Chapter 227 - Mr. Hu Treasures His Dignity
Chapter 227: Mr. Hu Treasures His Dignity
“Yeah…” Meng Chao said tentatively. “If we’re going to kill each other some other day, it’s better if we go to the wall and rest. At least, we won’t have to worry about being surrounded by enemies there.
“We were lucky just now that we didn’t run into Hell Beasts and that the Slit-mouthed Anacondas aren’t infested by Blood Flowers, but good luck won’t side with us forever. What do you think?”
“I think you make sense. We’ll settle our score some other day. Now, let’s think of a way to leave this stupid place before anything else.”
Qin Hu looked at the bizarre shadows squirming in the subsurface plasma and then at his open wounds. He also saw the ghastly white bones within them. He smiled bitterly and grudgingly accepted the truce.
With his saber supporting his swaying body, he maintained a wary distance of five meters from Meng Chao while he walked to the wall. He left a bloody trail behind him.
Both of them sat down cross-legged and sighed at the same time. They moaned having just escaped death.
Meng Chao spent nearly two thousand contribution points to perform a major treatment on himself. He then found the backpack he left by the wall and brought out some nice-smelling compressed food.
Qin Hu stared at it intently, but he found it too embarrassing to ask for food, so he gritted his teeth and vented his rage by punching his stomach. It tore a wound open, and the pain made him bare his teeth.
Meng Chao wanted to laugh, but he also felt a little conflicted.
When he thought about how he did not know the situation on the cliff and that Qin Hu might be the crucial piece that could change the situation, since he was at the peak of Earth Realm, Meng Chao made his decision. He pinched his nose and tossed a few high-calorie compressed food packets, a few vials of genetic medicine, and an emergency medical kit.
Qin Hu was stunned for a moment. Then, his moustache-covered face turned red. Without a single word, he took the gene medicine. Then, with familiar movements, he stitched his wounds and wrapped them up.
After he exercised his breathing for a while, his vitality magnetic field stabilized, and some color returned to his face. He said falteringly and really reluctantly, “Brat, I owe you one. Now, the grudge between us is gone. Once we’re back in Dragon City, as long as you and your father don’t appear in front of me, I won’t cause trouble for you!”
Meng Chao could not help but laugh, and he imitated Qin Hu’s way of speaking and said, “Are you really going to settle this grudge just like this because you said so? Then I’d be really embarrassed!”
“You—”
It was rare for Qin Hu to humble himself to this point, and he did not think that someone younger would look down on him this way. He felt a little angry and embarrassed. “Since you don’t intend to call a truce, why did you jump out to save me just now?”
Meng Chao snorted coldly. “Don’t misunderstand. I never thought about saving you. I was only going to watch as you were torn to shreds by that Slit-mouthed Anaconda and die without a grave. This is something you deserve, and your death wouldn’t be regrettable.
“But alas, I have yet to perfect my lurking skill, so I was discovered by the Slit-mouthed Anaconda. That’s why I was forced to appear. It has nothing to do with you.”
Qin Hu was stunned. He stroked his moustache and said, “You didn’t have to tell me the truth. You could have just said that you wanted to return our grudge with kindness and decided to help. You would have been able to gain my favor.”
“Why would I want to gain your favor? You’re not some peerless elite or Deity Realm elite,” Meng Chao said stiffly. “Besides, didn’t you just claim that you’re really smart and that you can see through my schemes with just one look? What if you think I have ulterior motives because I’m trying to gain your favor and just draw your saber to cut me down without caring about anything else? After all, that’s what you did on the cliff!”
Qin Hu felt embarrassed and angry. His face flushed red. “Let’s make things clear, brat. It’s true that I really want to cut you down, but if you weren’t the ones who attacked first, I wouldn’t have done that. What do you think I am, mad? If I kill someone carelessly, I’m going to be judged by the Supernatural Tower!”
Meng Chao scowled. “What?!”
“You can choose to believe me or not, it’s up to you.” Qin Hu spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm and said in a tone full of despair, “Brat, you’re really lucky. You managed to ally yourself with Thunderbolt, Yan Organization, Soul Breaking Saber Luo Wu, and you’re even a student from Agricultural University’s martial arts course. All the forces of power siding with you are people I cannot afford to offend. How would I ever dare to attack you?”
Meng Chao sank into contemplative silence. “You can kill me and throw me into the depths of the underground. Whatever my fate, no one will be able to find me. No evidence will be left.”
“What nonsense are you yammering about?” Qin Hu asked. “Even if the Supernatural Tower can’t find any evidence to judge me, do you think those ruthless people from Yan Organization, Soul Breaking Saber Luo Wu, and Thunderbolt will care about proof and respect the law?
“You and I share a major grudge, and we appeared in opposing mine exploration teams in a fierce competition. Then, you disappeared out of the blue. If someone decides to accuse me of killing you, regardless of whether I did it or not, I could only open my mouth and obediently admit that I did it.
