Chapter 537 – Full-Time Robbery
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Before leaving, Ling Mo made a trip to see Yuwen Xuan.
These past few days, people at the second campsite had become quite familiar with him. Along the way, not only did no one stop him, but many even paused to warmly greet him.
“Hey Ling Mo.”
“Good morning, Ling Mo…”
“Morning my foot, it’s already noon. Heh heh, have you eaten yet, Ling Mo?”
At first, Ling Mo responded with a few words, but soon realized he was alone and outnumbered. By the time he got through, his mouth was almost dry, so he simply smiled and nodded, which saved him quite a bit of saliva…
Although the second campsite was nominally still under Falcon Camp’s territory, in the eyes of these new and old members, their real boss was actually the Commanding Officer, Yuwen Xuan.
And the Falcon? Too far away to be of their concern…
Even the presence of Su Qianrou hadn’t changed this situation.
As for Ling Mo? He wasn’t just Yuwen Xuan’s brother-in-law; his name was often on Yuwen Xuan’s lips, making it clear to everyone that although Ling Mo wasn’t a Falcon member, in this second campsite, he was the true boss. Even Yuwen Xuan had to listen to him.
Zhang Yu didn’t seem to take Ling Mo seriously, but he couldn’t stop his own boss from consistently showing favor to Ling Mo…
“For crying out loud! Useless as a lump of mud! You sis-con! No… brother-in-law-con!”
After several unsuccessful struggles, Zhang Yu gave up and focused on competing with Su Qianrou instead.
So, just for that reason alone, those members would take the initiative to curry favor with him.
Not to mention the group of Falcon members who came with Yuwen Xuan. In private, they unanimously believed that taking down the Air Force Corps was almost entirely Ling Mo’s doing.
They might not have known the details, but they understood that they were just there to take over.
Anyone daring to claim the victory over the Air Force Corps would be spat in the face by these people.
You took it down? Did you even fire a shot? Do you have the nerve to say it?
Although a few thought Ling Mo was riding Yuwen Xuan’s coattails, most understood that it was actually Yuwen Xuan who was benefiting from Ling Mo.
However, those from the old Air Force Corps acted somewhat strangely—
Upon learning that this young man was the notorious Ling Mo, who caused turmoil within the Air Force Corps, some revered him to death, and there were even those who came just to watch and pester him.
“Hey Ling Mo! Just between us, I’m actually a regular survivor who joined the Air Force Corps three months ago. I have nothing to do with the chase after you! Plus, I really admire you. Could you tell me how you took down those two planes?”
A few old Air Force Corps members followed Ling Mo, incessantly asking questions.
“I heard you threw bullets with your bare hands and blew up a building on the spot, is that true?” another asked.
“Are those still bullets?”
“You don’t know squat about a Psychic’s powers!”
“d.a.m.n! You’re a Psychic too, throw one for me to see?”
These people were everywhere, pestering Ling Mo to the point of no peace. In the end, it took the “heavy artillery” of Little Witch Xia Na to scare these folks off from getting too close.
Some people held Ling Mo in high esteem but kept a respectful distance, their reasoning was something Ling Mo didn’t bother to guess—he didn’t plan on sticking around here anyway…
He maintained a smile throughout the journey, until his face almost stiffened, finally breaking through the crowd to reach Yuwen Xuan’s office.
Upon pus.h.i.+ng open the door, to his surprise, there was Yuwen Xuan, enthusiastically playing chess with Tom…
“Busy, busy, if you need something, go find Zhang Yu,” Yuwen Xuan said without looking up from his seat, his back to Ling Mo, as he heard the door open.
Tom looked up, flashed a smile at Ling Mo, and then jokingly kicked out, “Commanding Officer, your brother-in-law!”
“d.a.m.n! Your brother-in-law!… And now we’re resorting to insults, huh? Believe it or not, I’ll have you cleaning toilets as punishment! Do you believe it?” Yuwen Xuan roared back with feigned anger.
“What is this, a schoolteacher moonlighting over here…” Tom grimaced and then, deciding to ignore it, waved at Ling Mo, “Hey there, Ling Mo.”
“Heh, seems like you guys are in high spirits…”
Ling Mo had barely spoken when a “pfft” sound erupted, clearly Yuwen Xuan had choked…
In a rush, Yuwen Xuan turned his head, “Ahahaha, oh, it really is the brother-in-law… I didn’t mean that…”
“Forget it.” Ling Mo took a seat where Tom had made room, and the big guy went off to drag another chair over.
“I haven’t seen you around these past few days, how did it go?” Yuwen Xuan inquired.
“Not bad,” Ling Mo replied, though his words belied his true feelings.
It wasn’t just ‘not bad’; in reality, he had packed up anything and everything he could use from the second campsite…
Because there was too much stuff, he had even been forced to painfully discard some non-essential items.
“So you’re… leaving?” Yuwen Xuan might act crazy, but he was quick on the uptake. Ling Mo had been out of sight these past days, and now he showed up unexpectedly—it had to be for a particular reason.
What else could it be but leaving?
“Yep,” Ling Mo nodded, “I’ve been delayed here long enough.”
“Consider it a rest…” Tom interjected, while constantly shooting meaningful glances at Yuwen Xuan.
It was only right that Yuwen Xuan be the one to ask Ling Mo to stay, both emotionally and logically.
Unfortunately, despite almost blinking his eyes out, Tom’s signals were missed by Yuwen Xuan.
