Chapter 208: A Secret
“That maggot! That son of a b.i.t.c.h maggot! You will always be a maggot!” Aber was trembling vehemently although he was not sure whether it was because of anger, hatred, envy, or fear? He could no longer remain calm!
The fear of death circled his mind, torturing him. Whenever he thought of the Ivy League Alliance Academy and his bright future in that state, all the complicated thoughts would double. How could he remain calm?
On top of that, Tang Ling’s level of genius was obviously a poison to Aber.
While Aber always acted superior to others, there was a depressing past in his heart that he wished not to mention. Originally, he should not have grown up in the rural and poor Safety Sector No. 17. Instead, he should have been beside his mother, enjoying the resources from her side of the family.
Unfortunately, he was looked down upon and was not qualified to.
The other family had declared, “This child doesn’t qualify being raised by our hand. His talent is too weak.”
His talent was too weak? How ridiculous! It was almost like a joke when he was described as such.
Just how weak was his talent? He was nearly a five-star Genetic Chain Potential besides being a talent that was lesser-known but not entirely useless. He did not want to submit, but he had to when he saw his peers and his cousins on the other side of the family perform remarkably. Therefore, he had to suck it up and remain in the rural area as a country b.u.mpkin.
Only in Safety Sector No. 17 could he find himself some pride and balance. That was the reason why he was envious of all the geniuses.
He had once asked Lionel to teach him the dagger technique. Back then, Lionel had agreed to teach him in reluctance although he had said that he would only demonstrate it ten times.
Since Lionel agreed to teach him, he took it seriously. After explaining the theory behind the movements, Lionel had also demonstrated it up to ten times at a speed that Aber could watch and learn. Alas, in the end, Aber failed to master the technique.
Even up until today, he had never mastered the technique despite practicing by himself and noticing some improvements but it was nothing stellar.
Tang Ling, on the other hand, had mastered it and performed it better with just a quick encounter! How?!?
If he had Tang Ling’s gifts and talents, what kind of privileged treatment would he have received from his mother’s side of the family?
Aber hated himself for thinking about all that right now. He could not soothe the suffering in his heart, so he stood up and turned up the volume of the music to the loudest. The only way he could calm himself down was by fantasizing himself as the man that he admired.
However, now, even the music that he once adored turned into a melody of torture because that man that he admired so much was actually…
Aber then revealed a strange grin after he made a decision in his mind.
…
“It’s over.” Tang Ling lifted the last head that he severed and placed it in the hall of the third floor. Almost without a doubt, he could conclude that the higher the floor, the deeper the sins of the family members.
Tang Ling even discovered an interesting diary which he flipped through. He realized that many of the Agnes family members were involved in numerous dirty dealings, including human trafficking. They sold off the babies from the safety sector and the old settlement to other places.
Was there not an ounce of kindness in the genes of the family? Tang Ling placed the last head down properly.
Number 73.
He then stared at the giant monitor and stomped on the sinners’ heads one by one. No amount of insult was too much for these sinners who were not worthy of a peaceful death.
Tang Ling picked up his own sword and headed to the fourth floor.
How many were left? There should be six, but he discovered a squashed body back on the second floor which should have been the warning from Uncle Su Yao earlier.
So, there were five of them left, including Aber and Clyne.
Killing Aber would put Vian and Amir to rest whereas killing Clyne would put an end to all this.
A strange feeling rose in Tang Ling’s heart. He had to reminisce about the warm hands of his grandmother, the scent of his sister, the pain from Su Yao’s kick, and the happy times he spent with the Fierce Dragon Squad to suppress the negative feelings that came together with the ma.s.sacre.
Killing others was never a comfort in his mind because he could never enjoy the sense of control he gained from slaughtering others.
Tang Ling stepped onto the last flight of stairs to the fourth floor.
Before he could stand properly, two figures flanked Tang Ling from his left and right together. It was the limit that Su Yao permitted, so the Agnes family would surely utilize the number to deliver their final struggle.
“Has it begun?” Tang Ling tilted back as the huge standard-issued sword grazed his face with a cold wind in its trail. Even as his weight bore backward, he was able to dish out a kick. He kicked the other sword that swung at him away.
