not completely cleared.
As he threw the needle away, the iron bar rushed out from the depths of his mind and pulverized Mr. Liu’s and Gui Hu’s heavenly weapons.
Mr. Liu’s weapon was his silver long sword, while Gui Hu’s was a dimly glowing, thin needle.
It was by no means a coincidence that this needle could break through the Demon Fist.
After swallowing the two heavenly weapons, the dents and notches on the iron bar seemed to grow smaller.
Jiang Shaoliu prepared to leave. It would take long time to get through the every last one of his minor meridians and he could just as well do it back in the city.
…
The top floor of the Gangxing Group office building.
A lithe young girl with a ponytail was sitting quietly with her legs crossed, facing a tall French window, her palms resting on her knees. The light curtain swayed gently as she breathed.
A fat middle-aged man was sitting on a large ebony chair. “Manshu, take a break. I will pour a glass of your favorite drink for you.” He said warmly and reached for the liquor cabinet.
“It’s got too many calories. Just a cup of water is fine.” The girl stood up and showed him her beautiful face, with carefully trimmed eyebrows and big eyes with long, curved lashes and full, red lips. She giggled and said sweetly: “Daddy, your belly is getting bigger again, you need to lose weight.”
The middle-aged man poured a glass of water and rubbed his belly thoughtfully. “Those guys from the Hongfa Group are subpar. Their weight-loss pills are barely doing anything.”
The girl smiled sweetly: “Daddy, I meant you need to exercise more. What about doing yoga with me?”
“No, never!” the middle-aged man shook his head violently. “I almost tore a muscle last time you made me try it! Well, I really appreciate your concern for your old man.”
Her grin almost visibly brightened the whole office: “Oh, Daddy, you’re so lazy. I just…”
A knocking at the door interrupted her, reserved but urgent.
The man frowned. “Get it, please.”
The girl silently crossed the room and opened the door. It was Wei Wei, an assistant from the emergency center. She was panting for breath, beads of sweat on her face as if she ran the entire way. “Mr. Yin,” she said in a trembling voice, “we’ve lost contact with Mr. Liu and Gui Hu half an hour ago.”
“Lost contact?” the middle-aged man came up behind his daughter with stony eyes. “I need a detailed report!”
The female assistant looked at the girl for help.
“Daddy, let me deal with it. You should rest,” the girl took the middle-aged man's arm and led him to the sofa, then turned around to the assistant: “Let’s go.”
In the center of the large screen at the emergency center was a freeze frame of Jiang Shaoliu sitting in the middle of a pile of dead wolves and cooking meat over a bonfire.
That was the last picture taken by Gui Hu.
“Who’s that?” Yin Manshu asked.
The temperature in the room dropped noticeably. Some frost began to form on the surface of a cup of coffee the table.
“His name is Jiang Shaoliu, Miss Yin,” the assistant said through chattering teeth, rubbing her hands for warmth. “He killed Wang Wenlong and his team three days ago in Sector 4. We’ve been tracking him since Sha Xing died.”
“Go on,” Yin Manshu said. The room began warming up again.
The assistant nodded, and straightened her hair as she spoke: “Mr. Liu has sent four fighting groups led by Lei She, all of whom went dark yesterday. After that, Mr. Liu and Gui Hu went out to kill him, but we’ve lost contact with them as well about half an hour ago.”
Yin Manshu considered thsi.
This was the first time she’d heard of any of this. How stupid was her staff?
“It’s all because of Mr. Liu and his fellows were bad too. How can they kill Jiang Shaoliu since Lei She is there to cover them?” Yin Manshu sneered and said in a rather cold voice: “Show me all the files we have on Jiang Shaoliu within the next ten minutes. I need everything.”
Then she turned back and left.
All of the staff took a deep breath of relief. One of them poked the assistant’s shoulder, “Miss Wei, don’t just stand there; go get the files for Miss Yin!”
Miss Wei fell down to the ground.
“Ah!!”
The guy covered his mouth and screamed.
Miss Wei’s skin was as cold as ice, her face was stiff, and her heart had stopped beating.
Mr. Liu was already dead and there had to be someone who would take the blame.
