Inexplicably, Zhu Xuanyue’s words made Xia Lei reminisce about the time he was on Dawang mountain. In that battle, the man had stripped off all his clothes for Tang Yuyan. His body automatically adjusted itself to the harsh temperatures. When he slept with Zhu Xuanyue, the woman’s body was as cold as ice. His body reacted the same and got used to the freezing temperature. It began to produce heat to protect his vital organs against the cold.
“Uncle Xia, it feels so nice to be close to you. Your warmth is so comfortable.” Zhu Xuanyue laid her head on top of Xia Lei’s shoulder. Though she referred to him as an uncle, she acted more like a woman in love.
Xia Lei tolerated her agonizing ‘harassment’, thinking, “When she had no physical form, she called me the chosen one and loved to take hot baths with me. Now that she has a physical form, she likes sleeping with me. Does she share a connection with me that I am unaware of? No, no way. Even if it had something to do with me, it’s most probably due to the mysterious powers within me. There’s no way it could be me. If it wasn’t for the strange energy, I would probably still be back in Haizhu in some random construction site moving bricks and welding metal.”
Zhu Xuanyue ignored the weird looks people tossed at her. The woman hugged her arms around Xia Lei’s elbow tighter, like a kitten seeking attention.
Xia Lei was still deep in thought. “Am I the same chosen one as the prehistoric chosen one? Is there such a possibility? In the Metal Book, the prehistoric chosen one had fought to his death with Zhu Xuanyue. The battles they shared were extremely violent, how could they be friends? If I’m the successor of the prehistoric chosen one, that would make me Zhu Xuanyue’s arch-nemesis. But why is she so passionate about me? She even mentioned that I’m the only one that could warm her up. Her behaviour and mannerism tell me that she genuinely enjoys being around me. But why?”
Zhu Xuanyue, the prehistoric chosen one, the black-robed man and Leonardo da Vinci along with bits of inexplicable strange memories flooded out from different corners of Xia Lei’s mind. It created a storm of confusion.
Without realizing it, they soon reached the side of the White House where all the tourists went to take pictures. They were unable to get closer to the White House. If they were to do as much as to cross over the designated area, a group of armed security forces would halt them. Other than the armed forces, there were also agents around the White House. Each of them had serious expressions and were constantly on high alert.
Xia Lei made no move to get closer to the railing. He opted to stand far away.
“Uncle Xia, would you like to go in and take a look?” Zhu Xuanyue continued, “I can get you in there.”
Xia Lei rolled his eyes at her. “Your idea is to turn them all into idiots, right?”
“Uh, how did you know?” Zhu Xuanyue had the audacity to look shocked.
Xia Lei ignored her, letting his gaze land on the White House instead. His left eye twitched slightly and the X-ray vision was activated. Soon, his vision penetrated into the interior of the White House.
He scanned through a few rooms, finally stopping at an oval-shaped office.
The oval office served as the working space for many famous American presidents. The bald eagle and the Stars and Stripes were obvious signs of that.
There was a black man occupying the office. He looked about in his fifties but the way he held himself was serious and majestic. It didn’t require much for Xia Lei to identify him. He was the current acting president of America, Bachoma. Anyone who was updated enough with current world news would know who he was, every decision and action he executed pulled the world’s nerves taut.
Bachoma was seated comfortably on his spinning office chair. He had his legs placed on top of his desk leisurely. A pen was spun nimbly between his fingers. He seemed to be in deep thought but he also seemed like he was waiting for someone.
The man governing the world’s hegemony was now within Xia Lei’s sight. The moment Xia Lei caught a glimpse of Bachoma was the moment an abrupt urge to have Zhu Xuanyue bring him in for a visit was birthed.
If Zhu Xuanyue wanted to enter the oval office, no armed forces or elite president bodyguards and special agents could stop her. The woman could decide the president’s fate as soon as she made it into the office!
The idea was attractive because all it would take was one word from him and the president of the United States would either turn into an idiot or food.
However, the thought of it was wild and intangible. Perhaps Zhu Xuanyue’s presence in the oval office would cause an irreversible change in the global power balance. Worse, she might even be the trigger to a Third World War.
“Uncle Xia, do you see that man inside?” Zhu Xuanyue scowled. “He’s so ugly.”
Her mindless comment jolted Xia Lei back into reality. The abrupt wake made Xia Lei realize that he had worked up a pool of cold sweat inside his clenched fists. He was so close to doing that but knew it wasn’t right of him to do so.
Yes, the American government was trying to get rid of him. The incident of the Japanese Land Self-Defense Force’s tanks firing their shells at him was a prime example. Following that, the government had even instructed Lockheed Martin’s CEO, Madam Folsom, to expose his secrets on live broadcast during the Boao Forum For Asia. From those two incidents alone, there was enough reason for him to send Zhu Xuanyue into the oval office and have her initiate close contact with President Bachoma. This was most definitely going to avenge him and deliver him a sense of relish.
However, would that solve his problems?
Was that the right action to take?
