Chapter 897: Things that should not exist.
The unforeseen misfortune had left everyone feeling dumbfounded. Only Flynn was certain that Xia Fei was behind everything that had transpired.
Two streaks of cold sweat slowly trickled down his face. Xia Fei"s methods had shakened Flynn right down to his core. Recalling the final changes that Xia Fei had done to the robot, he now realized it had all been for this moment, to kill his enemies with a borrowed knife!
This also meant that, in the time it took for someone to blink, Xia Fei"s insane revenge had already been enacted, and as if sweeping away the fallen leaves of autumn, he had almost instantaneously enveloped the entire auction hall in his scheme and removed all his enemies in one fell swoop!
Flynn could hardly believe the extent of Xia Fei"s methods! Not only did he manage to crush his enemy, he even managed to make himself out to be the victim! Every calculation he made had been exquisitely planned!
On the auction stage, Laika had collapsed down on his knees. Never would he have imagined that he would fall from heaven right to h.e.l.l in the s.p.a.ce of a few breaths. To have suffered such a tragic defeat at Xia Fei"s hands and even personally killed his close confidantes as well as protégé, no one out there could have foreseen such an outcome.
Plenty of people who favored the star academy began las.h.i.+ng out at him, causing the color on his face to drain rapidly. Laika really wished he could explain himself, but he had no idea how to do so. A ringing buzz overwhelmed his mind, and his thoughts were completely blank.
This was when the director of the Research bureau, Browning, entered the auction hall with a group of grim-faced security officers. He had everyone exit the premises, leaving just Xia Fei and Laika behind, the two parties who were most involved in this incident.
"President Laika, just what in the world were you doing! This is the company"s auction hall! Your actions here have been in plain sight of the entire Fig Corporation!" Browning reprimanded loudly, a fairly savage expression on his face.
It was as the saying went: "Fate will not be kind to those who do not look out for themselves." Browning had taken over the position as the director of the Research bureau from Laika and had once been his a.s.sistant. Logically speaking, he ought to be doing his best to maintain his ex-superior"s dignity, but because of how severe this incident was, Browning decided to go by the book, not showing any face to Laika at all.
Actually, even if Browning intended to protect Laika, he would not succeed. After all, too many people were implicated in this tragic incident. Even if they were to ignore everything else, there was no way Browning would offend that mysterious individual who had just spent an astronomical sum of over 3.6 billion points to purchase that warbot!
At the moment, this person was already raging. The board of directors already knew that the situation was far from desirable, and so they quickly sent Browning out to follow-up on the matter.
"I didn"t do any of this! Someone else was controlling me!" Laika protested as he glared at Xia Fei with gritted teeth. Though there was no proof, Xia Fei was nevertheless the prime suspect. At this very moment, Laika had every desire to swallow Xia Fei"s heart whole.
"You"re already at death"s door, so stop being stubborn! I"ll be straight with you: You"re done for! No one can save you now." Browning huffed. "Men, take him away!"
With that said, two security guards came over and left with Laika in tow.
This was when Xia Fei suddenly reached out to stop them, saying, "Director, my robot got destroyed. You"ll at least compensate me for that, right?"
Browning was slightly taken aback. He knitted his brows and regarded Xia Fei. He had not expected Xia Fei to be here waiting for him.
Logically speaking, it was completely out of line for an insignificant person like Xia Fei to bargain with Browning, but things were not like before, since Xia Fei was the person who had created the replicated law power system! Every person in the company was seeing him in a different light, and that major figure hiding in the shadows had even emptied out their life fortune just to buy the warbot. It was enough to see just how important this invention would be to the company!
After a pause, Browning went over the many causes and consequences involved, and the expression on his face turned considerably more amiable. There was no telling that Xia Fei might see a meteoric rise from this invention of his, and Browning had no wish to offend him.
"Don"t worry about that. The auction was already over; Laika destroying the robot are two separate matters altogether. The points will soon be transferred into your account, and the losses of the person who paid, Laika will naturally be the one to pay for it," Browning said with a smile on his face.
Xia Fei nodded. It appeared that he was still a little dissatisfied with the destruction of his robot when, deep down, he was already delighted at how things went! That was 3.6 billion points! Who knew just how many wonderful items he could use the points on?! Xia Fei was probably the person with the most points in the entire Fig Corporation right now!
Laika"s expression got even uglier. He straight out coughed up a mouthful of blood, pointing at Xia Fei with one hand, though no words left his lips.
Laika had acc.u.mulated 1.26 billion points by collecting sizable amounts from every student of the star academy! Now, not only would it all be going to someone else, he would also be in a b.u.t.tload of debt!
Even if the board of directors let him off on the account of his contributions to the company over many years, it would still be impossible for Laika to repay a more than 2.4 billion debt! He would be better off dead!
Xia Fei sighed, bending over to Laika"s ear as he softly whispered, "Yours truly is a man of my word: I"ll kill whoever provokes me!"
Xia Fei was very crafty. He was very clearly provoking the old man, but Xia Fei made it appear like he was consoling Laika.
There was no way Laika could endure such a blow when he was already on the verge of a breakdown. All he could do was vomit out another mouthful of blood, howling like a madman as he kept trying to claw at his skin with his own hands.
It could not be helped. Out of everyone he could have provoked, he ended up provoking the strongest schemer of the Skywing Clan, the most insane lone wolf! He would neither be the most tragic nor would he be the last to find himself toyed to death by Xia Fei.
