Chapter 38

Let's rewind a bit.

After Wu Xiaode transferred the money to the thugs, they left the martial arts school.

On the street.

The thug with the beaten nose whispered, "Brother Xiaoyi, that fat cat has money. Why don't we—"

"Idiot!"

Lu Yi slapped him hard, causing his nose to bleed again.

He stood there, eyes filled with menace, and scanned his subordinates, growling, "You all saw that he can press his hand into the wall. Do you still dare to cause trouble?"

"Boss, Qian Mingkui and his daughter are his weak points. He gave us the money, didn't he?" one thug asked, puzzled.

"We can call more people, everyone with knives, and make a big move," another thug suggested.

Lu Yi, frustrated by their lack of understanding, said, "If we dare to take that money, we'll end up in jail, with a sentence that will stick. Got it?"

He glanced at his subordinates, noticing a few still had skeptical looks.

This time, Lu Yi had to be more explicit:

"Brothers, since he has so much money, what do you think about the power behind him?"

"Even if he's alone, the money he has is enough to hire truly dangerous people to kill us. Understand?"

"Every year, there are some wandering killers who will kill for money and then disappear."

"If we provoke him, and he doesn't care about Qian Mingkui and runs away, he could just throw some money to those people to take our lives. Do we have a way out then?"

"You idiots, uneducated and still treating rich people like fools."

"Do you really think rich people's money falls from the sky? They are more ruthless and cunning than us, which is why they have so much money. Understand?"

After Lu Yi finished, he saw the desire in their eyes gradually fade, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's go, we'll have a good meal today."

He waved his hand.

One of his subordinates, panicked, said, "Boss, why is there no one on the street!"

They looked around.

The street was empty, not a single person in sight.

Complete silence.

Only the rain began to fall, making a "rustling" sound.

This was clearly not normal.

The thugs, recalling the various anomalies they had seen on TV in the past few days, felt a bit scared.

Lu Yi, who had some quick wits, whispered, "Don't make a sound, and don't go far. Let's find a place to hide and see what's going on."

He saw that the door of the pork shop across the street was open, so he called his subordinates to run in.

The shop was empty.

"Close the door and don't make any noise," he ordered.

The door was closed.

Lu Yi squatted by the wall and asked, "Does this shop have any surveillance?"

"They have cameras, boss."

A thug looked at the computer behind the counter, operated it, and said,

"I've adjusted the live feed. There are a few cameras outside the shop, so we can see what's happening around us," the thug explained.

The other thugs looked at him with admiration.

"You should have continued your studies," Lu Yi patted his head and said.

"Wait, what's that kid doing?" a thug asked curiously.

They crowded around the computer screen.

The rain was getting heavier.

Occasionally, there were flashes of lightning.

They saw Wu Xiaode walk to the center of the street.

A person appeared on the street.

Gunshots.

Conversation, action.

Wu Xiaode's voice echoed from the street outside,

"You lie buried in the earth, your bones turned to dust, while I remain in the world, my head covered in snow."

He drew his long sword and slashed at the sky several times.

Clang!

The sword returned to its sheath.

Wu Xiaode stood still.

The thugs couldn't help but exclaim,

"That kid's sword is really fast."

"Did you see how he slashed? Just a few swift strokes—too damn cool!"

"Brother Xiaoyi has good judgment. With that sword technique, he could kill me before I even react."

Lu Yi frowned, puzzled, "What is he slashing at in the sky?"

The thugs looked up together.

There was nothing in the sky.

"Brother Xiaoyi, you're being too careful. Maybe he's just slashing around, showing off to others," the thug who had just used a tissue to stop his nosebleed said.

"Hmm... I still feel something is off..." Lu Yi whispered.

As he spoke,

A thunderclap echoed through the sky.

The thugs were startled and cautiously crawled to the window, pulling back the blinds to look outside.

"What is that!" a thug exclaimed.

Lu Yi slapped him, signaling him to be quiet.

In the sky,

A massive steel object, over ten meters tall, appeared in the air, its body shattered, emitting irregular lightning and sparks.

The steel object was engulfed in fierce flames, emitting thick smoke, like a fireball or a meteor, falling toward the mountain opposite.

Boom—

The ground shook.

Black smoke and red flames intertwined, slowly rising into the sky.

A powerful shockwave swept through the area.

Dark clouds gathered, and the temperature dropped sharply.

Almost instantly,

A strong wind blew, turning the long street into a blurry scene of rain.

The thugs were speechless.

This was—

Simply the power of a god!

"Brother Xiaoyi!"

The thug operating the camera cried out.

Lu Yi shivered, came to his senses, and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Look!"

