Chapter 43

Within a mansion in a county town .

By a French window, the setting sun cast its slanted rays into a vast living room where a man and a woman were standing in deathly silence . The room itself, on the other hand, as the setting sun continued to refract and reflect off the glamorous household utensils displayed in the room, had turned rather cozy .

Wan Qing's rosy cheeks had turned all pale and washed out . She had heard the conversation . She heard the helpless and terrifying call from the other end of the line . The report that was delivered was, perhaps to her, more terrifying than the man's unearthly shriek .

Every mutant was dead . All were murdered . How did this happen?

All eighteen mutants were all devastated by a single man . What an extraordinary battle achievement, and it would indubitably cause a tremendous sensation if this were to be known by the public .

An extraordinary battle achievement usually meant the rise of another superpower!

The fact that all eighteen mutants had taken their power-enhancing drugs yet were still single-handedly defeated by a man alone made everything even more insidious and horrid .

Wan Qing was completely dumbstruck . It was not long ago when she was still indulging in the joy of the thought that her messy business would be neatly dealt . Now, all there was left to her were worry and great concerns .

If this man were to find her for revenge, would she be able to fend him off?

"Monster!" Her face was pale as a sheet as she spelled out her curses . Indeed, anyone with such power would indubitably qualify as a monster: a monstrosity that existed beyond reason .

The sound of that man's call of terror, as well as those desperate last words, were still echoing in her mind . She trembled uncontrollably and was paralyzed in fear . They were indeed the sound of death .

Mu became taciturn . He slouched in his couch, voiceless and equally terrified . "How's this happening?"

He suddenly turned around with a cold face . His blood ran cold, striking chill into everything and everybody in this hallway . The intruding sunrays had dissipated, giving the piercing coldness the freedom to take dominance in this room .

For Mu, this was possibly the worst outcome of the entire operation . His frame of mind was understandably shaky . The usual appearance of a visceral smile was no more; instead, he was all grim-faced and glum-looking . Clearly, he was in a bad mood .

It was a team of eighteen mutants . For him, they were the principal force of his organization . Now that they were all dead, what else were there left to him?

Nothing .

"I never expected this to happen . Who is he? How could he possibly kill eighteen mutants all at once, let alone the fact that they had all taken the power-enhancing drug?" Wan Qing nervously mumbled .

Clonk!

Mu smashed his goblet on the floor, then heavily trampled on the shattered fragments of the glass .

"Goddamn!" he growled and bellowed .

The smile on his handsome face was no more, along with his class and composure . For him, this was an inexcusable failure as well as a shameful one . It was a hefty loss to him too .

"Don't be mad, Mu . Let's think of some ways to redeem all these," Wan Qing said . She postured as calm and clear-headed, but beneath that veneer of composure, there was the profound mixture of fear and panic .

Meanwhile, a man appeared in the hallway . He looked in his fifties, but he displayed quite an opposite image to that of a typical middle-aged man . He was lean and slender, and his face was clear of wrinkles . The only sign of aging was those tufts of silver hair . "This is not your fault, Mu . No-one would have expected this to happen . "

He was right . A team of eighteen mutants with each empowered by the newly developed drug would sweep off an army of enemy as one would do a mat, let alone a single man .

With such a strong line-up, ambushing a single man should not have turned out in this way .

"Then, there must be something wrong with our line-up . Uncle Wen, I'm relying on you and your men to investigate what had happened . I want details . " Mu's expression was still all gloomy and despondent .

"There is a possibility that the Vajra might be involved in this . Isn't there a team of fighters sent out by Bodhi Biogenetics in that area?" Wan Qing suggested .

Uncle Wen was taken aback by her suggestion, but he did not immediately reply . Following Mu's order, Uncle Wen instructed his men to go on a field trip to investigate the true cause of death of those eighteen mutants .

Meanwhile, Mu was frowning . He was also growing suspicious of the possibility that the Vajra might have already arrived at the area .