There were many answers to that.
The American government was the most powerful governing force in the world and Bachoma was only a part of it. His role as president wasn’t even the core of the government. If he made Zhu Xuanyue get rid of him, someone new would come and take over his throne. After that, America was going to be a revenge machine. Which country in the world could face up against America and its allies?
Killing one person was easy but could he make Zhu Xuanyue destroy the entire United States of America? That certainly was impossible. Even if it were, it must not be done. He was not the same as Zhu Xuanyue, who was a devil that harvested humans as food. Xia Lei could never see the innocent civilians of America as his enemies.
“Uncle Xia?” Zhu Xuanyue nudged his shoulder. “Why are you so quiet?”
Xia Lei broke out of his daze. He smiled at her. “What do you want me to say?”
“Uh… Praise me. Tell me that I’m a good girl.” Zhu Xuanyue seems serious.
“Hahaha.” Xia Lei chuckled. “Xuanyue, you’re such a good girl.”
“Hehehe.” Zhu Xuanyue giggled joyfully.
Xia Lei’s vision penetrated into the oval office once again. This time, President Bachoma was joined by a woman.
This woman was none other than the Madam Folsom of Lockheed Martin who attacked Xia Lei during the Boao Forum.
Folsom’s unexpected appearance had Xia Lei focused his vision on Folsom and Bachoma, activating his lip-reading abilities at the same time.
“Hello, Mister President.” Folsom greeted the man with respect, then passed him an envelope of documents with both hands.
“Please take a seat, Madam Folsom.” Bachoma flipped the envelope flap open to empty its contents.
Xia Lei averted his gaze onto the document, then intensified the strength of his X-ray vision. He found a printed picture of the ZTZ100 main battle tank and him right beside it.
This was captured back in Russia.
“Mister President.” Folsom reported, “After the end of the tank biathlon in Russia, we received some intel and information from the Japanese. I had my company’s experts analyze the data and what you’re reading now is a compilation of our findings.”
Bachoma read the printed content. He furrowed his brows. “Is the ZTZ100 main battle tank really that good?”
Folsom replied, “Mister President, there’s a USB inside the envelope with some footage the Japanese had recorded. In the video, Xia Lei personally drove the ZTZ100 and obtained an easy victory over Japan’s Type 10 Tank and also Russia’s T90 tank.
“The Japanese and Russian tanks were no big deal,” Bachoma scoffed.
Folsom added on, “Mister President, you won’t say the same after watching the footage. Xia Lei had won the competition and placed the ZTZ100 was in resting mode. When the three Type 10 Tanks had fired their shells at him, he was able to dodge one shell but was hit by the other two. Despite that, the ZTZ100 was still able to move around rapidly and even destroyed the three Type 10 Tanks who ambushed it.”
The shocking piece of information seemed to intrigue Bachoma.
Folsom continued, “Our expert team has given me a solid conclusion. The ZTZ100 is at least ten years more advanced than our current M1A3. If we were to challenge China on land, we’d at least need two M1A3 to have a fair battle against one ZTZ100 main battle tank.”
Bachoma took out the USB at the bottom of the envelope but made no move to insert it into his laptop port. He trusted Folsom’s claims.
“Mister President, I’ve met with Xia Lei. The man rejected our offer and had a personal vendetta against us. He said he’d be researching drone technology next. He’s going to temper with the air battle balance between us and China. There is no country in the world that would dare to challenge China to a land battle. The air force and navy is our last protection against them. If we lose this advantage, we’ll have to submit to them. We won’t be able to protect the interest of us and our allies in Asia.” said Folsom solemnly.
“You exposed his secrets. Is China not planning to do anything to him?” questioned Bachoma.
“The CIA intelligent agents have done some investigations. Currently, there is a troop of special forces stationed at the Thunder Horse Organization headquarters in Jingdu. But they’re merely surrounding his property,” reported Folsom.
“His existence has threatened America’s core interest. He is an enemy of the country. The danger he brings is much more severe than what the Middle Eastern terrorists are capable of.”
“I agree. As soon as Thunder Horse Organization’s overall performance surpasses Lockheed Martin’s, we’ll find ourselves in dark times.”
“Xia Lei must die. The next operation must succeed. You need to come up with a better and feasible strategy.” Bachoma stared at her. “You may leave now. I’ll have the CIA contact you.”
“Understood. Till we meet again, Mister President.” Folsom stood and left.
Xia Lei peeled his attention and grabbed Zhu Xuanyue’s arm. They began to move forward.
“Uncle Xia, where are we going?” Zhu Xuanyue was confused.
“We’re going to visit an old friend of mine,” said Xia Lei.
“And then we’ll be sleeping?” Zhu Xuanyue blinked her large innocent eyes at Xia Lei.
Xia Lei said nothing and continued to walk.
Before they walked far, a Chevrolet Suburban four-wheel-drive emerged from behind the metal gate.
Xia Lei focused his gaze on the car plate number, imprinting the combination of numbers into his mind.