Chapter 565: Black Cloud White Mist
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Trish had activated ancient bloodlines and mastered the powerful supernatural ability to control ‘light’ and ‘fire’ with the guidance of Atlantis’ stellar light stone. Adding on to the fact that she was initially equipped with extraordinary wisdom and ability, when she escaped the psychological haze and returned to her senses, Zhang Lisheng did not have to continue to worry about her anymore.
However, even so, after seeing the girl leaving without saying goodbye, the young man could not help but inevitably feel gloomy for several days. In these few days, the chain reaction of the Capitol Hill anti-Atlantis demonstrations that was beyond everyone’s imagination gradually started to take effect, setting off waves that actually exceeded the anti-Vietnam war movement that had taken the entirety of the US by shock and had affected an entire generation in the last century.
People who were accustomed to living in a free and democratic country wherein its strong international economic power and military power dominated the world was not accustomed to compromise their own beliefs and dignity to compromise and concede. The tension that was suppressed in the winter riots due to the unstable situation started to burst out ten times greater.
In just a short span of two weeks, the number of illegal attacks against aliens in the federal territory had exceeded into a thousand cases, with large-scale demonstrations spreading across the country.
Soon, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of the Interior, and the National Security Officer continued to resign one after another on private grounds. At once, the government cabinet started to falter.
When the United States fell into a state of turmoil, Zhang Lisheng had already blended among the Chinese economic and trade delegation who came to the US and was going to Beijing, as a returning entrepreneur.
This ident.i.ty was not fict.i.tious. There were many other operators of US large-scale group companies who were traveling together with the young man. Unlike those people, most of them went across the ocean to a foreign country to expand their careers. Meanwhile, he was spying on the relations.h.i.+p between China and Atlantis to find a coalition against the aliens.
On the runway at JFK airport in New York, an Airbus A380with four powerful engines and 500 comfortable seats slowly accelerated and rose into the air.
When it rose to the predetermined height, a stewardess with a curvy body dressed in a tight cheongsam appeared in the first-cla.s.s aisle and said graciously in English, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to flight AE1579 on China Airlines. I’m Lijuan Zhao, the chief stewardess in the first-cla.s.s cabin of the aircraft. I’m honored to serve all of you. Now that the plane has arrived in the stratosphere, you may unbuckle the seat belt and move around freely. The buffet and drinks are…”
While the air stewardess was speaking, Zhang Lisheng had already unbuckled the seat belt and walked up to the dining table. He took out a good, red wine for the sealed ice bucket dedicated to the aviation fixed onto the table and opened the wine with a ‘pop’ using a wine opener. Then, he poured a huge gla.s.s for himself before picking up an iced c.o.ke to walk to the economy cla.s.s.
Upon seeing his nonchalant manner, a short old man, with thin spa.r.s.e hair wearing a suit sitting beside the cabin window on a large independent seat, suddenly had a change of expression. Without warning, he kept sniffing his nose as though he had caught a cold.
After over ten seconds, the man’s eyes became brighter and brighter as he showed a hint of excitement. He forced himself to relax and stretched his head to look at an energetic-looking, blonde middle-aged man with a strong character dressed in a hunting jacket before asking, “Mr. Hogley, do you know who that eccentric lad was just now?”
“Which lad, Mr. Linus?” The middle-aged man who was moving his fingers around his tablet was stunned for a while. He looked at the old man and asked respectfully.
“That Asian boy who left the first-cla.s.s cabin with a gla.s.s of red wine while the flight attendant was still speaking. He looks like he’s a new rich fellow who must have made his fortune through a computer program or network servicing. He seems to be eccentric, but as the biggest ‘angel investor’ in the US, I’ve never seen him before. This is too strange!” The old man said with a smile.
“Oh, Mr. Linus, I didn’t see anybody leaving just now, but if you said it’s an Asian lad…” The middle-aged man turned his head around to have a look and saw Zhang Lisheng’s vacated seat. Shrugging, he said, “The one you said must be Dr. Zhang Lisheng. He’s the founder of the LS Group and is an outstanding biologist who successfully transformed his research into wealth. He doesn’t need your investment.”
“Oh, I heard of this name before. thank you, Mr. Hogley.” The old man’s eyes lit up, and he expressed his grat.i.tude with a strange expression. On the other hand, Zhang Lisheng whom he was observing for no reason, was sitting in the economic cla.s.s seat beside Guo Caiying as he asked in confusion, “Senior Sister, I really don’t understand why there are so many empty seats in the first cla.s.s and business cla.s.s cabin, but everyone has to squeeze in the economy cla.s.s. Didn’t you guys book the entire plane?”
“According to the plan, the first-cla.s.s seats are allocated to the returning entrepreneurs of US, the business cla.s.s seats are allocated to domestic entrepreneurs, while the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs like me must sit in economy cla.s.s,” Guo Caiying said with a smile. “As a public official, we have strict discipline constraints.”
“But aren’t there so many Chinese public officials in the plane?” The young man looked around and asked strangely.