A monster like this always has the most precise judgment and the highest form of battle wisdom.
Clyne had a pair of gla.s.ses hanging over his nose. He also held a little notebook with a ‘Confidential’ sticker on the cover while he watched the battle with a cold gaze. He wanted to know what trump cards were hiding under Tang Ling’s sleeves.
Judging from the situation, everything was within his prediction. Tang Ling should have already shown all his trump cards, except for that form.
Hmm, even with that form…he won’t succeed!
With that in mind, Clyne lowered his head and repeatedly scanned the several simple sentences on the page of the notebook: ‘Tang Feng, talents unknown. Suspected to have ‘Copycat’ talent, ‘Sight’ talent, and ‘Perception’ talent, but based on the information that he has revealed by himself, he only admits to having ‘Precision’ talent.’
Pak!
Clyne shut the notebook tightly. He would never believe that the man who once stood at the pinnacle of the world only had one Precision talent.
What kind of garbage was a Precision talent? Was it one of the talents that allowed him to communicate with natural forces? Could he increase his perception and wisdom with it? Or could he empower himself with it? Apart from the higher tier talent abilities, there were abilities that were known as the law of talents such as the s.p.a.ce ability.
What exactly was the Precision talent? Clyne’s understanding of the talent told him that among a myriad of examples, the Precision talent was proven only to aid one’s range attack. That was it. Essentially, it was the worst of the garbage talents.
“Tang Ling? He exposed Tang Feng’s secret with his actions. The father and son must possess a type of Perception talent, a powerful one, but not the Copycat talent that people a.s.sume,” Clyne muttered to himself.
If there really was a Copycat talent within him, all the powerhouses in the world would never be able to beat him. With that in mind, Clyne calmly picked up the cigar that he placed beside the ashtray and took a puff.
As a very vigilant man, he a.s.sumed that Tang Ling only possessed the wind element talent, but he was also searching for more information, so he had paid close attention to the kid just to form his own conclusion.
On the monitor, the two Purple Moon Warriors who flanked Tang Ling at the stairs were on the verge of losing.
Truth be told, it was almost impossible for them to win. Tang Ling’s basic stats had definitely reached a rank 3 Purple Moon Warrior’s level, and these two Purple Moon Warriors were not even rank 2, so how long could they stall him?
They were no stronger than Lionel, yet they were able to live on the fourth floor. It was all because of their n.o.ble backgrounds. They were the descendants of the political marriage between the Agnes family and other n.o.ble families.
On second thought, the Agnes family was pitiful. Clyne had worked hard all his life and stood as the elite of the family, yet in the end, there was only one rank 3 Purple Moon Warrior in the family—himself.
Clouds of smoke circled Clyne’s room. He was not surprised by Tang Ling’s current state. He was actually calculating the time and he wondered how Tang Ling’s powers could have skyrocketed in such a short time. He was also thinking about when all this would end and what consequences would there be.
While he was pondering upon the questions, two more heads rolled. Two more members of the Agnes family were killed, and their heads were placed in the hall on the fourth floor.
Next.
Surprisingly, Tang Ling soon realized that the infamous foppish young man of the family had been driven mad by his presence. The young man was beside his bed, peeing in his pants over and over again. He hugged his pet cat in utter horror and called for his mother endlessly.
Tang Ling walked up to the young man and released the innocent pet cat.
The cat might be the cleanest being in this sinful family. After the foppish young man’s cat was taken away, he beat Tang Ling madly and bit him like a spoiled brat while crying for his mother loudly, “Give me back my mother. Mummy wants to sleep with Baby!”
What the h.e.l.l? Disgusting! Tang Ling frowned in resentment. He raised his sword and ended the disgusting man’s life.
Coincidentally, the last one on the fourth floor was Aber. Tang Ling wanted to know how would Aber welcome him, and with what expression?
Bang!
Tang Ling kicked down the last door on the floor. Even though it was just the fourth floor, Aber’s door was unlike the others. It was forged with pure frames and garnished with grand floral patterns. After all, he was the heir.
Tang Ling saw Aber in the room.
Aber was not in his armor or any kind of protection. He was unarmed. He sat on a wide, long sofa, looking at Tang Ling in the doorway with a strange grin.
