Chapter 83: Who Can’t Shout a Slogan?
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
When Chu Yunxiong found out that his daughter, Chu Yue, had been involved in an accident, he immediately rushed over to Wild Boar Ridge. The cops had just found her when he arrived on the scene.
Fifty nameless men in suits stood around the perimeter with stern expressions on their faces and their hands behind their backs. Chu Yunxiong was standing right at the front of the group. He wasn’t a tall man, and he was actually a little bit fat. Despite looking and feeling haggard, he put on a youthful smile when he saw that Chu Yue was unscathed.
“You old geezer! I thought that I wasn’t going to see you again. Huhu…”
Chu Yue rushed over to embrace her father and started bawling in his arms. Her slim, fragile body was like that of a deer in shock as she s.h.i.+vered uncontrollably. The events that had taken place that afternoon had severely frightened her and left their imprint in her psyche. She had witnessed death and experienced what it was like to be caught fighting a brutal battle of life and death. She felt like she had returned from a tour of the very depths of h.e.l.l.
“Everything is fine. It’s all over now. Everything is fine!”
Chu Yunxiong patted her back lovingly and comforted her. His old, muddy eyes expressed much of the guilt that he was feeling. He was the one who had brought this terrible situation upon his own daughter. If it had been up to him, he would have much preferred that he’d been the one a.s.saulted instead. If something unthinkable happened to Chu Yue, Chu Yunxiong would never be able to forgive himself.
“Team Leader Gu, we found the bodies of 17 foreigners. Judging by their clothes and equipment, they were most likely mercenaries.”
Meanwhile, Officer Xiao w.a.n.g reported the situation to Gu Qianlin: “Our SWAT team is combing the area around Wild Boar Ridge. As soon as there are any updates, they will report back to us at once.”
“Who killed the 17 mercenaries? Chu Yue’s bodyguard?” Gu Qianlin asked.
Officer Xiao w.a.n.g shook his head and said, “No, Miss Chu Yue’s two bodyguards took some bullets and were knocked out cold.”
“Who else could it have been, then? Don’t tell me that, besides Chu Yue and her bodyguards, there was someone else we missed at the scene?” Gu Qianlin asked. Her face was filled with uncertainty.
“I’m not sure, either. Fang Chongqiang called the cops and said that there were a bunch of mercenaries trying to hurt Miss Chu Yue. He never mentioned anyone else at the scene. The SWAT team also has yet to find traces of another person,” Officer Xiao w.a.n.g was quick to respond to his superior.
Gu Qianlin knitted her eyebrows and diverted her attention toward Chu Yue. In order to find out what had killed the 17 mercenaries, it would be much easier to ask Chu Yue what had happened since she was unscathed. Gu Qianlin put her plan into motion immediately and walked past the fifty nameless men in black suits, heading for the area up front, where Chu Yue was standing with her father. In a sincere tone, Gu Qianlin addressed the frightened girl, “Miss Chu Yue, can you please tell me who saved you?”
Chu Yue was about to answer automatically, ‘Xiao Luo,’ but then abruptly remembered how, before leaving, Xiao Luo had emphatically instructed her not to reveal his ident.i.ty. Although she didn’t know the reason for this, she pulled the brakes just in time. Instead, she shook her head, replying convincingly, “I don’t know. I—I don’t know anything.”
“Officer Gu, my daughter is still in shock. If you want to question her, then do so another day!”
Chu Yunxiong lovingly scooped up Chu Yue and carried her away on his back. His tone made it clear that there would be repercussions if anyone disobeyed him. Ignoring Gu Qianlin, he said to Chu Yue, “Xiao Yue, let’s go home.”
Accompanied by two bodyguards, Leng Zuo and Leng You, they climbed into the Land Rover. Like trained soldiers, the fifty nameless men entered their cars in an orderly manner and left the scene.
“Tsk tsk,” said Officer Xiao w.a.n.g. “This pattern is clearly unmatched. It really is Boss Chu, huh?”
