Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Soft starlights gleamed in the endless darkness. This tranquil and beautiful scene continued to flash in Zhang Lisheng’s mind. However, it made him shudder inexplicably, almost making him faint on the spot.
If he had not cultivated his Witchcraft’s Gate of Sacrifice to Rank-5 Wizard allowing the wizard power surging in his soul to hold onto his last bit of sanity so he could indiscreetly use his entire force to snatch that Atlantis’ recorder’ off his brows, he would have long unleashed the sea of Gu in his blood. If that happened, he would have transformed into his strongest body to roar and howl while tearing the helicopter into pieces.
“Mr. Lisheng, Mr. Lisheng! What’s wrong?” When Someril saw Zhang Lisheng’s sudden abnormal behavior that looked like an emergency case, she stared at him with an astonished and suspicious expression for a moment before asking.
Zhang Lisheng did not understand why sticking the ‘recorder’ to register the Atlantis’ ancient history on his forehead would produce a feeling like that of a frog beside a snake den. Still, when he heard this question that sounded like it was purely imaginary, he decided that it was best not to tell the truth. After all, it would surely raise the attention of the Atlanteans. With a whirl of his brain, he fabricated a reason that sounded convincing. He replied in a stutter, “I-It’s nothing, Madam Someril. It’s nothing. T-The image that the ‘recorder’ was projecting horrified me too much. For a moment, I couldn’t accept it, s-so I… I-It’s really too horrifying…”
The fierce battle between the Atlanteans and the sea monster was indeed horrific and appalling. Still, Zhang Lisheng’s trembling and the way he curled his body up into a ball made him appear too much like a coward. This caused him to look as though he had a will that was even weaker than an ordinary Earthling. Naturally, it elicited contempt from other guys in the cabin who had watched the ‘recorder’ before.
However, when other people were secretly sneering, Someril looked at him in puzzlement. “The battle scene between our ancestors and the sea monster is indeed soul-stirring, but did you see the battle scene the instant you placed the ‘recorder’ on your forehead? I remember that there should be a short starlight scene at the beginning, that allows people to calm their mood down first so that buffering can…”
“Calm down? Oh Madam Someril, it’s exactly because of that short quiet starry sky in the beginning that caused the battle scene that appeared next to have a huge impact on my mental… Urgh, I don’t want to mention it anymore. I really don’t want to mention it anymore. I just want to calm myself down before the helicopter arrives Feren.” Zhang Lisheng, who had never seen any battle scene in the recording, was worried that they would see through him. Thus, he fabricated some lies and interrupted Someril once again before returning the ‘recorder.’
However, before the Atlantean woman took back the ‘recorder,’ his heart jolted, and he then forced a smile. “A man should be brave enough to face a challenge. It injures my pride too much that I don’t even dare to finish watching a ‘record.’ Madam Someril, can you lend me this ‘recorder’ for a few days? The plane is not a suitable place. I hope that I can slowly overcome the psychological obstacles and finish watching your ancestor’s ‘record’ when I’m alone.”
“Of course, but please take good care of it.” Someril hesitated a little before replying, “The core of this ‘recorder’ is an antique passed down from generation to generation in my family. Otherwise, I’d have given it to you as a token of friendship.”
“Thank you, Madam Someril, I can feel your sincere friendship even without a gift.” Zhang Lisheng took the opportunity to express his gratitude. “Alright then, for the sake of this sincere friendship, I decided to help you complete the investigation task for the Shrimp World No. 2. I’m just worried that my role will not be as useful as you think.”
“It’s great that you agreed to our request,” Someril said in a gratified tone, “Don’t underestimate yourself, sir. In a foreign world, a person like you who have successfully integrated into their indigenous society and achieved a good position will play a key role in the investigation.”
While the woman spoke, the helicopter slowly descended on the outskirts of the Feren city. Zhang Lisheng smiled and no longer said anything. Silently, he looked out of the window to peer at the new desert city. He soon saw that it was still bustling with crowds who had to live in tents that had become cold and desolate now. Secretly, he sighed in his heart.
The robust strength and friendly attitude that the Atlanteans demonstrated when they appeared had apparently stabilized the turbulent situation in each of the countries on Earth. The gradual reduction of immigrants who were willing to migrate to the Noah World was a visible sign. Still, a smart person could tell that such stability built with the help of other civilizations would inevitably mean that Earth would fall under Atlantis’ command.
“Mr. Lisheng, let us disembark,” The armed transport plane landed on the sand. Someril interrupted Zhang Lisheng’s thoughts and said with a smile.
“Yeah, we should go down.” The young man turned his head and smiled. He stood up and slowly walked down the helicopter before looking at the empty street not far away. “Mr. Colonel, are we going to the airport directly now?”
