“My colleague from the Security Department reported that two employees are threatening to jump off the office building. They’re already on the roof.” E’er Demutu relayed as they took quick steps.
“Did they mention why?” Xia Lei asked, his pace never once faltering.
E’er Demutu said, “No, they haven’t said anything. Everything had happened so quickly, they’re probably still in the middle of investigations.”
Exiting the Holy Thunder Church, Xia Lei zeroed in on the office block of the Thunder Horse Jingdu Headquarters. The building was the tallest one on the premise, so nothing was there to obstruct his inspection. In a glance, he immediately found the two company employees standing on the rooftop. They were two males that looked exceptionally young.
Identifying his targets, Xia Lei began to sprint towards the office block and made it there in record time. This was the first time he had showed up to his company ever since he came back from America. His appearance had allowed many worried faces to dissolve into relief.
“Director Xia.” Noticing Xia Lei’s presence, Lu Sheng rushed forward and greeted him. “We don’t know why but those two kids up there have been going on and on about wanting to jump off the building. We can’t seem to convince them to step down at all. I’ve already called the fire department and also their families to have them come and talk to the kids.”
“Understood, I’ll go talk to them first and try to stall them. Do me a favour and disperse the curious onlookers beneath. Don’t let them gather around, this will only serve as additional stress to the suicidal ones,” instructed Xia Lei before he barged into the office block.
Lu Sheng began to work on dispersing the crowd while Xia Lei headed for the rooftop.
“Hey, can you recognize me?” Xia Lei slowly approached the two young employees, trying to engage them in a conversation as a distraction. “I’m Xia Lei, your boss. Are you met with trouble? Tell me, I can help you solve it regardless of it being money or relationship troubles. Trust me, I’m able to help you sort things out.”
It was at this moment that the two employees at the edge of the roof turned around to spare Xia Lei a glance in unison. They synced their every move.
Just as they turned to face him, Xia Lei’s heart sank rapidly. What he saw were not the eyes of a regular person. Their eyes looked hollow and blank, almost as if they were zombies. They looked incredibly soulless, numb and dull.
“Xia Lei, this is the pressure you asked for.” One of them spoke. As soon as his words fell, he turned around and leapt off the roof.
Screams and yells of terror came roaring from beneath, followed by a muffled thud.
The abrupt change took Xia Lei by surprise. Soon realization dawned upon him. It wasn’t money or relationship woes that drove the employees to take their own lives. Someone was controlling their minds.
The remaining employee uttered, “Xia Lei, have you thought it through? If you haven’t, I’ll be sure to up the pressure. Next time, it won’t be a normal employee standing at the edge of this roof but the person you love the most.”
And with that, the remaining employee too took his leap. Thud! He landed heavily on the concrete ground beneath, his skull broke apart and caused his brain fluids and blood to dye the ground red.
Xia Lei could only gape, his brain buzzing numbingly.
He was fully aware of what had happened. From the messages left behind by the suicidal employees, the person behind this ordeal was not Zhu Xuanyue but the prehistoric chosen one. The two employees were his warnings. Next time, Xia Lei wouldn’t be able to withstand it!
Doot doot doot… Doot doot doot…
The satellite phone in his grip, the one sent to him by the prehistoric chosen one, began to ring.
Xia Lei picked up the call and roared into the device, “Bastard! What the fuck are you after?!”
“Has the message gotten through you? Do you know what I want now? If you do, you better do what you’re supposed to do. Any resistance is futile. Do you really think you’re in control of the situation? No, you’re terribly wrong. I’m the one in control of the situation. Always have been and never will be you.” There was something so upsettingly icy about the prehistoric chosen one’s tone. It was merciless with hints of mockery.
Xia Lei quickly scanned his surroundings. The curious crowd below, the employees bustling around in the garage a distance away and not even missing those outside of the Thunder Horse Organization’s premise. Xia Lei had a bugging feeling that the prehistoric chosen one was just around the corner but he just could not spot him anywhere.
