Nightmare's Call - Chapter 165

Chapter 165: Like: Part 2

The irritating ring of a phone went off beside Stitz. Immediately, a communications officer answered the call. Following a series of Morse code tapping, a secret message was decoded in writing before being placed before Stitz.

“Huh? The Ironfist Society has gathered a hundred men, killed two Darksiders and apprehended the others near the harbor?” Stitz frowned upon reading the message. “Did they get information from the Yinlan Chamber of Commerce? There was a mass strike and some arrests there. Some police officers have been murdered in Jyr too.”

“You sound full of confidence.” Elba stood up. “In that case, I will leave the Yinlan Chamber of Commerce to you. Coincidentally, the Starfury Clan has also gone to Huaisha. Since I’m idle, I might as well go check them out.”

“But, Minister…”

“It’s okay. I know when to play a weak hand. If nothing comes out of it, I’ll find a way to get my hands on the cultivation system and bring it back to study it slowly. After all, I have time.” Elba took her cloak down from the clothes stand and strode out of the office.

“Minister, what about Heart of the Ocean?” Stitz was wide-eyed.

“It’s your call!”

…

Borel, the guy with the “X” scar on his face, stood at a window and peeked out from behind the curtains. He looked at the entrance of the Ironfist Society’s headquarters, which was just on the opposite side of the street. He had been waiting for two hours to kill all of the Ironfist Society’s leading figures. If that was not possible, he would make do with just Lin Sheng. But when he peeked out of the window, he saw something weird going on.

The entrance to the Ironfist Society’s headquarters was wide open as groups of disciples came out and lined up in two columns. Their faces were not only solemn and in veneration but also a little visibly nervous. It was hard to believe that those twenty or so people, standing upright with hands behind them, had identical expressions on their faces. The last person out of the premise was Sarroux, who was followed by Lin Sheng. As the president of the Ironfist Society, it was weird that Lin Sheng also wore the society’s uniform just like the others. He was seen standing slightly in front of Sarroux and quietly waiting with his head low.

The winter wind was freezing, but nobody made a sound. It was a solemn atmosphere. Ten minutes passed, then twenty, then an hour… Borel had been standing behind the window for over an hour. He could have acted long ago, but he did not because he was curious about who those people were waiting for and who could have made the president wait outside the door.

Borel was not in a hurry, though. He had all the time in the world. He was determined to find out what those people were up to before he acted.

Time flowed quickly, and the unforgiving weather kept people off the streets. Otherwise, there would have been a curious crowd by then. Ever since the arrival of the Redwinian army, the residents did not come out of their houses unless it was necessary. Even when people walked past occasionally, they always covered their faces and kept their heads low. It was as if they did not want to be identified because scouters from the Defense Affairs Division were lingering in the surroundings. Those scouters were now seen taking photographs of Lin Sheng and the others.

Hidden away and not so obvious were pairs of curious eyes, peeking out of nearby windows. People were observing the situation outside just like Borel. The Ironfist Society had risen to fame and become the top martial arts school in Huaisha after the mantis battle. People heard that the society had a brush with police officers near the harbor, so with those people assembling outside, something had to be happening.

Soon, another twenty minutes passed. Just as Borel was about to lose his patience, a black vehicle, not particularly expensive but still brand new and clean, slowly pulled up in front of the Ironfist Society’s headquarters. The moment the vehicle ground to halt, a pale-faced female disciple of the Ironfist Society quickly stepped forward to open the door for the rear passenger. An outlandish white boot stepped out of the car and onto the pavement. It was small in size like it only fit the foot of a child, and it had a weird bird pattern on its side. As the person emerged, the individual turned out to be a young boy who had a gentle smile on his smooth and sophisticated face. His eyes were on Lin Sheng, who stood before the waiting congregation.

“We meet again, my beloved Lin.”

“I’m now the president of the Huaisha branch. We have been expecting you, Khadula, our emissary!” Lin Sheng stepped forward to shake Khadula’s hands, looking emotional.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Khadula said with a smile.

“Not at all. Please, come in.”

In his hotel, when Borel saw the young boy with the smooth face follow Lin Sheng into the Ironfist Society’s headquarters, he frowned. “Who is he? I’ve never seen him before.” Standing a great distance away, Borel could not hear what the two were talking about. Judging from their interactions, however, it was apparent that Lin Sheng and the young boy were close.

“Never mind. They’re all going to die today, anyway.” Borel lowered his head and lit a cigarette in his mouth before he nonchalantly took out a white remote-control device with a red blinking light from his pocket. Earlier, he had quietly rigged the entire Ironfist Society building with miniature explosives, which were powerful enough to level the entire structure. With such bombs, not even a suppressive four-winger could survive the blast. He was ready to kill everyone in the building and collect their souls. Taking one last glance of the Ironfist Society’s headquarters, Borel then reached to press the remote’s deadly red button.

“I like your hands,” a kiddish voice suddenly sounded behind him.

Borel was startled for a split second before he scrambled to press the detonation button. At the same time, a translucent figure with long hair, shimmering in an eerie green light, appeared beside him, blocking the white hand that stretched out at him suddenly. The green light was agitated and rippling outward.

A powerful shockwave was sent from the white hand through Borel’s body, causing him to lose grip of the remote control, dropping it to the floor. He did not pick it up but turned to look at the unsolicited guest, the sophisticated young boy who came to the Ironfist Society just now. The young boy was half the height of Borel, but his amethyst-like eyes gave him an intriguing glance. “Don’t play with dangerous stuff,” the young boy said, smiling at Borel.

Borel put out his cigarette and tossed it away. “How did you find me?”

“My name is Khadula. What’s yours?” The young boy ignored Borel’s question.

“Me? Borel.” Borel answered wryly, the ‘X’ scar on his face shimmering in a blood-red glow. This happened when his dark energy was fully activated.

“You haven’t answered my question. How did you find me?” Borel asked again.

“It was simple.” Khadula titled his head and lifted his little hand. “Just like this.”

Borel’s pupils contracted, and cold sweat started to trickle down his forehead. Immediately, he turned and lunged at the window.

In that instant, starting from the bottom, the outer wall of the hotel began to etiolate as thousands of white hands crept out from the ground, wrapping up the hotel in a sea of hands. The hotel building seemed to have been dyed in a layer of ashen-white color when looking from a distance when actually, it was covered by countless of squirming and crawling hands.

But strangely, no one in the streets seemed to notice this phenomenon. People just walked past as usual without raising an eyebrow.