Chapter 320: Clean Knife versus Xia Fei
“He’s practically looting the house while it’s on fire!” M’vila balled up a fist and slammed it down the desk as he growled angrily.
Extremely dissatisfied with Xia Fei’s appet.i.te, everyone proceeded to complain.
“We might as well just s.n.a.t.c.h the goods he brought this time and later fabricate it as the pirates’ doing. Wouldn’t we be killing two birds with one stone this way?” proposed a burly man with a full beard.
Yawei laughed mirthlessly. “Now that Xia Fei has become an A-list supplier of the Alliance Military, killing him will essentially be going up against the entire alliance. Everyone should be quite aware as to why we haven’t burned bridges with the alliance yet, right?”
Everyone fell silent. That A-list supplier plaque was indeed quite troublesome. The military would most likely not probe too much if the person in question were just an average merchant, but if they really did kill off Xia Fei, the Alliance Military fleet might very well launch a full-scale investigation over the matter; no one was stupid enough to draw fire upon themselves at such a juncture; angering the silver-haired General Tai was no laughing matter.
That was when the only woman among the Big Five spoke. “Has none of you understood anything since the start of this war till now? Where’s the alliance fleet that we’ve been pining our hopes on? Where has our hope of victory gone?”
Madam Laqui’s cold gaze swept across the other men present. This old lady with a crown of silver hair had not once said a word since the start of the conference, nor had she shown any sort of expression the entire time. She had been much like a sculpture, sitting with a ramrod straight back as she clutched her amber cane in hand.
Well advanced in her years, Madam Laqui had long lost her grace of her youth, but that dignified elegance of a real aristocrat remained.
“That young man is indeed very greedy, but what he’s requesting isn’t any of our land; he wants somewhere in the far-flung Terminus star region, and I’m afraid we’ll need to make preparations for the worst-case outcome of this war. If we don’t hold on and achieve victory, everything we’ve done so far will be for naught. Right now, we can’t even safeguard our territories, so why even talk about conquering our enemies’ land?”
Madam Laqui’s words were like sharp needles that stabbed right into all their hearts, and the entire conference room descended into a deafening silence.
Yawei raised his right hand and said, “I agree. As someone in the military, I hate losing. Whoever can give me victory will become my benefactor, and I don’t give a d*mn about Terminus. All I seek is to be victorious.”
The others, who had yet to make their stance known, turned toward M’vila, and they saw him heaving a sigh before similarly raising his right hand. “Madam Laqui and General Yawei aren’t wrong. We truly don’t have any other choice right now.”
…
The Big Five ultimately voted in favor of Xia Fei’s proposal, exchanging the territory he asked for with the equipment he had on hand. Of course, not one of them did so willingly, but the key was that Xia Fei had appeared at the most opportune moment.
Opportunity would always be reserved for those with extraordinary insight and those who could act the fastest; Xia Fei had presented himself to the Black Abyss Consortium in their most crucial moment, which naturally allowed him to obtain the largest piece of the cake himself.
…
“You look to be very excited. Surely, you know that our agreement can only take in effect after we obtain control of the entire Death Tri-region, or else that ten thousand energy-s.h.i.+eld boosters you’ve exchanged for will be useless,” Yawei remarked, somewhat puzzled.
Xia Fei smiled. “That’s like buying a lottery ticket; no one will wish that they don’t win the big prize. I’m willing to take my chances with this precisely because the final prize is big enough, making it worth my effort to gamble this one hand.”
Yawei shook his head as he looked up to the sky. “You’ve got a risk-taker spirit in your bones, indeed. Actually, I have an even greater desire to be victorious than you, so I hope that you’ll truly grant me my wish.”
“You should hope that both our wishes come true.”
Yawei laughed and patted Xia Fei on the shoulder. “You already have the contract in your hands, so when can we expect the goods?”
Xia Fei shrugged as he casually answered, “Very soon. I guarantee.”
Yawei walked Xia Fei out of the communications center but did not go with him. Xia Fei knew that he must have plenty of other matters to discuss with the rest of the Big Five. After all, this was the time when their war was the most intense.
Walking out the place all by himself and down that quiet path, Xia Fei sensed a shred of danger with his keen intuition. He could not help but come to a stop, light a cigarette, and quietly stare at the path ahead.
“What’s the matter?” Phantom curiously asked.
“That feeling’s back.”
“What feeling?”
“That feeling of being watched—no, it’s different this time. I can also sense a hint of murderous intent.”
Phantom pouted. “Xia Fei, you said that you’re being watched twice already, yet nothing happened both times. Perhaps you ought to set aside time to visit a doctor; that intuition you’re so proud of may not be so accurate every time.”
Xia Fei sparred with Phantom. “No, you should be the one going to see a doctor. Your very existence is illogical; what even is the reason behind someone dying but their spirit living on?”
He took two steps out, then immediately realized that everything around him was amiss.
That ancient antenna tower had disappeared without a trace, and even the trees on both sides of this path were gone, yet the path was still strewn with fallen yellow leaves. This path ahead ought to turn to the left after a dozen or so meters forward, but it had at this point turned into a straight path, which did not seem to end, leading to parts unknown.
