The four bodies were carried out of the Parc des Expositions de Villepinte, and Jacqueline Eva arrived just as the vehicle the bodies were loaded on drove off. A French National Security agent walked to her and spoke to her in a low whisper, putting an evidence bag in her hand as he spoke.
The evidence bag contained the guns, wallets and so on of the members of the Knights Hospitaller, including the clip which Xia Lei had quietly gotten rid of. Xia Lei had removed the clip but pushed it into the pool of blood around Soren’s body after he had been killed. He had done that for a purpose — how had his bullet clip fallen out? What did it have to do with him?
Xia Lei watched Jacqueline Eva talk quietly with that agent and deciphered their conversation with lip-reading. However, they were just talking about the processes of the matter. The agent spoke, Jacqueline Eva listened, interrupting occasionally to ask something. A conversation like this was not very meaningful to Xia Lei.
His gaze went to the four body bags. His left eye twitched, and the contents of the bags entered his vision. He quickly saw that all four bodies had a tattoo of the Knights Hospitaller crest on their chests. Their identities were beyond doubt. The French may have been the ones to kill these four, but Xia Lei’s mood sank. The Knights Hospitaller would soon know of this, and send more Knights to him. This was not the end of it — only the beginning.
‘The Knights Hospitaller call that piece of silver-coloured metal the “Metal of the Gods” and see it as a sacred item. But from what da Vinci wrote in his notebook, Zhu Xuanyue was the one who had given it to him. He’d studied it but gotten no results, unfortunately. Would Zhu Xianyue have stolen the sacred item of the Knights Hospitaller in the Middle Ages? Or could the metal have belonged to Zhu Xuanyue, then fallen into the hands of the Knights Hospitaller? It looks like it’s just a part of a sword, but even the skill of modern swordsmiths have not reached that level of workmanship. Where did it come from?’ Xia Lei was awash with questions.
Jacqueline Eva ended her conversation with the agent and walked up to Xia Lei. She gave him a hug without speaking.
A gentle, boneless pressure brought Xia Lei a bout of softness, and he relaxed quite a bit. The annoying questions left his mind.
“Are you all right?” asked Jacqueline Eva in concern.
“I’m fine, thanks.” Xia Lei said gratefully, “Good thing your people made it in time, or I would have been a goner.”
“You are sure that these are the people who kidnapped you?” Jacqueline Eva looked straight into Xia Lei’s eyes.
Xia Lei smiled wryly. “They wore masks the last time and I didn’t see their faces, but I think they are from the same group. Looks like I have to hide in the hotel and not come out. It is just too dangerous outside.”
Jacqueline Eva gave a laugh. “Poor you. Looking at you now, I’ve just realised that wealth like yours is not a happy thing.”
“Yeah. Having money does not guarantee happiness.” Xia Lei changed the topic. “Oh, right. Have you found out the background of these people?”
“I don’t know. We’re still investigating. There were no identification documents in the evidence we collected.”
“What about the people the last time?”
“We have no leads on them either, but we are investigating. I believe we will have some results soon,” said Jacqueline Eva.
Xia Lei stopped with his questions. He was convinced that Jacqueline Eva knew of the existence of the FA, and he had heard Dark Mona’s name, but she had kept this from him. This, coincidentally, was the result he wanted. He was playing a “victim” in this matter, and he had played his role well.
The four corpses were taken away. Xia Lei answered from investigative questions next, then returned to the hotel.
He received a call from Amanda in the lift.
“Boss, we just found out about what happened. You should leave France.” Amanda’s voice was filled with worry.
“This exhibition is very important to me. I won’t leave.”
“Then let me stay by your side. If something like what happened before happens again, those guys won’t get a chance to harm you if we are by your side.”
“No need. You guys can take care of the perimeter. The French are protecting me, and they are watching my surroundings. Your identities will be exposed if you stay close to me.”
“But we are all worried about you.”
Xia Lei gave a laugh. “Thank you, but do you think that I wouldn’t be able to handle four of those so-called Knights? If I’d wanted to kill them in the Parc des Expositions de Villepinte, they would be meeting their God as soon as I’d discovered them. I did not want to make a move myself — I just borrowed the hands of the French to kill them.”
“All right. Let’s keep in contact.” Amanda hung up.
The most impressive person in the Zodiac Team was not one of the members, but Xia Lei. The members of the Zodiac Team knew this very well.
Xia Lei walked out of the lift. The two Special Forces soldiers standing at the doors looked at Xia Lei expressionlessly. Xia Lei walked past them and headed to his room. There were two more Special Forces soldiers by his room door, armed to their teeth. Agents and Special Forces soldiers were also stationed at the stairwells and balconies. Protection like this was comparable to that given to heads of state. What need was there for Xia Lei to mobilise the power of the Zodiac Team with protection of this level?
The French could hold off the pressure of the CIA for him, so the Knights Hospitaller were not even worth mentioning.
