From the sound of the footsteps, there was no doubt that there were two people outside the door. One had a deep voice, while the other had an ear-piercing croaky voice.
Are they talking about Avrils? Xia Fei was shocked. He got up and quietly went to the door, putting his ear on it to listen.
Avrils family owns Starlink Corporation, one of the top ten companies in the Alliance. They have plenty of money. We must handle this carefully, said the deep voice.
Shhh. The croaky voice sounded very cautious. Beware of ears. Lets talk outside.
"Alright."
The two pressed the button for the elevator and went downstairs.
Theyre really talking about Avrils. Secret? I wonder what kind of secret theyve got? Will they harm Avrils? Xia Fei wondered to himself.
Changing into his combat gear as fast as he could, Xia Fei crawled out of the window like a gecko in the night. He quickly went downstairs and searched for the two men.
Soon, Xia Fei found them on the road leading to the tournament hangar. One of them was tall and fat, while the other was short and skinny. They were walking side by side on the quiet road in the dark.
Xia Fei used Breath Control to hide in the bushes on both sides of the road as he followed them. He wanted to find out what the two were talking about and what their goal was. Unfortunately, they did not say a word as they walked, as if they were in a hurry to go somewhere.
Xia Fei was even more confused. He was determined to follow them to the end, not giving up until he got to the bottom of this.
Avrils affairs were like Xia Fei's. Ever since Avrils last time was ambushed, Xia Fei had made up his mind that he would never let her get hurt again. Now that these two were talking about Avrils inexplicably and even hinted that they had some secret, how could Xia Fei not be shocked?
His finger brushed across the cold surface of Chasing Light. The capital ring was very well guarded, so killing someone in such a place was no easy task. The police would not let this go easily, either, but Xia Fei did not care. If these two were really a threat, they would not live to see tomorrow's sun.
The two walked faster and faster, looking left and right as they walked, very alert of their surroundings.
Suddenly, the communicator on the short man's arm vibrated. He looked at it with his sleeve and smiled. "Let's go. Brother Lu San has arrived."
The tall man nodded, and the two of them sped towards the airport.
The moon was dark and the wind was strong. There weren't many ships docked at the No. 7 backup airport located in the northern suburbs of the competition center. Hundreds of high-power spotlights cast a dim yellow light, shrouding the large open space in a trance.
There were only two sleepy guards at the entrance of the airport. After showing their IDs, the two mysterious men, one tall and one short, were let into the airport.
Xia Fei stuck close to the six-meter-tall fence, his eyes vigilantly scanning his surroundings before he leaped over the high fence like a nimble swallow, his body sticking close to the ground like a spider.
In the northwest corner, there was a small, worn-out transport ship. Its landing cabin and cargo hold were both open. A bald man in his forties was standing below the ship, holding a small silver flask in his hand. He was drinking from it out of boredom.
Seeing the two mysterious people walking over, the bald man waved his hand at them, indicating for them to hurry up.
"Third Brother," the tall and fat man shouted.
The bald Lu San nodded and said in a deep voice, "This isn't the place to talk. Lets get on the ship."
With that said, the three of them boarded the transport ship via the escalator.
* Snap! *
The electric motor began to operate, and the boarding gate slowly closed. The cargo hatch at the back also began to close up.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained!" Xia Fei gritted his teeth and dashed over a hundred meters to the back of the ship. His two feet lightly touched the ground, his two hands grabbing onto the closing cargo hatch. His body curled up like a cat and slid in before the hatch closed.
* Bang! *
There was a dull thud, and the hatch was completely shut. The cargo hold lit up with a dark red emergency light, and containers of various sizes were scattered around.
Entering the cargo hold was not considered safe, for most transport ships would have surveillance systems installed in the cargo hold to see if the cargo was damaged or if there were any rats or other animals that had sneaked in and destroyed the goods.
Xia Fei's figure floated several dozen meters away and curled up behind a wooden container. He raised his head and saw two surveillance cameras rotating at the top of the cargo hold, observing the situation inside.
Xia Fei scanned his surroundings from the corner of his eyes. The sealed door from the cargo hold to the passenger hold was about seventy meters away from him. The two cameras would leave a gap of about half a second each time, which meant that Xia Fei only had that much time to enter the passenger hold from the cargo hold.
Flexing his wrists, Xia Fei crouched down like a sprinter, his fingers braced against the ground.
"Five, four, three …" Calculating the time it took for the cameras to rotate, Xia Fei dashed out the moment the first camera entered his blind spot, his figure appearing right in front of the sealed door in a flash.
The sealed cabin used an old-fashioned rotating design. All he needed to do was twist a metal wheel the size of a steering wheel three times before it would open. Xia Fei exerted some force with his arm. "Open for me!" * Whoosh! * The sealed door suddenly opened, and Xia Fei's figure flashed again, cutting in sideways. By the time the second camera turned to his position, Xia Fei had already left the cargo hold, and the sealed door was sealed again as if nothing had happened.
