Star Gate

Chapter 158: Eating Dinner (III)

The more the director thought about it, the more things seemed wrong.

He had a belly full of anger and suddenly changed direction for Liu Long. He kept his voice down with effort. “This is what you mean by visiting fallen comrades?”

Liu Long nodded and whispered back, “It’s worship and sacrifice through spilling blood. This is all for justice and light! Don’t worry, Director Hao, this was a voluntary mission. We won’t be requesting rewards from headquarters.”

Request... rewards... Damn if I don’t want to slap the shit out of you too!

“Tell me the truth, Liu Long, how many did you kill?”

“Three! Maybe four if we count Elder Yuan’s.”

“So you guys killed three... what level were they?” Hao Lianchuan frowned.

“Two Starlight and one Darkmoon.”

“Hmm?” Hao Lianchuan mused over the response. Was that true?

The battle outside city walls had been so far away that he hadn’t sensed a thing at the Inspectorate. He’d vaguely heard a few explosions—that might’ve come from hot weapons. When it came to the team’s condition... Wang Ming wasn’t injured, Liu Yan had her hands in her pockets. Though she seemed to be injured, he wasn’t at liberty to take a closer look.

As for Li Meng... It was commonplace for her to suffer injuries. She could be wounded fighting Starlight, so he couldn’t be bothered with her.

In that case, it seemed plausible that Liu Long and the rest of the team had killed one Darkmoon and two Starlight. All of them together might be able to take out one Sunflare, but they wouldn’t do so easily!

“This is the end of the matter!” Hao Lianchuan inclined his head when his thoughts traveled here. “Don’t create more trouble for me in the near future. I will smooth things over here. So you guys killed a few deviant supernaturals. All will be fine so long as the three great organizations let the matter go.”

“Director Hao, do you mean that we bow our heads in defeat if the three great organizations wish to take us to task for tonight?” Liu Long suddenly paused and looked at the director with a fiery gaze of indignation.

“It’s not what you think.” The director’s brow creased and he shook his head. “The reality of the situation is that we really can’t afford to erupt in open hostilities for the moment. Headquarters is unable to support us from the central region and frequently requests our reinforcement instead. Director Hou has been under enormous pressure to answer their call. The three great organizations are stronger in Silver Moon than us. We’re already enemies with Red Moon. If we involve Yama or Celestial on top of that... You know the consequences as well, Liu Long. Sometimes, we must bide our time!”

“Bide our time?” Liu Long’s frown cleared. “I understand! If the three great organizations wish to assign responsibility, just shove it all to me! I’ll say we killed a few of their outer members to take revenge for Li Hao. We’ve already offended them once, so I’m not afraid of offending them again!”

Hao Lianchuan sighed and said nothing more. He thought of something else when he walked a few more steps. “Do you want to join the expedition at the end of the month? I can apply for a spot for you if you want to go. You might stand a chance of breaking through to Dominator or crossing over. It’s a rare opportunity, but it also comes with great risk!”

Liu Long hadn’t been on the list of candidates, but Hao Lianchuan was worried that Liu Long wouldn’t be able to withstand the pressure from his actions if he remained in place as a Sunderer. They might as well bring Liu Long along and see if he had a run in with fortune. He’d be much safer after advancing.

“I’ll... think about it.” Liu Long hesitated before asking, “Director Hao, what are our chances of victory if we fight the three great organizations now?”

“None at all!” Hao Lianchuan was completely frank. “Unless we blind our eyes and deafen our ears to relinquish everything and defend only White Moon City. We’ll have to use weapons of mass scale destruction as soon as their powerhouses attack and hope to intimidate our enemies that way! We’ll only be able to defend, which means we’ll have to abandon all of the smaller cities. Would you be happy with that?”

“Are we less than them in all areas, or just have fewer numbers of powerhouses?”

“In all areas!” Hao Lianchuan sighed again. “We’re not afraid of one of them, we’d be at a disadvantage against two of them, and we’d be hung up on a tree for whipping against all three!”

Very well then, Liu Long understood the state of affairs. He calmly walked to the front of the hall and sat down in his seat. He picked up a pair of chopsticks and started eating.

“The food’s gotten cold. Dig in, everyone,” he called out.

The hall stilled for a split second before sounds of cutlery in use rang out. A blood-stained Liu Long was quite daunting. In this moment, all of the superhumans of Silver City kept their heads down.

......

At another table.

Yuan Shuo also started eating. To be more accurate, he ravenously dug into the food. Li Hao poured wine for him and whispered. “Teacher, Hu Hao and Chen Jian...”

“Leave them there,” Yuan Shuo mumbled equally quietly. “Don’t go there for now. Wait two more days. We might have unexpected gains this time, so don’t ration the sword energy. Heal your injuries.”

“Then, what about you teacher...”

“I’m in no rush.” Yuan Shuo finished off a pork knuckle at record speed. His teeth were so strong that he crunched through even the bones. After some munching, he continued, “Hao Lianchuan and Mu Sen might’ve noticed something. The others shouldn’t have sensed anything, so we won’t have much of an issue there.”

Li Hao nodded without a word. It was impossible to have pulled off tonight without causing any disturbance.

“Teacher, do we stand a chance of recruiting Director Hao or Inspector General Mu to our side?”

“What side?” Yuan Shuo blinked, looking at his disciple in a new light. Well well well, so you’re preparing to build a camp dedicated to your cause, aren’t you?

What “our side”?

“I mean our side as in what the chief has,” Li Hao answered sheepishly. “Taking on a few private gigs, ones that aren’t reported.”

Yuan Shuo was struck speechless!