“c.r.a.p! You’ve entered a spatial plane someone set up prior.” Phantom’s expression changed greatly as he spoke to Xia Fei in a low voice.
“Spatial plane?”
“Do you still remember how I brought you into my spatial plane when we first met?” Phantom asked.
Xia Fei nodded. Phantom’s spatial plane could change at his will—blue skies and white clouds one moment, craggy mountain ranges the next. The changes were practically endless, making it slightly hard for anyone to believe what was happening.
“Don’t panic just yet. Every spatial plane has its node, and finding the node will allow you to break free from this plane easily.”
“How do I find this node?” Xia Fei asked as he got into stance. His finger hovered over his spatial ring, ready to release Celestial Moon at the drop of a hat.
Phantom’s expression was grim. “By sense. You need to sense your surroundings. The node will be connected to the world beyond; it’s temperature and lighting have just a slight difference to this plane—an almost imperceptible difference that you must strike with precision in order to break the plane.”
Xia Fei nodded to himself as he started to look around, scanning his surroundings carefully, but the scene around was all the same, and finding the node was easier said than done.
This was when a man slowly appeared in front of Xia Fei like a cloud of dust, materializing from thin air.
Xia Fei put his guard up vigilantly. He did not launch his attack, for it was evident that this man had a special ability that Xia Fei had not gotten a full grasp of.
Clean Knife let out a soft laugh. His silver b.u.t.terfly knife appeared, though he did not pounce right upon Xia Fei. Instead, he very rudely used it to pick on his teeth like a hooligan fresh off the streets.
“You’re Xia Fei?”
“Yes, Xia as in summer and Fei as in flight,” Xia Fei asked in all seriousness, “and who are you?”
“The name’s Clean Knife.”
“Who hired you to kill me?”
Clean Knife chuckled, waving his b.u.t.terfly knife in hand as he answered, “The people who sent me only want your two eyes and hands. They don’t want you killed.”
Xia Fei laughed. He took a step forward and calmly countered, “Go ahead and come get my pair of eyes then if you can.”
Clean Knife beamed as he looked straight at Xia Fei. “I like that you’re very confident, but I have to warn you, my b.u.t.terfly Ten-steps kills thousands in ten steps. You’re already trapped in my formation, and also you took your first step in. Nine more and you will be dead.”
Xia Fei’s eyes gleamed as he took a step closer to Clean Knife. He smiled as he asked, “What about now?”
Clean Knife shook his head in disappointment as he sighed. “You’re still very stubborn. This isn’t a joke. Don’t you believe me?”
Xia Fei took another step forward after Clean Knife said his piece. He then asked softly, “What do you think?”
Clean Knife shrugged helplessly. “Looks like you really don’t believe me.”
Xia Fei retorted, “Would you trust the words of someone trying to kill you?”
“Not at all.” Clean Knife had no idea how to respond to that. He realized that Xia Fei was not only obstinate but also very logical.
“Actually, even if no one hired me, I would still seek to kill you. Of course, having someone pay the price for your eyes and hands makes it even better. Nevertheless, your life will be mine. I’ll use my strongest combat technique and fight you till one of us dies; this ought to be the standard of courtesy you receive.”
Xia Fei nodded. “Very good. As a warrior, we should have consciousness of our mortality. As for my retaliation, I’ll ensure I do all I can to give you the same.”
“Thank you.” Clean Knife nodded lightly. “Who asked us to be survivors of Heritage Planet? Death is the only outcome for people like us.”
Xia Fei was startled, quickly throwing out a retort. “What did you say? Have you been to Heritage Planet as well?”
Clean Knife chuckled. “You understand now why I must kill you, right? As long as anyone who made their way out of Heritage Planet manages to kill three other survivors, they’ll obtain the qualifications to return there a second time and train for another year.”
Xia Fei finished Clean Knife’s statement. “Anyone who survives Heritage Planet will receive a t.i.tle called ‘Inheritor’. Inheritors have to keep the knowledge of Heritage Planet a secret, or else they’ll be killed on the spot.
Clean Knife carried on. “Returning to Heritage Planet to train for another year, anyone who manages to return will be given the advanced t.i.tle ‘Blood Heir’, and anyone who kills three Blood Heirs will be granted a third entry to Heritage Planet, allowing them to train there for three years. If they still survive this stint, they’ll be granted the ultimate t.i.tle ‘Rebel’ and understand the law of s.p.a.ce.”
Either man said the Heritage Planet’s oath as if they were reciting something off their memory. Xia Fei and Clean Knife’s expressions then became even colder.
“This is why only one of us will walk out from this alive, for we are both Inheritors,” Clean Knife declared icily.
“I agree.” Xia Fei calmly pulled out Celestial Moon from his spatial ring, holding it in his hand. “No one can stop me from comprehending the law of s.p.a.ce. Anybody who gets in my way must die.”
Almost at the same time, the aura of both Xia Fei and Clean Knife changed.
An overwhelming aura of killing intent instantly engulfed their surroundings.