In front of him was a long and narrow corridor, and the floor was filled with empty beer cans and food wrappers. It was obvious that the owner of this ship did not have the habit of cleaning.
There was no surveillance system in the corridor. Xia Fei straightened up and was about to walk forward when the ship suddenly began to shake violently. The cargo ship was taking off!
"Not good! They're leaving! I wonder where they're going? "Phantom furrowed his eyebrows.
Xia Fei did not say anything. When the ship stabilized a little, he tiptoed toward the command deck.
"Dont forget that theres still a tournament tomorrow. Best get out of here as soon as possible," Phantom said.
Xia Fei shook his head and asked, "Which do you think is more important, the tournament or Avrils?"
Uh … Phantom was speechless.
…
Inside the command deck, a bald man was sitting in a spacious chair. In front of him was a small screen, and on it was a white figure slowly moving along the corridor.
If an expert familiar with the advanced electronic detection systems of the Pan-human Alliance saw it, they would be able to tell at a glance that this was the most advanced air detection system available, and the person on the screen was undoubtedly Xia Fei!
The air detection system could detect even the tiniest changes in the molecular structure of the air. Even a flying insect would have nowhere to hide. Though Xia Fei's Breath Control was brilliant, he was unable to control the air flow around him, so he would still be exposed under this advanced detection system.
Normally, this system was still in the experimental stage. Apart from a small number of high-ranking customers who could get a batch of samples, ordinary people would not even know of its existence. Yet, this dilapidated cargo ship actually installed such an advanced air detection system. It was really incredible!
A screen suddenly popped out from the main control computer, and on it was the man with the mustache beside Li Mo.
"Did the fish take the bait?"
The bald man nodded heavily. "Just as you said, everyone has their own weakness, and this kid's weakness is Avril. It didn't take much effort. All we did was mention Avril's name, and the fish came to bite us."
The mustache man smiled. "Sigh, hes quite a good lad. Too bad he picked the wrong opponent. Let's stick to our original plan and send the fish into the desert."
The bald man smirked. "Don't worry about that. Hook is already prepared. I guarantee that he will die a horrible death."
The mustache man waved his hand. "Let's just leave his body intact and find a place to bury him. There's no need to go too far."
…
By the time Xia Fei sneaked into the command deck, the bald man had already cut off contact with the mustache man. The three of them were sprawled over a narrow table, drinking grilled fish and drinking wine as they chatted.
"Third brother, do you think Hook is planning to do something big this time?" asked the tall man.
The bald man took a sip of wine and said mysteriously, "Everyone in the Alliance knows Hook's strength. Since he's the one who asked, there's a high chance that he's planning to do something big."
"Oh!" The tall and short man were both surprised.
Xia Fei clenched his fists. He suddenly had the urge to charge in and capture the three of them and interrogate them. It was not hard to tell from their words that they were planning to do something to Avrils. He had to nip the plot in the bud. Xia Fei did not want Avrils to be in any danger again.
That was when the bald man said, "Let me tell you a secret. We're heading to Hook's base."
"What? Hook's base? Back then, the naval headquarters sent two fleets to find that place and wipe out Hook and his men, but the navy searched for three whole months and still could not find where Hook's base was. Third brother, how did you know? "
The bald man smiled. "Actually, I don't know, either. Hook is a cautious man, so there's no way he'd tell me, but he gave me an address this time. As long as I get there, someone will guide us to him."
"Oh, so that's how it is. Being able to visit Hook's base makes our time in the underworld worth it. We'll have something to brag about when we get back."
The bald man's expression darkened. "I'm only telling you because I trust you two. If either of you dares to say anything, hmph! There's no need for me to do anything. Someone will take care of you. "
The tall and short men hurriedly shook their heads, indicating that they would not divulge the secret. They shook their heads like a rattle drum, almost swearing to the heavens.
Xia Fei loosened his fists when he heard this and flexed his wrists. It seemed that these people were just small fries, and the real big fish was still behind them. He might as well take this opportunity to get deeper and figure out what was going on.
…
The cargo ship quickly traveled through the darkness of space. Xia Fei had been hiding in the darkness, observing their every move. Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, ten hours had passed. Xia Fei was already very far away from the capital ring.
"It doesn't seem appropriate for us to go in alone without any backup. Should we send a message to Thuram or Pang Xing and get them to come to our aid?" Phantom suggested.
Xia Fei shook his head, using his finger to secretly point at a blinking machine in the command center. This machine was square-shaped and not very big, and it was very inconspicuous when mixed in with the countless other electronic devices. The indicator light on it was flashing rhythmically, and it would beep from time to time.
"A precision signal catcher!" Phantom exclaimed. This machine existed to capture the electronic signals around it. Anyone on the ship who used their communicator to communicate with the outside world would be tracked and automatically interfered with. Since this machine was very inconspicuous, Phantom had never noticed its existence.
As long as this signal catcher was working, Xia Fei would not be able to communicate with the outside world. Even if he sent out a signal, it would turn into a bunch of useless codes due to the interference.