"Go! Go search for signs of the Vajra's presence," Mu coldly said .

Uncle Wen nodded in agreement . He arranged a team of a few people who worked under his direction and those with whom he had connections to scope out the movements of the troops deployed by Bodhi Biogenetics .

A helicopter took off from its landing pad, hastily dashing towards the forest eighty li away .

The team of investigators was not made up of skillful mutants or Kung Fu masters, but they were quite adept in their investigating skills .

Finally, they arrived at the area where the battle had just ceased . The scene was a truly blood-curdling one . Eighteen mutants were all lying lifelessly without a head .

Clearly, they were all killed by the same killer, and all, except for a few, had died without resistance . Judging by the traces and marks left on the trees and the ground, they concluded that amongst the eighteen mutants, only a few fought their enemy before their eventual demise .

The rest were not even remotely a match to their opponent . All were beheaded seconds after the fight broke out . This conclusion made them terrified .

"Is this the work of the Vajra? Has he arrived?" someone suggested .

There was something in what he said . In this world, only the Big Four, namely the Vajra, Silver Wing, Fire Spirit, and White Tiger, could wreak such devastation on their opponents . At least, this was what's known to the public .

Later, they conducted a thorough search in the depths of the woods, but nothing could confirm the identity of the killer . Chu Feng had thoroughly cleaned up the murder scene so that even the slightest clue that could suggest his involvement in this sequence of heinous killing would be wiped clean .

In a mansion in a county town .

Mu had been updated with the latest report from his expedition team, but clearly, he was unimpressed by the team's lack of useful findings .

"All of the eighteen mutants had been beheaded in a similar fashion by the same weapon . Whoever the killer was, he was both swift and fierce, having the upper hand throughout the fierce battle," Uncle Wen later reported .

"I've heard that the Vajra used only two weapons . One of them is a pestle that could be used to tame a beast, while the other being a blade of unparalleled sharpness," Wan Qing said .

Meanwhile, a secret report arrived at the doorstep . Upon reading, Uncle Wen's look on his face suddenly changed drastically .

He handed it over to Wan Qing . "What? the Vajra had really arrived this morning without anyone's notice?" It came as a shocking news to everyone .

"the Vajra has arrived!?" Mu flew into a fury . His face twisted out of shape because of anger, then driven by profound exasperation, he smashed his fist onto a wooden table next to him, almost splitting it in half .

He could no longer stay elegant and refined in his manners . Now that his skulking arrival was confirmed, the perpetrator of the heinous killing this morning should undoubtedly be him .

In face of his Buddha Blade, the eighteen mutants all seemed so insignificant, even after having taken the drugs .

"According to reliable sources, the Vajra had indeed gone out from his hotel to the nearby mountains after he arrived, and he still hasn't returned yet . However, we still cannot confirm that he was indeed heading towards our men's encirclement this morning," Uncle Wen reported .

"Vajra, I will not let you off this time!" Mu was exasperated . The fierce look on his face had totally subsided the gentle and refined manner in both of his speech and his deportment . There was a fire of fury burning ablaze in his chest .

"What about that man? Did he never come into our men's encirclement?" Wan Qing had doubts about that "master" behind Chu Feng's back .

Then, she realized that Chu Feng's death could be easily attributed to the fierce battle between Bodhi Biogenetics and Deity Biomedical Groups that had broken out in that area . Chu Feng was just an unlucky innocent killed amidst the exchange of fire .

Some harm inflicted on the bypassing innocent was totally unavoidable when two opposing forces go head-to-head . There was no-one to blame . Chu Feng died because he was just down on his luck .

It was quite a relief to her . There was nothing worth worrying . That "master" behind Chu Feng's back would never know the truth with regards to the death, so he would have no alternatives but to give in .

Out of the dense woods, Chu Feng finally had the county town in sight . His speedy pace slowed down at last .

"What a vicious woman! If I was to just kill her, it would bear no difference to me just letting her off . Death is too light a punishment for her heinous doing," Chu Feng mumbled to himself .

