Chapter 145: In A Rush To Die (IV)
Li Hao based his judgment on the fact that he saw mysterious power seep out around the balls of light and not surround the balls. This was likely due to minor cracks in the ice crystals.
Liu Long was fully confident now. He didn’t suspect anything as there was no need to suspect Yuan Shuo’s words.
“So we’ve determined their strength and attributes. What a coincidence that the Qiaos would invite you to prospect the mines. They threw their brains away!” Liu Long snorted.
Threw their brains away? Li Hao pursed his lips. Not at all. Beautiful thoughts filled them. If you weren’t here, they’d very likely find a way to kill me.
“Then now...”
“We go see Director Hao. What, did you think I was joking?” Liu Long looked at the young man with surprise. You’re a branch deputy director. How can you not greet your direct superior? What are you thinking, boy?
Li Hao thought for a bit and nodded. “What level Solar is Director Hao?”
“That’s hard to say.”
“Do you not know, chief?”
“How would I possibly know?” Liu Long shook his head.
Should I ask? With Hao Lianchuan as a baseline, I should be able to tell what level Qiao Feilong is. Is he peak Sunfare, initial Solar, or even stronger? In Li Hao’s eyes, the ball of light around Qiao Feilong was slightly weaker than Hao Lianchuan’s, but not by much. He was a bit weaker than Brokensky, but also not by much.
......
The car quickly stopped at the Law Enforcement building. Li Hao once more saw Hao Lianchuan, the powerhouse that his teacher had summoned to be their spare tire in the trunk.
Hao Lianchuan seemed quite congenial and smiled kindly. He showered Li Hao with praise as soon as he saw the young man, expressing how much the Night Watchers cared about Li Hao and their difficulties. They’d taken the sword of the Lis and would deliver their part of the bargain in return, but they needed some time.
In other words, typical bureaucratic jargon!
Li Hao didn’t mind and spoke plainly when Hao Lianchuan had gone on for a while, “Director Hao, my teacher says that you’re very strong and that he may not be able to beat you even though he killed Brokensky. My teacher says that Brokensky doesn’t count as a strong Solar, that Director Hao is stronger than him. Is Director Hao a mid Solar?”
Directly asking someone about their strength, particularly a subordinate to their superior, was a very rude gesture. It was a flagrant violation of custom!
But since the speaker was Li Hao, a student of Yuan Shuo’s that was yet to graduate... And the crux of the question being that Yuan Shuo had praised Hao Lianchuan and claimed to be inferior... Everyone loved praise!
Hao Lianchuan was no exception. A smile crossed his face without a hint of dissatisfaction regarding Li Hao’s words.
It was Liu Long who furrowed his brows. “Manners, Li Hao! Don’t ask what you shouldn’t! Director Hao was a Sunflare before and can only be an initial Solar now. It’s impossible for him to be a mid Solar so quickly!”
The two exchanged a few more pleasantries before Liu Long left. He’d confirmed Hao Lianchuan running the show tomorrow and the team’s absence wouldn’t elicit the director’s confusion or dissatisfaction. That was perfect.
They might even have time to join the reception after they were done killing people.
......
Hao Lianchuan thought things over after Liu Long left, finding something amiss, but unable to put his finger on it. Forget it, nothing major would occur when he was here. Although, did they need to bring Wang Ming and the others with them?
“But it’s just as well, that means Liu Long and the rest have accepted them. This is good!” Hao Lianchuan smiled with gratification when he thought of this point. Being able to meld together was naturally the best possible outcome.
......
A day swiftly passed by.
August 1st.
Silver City.
Qiao Mining Industries.
The office on the top floor.
Qiao Feilong stood in front of a window and overlooked the entire city. The moderately sized metropolis filled his field of vision. It was a clear day, but it somehow gave him a stifling feeling.
“The winds are about to blow!” murmured the white-haired Qiao Feilong.
This wind didn’t pick up only today. It brewed in Silver City when Red Moon lost a Solar to Yuan Shuo during their operation to capture the last heir of the eight families. There was no other place in Silver Moon at the moment that was more tumultuous than Silver City. Red Moon, Celestial, Yama, a few mid-sized organizations, and the Night Watchers were all watching the city. How much longer could the Qiaos hide themselves?
Once they were exposed, Yama would be the first to bring arms against him. He was the organization’s pawn in Silver City. Yama had only known bits and pieces about the eight families, but once they understood that Red Moon had made preparations in the city, they sent Qiao Feilong back since he was a Silver City native.
Qiao Feilong had only been a peak Slayer then. That had been a passable level of strength in that period, but completely negligible to Yama. They undertook these actions to put a thorn into Red Moon’s side.
No one expected that Qiao Feilong would actually find something in Silver City and glean many benefits from it. Unbeknownst to the untold number of those fighting grimly outside, Qiao Feilong quietly set foot into the ranks of Solars with none the wiser.
Yama would certainly send someone to kill him once word got out. Their leader might even come for a personal look. Silver City’s ruins were plainly much more incredible than previously thought if they could facilitate a Slayer without much battle experience into crossing over.
“Time to go!” Qiao Feilong murmured once more. Silver City was not a place to stay for long. It’d drawn too much attention after a Red Moon Solar died here. However, he was loath to leave like this because he hadn’t fully excavated the ruins.
He even felt that he’d skimmed only a bit off the surface—just that was sufficient to help him into the Solar level. If he could inherit it all, he would certainly advance beyond Solar and even create a supreme supernatural organization on par with the three great organizations!
It grated to give up like this! Greed existed in everyone. Not to mention, he’d already obtained certain gains. How could he bear to relinquish his fortune like this?
“Li Hao..."