Chapter 154: Return (2 in 1)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Tang Ling never would have thought that he could see the castellan of Safety Sector No. 17 up close with his own eyes although the last time he saw him was just less than half an hour ago.
Worf Andol was the castellan.
Tang Ling also never would have expected that Worf’s office would be hidden in the internals of the Hope Barrier and not Safety Sector No. 17.
Fei Long stood respectfully in front of Worf who was calmly playing around with the precious porcelain cup from the old civilization. He finally spoke after a long while of silence, “Based on my estimation, you should have become the bargaining chip of R Sector of the underground, but who’d have known that you’d make it back in one piece?”
Fei Long wanted to explain, but he stammered since he really did not want to reveal the truth to the castellan. In fact, he was already the chip, but Tang Ling had mistakenly saved him. Nevertheless, Worf did not want to press on the topic either. Instead, he looked at Tang Ling.
“Are you Su Yao’s boy?” he asked. It was a simple question, but Tang Ling felt an infinite pressure from the words.
As a matter of fact, Worf looked very normal. He was not exactly buff or extremely tall. The only special feature about him was his pair of faint gray eyes that made him look different. His eyes held a sense of rationality and chill. Whenever he gazed at someone, even unintentionally, one could not help but feel nervous.
Tang Ling felt the pressure, but he was not exactly nervous. The pressure came from Worf’s powerful aura and the other source of pressure was Worf’s question.
Did the castellan know he was with Su Yao? Did Fei Long not mention along the way that the castellan had not been in the safety sector for a long time? How had the castellan managed to grasp such a huge amount of information in such a short period of time?
“Yes.” Tang Ling was flooded with thoughts, but he had to answer Worf’s question first.
With a nod, Worf sized Tang Ling up once more. He then moved the lid of the porcelain cup away quietly and took a sip of the liquid inside. The whole room was instantly filled with a strange refres.h.i.+ng scent that drowned everyone.
Tang Ling knew that the fragrant scent was from the liquid in the cup, but he was not that bold and shameless enough to ask Worf for a taste.
“Safety Sector No. 17 isn’t peaceful,” said Worf as he lowered his cup. A cold smile curled on his lips. “I’ve been away from three years and this is what I come back to?”
Fei Long’s forehead was covered in sweat. As the general captain of the Purple Moon Warriors, he could not escape from the responsibility since Worf put it that way.
“Fei Long, you are being overprotective, but you lack the spirit to advance.” Worf did not plan to comfort Fei Long. Instead, he quickly pointed out his mistake.
“Castellan, I…I…sometimes, I really daren’t act recklessly.” Fei Long was not giving an excuse but was telling the truth.
Worf tapped his fingers on the table as he squinted his eyes and seemed to be processing some profound thoughts.
Fei Long then said as a reminder, “Should we let Tang Ling return to the First Reserved Camp first?”
Tang Ling was just a New Moon Warrior who was 15 years old. Fei Long brought him over due to the little bias he had for the kid in hopes that the castellan could be familiar with the kid which might be beneficial to the kid’s growth.
Whether it was the admiration that he had for Tang Ling from the start or the fact that Tang Ling mistakenly saved him earlier, it was a type of bond and fate.
Fei Long was subtly taking care of Tang Ling with his own methods.
Worf shook his head as if he did not care Tang Ling was present or not.
The office fell into a short silence. Worf then opened his eyes after a while to look at Fei Long with a meaningful gaze and ask, “What do you think they want from Safety Sector No. 17?”
“I-I don’t know.” Fei Long inhaled deeply. He was not clear about the entire situation, and the question from the castellan further put him at a loss. He felt like he had failed as the general captain of the Purple Moon Warriors.
“Of course, you don’t know anything. It’s my mistake. If I had told you more about this world before I left, things might’ve been better,” said Worf, “But I didn’t, so after I came back, the settlement was destroyed and Safety Sector No. 17 was almost out of control. The battle that happened today was a warning to the Hope Barrier. It was a test. The people that were teaming up finally came together.”
Fei Long stood straight, his back drenched in his own sweat. Had things gone out of control?
It might have. Even he as the general captain of the Purple Moon Warriors of Safety Sector No. 17 was betrayed, so what else could that mean?
The biggest joke was that until he became a captive and was directly told that he was being treated as a bargaining chip did he realize that there was a traitor in Safety Sector No. 17.