…
“Ten-hut!”
At the city gates, Second Lieutenant Chen Fusheng stood with a platoon of soldiers to welcome Jiang Shaoliu.
They had already heard about his recent exploits, and they showed great respect for powerful masters like him.
“Doctor Jiang, why are you doing this yourself? The military would happily pick those monster carcasses up for you,” Chen Fusheng said warmly. “I’ve already informed Liu Guang and Mr. Chen of your return. They should be here soon to pick you up.”
Being called ‘doctor’ made Jiang Shaoliu feel warm inside. People would always call him Doctor Jiang before the disaster, and now he was filled with nostalgia for his veterinary days.
“Well,” Jiang Shaoliu let go of the straps tying the pile of giant wolves together and scratched his head sheepishly, “I’ve eaten most of them on the way.”
Chen Fusheng’s eyes widened. He looked at Jiang Shaoliu’s belly and then at the small mountain of wolf carcasses behind him and asked incredulously: “Most of them? By yourself?”
“Yeah,” Jiang Shaoliu nodded, “I did, but I decided to leave a few. They each have two bronze rings and I need the contribution points to buy some gear.”
Chen Fusheng rubbed his temple and didn’t know what to say.
It would have taken two days for his platoon of over thirty men to finish a single one of those giant wolves. How long did it take Jiang Shaoliu to finish ‘most of them’? One day? Two? How did they even fit in his stomach?
Meanwhile, an armored vehicle arrived and pulled over with a creak. Chen Anguo and Liu Guang jumped out with joyous faces.
“Mr. Jiang, that black bear you sent back is recovering well. Xiao Hui is a little afraid of it and won’t come near it, haha.” Liu Guang patted Jiang Shaoliu on the shoulder, “By the way, I have a gift for you. It’s in the car.”
Chen Anguo saluted and said seriously: “There’s a medal waiting for you back at the city center. The political commissar will award it to you personally. Well, Mr. Jiang, you will become a rich man today!”
Jiang Shaoliu returned the salute and shouted loudly: “Thank you for you appreciation!”
They looked at each other and laughed.
When they got in the vehicle, Liu Guang took out the gift.
“Wow, that’s so nice!” Jiang Shaoliu unwrapped a customized combat suit, whose key parts were protected by alloy materials, while the joints were made of flexible monster hide.
Chen Anguo explained, “This suit cost 15,000 contribution points. It’s made of a composite material that includes elastic alloy metal fibers which can resist small caliber bullets. The matching helmet was too expensive and Liu Guang didn’t want to fork over the points.”
“It cost how much?!” Jiang Shaoliu stared at him wide-eyed. “Damn, doesn’t a whole house cost just 10,000? Why is it so expensive?”
Liu Guang waved a dismissive hand, “Don’t mention it. Those are just houses for ordinary people and cannot be compared to those meant for the masters. I’ve exchanged some of my points for medicine before and didn’t have enough, or I’d have given you a superior combat suit which could block even an RPG blast.”
Jiang Shaoliu nodded appreciatively, having experienced the power of the rocket launcher.
He could only imagine what a suit capable of blocking that would cost.
“Science and technology develop at amazing speeds during conflict. Some of humanity’s greatest inventions were created during times of war,” Chen Anguo remarked. “Handheld laser weapons are still in the experimental stage, but soon they’ll be in the hands of each soldier, and when that happens, the monsters will all be quickly exterminated!”
Jiang Shaoliu nodded.
He was strong, but not enough to ignore laser weapons. He couldn’t even resist a rocket blast, and a laser gun could be even stronger than that.
He could become stronger so that they would be less of a threat to him, but it was still wise to maintain a certain level of awe for modern technology.
As they talked, the scenery on the sides of the road changed quickly, and three giant monsters gradually came into view in front of them.
Jiang Shaoliu’s eyes light up. “Xiao Bai!”
Chapter 34 Ice Lotus, Yin Manshu
With a soft rasp, Jiang Shaoliu pulled the needle out of his ribs and looked at it silently.
He had already felt the needle when it shot out from the cyclone and broke through his Demon Fist.
