NIP Chapter 63 I am the sky, which gang does he represent?
Chapter 63 I am the sky, which gang does he represent?
The capital city. The defense zone eighty meters underground.
The scalding hot tea that had spilled on the solid wood desk dripped down the edge of the desk, splashing onto the carpet.
Old Li didn't reach for a towel to wipe the water stains from the back of his hands. His gaze was fixed on the world map that took up the entire wall. The location of the high seas of the Pacific Ocean was marked with a glaring red circle.
Chu Jianguo stood in front of his desk. The back of his shirt was soaked with cold sweat.
"Commander."
Chu Jianguo lowered his voice, breaking the deathly silence in the command center.
"Lin Zhen is still waiting online. The Huanyu Building incident is too big. The media from Jiangnan City have already started heading there. This can't be covered up for long."
Old Li withdrew his gaze. He picked up the red secure telephone on the table. His finger hovered over the buttons for two seconds before pressing them down heavily.
"Received from the Cabinet Press Office."
The moment the call connected, the solemnity on Old Li's face was replaced by an undeniable coldness.
"A series of explosions have occurred on the main gas pipeline in downtown Gangnam City, affecting the Huanyu Building. The building's main structure has been severely damaged. Issue an official statement immediately. Keep all media three blocks away. Have the engineering corps take over the scene."
He hung up the phone. Old Li turned to look at Chu Jianguo.
"Tell Lin Zhen. From now on, for any action Lu Yuan takes in Jiangnan City, the Bureau of Extraordinary Immortals will only do one thing: cover it up. If he wants to kill someone, we'll help him cancel that person's file. If he wants to investigate someone, we'll send the information to him."
Chu Jianguo swallowed hard.
"Sir, we're essentially handing over control of a vital national asset. What if he gets upset someday..."
"Don't you understand yet!"
Old Li slammed his hand heavily on the table, making the empty teacup jump.
"He can crush even an A-level ability user from the S.H.I.E.L.D. like an ant. He can shatter half a meter thick titanium alloy armor with a single finger. Does someone of his caliber need us to hand over control? If he wanted to, he could turn the entire capital city upside down all by himself."
Old Li slumped into a chair, rubbing his throbbing temples.
"He's still willing to exchange a few words with Lin Zhen. This shows that he still has Chinese roots and humanity in his heart. What we can do now is to go along with his temper and not provoke him."
Chu Jianguo stood at attention and saluted. He then turned and strode out of the command center.
......
At the same time. Jiangnan City. Yunding Mountain Villa.
Lu Yuan carried two bulging plastic bags. He slowly descended from the gap in the rooftop into the backyard on the first floor.
The bag contained two spare ribs, a bunch of green vegetables, and several lively crucian carp.
He bought all of these from an early morning market two blocks away from the World Trade Center.
When he crashed through the building, he casually grabbed a wad of cash from the scarred man's safe. He didn't even haggle over the prices when buying groceries, which prompted the fishmonger to insist on giving him two extra bunches of scallions.
He changed into those white canvas shoes. Lu Yuan pushed open the glass door to the kitchen.
The television in the living room was on, playing a boring variety show. Lu Qingxue was nestled on the sofa, hugging a cushion, laughing so hard she was doubled over.
Hearing a noise from the kitchen, Lu Qingxue poked half her head out.
"Brother, why did you take so long to buy groceries? The municipal workers who were repairing the sewers have all left."
Lu Yuan placed the plastic bag on the counter. He took the apron with a cartoon bear print from the wall and tied it around his waist.
"The morning market was crowded. I queued up and bought some fresh spare ribs. I'll make you some soup for lunch."
He turned around and glanced at the living room.
"Where is Director Lin?"
Lu Qingxue responded with an "oh," and continued staring at the television screen.
"He just received a phone call. He said he had something urgent to deal with. He stood outside the door for a while and then left. He looked terrible when he left, like he was constipated."
Lu Yuan didn't reply. He turned on the tap and started washing the vegetables.
