Volume 1, Chapter 36: Exhausting One's Wits

Crash! Rattle!

Raise the heavy sniper rifle, aim at the target, sling it over his back, and run for dear life.

That was Qi Fengling’s state in the lobby on the first floor of the skyscraper. Faced with the vines spreading across the sky and ground, he could only raise his rifle again and again, then lower it again and again.

There were only fifteen bullets left—every shot meant one fewer. His target now was not these vines, but the Gielara Flower behind the reception desk, the creature controlling everything.

A corpse lay just behind them to the right. It had not been dead long, and decomposition was already underway. Flesh always attracted swarms of insects, though their traces were harder to detect at night than during the day. The corpse might have been buried deeply, or disguised particularly well, but wood-boring insects could get through any crack and had long since revealed its location.

When a gentle breeze brushed the branches of the trees and the flowing river stirred with faint ripples, a heart-rending roar nearly echoed throughout the mountain forest.

As Han Rui’s subordinate, Song Yan had scarcely left his side since Han Rui awoke from his deep slumber, perhaps afraid that he might die again.

There were many technicians, but truly capable ones were rare. Anyone who mastered core technology had always been a company’s most prized asset. Such positions, however, required the corresponding abilities; no one could enter the core team from the very beginning.

In Fusu’s view, the realm should be governed through benevolence. People could be put to death in the course of ruling, but not with the viciousness and brutality his father had shown.

Bai Xinyu naturally had no objection to their actions. Snake skins were valuable things, after all. The white ones could be used to make ritual robes. As for the black ones, she had yet to think of a use for them, but considering how potent the two-headed python’s venom was, its shed skin was surely valuable as well.

Watching Li Xiang chatter on endlessly as he instructed the guard holding the red panda, Li Chengqian knew from his earnest expression that he had found a kindred spirit.

Perhaps only the Bloodfang Shaman, who still lay stiffly on the deck, was truly accustomed to such monotonous and tedious days and nights.

But she had been poor at judging people. She had never known what sort of man Ji Gaoyi really was, nor realized what kind of tiger’s den she had entered, and thus had squandered her life at such a young age.

All court memorials and state ceremonies were subject to his participation in deliberations over their merits and defects. Any criminal sentence of exile or harsher punishment was reviewed and submitted by him. His salary, clerical staff, and other privileges were the same as those of an official in active service.

The program continued to air, and Sun Jing ultimately emerged victorious. When netizens learned the result, they did not feel that it was unfair in the slightest.

Thus Ye Tian thought that there was nothing wrong with obtaining the information he needed, taking advantage of her in the process, giving her a sound beating, and finally killing her.

During their brief time together, Yan Bei had more or less seen through Yang Feng and Liu Bao. Though one was a Xiongnu and the other had come from the ranks of the rebels in Bingzhou, neither was especially headstrong or unruly. If they could treat each other sincerely, they might even become the subject of a fine story in the future.

That was not all. To protect Nanjing and the surrounding regions, even these few aircraft could not all be deployed here.

He handled the advisers in his general’s residence with ease, so the provincial government was not a problem. The greatest difficulty instead lay in the vacancies among the official posts in the various commanderies. Zhuo Commandery had only its governor, Ju Zong, and the magistrate of Zhuo County, Xu Miao. The governor of Liaoxi Commandery and most of its county magistrates were also absent. Youzhou alone had seven or eight vacant posts ranked at two thousand piculs; judged solely by its official system, it was practically on the verge of collapse.

“The Ultimate Skin Project was largely completed under the direction of that unknown person you mentioned!” Copperfield said solemnly.

“If I take both of you with me, I doubt either of us will make it out alive. It seems I can only abandon one of you.” After struggling for a while longer, the High Priest spoke helplessly. This was already the situation even without Kunpeng taking action. If he truly intervened, the consequences would certainly be even more unimaginable.

“Old Tianji, since you have appeared, I will surely find you.” Lingxiaozi suddenly stopped as he walked, raised his head toward the sky, and declared with resolute determination.