No word was reported about the Area 51 incident that transpired yesterday night. It felt as though it never happened. The cold reception was no surprise to Xia Lei. He could also imagine the fate of that B2 bomber. Either it was shot down by fighter jets or it had exhausted its fuel tank and plummeted into the vast ocean. No matter what, it would not return to land without a pilot.
The world now had one B2 bomber less. The limited quantity of twenty was now reduced to nineteen units. But even so, no country in the world could withstand the combined attack of nineteen B2 bombers. In that sense, the Americans still had their advantage over aerial warfare. It was not a situation that the Jing Ke and Phantom drones could change.
However, when piloting the B2 across Area 51 and blowing things up, Xia Lei attained great insight. Surely, this experience would soon be translated into the birth of Thunder Horse Organization’s bomber plane.
Frankly, Xia Lei was not the least bit concerned about the fate of Area 51 and the B2 bomber. What he was most concerned about were those in the AE Research Centre, specifically Zhu Xuanyue and the prehistoric chosen one. He had trampled the facility into nothing but a flatland wasteland. Despite that, he wasn’t sure if that had killed Zhu Xuanyue and the prehistoric chosen one. Typically, the explosions that took place yesterday night would’ve meant complete annihilation. Zhu Xuanyue and the black-robed man were certainly ashes by now. But without seeing it for himself, Xia Lei found it difficult to accept that as truth. After all, both of them were immortal beings!
“Even if they aren’t dead, they’re probably severely injured, right? If they’re still alive but hurt, my luck is still within their control. The time I’m left with will continue to run thin. They’d probably come for me right away after recovering. I need to prepare myself for that…” Xia Lei thought with a heavy heart.
The man was now no longer in Las Vegas but a seedy motel in San Diego.
The morning light had banished the night’s darkness and seeped through the curtains. It shone onto the mount of Alice’s round arse. Golden sun rays, pale buttocks, the wonders of the female kind were never-ending.
Alice was still blissfully asleep.
Her lover was a Middle Eastern prince and was willing to pay a hefty ransom for her safety. Better even, Alice was about to leave for English to meet Daniel Crag and become his next Bond girl. She was bound to flourish as the new it-girl of the big screen. In one night, her wildest dreams had come to fruition. Alice felt like the luckiest girl in the world. She refused to wake up from this sweet sweet dream.
A Ford Pathfinder stopped by the road. The driver rolled the windows down and a woman poked her head through to look at Xia Lei who was standing on the balcony.
Tsukino Kyoko had arrived. The woman waved at Xia Lei.
Xia Lei turned around and entered the room, sparing one forlorn glance at Alice. He heaved a light sigh. Gently, he left a note and a bank card on the bedside table.
Melodious moans rolled out of Alice’s throat. “Ah… No… Slower…”
Xia Lei shouldered his bag and left the room.
Climbing into the Ford Pathfinder, Xia Lei was welcomed by the bewildered and weirdly excited gazes of the four Chinese Zodiac Battle Team members. He shrugged his shoulders and asked, “Why are you all looking at me like that?”
“Boss, someone had blasted Area 51 flat last night. How... “ Sa’im swallowed his spit. “How did you do that?”
Xia Lei answered lukewarmly, “I bombed them with a B2.”
“A B2?! What the fuck?!” Anjum Khan’s shock was plastered all across his face. “That thing is at least worth more than two billion dollars. Where did you park it?”
Xia Lei averted his eyes away. “I didn’t. I crashed it.”
“Enough, get driving. We’re going to Mexico and then home,” urged Xia Lei.
Tsukino Kyoko ignited the Ford Pathfinder to live, drove it onto the highway and left.
One hour later, Alice had roused from her lovely dream. Just as she attempted to reach over for James’s waist, her fingers were only met with cool pillows. She opened her eyes. James wasn’t beside her and not in this room. She clambered up, eyes caught by the note and bank card on the bedside table. She frantically clawed for it.
Reading it, tears began to escape her eyes.
As night fell, the Ford Pathfinder had finally made it to the Green Straw Hat Town in the outskirts of Tijuana.
The town was pitch black.
Worried about the town’s residents and members of the Relief Society here, the female knights had evacuated everyone earlier to avoid potential attacks from the Tijuana gang. It was only natural to expect no lights here.
However, this darkness was temporary. Just as the Ford Pathfinder came to a halt before the church’s gates, the lights were abruptly flickered on. A large hoard of armed members flooded out of the church and the opposite buildings like a dark tsunami. There were at least two hundred of them surrounding the car. The men had lacked uniformity in gears and clothes but there was a common feature. Their obnoxiously menacing expressions and stances.
Those were Relief Society members and armed men that Giovanna, Theresa, Stella and Rosa recruited in Colombia.
“They’re part of us!” Giovanna exited the church and screamed. “Dismiss!”
Close behind her was Theresa, Stella and Rosa. The four of them that shared two of the same faces were a lovely sight to behold from any angle.
The armed members surrounding the Ford Pathfinder quickly dispersed.
It was only then that Xia Lei and his team climbed out of the vehicle.
Giovanna sheepishly explained, “Sorry, this is just a precautionary measure against the Tijuana gang’s ambush. So…”
Xia Lei offered her a reassuring smile. He stepped forward and came to her side. “There’s no need to explain yourself. Neither you nor the men are at fault. I’m glad to see everyone back here safely. Now it’s time to instruct me around like I’m your subordinate.