“Yes, Mr. Zhang. We found you faster than we thought, so you might have to wait a few hours in the terminal,” Larry nodded and said, “But if you’re lucky, you should be able to enjoy your dinner in New York tonight.”
“Hey, that’s really good!” Zhang Lisheng said with a thumbs up. The instant his words left his mouth, Someril suddenly smiled. “A sumptuous dinner is very desirable, but Mr. Li Sheng, before that, I think you should figure out when we should go to Shrimp World 2 after Christmas.”
“This is indeed a problem,” Zhang Lisheng calculated and said quietly. “According to the Earth’s calendar, December 25th is Christmas, and after that, I’ll take a day off to prepare. Well, why don’t we meet at the military base on the outskirts of New York at 10:00 in the morning on December 27th and then depart directly?”
“What a tight arrangement, I don’t have any objection,” Someril smiled in satisfaction. When they both agreed to the time, several black SUVs stopped beside the helicopter. Everyone boarded the car and headed to the airport in Feren city.
The distance between New Mexico and New York City was only a short half-day journey with the current modern transportation. However, when Zhang Lisheng arrived at JFK airport, it was already late at midnight.
When the plane landed, the young man immediately felt the chill of the night in New York when he walked off the plane. He looked up at the starry night sky then took out his phone to make a short call before politely bidding goodbye to the US intelligence officers and the Atlanteans. “Thank you for sending me back to New York, Colonel Larry. It’s time to say goodbye now. Madam Someril, please remember the time we agreed on. I’ll see you on the 27th.”
“Mr. Zhang, we’re departing from New York, so there are cars parked outside the airport. We can send you wherever you want…” Larry kindly offered to him.
“Oh, thank you for your kindness, Colonel. It’s alright, though.” As the top VIP who was provided a special car chartering service in the Manhattan airport 24 hours a day, Zhang Lisheng shook his head and interrupted the Colonel’s words.
Larry was about to say something more. However, at this time, he saw an extended black Cadillac limousine with a soft headlight parked beside Zhang Lisheng. A driver with a blue cap quickly walked out and went up to the young man to open the door before saying respectfully, “Good evening, Mr. Zhang.”
“Good evening, Mr. Driver,” Zhang Lisheng smiled at the driver politely and waved his hand at Larry. “Look, Colonel, my car has arrived,” he said before getting into the car.
“It’s really nice to be a billionaire.” Under the cold night sky, Larry looked at the limousine that was slowly moving away and shrugged at Someril. “Look, Sergeant Major Someril, I’ve said before that our target is a big personality. It’s fortunate that you and your subordinates have shown enough generosity and allow the situation to have a good ending.”
“Yeah, it’s fortunate that we have a good ending…” The Atlantean woman smiled and stared at Zhang Lisheng’s direction for a few seconds in silence before muttering to herself. At this time, the young man told the airport driver, “Go to Manhattan’s Four Seasons Hotel.”
“Yes, Mr. Zhang,” The driver responded with respect. He drove the black limousine out of the airport and cruised along the busy roads of New York City, sometimes slow and sometimes fast. About half an hour later, he stopped in front of the elegant entrance hall of the Four Seasons Hotel.
When the car stopped, the hotel attendant immediately rushed to help Zhang Lisheng to open the door. After getting a tip of 50 dollars, he diligently escorted the young man to the front desk and only left after the guest had entered his room.
Just like this, Zhang Lisheng stayed in the Four Seasons Hotel. The next morning, he got up early and strolled for over ten hours aimlessly in New York city. At 10 o’clock in the evening, he went in front of a nightclub that had a long queue on the East Side.
“Hey, buddy, you’ll have to slowly queue on the back if you want to have one last party before Christmas.” The sturdy, tall security guard who was as tall as a basketball player and had a snake tattoo on his arm guarded the nightclub entrance despite the low temperature of minus ten degrees. He looked down at the Asian young man who’s height just reached his chest and growled in a low voice.
“I was going to line up behind, but unfortunately, my two twin friends didn’t want to,” Zhang Lisheng smiled and reached his hand into his pocket.
“Stop playing trick…” Upon seeing his movements, the security guard grew nervous. When he was about to reach out and push the young man, he suddenly saw that the young man took out two hundred dollar bills.
“Look at how friendly my friends are. Their names are Franklin. They told me that they want to get to know you and even plan to go home with you. What do you think, Mr. Security?” Zhang Lisheng asked and stuffed the money into the black security guard’s hands.
“I’m honored.” the security guard rubbed his palm to make sure that it was a real banknote before courteously stepping sideways to make way for him. “Welcome to Midnight Madness.”