He thought of discussing the matter with the castellan as quickly as possible, but the castellan knew a lot more than him and was already one step ahead of him.
“They are forcing me to make a choice.” Worf put both his hands under his chin, studying Tang Ling when he uttered those words.
Tang Ling straightened his spine. What does the castellan’s choice have to do with me?
Fei Long reacted nervously. “Castellan, you…”
Worf waved his hand. “It’s too late now, but I am not a puppet that they can control freely! I have many choices in my life. There are many more s.p.a.cious lands that I can settle down in, but I chose Safety Sector No. 17, so the responsibility is on my shoulders and I will make a choice. However, I will also show my goodwill if I am correct about this.” Worf glanced over at Tang Ling again when he said those words.
Tang Ling felt even more confused, and so did Fei Long.
“Yes, my goodwill.” Worf seemed a little tired as he leaned back in the seat and kept quiet. After a while, he continued, “Send Tang Ling back. What I said today must be kept secret.”
“Yes, Sir,” Fei Long and Tang Ling answered.
“And, Tang Ling, everything about the underground race is also a secret that you must keep. At least, it’s not something that you should know now. So, I suppose you know what you should do.” Worf looked at Tang Ling pointedly.
Tang Ling nodded seriously, but he has his own worries.
All of them claimed that Fei Long was a bargaining chip, but now with Fei Long safely return, would it somehow agitate the underground race?
Worf was indeed someone with insight about everything. He seemed to have guessed Tang Ling’s thoughts as he said calmly, “This is also a question of choice. If the underground race does something out of the blue, people will know about them sooner or later. Therefore, you don’t need to say anything, pretend like you don’t know anything, it’s the best for you.”
“Yes, Sir,” Tang Ling replied before he was escorted away by Worf’s men.
******
In the Fierce Dragon Squad’s cave in the First Reserved Camp.
Amir, Orston, and Yu were tangled in a fight. No one could stop them, including the three innocent seniors that shared the dorm. They just lay back in their own cave and pretended they did not see anything.
People in sorrow would always go over the line! Tang Ling’s death proved to be a shock to them.
With that being said, even the three seniors felt a little depressed. As a junior, Tang Ling was a decent person, and at least, he was generous.
Whatever it was, people in sorrow should vent their emotions.
While the three of them were fighting among one another, a sudden voice intervened, “Aren’t you guys close together?”
The dull Andy, the crying Vian, and Christina, who failed to stop the others from fighting, were all stunned when they heard the voice.
They saw Andrew with his hands in his pockets. There was still a faint smile on his face as he watched the fight in the cave.
Hank was standing beside Andrew, looking calm but a little carried away. He did not want to come over because there was guilt in his heart. He was fine with Tang Ling’s death, but the Summit Squad made it happen with inglorious methods and it tainted his pride as the strongest in the First Reserved Camp.
However, Andrew insisted on going over because he was not exactly a generous person and tended to remember every single grudge in his heart, regardless of how small it was. The best revenge would be to step on the b.l.o.o.d.y wounds of his enemies when they were down.
Even though he was the one who planned all this from start to end, in his opinion, the Fierce Dragon Squad was extremely arrogant and that made him unhappy. If he was upset, should he not find something to cure his unhappiness?
“Are you guys still fighting? Do you want to be a joke in front of him?” Christina scolded the trio while weeping.
Yu stopped, pain running wild in his heart. He hated himself for treating his friends with violence. Did Tang Ling sacrifice himself for all this conflict between friends? He was angry at Orston’s blabbering and hurting Amir verbally. He was mad at Amir for not tolerating Orston’s pain and trying to beat him up.
Orston also stopped. Even though he was still drunk, after fighting for a few rounds, he was a little sober. He felt immensely insulted when he saw Andrew and Hank. He was sorry for being so insensitive towards Amir. Was that outburst to vent his sorrow?
After Yu and Orston stopped, Amir also ceased. He tightened his lips while keeping his head lowered and his gaze looked a little uncertain. Perhaps it was because he never expected to fight Orston and Yu under such circ.u.mstances. In the past, regardless of anything, he was always afraid of the two of them because they were from influential families and were high up on top.
Was it because of Tang Ling as well? Did Tang Ling affect his actions? Or was something deep in his heart stabbed?
Other than Christina’s sobbing, it was deadly silent in the cave.
