Chapter 21

Island.

Seaside island.

This is an isolated island, more than 60,000 nautical miles away from the mainland.

Rather than calling it an island, it might be more accurate to describe it as a slightly larger sea reef.

The vast sea was boundless, and the night was deep.

There was nothing on the sea.

Logically, it was impossible for any human presence to appear here.

However, at around midnight, five men appeared on the reef.

They were stiff, their faces expressionless, looking like the dead.

No one knew how they had arrived at the reef.

The five men stood silently, motionless.

"Swish!"

A sound came from the sea.

Another man emerged from the water and climbed onto the reef.

He looked at the other five and said, "Everyone is here. We can start now."

The five men slowly raised their heads.

"Let's begin. There are no cameras here, and the Central AI won't detect what we say," one of them said.

"The emperor is dying," the second person said.

"The strategy you carefully planned didn't work. His frail and sickly son was stopped just as he was about to confess," the third person said.

"No matter how much the Central AI analyzes, it won't uncover the truth. Falling in love is a natural human reaction, but unfortunately, it failed," the fourth person sighed.

"It's all because of that royal guardian. His Iron Wire Fist is a royal tradition. I've seen the surveillance footage; he's at least a 10-point soul force expert," the fifth person said.

There was a moment of silence.

"The Central AI has already elevated his personal authority and rank, and it's forbidden to attack him," the sixth person said.

"What do the families think about this?" the first person asked.

"Killing Zhao Junyu now would be counterproductive and would certainly expose us," the second person said.

"That's true. The Central AI has raised the entire alert level, and nothing can escape its eyes," the others agreed.

"Then..."

"Let's focus on eliminating that royal guardian. Without him, our actions will be much easier."

"Yes, after all... the others are easy to buy."

"Does anyone have any other suggestions?"

Silence fell over the reef again.

No one spoke.

"Very well, unanimous decision. Now, let's find a way to eliminate the royal guardian."

"As for the method, we'll use the excavated mecha. It's not under the Central AI's control."

The six men looked at each other, nodded in agreement.

"Let's act separately."

"Remember to erase everything here!" one of them said.

"Let's run the program."

The six men gathered together, hugging each other—

An electronic voice sounded from one of them:

"Humanoid mecha self-destruction program activated. Countdown starting in five seconds."

"Five,"

"Four,"

"Three,"

"Two,"

"One!"

Scorching magma erupted from the six humanoid mechas, enveloping them and gradually melting their bodies.

In no time, they were reduced to ashes, ceasing to exist in the world.

At the same time.

In the depths of the ocean.

Several submarines, separated by tens of thousands of nautical miles, began to return.

...

Under the dim streetlights.

Wu Xiaode struggled to control himself from scratching his nose.

It was getting itchier and itchier!

He desperately shifted his attention, focusing on the Book of the Undead.

The Book of the Undead had already quietly opened, revealing lines of icy small text:

"You have earned a bit of admiration from Xiao Baihong."

"Current approval level: half a star."

"This book has resonated with Xiao Baihong once and extracted valuable things from him based on the approval level."

"You have obtained Xiao Baihong's skill: Side Step (Left Foot)."

"—This is a movement skill that allows you to quickly dodge from your original position to avoid ambushes and gunfire, but you only got half of it."

That's it!

Since these people are all at least 10-point soul force level, I must join them and extract their abilities!

This might be dangerous, but in seven days, I have to go into the giant's mouth.

What do I have to fear?

Wu Xiaode's thoughts raced, but his face remained calm. "I can join, but I need to settle my friend first."

"No problem. It's an honor to have an ancient martial arts expert like you join us," Xiao Baihong said, smiling. He pulled out a laptop from his bag, opened it, and started typing quickly.

"What are you doing?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"I'm sending the video of your fight on the playground to the boss and team members. Then you need to answer four questions to join," Xiao Baihong explained.

"Answer questions?" Wu Xiaode frowned.

"Yes, you know how it is. That guy is really annoying," Xiao Baihong said.

"Go ahead, I'll wait," Wu Xiaode said.

Xiao Baihong nodded and continued typing, apparently initiating a group video call.

At this point, Wu Xiaode couldn't resist the itch in his nose anymore.

—Can I at least scratch my nose without using my hands?

He walked toward the corner.

Xiao Baihong finally finished and said softly, "Let's welcome the top expert of the Iron Wire School, the seventeen-year-old Wu Xiaode, to join us!"

He turned the laptop around, aiming the camera at Wu Xiaode.

Many video windows appeared on the screen, and various people looked at Wu Xiaode.

However, Wu Xiaode had already taken a few steps away.

He leaned against the wall, hands behind his back, and rubbed his nose against it.

Silence fell in the laptop.

"A seventeen-year-old with such strength indeed has the qualifications to join," a shadow in the center of the screen said.

Xiao Baihong grinned. "As the boss says."

"We are in need of a powerful and promising martial artist. Let's vote," the shadow said.

"Those who disagree, speak up. Those who agree, remain silent."

