Chapter 361: A Tense Arrangement
An exquisitely designed metal box held three star-shaped objects within, and they were the Stars of Ruin.
These objects were not large, roughly about the size of an adult’s palm. They were completely golden in color, and their exterior casing filled with miniscule words.
“Stars of Ruin. Many say that just one is a super antimatter bomb powerful enough to destroy an entire planet completely. To think it would be so small in size,” Phantom said excitedly.
Xia Fei said, “The power of an object can hardly be measured in its size; a deadbeat may be large, but it’s still a fool, while cordyceps are small yet able to cure plenty of ailments. With these Stars of Ruin in hand, we at least have a bargaining chip in our voyage to the insectoid territory. It’s unfortunate that we merely have just the three.”
Phantom pouted. “Just three? If you manage to acquire ten thousand pieces, are you going to wipe out the entire insectoid race? Antimatter bombs are able to unleash antimatter rays instantly, capable of turning entire planets into nothing, but frequent use can cause s.p.a.ce-time collapse and form an actual blackhole. You’d better keep these safely. Don’t even think of using them unless it’s your last resort.”
Beside them, Furball seemed to be completely ignorant of the devastating power of these Stars of Ruin. It inquisitively attempted to climb up the box, the corners of its mouth drooling.
*Snap!*
Xia Fei hurriedly recalled Furball’s penchant to eat things it found randomly; perhaps it might actually have the guts to devour a Star of Ruin.
Xia Fei batted Furball several meters away as he quickly stored that box into his spatial ring.
Squatting, Xia Fei used a single finger to tap on Furball’s forehead. “I’m warning you: Don’t you ever try and randomly eat things that you find, or else I’ll pluck out every single hair on your body and leave you bald.”
Furball merely acted fawningly, seemingly not at all afraid of Xia Fei’s threats. It tried to ingratiate itself to Xia Fei by acting all cute again, licking and rubbing itself against him, feigning a pitiful look.
“Alright, you sycophant. Take this and go,” Xia Fei casually tossed a small Purple Heart of Spirit to Furball, which went diving right for it. In the blink of an eye, it had managed to deplete all the energy stored within that Heart of Spirit.
Furball seemed to be unsatisfied with just that, however. It slid its way up to Xia Fei and continued to act pitiful. Xia Fei jokingly chided the ball of fur before storing it into his bosom pocket. When it realized that Xia Fei was not going to feed it, Furball resumed its deep slumber; even the heavens collapsing couldn’t have woken it up.
“Furball’s appet.i.te has been increasing lately. This means that he’s already pa.s.sed the most dangerous stage of infancy and is now in its developmental stage,” Phantom said happily.
Xia Fei sighed. “This pet has been eating so many of my Purple Hearts of Spirit, yet its body remains the same as before. I really have no idea how much it has to eat before it will start growing. It’s such a deadbeat; I’ll sooner become bankrupt if it keeps eating like this.”
Phantom said, “Don’t be so dramatic. Furball eating more just goes to show how unlimited its potential power will be once it grows up; you ought to be happy that it is eating so much. Besides, you’ve got tons of Hearts of Spirit. What’s using some to feed Furball?”
Xia Fei knew that Phantom was biased toward Furball, so he did not bother continuing arguing over this. He was, of course, well aware of just how much potential Furball had, but he could not help being somewhat worried over the fact that Furball had yet to show signs of growth.
That was when the small robot Pod came zooming over, carrying a gla.s.s of soybean milk. Because it moved through magnetic levitation, it was always floating above ground, making its movement both fast and nimble.
“Master, master, I’ve already washed your clothes and changed out your bedsheets. I’ve also made your favorite long cereal grain mix. Is there anything you still need Pod to do?”
Xia Fei lightly patted Pod’s head. “I told you many times; it’s called fried paste noodles, not long cereal grain mix. It sounds so weird when you say it like that.”
“Roger. Pod understands. Is there anything else you need me to do? It’s been so many years since I had no master to service, so I wanna make up for all the work I owed the whole time,” Pod very anxiously said.
Ever since he got the AI robot Pod, Xia Fei’s originally messy bachelor lifestyle had undergone a complete overhaul. Not a trace of dust could be found inside the Impaler anymore, and Xia Fei’s clothes were being washed and cleaned daily; the sofa set and bedsheets were also changed every twelve hours, and there was always hot food ready in the kitchen. No matter when Xia Fei wanted to have his meals or whatever he desired, none of it was a problem. Furthermore, all Xia Fei had to do was set his empty bowl and cutleries down, and Pod would come rus.h.i.+ng over with a vengeance, cleaning the entire kitchen immediately.
Such a life was very pleasant, but Xia Fei was very unused to it yet. After all, it was a complete change from before.
Pod was like the strictest housekeeper, not at all allowing even any dirt to survive. Every cup, every cus.h.i.+on must be neatly placed. No matter how much Xia Fei ended up tossing things aside, they would always end up in their original positions without even a millimeter of mistake.
Xia Fei frowned. “Are you done with cleaning Vampire?”
Pod nodded. “It was done three hours and nineteen minutes ago.”
“Tidy up the food stores.”
“They’ve been tidied.”
“What about the utility room?
“Guest room?
“Command deck?
Xia Fei was left speechless. No human could compare with the level of diligence Pod displayed; no matter how much Xia Fei tried to come up with something for Pod to do, it had already accomplished everything. Meanwhile, Pod was still very eagerly asking Xia Fei to set him a task, seemingly not thinking a robot should have even a moment of idleness. Every second had to be spent working.