Chu Feng recalled the pick-up lady with whom he just met . She was still so young . Her freckled face made her look so sincere and innocent . She was a cheerful girl too . The smile on her young and innocent face was so pure and visceral . But who would have thought that she would die such a gory death? "You deserve better, girl . " Chu Feng sighed .

There was a fierce look in his eyes . Although he was a cold-blooded murderer in the face of his enemy, there was still a soft spot in his heart . He could not bear to see the bullying on the small and the weak, especially when they were also good and kind-hearted people .

"I won't let you get off so easily this time . You will eventually die, but I'll make sure that before you say your last words, your life will be spent in sheer horror and fear," Chu Feng viciously cursed .

He took out his communicator and rung up Lin Naoi .

The call was soon picked up .

Chu Feng was simple and straightforward . He asked her who had been using her communicator for the past few days .

Lin Naoi was baffled, asking him what had led him to ask; but Chu Feng did not answer . He abruptly hung up the call .

Meanwhile, Wan Qing left the mansion, heading for Lin Naoi's hotel .

"Has Chu Feng called you before?" Lin Naoi asked beside a French window . She was looking at the distance while her jade-like skin shone under the glittering rays of the late morning sun .

"Oh, yes, of course . After he knew that it was not you, we ended the call just after a few light exchanges of words," Wan Qing replied in a tone that made her sound rather at ease . Indeed, there were no more troubles back at home after the incident that resulted in the seemingly accidental death of Chu Feng . Wan Qing was still enjoying her ease of mind .

"Really? Is there anything you're hiding away from me?" Lin Naoi turned around . She had a beautiful hair . It hung loosely on the sides of her swan-like and snow-white shoulders . A slightly frosty look on her fine and delicate face coupled with her cold yet exquisite eyes exerted quite a degree of pressure on Wan Qing .

"No . Of course not, my mistress . " Wan Qing showed an astonished look .

"Based on my knowledge of Chu Feng's personality, there must have been something going wrong between you two," Lin Naoi said .

"Has he arrived already? What did he say to you? It would be so petty of him to have complained anything about my manners . I was just being a bit inconsiderate in my choice of words, but I really didn't mean it," Wan Qing spoke in a careless way . She knew that the man would never arrive nor would he ever complain anything to her mistress about her .

"No, he hasn't arrived yet, but based on the call he made to me just now, it sounded more than just some complaints about your deep-rooted prejudices against him . " Lin Naoi stared at her .

"Just now?!" Wan Qing was taken aback . The quivering of her fingers almost cost her to drop the teacup in her hand, but she managed to cover up her emotion immediately .

The smile on Lin Naoi's face turned colder . "Tell me . "

"What? No . There's hardly anything between us two," Wan Qing silently told herself to stay calm and collected, but in her mind, her fear and terror had almost reached a boiling point . How come that man was still not dead yet?

What on earth had happened . She felt ever so frightened . Was she going to face him now?

Her heart trembled as her mind shivered in fright . Many ideas and theories cropped up in her mind . "What if he really was alive? What was she going to do?"

She could feel a chill running through her spine; then, the chilling turned to numbness, paralyzing her whole body .

She was like a frightened dog who wanted to flee from its master's punishing hands, but under her mistress' gaze, how could she?

"Chu Feng will arrive in a minute," Lin Naoi said . In fact, Chu Feng had not told her when he would arrive . She was not even sure if he would arrive at their appointment because she could feel the fury behind his words during that brief call .

The moment she was informed of Chu Feng's imminent arrival, Wan Qing could feel her whole body coming out in a cold sweat . She had to stay since there was no way for escape . For her, the minutes before Chu Feng's arrival was going to be a prolonged period of insufferable torment and wretchedness .

Fear started to overcome her senses . She knew that nothing would stay hidden once the truth was told . Even if she could still stay relatively safe under her sister's wing, she would need to pay a hefty price .