Chapter 189: The Xin Family's Treacherous Banquet
Returning to a human colony from the killing fields, everything appeared tranquil—the metallic smell of blood that constantly lingered in one's senses was nonexistent and so was violence that plagued the battlefield. For once, Qin Feng was able to catch a good night's sleep without any disturbance.
On the second day, Qin Feng arrived at the orphanage.
The Qin Feng of today was completely different from what he was before.
He was an E-tier aptitude user now!
His identity reflected his social standing.
A passerby volunteering at the institution was wide-eyed bumping into Qin Feng.
"What's today's date? Why is such a significant figure coming to the orphanage!?"
Muttering to himself, he watched Qin Feng and Bai Li strut over to the director's office.
And at that moment, a noise came from behind the office's door.
"Director Lin! Why are you so persistent in doing things the hard way!? Do you really want me to go violent on you? You gotta be more careful when you are speaking to me! One twist and I'll snap your bones in two! Old geezer, you can't afford this injury y'know!?"
A slight anger could be heard in Lin Derong's voice when he replied.
"Oh ho, I have old bones, yes. So what if you snap them in half?"
Qin Feng's face contorted with anger.
Funneling internal strength into his feet, he arrived at the doorstep of the office within a few seconds.
Bang!
Without hesitation, he forcefully kicked open the door.
Sitting on Lin Derong's chair was an arrogant man with his legs disrespectfully placed above his work desk.
The sudden loud noise startled the gangster but he continued ignoring it, thinking that it was just another one of the teachers at the orphanage. Perhaps he was just here to beg for mercy at the sight of Lin Derong being threatened.
It was nothing but an ant's struggle, he assumed!
"Get the hell out of here! Your voice holds no weight here!" That gangster's voice boomed. It was an F-tier aptitude user with all his abilities maxed-out.
Recognising Qin Feng's silhouette, the anxious look on Lin Derong's face turned into one of surprise.
The surprised look on his face surfaced as soon as his eyes met the E-tier aptitude user's badge proudly displayed on Qin Feng's chest.
"Get the hell out of here? Me? Too bad! It's you who should piss off!" Qin Feng roared back.
With large strides, Qin Feng approached the man.
It was then that the gangster realised that his intimidation had no effect on Qin Feng. Originally thinking that he was just another hot-headed teenager from the orphanage, in the next instant he was pulled back by an immense force.
Alongside the chair, the man was sent head over heels backward.
Fortunately, he had made some preparations of his own. Pressing down on the armrest of the chair, he launched himself into the air before doing a backflip and landing flawlessly in front of Qin Feng.
Qin Feng's face was well-known across the city. Recognising that mug of his, the man called out in astonishment.
"Qin Feng!"
His brows furrowed.
Since the man recognised him, could it be that he was the cause of Lin Derong being on the receiving end of these threats?
The man scanned Qin Feng from head to toe, as if appraising a piece of antique. As soon as his eyes met the item on his chest, a jolt had visibly run through him.
E-tier!
Beads of cold sweat had appeared on the forehead of the once high and mighty man who threatened the director.
"What's the matter? Have you gone mute? Where did the man from before go?" Qin Feng prodded with bloodlust in his eyes.
If the enemy had any problems with him, they should just face him mano a mano instead of harming those around him like a bunch of cowards.
Whether it was Lin Derong or Zhou Hao, they were all men who had changed the trajectories of their lives through their own sheer effort. Qin Feng did not want to see anyone messing with these people because of him.
This was his way of rebelling against God.
Hearing Qin Feng's words, the man broke out in cold sweat.
The arrogant words that once spewed out of his mouth spewed out no more.
With great difficulty, he swallowed a mouthful of water. "Ma-mayor Qin, I am here in the name of the Xin family. We wanted to invite you to a banquet celebrating our lord's sixtieth birthday!"
Qin Feng sneered.
"You Xin people have a pretty unique way of inviting guests, don't you?"
