Xia Lei opened the door for Yelena after Sylvia finished putting on her pyjamas. Yelena only glanced at Sylvia and looked away right after, but Sylvia was still very nervous. She couldn’t even look at Yelena. Yelena had given her a warning, and she still remembered the sharp combat knife on Yelena’s inner thigh. However, if she were to choose again, she would still knock on Xia Lei’s door…
“What’s the matter?” Xia Lei asked.
“Come out and talk,” said Yelena.
Xia Lei walked out of the room and closed the door.
“Your father told you to go to his place,” whispered Yelena in Xia Lei’s ear.
Xia Lei nodded. “Then let’s go.”
Yelena glanced at the door. “There won’t be any problem if we leave her in your room, will there?”
Xia Lei lowered his voice. “It’s just a room. There’s no secret in there.”
Yelena said nothing more. She walked towards the staircase.
Xia Lei hesitated, but he still opened the door to say to Sylvia, “I have an emergency to take care of. Please excuse me.”
“When are you coming back?” It was obvious that Sylvia didn’t want the happy occasion to end like this.
“I don’t know.”
“Then… I will go back to my room,” said Sylvia in disappointment.
Xia Lei smiled at her. “Remember what you promised me. You must do it well.”
Sylvia nodded. A thought-provoking smile formed at the corners of her lips.
Xia Lei looked back at Ling Han’s room as he walked out of the villa. At that moment, he saw Ling Han’s curtain move slightly. Xia Lei sneered. So Ling Han was peeping, huh.
Xia Lei’s left eye twitched. The glass and the curtains suddenly disappeared in his left eye’s vision. He saw Ling Han take out his phone to make a call and he focused on his mouth, lip-reading what Ling Han said.
“Xia Lei is preparing to leave with his secretary. Follow him and find out where he’s going and who he’s meeting.” Ling Han hung up when he was done talking.
Xia Lei stopped using his X-ray vision. He didn’t even need to guess — he knew that Ling Han had just called Song Baicheng.
Sure enough, right after Xia Lei and Yelena got into the car, Song Baicheng walked furtively out of the office building and went straight for his car.
Xia Lei frowned. “That guy is really troublesome. We can’t let him know where my dad lives.”
He still hadn’t received the pardon order for his father yet, so he didn’t want any accidents to occur.
“Just drive. I have already dealt with the other problems,” said Yelena flatly.
“You have already dealt with it?”
“I punctured all four wheels on Song Baicheng’s car before I knocked on your door,” said Yelena.
Xia Lei was speechless.
The Chevrolet Suburban drove out of the entrance of Thunder Horse Military Factory and soon disappeared into the night.
Song Baicheng quickly walked to his Hongqi car. Just as he got ready to open the car’s door to go after Xia Lei, he caught sight of the back wheels of his car. Song Baicheng’s face suddenly stiffened.
Two seconds later, Song Baicheng kicked the deflated front wheels. He yelled crazily, “Who the fuck did this? Who——”
Ten minutes later, the Chevrolet Suburban stopped on the road next to a field. Xia Lei and Yelena got out of the car and walked into the small mountain village. They climbed up a hill and finally arrived at the entrance of a farmhouse courtyard.
There was no light in the courtyard; darkness filled the place. But Xia Lei could already see seven people standing in the courtyard. Out of the seven people, one of them was his father Xia Changhe, and another was E’er Demutu, the “tiger” of the zodiac team. The other five people consists of two black people, two white people, and an Asian.
Out of the five strangers, the only female was black. She was about twenty years old. She was tall with a pair of long legs. She had the typical features of a black person; plump lips and a round butt. When he first saw her, Xia Lei thought that she was Rihanna, whom he happened to meet by chance once. But of course, she just looked similar to Rihanna.
Seeing them there, Xia Lei suddenly had a thought. ‘Are these people the members of the zodiac team?’
If these were the members of the zodiac team, then including the “rooster”, Yelena by his side, there were currently seven of the zodiac team present. Only five people were missing from the complete team.
“Go in.” It was Yelena’s voice.
Xia Lei tried to hold back his excitement. He stretched his arm out, pushed the door open and walked in.
In the courtyard, everyone’s attention was drawn to Xia Lei. Some looked at him with shock, some looked at him with respect, and some looked at him with hope. From their eyes, it was obvious that they knew who Xia Lei was. They were also aware of what this young man represented.
“You guys saw his profile, but I will still introduce him.” Xia Changhe said, “He’s my son, Xia Lei.”
Xia Lei nodded in greeting. “Hi, everyone.”
Xia Changhe said to Xia Lei, “They are all part of the zodiac team and they all know how to speak Mandarin.” He continued and said, “Introduce yourselves.”
A young white man walked up to Xia Lei and hugged him. He said in Mandarin, “Dragon, Alessio. I’m from Italy.”
