nyslfriends Chapter 108 Rebirth from the Ashes: The Calm at the Center of the Storm
Chapter 108 Rebirth from the Ashes: The Calm at the Center of the Storm
The Yanjing Headquarters of the Astronomical Bureau.
Six underground floors, a top-secret conference room.
The overhead incandescent bulbs cast a pale white light, illuminating the long, rectangular mahogany conference table.
Wei Canghai leaned back in his chair, his face so gloomy it could drip water.
On the table was the black USB drive.
There were three people sitting in the conference room. Besides Wei Canghai, there were two deputy directors from the Astronomical Observatory.
The chubby man on the left, wearing a Tang suit and holding two walnuts in his hand, is named Li Gang. He's in charge of intelligence and logistics.
"Old Wei, didn't your trip a bit boost the morale of the enemy?"
Li Gang stopped playing with the walnuts, a shrewd glint flashing in his eyes, which were the size of mung beans.
"That old fox Lu Zhentian holds the array plate of the Dragon-Locking Well in his hand. How could some eighteen-year-old brat possibly kill him? And force you, a Martial God of the Divine Realm, to refrain from making a move?"
Li Gang sneered.
"I think it's most likely that old bastard Lu Zhentian suffered a backlash when setting up the formation, and he blew up the formation's core himself. This kid just got lucky and picked up the scraps."
The deputy director on the right, wearing a Zhongshan suit, didn't say anything; he just lowered his head and drank his tea.
Wei Canghai slammed his hand on the table.
"Bang!"
The solid wood tabletop was slapped and developed a crack.
"Li Gang! Do you even have a brain?! Thirty armored vehicles were overturned by bare hands, and the Grand Elder's head was slapped off his head – is this the kind of commotion a backlash could cause?"
Wei Canghai pointed to the USB drive on the table.
"Do you know where this thing came from?! That kid ripped it out of Black Wolf's brain right in front of me! The ten billion the Lu family transferred to your overseas account—it's all clearly recorded here!"
The fat on Li Gang's face twitched suddenly.
A cold sweat broke out on his back instantly, and he coughed twice, trying to remain calm.
"Old Wei, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. We don't even know if the contents of this USB drive are real or fake."
Li Gang's eyes darted around.
"Now that the Lu family has fallen, the business world in Yanjing is leaderless. The Wang family just called, saying they're willing to take over the Lu family's businesses in Nancheng, with our Tianjian Bureau receiving 30% of the profits. The condition is... that we hand over that kid named Lu Yuan."
Wei Canghai laughed in exasperation.
"Hand it over? Fine, Li Gang, you've got the guts. Go ahead and arrest it. I won't stop you!"
Wei Canghai stood up and put the USB drive into his pocket.
"I'm putting my words here. Anyone who dares to provoke that scoundrel for the Wang family's paltry sums of money shouldn't blame me for disregarding our camaraderie. The political landscape of Yanjing is about to change; you'd better think carefully before you act!"
After saying that, Wei Canghai slammed the door and left without looking back.
The meeting room fell silent.
Li Gang picked up the teacup on the table and smashed it hard on the ground.
"Damn it, this old man is getting more and more regressive! He's scared out of his wits by a high school student!"
Li Gang took out a specially made phone and dialed a number.
"Hello, is this Butler Wang? The Celestial Surveillance Bureau is no longer involved in the Lu family's affairs. That kid is currently living in the shantytown in the south of the city. Yes, just him and his sister. Your Wang family should act quickly if you want, before the other families react."
After hanging up the phone, Li Gang snorted coldly.
What good is it if the son of a down-on-his-luck family knows some unorthodox skills?
Behind the Wang family stands a true master of ancient martial arts who has just emerged from seclusion!
......
South of the city, a rented room.
The spirit stone in mid-air had completely dimmed and turned into a dull, gray waste stone.
"Clatter".
The waste rock fell to the ground and shattered into a pile of powder.
Lu Yuan waved his hand, dispelling the golden rune array on the roof.
Lu Changfeng, lying on the bed, let out a muffled cough and slowly opened his eyes.
"dad!"
Lu Qingxue stayed by her father's bedside the whole time, and when she saw him open his eyes, tears streamed down her face again.
Lu Changfeng looked at the yellowish ceiling with some confusion, then at his daughter lying by the bed.
He instinctively tried to sit up.
"Don't move."
Lu Yuan walked over and placed his hand on his father's shoulder.
"Your meridians have just been remodeled, and your Qi and blood are still unstable. Lie down and adjust for a while."
Lu Changfeng was stunned.
He looked down at his body.
There was no blood, no wound. His collarbone, which had been pierced, was completely intact, and the skin was even more rosy and firm than before. What shocked him even more was that he felt a warm current flowing through his body, a feeling of power a hundred times stronger than when he was in his prime at twenty!
"Yuan'er... what's wrong with me...?"
Lu Changfeng's voice trembled slightly.
He vividly remembered the torment he suffered in the Lu family compound. He never wanted to experience that kind of excruciating despair again in his life.
"Dad, you're alright now."
Lu Yuan pulled up a chair and sat down, his tone calm.
"The Lu family's matter is resolved. Lu Zhentian and Lu Changfeng are both dead. From now on, no one in Yanjing will dare to touch a hair on your head."
Lu Changfeng's eyes widened instantly, almost bursting out of their sockets.
"Dead? Lu Zhentian is dead?"
He grabbed Lu Yuan's wrist with surprising strength.
"Yuan'er! You've committed a grave offense! The Lu family has the Heavenly Surveillance Bureau backing them. If you kill them, the country will not let you off! Quick! Take Xue'er and leave immediately! Leave Yanjing, escape as far away as possible!"
Lu Changfeng was so anxious that he was about to get out of bed and put on his shoes.
Lu Yuan grasped his father's hand in return.
"Dad. Wei Canghai, the director of the Astronomical Observatory, was there at the time."
Lu Yuan looked into his father's eyes and said, word by word.
He didn't dare utter a single word.
Lu Changfeng froze.
His mouth was half-open, and his mind completely went blank.
The Director-General of the Astronomical Bureau? That legendary Martial God who supposedly suppressed the martial arts world of China? He didn't even dare to utter a peep?
How is that possible?
Just then.
"Bang bang bang!"
The old, dilapidated security door of the rented room was rudely knocked on.
The knocking was so loud that it shook the dust off the door frame.
"Open the door! It's the community gas meter inspectors!"
A rough and arrogant male voice came from outside the door.
Lu Qingxue shuddered in fright and instinctively hid behind Lu Yuan.
Lu Changfeng's expression changed drastically, and he looked around for something he could use to defend himself.
Lu Yuan patted his father's hand to reassure him.
He stood up and walked to the door.
The cultivator's divine sense had long since covered an area of 500 meters.
Five people were standing outside the door.
Four bodyguards dressed in black suits, with bulging belts around their waists.
The leader was a middle-aged man wearing a custom-made tuxedo and with his hair slicked back.
Wearing a tuxedo to check the gas meter? These people's excuses are even worse than those rogue cultivators who rob people in the cultivation world.
Lu Yuan mentally complained.
He gripped the doorknob and pulled the door open.