Lin Derong recovered his vigor. He already had plans to go down fighting—better to die on one's feet than to live life on one's knees! Who would have thought that Qin Feng would be here to give him a much needed surprise.
It was just three months ago since his awakening injection but somehow, Qin Feng managed to grow his strength at such an alarming pace!
This defied heaven's laws!
"Every year, Lord Xin celebrates his birthday, they'd entertain guests from all around and at the same time, a little competition would be held to flex their might. Rewards would be handed out to all the young ones in their family who are participating in combat. Them inviting you to such a feast sounds like trouble to me!" Lin Derong whispered to Qin Feng.
This was the reason why Lin Derong turned down the Xin family's invitation.
However, it soon became apparent that the man had a change of plans. Lin Derong was to be knocked unconscious and taken away as bait to lead Qin Feng into the lion's den.
As if by fate, Qin Feng presented himself before the man could carry out his nefarious plan against the director.
With the director's words still fresh in his mind, Qin Feng had a rough understanding of the current situation.
"Sorry for startling you, Director!"
"This is nothing to worry about!"
On the surface, it seemed to be a relatively miniscule issue.
However, to the lackey of the Xin family, it was something he had to report back to the family as soon as possible.
Qin Feng turned over to look at the man. The warm, gentle smile that he had when facing Lin Derong had faded away in an instant, leaving just the face of a cold-blooded killer.
"If that's the case, I will be attending in place of the director! Pass me the invitation card!"
The man stumbled backward and searched the tabletop in panic. He picked up a fancy-looking card, its font embossed in gold, and nervously handed it over to Qin Feng.
"Mayor Qin, I won't be giving you anymore trouble since the card has already been safely handed over to you. Well then, please excuse me for my departure!"
Shamelessly, the man ran with his tail between his legs!
But how could Qin Feng let this man get away so easily?
It was disrespectful to just come and go so briefly—this was not a pit stop for a man like him.
If Qin Feng had not dropped by this place, God knows what would have happened to Lin Derong!
He must teach this bastard a lesson!
"Did I allow you to leave?" Qin Feng placed his hand on the man's shoulder to stop him from leaving. It was not that the lackey did not try to escape but instead, he found himself held back by Qin Feng's death grip.
"What was it that you said earlier? You wanted to snap the director's bones in two, I recall? Let's find out if you actually have the means to do that!"
His hand that rested on the man's shoulder clamped shut.
Crack!
The crisp sound of bones breaking was perfectly audible. It appeared that Qin Feng had crushed the man's shoulder blades into powder.
"Arghhh!" The man let out a blood-curdling scream.
As if that was not enough pain inflicted, Qin Feng reached for the other shoulder.
As he was still an F9-tier ancient warrior, an intense surge of internal strength poured out from his body upon realising Qin Feng's intentions, shielding his body from harm.
Smack!
Qin Feng's palm once again slapped down on the man's shoulder.
An even larger wave of internal strength flowed out from his palms, clashing against the man's power. In the blink of an eye, the man's defense was completely torn down by Qin Feng's power.
Crack!
His shoulder splintered.
Gritting his teeth, the man redirected his internal strength into his feet which propelled him forward, dashing away from Qin Feng.
Gaining immense speed within a split-second, this man ran in the direction left of Qin Feng before leaping high up into the air.
Crash!
The sound of glass shattering filled the room. Without slowing down, the man smashed through the window and leapt out of the building.
Lin Derong's office was situated quite high up in the building; a normal human being would never be able to survive a fall from this height.
Though, the same could not be said for an ancient warrior. Like a wall-gecko, the man's feet remained stuck to the side of the building as he sprinted straight down, toward the ground.
Qin Feng hurried over to the window and as soon as he could, he channelled his internal strength into the glass shards that were still falling mid-air to prevent them from falling further and potentially harming innocent bystanders below.
"Sh*t!"
The number of deadly glass shards plummeting toward the ground was uncountable.
From far below, painful wails could be heard alongside the sound of glass pieces smashing onto the sidewalk below.