Chapter 607: Fend for Yourself
“You"re just terrible at being a yakuza member!”
Xiao Luo said as he slapped Suzuki Ikuo"s shoulder. What kind of yakuza member was he? Patriotism aside, this man was blessed with the talent of a comedian and he was incredibly a.n.a.lytical. To put it in a nutsh.e.l.l, the man was a genius. “Of all the things you could have become, you had to choose the yakuza. You sure picked the wrong path, do you know that?”
“Mmph, mmph…”
“Ah, ah…”
The mute man nodded repeatedly, agreeing completely with Xiao Luo. Seeing the mute"s animated reaction, the deaf man felt elated and broke out in a jig, although he was not fully aware of what was going on.
“Did I really pick the wrong path?”
Suzuki Ikuo scratched the back of his head. This was the first time he was having doubts about his career, despite it being financially rewarding.
“You can think about this a little more on your own later. For now, hurry and bring me to the entrance of that military base,” Xiao Luo said, turning his gaze away from the majestic mountain before him and making his way back to the sports car.
Suzuki Ikuo gave the issue no further thought. He called out for his mute and deaf a.s.sistants and headed back to the car as well. Soon the black sedan was cruising down the elevated road toward the foot of Mount Fuji.
If Xiao Luo was right, then Drug Lady Fu Yiren would most likely be held in this secret military base.
Although he did not have any special feelings toward her, just the possibility that she would be experimented on and transformed into a genetically modified human being riled Xiao Luo up to no end, and he clenched his fists unconsciously.
They pa.s.sed through Kawaguchiko and drove along the foot of Mount Fuji toward the south side. The place was deserted and filled with nothing but dense vegetation and trees.
“There"s a warning sign up ahead, it says: "PRIVATE PROPERTY, NO TRESPa.s.sING." We"re going to have to get off and continue on foot. If we drive in like this, we"ll definitely get caught,” Suzuki Ikuo suggested.
“Makes sense!”
Xiao Luo nodded, expressing his appreciation of Suzuki Ikuo"s quick thinking yet again.
After they got off the car, the mute man drove the car toward the brush by the side of the road. But he lost control for a second and the car smashed right into a large tree. One headlight broke into pieces and the hood was badly dented and lifted slightly.
“My Lexus!”
Suzuki Ikuo plunged into instant despair, and the pain showed as clear as day on his face. “I spent over 8 million on this car, do you know how long I had to save just to afford this car? Only for a b.l.o.o.d.y mute like you to crash it? You G.o.dd*mn idiot!”
Suzuki Ikuo was livid. After the mute man stepped out of the car, he threw a punch at the man without saying a word, hitting so hard the mute could not stop moaning pitifully in pain.
“It"s just another lousy 8 million, so why are you so torn up over this?”
Xiao Luo rolled his eyes. This was in their local currency, so it would be no more than RMB400,000, which meant that it was nothing more than an ordinary car in Xiao Luo"s eyes. “You"re part of the yakuza and Dongjing"s number 1 group, yet you"re acting like this. Are you not embarra.s.sed?”
“You idiot, how dare…”
Suzuki Ikuo"s rage was clouding his judgment, and he immediately exploded when he heard Xiao Luo mocking him. But then Xiao Luo"s face hardened over, and the man immediately realized that this was somebody he could not afford to offend. Suzuki Ikuo smacked the deaf man"s face angrily with an open palm and said, “Hey, Mr. Xiao Han"s asking why you"re not embarra.s.sed. Go on, hurry the f*ck up and look embarra.s.sed!”
“Ah, ah…”
The deaf man could not understand what was going on and he stepped back, absolutely confused. He wondered why his boss was acting like this. He was not the one who crashed the car, so why was the boss coming for him?
“That"s enough. If anyone comes our way, you can forget about getting the antidote.” Xiao Luo"s words had an instant effect on Suzuki Ikuo who regained control over his emotions.
Xiao Luo said, “Hey, mute guy. Put out the fire and hide the car well.”
“Ah.”
The mute man nodded and proceeded to heed Xiao Luo"s order.
