Chapter 173: A Cleansing
Some sixty-seven thousand lightyears away from the capital ring was a viridian planet. The four seasons there were beautiful and picturesque, with a deep-blue sea that wonderfully contrasted the pure-white, sandy sh.o.r.es. It was the nearest planet with top scenic spots, perfect for vacations and holiday getaways, from the capital ring.
In fact, many of those staying in the capital ring would choose this planet to sightsee on whenever they had free time, pa.s.sing their time in leisure and extreme relaxation. This was also why this viridian planet had been dubbed as the capital’s backyard.
An Anathema-cla.s.s special ops frigate floated just above the surface of this planet’s deep cerulean waters; hardly any humans could be seen in any directions for thousands of miles. From its position, the frigate looked no more than an insignificant speck of black in all this blue.
This wars.h.i.+p could not only cruise in s.p.a.ce but also float above sea level; it even had the ability to travel underwater like a submarine. Having a wars.h.i.+p was as good as owning a mobile home.
It was only that Xia Fei’s home was not at all luxurious, and it was hard to even call it comfortable. Since Xia Fei firmly believed that the wars.h.i.+ps’ purpose for their existence was to be used in battles, the stuff on board, such as a comfortable couch or a soft bed, had long been thrown away like garbage by Xia Fei; right now, all he had was a narrow and hard single bed.
Avril did not complain about the simple bathroom and the hardness of the bed. She was already satisfied that she could be with Xia Fei.
She was very curious about Xia Fei’s home. She was all grown up, yet it was her first time knowing that beds could also be so small and hard and not every kitchen was packed full with sumptuous food. She only realized then that Xia Fei was actually living a very-spartan-like lifestyle as he traveled from star to star, galaxy to galaxy, all by himself.
At this very moment, the deck of the wars.h.i.+p had two recliners and a small, round table propped on a parasol. Xia Fei was on one of these recliners; the screen of the microcomputer in his hand was bright as he maintained a steady contact with Ling Xiao, who was in the distant Alliance capital.
“We’re still missing one, and we must locate this person. There are lots of servants and security personnel in the Jian family. If this person isn’t in the hospital, they can also be in Sunset Villa. Continue monitoring,” Xia Fei said.
Several minutes ago, Ling Xiao’s men had just weeded out one of the two Plumager moles hiding in the Jian household, then they immediately relayed it to Xia Fei.
This mole was very clever. He did not even use a handheld communicator while inside the hospital to report back but, instead, quietly left the hospital to find a public phone booth.
In the incredibly developed capital ring, quite a few ancient public phone booths were still around as the cost of intergalactic communications was quite expensive, and plenty of the average citizens could not afford it.
The cost of using a public phone booth compared to a handheld communicator was far cheaper; establis.h.i.+ng connection from one star region to another would cost fifteen star coins every minute via a phonebooth, while it would be one hundred twenty star coins a minute via a handheld communicator.
The reason the mole had opted for a public phonebooth was of course not to save money but the anonymity it provided; it was harder to track and trace one through public communicators, after all.
Fortunately, Xia Fei had also sent men to monitor the area around the hospital aside from that electronic communicator tracker cordon, so when that Plumager sneaked out of the hospital to place a call through the phone booth, he was immediately captured by the Adjudicators lying in wait.
“What about Zhou Yuqing and those Plumagers in that dilapidated house? Should we make our move now?” Ling Xiao asked.
“No need. Just monitor everything. Once they lose contact with the two moles, those people will surely be unable to contain themselves and report this to their superior. I don’t just want to smoke them out but also to uproot those people at the top who have been pulling the strings from behind,” Xia Fei explained with gravitas, his eyes gleaming with ferocity.
The Plumagers were already being heavily monitored, so capturing any of them would be simple, but Xia Fei’s goal did not stop just at them; he wanted to uproot every single one of the nearby Plumagers in the capital. Extermination needed to start from the roots, or else there would be no end to this.
“I understand. We’ll keep waiting to catch the big fish,” Ling Xiao affirmed.
“Yes, right now, it is a contest of patience; I have Avril safely hidden, while they’re not getting any news from the moles they’ve placed inside the Jian household. Those people will feel far more fl.u.s.tered than us. The current situation is already completely in our grasp. Remember: There’s no need to make a move if the enemy doesn’t,” Xia Fei reiterated.
“Should we let Avril’s family in on this a little? They’re all worried to death about her right now,” Ling Xiao asked worriedly.
Xia Fei chuckled. “It’s fine. Let them all be antsy for a couple of days. The more fl.u.s.tered they are, the more the enemy will be convinced that Avril has truly gone missing. Much of our charade’s success hinges on the Jian family’s reaction.”
“Alright, then. You’ll be informed if anything comes up,” Ling Xiao said.
“Don’t forget; I’ll be the one to take care of Barty and Zhou Yuqing,” Xia Fei reminded.
Ling Xiao nodded. “I understand; I’ll send them right over to you, but I’ll have ‘no clue’ about it.”
Xia Fei smiled knowingly. Some things were better on the need-to-know basis, and revealing it would be meaningless in any case.
Turning off the screen, Xia Fei lit a cigarette and took a few drags. One mole had been uprooted, but the other was still moving freely out there. It appeared that he would have to hide out here for a few more days.
Thuram’s strength was much stronger than what Xia Fei had expected, with several hundred of Adjudicators gathered in a matter of three hours. Even high-tier equipment could easily be obtained whenever he requested it. Ordinarily, a head quartermaster like him could not possibly wield so much power, yet Thuram had managed to do just that. In fact, his expression made it seem as if these were just trivial matters.