Guo Caiying ate her lunch box while tasting the red wine that her Junior Brother brought for her. After a moment of silence, she answered in a whisper, “Well, since our civil servants are all in economy cla.s.s, some of the entourages of the Chinese entrepreneurs and even some of those said entrepreneurs chose to stay here consciously.”
“Consciously? Oh, is it because the invisible hierarchy system that those Chinese business employees and even the entrepreneurs from China forced them to accompany you government officials to ‘consciously’ stay in economy cla.s.s?” The young man who was trying to understand the social relations of China continued to ask.
“It’s not by ‘force,’ Lisheng. There’s no ‘force’ involved here. It’s just a kind expression of ‘respect’…”
Guo Caiying argued feebly, but Zhang Lisheng waved his hand to interrupt her, “You misunderstood me, Senior Sister, I have no intention to criticize China. I very much appreciate this kind of near-strict social order now, on the contrary. Look at what became of the USA now. Democracy and freedom are good, but when it comes to strong enemies that they cannot defeat, centralized politics is more effective.”
As a theocratic ruler of the Wizard Li archipelago in the foreign world, the young man did not have any sigh of reluctance when he said such words.
Instead, Guo Caiying, who was born in a Chinese Red’s wealthy family, received Western education from an early age, and defended the Chinese government just now, was the one who started to feel uneasy after hearing the term ‘centralized politics.’ With a wry smile, she said, “Junior Brother, didn’t you say that you’ll never be tainted with politics? Why should we talk about such a boring topic?”
“I’m just making a casual talk…” Upon seeing the confused look on the girl, the young man no longer continued the topic and changed to another light topic. Soon, both of them began to talk and laugh.
On an inconspicuous seat at the corner of the economy cla.s.s, a tall old man, who was wearing a pair of old-fas.h.i.+oned, trite, gold-rimmed gla.s.ses, having a parting side hair, and awkwardly wearing in a fitting, casual clothes, straightened his body and blatantly stared at Zhang Lisheng who was talking and laughing cheerfully together with Guo Caiying. With anger on his face, he mumbled, “What in G.o.d’s name, what the h.e.l.l is this? She’s a good girl, but she wants to blend together with this witchcraft creature, who is neither human nor demon. How can she possibly be short of money! How self-deprecating…”
“Junior Uncle, oh my dear Junior Uncle, please watch what you say,” Among the three middle-aged men who were sweating nervously, the thinnest and the most handsome person, who was obviously the leader, pleaded with a sour expression as he whispered, “You should also know who that girl is. How can you talk freely about her like that…”
“I’m annoyed seeing that scene, so why can’t I voice out my opinions a little?!” The old man glared and shouted. Although it was quite noisy in the colossal economy cla.s.s that held about 300 people, he still attracted many shocking gazes from around.
Upon seeing that the old man was talking louder and louder, the middle-aged man who knew about his ‘crazy’ personality was afraid that he would elicit c.u.mbersome trouble because of just this small incident. Immediately, with a change of expression, he said reprovingly in a stern low voice, “Junior Uncle Dou, the reason why Master asked you to come to the US this time is for you to seize a chance to blend in the Noah World to lay a formation in the jade mine, not for you to come here and spout nonsense! I’m the one in charge of the mission this time, so if you continue to make any noise, it’d be a violation of your order. Even if you are an elder, I may have to report this to Master when we return! Please control yourself.”
Upon hearing this, the old man was first caught off guard. Then, as though he was in disbelief, he looked at the middle-aged man for a while, and his face started to become redder as he tremblingly raised his finger before saying with quivering lips, “Y-You! Y-You… Song Huiyuan! H-how dare you…”
“I’m the person in charge, so why wouldn’t I be daring? I hope you’ll keep yourself in check,” Since he had shed all pretense of cordiality, the handsome middle-aged man just said directly without any scruples, blatantly suppressing the old man’s anger using the commandment of his Master.
When this unknown little episode pa.s.sed by, time continued to pa.s.s by slowly. In just a blink of an eye, the plane had crossed the ocean and soared for eleven to twelve hours.
The long journey made the pa.s.senger exhausted. Most of the people covered themselves with a blanket and began a sweet, black slumber while a minority of them opened the dim light on their head to read magazines to pa.s.s the time.
“Leader, do you need any drink or snack?” Since this was a flight chartered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the flight personnel knew that, in some sense, the economy cla.s.s pa.s.sengers were more critical than the first cla.s.s and business cla.s.s pa.s.sengers. Thus, they would automatically and diligently send some snacks every one or two hours, while replacing their t.i.tles uniformly with ‘leader.’
Although they called Zhang Lisheng with the same ‘leader’ t.i.tle for five to six times already today, he still could not help but chuckle when he heard this strange t.i.tle. Shaking his head, he signaled that he did not need any.
Just as he was waving his hand, a sudden ear-piercing squeaking sound resonated through the clouds and entered his ears.
The young man felt his heart abruptly tightening as though it had a lack of blood. Frowning, he stood up and walked two seats in front along the aisle to stretch his head to look out of the window. In the night sky that was completely dark in the eyes of an ordinary person, he could see black clouds tumbling around as they gathered and dispersed, with faint white mist floating and dispersing from it.