The room was playing the music from the old civilization. Tang Ling could understand the language of the music since it was one of the few languages that Kun had unlocked within him. In fact, every language that Safety Sector No. 17 spoke was derived from this particular language as it acted as a base for all the current spoken languages.
Aber turned a blind eye to Tang Ling’s arrival as he hummed the song in enjoyment.
“He deals the cards as meditation,
And those he plays never suspect
He doesn’t play for the money he wins.”
Tang Ling stood in front of the door, listening quietly. Aber suddenly stopped humming and looked at him in the eyes. “What do the lyrics remind you of?”
Tang Ling frowned. He was not in a hurry to kill Aber because he noticed something interesting and wanted to observe it first.
Aber, on the other hand, did not care about Tang Ling’s answer. He rambled on, “It reminds you that this is a man’s song. I’ve heard it for more than a thousand times and I really agree with it! A man has to think and devise strategies. A man has to be familiar with the game he plays. He has to see through it all and control it with skillful hands.
“However, none of those could touch his heart in the end. Do you agree? I understand the black spade is like the sword that the soldiers wield while the club is like the cannon that bombards the battlefield. In this artistic game, diamonds are the money that you will get…but that’s not the shape of my heart.
“Isn’t it interesting? It will make you want to know more about this man. A man that triumphs above all. He can’t be moved by money, power, or victory, so what will his heart be like? How powerful is he? What is the softness that his mental castle protects in the end?
“And as you know more, you want to be like him, even if it’s just the way he looks. You want the looks of the man who views everything as a game yet plays it seriously and is never shackled by anything,” Aber talked a lot quicker all of a sudden.
Tang Ling responded calmly, “Yeah, you are right.”
“No, I’m not! Because this song represents a man’s heart, the deepest longing in a man’s heart. How many men in this world are worthy of the lyrics? I’m not worthy. That’s why I always listen to this song and fantasize.
“Tang Ling, do you want to know a secret?” Aber stood up. He even had the mood to pour himself a gla.s.s of wine.
Tang Ling just kept quiet.
“This is the favorite song of a hero, a great hero. I was still young back then, and the only thing I can remember is the safety sector is facing a crisis. There was a bunch of bad guys and a sea of vicious beasts threatened the safety of the people, so the sector was on the brink of destruction.
“Then, a man led a group of people, not many of them…perhaps around 50 to 60? I’m not sure, but they stopped the crisis from descending upon the safety sector. I’ll never forget the valiant expression of the hero on the battlefield, but what made an impression on me is that when he stood above a mountain of bodies, he slowly squatted down and was carried away.
“I don’t know what distracted him, and I don’t know what his gaze was about back then. My father lifted me up and I looked at him with the utmost admiration. I heard the song that he hummed back then and I remembered that one phrase that he sang—’but that’s not the shape of my heart.’”
Aber then drained the wine from the gla.s.s before he looked at Tang Ling with a tilted head. “Interesting story, isn’t it? Do you want to hear about it? That secret?”
“Are you done?” Tang Ling walked closer to Aber. He raised his sword and pointed it at his neck. “I don’t want to know any secrets from you.”
“I’m not using this secret to exchange for my life. I’ll die nevertheless, and I have one request: leave my body intact. I don’t want my mother to feel sad when she sees my body. What do you say? Interested?” As Aber felt scared, he poured himself another gla.s.s of wine with shaky hands.
“I don’t want to. Let’s just fight.” Tang Ling was determined.
Aber sighed, he drained the second gla.s.s empty and then fished out a gun from his coat.
In fact, with Tang Ling’s current speed, a gun was barely a threat to him anymore. If the shooter was not a top tier sharpshooter, it would be difficult to maintain the precision to capture the target under the crosshairs. If the first shot missed, it would spell the end.
“Are you trying to fight me with that?” Tang Ling mocked.
Aber said, “I believe you are a man of your words. The secret is written on a piece of paper at my desk. Leave my body intact, please.”
Then, before Tang Ling could say anything, Aber pointed the gun at his own chest and fired. The gun was a Desert Eagle, so the firepower was self-explanatory. It may only leave a simple hole at the entry point but would leave a gaping hole when the bullet exited the body.
