075 Metal Mastery!

“Are you trying to get yourself killed? Those people are dangerous!”
Morning Wind wished he could kick this tall, professional-looking woman to death. If he hadn’t pulled her down and covered her mouth just now, both of them would have been discovered. Yet as he noticed her struggling violently, something felt off. Glancing at his own hand, he realized he was gripping her chest.

Everyone on Earth knew Morning Wind had a reputation as a lecher. Given such a rare opportunity, he naturally indulged himself a little—after all, who knew when he’d have another chance? But he knew when to stop and didn’t weigh the matter on his conscience. He swiftly changed the subject: “Don’t speak. I’ll let you go if you promise to keep quiet, alright? Nod if you agree.”

Seeing her nod, Morning Wind finally released her.

“What are you trying to do out there? Don’t raise your voice—if we’re discovered, everyone dies!” He noticed the tall beauty shoot him a look but kept steering the conversation away. Luckily, she seemed to have calmed down—if she were as impulsive as before, they’d both be dead by now.

Peering through the shelves, the tall woman whispered, “I’m the mayor’s secretary. The mayor has been taken hostage. I have to save him—it’s part of my duty.”

“What are you, a super bodyguard? Can you dodge bullets and take on a dozen men at once?” Morning Wind found her words almost laughable. She was just a civil servant, even if she was the mayor’s secretary—did she imagine herself his protector?

“The mayor can’t be harmed. He’s vital to the economic development of the entire city. If anything happens to him, the whole city will be thrown into chaos.” She was well aware of the mayor’s importance. Besides, the mayor was her uncle—the pillar of her family. If he was killed, her entire family would collapse. An ordinary secretary wouldn’t risk her life for the mayor, but clearly, she was different.

Morning Wind was exasperated, even a little contemptuous. Was she really willing to risk her own life for the mayor? Lowering his voice, he said, “They still want an escape route. The mayor won’t be harmed for now. Don’t even think about going out there. If you try, not only will you fail to save the mayor, but you’ll get us all killed.”

“What should I do?” The tall woman’s composure broke completely; she was at a loss.

Morning Wind didn’t bother with her. What did it matter to him what she did? He only cared that Azure Dragon left quickly—his safety depended on it. However, to Morning Wind’s dismay, Alfie slipped away first. With Alfie’s skills, few could stop him from leaving alone, but bringing a group was a different matter. So Alfie took only a few trusted aides with him.

Why wasn’t Azure Dragon leaving? If he wanted to, no one could stop him. Was he planning to take the rest of the Acid Rain Organization with him? Chinese military espers would at most allow Azure Dragon to go free, but the whole group? That was unlikely.

If possible, Morning Wind would have preferred to deal with Azure Dragon here and now, so he’d no longer have to worry about the miniature nuke threatening his existence. But if he acted, everyone present would have to die—otherwise, his identity would be exposed.

With this in mind, Morning Wind quietly retreated two steps. Let the tall woman get herself killed. If she was captured and questioned by the organization, he’d be in trouble.

After Alfie left, only nine people remained—not much of a problem for Morning Wind. His real headache was how to get within three meters of Azure Dragon; only then could he kill him and render the micro-nuke in his body harmless.

If he took out the others first, getting close to Azure Dragon would become more dangerous. How could he lure Azure Dragon over? Morning Wind glanced at the tall beauty—perhaps she could draw Azure Dragon’s attention.

It turned out the temperament of Chinese military espers was indeed as tough as expected. “Fine,” sneered Azure Dragon, pressing his gun to a middle-aged man’s forehead, “If that’s the case, I’ll kill the mayor first and play with you all slowly!” Just as he was about to pull the trigger, the tall woman rushed out.

“Please, don’t hurt the mayor!”

Brave, but you’ll be the death of me! Morning Wind’s heart sank as Azure Dragon glanced their way, immediately spotting him behind the shelves. Thinking a military esper was hiding there, Azure Dragon fired three shots.

“Aah!” Morning Wind let out a blood-curdling scream and collapsed—though there was no blood. With the shelves in the way, Azure Dragon couldn’t see what really happened.

Since bullets are metal, Morning Wind could control them. Handgun rounds didn’t have much force, and passing through the shelves sapped their energy further; by the time they reached him, they had no impact. Morning Wind was an excellent actor—his feigned death was convincing.

