Chapter 36: Chapter 036: Now, We Wait
Chen Ke and his companions darted through the alleys, occasionally hearing the sirens of police cars speeding down the main streets. The major shops and buildings along the streets of Opportunity City were spaced loosely enough to leave narrow passageways for shortcuts.
A blue and white helicopter flew overhead—it was the interview helicopter from the Opportunity Report. As the largest daily newspaper in Opportunity City, they spared no expense to capture breaking news, whether it was last night’s Spirit Explosion incident at the West Gold Building or the urban gunfight happening now.
“Last night, the Administration Bureau just managed to control the blackout incident at the West Gold Building, and this morning an intense gunfight broke out on the city streets. It seems Opportunity City is facing an unprecedented crisis! Carlin, the chief reporter of the Opportunity Report, is broadcasting live from the scene, and the feeling from 400 ters in the air overlooking the entire battlefield is truly splendid—I an, very grave!”
On the interview helicopter, a blond female reporter clad in a red coat vividly reported using provocative words and gestures. Next to her, the caraman, with a survival rope strapped around his waist to prevent from being blown away, held the cara.
“We still don’t know if this gunfight is related to last night’s incident at the West Gold Building, but what’s certain is that the brave County Police have taken control of the situation. Your beautiful and fearless lead reporter, Carlin from the Opportunity Report, continues to report from the frontlines!”
“Whoosh!” A bullet hit the side door of the helicopter, leaving a hole.
...
“Yikes!!!” Carlin’s face drained of color as she scread shrilly, dropping the microphone down below.
After the explosion, the fog billowed from the van as the remnants of the tough n in sunglasses fired a few symbolic shots back, left several bodies of their comrades on the street, and retreated to an SUV to flee, leaving only the black van burning alone.
Chen Ke and his group moved through streets and alleys until they finally caught their evacuation vehicle. They removed their masks, tossed their guns inside the car, and Hall briefly treated his ears with a dical kit they had along, finally catching a breath.
“What just happened? Who’s playing us?” Chen Ke asked.
The dirty deeds of stealing Holy Relics, if soone was doing them, then the delivery boy was certainly not the only player involved. It was normal to have occasional friction among peers.
“This is not that simple. Soone is targeting us … and it’s not just what you think; it’s even more dangerous,” Hall said while bandaging his ears.
“What do you an?” Chen Ke was perplexed.
“All our actions rely on intelligence. Who’s got a bunch of illegal Holy Relics, who’s dealing them where, this intel is the basis for our organization’s existence. It’s never been wrong before,” Hall explained as he tossed a bloody cotton ball and continued. “Soone is playing us, feeding us false information. Hainerd’s team was just the start, then we were the second.”
“Are you saying our source of intelligence has turned against us?” Priskin asked.
“I can’t think of any other possibility. Maybe the intel dealer got fake intel intentionally spread by the other side, but no matter what, we absolutely need to let Pihom know. He has his ways of figuring out what’s going on,” Hall explained.
“I need to confirm two things. First, our rescue mission this ti failed, so no paynt, right?” Chen Ke spread his hands.
The two nodded.
“Okay … Second, it seems the job hitting Si’s consortium is off indefinitely, right?” Chen Ke asked again.
“No, not necessarily. In fact, we’ve been watching them for a long ti. The streets have been buzzing half a year ago that they’ve been aggressively collecting Holy Relics, and it seems they’ve even used extre ans to artificially create the Spirit Explosion Effect,” Hall shook his head.
“So Holy Relics seem to have this capability, but I guess it’s almost like those dieval sacrificial rituals, just hearing about it makes one uncomfortable,” Priskin interjected.
Chen Ke suddenly rembered what the Black man had told him when he first crossed through and fell silent.
“… Now the problem is all of us were acting according to the plan, and you, damn it, didn’t die as planned, which confuses , ouch! Man! Where’s Miles? Quick, tell …”
That’s what the Black man had said then.
And that Blasphemous Dagger …
Chen Ke suddenly realized sothing and touched his chest.
“We can only get off here. Don’t take the guns and masks, just walk away. No one will know we were ever involved in a gunfight,” Hall, ear bandaged and cheek bloodied, said confidently.
The three n pulled open the van door, jumped out, and watched as the vehicle drove away. The midday sun cleared the morning’s gloom, warming their bodies as it shone down.
“Si’s consortium must have gotten their hands on so incredible stuff. No matter what they’re planning to do, we need to get a piece of the action. But first, we need to figure out who’s behind this. Most importantly, we need to rescue Hydena—if he’s still alive…” Hall said.
“Damn it, Hydena’s definitely still alive, you still have his phone, right? Pihom must have a way!” Priskin slapped Hall on the back.
“Yeah, the phone. Pihom can definitely find sothing with this… Let’s go!” Hall said.
Chen Ke had joined the couriers less than two hours ago and felt no attachnt to Hydena, so he just stood there expressionlessly.
In the recent shootout, Chen Ke hadn’t absorbed much murderous aura, but still, he hadn’t consud any of his lifespan. Now, the life countdown in the corner of his eye showed he had 9 and a half hours left, almost full.
For a normal person, living only 10 more hours would be terrifying, but for Chen Ke now, it was quite generous.
From initially panicking to now being calm as an old dog, he had gradually adapted to this fast-paced, intense way of survival.
He felt he was living a much fuller life than before, putting everything he had into each hour.
The three took a taxi back to the gun shop.
Pihom looked at the phone Hall handed him, his facial expression revealing nothing about his current mood. Chen Ke sat on an ammunition box nearby, coldly observing as if he were detached from the situation.
“I’ll have Bain handle this, and then we’ll know where the problem is,” Pihom said.
“What about now? Just wait?” Chen Ke asked.
“I know what you’re thinking, Chen Ke. It’s good to be eager, but you need to think long-term. Until we figure this situation out, whatever we do will be reactive. For now, all we can do is wait,” Pihom said.
Chen Ke nodded. Pihom made a lot of sense. But he couldn’t just sit around and wait.
“While this mission has failed, I have to say you guys did great. I’m going to wire so money into your offshore accounts. Until I hear from Bain, take so ti to rest,” Pihom clapped his hands.
Offshore accounts?
Chen Ke’s eyes lit up. This was sothing very useful. Such accounts, located outside the resident country, weren’t subject to dostic regulations. Chen Ke didn’t want to be running around with piles of cash in the future—he had to figure out a way to get one.
“By the way, Chen Ke, I don’t have your account details. You haven’t even given your phone number,” Pihom suddenly rembered.
“My phone number is… Oh, right, about that offshore account, can you help set one up?” Chen Ke asked.
“Hmm… I get what you an, but forging a set of legal docunts costs money,” Pihom, the seasoned pro, could read a lot from just a few words.
“That’s fine, as long as it solves the problem of where to store money,” Chen Ke said with a smile.
“Alright, then I’ll set one up for you first,” Pihom nodded.
With nothing else to do, and staying there only watching his life countdown rcilessly tick away, Chen Ke decided to head towards the safe house’s door.
“Hey? Where are you planning to go?” Priskin asked.
“I’m going out to have so fun,” Chen Ke turned and responded.
“I told you I’d help you adjust a gun to suit you, you haven’t nad it yet!” Priskin said with a laugh.
Chen Ke stood at the door, thought for a mont, and soon ca up with a na.
“Call it, ‘Life Countdown.’”
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