Back in his room, Xia Lei received a call from Fan Fan.
“The higher-ups have agreed. If you really can get the avionics and stealth technologies, your debts to the bank will be written off,” said Fan Fan.
“That’s great.” Xia Lei couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face.
“What are the views of the French on this?”
“They are still in discussion, but I think it will be no problem. Once they’ve decided, I will start on the exchange. I’ll need you to send people over to receive the technologies they’re putting up on offer when that happens.”
“That would be no problem. I’ve done you a huge favour, and you’ve also made over two billion. How are you going to thank me?” Fan Fan’s voice carried a teasing tone, and it was rather seductive.
Xia Lei laughed. “What would you like?”
“I’m not interested in money. You know what I want. I’ve finished my research on the antidote and I’m looking forward to your return every day. I want a miracle baby.”
“Mm… no problem.” Xia Lei agreed without hesitation, but not without a headache.
This day had to come sooner or later. Fan Fan had already concocted the correct antidote, and made preparations to become pregnant. It was time for him to decide if he wanted this child or not. He had the counter-antidote prepared long ago, but his desire to have a child was also very strong.
After his call with Fan Fan, the faces of women appeared in his head, one by one.
Long Bing was the sort of woman who was prepared to give her everything to the country. Her love for the country was above all else, so she definitely was not going to be very willing to bear him a child.
Tang Yuyan was no problem, for sure. But if he wanted her to give birth to his child, he would need to marry her and join the Tang Sect.
Liang Siyao was also no problem, but a broken mirror was difficult to mend. He was still unable to forget the hurt from her betrayal.
Shentu Tianyin was also no problem but the hurt she had dealt to him was greater than Liang Siyao. He had given everything of his to her back then, but she had chosen to let him take the blame, and had chosen Vientaine Group over him. This was a very difficult hurdle for him to cross. How was he to have a child with her with this hurdle in place?
That left Jiang Ruyi. She would definitely be willing. She had even made a fuss about being pregnant in the past. It had turned out to be false, but she had been overjoyed at the time. If she really did get pregnant with his child, then she would definitely be over the moon. But did he really want to have a child with her? He hesitated at this question. He had only given in to her and been together with her when there was no other option. The affection in their relationship was beyond the bounds of love. Was having a child with her really the best choice?
Last were Sylvia and Annina. They were his lovers, but if he requested that they bore his child, the probability of Annina being willing to do it would be 90%, and 70% for Sylvia. His relationship with them was, however, simpler, like that of comrades-in-arms. He dismissed the thought without considering it much.
In the end, he burst out in a laugh as his heart grew bitter. He had many women, but there was not a single one with which he would want a child with. *
Night descended, but Paris did not go silent. It stretched on into the night, dazzling with its luxuriousness.
Jacqueline Eva returned to the hotel. She wore a white T-shirt and the black bra underneath could be seen. The short jeans shorts she had on just barely covered her buttocks when she was still. When she moved, white, tender skin flashed from under the shorts. New Balance sports shoes were on her feet, matched with ankle socks. Her slender ankles were exposed, beautiful and delicate, giving one the feeling she had been carved from white jade.
She had been classy and sexy like a noble lady last night. Today, she was lively and adorable, giving off a youthful vibe. She looked like a university student. She was the same woman, but she had a different style now, and her presence seemed to light up the room.
She was obviously such an attractive and sexy woman, but Xia Lei only greeted her and returned his gaze to the television. There was a news broadcast right then, and a reporter was talking about the weapons exhibition at the Parc des Expositions de Villepinte. The broadcast had been going on for dozens of minutes already but the reporter had not said a single word about the Thunder Horse Group. They had not even showed one shot of Thunder Horse Group.
Xia Lei’s cold attitude made the corners of Jacqueline Eva’s lips curl. She sat on the sofa too. “Don’t you want to ask about the result of their discussions?”
Xia Lei then looked away from the television. “What’s the result?”
“I’m not going to tell you anymore.” Jacqueline Eva looked annoyed.
Xia Lei returned his gaze to the television.
“Fine.” Jacqueline Eva smiled wryly. “They agreed. But they want to test out the Hellhound One-soldier Cannon in person.”
“How are they going to test it?”
“Tomorrow,” said Jacqueline Eva. “I will take you to a military area. They will test the capabilities of the Hellhound One-soldier Cannon. A VVIP will be present for the testing.”
“A VVIP?” Xia Lei was curious. “Who?”
“Bai Li’er.” Jacqueline spoke a name.
This name sounded like a Chinese person’s name, but in the world of English, it was “Beryl”. It referred to an emerald-coloured stone which represented luck, so this name meant that she was a lucky and beautiful girl.
“Who is she?”
“She is the chief assistant of Ms. Fosen, CEO of Lockheed Martin. She will be representing Lockheed Martin and watching the test,” said Jacqueline Eva.
Xia Lei paused.
