Kerns had noticed Zhu Xuanyue while Zhu Xuanyue had noticed Xia Lei. Just as Kerns’s booming voice rang out, the woman’s gaze fell on where Xia Lei was. In that split second, her stare had penetrated through the cement floor to lock gazes with Xia Lei.
Xia Lei quickly felt nervous, suddenly remembering what Zhu Xuanyue had said to him in the cornfield. She had already paid back his kindness and if he dared to appear in front of her again, she would kill him.
Yet, Xia Lei was now presented to Zhu Xuanyue. While a sturdy layer of concrete separated them, it certainly wasn’t enough to guarantee his safety. Zhu Xuanyue was more than capable of closing the distance.
Despite his worries, Zhu Xuanyue averted her eyes away to continue walking towards Kerns, Eric and the others.
Xia Lei gulped. “She noticed me but why is she not doing anything?”
“Hey!” Kerns drew his pistol up with a clack. He pointed it at Zhu Xuanyue. “Hold it right there! Answer me or I’ll shoot!”
Zhu Xuanyue ignored his warning. The woman continued to step forward.
Kerns, on the other hand, was not one to hesitate. He pulled the trigger but came to a sudden realization. He could not move his finger at all! Not only was his finger frozen, he quickly noticed that he had lost full control over his muscles!
One second later, Kerns slumped onto the ground. The way he fell on the ground was odd like a body that had been in the morgue’s freezer for days. His posture was very stiff.
To brandish a pistol in front of Zhu Xuanyue was equivalent to suicide.
“Who are you? What did you do to him?!” Eric panicked. He cautiously backed off in an attempt to call for security.
Her shadow swayed. In an instant, she had broken through the distance between her and Eric and launched a hard punch towards his ribs.
Eric groaned. The man was sent flying till he collided with one of the faceless warrior statues. Crumpling onto the ground, no movement was detected from the bloodied man. One punch from Zhu Xuanyue was akin to a raging bull. The moment of impact had crushed half of his ribs and subsequently damaged his vitals before Eric crashed into the statue. Even if he was sent to the emergency rescue, there was no way he could recover from this blow.
Xia Lei gaped at the sight. This wild turn of events was far from what he was expecting. He predicted that Zhu Xuanyue was merely going to take Eric hostage to achieve her goals. It was a shocker that she opted to send Eric to the afterworld right away.
Zhu Xuanyue began to pace towards Kestin.
“Is she going to kill Lockheed Martin’s Kestin and his two bodyguards?” Xia Lei’s heart thumped loudly with the suspense. “She didn’t attack me right away because she wanted to deal with me after killing off those three?”
Zhu Xuanyue stopped inches before Kestin.
Kestin regarded her with calmness. The woman had killed not one but two people in front of his eyes and yet there was not a hint of fear across his face. Even Charlotte and Eva were watching the scene unfold with odd tranquillity. Their defences were completely down.
In the midst of Xia Lei’s confusion, Zhu Xuanyue began, “Melt them down. You have half an hour.”
“Understood. We’ll get into it right away.” The way Kestin spoke was like that of how a servant would talk to their lords. Humble, obedient, accommodating and pliant all while still looking like a prideful man.
Above them on the hanging walkway, Xia Lei was floored by the sheer amount of surprises. There was no way in hell he’d dreamt about this. He certainly wasn’t expecting Lockheed Martin’s new CEO, Kestin, to be Zhu Xuanyue’s servant!
“How the hell is this possible?! Aren't Zhu Xuanyue’s servants the bike gang members? How could it turn out to be Lockheed Martin’s CEO? What happened to her? What did she do?” Xia Lei couldn’t help but entertain his own curiosity.
Kestin began walking towards the central control panel while Charlotte and Eva went towards a pipe structure and a metal door respectively on either side.
Zhu Xuanyue, on the other hand, began to move towards Xia Lei.
The sudden sense of urgency snapped him out of his thoughts. Xia Lei frantically reached behind, unzipped his bag and retrieved the Gust assault rifle within. If Zhu Xuanyue was going to attack him, he would have no choice but to defend himself. There was no way he’d stand a chance against Zhu Xuanyue with his current capabilities. The only way to make up for his losses was to utilize modern warfare.
Zhu Xuanyue may be capable of controlling Kerns’s mind to stop him from firing but Xia Lei was not Kerns. He was the world's best soldier and the only one Zhu Xuanyue could not mentally manipulate. In terms of physical combat, he was far too weak to even be worthy of comparison to her. The woman was far too powerful for her own good. But when it came to marksmanship, Zhu Xuanyue was certainly no match. He was sure of that because he had never once seen her kill with a gun.
To one’s surprise, Zhu Xuanyue’s murderous intent was extremely heavy. But once she noticed that the man had brandished a gun without hesitation, she stopped in her tracks.
There was no point in hiding anymore. Xia Lei stood up and curved his fingers around the Gust assault rifle’s trigger ever so slightly. As long as he willed, he could hit any target in this lab, including Zhu Xuanyue.