“Huh?” Giovanna was perplexed, unsure of his motive.
Xia Lei lowered his voice. “I’ll explain later. Quick, order me around. You can even slap me and scold me for not doing my job well.”
“What…” Raising her voice at Xia Lei was already difficult enough. To slap Xia Lei across his face in front of everyone else was something Giovanna could never do.
Xia Lei glared at her in an attempt to urge her on.
“Fine.” Giovanna took a step back with venom in her expression. There was now some bite to her tone, switching up from gentle lady to a ruthless female tiger. She frowned and roared at him, “What is this?! I paid you so much money and yet you failed miserably! Trash, all of you!”
Xia Lei lowered his head and avoided Giovanna’s eyes. In a hushed voice, he urged again, “Hit me.”
Giovanna’s palm whipped across Xia Lei’s cheek harshly.
Slap! Giovanna had held back her force by a fraction but the sound was still crisp. Rosa, Stella and Theresa behind her couldn’t help but grimace slightly at the scene. The ringing sound of the slap reached their ears and dropped to the bottom of their stomachs.
At this moment, Tsukino Kyoko walked over to Xia Lei’s side and bowed her head with a stern look. “I brought some bad news.”
Giovanna was caught by surprise. “What is it?”
“The boss…” Tsukino Kyoko feigned extreme sorrow. “The boss is dead.”
“Huh?” Giovanna snapped her eyes back on Xia Lei. Wasn’t the boss right in front of them? What the fuck was Tsukino Kyoko bullshitting about?
Xia Lei uttered, “It’s true. The boss is dead. Last night, he had perished in Area 51. The boss… Sob… Sob… The boss was blasted into pieces. What a bad way to go!” The man began to wail.
Coming from the man himself, the four female knights finally understood his intentions. They quickly accommodate his script and enter their supposed roles.
“Bastards! I swear I’ll kill them!” Giovanna roared to the sky.
Stella rubbed her eyes and lowered her head, stealthily dabbing saliva onto the corners of her eyes.
Rosa drew her pistol out and shot the clouds. “I swear I’ll fuck them over! I’m going to avenge the boss!”
Bang Bang Bang!
A rain of bullets was fired, mostly by the Relief Society members out of genuine sadness. They had hailed Xia Lei as God’s Son. He had literally shared the same existence as a divine figure and with him dead, how could any of them not be affected by it?
This was a decision Xia Lei had come up with on the way here.
He had burnt Area 51 to ashes and bombed Zhu Xuanyue and the prehistoric chosen one. No one would let him walk free, regardless of the American government or both his nemeses. It was best if Zhu Xuanyue and the prehistoric chosen one had died from the explosions but before he could rectify their deaths, Xia Lei needed to prepare himself for the worse. In the case of them being alive, Xia Lei was bound to face their lust for revenge soon.
Under the pressing threat of revenge from America, Zhu Xuanyue and the prehistoric chosen one, faking his death seemed to be the best way out of this. Area 51 was thoroughly destroyed and many bodies were burnt beyond recognition. As long as he spread rumours about him dying in the fire and wipe his traces clean, what could America do to him? But the problem of Zhu Xuanyue and the prehistoric chosen one was still existent.
As soon as word of his death was spread around, the situation went out of control. Brothers and sisters of the Relief Society screamed about avenging Xia Lei and the hired mercenaries began to worry about the payment. It took quite some effort for Giovanna to calm everyone down before she was able to pull away to lead Xia Lei and the Chinese Zodiac Battle Team members into the church.
Xia Lei entered a secret underground chamber inside. There, the Grey and Russo sisters along with the four Chinese Zodiac Battle Team members anticipated his further instructions.
Xia Lei began, “For now, continue to spread rumours about my death and have the hired mercenaries crack down on the FA’s Mexican stronghold. Money is not an issue. As long as they’re willing to fight, they will earn to their heart’s desire. We need to create an illusion that I’m dead and everyone is revving up for revenge.”
“Okay, we know what to do,” said Giovanna. She reached over and caressed Xia Lei’s cheek. “Did I hurt you?”
Xia Lei smiled at her. “This pain is nothing. I would shoulder so much more for a period of peace.”
Despite the reassurance, Giovanna’s palm was still clasped around his cheek.
Tsukino Kyoko cleared her throat.
It was only then that the woman was willing to pull away.
Xia Lei seemed a little sheepish. “Is the plane ready?”
Rosa answered, “Yes. The Russian plane is already waiting for us at the airport.”
Xia Lei uttered, “Let’s move. We’ll this place for the armed members and we return home to China.”
“But with no one around to lead their attack on the FA, will it be alright?” Giovanna was understandably worried.
Xia Lei replied, “There’s no need to worry about the outcome. This is a proxy war. All we need to do is spend money on it. I’ve never once expected a bunch of amateurs to break the FA apart. All I’m trying to do is to damage the FA’s stability and establish an illusion of my death.”
“Then everything should be alright. We’ll return to China with you,” said Giovanna, lips blossoming into a full smile.
None of the Grey and Russo sisters was willing to stay back in Mexico. As Xia Lei’s sworn knights, they had a duty to follow him everywhere.
Xia Lei uttered, “This time, everyone has to cover their tracks and lay low when we get back. We can no longer live in the Peace Mansion anymore. We need somewhere else to live.”
Under the dim lamp of the underground chamber, the four Chinese Zodiac Battle Team members and the four female knights gave their nods of acknowledgement.