Chapter 163: The Three Ling Brothers
Three people. Thuram did indeed provide Xia Fei with just three people. Moreover, these three looked identical, be it their facial features or build, they looked like peas in a pod. It would be difficult for anyone outside of themselves to tell them apart.
In a small meeting room in the hospital, Xia Fei met the three Ling brothers, who looked to be around thirty. With incredibly serious, unsmiling faces and dark skin, the trio looked like three silent, wooden stakes, quiet and calm.
Xia Fei smiled and pulled out three chairs. “Take a seat, older brothers.”
The three of them nodded at the same time and sat down in order. The oldest Ling Xiao sat closest to Xia Fei, the second eldest Ling Yun followed closely behind, and the youngest Ling Feng sat at the back.
Even their movements were identical. Xia Fei wondered if the saying that ‘twins could communicate with each other telepathically’ was applicable to this sibling trio.
“Older brothers, would you like some tea? I brought these fantastic tea leaves from my hometown,” Xia Fei said courteously.
The three of them waved their hands at the same time. The eldest Ling Xiao said, “Mr. Thuram has already filled us in. You can skip the formalities, and just order us as you please. The three of us will do as you say.”
Xia Fei nodded. They turned out to be quite the straightforward people. There was not much interpersonal work that had to be done with people like this, which was right in line with what Xia Fei preferred.
“Older brothers, me, little old Xia Fei would first like to thank you for this help.”
Xia Fei stood up and bowed; the three brothers quickly helped Xia Fei up. Although they did not say anything, it could be inferred from their facial expressions that Xia Fei’s humility gave them a good impression of him, and they subsequently became more relaxed.
Courtesy was always important and kindness should always be reciprocated. Xia Fei showing his respect the moment he saw the sibling trio would certainly make them view him in a different light. This was what it meant by ‘a gentleman would die for their close friends’.
“Little brother, Thuram has already made clear to us the situation you are put in. The three of us didn’t grow up in parents, relying on performing on the streets to make a living. If it hadn’t been for Mr. Thuram taking us in sixteen years ago and nurturing us, we wouldn’t be where we are today. The three of us will never go against any of his orders, so you don’t need to be so formal and courteous,” the eldest Ling Xiao said in a serious tone.
The eldest would more often than not make the decision for anything that the three of them had to deal with. The other two usually stayed silent, only exchanging looks once in a while.
Xia Fei nodded. The people Thuram sent did look quite capable; at least, Xia Fei liked their personalities. It seemed that Thuram was not mocking him but did actually send over his most capable men.
After a few moments, Xia Fei asked, “Older brothers, what abilities do you have, and how high have they been cultivated? It’ll be easier for me to plan things if I understand them better.”
Xia Fei wanted to understand their abilities to a.s.sign them jobs better. However, he was not being direct, instead asking under the guise of cooperation without the slightest bit of arrogance. The details of cooperation were incredibly important, and Xia Fei was one to pay attention to details, anyway.
“Sure, my ability is hidden s.p.a.ce. I can create a s.p.a.ce anywhere, where I can hide in and be undetectable to anyone; I recently got it to Legendary rank. Ling Yun’s ability is light attack, able to attack others using light, suitable for close or ranged combat, also at Legendary Primary rank. Ling Feng is a speed ability user, but his cultivation is a bit low, only Advanced Star Domain rank.
Ling Xiao quickly introduced his and his brothers’ abilities and cultivation. Xia Fei was utterly shocked upon hearing that. Outside of Ling Feng’s more common speed ability, hidden s.p.a.ce and light attack were top-tier abilities.
Moreover, speed ability was known as one of the most difficult abilities to cultivate in the world, being able to train it to Advanced Star Domain rank was certainly not bad, and it could even be better than his brothers in certain aspects. This was something that Xia Fei, who was a speed ability user himself, knew.
s.p.a.ce, light manipulation, and speed. Thuram had basically sent him a top-tier investigation team . The s.p.a.ce and speed abilities could be used for surveillance, and the light control ability could be used as a powerful response and the main offense of the team. This team was a match to the Glorious Thirteen in terms of firepower, defense, and speed, which could only be described as incredible.
Xia Fei asked after a few moments of thought, “Older brothers, I heard that siblings born together can communicate telepathically. Are you guys…”
The three brothers smiled at the same time; Ling Xiao then replied, “The rumors are a bit exaggerated, but the three of us do work together quite well, but we don’t really know why.”
Xia Fei was glad that he was in good hands. Not only did they have a near perfect combination of abilities, they could sense one another’s thoughts and feelings. The sibling trio had greatly surpa.s.sed Xia Fei’s expectations.