Zhu Xuanyue may be fast but there was no way she could outrun a bullet in her physical state.
Xia Lei unannounced appearance caused Kestin, Charlotte and Eva to snap their heads over. The three of them were very sensitive to movement.
Charlotte quickly aimed her pistol.
Bang!
A gunshot rang.
Xia Lei had merely raised his muzzle slightly without aiming. Yet, a bullet had lodged itself clean in Charlotte’s right shoulder. Red began to gush out of her wound and the pistol she drew fell to the ground. She clamped a free palm over the injury as she stared at Xia Lei with shock.
Eva slowly reached her hand behind.
Xia Lei barked out in English, “Draw your gun and the next bullet I shoot will be in your head.”
The malice lacing those threats was sharp as a blade. While it was a verbal threat, Eva felt like she had a knife stuck to her throat. She did not dare to make another move.
Kestin’s gaze was trained on Xia Lei, eyes wide with surprise and curiosity. It felt as if he was trying to figure out Xia Lei’s identity and intention.
Zhu Xuanyue’s voice was icy. “What are you trying to do? Did you forget what I’ve told you earlier? We’re done. If you dare appear in front of me again, I’m going to kill you.”
Seemingly unfazed, Xia Lei’s lips were bent into a gentle curve. “Of course I remember that. I’m pretty sure I mentioned that I’m only left with less than two years to live. Dying early or dying later makes no difference. I want answers and anyone who dares come in my way will perish.”
Zhu Xuanyue crackled deviously. “I did not kill you out of mercy. You really think a rifle can stop me?”
Xia Lei challenged, “Why not give it a try?”
Something dangerous glinted in Zhu Xuanyue’s eyes.
While Xia Lei looked relaxed on the outside, his internals were squirming with anxiety.
Between Zhu Xuanyue and the prehistoric chosen one, Xia Lei had feared the latter most. The prehistoric chosen one did not possess a body. Even with his excellent marksmanship, it was basically impossible for Xia Lei to destroy a cloud of air with bullets. Currently, with the world’s most advanced Gust assault rifle in his grip, Xia Lei actually had no confidence for it to stop Zhu Xuanyue.
“This is your last chance. Leave this place and get back to China,” hissed Zhu Xuanyue.
“Then tell me, what are you trying to achieve by melting these statues?” Xia Lei refused to back down.
Yet, all she did was turn around and walk towards a set of laboratory equipment.
What was she trying to do?
Xia Lei hesitated for a moment but did nothing to stop her.
At this moment, Kestin spoke, “Although you do not look like him, I think I know who you are. You’re Xia Lei, right?”
Xia Lei replied, “Who I am is not important. Here’s the most important thing instead. Why is the new CEO of Lockheed Martin working for her? Who exactly are you?”
“I think you’re out of time to find out.” Came Kestin’s nonchalant answer. “The whole of America is desperate to hunt you down. You’ve got quite the courage, can’t believe you actually dared to infiltrate Area 51. You might as well have surrendered yourself. All I need to do now is make a call or slam the alarm to end your life.”
Xia Lei scoffed dryly. “Well, I won’t stop you from doing that but you need to ask yourself if you’re able to be faster than a bullet. I can guarantee that if you try any funny business, your skull is going to have a hole in it within a second.”
Kestin shrugged his shoulders. “Guess our first encounter isn’t exactly joyous.”
Crack!
Zhu Xuanyue had ripped out an alloy panel off a machine. There were still screws stuck to the panel too!
Xia Lei’s heart sunk, finally realizing her intentions. Zhu Xuanyue was looking for a shield against his bullets. As soon as she came near him, things were bound to turn bad!
Regret seized him as he mentally cursed himself for not stopping her before she did this. Now equipped with a shield, the threat his Gust assault rifle had on her was reduced by half!
Zhu Xuanyue began to close onto him slowly.
Xia Lei raised his Gust assault rifle and braced for battle. He drew a red line for Zhu Xuanyue in his mind. As soon as she was on the first step of stairs that led up the hovering walkway, he would fire.
“Get back to work!” Zhu Xuanyue shouted.
Kestin nodded and quickly resumed operating the central control panel.
The metal floor beneath the six faceless warrior statues began to move away rapidly. Instantly, these bulky statues were dropped into a gigantic container underneath. The container was filled with some sort of blue chemical. It wasn’t much, looking like a rippling sea from afar.
The six statues were quickly submerged by the blue liquid.
When Zhu Xuanyue had asked to melt the statues, Xia Lei was expecting a stove like those typical of alchemy. It was far from his expectation to learn that she was attempting to dissolve with chemicals. From the responses of Kestin, the two blondes and the equipment in the underground laboratory, it seemed that Zhu Xuanyue had already planned for this since the very beginning!
She was the one who leaked information about the six faceless warrior statues!
What was her rationale behind this?
Why was she so desperate to melt these statues?
Xia Lei wished to know but Zhu Xuanyue had refused to allow him time to think.
At this moment, Zhu Xuanyue was already at the beginning of the staircase. One more step and she was going to cross Xia Lei’s boundary.