Chapter 51 - Assassination
Nalan Jie was walking through an extremely secluded underground tunnel located outside Jiuhua City.
The tunnel was dark and damp, without a speck of light. Flames would automatically die in here without enough oxygen.
“Elder Young Master.” The gentle and masculine voice of a man echoed from the darkness. “That thing is not easy to control; are you really going to use it?”
“Phantom Snakes are perfect for assassinations and make great chess pieces. We train soldiers for a thousand days but only need them for one day, right? I spent years raising it and used so much of my resources. What’s the point of doing all that if I don’t use it to my advantage?” A gloomy voice replied, “If something really goes wrong, it’s just a demon beast that went crazy and has nothing to do with us!
“Moreover, it really is a crazy demon beast!” That voice continued, “We’ll let the owner of that little shop test out its sharp fangs. Those who interfere with my plans must die!”
“Okay then.” A deep whisper sounded from the darkness, ringing with ancient and mysterious hums that seemed to be a language unlike any other languages that existed.
At the same time, the tunnel lit up. By looking closer, one would notice golden paper talismans all around the tunnel walls!
There were more golden paper talismans at the end of the tunnel. At the end, a pair of dark and evil eyes slowly opened!
“Go kill that young man named Fang Qi!”
…
“What? You open your shop for business, but you won’t let us play?” Nalan Hongwu’s eyes were as wide as bronze bells!
“Elder, do you remember the bet we made?” Fang Qi asked faintly, “Don’t make such a big fuss and behave just like the other customers. You’re too old to not be a man of your words, right?”
“…” Nalan Hongwu’s face darkened as he stared at Fang Qi. “Of course I’m a man of my words… But none of the other shops have rules like yours.”
Fang Qi pointed at his blackboard and said, “The rules are written clearly on my board; each person can only play six hours a day.”
“…” Nalan Hongwu glanced at the blackboard and immediately saw the rule. He whispered to Elder Fu, “Was this rule there before? Why don’t I remember?”
“…” Elder Fu replied in awkwardness, “It was.”
“…” Nalan Hongwu was at a loss for words as he stroked his silver beard. Then, he thought about it and waved his hand in the air. “What’s so good about this rule? In my opinion, you should forego this rule. That way, you’ll be able to make more crystals, right?”
“Sorry,” Fang Qi replied with a poker face, “I’m not changing the rules of my shop. Those who don’t abide by them will never be welcomed back.”
“Plus, we’re closing soon. If you want to play, you can come back tomorrow morning.” He looked at the sky outside and then back at the two elders. “Weren’t you just saying that computers are no more than spiritual artifacts that create illusions? Why are you being so stubborn about something you have no interest in? Or were you lying when you said you are a man of your words?”
“…” Nalan Hongwu became embarrassed; indeed, he said all that.
It was fine if he just blurted those lines out thoughtlessly, but he even declared that he was a man of his words!
If he didn’t go right now, he would be slapping himself on the face, right?
At this thought, he had no choice but to snort in disdain. “Did I say I liked these artifacts? These things are just more exquisitely made than others. If that’s the case, I’ll come back tomorrow and figure them out!”
Then, he sneered, turned around, and left.
After leaving the shop, Nalan Hongwu’s old face became as twisted as ever!
Once Fang Qi sent Nalan Hongwu and Elder Fu away, he realized that it was time to close up his shop.
He swept the floors of the internet café and then wiped the sweat off his forehead. He said with determination, “It’s time to hire an employee; I need someone to tend to the cash register and clean this place!”
Then, he tapped his forehead and thought, I have been thinking about this for a while but never put my thoughts into action. Now, my internet café is finally big enough to hire someone else.
Should I post a hiring notice tomorrow…? Fang Qi rubbed his chin and murmured, “That’s a good idea…”
After he went upstairs, he sat cross-legged on his bed.
As his strength grew, he slept less.
Therefore, rather than sleeping at night, he cultivated.
The truth was, there wasn’t much he could learn at his stage. The combat skills in Resident Evil helped improve his close-range combat skills, the rocket launcher was a long-distance lethal weapon, and the paladin’s skill, Meditation, helped him gather warrior qi inside his body.
Since he didn’t have a lot of options, Fang Qi was willing to learn anything that came his way.
He didn’t have any secret scrolls, nor did he receive any guidance.
All he could rely on was his memories of the games.
With his talent, warrior qi wasn’t something that he could easily train. However, thanks to the T-Virus, his memories and self-control had achieved new heights. Moreover, he used his skills often in games. Therefore, although he wasn’t highly proficient in them, he could still use them smoothly.
While he focused on training, a weird shadow suddenly appeared on his ceiling!
It slid around on the ceiling soundlessly, just like a snake in the shadows and slowly approaching Fang Qi!
For some reason, Fang Qi was extremely distracted and couldn’t concentrate. The warrior qi in his body refused to gather and increased incredibly slowly!
[A great amount of abnormalities has been detected.]
Suddenly, the System’s voice sounded in his head.
[A great amount of abnormalities has been detected at your 12 o’clock direction, please pay close attention.]
Abnormality? 12 o’clock direction? Fang Qi immediately looked up and saw a pair of icy golden eyes!
As soon as he saw those eyes, Fang Qi felt like he was being sucked into a giant, invisible whirlpool!
He wanted to move but couldn’t! His body felt heavier than ever as if a ghost was holding him down!
What’s going on? He knew he wasn’t being held down by a ghost. With his current powers, spirits and ghosts weren’t a match for him. Therefore, there was only one possibility – it was a spell!
Is a cultivator here?
However, the golden pupils he saw didn’t look like that of a human being’s.
“A demon?” Fang Qi gasped. He had been in this world for a while and encountered warriors and cultivators. Yet, he had never seen real wild demon before!
He was shocked that an evil demon beast was able to suppress him with its eyes.
A man sat on top of the roof of a low residential building. His face was long, and there were black scales all over his face. He had golden pupils as well.
“Was I released just to kill this useless human being?” Its eyes emitted icy, non-human-like murderous spirit.
In Fang Qi’s room, the giant snake shadow opened its mouth and snapped at him viciously!