Chapter 689: Tremors
Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Despite having only been locked up for a day, when he arrived at the residence that a.s.sa.s.sin had recently purchased in Tianjing, everything he could see was covered in Federation “SEIZED” stickers. Over at his parents’ house, the same scene was present. It was as if the whole a.s.sa.s.sin family had wiped off the face of the earth overnight.
He didn’t look for anyone from Tianjing Academy. His friends were incapable of helping him in this situation, and getting them involved would only be more dangerous for all parties involved. Therefore, the only person he could approach was Qian Duoduo.
Recently, the fatty had been mixing pretty well in Tianjing. Now, he had a healthy glow on his face, and had become one of the main investors of the Tianjing Academy squadron. Furthermore, as he didn’t have any direct contact with the a.s.sa.s.sin Family, he hadn’t been implicated. Despite their heavy-handed approach, the 10 Great Families didn’t have the absolute right of way within the Federation. Furthermore, not giving people a way out was equivalent to seeking trouble for themselves.
Seeing Ma Dong before him, the fatty could only sigh in pity. Nevertheless, Qian Duoduo could not help Ma Dong any more than updating him about recent information.
At this moment, it was unknown whether w.a.n.g Zhong was alive or dead. Although the Federation’s official explanation was that he had been sent to a better training ground, Ma Dong knew that it was all smoke and mirrors.
As for the a.s.sa.s.sin Family, Tumo a.s.sa.s.sin had already been publicly executed, resulting in the complete collapse of the entire a.s.sa.s.sin Family. For the sake of punis.h.i.+ng them, the Federation had arrested and jailed many members of the a.s.sa.s.sin Family, though there were some who had managed to flee, and were subsequently branded as criminals and placed on the wanted list. Emily, as well as Ma Dong’s parents, were also labeled as criminals. As early as a dozen days ago, just when Tumo was being sentenced, Ma Dong’s parents, as well as the core members of the a.s.sa.s.sin Family, had had their Federation citizens.h.i.+p revoked.
Simply speaking, a.s.sa.s.sin had been eradicated. No one was willing to be on their side. On Earth, there was no one who could reverse the situation they were in.
Nevertheless, being a considerate friend, Qian Duoduo had prepared some food for Ma Dong, though he did not accept. At this moment, matters were already beyond any hope of rescue. As for money…. his Skylink had been confiscated, and without his citizens.h.i.+p, all of his Federation credits were essentially worthless. After unleas.h.i.+ng a frenzied bout of curses towards fatties in general, he shoved Qian Duoduo onto the ground and gave him a fierce beating.
Having relieved his pent-up anger, Ma Dong had left with a mad laugh.
Despite being beaten, Qian Duoduo did not resist. He was painfully aware of the connections that he had, and also of the connections that Ma Dong had. This was merely a cover to draw a clear line between himself and the a.s.sa.s.sin Family.
Ma Dong started to walk aimlessly around the city, alternating between crying and laughing, falling deeper into madness. This continued all the way through the night, before he had been forcefully evicted from the city by the guards in charge of enforcing the Federation’s judgment.
Stripped of his citizens.h.i.+p and banished outside the city. After losing the protection of the Wall of Life, the warmth within the city would never surround him again. The young master of a.s.sa.s.sin, the impressive leader of the Tianjing Academy squadron, had ceased to exist.
Walking outside the city walls erratically, he slept whenever he felt tired, and resisted the ever-growing hunger. Finally, no longer being able to control his hunger pangs, he started to search through piles of garbage for food. As this went on, he alternated between shoving food into his mouth, vomiting everything back out, interspersed with bouts of manic laughter.
However, not every refugee camp established beside the garbage pile took kindly to his provocation. After being beaten up a few times, he managed to arrive at a garbage pile with only a few dozen mutated humans present. In a dazed stupor from hunger, he s.n.a.t.c.hed a c.o.c.kroach dug up by a mutated human, while conveniently giving that unwilling mutated human a fierce beating. He ended up staying here, as there was no one present who was able to defeat him.
The garbage heap gradually turned peaceful, as the mutated humans retreated with whatever spoils they had found.
