My Nemesis Always Wants to Kill Me - Chapter 135

At that moment, Qi Yuan couldn’t help but wonder what the Bishop usually did to his subordinates that would drive them to plot rebellion. No, among the numbered agents they’d encountered, only Richard and Leslie stood out as different. The others, no matter their personality, all appeared utterly reverent and loyal to the Bishop.

Qi Yuan did not completely trust Richard’s words.

Richard seemed to notice his suspicion. “If that still isn’t enough to earn your trust, I can tell you one more thing.”

Qi Yuan watched the finger Richard extended, listening as he said, “On the way here, the weapon we were transporting behind us has already locked onto the position of the storm’s eye.”

Qi Yuan’s face changed. “You were planning to wipe us out together with the storm?!”

A flash of light streaked in Richard’s vision; the next instant, a sharp sting grazed his neck, a chilling blade pressing against his skin.

Faced with Qi Yuan’s fury, Richard raised both hands before his chest in a gesture of surrender, shaking his head lightly. “Of course not.”

Qi Yuan’s eyes darkened. “Explain.”

The blade at his neck gleamed with dazzling golden light, searing in its purity. Richard could feel the very real threat it carried, if he didn’t give a satisfactory explanation in the next moment, that beautiful blade would slice off his head without hesitation.

Resolute. Decisive.

Richard inwardly decided to raise his estimation of Qi Yuan’s importance. Though the captain from H country wasn’t as powerful as the Vessel, he was still a formidable figure, and backed by the military. That could be useful to the plan.

The thought flashed by quickly. Richard maintained his harmless smile as he explained, “That weapon isn’t meant to attack you. If my intention were to kill you, I wouldn’t have waited until now.”

If their goal was their lives, they could have simply fired a missile the moment they and the storm’s eye were clustered together.

Realizing how close they had brushed past death, even Qi Yuan’s heartbeat quickened, a trace of dread creeping in.

Awakened ones were stronger than ordinary humans, but nowhere near strong enough to withstand a missile unscathed. Against the destructive power of modern top-tier weaponry, almost no one could escape unhurt, not even Ming Zhao.

Qi Yuan tightened his grip on the blade. “What’s happening outside right now?”

Lu Xiuyuan and the others were still out there. If a missile struck, they would have no way to escape.

The blade pressed deeper into Richard’s neck. Golden light touched flesh, and its pure, overwhelming force immediately purified the pollution within, black smoke seeping from the wound.

Richard said calmly, “Captain Qi, rest assured. Without my order, they won’t act.”

“After all, I came here to seek cooperation, didn’t I?”

From the side, Ming Zhao finally spoke: “That weapon, do you mean it as sincerity, or as a threat?”

While silent, he had been observing Richard. Certain familiar traits made it easy to confirm this was a man false to the core, arrogant, bred from an elite class.

Such people always sought maximum benefit. Their pride would never allow them to be mere pawns. Like beasts watching their master with predatory eyes, they’d strike the instant they saw a weakness.

Which meant Richard’s words could only be half-believed.

Killing the Bishop might be one motive, to cast off subjugation. But another was surely to replace him, to become the new leader of the Heretic God Organization.

Ambitious humans, he dared to stand before them with such composure, inviting them to cooperate. His leverage, of course, was the lives of Lu Xiuyuan’s people outside.

Richard had laid it out plainly: if they agreed to cooperate, it was a token of sincerity. If they refused, it became a threat.

Facing Ming Zhao, Richard’s smile tightened slightly. Some instinct made him wary of this unreadable man. “Naturally, it’s sincerity.”

Qi Yuan gave a short, scornful laugh. “I call it a threat.”

The worst part was, even knowing it was a threat, they still couldn’t ignore it. The feeling was suffocating.

Ming Zhao said evenly, “Since you came to me, I assume you’ve done your homework.”

tentacles surged out from behind him, thick and pitch black, like monstrous serpents. Their skin glistened with slick, cold mucus as they writhed slowly in grotesque shapes. Enshrouded within them, Ming Zhao’s calm expression and striking features formed a haunting, eerie beauty.

Richard’s face tightened slightly, and Leslie couldn’t help but cry out, “Richard!”

Ming Zhao ignored their alarm. “Then you should know, I have an ability. If I kill you, I can obtain all your memories.”

His tone was meaningful. “No matter what they are.”

This was half-truth, half-lie. He did have such an ability, but as with the memories he once extracted from No. 2, anything related to the Bishop remained hidden. To gain complete information, he would still need Richard to speak. But Richard didn’t know that.

The moment Ming Zhao said it, Richard’s expression changed drastically. He stepped back, and Leslie moved forward to shield him, wary eyes fixed on Ming Zhao.

Ming Zhao’s voice was cold. “Do you really think, if I wanted you dead, you could stop me?”

Richard’s smile carried a chill. “Mister Ming Zhao, you could kill us. But let me remind you: ten minutes from now, if my men cannot contact me, they will fire the missile.”

Just as Ming Zhao had predicted, Richard bared his fangs.

Ming Zhao: “That’s fine. I’ll deal with them all within ten minutes.”

Richard stared straight at his face, searching for a hint of jest, and found none. He was serious.

