My Nemesis Always Wants to Kill Me - Chapter 134

The blond, blue-eyed man who had looked shy just moments ago curled his lips into a smile.
“Call me Richard, or No. 4. Either works.”

The moment that number was spoken, both Ming Zhao and Qi Yuan’s eyes flickered.

Ming Zhao’s tentacles shot toward Richard like lightning, but Richard still wore that same smile. The unfamiliar man behind him stepped forward, conjured a ball of water, and hurled it. The instant it collided with the tentacles, it exploded like a bomb.

A wave of vapor surged forth, dampening everyone’s faces. But the tentacles pierced through the mist without resistance, sweeping forward with overwhelming force.

The man grabbed Richard and yanked him back, flipping them both away. A backward somersault barely scraped past the tentacles.

But just as their guard lowered slightly, a tentacle suddenly appeared from the side, faster than either of them, and slammed into their waists. The two were hurled across the air, smashing into a wall before coming to a stop.

“Mmngh!” Richard groaned. Agony tore through his back, as if his bones were about to break.

Leslie collapsed beside him, coughing roughly, bracing a hand against the ground as he tried to rise, only for a tentacle to coil around his neck and hoist him into the air.

Blood flow to his head was cut off; Leslie’s face flushed crimson, veins bulging on his temples as his legs thrashed and his hands clawed desperately at the tentacles. “Cough, !”

Richard’s smile disappeared. He stood, staring at Ming Zhao.
“Ming Zhao, could you put my companion down first?”

Cold light glinted in his eyes.

Ming Zhao ignored him, gaze fixed on Leslie. “The mirror space, did you construct it?”

The earlier mirror space had reminded him of No. 2. The water sphere just now reminded him of No. 8. Most importantly, both abilities carried the same aura, that of the man now strangled by the tentacles, struggling desperately.

In his frantic scrabbling, Leslie’s hands unconsciously transformed into razor-sharp beast claws. They gouged deep scars into the tentacles. Thick fluid seeped from the wounds, gathering into droplets that slid down and spattered against the ground.

His eyes moved faintly, locking with Ming Zhao’s. After a moment, he gave a strained nod.

Ming Zhao released him. Leslie fell heavily to the ground. Finally free to breathe, he hacked violently. “Cough! Cough, cough!”

“Leslie!” Richard rushed forward to help him up, brows faintly furrowed.

Ming Zhao studied them both. One seemed weak, with little fighting strength. The other’s ability was strange, yet eerily identical to the powers of No. 2, No. 8, and even No. 12, all of whom he had already killed. These two didn’t resemble the numbered agents he had seen before. They clearly belonged to the same faction, yet in the shadows guarded themselves from each other. Still, their rapport seemed closer, their manner familiar.

“Who are you?” Qi Yuan asked Leslie.

Leslie coughed twice more before rasping, “Leslie.”

Ming Zhao: “And your ability?”

Leslie clutched his throat, about to speak, when Richard cut him off.

Richard stepped in front of him. “Ming Zhao, although we came here with sincerity, we’d still like to keep one card hidden. That way, our negotiations will be more… balanced, don’t you think?”

His expression regained its calm composure. At his words, Leslie really did close his mouth and said nothing more.

Clearly, between the two, Richard was the one in charge.

“Negotiation?” Ming Zhao’s tone held faint interest.

Richard smiled as if nothing in Ming Zhao’s presence was dangerous, even as tentacles floated in the air before him. “Yes, negotiation. Like I said, we’ve come with sincerity.”

Qi Yuan didn’t believe a word, suspicion sharp in his eyes. “You’re part of the Heretic God Organization, and you want to negotiate with us?”

Richard turned his gaze to him. “Captain Qi, I know it’s hard to believe, but that’s exactly it. I, and Leslie- ” he gestured first to himself, then to his companion, “the two of us want to negotiate a deal with Ming Zhao.”

He emphasized the two of us.

Ming Zhao arched a brow. “Just as individuals?”

“Yes.”

Ming Zhao had encountered the Heretic God Organization before. Every numbered agent who approached him carried the same purpose: to capture the vessel that was his body and take him back. Each one bore the organization’s deep marks, following a single master’s orders like obedient dogs.

Richard and Leslie weren’t the first members he had met. But they were the first who had gone to such lengths to lure him and Qi Yuan here, solely to speak with him, not on behalf of the organization, but as individuals.

That word individual carried meaning. Whatever they wanted to discuss, it came purely from their own will, unrelated to the Heretic God Organization.

Richard continued: “This space is still a mirror space. Thanks to Leslie’s ability, no one but us will know what we say here.”

He had been preparing for this for a long time, laying down countless contingencies, waiting only for the right moment.

The Bishop’s order to seize the vessel had reached the mind of every numbered agent at the same time. Over the years, the organization had tried to find vessels capable of hosting the descent of a god. But Richard had seen those so-called vessels: hideous, grotesque things. Even making them into vessels was an insult to divinity. Naturally, they were discarded and destroyed.

