Chapter 281: Can I Grow a Pair? [Part 2]
Erty and Hua Li should be thankful that they were at Neo’s place at not somewhere else, because there no lack of ant.i.toxins here. Erty had begun recovering at the end of the treatment, and even the weaker Hua Li had regained consciousness.
“The two of you look like you’re recovering well,” Cillin said after inspecting their injuries.
Erty leaned against the back of a chair while wearing a dark look on his face.
“You have my pity. It’s only natural for anyone who got caught by those mice to feel frustrated,” Neo said with kindness and forgiveness towards the injured duo, not realizing at all that it only sounded like he was taunting.
Erty narrowed his eyes and forced down the spurt of anger Neo had incited. Then, he said slowly, “Someone f.u.c.ked me over.”
Hmm?” Neo motioned for Erty to explain, but it was clear that he was looking at the man with suspicion.
Right now Erty wasn’t in the mood to banter with Neo. In fact, his increasingly calm-sounding voice was actually a sign of rising anger.
“I could’ve avoided that attack, but someone shot me in the leg,” said Erty while rolling up his pants. Although his legs looked fine on the surface, a closer glance would reveal a tiny needle protruding from his skin. Neo put it through a scanner and confirmed that Erty had been shot with a plant-based tranquilizer. In fact Neo had researched this plant before, but he didn’t study deeper because it was useless to him. The plant could be found inside the forest, and it was relatively simpler to fine compared to the Tri-colored Bean.
Cillin did notice that someone was nearby, but he didn’t chase after them because Erty and Hua Li were injured. That person had even tried to follow their tracks, but they gave up after Cillin told Wheeze to lure over some wild beasts and stop them. Gu Xin had no idea this had happened.
“Ah, incoming message!” Neo suddenly cried out as a metal piece on his bracelet flashed. One press later, a photo with three people in it appeared into view.
“Eh? It’s the guy who followed us earlier!” Wheeze pointed at a man with four eyes.
“Hei Dou sent me this while they weren’t looking. You will clash with them if you want to get your materials,” said Neo.
“Hei Dou’s place was taken as well?” Ah Shou said with a look of sympathy. It seemed that she wasn’t the only one who was plagued with misfortune.
“Hei Dou’s place has the bullet enhancement materials you need. If you want to get them you better start moving. Although Hei Dou said that those three people were planning something similar, but with their level of intelligence there’s a 21.93% chance that they’re just wasting resources. If you move now, you may be able to secure 17.76% to 56.33% of the materials,” said Neo.
Erty rolled his eyes at him and asked, “Why do you always count down to two decimal points?”
“There’s no need to explain to someone with your intellect.” Neo turned back towards Cillin and relayed even more instructions. He was asking Cillin to collect some chemicals and a couple more stuff he had been eyeing for a long time, but was stopped by Hei Dou.
“And that is why you should return with these stuff.” Neo pa.s.sed Cillin a list he had prepared last minute.
Cillin took a rough glance before replying, “I’ll bring them back for you if there’s time.”
“I’m sure you’ll find the time!”
“Where are you going? I’ll come with you. I’m not injured anyway,” said Gu Xin. It might be difficult for Cillin to handle all those ammo and materials himself.
“It’s fine, Wheeze and I can do this ourselves. You should stay behind to protect our base,” Cillin turned down his offer.
Gu Xin was about to object until he heard that Wheeze was going. Erty and Hua Li had a bad viewing angle at the time, but he had a clear view of the gray cat biting the white mouse by the neck and pulling it backwards by force. If it wasn’t for Wheeze, Erty would be mince meat already.
“Wait!” Hua Li said, “Mercury can carry you there.”
“Mercury?” Cillin asked in puzzlement.
“Aiya, she’s referring to that dumb bird of hers!” Neo explained, “But dumb as it may be, it will save you a lot of travel time.”
“That’s perfect.” Cillin was pretty curious about the white bird himself, although Mercury was definitely a strange name.
Hua Li spent a moment to explain Mercury to him and taught him some techniques. Then, she walked into the fores with Ah Shou and Cillin’s help before she placed a pair of fingers to her mouth. A whistle later, Mercury soon appeared in front of them.