“Is there anything you want me to do, master? Anything you need Pod for at all?”
Xia Fei was getting a headache from its questioning, and he frustratedly called, “Squat on the ground and draw circles.”
“Understood.”
Pod’s eyes glowed as it earnestly lowered itself and conscientiously began drawing circles on the ground with its finger.
Phantom was roaring with laughter as he watched from the side, while Xia Fei sighed, muttering to himself, “Is this really an AI robot? If it’s really as smart as humans, it ought to know how to skive off.”
Just as he said that, Pod suddenly raised its head to ask, “Master, how many circles do you want drawn?”
…
Xia Fei’s life aboard his wars.h.i.+p became quite a lot more exciting now that it had Pod and Furball around. It was just that Xia Fei would occasionally feel very depressed; he had a ball, a robot, and a spirit to keep him company, yet none of them was a normal human being.
The Impaler landed on Earth. He had not informed anyone of his arrival prior, so no one knew that he was coming, aside from a handful of people from the company.
“Is everyone here?” Xia Fei asked.
Andre nodded. “I had them arranged in the backyard, discreetly positioned. Let them first familiarize with life on Earth, but they seem to be…”
Xia Fei smiled. “Don’t mind about that. They’re just like that. Remember: No matter who asks, they are all employees of Quantum Holdings, Earthlings. Even Charlie mustn’t know about this.”
Andre replied, “I understand. There must be major stakes involved for this trip to the insectoid territory. Actually, my old bones can still move, so why don’t you let me join in your voyage?”
…
Xia Fei shook his head as he said with grat.i.tude, “Don’t worry; I’ll be able to take anything thrown my way, so just stay here on Earth and help me take care of the company. I’m not going to bring any one from Quantum Holdings.”
“But…”
“No buts. This isn’t a holiday. You did good listening to me, especially not letting Wulong or Sarah know about this. The two of them are worrywarts. They may even end up feeling troubled over it.”
The backyard was a field, where Andre would usually ride his horse about. Today, it was under heavy security, for there was a group of Deathguards from the a.s.sa.s.sin Sect staying there.
There was a warehouse that had been temporarily converted into a training room, where thirty-six Deathguards were found engaged in their training. Xia Fei knocked before entering, and he was greeted with the sight of them all lined up neatly in a row. Each and every one of them was well-built and formidable looking. What made it even more impressive was that every one of them had cultivated Breath Control to a reasonable degree that they were like some natural oak trees, very easily disregarded.
Xia Fei took out his token and held it in hand. “I’m the envoy of the a.s.sa.s.sin Sect, Xia Fei.”
A short-haired and stout man stepped out of the line up and made his way to Xia Fei’s side. He took the token in hand and examined it quickly before handing it back to him.
“I’m the squadron leader, 6328. This is a letter from the sectmaster, Craneshadow,” stated the stout man simply as he handed a slip of paper.
“The Deathguards in the a.s.sa.s.sin Sect only go by their serial numbers and have no name,” Phantom explained to Xia Fei.
Xia Fei nodded, and the gist of the message on that paper was as follows:
Craneshadow mentioned a few important points with regard to how Xia Fei should interact with the Deathguards, such as only giving them orders and never asking them about their feelings or anything else. The key was not to treat these Deathguards as humans but killing implements. There was no need to suspect them and could be given the absolute level of trust. There was no need to treat them if they got injured, for the training they had gotten absolutely disallowed letting anyone help them. Even if they lost an arm, they were expected to sew the wound themselves. In even more severe situations, they would search for somewhere no one could find and commit suicide.
Xia Fei could not help but break out in a cold sweat just reading such a heartless and draconic rule, but what Xia Fei needed now was precisely this sort of killer warriors who would show no compa.s.sion, mercy, or even tears.
“Long story short, from today onward, you’re Earthlings, and the personal information that I gave you before must be committed to memory. You must be able to describe and reply in accordance to your information without a margin of error.” Xia Fei swept his gaze across the thirty-six Deathguards, his tone icy-cold.
“Soon, you’ll be boarding a s.h.i.+p with a bunch of strangers. You must be able to identify each and every one, especially one by the name of Song Qian. He will be your captain. If there’s anything, I’ll communicate with you all through the nether bell. When I give the order for you all to kill, you need to clear out the entire s.h.i.+p immediately, not even letting a fly be left alive. Plus, you must be quick and astute so that not even a single one of them will be able to send out a distress signal.
“By the way, I’ll also inform you all. Aside from me and you guys, every single crew on the s.h.i.+p will be from the Alliance Military. None of you should have any issues with killing Alliance soldiers, right?”
Xia Fei immediately laughed at himself the moment he said that line. In the eyes of these Deathguards, the only difference between humans was if they were alive or dead. Not one of them would have any thoughts on the military, so Xia Fei had merely just asked this question for nothing.
The thirty-six Deathguards were like corpses. Not one of them showed any expression or made a single move. None of them made a single sound.
Xia Fei turned around to leave after giving them a simple briefing. That strange atmosphere being around the Deathguards left him feeling uneasy.
Taking a few steps outside, Xia Fei soon got a call from Uncle Porter.
“Where are you?” Porter asked in a deep voice.
“I’ve just arrived on Earth some fifteen minutes ago.”
“Perfect. Come straight to the factory. The Black Bat radar has encountered a little problem,” Porter said without hesitating.
Turning off the video call, Xia Fei mumbled to himself, ‘I really barely have any time to even catch a breath. The Black Bat radar had better not have any other problems at this time; going to the insectoid territory completely blind is definitely not a good thing.”