It should be made known that it was easy to find a team with good ability combinations, but being able to understand one another’s thoughts, to work together seamlessly, was an incredibly difficult thing to achieve. The three brothers had greatly surpa.s.sed any other combat team in terms of communications and cooperation.
‘It seems that Thuram wasn’t lying; the three of them are really enough for what I need,’ thought Xia Fei.
Xia Fei discussed his plans with the three brothers. The trio had plenty of experience as detectives. With them adding to Xia Fei’s plans, a detailed investigation list was produced in no time.
In order to show his sincerity, Xia Fei gifted them some items, such as the tea from Earth. Xia Fei treated gift-giving as a habit, handing some out wherever he went, almost trying to showcase Earth’s culture.
The three brothers accepted the gifts only because they should not decline them away anymore and thought even better of Xia Fei. No matter how one looked at it, Xia Fei got the better end of the deal by handing out gifts that were not worth much to gain the goodwill of others.
The three of them left the hospital to work on their respective tasks. Xia Fei then breathed a long sigh of relief, returning to the room to look for Avril.
Things were finally starting to change. Although the results were still not known, at least things were progressing in a better direction. All that Xia Fei needed was a bit of luck and a bit of time.
Avril lay on a windowsill with her hands propping her cheeks as though she had something on her mind. Xia Fei placed his hand on Avril’s hair and looked outside like what she was doing.
“Did you finish settling your affairs? I wanted to go out with you, but Pang Xing wouldn’t let me.” Avril pouted.
Avril had always been a cheerful person. The recent, attempted kidnapping on her was already a thing of the past, and she was now itching to go out. In addition, Xia Fei was by her side, so she wished even more than before that she could freely visit that she had always wanted to.
Xia Fei crossed his arms before his chest and said plainly, “Yeah. That day will come; I promise.”
…
Barty was a suave person with a cheerful nature. He liked messing around wherever he went, and because he was good-looking and nice with the girls, if it had not been for that car accident, there would certainly have been quite a few girls in the capital star cl.u.s.ter who would fall in love with him.
However, the car accident changed everything, and the womanizer became disabled overnight. Although he still had the laughs and giggles with the girls, they still viewed him with a look of pity.
Barty, who had a big ego, naturally could not accept this reality. From being a womanizer of a wealthy family to a piece of garbage that everyone pitied wherever he went, this ma.s.sive change almost made Barty lose his mind, living a more resentful and ignorant life.
Luckily, as he grew older, he slowly got over it. He mellowed down from his unreasonableness and craziness when he was younger, slowly developing a sense of maturity.
When the older brother Newman saw these changes in him, he slowly allowed him to deal with the operations of the company, almost trying to get his brother to become a capable a.s.sistant, giving him more freedom as he looked over him.
The two brothers had vastly different personalities; this was evident even when they were still young. Newman was genuine, resolute, and usually incredibly serious. Barty, on the other hand, was much cleverer, saying and doing things more smoothly, and possessed great business ac.u.men.
The patriarch of the Jian family previously said that Newman was only there to manage the business. It was unlikely that Starlink Corporation could improve under his management, only maintain its position at most. If it was put under Barty’s leaders.h.i.+p, on the other hand, the company was likely to become the top ten company in the Alliance, fulfilling the dreams of the Jian family of many generations.
Before Barty’s accident, the patriarch had wished to entrust the company to him; alas, the accident did not just destroy his legs but also made the patriarch give up on his favorite son. Apparently, it was this reason that had caused the Jian family’s patriarch to disappear off the grid.
Today, Newman had complete control over Starlink Corporation, while he gave it his all to help his fallen brother from the sidelines. Newman and Barty were brothers, after all; he felt that it was his responsibility to do that and had never thought anything much of it.
This was a good start, but he did not know that it was impossible to rid someone of their trauma completely. No matter how hard Barty tried to hide it, Xia Fei could tell that he had a distorted personality from his eyes and facial expressions, and this was also why Xia Fei suspected him.
Anyone with experience knew that logic did not apply to someone with a twisted view of reality. Humans were filled with all sorts of deep and dark desires; even the heavens could not tell what a very twisted person would do.
There were many shocking events, including some tragic ones, in human history. These events could not be understood using logic. It must be said that there was no limit to how heartless humans could be.
At night, a glamorous hovercar left Sunset Villa. Inside was Barty enjoying a gla.s.s of red wine alone. He was quite tired after a long day of work and was unused to a nine-to-five job after living a carefree life years upon years.
The car took a turn toward the city. The driver, the guards, and Barty did realize that they were being watched from the shadows.