Bai Fei lay quietly in He Li’s arms, his throat pressed against a cold dagger. There was no panic on his face, only sincerity.
“Enlightened beings are gods.”
He Li stared into Bai Fei’s eyes, pondered seriously for a moment, and asked, “How do you know enlightened beings are gods?”
Bai Fei sighed, “It’s from an ancient legend. My great-grandfather said…”
He Li’s expression was blank. “The explosion is almost over. Do you really plan to start talking from your great-grandfather’s generation?”
“I found out a while ago,” Bai Fei said immediately. “One rainy night, Sister Jiang went to make coffee, and I was guarding the monitoring room for her. I accidentally overheard your conversation with the captain. The captain even helped you kill an enemy who had unlocked their seventh-tier gene lock. If you want to blame anyone for this, it’s her for having her comms open.”
He Li clicked his teeth and lowered the dagger, patting Bai Fei’s chest gently as if comforting a child. He whispered, “Brother Fei, none of us have it easy. If you want to live long, keep your tongue short.”
Bai Fei nodded and said solemnly, “Exactly. When I was six, my grandmother told me the story of ‘The Long-Tongued Woman,’ and I deeply agreed.”
He Li grunted and smiled, “Grandma is right.”
Then, he asked, “Is Grandma doing well now?”
“She passed away when I was seven.”
“…”
“My condolences.”
“It’s okay. I’m over 30. Twenty years have passed, and I’ve forgotten what my grandmother looked like.”
*Shing!*
The dagger was once again pressed against Bai Fei’s throat.
“But I will never forget her teachings.”
“What a good grandson.”
He Li put away the dagger and helped Bai Fei up. They stood and looked towards the direction of the explosion. The scene after the spiritual energy high-pressure bomb detonated was shocking.
Within a kilometer of the explosion’s center, there was nothing but earth and sand. A massive circular crater, 300 meters in diameter, was formed. The blast wave’s range extended for several kilometers.
It was worth noting that the kill radius of the famous “Mother of All Bombs” was only 300 meters.
As He Li and Bai Fei approached and looked at the scene, He Li couldn’t help but sigh, “The guys who use this kind of weapon are all lunatics.”
Bai Fei, however, shook his head, “Not lunatics, heroes. Heroes with a will to die.”
He Li glanced at Bai Fei and said nothing. Perhaps he didn’t fully understand, but he didn’t voice any objections.
Bai Fei sat down on a nearby concrete block, tore off his tattered outer garment, took out a blood-soaked cigarette case, and tipped it. He found two unbloodied cigarettes and threw one to He Li.
They sat on the silent battlefield, smoking in silence.
Bai Fei suddenly let out a long sigh, then chuckled softly, his voice a little hoarse, “We’ve had a narrow escape, haven’t we?”
Bai Fei’s words carried a mix of self-mockery and relief.
He Li said, “I said it when I left the airport. Business trips are never proper work. They’re deadly!”
After a moment of silence, Bai Fei suddenly asked, “Would you have killed me just now?”
“How could I?” He Li immediately denied it. “Brother Fei, you are very important to me. You are my comrade. You’ve taught me a lot. Even when you were talking nonsense earlier, I still believed you.”
Bai Fei smiled after hearing this and said, “You would have, wouldn’t you?”
“No! Don’t believe me? Look at my innocent eyes.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything. With my talent, reaching the Spirit Nurturing realm by 40 would be the absolute peak. Being a bureau chief in Binjiang should be my final destination. I have no business meddling in your affairs.”
He Li slung an arm around Bai Fei’s shoulder and chuckled, “I love you, Brother Fei, and you love me.”
Bai Fei curled his lips, raised his wrist, scanned the battlefield, and then notified the logistics department of the Spiritual Management Association.
“Let’s go. This is the territory of the people of Biancheng. Let them handle it themselves.”
He Li nodded and grunted…
In the half-destroyed tavern, the owner had a strong constitution. With what had just happened in Biancheng, he reopened his establishment two hours later, regardless of whether anyone would come to eat.
After serving He Li and Bai Fei their dishes, he retreated behind the counter, not even looking up. He knew that He Li and Bai Fei were not to be trifled with; their torn, blood-stained appearances were enough to tell him something.
Beef skewers and pork belly were roasting on the charcoal stove, accompanied by several small cold dishes to cleanse the palate. The rising steam carried the aroma of meat.
As Bai Fei picked up a skewer and was about to put it in his mouth, he heard He Li say cheekily, “Puppet Corpse Demons burned by the great fire also emit this kind of aroma.”
Bai Fei’s hand holding the meat skewer paused for a moment, then he unhesitatingly put it into his mouth and said calmly, “Those puppet corpse demons don’t have the aroma of seasonings.”
He Li looked at Bai Fei in astonishment and gave him a thumbs-up in admiration. Brother Fei was amazing.
After a night of intense fighting, both of them only wanted to fill their stomachs. The Spiritual Management Association’s cafeteria should be empty. At this time, even a car mechanic wouldn’t be staying at the Spiritual Management Association building.
“Your identity and your status as a member of the Captain’s Hunter team are in opposition. The Captain protected you, likely because she needed something from you. Have you thought about what you’ll do in the future?”
Bai Fei said this calmly, without looking at He Li, and took a sip of cold beer from his glass.
He Li was stunned and looked at Bai Fei in surprise. He hadn’t expected Bai Fei to say something like this.
Bai Fei ignored He Li’s response, put down his glass, and said, “She likely needs something from you, otherwise she wouldn’t have protected you. I don’t consider anyone with malicious intent, and yes, ‘anyone’ refers to the Captain. But I believe in human nature, and human nature is like this.”
Bai Fei pursed his lips and continued,
“Suppose, and this is just a supposition, one day, you and the Captain are on a battlefield fighting to the death, on opposing sides. If either of you dies, don’t inform me. I don’t want to hate either of you.”
“Brother Fei, don’t you want to plead for the Captain in front of me, or plead for me in front of the Captain?” He Li asked.
“No,” Bai Fei said decisively. “This is your business. Whether you are gods or members of the Hunter team, it has nothing to do with me. You are just teammates who fought alongside me.
Emotionally, I don’t want anything to happen to either of you. But rationally, you are in opposition. Right now, you are just in a false ‘honeymoon period.’
I can even foresee that one day in the future,
You won’t agree to the Captain’s request, or you won’t be able to fulfill it, and you will break apart, you will fight.
I only hope… you can leave Binjiang and not let us witness it firsthand.”
He Li stared at Bai Fei blankly. This middle-aged man in his thirties was incredibly reliable when he was serious, but when he wasn’t, he was so annoying you’d want to grab his neck and choke him.
But He Li never expected him to say something like this here today.
He seemed to have seen a certain outcome, but he… was powerless to change it.
He Li pondered for a long time and said, “I’m sorry, Brother Fei. I don’t know what will happen in the future. I can’t promise you anything. I can only try my best…”
“That’s enough,” Bai Fei grinned, interrupting He Li’s words. He then waved to the tavern owner and shouted, “Boss, a pack of cigarettes, the expensive kind. How about… the 20-yuan ‘Su Yan’?”
…