A dense forest surrounded them, and there was but a single, winding road that was as narrow as a village footpath meandering through the forest. They paid no mind to the signboard and followed the path for close to 100 meters, and then they saw the black SUV. It was the one used to abduct the missing Hua nationals. Xiao Luo compared the car to the picture he had and took note of the markings and condition of the vehicle before he confirmed that it was the very same car. It was just sitting there, carelessly parked by the side of the road.
There was no doubt about it. Each time they kidnapped Hua nationals, they evidently brought them here and sent them into the secret military base. The one who had subdued Drug Lady Fu Yiren was probably genetically modified. That was the only logical explanation of why the poison that coated Fu Yiren"s body did not affect him.
Whoosh~
The mountain breeze carried a biting cold from the peak of Mount Fuji as it drifted down its slopes. It was so cold it made people s.h.i.+ver instantly with their hair standing on ends.
“Ah, ah,” said the mute man.
“Stop it! The more noise you make, the scarier it gets.”
Suzuki Ikuo scanned the surroundings. There was something about this place that sent a s.h.i.+ver down his spine, and it was not the cold. “Why didn"t I realize how forbidding this place was before?”
Xiao Luo did not want to criticize him anymore. It was downright embarra.s.sing for Suzuki Ikuo to act this way when he was a yakuza leader.
Mount Fuji"s alt.i.tude was in excess of 3,700 meters. Xiao Luo and the three yakuza members were still at the foot of the mountain, and even then they were already 200 to 300 meters above sea level. Then the villa came into view, surrounded by walls on all four sides. Inside the compound, there was a s.p.a.cious yard, and a variety of cars were parked within it. Among them, some were military vehicles.
The villa had four floors, and on the outside, it looked opulent and was brightly lit. There were security guards stationed within the compound and at the main gate, but judging by their ramrod straight postures, it was likely that they were soldiers disguise as guards. Besides, the average bodyguard would not be armed with such weapons. For not only were they armed with shotguns, but some of them even had a.s.sault rifles.
“What did I say? I told you this was a secret military base. The guns they"re carrying are standard issue weapons of the Self-Defence Forces,” Suzuki Ikuo whispered to Xiao Luo.
They were hiding somewhere downslope, and they also had the cover of the forest, so there was little risk of being noticed as long as they spoke quietly enough.
Xiao Luo could finally confirm that this was indeed a military base. There was a 90% chance that Drug Lady Fu Yiren was in there, but how should he go about rescuing her? He had no knowledge of what was going on in the place nor its layout, sol to just barge into the building was out of the question. He needed a workable plan.
Suddenly, there was a faint sound of a sports car heading this way from the foot of the mountain.
What amazing timing this was!
Xiao Luo"s lips curled into a smirk. He then stood up and headed toward the foot of the mountain. “Let"s go.”
Suzuki Ikuo was elated and he let out a sigh of relief. He immediately a.s.sumed that Xiao Luo was going to leave the place and had given up on the idea of investigating the military base. This was what he was waiting for.
He signaled his two underlings and said, “Mute guy, deaf guy, let"s go.”
The deaf man could not hear him, and Suzuki Ikuo had to kick his b.u.t.tocks to get his attention. He then quickened his pace to catch up with Xiao Luo.
Suzuki Ikuo was smiling smugly. “So, Mr. Xiao Han, about my antidote, hehe…”
“What"s the rush? Let me take a look inside before I hand it over, there"s still time,” Xiao Luo said.
What?
Suzuki Ikuo"s heart froze. So they were still going in after all.
“Mr. Xiao Han, even the people on the outside look tough, so I"m sure those on the inside are even worse. What if, and this is a huge if, you don"t make it out alive? What happens then?”
“You can fend for yourself, then.” Xiao Luo rolled his eyes.
Fend for myself?
Xiao Luo"s words shocked Suzuki Ikuo. He then whined pathetically with his face frowning in despair. “Are you even human? I worked so hard for you, I tracked the car down for you within three hours and you still won"t give me the antidote? What else do you want from me?”
“Quiet!” Xiao Luo roared at the man, “you can walk away if you think you"re being short-changed, no one"s forcing you to stay.”
I…
The idiot!
Suzuki Ikuo was furious. The man forced a poison pill down his throat, so what did Xiao Luo mean by saying no one was forcing him to stay?