Richard turned to Qi Yuan. “Captain Qi, do you feel the same way?”

Smart as he was, he had already discerned the bond between them and tried to use Qi Yuan to shift Ming Zhao’s stance.

Ming Zhao met Qi Yuan’s gaze and smiled. A tentacle slipped unseen to brush against Qi Yuan’s palm.

Qi Yuan’s fingers squeezed it briefly, then released, his silent reply.

Their exchange of information was completed in that subtle gesture.

Qi Yuan said, “I think his idea is fine.”

Richard’s smile stiffened. “Captain Qi, even if that group includes innocent people, you’d let Mister Ming Zhao slaughter them?”

H Country’s national principle differed from M Country’s: the people’s well-being was paramount, woven into every part of society. Soldiers there never harmed innocents; they did everything possible to protect ordinary lives.

Richard’s earlier confidence stemmed from holding those innocent lives hostage, convinced Qi Yuan wouldn’t abandon them.

But now, his plan seemed to be unraveling.

Qi Yuan asked, “Richard, you’re from M Country?”

“More or less.”

Qi Yuan: “And which country am I from?”

Richard hesitated, as if sensing a trap. “…H Country.”

Qi Yuan’s smile was sharp but humorless. “You, an M Country man, don’t care about their lives. Why should I, from another country, care for them?”

Damn it, this man wasn’t like the soldiers he had pictured at all.

Seeing their unyielding stance, Richard’s face darkened. But only for a moment, he quickly adjusted his expression, regaining his refined demeanor. With a sigh of regret, he said, “It seems we won’t see eye to eye for now.”

He pulled Leslie back a step. “Then let’s hope that next time, we can hear that you’ve changed your minds.”

They were trying to escape!

Qi Yuan stepped forward, but Ming Zhao’s tentacles were faster, striking out like lightning toward their hearts.

Leslie tried to resist, but his strength was nothing before Ming Zhao.

Two tentacles pierced straight through their hearts, punching bloody holes through their chests. Richard’s eyes flew wide open, as if he hadn’t expected death to come upon him so quickly.

His gaze brimmed with resentment and unwillingness, but all of it was futile. A mouthful of blood burst from his lips. The tentacles withdrew from his chest, leaving his body without support, he collapsed on top of Leslie.

The tentacles, disgusted by their blood, wiped it off onto their clothing after pulling free.

Qi Yuan walked over. “Why did you actually kill them?”

He had thought Ming Zhao was just putting on a show to scare them into talking. He hadn’t expected Ming Zhao to strike so decisively, giving them no chance to react.

Ming Zhao retracted his tentacles. “Don’t worry. They won’t die.”

Qi Yuan looked at their bodies. Sure enough, if they were truly dead, their corpses should have dissolved into motes of light. But now, both bodies lay intact.

“What’s going on?”

Ming Zhao tilted his chin toward Leslie. “That one, he displayed the abilities of No. 2, No. 8, and No. 12 before. So I suspect he also inherited the Clown’s ability.”

The Clown’s power was resurrection. Before, even a puddle of blood could regenerate into a whole body. Now, with Richard and Leslie’s bodies still intact save for the holes in their chests, revival would be all the easier.

Ming Zhao walked up to their bodies and crouched, rummaging through them.

Qi Yuan asked, “What are you looking for?”

“Found it.” Ming Zhao fished a transparent energy core out of Richard’s pocket and handed it to Qi Yuan. “This is the storm’s energy core.”

Qi Yuan accepted it. “So they really were the ones who took it.”

The core was clear, glimmering in the sunlight. If crushed, the storm would be completely annihilated.

Ming Zhao: “Absorb it.”

He had already probed the power within. Though the storm was classified as an A-level calamity, its polluted energy was already approaching S-level. Qi Yuan was only a step away from S-class himself, absorbing it would push him through.

Qi Yuan didn’t argue. He nodded.

Ming Zhao: “They should need some time before they revive. You can enter my space, it will let you ascend safely.”

Qi Yuan had been inside Ming Zhao’s space before, and the impression was not good. He always carried some wariness, especially since Ming Zhao had once implied he might lock him in there.

He had never been sure if Ming Zhao was joking or serious, but deep down he felt the latter more likely. Just hearing the suggestion now made his back prickle with unease.

Qi Yuan steadied his expression. “Isn’t your space static?”

Ming Zhao smiled faintly. “Once I reach S-class, I’ll be able to control the flow of time inside.”

Qi Yuan: “…Ming Zhao, you’re not scheming something, are you?”

His doubt was strong and plain. Ming Zhao’s fingers unconsciously rubbed together. “Of course not.”

Seeing Qi Yuan still on guard, he added, “Given the situation, we may have to stay in M Country longer. Who knows what else we’ll face. Use this time to absorb the core, once you’re S-class, you’ll have far more certainty against our enemies.”

His words were logical, his expression earnest.

Qi Yuan stared at him for a long while, until his eyes grew sore, but found nothing suspicious. At last, he entered Ming Zhao’s space.

Ming Zhao smiled as he watched him go in. When the crack closed, his smile faded. He kicked the corpses on the ground. “You should wake up now.”