With the American borders now under lockdown, countless people were bustling about the country in search of Xia Lei. Despite their efforts, no one could pick up on his tracks. It was as if the man had vanished out of thin air.
Forty-eight hours after the ambush.
Las Vegas suburbs. House number 119, Palm Street.
The study was quiet as multiple surveillance footage appeared on Xia Lei’s laptop. His mind was fast to work on creating a three-dimensional mental map. In it, almost every street, airport and subway stations were filled with people ready to nab him. If he were to make the mistake of appearing, there would be no escape.
“Damn… If those bastards from the White House and the Pentagon find out that I’m here, would they attempt to bomb every house here?” Xia Lei mocked himself.
This was a sticky situation, even for him. However, if this was the price to pay in exchange of exterminating the whole Hattori clan, Xia Lei would gladly do this ten times over.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard from outside the door. Without needing to use his X-ray vision, his ears had already informed him that it was Sa’im.
Sa’im came to the door and knocked. “Boss, it’s me.”
“Come in,” allowed Xia Lei.
Sa’im helped himself in and began, “Boss, about the Kestin dude that you asked me to look into. I’ve used all my resources in America but…”
“You can’t find anything useful?”
Sa’im nodded. “That guy seems to only have his name registered in the system. He has no birthplace or family data. No education or work history. It’s almost as if he climbed out from the dirt, it’s too weird. But my network has managed to get me two of his pictures.” He passed an envelope into Xia Lei’s palm.
Xia Lei opened it and pulled out two photographs. One of them was a solo picture of the blond youth himself as he passed through a hotel lobby and the other was taken in front of a Mercedes-Benz together with two extremely attractive women.
“The man’s Kestin.” Sa’im pointed. “And the two women are his bodyguards. One of them is Charlotte and the other is Eva.”
Xia Lei chuckled. “Oh, damn. He’s quite the handsome fella. Even his bodyguards are beautiful. He’s quite good at selecting his people.”
Sa’im smiled lightheartedly at the remark. “Boss, you’re not too shabby either. How can his two bodyguards compare to our very own Kyoko? You also have Giovanna, Stella, Theresa and Rosa. All of them are more beautiful than them. Even Gaddafi is no match for you.”
“Alright, that’s enough. You’re pushing it. The relationships I have with them is pure.” Xia Lei skillfully changed the topic. “Oh, right. Charlotte and Eva. Have you conducted a background check on them?”
“Of course.” Sa’im continued, “When we failed to find anything about Kestin, we shifted our focus to Charlotte and Eva. But turns out they were the same as Kestin. Other than their names, there were no further details.”
Xia Lei was suddenly reminded of Hattori Mei. He couldn’t help but sigh, “Hattori Mei was telling the truth. She wasn’t trying to deceive me.”
Sa’im remarked, “Many of us are more than willing to do anything for the sake of survival, even if it meant to sell their own soul.” He paused briefly. “Boss, you’re skilled at hacking. Why haven’t you tried to hack into Lockheed Martin’s database to find out more on Kestin?”
Xia Lei shook his head. “No, Lockheed Martin has the most secure IT systems in the world. Their investment in that department has even surpassed Microsoft. So far, all my efforts to find out the team behind the Tenshin system was to no avail. But I highly suspect that Lockheed Martin might be the creator of Tenshin. If that’s the case, as soon as I gain access into their database, the Tenshin system might be able to track us down. That would be the worst-case scenario.”
“Ah, then it’s better to not try hacking into Lockheed Martin’s system. I’ll continue snooping around for intel instead,” offered Sa’im.
Xia Lei kindly reminded him, “Please be careful, okay?”
Sa’im nodded curtly and left the study.
To hack into Lockheed Martin? It wasn’t that Xia Lei had never once thought about it. But he had a gut feeling that he wouldn’t be able to find out much about Kestin even if he did. Hattori Mei would’ve known if his information was in the system.
Kestin, Lockheed Martin’s new CEO, was now Xia Lei’s object of interest. But it was out of Xia Lei’s curiosity, the man had yet to see Kestin as a threat. While Lockheed Martin was undoubtedly Thunder Horse Organization’s rival in the arms dealing industry, it wouldn’t be a problem for the latter to surpass the former anytime soon judging by their speedy development. The Alloy X, Jing Ke drone, Phantom drone. Those were not things pumped out of Lockheed Martin’s R&D Department. Just with the drone and material science arena alone, it was safe to say that Thunder Horse Organization was already steps ahead of Lockheed Martin. As soon as Thunder Horse’s Alloy X bomber plane and fighter jets were done, it would be an overall victory. All of these would become a reality in no less than two years with Xia Lei’s plan.