“I’ll give you another twenty-four hours to decide. If you’ve yet to arrive at a conclusion, the next one on the rooftop or laying on the train tracks will no longer be your employee but your wives.” And then, the prehistoric chosen one hung up.
The conversation had ended but Xia Lei could not muster the strength to leave the rooftop. It took a long while before the man had moved an inch from his spot.
Yes, Xia Lei was painfully aware of what the prehistoric chosen one was asking for. The black-robed man desired for him to consume the last AE capsule and complete his evolution. He had hesitated about it for a very long time. The reason behind his reluctance was its safety concerns. After all, this was something his nemeses were trying their darndest to get him to do. Would it really be alright to heed their instructions?
There was another reason that added to his dilemma. Consuming the last AE capsule would mean completing his evolution. He would transcend into a state of existence like Zhu Xuanyue and the prehistoric chosen one. He’d become an energy body that lacked warmth and would soon be required to consume humans to live! Xia Lei was unwilling to accept the idea of becoming intangible to his loved ones. And he was even more unwilling to feed on his kind!
Consuming the last AE capsule would turn him into a demon. Perhaps the process would take longer than Zhu Xuanyue or the prehistoric chosen one but the outcome was almost certain.
But the real question was this. Not only was the prehistoric chosen one trying to coerce him into taking the last AE capsule but even Zhu Xuanyue too had shared the same sentiment.
Why?
Xia Lei couldn’t stop thinking about it but yet failed to find an answer.
Soon, the police force and the fire department had arrived. Sadly, the task awaiting them was no longer a rescue mission but a body retrieval.
The two young employee’s families had finally arrived at the Thunder Horse office block. One of them had just gotten hitched recently. At the sight of his dead body, his heavily pregnant wife cried her lungs out pitifully. The other’s aged parents grieved over their son’s bloodied and lifeless body. The most painful thing in this world would be for a parent to bury their child and this tragedy had taken place right in front of Xia Lei. While he was able to destroy the American Seventh Fleet and was capable of bombing the entire Area 51, he had no way of stopping both of them from jumping off the building.
An unprecedented sense of defeat seized Xia Lei’s being. Yet, raging wrath and resentment began to take root in his heart at the same time.
“I swear I’ll make you pay for this! I swear!” Xia Lei hissed through gritted teeth, his expressions contorting with absolute fury.
Despite the tragic episode, the Thunder Horse Organization wasn’t severely affected by it. Xia Lei had compensated the victims’ families with eight million dollars each. While money would not help ease their torment, this was the only way Xia Lei could aid their families through tough times.
Both victims’ families too did not make a scene out of the incident. After all, they had jumped off the roof on their own volition. Plus, Xia Lei was gracious enough to offer them eight million dollars.
After taking care of that, Xia Lei stayed behind at the Thunder Horse Organization. He visited the drone workshop to see Annina and Sylvia. They talked for two hours. Other than the casual topics, he too learned a thing or two about the current situation of the drone’s production. Now with the country’s involvement, the production of Alloy X had been relatively smooth. During his absence, the Thunder Horse Organization had birthed two more Phantom drone units and eight more Jing Ke drone units. Other than that, many Alloy X anti-ship missiles and air-to-air missiles were made in the time being too. The production speed was typical of China’s style.
Aside from that, the expansion of the Thunder Horse Organization had never once ceased. New factory areas were being constructed all throughout twenty-four hours. The production of relevant equipment and the recruitment of staff members were in full swing too. Xia Lei’s ambition to surpass Lockheed Martin was very much desired by the country.
After work, Xia Lei sat down for dinner with Annina and Sylvia but nothing further had happened that night. He left the Peace Mansion straight after dinner and drove home.
Tang Yuyan had arrived home almost in tandem as Xia Lei. She was still the current head of Bureau 101 so her workload was as heavy as ever. Just as Xia Lei exited his car, she too had just got off her military off-road vehicle. They paced into their shared home together.
