Chapter 144: Ambush And Oversight
Translator: TYZ Editor: - -
Shi Xueman’s face turned ashen.
Skank...
She had never thought that she would one day be called a skank.
Damn it!
Even though she tried her best to act as if nothing happened, her facial expression showed otherwise. She took in deep breaths of air and restrained her anger. In front of Sang Zhijun’s concern, she forced a smile and said, “I must have trained too hard.”
On the other side, Fatty suddenly responded, “So you owe a debt of eighty million yuan?”
Ai Hui suddenly felt the noodles become tasteless, and he stopped eating. With an irritated tone, he replied, “Why do I feel that you’re somewhat rejoicing at my misfortune?”
“No, no, no!” Fatty shook his head like a rattle-drum. “It’s not just somewhat—I’m really rejoicing! Ai Hui, you actually owe someone eighty million yuan, hahaha! Ai Hui, let me tell you this seriously, we are both debtors and we should be in harmony and not criticize each other….”
“I will clear my debt very soon.” Ai Hui cast a look of disdain at Fatty. He then glanced at Sang Zhijun, who appeared to him like a god of wealth, dazzling with golden light.
Whoever bought the Bunny Hair Arrows must be a rich person!
Fatty humphed and remained silent. Ai Hui, however, had become sick of Fatty’s facial expression. “Two more sets of lunges when we’re back home later!”
“Hey, hey, hey, the one with surname Ai, are you trying to take revenge by doing this?” Fatty was enraged.
“Why don’t you pay for the bill, then?” Ai Hui sneered as he played his trump card.
Fatty immediately shut his mouth. At this moment, he understood what living under someone else’s roof meant.
A cold glint flashed across Shi Xueman’s eyes as she sneered in her mind.
You even have the money to eat beef noodles—it seems that you’re rich now!
“That’s not right, Ai Hui.” Fatty suddenly thought of another question, and a puzzled look appeared on his face. “Are you referring to a girl just now?”
Girl? Woman?
In Fatty’s memory, Ai Hui’s world was all about fighting, training, weapons, and money. Weapons were for the sake of improving his fighting capabilities, and money was for the sake of better training. Actually, in the end, it was all about fighting and training.
This fellow was a legitimate cold-blooded killing machine.
“That’s right.” With his head lowered, Ai Hui was engrossed in settling the bill with the owner.
“Wow, I really can’t tell…you’ve been enlightened after you left the Wilderness!” Fatty was astonished. “You actually paid for a girl, but why don’t you pay for me?”
Ai Hui raised his head and glanced at the owner before gesturing to the heap of bowls in front of Fatty. “He’s paying for himself.”
Fatty immediately became terror-stricken and gave a hollow laugh. “Help me please, help me. We will pay together, we will pay together.”
Ai Hui lowered his head again and returned to calculating the total cost of the noodles. That damned Fatty, he ate so much!
Suddenly, Fatty sighed ruefully. “There’s only both of us left. If I can see you, Ai Hui, get together with a girl, I will die without any regrets.”
Ai Hui’s hands trembled as he continued counting the money. Without raising his head, he replied coldly, “Return me my money first before you die.”
Damn it, he had miscounted.
After flustering over the bill for a few times, Ai Hui finally settled it.
At this point of time, Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun finished their meals as well. The jubilant Sang Zhijun had almost finished an entire bowl of noodles. After she had finished eating, she noticed that Shi Xueman did not eat much and felt a bit embarrassed.
By the time Ai Hui and Fatty walked out of the noodle house, night had already fallen.
Due to the blood poison catastrophe, almost all the stores on the street were closed. It was barely nighttime, but the street looked as if it was already midnight. The deep darkness of the night seemed to be devouring all light and warmth. Even the light lamps on the street seemed to be somewhat dimmer.
Such a gloomy scene….
After staying in the Central Pine City for so long, this was the first time Ai Hui saw the night street being so empty and cold
If Central Pine City that was so far away from the Garden of Life was so greatly impacted by the blood poison, then what was the state of those cities and towns that were close to the Garden of Life?
The formerly lush and verdant forest had now become a barren land; the large pieces of scorched land resembled ugly scars. From afar, one could see surging black fumes rising above the horizon.
The scene of that day he had been rescued from the Garden of Life had left an incredibly deep impression on him.
That had fully and vividly displayed the might of the Induction Ground. They wanted to quickly destroy the blood poison even if it meant using the most brutal of ways to achieve it. Sometimes, Ai Hui couldn’t help but wonder how such a powerful entity like the Induction Ground could not handle a mere blood poison?
Like a persistent haze, the uneasiness lingered in his mind.
Ai Hui believed that the Induction Ground would definitely find a way to handle the blood poison. Perhaps the only thing he had to worry about was the Induction Ground’s efficiency. The reason why he was feeling uneasy might be because of the appearance of the blood poison inside Central Pine City.
Ai Hui silently shook his head and tried to ignore these distracting thoughts. He was just a nobody; why should he worry so much? He should make good use of his time and train harder.
Behind him, Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun left the noodle house as well.
All right, he would have to make a trip to Old Li’s shop tomorrow. How much money will he make from such a huge business deal?
After settling his mistress’s debt, Ai Hui’s cash on hand had reduced significantly. Even though Senior Mingxiu had assured him that there was no rush in repaying the debt, Ai Hui still paid her back the full amount of money he owed.
