They have yet to hire a new chef for their new residence so Xia Lei decided to cook tonight’s meal personally. He had a nine-person family, so dinner was bound to be lively.
All four of his children were freakishly smart. What came with that intelligence was also an incredible appetite. Their milk dosages were at least a few times larger than normal babies. It was no wonder the four new mothers were reluctant to spare some breast milk for their gigantic man-baby. There was barely enough!
Perhaps this was why the babies were able to crawl and speak at only one-month-old. His pair of sons and daughters were naturally gifted geniuses. They were destined to be out of the ordinary.
Finishing dinner, Xia Lei smiled at his wives. “My dears, we should sleep together tonight.”
“That sounds great. If you can help me put the children to sleep, I’ll let you do anything you want,” proposed Liang Siyao.
“Yeah, same for me.” Fan Fan was quick to speak up.
Jiang Ruyi smiled and said the same. “Here I was worried about having no one to put the babies to sleep. I’ll hug you to sleep and you’ll take care of them in return, yeah?”
Long Bing merely smiled and said nothing else. Despite becoming a mother, her personality remained the same. She was still as reserved as ever.
Xia Lei watched the four lively babies wriggling about in their arms. His heart immediately admitted defeat. “I… I wasn't able to sleep well last night. I hope you don’t mind taking care of the children yourselves tonight. I… I’ll go to work on the plane in the underground chamber.”
He quickly left, not willing to stay a second longer. He was worried that his four children would rope him into some odd game and Xia Lei would have to bid his work hours goodbye for tonight.
Xia Lei entered the underground chamber of his new residence. He had specifically requested for one back when he applied for a new safe house and the person in charge had dutifully seen it through. It was only a small request. This place was originally where the royal family and nobles had lived in the late Qing dynasty. Many of the houses here had underground chambers reserved for antique collections and wealth storage. Before Xia Lei had moved in, someone was mindful enough to hire a renovator to change the underground chamber into a workspace. Compared to its previous state, it was much safer and more hidden now.
He turned around and locked himself in with the specially-made alloy door, not giving anyone the chance to enter this premise without his permission. That prohibition extends even to his wives. The reason behind this was simple. The ancient alloy box, which was what Zhu Xuanyue had claimed to be the Box of the World, was placed in this underground space. Based on its tendencies to drive people to the brink of insanity and even lead to death, Xia Lei was not willing to risk the safety of his wives and children.
The ancient alloy box was not the only thing stored here. The silver armour set that Xia Lei looted from Malta Island and the crystal skull from Israel too was placed here. The Bronze Book and the compass from before were included as well.
He had lined everything up neatly on a workbench. Xia Lei studied them quietly while the items seemed to be staring back at him with equal intensity. The sensation he felt when looking at them felt almost too familiar yet uncomfortably unfamiliar at the same time. They had become a part of his life now but Xia Lei had no idea what they truly were and where they were from. All of these were questions he willed to seek answers for.
After a long observation session in silence, Xia Lei activated his eyes and dove straight into the contents of the ancient alloy box. Suddenly, the familiar and eerie sensation emerged once again. It felt as if it was trying to pull him into an endless abyss. He continued to plunge straight down with no end in sight. It took an unpleasant while for everything to calm down but all he felt was an ice-cold world surrounding him. Xia Lei could see and hear nothing. The odd hollowness of the environment made him like he was the only one left in the universe and all that was left to accompany him was endless loneliness and eternal despair.
Then, he placed his gaze on the crystal skull.
While using his vision powers on the crystal skull was admittedly more pleasant than using it on the ancient alloy box. The sensation was still something beyond ordinary tolerance. It gave off a similar sensation as the ancient alloy box. Xia Lei could feel a mysterious surge of energy trying to pull him into an eerie illusion. He braved the cold and darkness and finally saw a bright light. The white pristine light morphed into the shape of a door and Xia Lei urged to see what was hidden behind it. Sadly, things had turned out the same as his last experience. As soon as he neared the door, the illusion shattered and returned his consciousness to the real world.
Xia Lei compared both experiences carefully. Though both events gave off similar vibes, they were still different. There was a real tangible dimension within the ancient alloy box while the crystal skull was only showing him a figment of illusion.
And that was the difference that Xia Lei had concluded.
However, this conclusion did not seem to bear any further meaning.
Xia Lei couldn’t help but huff out a dry laugh. “I’m running out of time. Will I be able to unveil the ancient alloy box’s secrets before I die? Damn, it feels really grim. If it was that solvable, the prehistoric chosen one would’ve solved it long ago without a chance for it to fall into my possession.”
Xia Lei felt absolutely helpless.
“Nevermind. I guess it’s best to set these aside for the time being. I should really get working on the bomber plane and fighter jets. With this done, I’ll be able to die without regrets.” Xia Lei did his best to convince himself.