Hua Li gave Mercury a couple of instructions and made it get used to Cillin and the whistling sound he made.
Mercury couldn’t speak, but it was smart enough to understand their meaning. After crying out twice to signal that it understood, Mercury lowered itself so that Cillin could jump onto it.
Wheeze had already made a full round on Mercury’s back before Cillin had even moved his leg.
At first, Mercury wasn’t very used to having a different person on it. After shaking its head and flapping its wings for a bit, it slowly found its balance and calmed down. After Cillin had jumped onto Mercury’s back, Hua Li rubbed its head and told it to be careful. Finally, Mercury let out a cry and jumped into the air. Hua Li and Ah Shou waited until Mercury was just a dot in the sky before they finally climbed down the tree.
This was the first time Wheeze rode a giant bird, so it was very excited about the experience. Not only did the harsh wind and falling snow deter its pa.s.sion in the slightest, it even started rubbing its fur against Mercury’s back out of habit. Unfortunately for them, its movement made Mercury extremely uncomfortable, and Cillin was nearly thrown off its back after an unsteady sway. Cillin had to give Wheeze a literal knock in the head before it calmed down and allowed Mercury to stabilize.
Although Cillin had a tight grip on Wheeze, its tail was clearly swaying with purpose. Cillin knew instantly that Wheeze was plotting something nefarious again. He flicked the gray cat’s ears and asked, “What are you thinking now?”
Wheeze’s mouth split into a grin. “Do you think I can grow a pair of wings in the future, Cillin? Maybe even multiple pairs?”
“Maybe, but right now you have no wings, and you need Mercury’s help so don’t bully it,” said Cillin while pinching Wheeze’s ear.
“I know!” Wheeze flicked its ears, but it just couldn’t forget the wings.
If I have wings I’ll be able to fly. If I can fly I’ll be able to hunt birds…
Unconscious or not, it appeared that a glutton’s thoughts would always trend towards food.
Cillin didn’t need to give Mercury directions at all, because it was obvious that Mercury was very familiar with Hei Dou’s hideout. It led Cillin straight towards his destination.
The snowfall had become even bigger than before, and everything above or below them were completely white. If there were still some predators hunting for food at the beginning, they were almost all gone at this point. Cillin even saw two white mice while they were flying towards their destination. Technically speaking, it should be difficult to spot them since their skin was as white as the snow, but Cillin didn’t have any difficulties differentiating them from the white background.
The good news was that the two mice were still some distance away from Neo’s safe zone, so the group had nothing to worry about for now.
It had been ten days since he landed on this planet. There was another twenty days to go.
Twenty days…
At first, Cillin thought that Black Viper was trying to choose the best of the test candidates and absorb them into their organization. It was so that they could replace some of their aging members.
But after ten days had pa.s.sed, Cillin had deeper ideas about his purpose for being here.
As it turned out, the test candidates weren’t the only ones who were on this planet. Some Black Viper natives had come to this planet as well. These people were ordinary in some aspects, and extraordinary in others. Although they didn’t have strong const.i.tution like Cillin, Gu Xin or Erty, they weren’t lacking skill or expertise. Sometimes it was difficult to understand how they thought, but even he had to admit that they were extraordinarily talented in some areas.
Why on earth had Black Viper put them together with the test candidates? Especially considering that some of the candidates were literally kidnapped to this place?
Both Guan Feng and Gu Changan had told him not to view Black Viper through old lens. In that case, what was Black Viper’s true form?
Everything was still a mystery just like the snow flying all around the sky.
A short while later, Cillin and Wheeze gradually approached their destination.
Mercury turned its head slightly to point Cillin towards the exact location he was looking for. Then, it flew sideways and found a less conspicuous spot to land.
“I know the path. Find a place to hide and I’ll call out to you later,” Cillin said to Mercury after landing.
Mercury nodded once before shooting Wheeze a glance. After realizing that the gray cat was staring rather curiously at its wings, it flew away hurriedly like it was being chased.
Cillin poked Wheeze once and said, “Come on, time to work!”
Hei Dou’s base was near the mouth of a volcano.
