Free Web NovelChapter 330: Chapter 329: Target Locked: Taoist Yi Hong
Before long, local Lü Zon police arrived to clean up the scene. Because the state-affiliated Yangcheng Folk Orchestra was involved, personnel from the local Celestial Xia embassy followed the entire process. After taking statements, they escorted the orchestra members out.
Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi naturally went with the flow, claiming to know nothing. It wasn’t until they were back in their hotel room that they started whispering to each other.
"Do you think they were also wearing Golden Gang Bracelets?" Jiang Shishi asked.
Xiao Ya thought for a moment. "It’s possible. They didn’t look like Cultivators. Based on their movements, they seemed more like special forces."
Jiang Shishi asked curiously, "Then how did they have Golden Gang Bracelets? And why did they suddenly show up at the gold store? And... and they looked like they knew us?"
Xiao Ya’s eyes glinted. "It’s not that they looked like they knew us—they *do* know us. And their actions just now... it was more like they were protecting us."
Stunned, Jiang Shishi couldn’t help but pull the business card for the Taoist Cultural Exchange Support Office from her purse.
"This?" Jiang Shishi asked. "Didn’t Gu Zhao say we could call them if we had a problem? You don’t think they’ve been secretly protecting us all along, do you?"
Xiao Ya rolled her eyes at Jiang Shishi and took out her phone. "What’s there to guess? We can just call Gu Zhao and ask."
"RING... RING... RING..."
"No answer," Xiao Ya said, awkwardly putting her phone down.
Jiang Shishi burst out laughing. "I *knew* Gu Zhao’s phone wouldn’t go through! That’s why I was guessing!"
Xiao Ya huffed, pointing at the card in Jiang Shishi’s hand. "Gu Zhao said this office is a national-level power, but we’ve never heard of it. It must be a department that deals with the supernatural."
Jiang Shishi added, "That’s right. Those two men were Invulnerable, charging forward while taking bullets head-on. It’s definitely a supernatural power."
Xiao Ya’s eyes gleamed. "Gu Zhao is definitely connected to this office."
Jiang Shishi’s eyes practically turned into hearts. "So he asked the office to send people to protect us!"
The two women exchanged a look, solemnly confirming each other’s suspicions.
...
Meanwhile, the Taoist Office was immediately informed about the incident in Lü Zon.
"What a coincidence, running into a gold store robbery."
"Fortunately, the two Guardians acted quickly. Miss Xiao and Miss Jiang were only a little shaken up."
"The gold store’s surveillance footage was uploaded to the internet abroad. Although the video is blurry, you can still see that the two Guardians definitely weren’t wearing bulletproof vests. They charged head-on against four AR-15s, ignoring the bullets and their immense recoil, completely defying the laws of physics."
"Analyzing the video, it seems highly likely the robbers were about to take Miss Xiao and Miss Jiang hostage. If that had happened and they’d activated their Golden Gang Bracelets, the two young women would have been exposed to the public on the global internet."
"As it is, only the two Guardians were exposed."
"The video is generating a lot of buzz. This is the second time since the Berkeley incident that an Extraordinary Being has been filmed abroad. Lü Zon doesn’t have the ability to suppress the hype, so they can only let it spread."
"What’s the reaction on the internet abroad?" Zheng Hongsheng asked.
The presenter looked at the documents in his hand. "Netizens in Lü Zon believe they’re local superheroes, like Huaqi Country’s Superman, helping the weak and vanquishing evil. The entire country is celebrating."
The room fell silent.
"That’s... good," Chen Yao said with a wry laugh. "They have a good attitude."
"But while the Guardians’ exposure diverts public attention, it won’t fool those who are paying close attention. The members of the folk orchestra will definitely be a primary target for investigation."
"Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi once activated a Celestial Spirit Talisman in Siam, which injured Bansha and Mongkha in retaliation. That might attract attention," the presenter reminded them.
Zheng Hongsheng thought for a moment. "Invite Xiao Ya’s grandfather to be a guest at White Cloud Temple. Send more personnel to Yangcheng, and keep a close watch on the areas around White Cloud Temple and the Celestial Master’s Mansion."
"Yes, sir!"
...
"WTF! They dare to make a move in Lü Zon now?"
"Lü Zon is our turf! They held a referendum to join us back in the day; we just didn’t want them!"
Lately, a scattered but steady stream of videos showing certain ’special personnel’ from across the ocean being Invulnerable had been trickling in. However, those incidents all took place in hidden corners and were filmed by other special personnel, so they were never uploaded to the public internet and didn’t attract any outside attention.
But this video from Lü Zon was different. It happened in public, in broad daylight. A gold store’s surveillance camera on a commercial street is hardly covert, and any store employee could copy and upload the footage.
"Their local superheroes? Are these Lü Zon monkey natives kidding me?"
"Don’t expect too much from these uncivilized natives. After all, the Celestial Xia People look a lot like them."
"Hmph! The people of Celestial Xia are uncivilized natives, too!" someone spat viciously.
But another person retorted, "Running your mouth doesn’t make you stronger. The reality is that the ’natives’ you’re talking about have acquired power that’s beyond your ability to handle."
The man slammed his hand on the table. "We have nuclear weapons!"
The dissenter replied calmly, "That country has been preparing for nuclear war for decades. From their Third Front construction to the civil defense shelters in every urban residential complex, if you knew anything about them, you’d know that the threat of nuclear war doesn’t scare them."
Seeing the man was about to argue again, the old man leading the meeting tapped the table. "Frank, quiet down. The topic of our discussion today is not whether to go to war with the country across the ocean."
Frank fell silent, shooting a cold glare at the man across from him. "Lawrence, I hear you have a lot of business interests over there."
Lawrence shot Frank a sidelong glance. "I have more business interests in Huaqi!"
"Alright, alright, no infighting," a pretty-boy type interjected, trying to mediate. "The entire purpose of this organization is to deal with the sudden emergence of Extraordinary Power from the other side. So let’s not get off-topic by discussing nuclear war and business investments."
"While this video has caused a huge stir, it’s still just surveillance footage. Some people are questioning if it’s fake or staged, so we don’t need to worry about the hype it’s generating."
The old man leading the meeting stared at the video. "But from this video, we’ve managed to lock onto one of their Extraordinary Daoists."
"Who is it?" Frank asked eagerly, as everyone else pricked up their ears.
The old man gestured to the presenter sitting beside him. The presenter then switched the main screen and said, "After learning that their Extraordinary Beings might be connected to Daoism, we sent people to investigate the major Taoist Temples and famous Daoist mountains across the ocean. We compiled a list of Daoists as potential suspects, but we never had any proof."
"But this time is different. We found someone at the scene who has a connection to a Daoist on our list of suspects."
The presenter pointed to a woman in the corner of the video. "Xiao Ya, a musician with the Yangcheng Folk Orchestra. Her grandfather, Xiao Yanhua, has close ties to the Yandu White Cloud Temple.
Last year, Xiao Ya also participated in the Yangcheng Folk Orchestra’s tour of Southeast Asia. Two Mages in Siam took an unwelcome interest in her and her companion, Jiang Shishi, but the end result was that those two Mages ended up in the hospital.
Combined with this gold store robbery, where two Guardians suddenly appeared, and the fact that Xiao Ya’s grandfather visited White Cloud Temple afterward, we strongly suspect that Xiao Ya has an Extraordinary Level protective force around her. We believe the one giving the orders is a friend of Xiao Ya’s grandfather."
Suddenly, a photo of an old Daoist appeared on the conference room’s main screen.
The presenter stated, enunciating each word, "From the Yandu White Cloud Temple... Taoist Yi Hong!"