Aber had just killed himself after uttering a bunch of strange words. A gun’s firepower was not one to doubt. Even if Aber was a rank 2 Purple Moon Warrior and his talent leaned towards defense, firing a gun point-blank at his own heart would kill him.
While the firepower of guns was respectable, the reason why it was not as effective against a Purple Moon Warrior was its speed and reflexes.
Tang Ling looked at Aber without the slightest surprise. He strolled to Aber’s body and turned the body over with the tip of his foot. The exit wound on the back was gruesome.
Without a heartbeat or a breath, the body started to turn cold and stiff.
Tang Ling was given the choice to leave Aber intact, and in exchange, he could take a look at the secret at the desk. Should he choose to go with this path, he would not be losing out since he had decided to burn the manor down in the end anyway.
However, Tang Ling did not go to the desk. Instead, he sat down at the bar beside Aber’s body. The wine that Aber had uncorked earlier was left on the table.
Tang Ling was not a cultured man. He picked up the bottle and took big gulps from it. Although he did not plan to waste time, he needed some alcohol to calm the mixed feelings inside him and suppress his reluctance.
He put the bottle down after a few generous gulps. Then, he muttered beside the dead Aber, not expecting a reply, “Do you know why Andrew was better than you?
“It’s not because Andrew was smarter than you. It’s because he was a man. At least, he knew when he couldn’t outrun his fate. Even then, he dared to step up to the challenge and fight me.
“He also knew the difference between wisdom and sly tricks. Wisdom is forcing the enemy into agreeing to one’s demands like how I didn’t beat his other friends up and allowed Hank to leave in the end.
“What you did was a sly trick.” As he spoke, he placed the grade B alloy longsword behind Aber’s neck, some distance away from cutting it.
Tang Ling did not say anything else after that. A short pause later, he swung the sword down, separating Aber’s head from his body. Since the consciousness in the severed head could live for a few more seconds, Aber widened his eyes all of a sudden, gazing at Tang Ling in utmost disbelief.
Tang Ling shot a mocking gaze at the head and picked up the bottle for another gulp. “I gave you the chance to fight. It was a one chance thing, so I guess you’ll just have to die. Do you really think your little secret can pique my interest? And that I’d go take a look at the paper, be a man of my words, and leave you with an intact body? I know I’d have nothing to lose, but no.
“Firstly, I hate the secret that you mentioned. Secondly, I hate people playing mind games with me and I hate moving at other people’s pace. Your little trick is too lame.
“Lastly, you must have wondered how I saw through all this. Well, I’m not going to tell you.”
Tang Ling then walked over to Aber’s head and picked it up. By then, the last bit of life in Aber had faded away.
However, Tang Ling did not leave. He stood in the room and waited for the song to finish. He seemed to be thinking about something with his head lowered in silence.
When the song ended, he walked over and picked up the vinyl disk, shattering it to pieces without a second thought. He then left the room with Aber’s head without going close to the desk at all.
…
Su Siao looked up to the sky with sadness mixed with solemness in his expression. He had seen everything and understood the reason behind Tang Ling’s actions, but it was all within his expectations.
“I’m actually a failure. I suppose my son will hate me when he grows up and he might never understand me.” Tang Feng rarely felt sad, but this time, when he tried to laugh, his gaze showed a deep sense of sorrow.
“What can I do for you, my brother?” Su Siao eyes were glued to the sky, but he failed to reach the answer.
Other than lying, he could not do anything else. However, would he lie to Tang Ling? Apparently not, and Tang Ling was a smart kid who would not fall for lies easily.
This was the cruel part of life. One may have lived his life thoroughly, attain the highest glory and power besides satisfying one’s greatest desires, but in the end, stray far from forgiveness.
One may find that the heart desired the simplest thing at the very end of one’s life. It might be just asking for forgiveness, seeking to dissolve misunderstandings and regrets like how life started back then without the temptation of desires.
Unfortunately, time could never be reversed.
Will my daughter forgive me?
Su Siao did not want to know about that. Aside from his daughter, even Rona, with whom he had a romantic relations.h.i.+p for a while, might not forgive him.
Fine, I’ll just live with regrets and give it all up when I die. It’s time to start the fight