The thug pointed at the computer screen.

Lu Yi looked down and saw rows of dense characters on the screen.

"What's going on!" he asked.

"It's too strange. Someone knows I opened the video and is copying the footage! The firewall is useless, I don't know who's doing this—I don't know who's doing this!" the thug shouted, panicked.

Lu Yi was stunned.

By this time, the video on the computer had been copied.

A line of small text appeared on the screen:

"The video has been deleted. Don't talk nonsense, your lives are important too."

The computer automatically shut down.

Lu Yi looked at his subordinates, who all had blank expressions.

—Who would know there was a computer here?

This was just a pork shop's surveillance... which happened to record the battle just now.

Who could do this?

A deep fear rose in Lu Yi's heart.

On the other side,

On the street,

The middle-aged man stood in the pouring rain, drenched to the bone, not moving, even as the cigarette in his mouth went out.

That kid's slash just now—

Wasn't it—

Could it be—

That it hit the steel monster?

...That's the only explanation.

But could a human do such a thing?

No.

How could a human do such a thing.

Boom!

A thunderclap echoed through the sky.

The rain grew heavier.

Wu Xiaode sheathed his sword and grinned at the old man in the holographic image.

"Imperial Military Department, Commander, Ge Lengshan?"

The old man was stunned, his face muscles twitching, and he burst out, "You should have been dead long ago. Where did you learn such sword techniques? Who taught you?"

"I should have been dead?"

Wu Xiaode wiped the rain from his face and said seriously, "That's true. You almost succeeded, but on the way to hell, I turned back—"

"Yes, I came back from hell."

"I was resurrected."

The video suddenly turned off.

Wu Xiaode slowly turned to look at the middle-aged man.

"Did your master run away?" he asked.

The middle-aged man didn't speak.

Wu Xiaode shook his head, turned, and walked to the other end of the street.

The middle-aged man, holding a phone, gritted his teeth, quietly reached into his pocket, and pulled out a gun—

Swish!

Wu Xiaode, without turning his head, slashed with his sword.

The middle-aged man froze.

A line of blood appeared on his body, expanding.

His body split into two and fell into the muddy rain.

"Self-defense, no criminal liability."

Wu Xiaode, without turning his head, said and continued walking with his sword.

He extended his other hand, and the Book of the Dead flew to him, opening in front of him.

"Actually, I just didn't want you to see me turn into a bird. You insisted on finding your own death."

He lightly touched the Book of the Dead.

A shadow fell from the heavy clouds.

A crow landed on Wu Xiaode's shoulder, shook its feathers, and yawned,

"Business or fun?"

"Let's check the sky."

"No need, I saw nothing when I came," the crow said.

"Nothing?" Wu Xiaode was surprised.

"Nothing," the crow confirmed.

"These big shots... they wear a high and mighty facade but hide in the sewers, not in the clouds," Wu Xiaode sighed.

Wu Xiaode thought for a moment, took out his phone, and called Zhao Junyu.

"Beep—Beep—"

"Hello, Xiao Wu," Zhao Junyu answered.

"Is there a commander in the Imperial Military Department named Ge Lengshan, bald, with a hooked nose, and has a servant feeding him grapes?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"Yes, but he belongs to a secret department, and I don't know where he is," Zhao Junyu said.

"He's a commander of the empire, and you don't know?"

"Shut up, I'm just a prince, not a human search engine. I'll help you look it up later."

"…I thought I had one," Wu Xiaode said, disappointed.

"Did something happen?" Zhao Junyu asked, nervous.

"I think nothing will happen for now," Wu Xiaode said.

"Alright, I'll hang up and contact you later."

"Okay."

The call ended.

Wu Xiaode thought for a moment and turned to walk toward the martial arts school.

He had taken a few steps when he heard a slight sound from his sword.

He lifted the sword and saw cracks appearing on the blade.

"Looks like I need a better sword..."

Wu Xiaode thought to himself.

On the other side,

In the palace,

Zhao Junyu looked nervously at the man opposite him.

"Finished the call?"

"Yes."

"Now, thinking about it, I still admire the strategy of our ancestors, who could hide the guardians among the people, so neither we nor the enemies know about them," the man sighed.

Zhao Junyu sighed and bowed, "Your Majesty, you can no longer connect to the central AI. If—"

"Don't worry, I won't die. I'll use this opportunity to investigate the rebels," the man said, sitting still on the throne.

The helmet he wore slowly lit up with flashing lights.

Countless wires, one end deeply embedded in the helmet, the other end neatly extending behind the throne, covering the entire palace.

(Thank you to the generous support from Hui Shuo De Zhouzi. Thank you, boss, you're so generous!)