While Thunder Horse Organization had its focus on refining spare parts and producing trinkets back in its Haizhu base, no one had ever thought that this little establishment would one day become the new overlord of the firearm industry. This was a pleasant surprise to everyone, even to Xia Lei. From the past till this very moment, everything that had happened felt like nothing less of a lucid dream.
Doot doot doot… Doot doot doot…
His satellite phone began to ring.
Xia Lei spared a glance at the screen and immediately picked it up. “Hello? It’s me. Speak.”
Giovanna’s voice rang through the device. “Boss, I just received a very important intel.”
“What is it?”
Giovanna’s voice wavered with emotions. “Brothers of the Relief Society have found that woman in Las Vegas city!”
Xia Lei’s heart thumped violently. He was fully aware of who Giovanan was referring to. Zhu Xuanyue.
“She’s here in Las Vegas, currently at Liberty Street in the western suburbs pumping petrol. She’s not here alone, she came with a dozen underground gang members. All of them rode bikes and are armed.”
“Got it. It’s time to start executing my plan,” replied Xia Lei with a lowered voice.
“Got it. See you at Green Straw Hat Town.” Giovanna quickly hung up.
Following that, Xia Lei immediately hacked into the Las Vegas traffic surveillance system. Unfortunately, there were no surveillance cameras installed on Liberty Street due to its suburban remoteness. He quickly stashed his laptop carefully into his equipment bag and exited the study.
“Is it time to move?” In the living room, Tsukino Kyoko asked as soon as she spotted him.
Qian Jun and Anjum Khan too were there, both men had their eyes glued on Xia Lei.
Xia Lei replied, “Go to San Diego right away. Giovanna and the others will leave tonight to the Green Straw Hat Town, our current stronghold in Mexico.”
“But what about you?” Tsukino Kyoko was worried.
Xia Lei answered, “I’m about to head into Area 51.”
“Tonight?” Even Qian Jun had shock written all over his face. “That was not part of your plan. Aren’t you planning to use Thompson and wait for his arrangements before infiltrating the facility?”
Xia Lei’s reply was curt. “Sudden change in plans.”
“No, that’s too dangerous.” Tsukino Kyoko appealed, “If you’re serious about infiltrating tonight, please let me come with you.”
Qian Jun stood up. “I’m coming too.”
Anjum Khan joined in. “Count me in too.”
While Xia Lei was moved by the display, he had to refuse them. “Sorry, that won’t do. Head over to San Diego right now and wait for the female knights’ arrival before heading into the Green Straw Hat Town. I’ll be joining you there soon after.”
“Why are you not letting me come with you?” Tsukino Kyoko was genuinely anxious.
There was a beat of silence before Xia Lei replied, “She has appeared and you have no idea what you’re about to face. She will not harm me but I cannot stop her from harming you. She can kill with ease in a flash. No one can escape her grasp.”
The three Chinese Zodiac Battle Team members looked at each other. While Xia Lei’s explanation was hard to comprehend, their trust in him was rooted deep into their bones. They wouldn’t have believed it if someone else had said it instead. If Xia Lei said that the woman was able to kill in a flash, they’d accept it as a fact.
That woman was none other than the mysterious Zhu Xuanyue, who Xia Lei had tried his darndest to locate since months ago. She was an existence familiar to Anjum Khan, Tsukino Kyoko and even Qian Jun.
“I know you might have many questions about it but really…” He paused. “Ignorance is bliss. Some things are better off not knowing. I haven’t even told my wives about her. If you really wish to know, I will tell you someday. But until then, it’s better if you are left unaware. Listen to me and call Sa’im. Four of you need to get to San Diego right away.”
Anjum Khan nodded. “I’ll go call Sa’im now.”
Qian Jun quickly padded away. “I’ll go fetch the car.”
Now, Tsukino Kyoko and Xia Lei were the only ones left in the living room.
Xia Lei placed his attention on her. He offered her a gentle smile. “I know you’re worried about me but don’t worry. I’ll be back in one piece.”
Tsukino Kyoko threw herself into his arms, pressing her warm supple body snug against him. The way she held him felt almost like the female ninja was trying to absorb Xia Lei into her body. Her reply was painfully tender. “Promise me, please. You need to come back alive.”
“Uh…” Anjum Khan cleared his throat. “Sorry, I didn’t see anything.”
While saying that, Anjum Khan’s eyes were plastered to the tangled couple. The man had even forgotten to blink. It felt too unusual to see Tsukino Kyoko this affectionate.
They pulled themselves apart only after thirty seconds following Anjum Khan’s throat-clearing-disruption.
Tsukino Kyoko glared at the Indian man dangerously.
Anjum Khan could only repeat himself like a broken record. “I didn’t see anything.”
Xia Lei urged, “Alright, you should get going. I’m off now.”
And thus, a new journey began.