It was not because his defense was not enough, but due to a momentary distraction during his final strike.
He blinked and said to himself, “Hmm, I need more practice.”
With his muscle power and true qi, his Demon Fist was invulnerable. However, his execution was imperfect because a few of his minor meridians were still not completely cleared.
As he threw the needle away, the iron bar rushed out from the depths of his mind and pulverized Mr. Liu’s and Gui Hu’s heavenly weapons.
Mr. Liu’s weapon was his silver long sword, while Gui Hu’s was a dimly glowing, thin needle.
It was by no means a coincidence that this needle could break through the Demon Fist.
After swallowing the two heavenly weapons, the dents and notches on the iron bar seemed to grow smaller.
Jiang Shaoliu prepared to leave. It would take long time to get through the every last one of his minor meridians and he could just as well do it back in the city.
…
The top floor of the Gangxing Group office building.
A lithe young girl with a ponytail was sitting quietly with her legs crossed, facing a tall French window, her palms resting on her knees. The light curtain swayed gently as she breathed.
A fat middle-aged man was sitting on a large ebony chair. “Manshu, take a break. I will pour a glass of your favorite drink for you.” He said warmly and reached for the liquor cabinet.
“It’s got too many calories. Just a cup of water is fine.” The girl stood up and showed him her beautiful face, with carefully trimmed eyebrows and big eyes with long, curved lashes and full, red lips. She giggled and said sweetly: “Daddy, your belly is getting bigger again, you need to lose weight.”
The middle-aged man poured a glass of water and rubbed his belly thoughtfully. “Those guys from the Hongfa Group are subpar. Their weight-loss pills are barely doing anything.”
The girl smiled sweetly: “Daddy, I meant you need to exercise more. What about doing yoga with me?”
“No, never!” the middle-aged man shook his head violently. “I almost tore a muscle last time you made me try it! Well, I really appreciate your concern for your old man.”
Her grin almost visibly brightened the whole office: “Oh, Daddy, you’re so lazy. I just…”
A knocking at the door interrupted her, reserved but urgent.
The man frowned. “Get it, please.”
The girl silently crossed the room and opened the door. It was Wei Wei, an assistant from the emergency center. She was panting for breath, beads of sweat on her face as if she ran the entire way. “Mr. Yin,” she said in a trembling voice, “we’ve lost contact with Mr. Liu and Gui Hu half an hour ago.”
“Lost contact?” the middle-aged man came up behind his daughter with stony eyes. “I need a detailed report!”
The female assistant looked at the girl for help.
“Daddy, let me deal with it. You should rest,” the girl took the middle-aged man's arm and led him to the sofa, then turned around to the assistant: “Let’s go.”
In the center of the large screen at the emergency center was a freeze frame of Jiang Shaoliu sitting in the middle of a pile of dead wolves and cooking meat over a bonfire.
That was the last picture taken by Gui Hu.
“Who’s that?” Yin Manshu asked.
The temperature in the room dropped noticeably. Some frost began to form on the surface of a cup of coffee the table.
“His name is Jiang Shaoliu, Miss Yin,” the assistant said through chattering teeth, rubbing her hands for warmth. “He killed Wang Wenlong and his team three days ago in Sector 4. We’ve been tracking him since Sha Xing died.”
“Go on,” Yin Manshu said. The room began warming up again.
The assistant nodded, and straightened her hair as she spoke: “Mr. Liu has sent four fighting groups led by Lei She, all of whom went dark yesterday. After that, Mr. Liu and Gui Hu went out to kill him, but we’ve lost contact with them as well about half an hour ago.”
Yin Manshu considered thsi.
This was the first time she’d heard of any of this. How stupid was her staff?
“It’s all because of Mr. Liu and his fellows were bad too. How can they kill Jiang Shaoliu since Lei She is there to cover them?” Yin Manshu sneered and said in a rather cold voice: “Show me all the files we have on Jiang Shaoliu within the next ten minutes. I need everything.”
Then she turned back and left.
All of the staff took a deep breath of relief. One of them poked the assistant’s shoulder, “Miss Wei, don’t just stand there; go get the files for Miss Yin!”