It was impossible to tell if the volcano was active or extinct, but it hadn’t spouted lava for the past century at least. This was evident from the many plants in its surroundings.
This planet was mostly covered by evergreen plants. Occasionally, it was possible to glimpse a greenery or two despite the snow.
Wheeze started scanning the terrain and the blueprint of the base beneath the ground.
They quickly found the entrance to the base.
Of course, Cillin and Wheeze weren’t going to enter right through the front door. The plan was to slip in through a narrow air vent.
There was no way the invaders occupying this base would know its layout too well. After all, they had only been here for a while.
Cillin and Wheeze stopped at a concealed air vent where several layers of wire mesh were keeping them from entering. Wheeze easily cut open the wire mesh and connected with the circuits of the base. Cillin then took out of his tools, dismantled the window screens completely and entered the base through the narrow vent.
Cillin and Wheeze arrived at a room after some crawling. Wheeze had already scanned a blueprint of the area, so they knew what the room was even before they went in, the instrument spare room. Hei Dou was locked in the lab right next to it.
Cillin and Wheeze worked separately after that.
Hei Dou, a dark-skinned child with a chubby face and a childish appearance was sitting inside the lab. Not far away, a fearsome-looking man was playing with a small knife alone. Even further away were two men discussing with each other about something.
The fearsome man suddenly withdrew his knife and walked next to Hei Dou. Then, he looked at Hei Dou and smiled. “Your reinforcement is about show up, right?”
Hei Dou trembled in surprise. Even Cillin was caught off guard by the sudden reveal. Did he figure out that Hei Dou had contacted Neo?
The fearsome man’s smile didn’t cause Hei Dou to relax in the slightest. On the contrary, they looked even more afraid than before. Unfortunately, some people were born with a face that looked scarier when they were smiling.
Sensing their fear, the big man rubbed Hei Dou’s head before saying, “Don’t be scared, little girl. I won’t let them know about this.”
Cillin: “...”
Hei Dou is a girl?
No wait, that’s not important. Something’s strange about this big man. Are they not completely on the same side?
Cillin decided to wait and observe a bit longer. They weren’t using the materials he was searching for just yet, and he wanted to see exactly what this big man was planning.
“Let’s talk, shall we?” The big man lowered his voice and started conversing with Hei Dou. There was no way the other two people could hear his voice from their position.
Hei Dou looked up and stared at the big man in confusion. She had brown iris. She was listening because the other two invaders had planned to eliminate her directly, but he had changed their mind to leave her alive, for now.
The big man gave her a helpless smile. Although his smile was still scary, it managed to relax Hei Dou a little.
“If your cla.s.smate is coming over to save you, I can take out those two people for you. However, I want you to help me with something later.”
Hei Dou mulled over the proposition for a moment before looking at the big man for further explanation. She would agree if his explanation was acceptable.
The big man looked relieved as he continued, “It’s like this. I need a place to rest. When your companions arrive, promise me I can join you at your companion’s place. I don’t want to freeze to death outside.”
This sounded like a pretty simple offer. Hei Dou agreed to it without any pressure at all.
The big man grinned with his teeth this time. It caused a s.h.i.+ver to course through Hei Dou’s body.
Although the other two people in the base had no idea about their conversation, Cillin had heard everything from his hiding spot and sent Wheeze a signal. If the big man was as sincere as he seemed, then he didn’t mind having an extra pair of hands. But if he didn’t take out his two companions as he promised, then he wouldn’t mind Wheeze killing him and saving him the trouble.
Inside another room, the four-eyed man who ambushed Erty and tried to track them down was speaking to his companion. The content of their conversation was about Cillin and his group.
Cillin stared at the duo conversing with each other before his moving his hands.
Bang! Bang!
One of the person collapsed on the ground.
The man on the ground had begun moving the second Cillin had opened fire, which it was a sign of impressive reaction. However, Cillin’s bullet still went right through the center of his head.
There was only a short interval between Cillin’s shots, but the four-eyed man still managed to dodge out of the way.
It was at this moment a blade caught the dodging four-eyed man in the neck and nailed him to the wall.