“Ahahaha… Oh.” Yuwen Xuan said.
“Darn it!! We’re not even on the same wavelength here!” Tom rubbed his eyes, cursing inwardly.
“Just a moment…” Yuwen Xuan pondered briefly, then suddenly flipped up from his seat.
Never one to forget his abilities, Yuwen Xuan moved so fast that all Ling Mo and Tom saw was a flash of fire behind him, and then he was sprawled across the table, reaching into a drawer in this bizarre manner.
Though the action was indelicate, the speed and accuracy were impressive. However, a wisp of black smoke rising from his backside was undeniably odd…
“Like the sunlight on an incense burner producing purple smoke…” Tom suddenly mused.
“Have some common sense… Apologize to the Poet Immortal!” Ling Mo couldn’t help but retort.
“I just recited a line or two, don’t be so harsh…” Tom pouted, feigning innocence.
Ling Mo averted his gaze uneasily and suggested, “I strongly advise… that you keep your distance from the madman Xuan…”
“Here, this thing…”
Yuwen Xuan quickly bounced back, handing a brand-new Communicator to Ling Mo: “Call if you need anything. Especially for good things like this one, the more the merrier…”
“What do you think I do…” Ling Mo said.
“Eh? Aren’t you a full-time robber?” Yuwen Xuan exclaimed in surprise, “The two times I’ve seen you, you were just heading out to rob…”
“Let’s not dredge up the past…” Ling Mo declined the Communicator, “I’ve got one on me.”
“Where did you get it from? Your previous one couldn’t even reach this second base!” Yuwen Xuan pointed out.
“The Falcon’s gadget was made for me… It can connect here too, don’t worry.”
“Who’s the gadget?” Tom interjected.
Ling Mo suddenly felt a headache coming on and quickly steered the conversation back on track: “Right, I need a helicopter. I’m going back to City X with a few people from the Falcon group tomorrow.”
Even the fastest members of Niepan wouldn’t be able to reach the new base of the Falcon group so quickly; Ling Mo wasn’t in a rush.
“Well…” Yuwen Xuan suddenly leaned in, shamelessly saying with a sly smile, “Brother-in-law, could you do me a favor? Just a small one on the way!”
“What is it?” Ling Mo immediately had a bad feeling; this guy was really good at taking advantage of situations!
“Hehe…”
Yuwen Xuan grinned shamelessly.
…
A few minutes later, a man with a crew cut pushed the door open and snapped to attention with a “pop,” saluting crisply.
“Good day, Commanding Officer! Good day, Instructor Tom!”
His voice was crisp, and his eyes were spirited, but Ling Mo noticed that the man didn’t even glance at him.
Not a look, let alone a greeting.
“Come here, let me introduce you. This is the man who will be joining you on your mission, a pilot named Huang Duo. Come on, Duo…”
As soon as Yuwen Xuan beckoned him, two dark lines immediately appeared on Huang Duo’s previously stern face: “Commanding Officer…”
“Duo, this is my brother-in-law Ling Mo. You’ll be responsible for escorting him and the remaining members of the Falcon group to City X. Along the way, he’ll help you gather some fuel. We’ve been consuming too much lately; if we don’t find a way to replenish it, you guys might be out of a job,” Yuwen Xuan explained.
Only then did Huang Duo turn his gaze to Ling Mo, saying loudly, “Please advise!”
“Hey, hey…” Ling Mo winced as his eardrums vibrated painfully from the shout. Was that volume really necessary?
And the look in this man’s eyes… it seemed like he was somewhat displeased with him…
Since he was a pilot, he must be a member of the Air Force Corps.
There were definitely old members who had reservations about Ling Mo, but there was no reason for displeasure…
After all, Ling Mo had no quarrels or grudges with them…
“h.e.l.lo,” Ling Mo said.
But Huang Duo had already turned back to Yuwen Xuan: “May I ask who will be commanding this operation?”
“Huh?” Yuwen Xuan was taken aback, then responded, “Do you need to ask? Of course, it’s my brother-in-law!”
“Pfft!”
Tom nearly choked on his own breath, standing aside in disbelief. It seemed that only Yuwen Xuan could be so brazenly self-serving in the entire Falcon organization.
Huang Duo hadn’t expected Yuwen Xuan to be so blunt. He probably had a whole spiel prepared, but it was all redundant now.
The man’s face turned red with frustration as he struggled for a moment, then turned to Ling Mo: “Then, I must ask for your a.s.sistance!”
“It’s ‘Captain’…” Yuwen Xuan reminded him.
“…” Huang Duo was in utter despair, “Captain!”
“Off you go, then. Get your two buddies ready, we set off early tomorrow morning.” Yuwen Xuan waved him off, dismissing him from the office.
From behind, Tom added, “And remember to follow orders!”
Huang Duo’s steps faltered just as he was leaving the office, his shoulders twitched, and then he hurried away.
“That guy’s a skilled pilot and he’s done plenty of recon missions too. He won’t be holding you back, right?” Yuwen Xuan turned around with a mischievous grin.
Ling Mo leaned forward, spreading his hands: “What about my compensation?”
“What compensation?” Yuwen Xuan blinked, feigning ignorance, “You ran off with my sister, and you’re still asking me for compensation…”
“Is that so?… Oh, Yalin, you’re here too…”
“No, no, no! Just tell me what you want…” Yuwen Xuan’s face was suddenly streaked with tears.