Chapter 140 - The Tragic Battle: Part 2
Chapter 140: The Tragic Battle: Part 2
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ten minutes after gunshots had stopped, and the sky had just begun to turn bright, Dao Ling and Crow brought Shad and the other two police officers walking through the broken door of Ironfist Society.
“What the heck?” Shad exclaimed quietly as he took a glance at a piece of the broken door. At the thickness of a palm, the wooden door had broken up into a dozen pieces, strewn on the yard in front of the society’s premises. What had caused this destructive damage? Handgun or grenade launcher? No. there was no burnt marks from the explosive. Shad was stunned and began to speculate.
Meanwhile, Dao Ling had gone into the main hall. So, he quickly followed. As soon as they were in the main hall, the first person they saw was Lin Sheng, who was sitting on a chair, and the body of a jumbo mantis.
“Congratulations for the victory.” Lin Sheng’s face was calm, voice loud and clear, exuding a domineering presence.
“President, I’m afraid there would have been more casualty if not for the help and leadership of Crow.” Dao Ling cupped his hands, forcing a smile.
“It doesn’t matter what method it is, to the victor go the spoils.” Lin Sheng said matter-of-factly. “May you all first wait on the side?” His eyes landed on the police chief, Shad, at the back. “May I know who you are?”
“My name is Shad, the chief of Huaisha Police Department. Thank you for rendering your unwavering support to the police.” Shad quickly said. “As a local martial art school, the Ironfist Society has come forward at the critical moment to help get rid of the evil. This is a blessing to Huaisha.”
“It’s so nice of you, Chief.” Lin Sheng’s face had no emotional changes.
Shad grinned, eyes involuntarily landing on the body of the eight-winged mantis. This body seemed to slightly different from those on the outside. But he did not give it much thought, just assuming that it was a mutant, because there had been such a mutant existed before.
“We will officially hold a ceremony to give our recognition of the Ironfist Society for the contribution to the anti-terrorism effort. We look forward to the continuous cooperation of the President.” Shad was extremely polite. Lin Sheng might be a leader of a civilian body, but his organization had shown its terrific ability. Shad thought that if he could establish a good rapport with Lin Sheng, it might be easier to ask for his favor next time if similar incidents were to happen again. Especially when the world had become ever-increasing turbulent. Shad quietly let out a self-deprecating sigh for his gross ineptitude; for a police chief to butter everyone up was outrageously degrading.
“Thank you in advance, Chief Shad.” Lin Sheng nodded. The Ironfist Society was badly in need of such positive publicity.
Shad quickly squeezed a smile. Just as he wanted to jolly things up further, hurried but firm footsteps were heard coming in through the doorway behind him.
Two tall military men wearing navy-blue military uniform strode in. The one in front was the handsome, blue-haired man from Azure Heart, whom Shad had met before. As soon as he came in, he saw the body of the eight-winged mantis on the floor and was delighted.
“The Ironfist Society has indeed made a great contribution to Huaisha, definitely worthy of recognition. We will publicly present the recognition to the Ironfist Society in the name of the city government. Now, let me first take this body away.” At first, he did not even bother to come simply because the eight-winged mantis was elusive, fast, sinister, and cunning. But, the body of a Nightshadow-level Darksider would be totally worth the while. It would be a fantastic material for making first-class weaponry and equipment.
“Major Dondi…” Shad’s eyes were on stalks upon hearing what the major said. Lin Sheng was the master who obliterated this mantis monster. Would it be rude to take other’s trophy as his own? Shad thought quietly.
The blue-haired young man could not have cared less about Shad. With the wave of his hand, several soldiers in blue uniform and bulletproof vest carrying assault rifles in hands bulged in. They spread out a big white bag as if they had done it over a thousand times before and dashed toward the body of the eight-winged mantis. While the bodies of the regular mantis on the outside had liquefied into pools of horrendous green fluid long ago, the body in the hall remained unchanged. Needless to say, this thing was a high-value subject.
Dao Ling was fit to be tied when the soldiers humped in and were about to take the body away. But as the saying goes, no peasants should fight with officials, especially a major who wore military uniforms. He had heard how Shad addressed the young man, calling him Major, apparently an army officer. So, he gritted his teeth and stood down.
“Since the Ironfist Society has attained such a high level of capability, you all should be grateful, contributing back to the country by serving the motherland that nurtured you, especially during this time of uncertainty.” Major Dondi watched as the body was loaded into the bad. “President Lin, from now on, your society must send at least three master-level fighters every month to serve in the Special Ops division. The stronger one becomes, the heavier the responsibility is. I believe that President Lin surely knows what it means. Then I shall say no more. But then,” He continued, “I have heard that President Lin has a very special type of practice. Why not you dedicate it to the military in a time when we are gathering all the methodologies of the martial art training so that we can come up with a method of training that can be popularized across the country? If the research is successful, it would mean a lot to the entire Xilin.” This was the real purpose of why he was here.
The inadequacy of the Ironfist Society in safeguarding the secrecy of Ashen Seal meditation had caused information leakage. It eventually caught the attention of the Anduin branch of the Psionic Research Division in the military. Earlier, someone in the research division had taken notice of the murder of Chen Hang by Sacred Shield Tyrant and sent Dondi of Azure Heart to investigate and found nothing. But Dondi did not want to go back and give up just like that.
At a time when Xilin was plagued by corruption from top to bottom, the motivation of the special research team was noble at first—for the sake of the people and nation, they gave all they had to the research to find a way to save the country. But then, the evil virus of corruption had infiltrated the division, turning it to become a self-interest-centered, money-making, and looting tool.
The same happened to Dondi. With such a profitable chance lying before his eyes, he would not go back unless he had gotten his greedy hands on this pot of gold. So, he decided to wait it out in Huaisha. Then, as luck would have it, the Ironfist Society was exposed.
Shad could not bear to listen to the bullshit anymore. What more did the major want? He should just take the body and left. But now, he wanted more. He wanted the Ironfist Society to join the military in their operations and demanded Lin Sheng to divulge the methodology of his secret practice. He was asking for too much. Shad thought.
“Major Dondi… would it be overly…” Shad finally could not keep silent anymore. Seeing himself highly as a military officer of a special division of the military, Dondi would not even look at him, who was just a fat-ass chief of the police department.
Instead, his eyes were on Lin Sheng all the time. He figured that if Lin Sheng did not resist, then he could matter-of-factly get what he wanted. But if Lin Sheng resisted, it would be even better for him. If a civilian body dared to resist, he would paint the resistance as treason. By then, Lin Sheng’s society would be outlawed and shut down, men arrested, and he could even gain more money from it. In fact, he would instead wish that Lin Sheng would resist. But Lin Sheng did not say no to him at all as his men carried the body away.
“President Lin, are you with me?” Dondi squinted, staring intently at Lin Sheng.
Since Dondi had chosen to come, he must have already possessed the file on the little Ironfist Society above his desk beforehand, including files on who Lin Sheng was, his background, and his family. He had come well-prepared.
“Understood,” Lin Sheng replied calmly. “I will have the methodology written down and passed to you, Major.”