He already owed a lot to his mistress. If he had no money, then he could not do anything about the debt. But if he earned money and still did not settle his debt, then what would that say about his character?
Luckily, tonight he met a rich person; he would make a profit.
The overjoyed Ai Hui cast a glance at Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun. How could he not notice such wealthy clients?
Suddenly, Ai Hui’s eye pupils shrunk, and he yelled solemnly, “Be careful! Behind you!”
Sang Zhijun was stretching her back. The bowl of noodles she had just eaten was too delicious. Suddenly, she heard a yell from ahead, and a blank look flashed upon her face.
Shi Xueman’s attention was still on that damned fellow. How dare he call her a skank? She would never let this matter rest! And because of this, she noticed Ai Hui’s eye pupils shrink, and at that moment, she went on high alert.
Furthermore, due to her previous encounters with Ai Hui, she was aware of his sharp senses.
Without any hesitation, Shi Xueman, being one of the top students in the Induction Ground, displayed a superb reaction speed at this critical moment.
She pushed the bewildered Sang Zhijun to the ground, and her other hand simultaneously released a cloud of mist.
The palm-sized cloud of mist exploded violently.
A ring-shaped wall of water vapor extended outwards with a loud bang.
The seemingly weak wall of water vapor was sizzling furiously, displaying terrifying might.
Behind it...
She Xueman remained remarkably cool-headed. Ai Hui’s warning had zoomed past her mind with a lightning speed. At the instant she released the cloud of mist, both her legs were already pinned to the ground as she flung Sang Zhijun towards Ai Hui with one hand.
Thump! Pfff!
These two sounds could be heard at the same time. A shiver ran down Shi Xueman’s spine.
The first sound was somewhat muffled. Clearly, it was produced when the attacker had slammed itself against the wall of water vapor. The second sound was produced when the attacker’s attack hit the ground; it had landed on the spot where they were standing previously.
Shi Xueman was appalled.
She was well aware of how powerful the wall of water vapor was. The wall of water vapor could easily bounce off an elephant and send it flying a few hundred meters away.
The attacker had actually slammed against the wall and could still attack them afterward.
Terrifying...
When Sang Zhijun stood up and saw the deep scratches on the spot where they had previously been standing a few moments ago, her expression changed drastically.
Shi Xueman was much calmer, but she still felt a lingering fear. If she had been slightly careless, both of them would now be terribly injured.
She looked around and did not discover anything, so she raised her head and looked at the sky. The pitch-black night sky seemed to devour all light.
“What was that just now?” she asked Ai Hui.
Ai Hui was shocked when he heard a seemingly familiar voice. However, he did not think much about it; after all, the danger was not over yet. He put his hand on his sword hilt and replied solemnly, “It’s a bat, and there’s a few of them. They must be infected with the blood poison.”
“Bats?” Shi Xueman’s expression changed slightly. “How did they get in?”
Due to the appearance of flying insects that had been infected with the blood poison outside the city, Central Pine City had purposely strengthened its air defense—its defense could now be said to be very tight.
None of them had expected that Central Pine City, which they thought was well-fortified, had let in a bat.
Ai Hui clutched his sword’s hilt. The cold sweat on his back had already drenched his shirt. This was the first time he could not identify the location of his enemy while he was in the sword embryo’s state. He licked his lips and warned them. “Be careful, they haven’t left yet.”
Shi Xueman’s expression changed drastically as she awaited the enemy’s strike.
The previously bewildered Sang Zhijun had calmed down as well. She removed the lock of golden silk that was tied around her wrist, and with a flick, it transformed into a golden longbow.
This was the first time Ai Hui had seen such a unique bow, and he could not help but take a second look.
The bow was made up of countless intertwining threads of golden silk, causing it to look more like a piece of art than a weapon. It was slim and magnificent.
Sang Zhijun, who had now calmed down, drew three Bunny Hair Arrows.
In a time of crisis, she did not hesitate in the slightest and was extremely decisive.
Shi Xueman did not unleash her azure wings; they would be useless as her opponent was a bat that naturally specialized in flying. Furthermore, the sky was dark, and she did not want to put herself in a disadvantageous position.
A faintly discernable cloud of air was gathering in her palms.
“Shouldn’t we request for help first?” Fatty said weakly while hiding behind them.
Ai Hui was focused on the space of air ahead of him. As he scanned his surroundings, he replied, “No. If we request for help now, this place will become chaotic. A chaotic scene will be advantageous to those blood bats. And if they have an advantage, we will not leave this place alive today.”
Shi Xueman and Sang Zhijun both agreed to Ai Hui’s words.
Just now, if not for Ai Hui’s warning, they would have already been struck by the bats. Bats were the assassins of the dark—if they missed their attacks, they would flee, hide in the dark, and wait patiently for the next chance to strike again.
A chaotic environment would provide many such chances to the blood bats.
Sweat was dripping down Ai Hui’s forehead, but he still maintained his composure. He could sense a few strands of a very weak aura drifting around. Previously, he had managed to give a warning not because he had sensed the blood bats, but rather because he had seen a red glow flash across the night sky.
Ai Hui had managed to take a good look at them. They belonged to the blood-red glowing eyes of a bat.