It was a terrible price to pay.
“Qin Feng!!” Hatred flashed past his eyes, but it could not diminish the fear in it.
***
Qin Feng learned that Hong Lie was still alive a few days after he returned to Fengli.
It was not that he did not think of going out there and finishing the job. However, there was much more to consider now that he was in a different position.
Hong Lie, being a B-tier aptitude user, had a substantial influence as an organization president in the northern region. If he were killed, it would implicate those working under him greatly.
Qin Feng did not wish to be too assertive. This would not be good for teamwork.
Well… The word teamwork put a sarcastic smile on Qin Feng’s face.
Besides, Hong Lie would at least take half a year to recover from the injury he had sustained this time. He would not dare to provoke Qin Feng in such a state.
Thus, Hong Lie was not Qin Feng’s immediate concern now. He had his mind occupied on another matter.
“Are you sure you got nothing?”
“Well, it’s not that I don’t believe you. But it’s just all too odd!”
“Alright, please continue to keep your eyes open.”
“Goodbye.”
Qin Feng furrowed his brows after hanging up. The phone call he had made was to ask help from Dragon Capital to search for the Z Organization. He did not expect them to turn up empty handed.
A few thoughts sprung into Qin Feng’s mind rapidly.
He had not heard of such an organization before he was reborn but mutant experiments carried out by the Dark Coalition had been running rampant recently. Qin Feng clearly remembered the special tattoo on its member, as well as the lab at Fu City and the catastrophe at Shadong.
Suddenly, he had an idea.
‘Perhaps I have been overestimating them? Though it’s easy for Dragon Capital to investigate the underground organization, their sights are usually set on those B-tiers or above! The Z Organization might not have grown into that just yet. They could be a dangerous force in the future, but right now, they are probably just a small faction waiting for the right time to strike.’
Qin Feng could not shake the Z Organization off his mind ever since he had been reborn. He trusted his own instincts and knew that he must find them.
He contemplated and decided to ask for He Liming’s help. This time, he wanted them to narrow down the search and focus solely on the north.
In less than half a day, He Liming brought him the news Qin Feng wanted. He Liming had been extremely helpful after the incident with Hong Lie.
“Governor Qin, I have a few intel regarding the underground organization that may be useful to you.” He Liming sent him several documents not long after.
Qin Feng opened it and smiled satisfyingly.
“So, they are hiding in Xue Yuan all this while?”
“I believe so. Numerous organizations from the Dark Coalition have been active around the area recently. Fights broke off sparsely but did not alert the Human Alliance since that place is a lawless zone, to begin with. But they have indeed grown more arrogant recently by openly practicing unethical experimental trials on human subjects.” He Liming explained to Qin Feng while displaying a friendly smile. “Are these people and information the ones you are looking for?”
“It’s more than I have asked for. Thanks a lot, General He. This is extremely important, to me at least.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Are you still overseeing the rebuild of Beihua? I have a small business going on there. I will ask someone to send you a small gift.”
“Sure, sure! Thank you!”
They ended the conversation on a high note. Qin Feng then arranged for someone to deliver the gift to He Liming’s residence. It was just a small gaea crystal the size of a cobblestone. However, this material was getting rarer and rarer now. Even Xu Qing had been exploring the crystal mine for months now, indicating just how valuable the crystal had become.
He Liming did not have otherworldly strength but Qin Feng was fond of his demeanor and well-established network.
‘Perhaps I can recruit He Liming under my wing in the future.’
He Liming would be baffled if he knew what Qin Feng was thinking. A C-tier was plotting to have a B-tier as his future subordinate. Qin Feng was probably the only one with such an ambitious vision.
Of course, Qin Feng did not act too imprudently. His interest now was entirely on the new information He Liming had supplied him.
The organization currently resides in Xue Yuan State. They had been running multiple illegal experiments there to mutate human subjects, who were originally aptitude users of the Human Alliance.
‘Xue Yuan is an even poorer place than the Sun cities.’
But when Qin Feng thought about the giant beast that had given birth to Bai Li, things seemed to be more complex than he thought.
‘An elect that could capture such a powerful spatial monster would not be just a random John Doe living in such a slump.’
Besides, this Z Organization had been a little too resourceful, judging by how seamless their infiltration was into the Three Cities along the Sun, the Four Cities of North Sea, and now Xue Yuan state.
‘It’s best for me to go and check this out myself.’
Qin Feng departed immediately with little hesitation.
***
It was the end of December. The more northern he went, the chiller it got. In Xue Yuan, half of the time in a year was spent in a snowy season.
Even the convenient hover copter could hardly enter this place.
“Such an ideal place to hide the filth. It’s so white on the surface but underneath it, everything is pitch black,” Bai Li lamented softly. She was staring outside the windows with brooding eyes.
At the same time, numerous people outside the car were trying to peek in.
“Sigh. A blizzard would cover up all the tracks. Pretty convenient for them.” Qin Feng resonated with Bai Li’s words and scanned the surroundings.
They had arrived in a very poor colony. In comparison, this place was even worse than in Han Town. Qin Feng did not see any stabilizer around.
What was this nonsense?
Qin Feng also did not find any F-tier aptitude users in the crowd. Most of them were the poorest of the poor. The few rare G-tier aptitude users had become the indisputable overlord in this town.
It was more like a village built by refugees rather than a colony.
There were only two cities in Xue Yuan state. One was known as Xue Yuan city, the other Winter Fort. The two cities were linked by a central highway. This highway was vital for Xue Yuan state as it was the only way the state was connected to the outer world. As such, it had unfortunately become a robbery hotspot targeted by the Dark Coalition.
Eventually, aptitude users from the dark force and humans abducted by them from Xue Yuan or other places began to gather around the highway and form a village.
This was the third village they had passed through.
Outside the window, a strong man hauled a shabby boy passed their hover craft. The sign of life had forgone the kid and a layer of frost could be seen on his face.
The kid was dead. He had been killed by the merciless cold.