“Not bad,” Azure Dragon remarked, surprised, as he approached. The tall, professional woman suited his tastes perfectly. While everyone else was fearful, Azure Dragon had nothing to worry about. Outside of the Acid Rain Organization, he enjoyed absolute immunity—who would dare kill him?

Morning Wind had been wracking his brain for ways to draw Azure Dragon over, but the man’s penchant for beauty made things much easier.

Azure Dragon stopped in front of the tall woman, lifting her chin with a finger and flashing a wicked smile. “How about we have a little fun?”

Morning Wind sensed the mini nuke beside Azure Dragon’s heart. The device had a kill switch and contained a deadly poison; if the bomber betrayed the organization, they could shut off the nuke and inject the poison straight into his heart, killing him instantly.

“Who are you? Organization—” Azure Dragon had just started unbuttoning the woman’s blouse when he felt something wrong. The miniature core inside him was unresponsive, and a surge of terror welled up from deep within. The organization wanted him dead? Impossible!

He collapsed suddenly, without triggering an explosion. The other assassins froze in shock. With Azure Dragon dead and Alfie gone, what were they to do?

Who was this woman? The assassins turned their guns on the tall beauty, who had no idea what was happening. At that moment, gunfire erupted outside. Within moments, several assassins were killed. Taking advantage of the chaos, Morning Wind slipped away—he absolutely couldn’t afford to be discovered.

If anyone grew suspicious, they’d suspect the tall woman, never imagining it was a dead man. In the confusion, no one noticed Morning Wind as he blended in with the earlier hostages and quietly slipped out.

The military espers would handle Azure Dragon’s body. They wouldn’t announce the cause of death but would certainly investigate the matter. As soon as Morning Wind returned to his room, the phone rang—it was Yu Qingyun.

“Who are you really? What’s your connection to Azure Dragon’s death?” Yu Qingyun had gotten Morning Wind’s number from Lin Shanshan. He was deeply interested in this man who could recognize Azure Dragon at a glance—he was clearly no ordinary person. His cousin’s safety might be at risk around him.

But based on this incident, Morning Wind didn’t seem to be a villain. He also knew about the Acid Rain Organization, so he couldn’t be an ally of theirs. Yu Qingyun wanted to know who Morning Wind really was. He considered investigating, but that might create more trouble than it was worth, so he decided to call directly.

“I don’t know who I am either. I lost my memory in a car accident over a month ago. I just recognized Azure Dragon when I saw him.” Morning Wind knew he had to allay Yu Qingyun’s concerns, or things would become complicated. “I hope you won’t mention anything about me to anyone, nor look into my past. The only thing I can tell you is that I’m on your side.”

“Why should I trust you?” Yu Qingyun wasn’t so easily convinced, especially by someone with dubious origins.

“If you want to wipe out the Cobra Organization and the Acid Rain Organization, then don’t expose me. Should you have any related missions, I might offer some advice. If you leak information about me, it won’t do you any good.” Morning Wind dangled a benefit, confident Yu Qingyun would accept. Their greatest goal was to destroy those two organizations.

Yu Qingyun fell silent. Morning Wind chuckled. “Would you rather have another enemy or a new friend? As your friend, I can help you accomplish many things.”

Morning Wind had dealt with Yu Qingyun before—the man was stubborn, bent on taking down the Cobra Organization to avenge his fallen comrades. He was the type of soldier driven by personal conviction, which made him exploitable. Even if Yu Qingyun exposed him, Morning Wind could always relocate; the risk was minimal, so long as the organizations never learned he possessed both metal manipulation and soul-splitting abilities.

“Since our goals are the same, let’s be friends. I’ll keep your involvement in this mission quiet, but can you tell me anything about the Cobra Organization?” Yu Qingyun found Morning Wind intriguing—a man with valuable information, someone he could use. For Yu Qingyun, the end justified the means.

“If anything comes up, I’ll let you know. We’ll stay in touch through the game.” With that, Morning Wind hung up. The Azure Dragon incident was behind him. Whatever storm raged outside had nothing to do with him. Despite the gravity of recent events, he seemed entirely unfazed, logging back into the game to complete the final quest for the Ring of Blood with the Thunderstrike Team that evening.

The last step of the quest didn’t involve slaying any boss, but required the players holding the Ring of Blood to team up, infiltrate a castle, rescue the old man of the ring, and thus unlock the next part of the quest and earn the reward.

The Thunderstrike Team wanted the quest reward; Morning Wind sought the continuation of the ring’s storyline.