Browning led the security officers away with Laika, as Xia Fei strolled out from the auction hall. He received the enthusiastic congratulations from the Elderly Eleven of Independent College. In the beginning, the group of them was a little suspicious of Xia Fei, with him being someone whom they had never seen before; no matter how much Flynn vouched for him, they still had their reservations. After all, no matter how hard they studied while there, it was impossible for them not to have seen Xia Fei once for all the twelve years.
Now that Xia Fei had helped Independent College defeat the star academy, essentially turning the tables so completely, whatever doubts they had of him vanished without a trace. If they were to still be suspicious of Xia Fei at this point, then they would be better off being suspicious of themselves. Regardless of whether Xia Fei was truly a student of Independent College, everyone had pretty much accepted it as fact and would not revisiting this issue anymore.
Flynn was, of course, very happy. On the way back, Xia Fei had pulled him to the side and quietly said, "It"s still too early for you to be glad. We"ve stirred up quite the storm, so we"d better brace ourselves for the battering winds ahead."
Flynn was startled. He had not considered what would happen in the future. From the very start, Xia Fei had been leading Flynn on this path, step by step. At the moment, he had no other choice other than to continue trusting Alpha and Xia Fei.
"So what shall we do? The company won"t force us to hand over the technology, right?" Flynn asked, somewhat panicking.
Xia Fei vigilantly scanned his surroundings before grimly intoning, "I"ll tell you just one thing: Keep mum no matter what!"
""Keep mum no matter what"?"
"That"s right." Xia Fei"s expression turned frigid. "Whether it"s good or bad, shove all the responsibility to me, and if they ever attempt to lure or torture you, you mustn"t reveal even a bit of information, or else I"ll bring you down with me!"
Xia Fei did not look like he was joking, so Flynn sucked in a breath of cold air and nodded meekly. Right now, he was completely convinced that this young man was someone who would actually do what he promised!
Flynn knew about Xia Fei"s true ident.i.ty, something Alpha did not hide from him because of the trust they shared.
Seeing Xia Fei"s determined gaze, Flynn suddenly recalled an aged old saying—
One would rather offend the G.o.d of Death than the wolves of the Skywing Clan!
...
Once a storm stirred, peace would be untenable.
The entire company was discussing the wave that Laika"s incident had stirred. Everyone had pushed all the blame onto Laika"s shoulders when, in fact, Xia Fei was the one who had been pulling the strings behind.
However, Xia Fei knew very well that the normal staff"s view did not represent the board of directors"; they definitely did not speak for those figures hidden in the shadows. There had never been a completely perfect method of execution, so it all boiled down on whether he dared to roll the dice or not!
Independent College, laboratory.
Xia Fei did not return to the company but stayed in place to wait for more news. No matter what the outcome was, Xia Fei would not need much time to clear it.
Alpha appeared on time as always, but Xia Fei did not immediately begin studying as per usual. His two eyes were trained on the screen, a shocked expression on his face.
[Not planning to study today?] Alpha"s words were typed out on the screen.
"No, I"ve got too many points on me, and I need to spend them. I"m sure that you know very well that I won"t be staying long in Fig Corporation. I"ll be leaving the moment I locate you, and I have no intention of having any points left when the time comes," Xia Fei replied.
Alpha answered him. [I can understand that, but you"re looking at the tier 4 catalog when you absolutely qualify for the highest tier. Why, then, are you stopping there?]
Xia Fei smiled. "The things on the Tier 4 catalog aren"t bad, too. I don"t wish to have any fish slipping through the net. My principle in all these years has told me one thing: "Good steel must be used on blades." It can be not the most expensive, but it must be the most suitable for me."
Alpha did not comment on that. A warrior obtaining loot was to be expected, and it was only that Xia Fei"s harvest this time was too great. In fact, it was only after Xia Fei did his calculation that he realized that 3.67 billion points was enough to buy the entire tier 4 catalog!
Biting his lower lip, Xia Fei closed the window somewhat reluctantly and opened the tier 5 catalog, which displayed the available highest-grade goods of Fig Corporation.
*Zing*
His two eyes shone brightly almost immediately.
Fig Corporation truly lived up to its name! Xia Fei found a Law-G.o.d-grade war armor on the tier 5 catalog and plenty of unbelievably high-tech equipment, which could dazzle anyone!
Xia Fei was absolutely shaken! This was all Law-G.o.d-grade equipment! Even the worst was a customized treasure at the Superior Law Sage grade.
Fig Corporation"s equipment had always been precious, and it was not an issue of money, for they were items even money could not buy!
Fortunately, what Xia Fei had on his hand was company points. Were it Origin Crystals, even several billions of them would be ineligible to purchase such super equipment.
His eyes rapidly skimmed through the items shown on the screen. He was like a hunter in pursuit of his favorite prey. Just reading the description of these pieces of top-grade equipment was enough to get Xia Fei"s blood pumping!
His breathing became shorter as his finger lightly tapped on the screen, ready to make his order.
This was when Alpha called to him again.
[Why are you looking at the tier 5 catalog? Head to the Vertex catalog and take a look; perhaps there"s item that may interest you in it.]
Xia Fei was stunned as he asked incredulously, "Are you telling me that the Tier 5 catalog isn"t the highest grade available?"
[Not at all. There"s still a hidden list beyond the tier 5 catalog, and that"s where all the company"s most advanced items are shown.]
Xia Fei let out a sigh as he asked, "What"s on this hidden list?"
[Things that should not exist.] Alpha very calmly gave this answer.