While the satisfied ones had already left, those who had obtained nothing, especially those that had suffered a beating, glared at the blanket-covered figure curled up on the ground with hatred-filled eyes. Nevertheless, that was as far as they went, before leaving in disappointment.
Peace descended once again on the garbage heap, leaving behind the soft sounds of the night breeze blowing by.
At this moment, there was a off-road vehicle present a few kilometers away from the garbage heap. A few males were seated nonchalantly in the vehicle, one of them peering through the large telescope mounted on top of the vehicle. Rubbing his sore eyes, he said: “Change s.h.i.+ft, change s.h.i.+ft. What’s the point of staring at this dog for the whole day? It’s not like he’s some stripper! This is b.l.o.o.d.y torturous!”
“What’s the situation?” Someone asked.
“Tsk! It’s still the same. A brawl just for a can of food.” The person replied in a condescending tone. “What new Tianjing n.o.bility! He’s just like a mad dog fighting with beggars for food in that garbage heap. Hey, do you think the higher ups are paranoid? What’s the use of observing this trash?”
Bang.
A kick landed on that person’s b.u.t.t. Although the kick wasn’t very hard, it was enough for him to land on his face.
“Do you think you can make that decision for the higher ups?” A vicious-looking one-eyed man snapped back with a icy-cold voice. “Just do your job. If you continue this nonsense, I’ll make sure I’ll cripple you.”
Despite being knocked to the ground, the man did not dare to show any rage as he climbed back up. Instead, with a pacifying smile, he proceeded to give himself a few slaps. “That’s right, brother Kun. Sorry for this bad habit of mine. My bad!”
The other people burst into laughter, while a smirk appeared on the one-eyed man’s face.
“Brother Kun, even the a.s.sa.s.sin clan leader has been executed. Why the h.e.l.l do we still need to observe this waste?” Taking advantage of the one-eye man’s good mood, another person shot a curious question. “Brother Kun, you’re wise and experienced. Also, since we’re doing nothing much here, can you help us get a better understanding of the situation?”
“As if you lot have any intelligence.” The one-eyed man responded with a look of contempt, before continuing. “Alright, I’ll teach you guys. Although a.s.sa.s.sin has collapsed, there are quite a few survivors out there. Would you dare to allow a family, which has demonstrated the capability of establis.h.i.+ng a dimensional base station, to reestablish themselves?”
“Problems must be nipped at the bud. They definitely have some secrets still concealed from the higher ups. The higher ups feel that this brat is one of the remaining cores of a.s.sa.s.sin. They’re probably predicting that the leftover a.s.sa.s.sin members will seek him out; that’ll be our opportunity. If not, do you think that the higher ups would let him off so easily?”
“Furthermore, do you know why they’ve only kicked him out from the city on the night where he was released from prison? They want to see whether he will go to some secret a.s.sa.s.sin hideout within the city. However, who could have expected this brat to go insane…” The one-eyed man spat on the ground. “There’s nothing fun about this. What a waste of my time.”
Appearing to have gained a better understanding, the other people nodded in agreement. “Brother Kun is really knowledgeable. I really can’t understand things like politics and intrigue. Tsk tsk tsk. Those at the top truly are shrewd!”
“That’s right. Didn’t that brat find a fatty?”
“That’s just a freaking decoy. The fatty has been fully checked out. He’s just a clueless idiot who can’t see the full picture.”
“Brother Kun, there’s not enough supplies left in the vehicle.”
The one-eyed man shot a look at the trunk, before turning around to look through the telescope.
Within his view, Ma Dong was currently sleeping like a dead log beneath his blanket.
“Let’s take the time to resupply while that brat sleeps.” All of a sudden, the one-eyed man laughed out while waving his hand: “From the looks of it, we will be standing guard here for some time. d.a.m.n it. Who knows whether this brat is really mad or not! What a waste!”
Bang, rumble…
The offroad vehicle started up, before moving off. Despite being in the dead of night, the sounds and light created weren’t able to travel far due to the powerful interference caused by the radiation.
Nevertheless, there was still another mode of transmission.
There will still vibrations transmitted through the earth. However, they were exceedingly weak.
Yet, Ma Dong’s eyes sprung open fiercely upon feeling them.