“Don’t fill your mind with random drivel! You should be focusing on progressing to Dominator! Only when you’re a Dominator can you and I, and that idiot Liu Long, make a name for ourselves anywhere we go!”

“That’s why they say there’s strength in numbers...”

“In quality numbers!” Yuan Shuo interrupted. “A mundane is dead in a matter of seconds when they run across a Solar, even if they wield a gun! Sunflares will take them out all the same, Solars aren’t even needed! Therefore, we must have experts if we are to be strong!”

The professor wiped grease off his lips and grinned. “Take our current circumstances, there’s a lot of people around us, no? They’re all superhuman. But other than Hao Lianchuan and a few others, to me they’re all trash that I can slap them to death with a single palm strike! What’s the point of having so many people?”

“And who do you want to kill now, Professor Yuan?” rang out a cold voice beside them.

Yuan Shuo flicked a sidelong glance with a tilt of his head. “Director Hao, why are you taking an old man’s joke seriously? Come sit down with us. Thank goodness the director was here tonight, who knows what kind of mess we would’ve found ourselves in otherwise? Of course, I won’t be thanking you since I’m a victim. Have Liu Long thank you, and Li Hao. You’re the director’s subordinate, so express your gratitude!”

Li Hao quickly got to his feet. “Thank you for your help, Director Hao!”

I’m not falling for this again! Hao Lianchuan cursed to himself. None of you are anything good! I thought Li Hao was a nice, biddable boy. But now? Hah!

He’s the same as Yuan Shuo—nothing good!

The director wasn’t here to pick a fight; there wasn’t a point to discussing what had happened.

“We really must keep a lower profile for the time being,” he lowered his voice. “You’ve offended too many! Do you still intend to go to the ruins?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Yuan Shuo chuckled. It didn’t matter in the first place.

That pierced through Hao Lianchuan’s composure and he regarded the professor with resignation and long endured suffering. “It’s fine if you don’t go, but what about Li Hao?”

“What about him?” Yuan Shuo grinned. “It doesn’t matter if he goes or not. What, is he going to die if he doesn’t go?”

Hao Lianchuan took a deep breath through his nose and decided to reveal some information. “Do you know why we insist on going to those ruins? There are so many ruins in the world and many treasures to be found in other locales. And yet, the Night Watchers send people again and again, even going to the depths of allying with various supernatural organizations. We go even though we’ve suffered heavy casualties! Do you know why, Professor Yuan?”

“I do,” Yuan Shuo responded indifferently. “Don’t forget who it was that discovered them. Setting aside all possibilities, there are definitely origin weapons to be found in those particular ruins. Yes, weapons, plural! That’s the most important point. The second is that those ruins are likely a defensive type ruin—they might even be a special defensive origin weapon, one big enough to envelop an entire city!”

Hao Lianchuan’s heart shook and he looked sharply at Yuan Shuo. How was this possible?! This was information they’d come by at a high price and through sacrificing many people. Yuan Shuo hadn’t been by the ruins since he was injured three years ago.

The professor snorted with laughter and a cocky tone crept into his voice. “Don’t try to play coy with me, Director Hao. Is there a point to doing that? I’ve seen many things in my life and explored more ruins than I can count. That defensive origin weapon is what’s most important to you. Once you obtain it and cocoon a city with safety, you’ll be able to consolidate White Moon City and attack or defend at will. That will give you the confidence to seize the initiative in the events to come, doesn’t it?”

Hao Lianchuan’s expression flickered through a variety of changes; he truly was dejected. After a while, he inclined his head with resignation.

“You are right, that is the primary treasure that we wish to obtain.”

“So... what does it have to do with Li Hao going or not?” Yuan Shuo smirked.

“Because those ruins might very well have something to do with the eight families!” Hao Lianchuan couldn’t help but say. “Although it’s just a possibility, but if it’s true, then we can give control of the weapon to Li Hao! He’ll be a highly important target that the Night Watchers have to protect then. It’s the safest arrangement for him.”

“Hah!” Yuan Shuo couldn’t be bothered with a response. “Whatever you say. Alright, let’s talk about this later. It’s early. Eat up first. You must be starving, Director Hao.”

“No, wait, listen to me, Professor Yuan...”

Yuan Shuo waved him off and continued stuffing his face.

“I know, I know,” he mumbled around a mouthful of food. “I promise not to kill anyone or fight anyone for the time being. I will keep a low profile until the ruins are open. Will that do?”

“......” The professor sounded like he was humoring a child, but there was nothing Hao Lianchuan could do about it. He always found his hands tied when it came to someone like Yuan Shuo. He could keep the man under control before, but now...

Forget it, he might not match the professor in a fight. The guy was too perverse.

An innocent Li Hao sat beside them and declared in an honest fashion, “I’ll convince teacher, Director Hao! I won’t let him do anything else for the time being. As Night Watchers, we have a duty to safeguard the tranquility of Silver City. Be at ease, Director Hao!”

Fuck off!

Hao Lianchuan wouldn’t believe a single word from the young man’s mouth anymore. Go on, keep acting why doncha!

“Think about it carefully.” The director rose with flagging interest. “I’ll say this one more time. Do it for those of Silver City, if not yourself. I leave you to it!”

Yuan Shuo waited to chuckle after the professor left. “Ignore him. We wouldn’t have done anything else even without his blathering.”

Li Hao nodded. Teacher and disciple tucked in once more. The other tables were also exceedingly quiet as the guests ate without a sound. This was supposed to be a joyous reception, but it was as quiet as a graveyard. Too many ate without knowing the taste of their food or even what they were eating. Some supernaturals couldn’t be distracted out of the horrified looks on their faces.

Silver City was growing ever more dangerous.