He closed his eyes, sat down and relaxed his body. Then, he allowed his mind to enter its optimum state. Without the need for pens, paper nor computers, his brain was able to get any design done regardless of its complexity.
His experience piloting the B2 bomber to cause mass destruction over Area 51 two weeks ago was incredibly valuable to him. The B2’s technical protection upheld by the American government could be described as abnormally tight. It almost too rare for someone to be up and close to the strategic stealth bomber
Xia Lei had no intention for his bomber to be an exact copy though. He was merely using the B2 bomber as a reference for a thorough understanding of its mechanism. The bomber he was going to design himself was intended to be something easier to manoeuvre, faster and more efficient. But of course, with the B2 as his main reference, his designs could easily surpass any existing models in any performance aspects!
Soon, the underground chamber had gone completely silent. Xia Lei seemed to be asleep but that was just a front. Almost every one of his brain cells was at work. All of his brain cells were outstanding researchers. His organs were not idle either. They were constantly pumping out and delivering nutrients to his brain. At this moment, while it seemed like he was soundly asleep, his physical and mental exertion had reached its extreme. This was not something any ordinary person could withstand.
After an uncertain amount of time, Xia Lei finally slid off the chair and went unconscious.
He was completely capable of shutting down his mind and stopping the exertion. Yet, Xia Lei did not wish to stop his efforts for he had reached a vital point. Some days, your brain would be able to pump out impressive ideas and ideas smoothly but as soon as you stop, it would be difficult to achieve the same performance afterwards.
Doot doot doot… Doot doot doot…
A signal receptor was installed in the underground chamber, which so happened to be the culprit disrupting the comfortable silence.
Xia Lei roused at the ringtone of his satellite phone. He struggled to climb up and reach the device. As soon as he recognized the number on the screen, the man immediately felt energized. He quickly answered it, “Father, it’s me.”
Xia Changhe was finally contacting him.
“Lei Zi, I’m running tight on time so listen closely,” said the familiar voice of his father.
Xia Lei’s heart sank ever so slightly. All of their phone calls shared the same opening. While he wasn’t a fan of this feeling, he could understand where his father was coming from. Xia Lei replied, “Alright. Go on.”
“You’re running out of time.”
Xia Lei froze. The prehistoric chosen one had given him a two-year time limit and there was only one year left to the clock. However, he had kept this secret all to himself. The only person he had told it to was Zhu Xuanyue. Xia Lei could not recall when had he mentioned it to Xia Changhe. The way he worded it felt like the older man had known something about it. Yet, how did he even learn about the secret in the first place?
“I’ve sent you an email. Go take a look,” instructed Xia Changhe.
Xia Lei quickly paced over to the workbench for his laptop.
His father’s voice continued to pour over the device. “There’s no rush. All I wish to say is in the email. Let’s talk about my grandchildren in the remaining time.”
Xia Lei halted in his tracks. “The children are doing well.” At the mention of his lovely children, Xia Lei’s heart began to grow softer. A smile now adorned his face. “I have four children now. Two sons and two daughters. Liang Siyao’s child took on her surname and Long Bing’s child is named Xia Long. Both of them gave birth to sons. Jiang Ruyi and Fan Fan birthed daughters. I named one Xia Jianghe and the other Xia Fan.”
“Hehehe…” Came Xia Changhe’s joyous laughter.
Xia Lei chuckled a little. “The four of them are crazy smart, especially Fan Fan’s daughter, Xia Fan. She could already speak clearly at one-month-old. The other three are about the same. Not only are they smart as hell, but they’re also growing faster than the normal children.”
“That’s good to hear. This is excellent news.” Xia Changhe murmured into the phone. “I’m relieved to know that our Xia family will have descendants.”
“Father, come home. There’s no need for you to resume your investigation efforts. Some things are just not meant for you to do. Come back soon. I can guarantee your safety and exempt you from any interrogation.”
Xia Changhe answered, “I know you mean well but this is my destiny. You have your destiny while I have mine.”
“Father, what are you trying to say?”
“The last AE capsule. When are you planning to take it?” Xia Changhe asked.
“I… I don’t know.”
“Perhaps you’ll be able to decide soon after reading my email.”
Xia Lei’s eyes fell on the laptop and he began to walk over.
“Alright, that’s it from me. I’ll contact you again next time,” said Xia Changhe.
Xia Lei flipped the laptop screen over and attempted to probe. “Father, where are you at the moment?”
“I’m in Italy. There’s no need to come for me. You won’t be able to find me even if you tried. Till next time.” With that, Xia Changhe cut the line.
Reluctantly, Xia Lei placed the satellite phone down. He moved to toggle his inbox and quickly located his father’s email. He opened it, took a good look inside its contents and immediately felt his spine go cold. The shock from its contents was coursing through his veins like electricity.
