Nightmare's Call - Chapter 158

Chapter 158: Dark Clock: Part 1

A river of people was flowing up the gangway to the giant cruise ship.

Dao Ling wore a black suit and blended in a group of naturalists from Olro. The group was here to conduct a field study of the ancient history of Xilin and now was ready to depart to their home country. Each member of the group held an individual visa. Had it not been for Luo Xinna who had backdoor access, Dao Ling might not be able to get a cruise ticket reserved for the tour group.

Wearing a hat and a black suit with a walking stick in hand, these naturalist gentlemen were looking down and giving their valediction to a woman in a white dress on the harbor. Mrs. Vessani, sixty, skin slightly wrinkled but looking graceful with a white gauze on her shoulders, was flanked by three bodyguards.

“It was my pleasure to host you all, gentlemen. With all the histories, cultures, and myths in Xilin, thirteen days of study tour seem to be too short. If the opportunity arises again, I hope I could bring you all to…” Mrs. Vessani’s voice was graceful and euphemistic, it sounded like a poetic, sweet rhythm to the ear. After repeatedly expressing her regret to Kenhardt, who was the study group leader, she extended her invitation for their next visit.

Quietly staying at the rear of the group, Dao Ling and Luo Xinna watched as these people exchanged pleasantries. Their decorous etiquette and gracious manners bewildered the two. They felt as if they were in a different world. As mere churls themselves, they were nowhere as sophisticated in speech and manner as these people.

“At least we are in and onboard. The study group has a boarding priority. If it wasn’t because of you, I would find a way to Miga,” Luo Xinna said in a low voice behind Dao Ling.

“I don’t know if Lin Sheng would be coming after us. So too Sarroux. Probably, they still think we have gone out to take care of a few things. If that is the case, it would be three days later before they realize that we have deserted them,” Dao Ling said quietly.

“We are going to make it out. No worries.” Luo Xinna nodded lightly when he saw the group leader, Kenhardt, kissed the hand of Mrs. Vessani, and the group began to move further up the gangway. “Let’s go,” he urged, nudging Dao Ling.

The two stayed at the rear of the line, behind a bearded, middle-aged man. They stepped on the sampan and finally went onboard the Red Roses, the mid-size cruise ship from Olro of more than one-hundred-meter-long with over two-hundred-passenger capacity.

A pair of black leather boots stepped on the concrete floor of the harbor. Lin Sheng, wearing a black leather coat, hair cascading down as he stood at the entrance of the harbor. More than a hundred disciples of the Ironfist Society were marching on the street, blocking the entrance and preventing traffic from going in and out of the harbor. Vehicles transporting goods came to a standstill along the street. People began to yell and curse as they disembarked to check what was going on that held up the traffic. Passersby and merchants stopped on both sides of the road, taking a glimpse of what was happening.

The expression on some of the faces started to change when they saw the uniforms of the Ironfist Society, which was on the crest of a wave right now. A few police officers, who happened to be patrolling in the vicinity, hurried over with an inimical expression on their faces. But when they saw that it was the Ironfist Society, their expression took a sudden change and slowed down their steps.

Lin Sheng looked up, eyes on the red cruise ship. He was tall and burly, physically well-proportioned yet appearing cold and manic. Coupled with his unbridled aura of a dragon, his persona was force field-bending. It was almost like looking at a massive, callous, and cruel killer beast; one would shudder in fear by just looking at his eyes.

“Get them.” Lin Sheng commanded, his voice hoarse. “The Ironfist Society will not tolerate disloyalty.” He might sound casual, but he would make sure to make his words into rules.

A masked man with a cross sword, wearing a simple black suit, flew past Lin Sheng, heading up the cruise ship. Two armored soldiers were following closely from behind.

Sarroux came up beside Lin Sheng, his impassive face filled with a hint of anger. Beside them, groups of men with the Han-character of ‘Fist’ on the back of their shirts flowed into the crowd on the harbor to clear out a path for Lin Sheng and Sarroux.

Other than eating and drinking, these men had been training and practicing every day. They were brawny and seriously skillful in close-quarter combat. Sarroux had even hired someone to teach them bullet-evading techniques. The training they received was not something that the usual cliques could match. All the more so because the martial art they practiced originated from the best fighting techniques Lin Sheng had replicated from Blackfeather City. A fighting technique highly regarded by a horde of superhuman beings in Blackfeather City was no joke. Even the most basic techniques of it could outmatch the fighting techniques of Xilin by far.

Protest and shoving quickly arose in the crowd as they were forced aside, but men from the Ironfist Society quickly kept the situation under control. When a path was finally cleared out, Lin Sheng and Sarroux strutted past the crowd toward the red cruise ship.

“What the heck! It’s the Ironfist Society—” A few bare-armed, burly, bald men with tattoos on their skin started cursing. These men might be muscular, but they were no match for the professionally trained disciples of the Ironfist Society. A few ordinary disciples from the Ironfist Society was able to beat the daylights out of them.

When Lin Sheng and Sarroux arrived at the gangway, the two bearded ticket collectors were seen lying unconscious on the ground. Just then, some faint sounds of fighting and gunshot were heard on the deck near the starboard. Lin Sheng stepped onto the gangway and paced up unhurriedly with Sarroux following closely from behind. In just a few beats, the two were on board.

A Blackfeather swordsman and two vault guards had kept the situation under control. A blue-haired young man was seen sitting in a corner. Supposedly the security officer of the cruise ship, he had a gun in one hand and pressing his other hand on his bleeding wound in the abdomen.

Dao Ling and Luo Xinna were keeping their heads low and blending in with the crowd, hoping that Lin Sheng would not spot them. When they saw Lin Sheng had come onboard, their hearts sank, realizing that the Ironfist Society had used some unknown method tracking them to this ship.

“I think we should step out and apologize. The president would surely forgive us as he needs people.” Dao Ling helplessly let out a sigh with Luo Xinna gritting his teeth, concurring and knowing that there was nothing more they could do. In any case, they were still Transcendents, and as long as they had not committed too obvious sin against the Ironfist Society, Lin Sheng would certainly absolve them. The two so thought and exchanged a look. But they both clearly sensed the dispiritedness in each other. They appeared from the crowd and came before Lin Sheng, one following the other.

“President,” Dao Ling took a deep breath, “I am merely taking a tour of the cruise ship on an invitation. It’s my fault not informing President about this beforehand.”

Luo Xinna quickly stepped out. “President, I heard that some VIP guest who could be of help to the Ironfist Society was on board and about to leave, so I came to give him a courtesy send-off.” He pointed to Kenhardt, the tour group leader. Kenhardt, who had received some hush money from Luo Xinna, smiled at Lin Sheng with his hat off.