He'd been cultivating for nine thousand years. He was long tired of those so-called fine wines and delicacies, of dragon liver and phoenix marrow. It was during the time he lived on Earth with his sister, relying on each other for survival, that the kitchen, filled with the warmth of everyday life, became the most steadfast anchor of his Dao heart.
He didn't take a kitchen knife.
The spiritual consciousness of a Mahayana cultivator is terrifying.
Lu Yuan lightly traced a line in the air with his index finger.
Those two tough ribs were like tofu. They split open automatically along the bone grain. The cuts were so smooth you could see your reflection in them. Not a single bone fragment fell out.
A faint wisp of primordial spiritual energy overflowed from his fingertips, mixing into the tap water and instantly washing away the blood and impurities from the pork ribs.
An invisible golden flame suddenly ignited at the bottom of the casserole.
In less than three minutes, the water in the pot boiled. A rich aroma of meat, mingled with a subtle, refreshing fragrance, wafted out through the range hood.
Suddenly, a very faint sound of footsteps came from outside the door.
Immediately following was a cautious knock on the door.
"The door wasn't locked."
Lu Yuan held a soup ladle in his hand, stirring the thick soup in the casserole dish intermittently.
The security door was pushed open.
Lin Zhen stood at the entrance. He didn't go inside.
His suit was a bit wrinkled. There were two obvious water stains around his knees. They were from washing away the brain matter on the street outside.
His hand gripped a sealed manila envelope tightly. The edges of his fingernails were bloodless. A thin layer of skin protruded from his knuckles.
Just minutes ago, he received an encrypted call from Chu Jianguo in Beijing.
Chu Jianguo's exact words on the phone are still ringing in his head.
"Treat him like a living nuclear bomb. Whatever he wants to do, the authorities will cover it up. We will never interfere."
Lin Zhen stared at the boy in the kitchen, wearing a cartoon apron and intently simmering soup. He simply couldn't reconcile that image with the image of the living Yama in the surveillance footage—the one who crushed Experiment Zero with his bare hands and crashed through a thirty-story skyscraper.
This extreme contrast made Lin Zhen feel that even the smell of cooking oil wafting from the kitchen carried a suffocating sense of oppression.
"Change your shoes. Come and sit down."
Lu Yuan put the lid on the casserole. He tore off a piece of kitchen paper to dry his hands and went into the living room.
Lin Zhen quickly changed into slippers at the door. He walked awkwardly to the coffee table, sat down on the sofa with half his buttocks on it, and sat with his back ramrod straight.
Lu Qingxue sat cross-legged at the other end of the sofa, biting into a French fry, and curiously sized up Lin Zhen.
"Director Lin, how come your suit is so wet? Did you fall into a ditch?"
Lin Zhenqian chuckled twice. The muscles in his face were as stiff as a board.
"Yes... I tripped and fell. It's nothing serious."
Lu Yuan sat down on the single sofa, leaning back. His gaze fell on the crumpled file folder in Lin Zhen's hand.
"Is the outside clean?"
Lin Zhen swallowed hard. His Adam's apple bobbed violently.
"It's been cleaned up completely. Not a trace was left. As for the Huanyu Building... the authorities have already issued a statement. It's been classified as a gas pipeline explosion. The engineering corps is sealing off the site."
Lu Yuan nodded. He wasn't surprised by the official handling of the situation.
These politicians are best at cleaning up messes.
"In the high seas of the Pacific Ocean, there is an island that is perpetually shrouded in thunderstorms."
Lu Yuan slowly and deliberately uttered a place name.
Lin Zhen's back straightened abruptly. His previously casual sitting posture instantly transformed into one of extreme tension and defensiveness.
"The headquarters of the S.H.I.E.L.D. is over there. There's a deep chasm beneath the island."
Lu Yuan looked at Lin Zhen. His tone was as calm as if he were discussing the weather.
"Have your people investigate. What's crawling out of that crack isn't an Earth species. Find out and let me know."