Chapter 9.3 – The Next Time for Sure
“Mister O’Brien!” The subordinates only had enough time to cry out before O’Brien disappeared into the depths of the underground tunnels.
They immediately rushed into the underground tunnel, but Li Gaolei’s cold voice immediately transmitted over, “Are you all trying to kill O’Brien?”
The subordinates stopped moving on the spot and furiously turned around to stare at the outsider Li Gaolei. In fact, they knew clearly themselves that once the angry O’Brien entered the underground tunnel, there was no way they could catch up to him.
“There is practically no light down there, and the terrain is extremely complex.” Li Gaolei ignored the subordinates hateful expressions. In a slow and unhurried voice, he said, “None of you will be able to display your skills. If something unexpected happens, your master wouldn’t be able to completely ignore you all. For the sake of saving you guys, he would likely throw away his own life! As such, it is best if you all just wait here.”
The subordinates gradually calmed down, and then they began to disperse. They collected Laiknar’s corpse, asked headquarters for assistance, and even set up camp and established a cordoned area. The work was split up, and everything was done in a clear and orderly manner. These seven subordinates’ capabilities could completely match Roxland Company’s most elite secret guard, while their equipment and military experience far surpassed those of the secret guard.
A hint of concern could be seen within Li Gaolei’s eyes as he silently watched everything. In the darkness, there was only a bit of fiery light that flickered between light and darkness. It originated from Li Gaolei’s cigarette butt. Even though it was rather conspicuous, no one stopped him. O’Brien had already personally went to chase down Su, so this extremely dangerous and cool-headed individual in all likelihood wasn’t going to be picking them off unexpectedly.
Li Gaolei smoked one cigarette after another. When Laiknar was ambushed, he saw Su, and he believed that Su had long known of his existence. The jadeite like eye that left him a deep impression didn’t seem to contain the slightest bit of emotion. His ice cold gaze was like a bucket of iced water that completed drenched Li Gaolei. Su didn’t give him any message and directly entered the subway tunnels.
Li Gaolei believed that the ice cold gaze contained enough information on its own.
As for O’Brien, Li Gaolei had absolutely no idea what kind of abilities this young man would display under such fury. Meanwhile, Su with his pretty and strange eye seemed to be the king of darkness.
Inside the underground passages that were as complex as spiderwebs, countless deadly creatures thrived. As for what kind of conclusion the two’s life and death struggle would lead to, only the heavens knew.
Li Gaolei’s cigarette box was empty. He rummaged through his pockets, but he didn’t find a single cigarette, only two delicately wrapped olden era cigars. He rubbed the two cigars in an avaricious manner, as if those careful and fanatical fingers were rubbing the body of a dream lover. In the end, Li Gaolei still took out his hand from his clothes pockets. He looked at the temporary camp that had been established by the subordinates, and then with a pah sound, he spat out a clump of spittle.
These subordinates didn’t smoke or drink, as if they were just like the puritans of the olden era. Not even Laiknar, who seemed to gain strange enjoyment from burning people alive and hearing their miserable screams, touched alcohol or used any stimulating substances. If Laiknar hadn’t shown such undisguised desire back then, then Li Gaolei truly would have thought that Laiknar didn’t have any interest in women. Otherwise, why would he directly torture the pretty woman from Asmo to death? This fellow might just be a soft egg that can’t get hard. In the end, Li might have just used a lash to ruthlessly give him a beating, and he would end up climaxing from the trampling and pain. If he was a bit more of a pervert, he might even ask Li to to give it to him with Su’s enormous pistol. If Li just happened to press the trigger during that time…
Li Gaolei looked towards the camp set up by the subordinates. Laiknar’s corpse had been placed inside a waterproof sack and was temporarily laid at the center of the camp. A strange gas was filling the inside of the sack, seemingly for cooling and antiseptic purposes. Towards this dead person, Li Gaolei didn’t have any feeling of respect, to the point where he could use the most vile thoughts to guess at his nature.
Those born in large companies typically wouldn’t think of people living in inhabited areas as similar species as themselves. It was just like how in the eyes of inhabited area residents, there was no difference between mobs and refugees, both of which were regarded as wild beasts like rotting wolves. However, before joining Roxland Company, Li Gaolei had also been a refugee, so the way he looked at them was a bit different from how others did.
In the era of turmoil, the difference between rank and social class might sometimes be even greater than that between races. Even if it was Li Gaolei, currently, he wouldn’t think much about killing a habitat refugee that dared to offend him. However, Laiknar was different. He didn’t kill only one or a few refugees, but instead tortured large numbers of people to death.
Inside K7 and the Falcons’ manor, all of the subordinates watched Laiknar brandish his flames and burn through human bodies as if this was normal. They looked like they were used to seeing things like Laiknar randomly sticking the leader of the Falcons onto a stake, used to seeing things like the eleven remaining Falcons members struggling to the end as they were pierced by the stake. All of the elders that resisted were thrown into the burning farm house. When the subordinates were about to do the same towards the women and children, O’Brien was the one that hurriedly stopped them and allowed them to leave. Even though these women and children wouldn’t suffer a fate that was much better than these men after losing their home, they would at least be able to live for a few more days.
Consequently, Li Gaolei understood that in the eyes of the Black Dragonriders, those from inhabited area weren’t even of the same species. Even though O’Brien was like this, showing mercy towards the women and children, this kind of mercy was the same as that shown towards harmless small animals.
When he thought of the scene from back then, Li Gaolei’s body felt strangely uncomfortable, as if those stakes were driven one after another into his own body. He cursed in a low voice. When he thought of the sight of Laiknar’s brains leaking out, a strange feeling of joy stirred inside of him. He truly wanted to take the remaining half of those brains and smash them up as well.