All those “vessels” had been found by local cultists or colleagues; the Bishop himself never concerned himself with them. Only this time… what kind of vessel could make the Bishop personally give the order? Richard’s curiosity was piqued. But at the time, he was far away in Country M, occupied with another mission. He had no chance to observe.

By the time he returned, he heard the shocking news: one colleague after another who went to capture the vessel had died at its hands. Even No. 2 had been killed. The Bishop flew into a rage.

And Richard thought, it was perfect.

His eyes gleamed with dangerous light. In that instant, destiny’s hand pointed him toward his opportunity. Perhaps that vessel was what he had been searching for all along.

The stronger the colleague, the lower the number. No. 2 had been brought into the organization by the Bishop many years ago, hidden in China all this time, second only in strength to the elusive No. 1.

Richard’s eyes glittered. If the vessel could defeat even No. 2, didn’t that mean its power surpassed his, and perhaps even neared that legendary No. 1?

Richard’s plan required a powerful partner. Before, it seemed hopeless. He had thought he would wait many more years. Until Ming Zhao appeared, an enemy of the Heretic God Organization, powerful beyond compare.

Who could be more suitable?

Ming Zhao looked at the smile on Richard’s face. “Including the one you’re trying to avoid?”

The meaning was clear. Richard’s smile deepened. “Exactly. This ability was created for today, to hide us from his gaze.”

His words carried volumes: bypassing the Heretic God Organization, hiding from the Bishop, seeking negotiation. And it wasn’t some impulsive idea, it had clearly been planned for a long time.

Qi Yuan lowered his brows, staring heavily at Richard. “What kind of deal do you want to make?”

By now, he too understood Richard wasn’t someone who played by the rules.

As soon as Qi Yuan spoke, Ming Zhao, who had just opened his mouth, shut it again, stepping back with ease, content to let Qi Yuan take the lead.

Richard glanced at him, then back to Qi Yuan. A flicker of understanding passed through his eyes. His gaze settled on Qi Yuan, his tone two degrees warmer than before. “The deal I want is one that benefits us both.”

All three others fixed their eyes on him.

With an unshakeable smile, Richard spoke as though delivering a stirring speech. His voice was warm, persuasive, almost magnetic.

“I want to ask the two of you… to help me eliminate the Bishop.”

At those words, the whole place fell silent.

Leslie, standing behind Richard, had expected this, yet when Richard actually spoke the words, his heart still thudded hard. His pupils pinched shut and his body tensed instinctively, bracing for the Bishop’s punishment for such insolence.

A few seconds passed, and no punitive reaction came from the Bishop.

Leslie’s rigid body relaxed in an instant. He only then realized a fine sweat had broken out on his forehead and back; a cool breeze ruffled the hairs on his arms.

He looked at Richard’s back, eyes flickering with a complicated expression.

Qi Yuan opened his mouth, unsure what to say in that moment.

He already knew Richard was restless, but he hadn’t expected Richard to drop such a bombshell the moment he arrived, actually proposing they take the Bishop down together.

“Why do you want to kill him?”

Richard tilted his head, seeming slightly puzzled by the question. “Of course it’s because I don’t want to be controlled, don’t want to be forced into a subordinate position.”

He narrowed his eyes; the bright blue of them seemed to flash with a cold light as if remembering something. “Don’t you feel like someone’s always forcing you to do things, like there’s a mountain pressing down on your head all the time? Isn’t that maddening?”

Ming Zhao lifted his eyelids and glanced at Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan wasn’t looking at him. “So you want to break free from his control?”

Richard smiled. “More or less.”

He didn’t give a fully affirmative answer, and Qi Yuan frowned.

“How am I supposed to trust you?”

Richard answered calmly, “You can verify. The names Leslie and Richard, that’s our real names. Check them. After you do, you’ll know why we don’t want to be controlled anymore.”

“You two must’ve met plenty of our colleagues,” Richard said with a light laugh that carried a hint of mockery, “but we’re not like those others. Those were people driven to desperation before the Bishop found and recruited them. Leslie and I, ”

He looked back at Leslie and smiled; Leslie said nothing but stepped forward to stand beside him.

Richard resumed: “Leslie and I have other options. We’re not like those people who have nothing left.”

“I know your organization wants to wipe us out. I can help you, I can provide intel. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement.” He tapped his temple with a finger. “Here, there’s confidential information about many organizations that almost no one else knows.”

“How do you know that?”

Richard’s smile brimmed with confidence: “Because I’m, well, trusted by the Bishop to some extent. Many things pass through my hands.”

Qi Yuan: …

So, this is an important confidant of the enemy, or an insider always plotting mutiny? Before they even had to search, he’d come offering himself up on a silver platter?