"I'll use the nether bell to contact the Assassin Sect if I need it, but I don't want them to get involved before that," Xia Fei said.
Phantom nodded. Xia Fei was the representative of the Assassin Sect, and he had the nether bell. The nether bell's signal did not belong to any known frequency of the Alliance, so the signal catcher would not be able to interfere with it.
Phantom was slightly relieved, but the Assassin Sect was very far away. Asking them for help would only be a waste of time.
…
The molecular engineering repair event in the morning had already ended at the venue of the Golden Finger Cup. Li Mo had gotten first place as he wished, further narrowing the gap between him and Xia Fei and Constantine.
The audience and the participants were confused when they realized that Xia Fei, who had created a miracle of double perfect scores yesterday, was nowhere to be seen. Was there anything more important than taking part in the tournament?
The media would never miss an opportunity to catch Xia Fei's shadow. They all went to the committee to ask why Xia Fei did not take part in the tournament, but the committee's answer was equally disappointing. They had no idea where Xia Fei was, either.
Out of everyone present, Avril was probably the one who knew the most. It was the legendary Xia Fei's ultimate skill: disappearing out of habit. Avril could not remember how many times Xia Fei had suddenly disappeared since they met. It was the same every time. Xia Fei's disappearance was so strange that it was impossible for anyone to predict it.
"Let's go." Avril stood up and left the venue with a disappointed look. She already knew that Xia Fei had left again after waiting for an entire morning.
"My lady, Xia Fei must have something important to do. That's why he left without saying goodbye." Pang Xing could not bear to see Avril's depressed look, so he tried to comfort her.
"I know," Avril said softly.
"It's not the first time. Xia Fei will surely appear next to you with a smile in a few days," Pang Xing added.
"I know. Let's go home first. I want to practice etiquette more this afternoon. Grandpa's birthday is coming soon. I don't want to make a fool of myself," Avril said.
"Yes, I'll send someone to wait here twenty-four hours. I'll let you know as soon as Xia Fei returns."
Avril thought about it. "No need. He'll always call me first when he returns. It's always been like this."
The calmer Avril was, the sadder Pang Xing felt. As the saying went, a bystander could see more clearly. He knew very well how important Xia Fei was to Avril.
Pang Xing even felt that Xia Fei was very hateful at times. Every time he went missing, Avril would be on tenterhooks for quite some time. Avril would cherish the time they had together even more when he returned.
Distance made the heart grow fonder. Perhaps it was because Xia Fei always maintained a distant relationship with Avril that she could not let go of him.
In the distance, Li Mo brought Bai Ye and the mustached man who had been following him all this while. He had a smug smile on his face.
Avril pretended not to see him. She lifted her breathtakingly beautiful face and walked past him.
"Avril, why isn't Xia Fei participating in the tournament today? He can't be afraid, right? "Li Mo said flippantly. Beside him, the mustached man and Bai Ye also laughed happily.
"Xia Fei has something to do," Avril said without turning her head.
"What is it? Didn't he tell you? " Li Mo suddenly clapped his hands. "That's right. If he had told you in advance, you wouldn't have come today. It's obvious that he doesn't treat you particularly well. Why do you have to protect him?"
Li Mo's words pierced Avril's heart. Avril stopped in her tracks, her face slightly pale. Pang Xing couldn't bear to watch any longer. He stood in front of Li Mo and glared at him with his large, bell-like eyes, his fists clenched so tightly that they made cracking sounds.
The mustached man beside Li Mo lightly tapped his foot and used his body to protect his master. "Brother Pang, there are many people watching. It won't be good for anyone if anything happens."
Pang Xing did not say a word. His chest was burning with rage, so much so that it was about to explode.
That was when Avril suddenly let out a cold laugh. "Let's go. These people aren't fit to know what happened between me and Xia Fei."
Pang Xing harrumphed coldly, turning around to follow Avril. "My lady, I think you've changed. Had it been two years ago, you'd probably be crying alone, yet you're now able to strike back at them without batting an eyelid."
Avril did not say a word. Pang Xing understood that the young lady's change was entirely due to Xia Fei's influence. He secretly decided that he would reduce his hostility toward Xia Fei as much as possible in the future. If Avril were to marry Li Mo one day, she would definitely not have a good life. All in all, Pang Xing felt more at ease with Xia Fei. At the very least, Xia Fei would be able to take on the responsibility of protecting his woman without fear.
…
The cargo ship that Xia Fei was on flew through space for more than ten hours before finally arriving on a run-down planet. The world outside the porthole was filled with filth and violence. The streets were muddy, and prostitutes in revealing clothes stood on both sides of the street, soliciting customers. Their faces were strangely pale, and their eyes were lifeless, most likely the result of long-term drug use.
"Let's go. We've arrived," the bald man said. "Remember to behave yourself when you meet Hook later. He's not someone to be trifled with."
"Third brother, don't worry. We'll know what to do."
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