Su’s loud and resounding shot gave Li Gaolei a refreshing feeling, to the point where he even wanted to invite Su to a drink even though basic reasoning told him that the reason the shot hadn’t been aimed at him during that time was because he wasn’t worth it. With such a great opportunity, the one that was to be killed was obviously going to be one that was more valuable.
In the maze-like underground tunnels, a frenzied wave of footsteps rang through the air. A faint luster flickered within the depths of O’Brien’s pupils. The world in his eyes had already become multi-colored, and within the colors were extremely prominent traces that revealed the route Su took.
O’Brien didn’t purposely lighten his footsteps, because he knew that there was no point. Su was clearly an individual with exceptional perception ability, so he couldn’t avoid Su’s detection no matter how careful he was. Moreover, O’Brien didn’t have the experience of extensively seeking survival in the wilderness, so Su was clearly more suited to the wilderness. Once Su was given enough time to hide himself, O’Brien would never be able to find him again.
This was why O’Brien didn’t hold back on speed and sped through these tangled and complicated tunnels at a velocity of over fifty kilometers per hour. What he needed to do is use his own physical strength and speed to overwhelm Su and then get rid of him.
The instant Su entered the underground tunnels, O’Brien clearly saw many criss-crossed slits all over his exposed skin. He believed that under these types of wounds, Su couldn’t persist much longer. Hiding and sniping was one thing, while a frontal confrontation was a different matter.
Intersections swept past O’Brien’s body as he ran with flying speed. The flames of rage burned within his gray pupils. A converging intersection appeared before his eyes. O’Brien suddenly leaned his body backwards, and his two legs abruptly pressed against the steel rail!
The ear-splitting sound of friction transmitted far into the underground passage as the metal alloy soles of his boots grinded against the steel rail, bringing with it a stream of blinding sparks. O’Brien maintained his posture as he avoided this converging intersection.
The converging intersection connected a set of parallel maintenance tunnels. Su stood within the maintenance tunnel and steadily held the rifle while aiming at this area. In the darkness, his green eye was like a bright gemstone as it released a deep radiance.
When O’Brien saw Su, the entire tunnel was lit up by the flame released by the muzzle. When the resounding gunshot transmitted to O’Brien’s ears, the bullet had already struck the tunnel wall, moreover blasting off a large piece of concrete. The rubble that flew about landed on his face and hands, drawing forth a sharp pain.
Su had fired in advance, and the bullet stuck close to the tunnel’s wall as it flew out. However, he never anticipated that O’Brien would slide past the tunnel while leaning backwards. As a result, the bullet passed by merely ten centimeters above O’Brien’s chest and struck air.
O’Brien extended his left hand the moment he saw Su, and afterwards, he was completely overwhelmed by the fiery light and booming gunshot. The momentum that remained in his body carried him past the tunnel.
When O’Brien appeared again in the converging intersection, Su had already disappeared. Embedded within the maintenance tunnel wall was a round piece of ice that was at least thirty centimeters in diameter. The edges of the ice chunk were extremely sharp, sharp enough to carve ten centimeters into the concrete wall. When O’Brien pulled out the chunk of ice from the wall, he didn’t see any bloodstains on the edges.
The ambush from both sides failed to connect this time. Su’s abrupt shot completely quelled O’Brien’s fury, but it didn’t dispel his fighting spirit. O’Brien followed Su’s traces in pursuit. After missing this opportunity, he didn’t know what would happen the next time he would encounter Su face to face. The battle just now proved that even after being seriously injured, Su was still an extremely dangerous opponent, to the point where he could take O’Brien’s life at any point. However, O’Brien continued to chase after him.
He knew the dangers he was facing, but he didn’t believe himself to be as respectable as his subordinates thought he was, and he definitely wasn’t someone that liked to brave dangers. What was driving him on was something else, something known as honor.
The maintenance tunnel quickly ended, connecting to a subway station that had been abandoned for a long time already. The tracks Su left behind were more and more concentrated. They made a turn and disappeared into the restroom on the platform’s side.
Bang! O’Brien completely knocked down the restroom door with a single kick and rushed inside. The ceiling above him had already been torn apart, revealing a deep ventilation device. Looking at the size of the ventilation path, it was barely enough to fit a single person. Su’s escape seemed extremely hurried, as he did not even bother closing the cover of the ventilation path.
O’Brien rose with a single bound, and his head as well as his upper body entered the ventilation path. Then, with a horizontal movement of his elbow, his elbow actually broke through the stainless steel ventilation wall, stabilizing his body in place.
The ventilation path initially headed straight upwards, and then it extended outwards in a horizontal manner. The other end was entirely dark, and not even O’Brien could clearly make out what was there.
O’Brien’s right hand pushed towards the passageway. A flicker of light passed through his two eyes, and with a muffled bang sound, it was as if the entire subway station began to shake! A formless force field quickly extended all over inside the tunnel. The stainless steel that made up the ventilation duct groaned and struggled, and then, as if it could no longer bear the amount of force, it began to distort. The entire passageway began to twist, shrink, and collapse, as if countless boulders had bashed against it!
From the other end of the passageway, Su tossed out his modified rifle. Then, Su rushed out from the passage exit and grabbed the modified rifle out of midair before gently landing on the ground.
He suddenly raised his head and fixed his gaze on the passage exit that he just jumped out of.
With only a bo sound, the passage exit released endless amounts of dust and garbage. Then, it began to warp and twist about, as if it was being dug by an enormous invisible hand. If Su had emerged a minute later, he might have been crushed to pieces by the steel forged ventilation duct!
Su only gave the distorted passage a single look before lifting the rifle and disappearing into the dark and deep underground tunnels.
The battle was far from finished.