Miss Wei fell down to the ground.
“Ah!!”
The guy covered his mouth and screamed.
Miss Wei’s skin was as cold as ice, her face was stiff, and her heart had stopped beating.
Mr. Liu was already dead and there had to be someone who would take the blame.
…
“Ten-hut!”
At the city gates, Second Lieutenant Chen Fusheng stood with a platoon of soldiers to welcome Jiang Shaoliu.
They had already heard about his recent exploits, and they showed great respect for powerful masters like him.
“Doctor Jiang, why are you doing this yourself? The military would happily pick those monster carcasses up for you,” Chen Fusheng said warmly. “I’ve already informed Liu Guang and Mr. Chen of your return. They should be here soon to pick you up.”
Being called ‘doctor’ made Jiang Shaoliu feel warm inside. People would always call him Doctor Jiang before the disaster, and now he was filled with nostalgia for his veterinary days.
“Well,” Jiang Shaoliu let go of the straps tying the pile of giant wolves together and scratched his head sheepishly, “I’ve eaten most of them on the way.”
Chen Fusheng’s eyes widened. He looked at Jiang Shaoliu’s belly and then at the small mountain of wolf carcasses behind him and asked incredulously: “Most of them? By yourself?”
“Yeah,” Jiang Shaoliu nodded, “I did, but I decided to leave a few. They each have two bronze rings and I need the contribution points to buy some gear.”
Chen Fusheng rubbed his temple and didn’t know what to say.
It would have taken two days for his platoon of over thirty men to finish a single one of those giant wolves. How long did it take Jiang Shaoliu to finish ‘most of them’? One day? Two? How did they even fit in his stomach?
Meanwhile, an armored vehicle arrived and pulled over with a creak. Chen Anguo and Liu Guang jumped out with joyous faces.
“Mr. Jiang, that black bear you sent back is recovering well. Xiao Hui is a little afraid of it and won’t come near it, haha.” Liu Guang patted Jiang Shaoliu on the shoulder, “By the way, I have a gift for you. It’s in the car.”
Chen Anguo saluted and said seriously: “There’s a medal waiting for you back at the city center. The political commissar will award it to you personally. Well, Mr. Jiang, you will become a rich man today!”
Jiang Shaoliu returned the salute and shouted loudly: “Thank you for you appreciation!”
They looked at each other and laughed.
When they got in the vehicle, Liu Guang took out the gift.
“Wow, that’s so nice!” Jiang Shaoliu unwrapped a customized combat suit, whose key parts were protected by alloy materials, while the joints were made of flexible monster hide.
Chen Anguo explained, “This suit cost 15,000 contribution points. It’s made of a composite material that includes elastic alloy metal fibers which can resist small caliber bullets. The matching helmet was too expensive and Liu Guang didn’t want to fork over the points.”
“It cost how much?!” Jiang Shaoliu stared at him wide-eyed. “Damn, doesn’t a whole house cost just 10,000? Why is it so expensive?”
Liu Guang waved a dismissive hand, “Don’t mention it. Those are just houses for ordinary people and cannot be compared to those meant for the masters. I’ve exchanged some of my points for medicine before and didn’t have enough, or I’d have given you a superior combat suit which could block even an RPG blast.”
Jiang Shaoliu nodded appreciatively, having experienced the power of the rocket launcher.
He could only imagine what a suit capable of blocking that would cost.
“Science and technology develop at amazing speeds during conflict. Some of humanity’s greatest inventions were created during times of war,” Chen Anguo remarked. “Handheld laser weapons are still in the experimental stage, but soon they’ll be in the hands of each soldier, and when that happens, the monsters will all be quickly exterminated!”
Jiang Shaoliu nodded.
He was strong, but not enough to ignore laser weapons. He couldn’t even resist a rocket blast, and a laser gun could be even stronger than that.
He could become stronger so that they would be less of a threat to him, but it was still wise to maintain a certain level of awe for modern technology.
As they talked, the scenery on the sides of the road changed quickly, and three giant monsters gradually came into view in front of them.
Jiang Shaoliu’s eyes light up. “Xiao Bai!”