“Hubby, I received some news that two employees had committed suicide on Thunder Horse’s grounds. What happened?” asked Tang Yuyan.
Xia Lei hesitated for a moment but decided against telling her the truth. “I didn’t manage to figure what drove them to do so but I’ve already taken care of it. Oh, right. Be a little careful when you’re out to work for the time being. If you don’t wish to go to work, you’re more than welcomed to stay at home.”
In fact, the prehistoric chosen one had manipulated the innocent employees’ minds and even threatened him with his wives and children’s safety. How could he possibly speak of something so severe? Telling her about his problems may not solve the problem but instil terror in their hearts.
Tang Yuyan said, “I can’t resign for the time period but I’ll give it a good thought if…” She paused and giggled a little. “If I’m pregnant with your child and you wish for me to be a full-time mother. You better work harder.”
Such gentle words of love it was. Most of the stress and melancholy plaguing Xia Lei’s senses was helpfully dissolved away by her smiles and affection. But that had solidified Xia Lei’s will to not spill the truth to their wives. He just could not bear to have the love of his lives be burdened with stress and he did not wish to ruin the harmony and happiness of this new family.
Xia Lei found it easier to smile now. “How about we work hard towards it tonight?”
Tang Yuyan desired that but said otherwise, “No, no, no. I’ve been hogging you for the past nights. Siyao and the others won’t be pleased.”
“Then we should all sleep together. I’m sure it’ll be lively,” suggested Xia Lei.
Tang Yuyan had nothing to say.
She suddenly remembered what Long Bing had told her earlier. Tang Yuyan was bound to sleep together with everyone else on the same mattress. The unfamiliarity of the situation was still difficult for her to imagine though.
Both of them entered through the doors and were greeted by Jiang Ruyi in her apron. “Welcome home. Dinner is ready. I made three whip soup today. You should drink more of that, hubby.”
[Note: ‘Three whip soup’ is a literal translation of 三鞭汤, which could be crudely translated as ‘three penises soup’. It’s a soup made of three kinds of animal penises (usually bull) to increase libido and masculine stamina.]
Xia Lei frowned. “What is the soup for?”
Jiang Ruyi answered, “Well, for the sake of making our Yuyan into a mother earlier. It’ll be lively to have five children play together.”
Xia Lei was thoroughly rendered speechless. Was there a need for such a soup? Xia Lei literally had no problems lasting through the night. But since Jiang Ruyi had him in mind while cooking it, he’d gladly lap it up.
Tang Yuyan was blushing furiously. She was a greenie in the world of marriage. There was no way she could be compared to a veteran like Jiang Ruyi. She mumbled, “Ruyi, I… I’m going to sleep alone tonight.”
“Nonsense.” Jiang Ruyi chided.
“I can’t keep hogging him up,” said Tang Yuyan.
“Special situations require special handling.” Liang Siyao’s voice rang from the other end. She was standing at the entrance of the dining hall with an apron around her waist. “We’ve discussed this earlier and we’ve agreed to let you have him for one whole week. I’m sure one whole week is enough to get you pregnant.”
“But…” Tang Yuyan had to admit she was moved by the gesture.
Long Bing too exited the dining hall. “We all had our wedding ceremonies but you did not. So consider this as some sort of compensation on our part.”
Tang Yuyan jokingly spat. “Dude, I don’t want that kind of compensation.”
“If you can’t take it, we’ll gladly help you out.” Fan Fan exited the dining hall with the herbal soup in question towards Xia Lei.
Xia Lei frantically backed away. “No… No.”
Tang Yuyan was growing nervous. “Hey, he’s rejecting it so vehemently. Why are you all still feeding him that? Are you eager to see me not able to leave the bed for days?”
It was obvious Tang Yuyan was slowly getting polluted by the other women.
Laughter erupted at every corner of the house.
Though Xia Lei was laughing on the surface, he genuinely could not find anything amusing about his predicament. The prehistoric chosen one had given him a twenty-four-hour limit. He needed to arrive at a decision.