Officer Xiao w.a.n.g and the other cops watched this procession with much awe. They would probably never witness something like this again. There were fifty bodyguards in total, all of whom were retired special forces soldiers. Additionally, these men had received special permission from the government that allowed them to carry firearms. Forget Jiangcheng, just in Hua Nation alone, there were no more than ten businessmen who received such special treatment.
“If you’re envious, then you can hand me your resignation letter. I’ll approve it at once, and you can go work for Chu Yunxiong. I’ll even offer you my congratulations in advance,” Gu Qianlin said with her arms behind her back.
Officer Xiao w.a.n.g hid his envious face and replied with an awkward smile, “Team Leader Gu, I was just joking.” Then, with a stern look, his chin up, chest puffed out, and a perfectly straight posture, he proudly exclaimed, “I, w.a.n.g Hanxuang, vow to fight all sorts of crime! Once a police officer, always a police officer!”
Gu Qianlin promptly kicked Officer Xiao w.a.n.g in the rear end and shot back firmly, “Anyone can shout out a slogan. It doesn’t mean anything on its own. Stop doing such pretentious stuff in front of me, understood?”
“Understood,” w.a.n.g Hanxuan replied vehemently, trying to ignore the pain in his b.u.t.t.
Just then, the voice of the SWAT team leader could be heard through the walkie talkie: “We have located six armed men, and they’re escaping to the southwest!”
Gu Qianlin furrowed her brow, s.n.a.t.c.hed the walkie talkie, and spoke into it firmly, “Don’t lose sight of them but be careful. Professional mercenaries lay mines while escaping, so don’t fall for it.”
“Understood, Team Leader Gu!”
“All small teams listen to my orders. Head southeast and surround the area. Don’t let them escape!”
After relaying her instructions, Gu Qianlin put on her bulletproof vest and led out her team of reinforcements. She was so tough that watching her left w.a.n.g Hanxuan and the other officers speechless. They thought to themselves: She’s like a night-blooming cereus. Pretty and strong at the same time.
…
Xiao Luo was also surrounded by the police but managed to knock out a SWAT officer and changed into his uniform.
Once he put on the bulletproof helmet, it would be hard for the other officers to realize that he was not one of their ranks. While all of the cops headed toward the southwest, Xiao Luo snuck out onto a tiny road and left Wild Boar Ridge.
“I hope Chu Yue doesn’t betray me. Otherwise, I’ll be in trouble!” Xiao Luo muttered to himself.
He worried that if the cops found out that he had killed 17 mercenaries, then they would put him on a list of wanted fugitives. First and foremost, he was not a retired soldier. Secondly, he was not a member of any government organization. Even so, he had these abilities. This meant that the police wouldn’t let him off and might even resort to extorting a confession out of him.
Catching the police’s attention was one thing. But if the government were to blacklist him, then they would watch his every move from then on.
However, if he ever told anyone about the Genius System, then they would think he was a raving lunatic.
…
In a small mountain village, he was stealing—no, borrowing—a set of new clothes and changing into them before taking a car back to Huaye. This was the first time he’d killed someone, and though he had not noticed it at first, he now felt a little out of sorts.
“System, what’s wrong with me? Did ‘Const.i.tution: King of Mercenaries’ change my nature or didn’t it? Why do I feel this uncomfortable after killing someone?” Xiao Luo asked while in bed.
“Ding! ‘Const.i.tution: King of Mercenaries’ changes the nature of the host. However, you are still you, so it doesn’t change the fact that this is the first time you have ever killed another human being. Do not worry. It is natural for you to feel like this,” the system’s clear female voice rang out in his head.
“I’m still me?”
Xiao Luo was stunned but let out a sigh of relief. For some time, he’d been worrying that receiving all kinds of abilities could change into a different person. But all these worries now appeared unfounded. He had merely received these abilities without affecting his body, consciousness, or ego. He was still himself.