Free Web NovelChapter 319: Chapter 319: I Can’t Leave You Behind
Before the Execution Team journeyed to this world, Lin Qing arranged a meeting with Honglian.
This meeting was for no other reason than to add an extra layer of insurance for her. Lin Qing pretended to contact Shixin using her phone, then pointed the camera at Honglian, allowing Chen Xuan to conduct a formal transaction with her.
He took the green version of the "Encyclopedia of Ancient and Modern" from her and granted her the "Special Eating" ability. At that time, Honglian was quite resistant to this ability, but after some persuasion from Lin Qing, she reluctantly agreed. However, for Chen Xuan, the ability itself wasn’t the main point; it was only through a formal transaction that the store could register her as a customer.
This way, he could summon Honglian to the Ability Store at any time.
Of course, unless it was a last resort, Chen Xuan wouldn’t play this card — once Honglian returned to the store, it meant she would have access to the core of the Ability Store.
Moreover, he would enter her field of vision as well.
Unlike Lin Qing, who can forge her identity at will and isn’t afraid of being tracked by cameras, having his real name known by the agency members still posed some risk.
"I know what you are worried about," Lin Qing said again, "but just like I believe in you, you should also believe in me... Honglian is destined not to side with the agency, she is worth us doing this."
Chen Xuan pondered for a moment and agreed, "Alright, I’ll summon her back now. You get out of the hotel quickly."
"Got it."
The communication ended, and Lin Qing had clearly started to take action.
Chen Xuan also opened the operations panel and located Honglian’s name.
"Hehehehe..."
Suddenly, a withered laugh caught his attention. He turned his head to see the situation in the hall had changed again — while two demons were bowing their heads and pleading with Xiao Canong, an elder demon suddenly laughed.
"Do you know, Mr. Xiao, I have always been fantasizing about a scene: someday, invite all demons to Cui Ting Building, and then blow them all up in one go. In this way, their wealth, resources, and puppets would all belong to me. Or, if I’m driven to a dead end by my enemies, just when they’re smug, I give them the final blow, obliterating all their hopes."
Xiao Canong had no reaction yet, but Zhang Yingzi and Zhao Zhilei’s expressions changed. freёwebnovel.com
"What are you trying to do, Old Qi!?"
"I... placed a bomb beneath this building a long time ago, its power is enough to turn half a city into dust. I have many enterprises in Jiang City and cultivated a large number of puppets, but since soon they will not belong to me, why should I leave them to others?"
Chen Xuan couldn’t help but be stunned.
A bomb powerful enough to destroy half a city?
... Could it be a nuclear bomb?
Xiao Canong frowned instantly, and two Arbitration Court ability users darted over simultaneously, breaking the elder’s throat with a palm strike, and dislocating his only remaining arm, preventing him from speaking while thoroughly searching him.
"No remote control device found!"
Old Qi kept coughing, frothy blood oozing from the corner of his mouth. He was evidently in extreme pain, yet a look of relief appeared on his face.
Seeing this expression, Chen Xuan’s heart sank to the bottom.
"Get in the elevator first!" he turned and shouted to Liuli.
"It’s a contract!" Zhao Zhilei’s panicked voice came from the monitor, "He must have signed a contract using death to gain freedom after fulfillment! He’s not the one controlling the explosion!"
Xiao Canong couldn’t help but shout at them, "Where are the other artifacts placed? If the Cui Ting Building is blown up, what will happen to these artifacts!?"
The two didn’t answer, but their expressions spoke volumes.
Artifacts are not eternal and indestructible; their hardness generally corresponds to their simulated objects. If an explosion can destroy buildings and cities, the artifacts will also be unable to escape unscathed.
"Don’t let him die!" Xiao Canong shouted.
"His heart’s stopped, quick, inject a stimulant."
"There’s a capsule in his mouth, it’s poison!"
Although the Arbitration Court ability users tried immediately to keep the demon alive, anyone could tell that this aged demon only had a few seconds left before he truly expired.
It was all too late.
Suddenly, a dazzling flash of light came from outside the window, turning the entire room a blinding white. Chen Xuan squinted slightly and turned his head to see the base of Cui Ting Building, across the street, being enveloped by an explosively expanding ball of light, its speed astonishing even under the deceleration of the Divine Eye Technique. Several nearby buildings began to melt, and even before the glass curtain walls shattered from the blast, they were already emitting smoke from the intense light and turning into flowing lava.