Xia Fei was more and more impressed with the old-timer Qin Mang. He had no idea just what sort of background that unimpressive library curator was hiding, but it appeared that Xia Fei’s encounter with Qin Mang and his subsequent decision to be a librarian had been a wise choice, considering how much he had benefited from it.
This sort of benefit that he was enjoying was not simply the knowledge he had gained from the books; more importantly, it was the connections. Xia Fei had even made friends within the Adjudicator’s precinct and there was no telling when they could be of big help to him. Using this occasion as an example; had it not been for Thuram’s a.s.sistance, Xia Fei would never have been able to make his plan come into fruition no matter how detailed it was.
Within two years, Xia Fei had already turned from a bicycle-riding courier, with not even two cents to rub together, into an outstanding warrior, with his company and connections. More importantly, there was Avril.
As he was lost in his thoughts, Avril somewhat self-consciously stepped to the command deck from the wars.h.i.+p. She was wearing a pink bikini, her graceful figure and her snowy-white skin, like clean white satin, prominently exhibited in it; all in all, she was an irresistible sight to behold.
“Xia Fei, I’m ready.” Avril walked over to his side, her cheeks blus.h.i.+ng hard.
Xia Fei chuckled. “How beautiful, like an angel that has descended from the heavens.”
Avril tilted her head. “Am I really that pretty?”
“Without a doubt.”
“Meanie. You’re always teasing me.”
Xia Fei stood up and jumped into the sea with a *splash*. “Come on; I’ll teach you how to swim.”
“No. I’ll end up drinking a lot of seawater.”
“I’ll be here.”
“There are sharks in the sea. They’ll bite.”
“Nope. No shark will dare come near when I’m around.”
…
While Xia Fei and Avril were enjoying their vacation in the sun and the sand, the apprehension operation against the Plumagers was in full swing, with new information being uncovered every day.
Two days later, the second mole in the Jian family had been caught, and unexpectedly, this person was actually a female. She was one of the maids specifically responsible for taking care of Avril’s diet. They discovered, after much interrogation, that she was the one who had revealed about Xia Fei breaking into Sunset Villa that day, which resulted in the Plumagers making their move to abduct Avril in broad daylight.
Xia Fei could not help but feel a bit shaken. It was a good thing that the maid had only been helping Avril with her snacks and such and did not really have any chance to directly come into contact with her, or else Avril might have been in real danger.
With the mole unearthed, it was now time to enact their all-encompa.s.sing mobilization against the Plumagers. Ling Xiao was in charge of the entire operation, and for a while, the entire capital had rumors that the Adjudicator Union was enforcing their powerful dominance, arresting people left and right.
Each of these covert Plumagers was plucked out one by one. The Adjudicators were no police, so their methods were not too restricted. Everyone was immediately subjected to torture upon capture, obtaining another name from their mouths in such a fas.h.i.+on.
Some of these Plumagers were quite tough, unwilling to betray even a word in the face of death. The Adjudicator Union naturally had methods to deal with them, so there was no need for these people to speak. Mind readers could delve into their consciousness and have a look at every moment of their lives this way.
As more and more people were apprehended, each and every conspiracy began to surface and unravel.
The Plumagers had already grown from a hitman organization into an underworld force, which specialized in attaining profits through unscrupulous means. They had gained control of many rich and powerful businessmen through their women, obtaining plenty of benefits from the side.
The scope and length of these conspiracies was shameful when it came to light, but it was still nothing compared to their operation to obtain the Jian family’s a.s.sets, which had taken them nearly three decades of planning and implementation.
…
Putting down his communicator, Xia Fei stood on the deck of Vampire and gazed at the gradually setting sun. As the apprehension operation was nearing its end, it was time for him to leave.
Xia Fei had spent these last few days happily with Avril like a couple, going about their days chatting and watching the sun rise and set. Their days were simple yet fulfilling; this was the first time he had experienced such days since his birth.
No matter what, Old Porter was still waiting for him in the distant Black Abyss, and the longer this dragged on, the less advantageous it was for him, so Xia Fei decided that he would leave as soon as this matter was wrapped up and hurry to Black Abyss.
“What, are you a little reluctant to leave Avril?” Phantom teasingly asked.
Xia Fei shook his head. “Nope. I was just thinking again how living a life in the high society circle might not be a good thing. Today, Avril is being targeted by the Plumagers; who knows what other organization it will be tomorrow?”
Phantom sighed. “This can’t be avoided… What can you do about it?”
…
Xia Fei was silent for a good while. It was evident that Avril had feelings for him, and he had no idea what to tell her now that he was about to leave.
Vampire took off into the night sky, only warping once to return to the capital ring.
Because Xia Fei did not have the permission to pilot a wars.h.i.+p into the capital, Thuram had specially sent someone to fetch Avril from beyond the galaxy.
Though Avril was reluctant to leave, she still obediently stepped onto the s.h.i.+p that would take her home. Xia Fei had spent almost every moment these last few days talking on the phone, and from his vague words and tone, Avril could already guess that he was taking care of some enemies, and there was no doubt these were the same people who had attempted to kidnap her. Her gratefulness toward Xia Fei only deepened after all this.
“Xia Fei.” Avril suddenly turned to smile at him. “Remember: I’ll always be waiting for you.”
With that, Avril ran off with blushed cheeks.
Xia Fei smiled slightly as he returned to Vampire. He could set off once he was done settling one last thing.