A man in the top-left corner wearing a gray rhinoceros mask spoke up: "Didn't you see him rubbing his nose against the wall? He's another lunatic like Xiao Baihong, and he's too young, knowing nothing. I disagree. What do the rest of you think?"

Silence.

Xiao Baihong tilted his head, smiling, but a hint of hidden malice flashed in his eyes.

"One vote against, the rest agree. Passed," the shadow said.

The man in the gray rhinoceros mask grunted, his voice buzzing:

"Now for the final step. He must answer four questions without lying. Lying is considered an insult to the team, and we will all kill him together."

Xiao Baihong quickly shouted to Wu Xiaode, "Hey, come answer the questions. Remember not to lie. We have an expert who can detect lies."

"Why are you reminding him? Let him lie, and then I'll tear him apart. Wouldn't that be more fun?" the man in the gray rhinoceros mask said with ill intent.

Xiao Baihong ignored him and just looked at Wu Xiaode.

The wall was hard.

After a bit of rubbing, Wu Xiaode's nose finally stopped itching.

He felt incredibly comfortable and walked back slowly, saying, "Seems like I'm being targeted."

Xiao Baihong smiled, his expression inscrutable.

At this moment, the shadow in the center asked, "Your Iron Hand Blocking the River used only a fraction of its power, making it hard to tell if it's real—be honest, is this move genuine or not?"

Wu Xiade had been listening and occasionally glancing back, knowing the shadow was the core figure of the team. He answered directly:

"It's genuine, passed down from the Zhao family, no lies, no tricks."

The man in the gray rhinoceros mask bent down, picked up a doll from the ground.

As soon as Wu Xiaode finished answering, the doll immediately said:

"Truth! Truth!"

Wu Xiade's expression tightened.

So that's how it is.

The doll's voice was identical to the one that came from the corpse's mouth at Xia Huilan's house.

It's you!

No wonder you look at me with such disdain.

No wonder Xiao Baihong has that enigmatic smile on his face.

He glanced at Xiao Baihong.

—So it's you.

Xiao Baihong gave him a meaningful look, his eyes on Wu Xiaode's fist.

—Find a chance to take him out together?

Wu Xiaode nodded slightly.

—Sure, no problem.

Xiao Baihong's smile grew wider.

The shadow, satisfied with Wu Xiaode's answer, nodded and said, "I'm done. Who else wants to ask?"

The man in the gray rhinoceros mask quickly spoke up, "Kid, what method did you use to move around the city so freely?"

Wu Xiaode was taken aback but quickly understood.

This guy has been tracking me!

After the questioning, he was trying to figure out my movements, and the reason—

There's no need to guess.

Perhaps this is why Xiao Baihong became curious and investigated the whole thing.

Xiao Baihong also wants to kill me!

When Xiao Baihong saw the ancestral spirit fighting in the square, he concluded that I have the strength of an ancestral spirit.

This is why Xiao Baihong went to great lengths to find me.

After all, I and this sorcerer are natural enemies, and by bringing me in, the chances of killing him increase significantly!

Everything is clear now.

And I got a piece of information.

He can't fly.

If he could fly, he wouldn't ask such a question.

Because his speed would be enough to catch up with me and block me.

Though it seems slow, these thoughts flashed through Wu Xiaode's mind in an instant.

Wu Xiaode's expression remained unchanged as he smiled and said, "I used the navigation system on my XS8860 phone to guide my way, so I could quickly find my destination."

As soon as Wu Xiaode finished, the doll immediately said:

"Truth! Truth!"

The man in the gray rhinoceros mask couldn't hold back his anger and shouted, "Kid, you're playing me. I'll kill you and imprison your soul in a corpse—"

"Guessmo, be quiet," the shadow in the center said.

The man in the gray rhinoceros mask shook his body, barely restraining himself.

Wu Xiaode smiled, "I've been answering honestly. It's just that your questions are not up to par—"

The image of the woman tied to the chair flashed in Wu Xiaode's mind.

He said softly, "Maybe you didn't go to school?"

This immediately set off the man in the gray rhinoceros mask.

He roared, "Come on, the third question is still mine—

"Kid, who gave you your worst defeat?"

Wu Xiaode glanced at him coolly.

Some conflicts can be resolved, but this man used sorcery on him. If he answered incorrectly, he would become a puppet. From that moment on, he remembered this guy.

Wu Xiaode thought calmly and heard the man's harsh urging:

"Kid, answer quickly!"

Wu Xiaode suddenly smiled and said in a casual tone:

"On that mountain of corpses, there is an extremely terrifying being."

"He likes to eat people and is very picky. Those who are too afraid of him don't even deserve to be eaten, only to be piled up on that mountain of corpses."

"For countless years, no one has ever defeated him, and no one has even managed to hit his body. You, a piece of trash, would only be eaten by him—while I, though not his match, slapped him in the face."

"Of course, I can't defeat him."

"That's my failure."

The doll immediately called out: "Truth! Truth!"