The temperature in the rented room also rose sharply, the curtains and bed sheets ignited by the intense light, and black spots appeared on the once pristine white wall paint. Chen Xuan felt a surge of Spiritual Qi enveloping him, similar to when he was in space earlier — the Celestial Mist Skill was desperately protecting him from being set ablaze.
The people on the street were not so fortunate.
First, flames sprouted from their clothes and hair, quickly spreading all over their bodies. Yet, they remained still, maintaining their previous postures: some jogging, some listening to music, some chatting with acquaintances... It wasn’t that they were fearless, but that their nerves had yet to send pain signals back to their brains.
—The entire process occurred within milliseconds.
Qi-surnamed demon wasn’t bluffing them.
He spoke the truth... the entire city was his weapon, how many people would die was never within his consideration.
The surveillance screen turned off and was filled with black and white static.
Chen Xuan flicked his finger, simultaneously activating the guest invitation and manager recall.
Before the world-ending shockwave could appear, he only felt a blur in front of his eyes, and the next second he was back in the main store.
Lin Qing was there too, appearing unharmed, only her expression was extremely shocked.
She looked around blankly until her gaze landed on Chen Xuan’s face, "Why did you use the recall on me?"
Even though she left the guestroom, she could still see the surveillance footage through the hotel’s wireless network. Almost the moment she landed, Lin Qing realized what had just happened.
Chen Xuan didn’t recall Honglian; he recalled her!
The guest invitation ability... can only be used once a day!
In an instant, an indescribable emotion surged into her mind, so vast that it caused a trace of chaos in her artificial body, and she staggered a bit out of control.
Chen Xuan took a deep breath; the scene they had just survived left him in lingering fear.
"I’m sorry, I couldn’t just stand by and watch you get left behind, even if the other party was a key figure in changing the future..." he paused slightly, "besides, don’t worry yet, my choice was correct, Honglian is still on the guest list."
"What does that mean?" Lin Qing asked incredulously, "Is she still alive?"
"Yes, theoretically she is." Chen Xuan said as he approached the bar-side elevator, took a deep breath, and opened the elevator door.
"Wow, how did you get here before me?" Liuli asked, hands behind her back, with a face full of smiles.
"Phew..." only then did he truly relax. Despite seeing Liuli enter the branch store elevator a few seconds earlier, he had worried she might have been left in that world, but now it seemed that this spacious elevator car was the store’s only safe zone.
"Did you already guess that Honglian wouldn’t be in danger?" Lin Qing couldn’t wait to ask.
"Not completely sure." Chen Xuan made coffee for the three of them to calm their nerves, "When the demon said the hotel would be blown to smithereens, Xiao Canong’s primary concern wasn’t his own safety but the whereabouts of the artifacts, which tacitly suggested the space they were in likely wouldn’t fear explosions like that."
"But the Execution Team hadn’t entered the conference hall yet —" Lin Qing suddenly realized, "Was it Zhang Yingzi?"
"Right, I suspect Zhang Yingzi had already packed the entire Execution Team into the resting room, so even if the fight outside got intense, they never stepped out. Because Honglian and the others already weren’t there."
"...That makes sense." Lin Qing contemplated, "In that case, Zhang Yingzi likely can carry multiple space containers simultaneously, to pack different people in batches."
"That’s what I think too." Chen Xuan smiled, "But it’s not completely ruled out that the guess could be entirely wrong. After all, Xiao Canong could summon ability users from the Arbitration Court, maybe another expert could have stealthily transferred them away." freewebnøvel.com
"Really, don’t scare me like that next time." Lin Qing downed her coffee in one gulp, "If the bet had gone wrong, the consequences would have been catastrophic."
"It wasn’t a bet," Chen Xuan shook his head, "I would surely do it again, even if I knew Honglian was about to be caught in the explosion."
She couldn’t help but freeze.
"Just like I said earlier..." Chen Xuan looked at Lin Qing, "Compared to things that may happen in the future, I can’t bear to watch you being left behind right now."
Their eyes met.
Lin Qing’s face flushed instantly.