Xia Lei patted Alessio on the back.
Another young white man also came up and hugged Xia Lei. “Ox, Marcus. I’m from the United States.”
Xia Lei patted Marcus on the back.
A young black man walked up and hugged Xia Lei. “Goat, Bagu. I’m from Congo.”
Xia Lei patted Bagu on the back.
A young black woman also came up to Xia Lei and hugged him. “Rabbit, Amanda. I’m from England.”
Xia Lei also patted Amanda on the back.
The last, a young Asian man, also walked over and hugged Xia Lei. “Horse, Park Taeyong. I’m from South Korea.”
Xia Lei also patted Park Taeyong on the back.
E’er Demutu smiled. “There’s no need for me and Yelena to introduce ourselves.”
Xia Lei also smiled. “It’s my honour to meet you all.”
“From now on, they are all your people,” said Xia Changhe. “They can do anything for you. You don’t have to be modest with them. You only need to command them.”
“Lei, we are all your father’s children. We are a family,” said Amanda.
These people in front of him were all orphans who had been adopted or rescued by his father, except for E’er Demutu. It could be said that they wouldn’t exist without Xia Changhe. They saw Xia Changhe as a father figure, so Xia Lei was, naturally, considered to be their brother. There was indeed no reason to have to hold back with this sort of relationship.
But Xia Lei had his own thoughts. His father was the one who had given them new lives, not him. He had no friendly relations with these people, and the only reason they were willing to listen to his command was because of his father. These people might be obedient and willing to do anything for him in the short run, but it might not be the case in the long run. So, he had to use his own way to manage these people. He had to build his authority and make these people obey his orders as they would for his father!
He had an argument in his head but Xia Lei smiled. He said, “Yes, we are family. Since this is similar to taking over the head of the household position from my father, I will speak briefly. From today onward, I will give you guys five hundred thousand in family allowance every month. In addition to that, I will also give you guys the best equipment. Each of you will get an XL 2500 sniper rifle and a Gust assault rifle. Our zodiac team’s car and electronic equipment have to be the best in the world.”
The whole courtyard became silent. The seven members gave Xia Lei a strange look.
Xia Lei paused and spread his hands. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Wow——” The black girl Amanda suddenly dashed forward and hugged Xia Lei. Her face was filled with excitement and gratitude. “You’ve just helped me solve my mortgage problem. You’re an awesome head of the household!”
“You really are my angel,” said Alessio with a smile.
Park Taeyong laughed and said, “This means I can eat barbeque whenever I want!”
No one was unhappy. Xia Changhe, the predecessor of the zodiac team didn’t have Xia Lei’s financial status and resources. These people had worked for Xia Changhe without pay. Now that Xia Lei became the new leader, he had conquered their heart easily with his straightforwardness. No one disliked money. Even killers needed money to buy rice and bread, didn’t they?
Xia Changhe sighed. “Brat, don’t spoil them.”
“Rest assured, Dad. I won’t.” Xia Lei smiled.
Xia Changhe didn’t say anything further. Nobody understands one’s son better than one’s father. He knew exactly what Xia Lei was thinking and he supported him. Xia Lei was not the same as him. If Xia Lei drove a fancy car and lived a luxurious life while his subordinates suffered at the bottom of the social hierarchy, these people would eventually become dissatisfied. When that happened, who would be willing to work for Xia Lei?
Xia Lei chatted with a few of the zodiac team members. After he got to know a little about them, he moved the conversation to the main subject. “Dad, I’m going to Korea.”
“You’re going to kill Gu Kewen?” said Xia Changhe.
Xia Lei nodded. “She has to die.”
“I knew you would do that, so I gathered them here beforehand.” Xia Changhe sighed. “I won't stop you, but you have to be very careful, because what awaits you is a fierce battle.”
“I will be careful. Where are the other five people?” Xia Lei asked.
“They can’t be here this time, but you will see them,” said Xia Changhe.
Xia Lei thought of the “pig” again, but he didn’t ask.
“Lei, when are we being mobilised?” Park Taeyong said, “Korea is my territory. Whatever plan you have, I can get to Korea first and have things arranged for you.”
“We will be going tomorrow night. We will have to go there illegally with our equipment. Do you have any smuggling channel?” said Xia Lei.
“Easy, no problem,” Park Taeyong’s answer was swift.
Xia Lei turned to E’er Demutu and said, “E’er Demutu, I will go back to pack all the equipment later. I want you to bring them out in my car when I’m done packing.”
E’er Demutu nodded. “No problem.”
“Dad, the pardon order is coming tomorrow. You can finally walk in the open without hiding.” Xia Lei said, “You should go visit Xiao Xue, she’s going to forget how you look soon.”
Xia Changhe nodded; there were tears in his eyes.
He could finally go home!