Andrew walked forward slowly and clapped his hands all of a sudden. He displayed a surprised look and said, “Fight! Why are you stopping? Are you guys only united when you go against us Summit Squad? Hmm, or should I say that your union isn’t strong enough to protect your teammates like that Tang Ling guy who failed to return, so you people vent your emotions on each other?”
“What did you say?” Andy, who had been quiet, bolted up. His eyes were overflowing with rage. He was only as tall as Andrew’s chest, but he was not afraid as he headb.u.t.ted Andrew.
A hand suddenly came in to stop Andy. Somehow, Hank stood beside Andrew and glared at Andy coldly, “You don’t have the right to touch him.”
“Let him go.” Vian got up to her feet too. She was also fearless against the strongest of the First Reserved Camp. She pulled Andy back and looked at Andrew calmly, enunciating word for word, “You like to sprinkle salt on people’s wounds that much, huh?”
She then looked at Hank. “So, is this the so-called pride of the strong? Or should I say that the reason you are strong is that you keep bullying the weak? Compared to Tang Ling, what are you?”
Hank blushed. He pulled his hand away and was at a loss for words.
If bullying the Fierce Dragon Squad from the start was a reasonable right of the strong, then it made Hank’s actions inappropriate at this kind of time because they had just lost a friend on the battlefield.
Vian’s words were like knives. Hank wanted to leave, but Andrew held him back.
Andrew squinted his eyes at Vian. He had always maintained a gentlemanly bearing, but this time, his anger was brazen. “Miss, you p.i.s.s me off.”
“But I don’t care,” said Andy, but Vian held him back.
Andy was the scaredy-cat of the whole squad. Tang Ling had always been the one who encouraged him and protected him, so it was time for him to step up and do something on behalf of Tang Ling.
“Of course, you don’t care, but when you started to regret your actions and beg me to stop while you’re on your knees, it will already be too late,” Andrew said coldly.
He sensed dissatisfaction from Hank. The dissatisfaction actually seemed to be towards himself. Was it because of the garbage of the First Reserved Camp?
Andrew could not tolerate this.
“You won’t get to wait for that day.” Vian vehemently stared at Andrew.
“Hmph.” Andrew chuckled. “A few days ago, if that Tang Ling guy wasn’t that arrogant, he might not have ended up dead. Am I right?” He had always been good at poking at people’s wounds.
Vian’s eyes turned red. She bit her lip and tried to hold her tears back, but her shoulders shook and her grief was unbearable.
“The Yufeng family will always protect her. I swear this on my life,” Yu declared. The stinging insult rendered him speechless earlier on, but he knew he had to stand up now.
“The Gordin family will also protect her. I, too, swear that on my life.” Orston also stood up.
“It doesn’t matter.” Andrew showed disdain on his face. He was amused because these kids did not and would not know about the current situation of Safety Sector No. 17 and how the tides had s.h.i.+fted.
Family? Their so-called families would fall in line and live in the shadows in the future. They might even have a problem protecting their own descendants, let alone protect Vian.
After all the fun and games, it was time to leave. Andrew never wanted to spare his time with idiots, but when he turned around and saw the scarlet blush on Hank’s face, his rage peaked. He turned back around to the Fierce Dragon Squad.
He went after Vian with a speed that even Orston and Yu could not match or stop. Furthermore, he was also so strong that he pushed Orston and Yu away.
He grabbed her and looked at the others as he said word by word, “I am unhappy now, so I want to vent my anger on her. Are there any objections?”
As he spoke, he raised his hand up high, intending to slap Vian on the face.
Orston and Yu ran over immediately while Andy and Christina shouted and tried to stop him. Only Amir was at a loss. There was only a single thought that ran through his mind: am I not as good as Tang Ling?
He did not move at all.
It was at that moment, a hand grabbed Andrew’s and stopped him mid-slap. Andrew turned around and saw a relatively unfamiliar face, but given the speed, it must have been a Purple Moon Warrior.
Why would a Purple Moon Warrior come down here? Why would they intervene with the matters in the First Reserved Camp? Andrew was a little confused.
While Andrew was bothered by the temporary confusion, a lazy voice boomed from the entrance of the cave, “I have something to say. Firstly, regardless of the era, a man beating a lady is always a resentful and disgusting act. Secondly, who says you can beat anyone in the Fierce Dragon Squad?”