“I’ve been fighting for years in Dragon City and I’m pretty famous. I have a family and a business. Why should I fight against you because of a momentary impulse?
“If I did it, I’d have to face Thunderbolt, Yan Organization, Soul Breaking Saber Luo Wu, and Agricultural University’s martial arts course’s wrath. My whole family might end up destroyed because of that. I’d need a few screws loose in my head to do something like that!”
Meng Chao was dumbfounded. “When we ran into each other underground, you were really fierce and even threatened me. You said that I’m lucky, otherwise, you’d kill me…”
“We’re all working in society and we care about our dignity, you know?” Qin Hu said shamelessly. “There were a lot of people around us, including Weeping Reaper Lin Chuan, and he’s an internet celebrity. What was I supposed to do? Show weakness to you in front of the crowd?
“Even if I can’t kill you, I can still say a few words to scare you. It’s all normal proceedings in the real world. What? Were you really terrified by me? Hahahaha!”
He laughed as if he had discovered a new continent.
And he laughed so much that his wound tore again. It hurt so much that he sucked in a sharp breath.
A cold look settled on Meng Chao’s face.
As he pondered over Qin Hu’s words, his pupils suddenly narrowed into two small dots. “You said that we’re the ones who attacked first, which is why you decided to kill us?”
“Duh. I couldn’t be bothered to attack you, but you’re the ones who went asking for your own death, so don’t go blaming me for that.” Qin Hu narrowed his eyes and said fiercely, “You killed Yan Ping, which was the signal for a full-on war. In that sort of situation, even if I cut you down in front of Soul Breaking Saber Luo Wu and the case was brought to the Supernatural Tower, I couldn’t be faulted for it.”
“Wait, who is Yan Ping?” Meng Chao felt that he had found the key.
“You have the guts to kill, but don’t have the guts to admit it?” Qin Hu sneered coldly and said, “Yesterday, your lot snuck into our camp to steal the sample of the Red Radiance Jade and exploratory data, but were discovered by our sentries. When you fled, you killed our sentry by slitting his throat. His name was Yan Ping, and he died a tragic death!
“Of course, judging by your expression, you were kept in the dark. But that makes sense too. You’re just a one-star superhuman. Why are you in the mix here? Lu Siya is a cunning and devious woman. Even if she did these tricks, she wouldn’t tell you. She wants to make you die here without even knowing the cause! Poor guy!”
Meng Chao narrowed his eyes and enunciated his words clearly, “So, that’s why you made the wall collapse? To take revenge on us?”
Qin Hu could not understand what he said. “What wall?”
Meng Chao gave a simple account of the corporate spy and the collapse of the wall.
“Shen Yulong actually did something like this behind our backs?” Qin Hu was a little shocked. He thought about it and shook his head. “Impossible. Shen Yulong was with our captain all the time. He didn’t have the time to come up with such a scheme. Don’t you think that calculating the time and making the wall collapse is too complicated?
“You’d have to make sure that you calculate the time for the wall to collapse right down to the second. How would we know when you’d pass through the place?
“If we really had that ability, we might as well have just parked our four-star gunslinger at the wall. The moment we blew one of the Heaven Realm fighter’s brains off, we’d have a solid win without suffering any losses.
“As for that corporate spy you’re saying, I’ve never even heard of him. We drew a lot of maps over the past few days and explored dozens of mines. We even have a Red Radiance Jade sample that has less than 10% Red Radiance Jade in it. We have everything, so there’s no need for us to try and scheme against you!”
“Are you sure?” Meng Chao stared at Qin Hu to find any sign of him lying on his face. “Would your captain and Shen Yulong be blinded by their interests and work together to deceive you, which would end up in them bringing all of you to get involved in this fight where both parties will only end up being severely injured?”
Qin Hu disagreed and said, “That’s impossible. Frenzied Saber and Shen Yulong only share an employer-employee relationship. Even if we managed to locate the Red Radiance Jade mine, the ones who would get the right to mine it first would be Universe Corporation. They get to eat the meat, while we get to drink the soup. There’s no need for us to do something that the whole world believes is wrong and offend Sky Pillar Corporation and the Supernatural Tower.”
Once he said it, he froze.
He thought about it for a moment, and his moustache trembled.
“We didn’t collapse the wall, and you didn’t kill our sentry. Then… who did it?”
“Now, do you understand why I didn’t want to fight against you on the cliff?” Meng Chao asked coldly. “We were both drawn into a scheme, and it doesn’t just concern our lives and deaths. It also concerns the success and failure of the northern offense and will even affect the future of Dragon City!
“Your wife and children will be staying in Dragon City for years in the future. You share a good relationship with your wife, and you wouldn’t want to see millions of monsters rush into Dragon City and tear her into shreds, right?”
Qin Hu was amazed. “How did you know that I have a good relationship with my wife?”
“If you didn’t love your wife, why would you just watch your brother-in-law turn your company into such a bad place to work in and do nothing about it?” Meng Chao asked in annoyance.
Qin Hu’s face turned red. He defended himself by saying, “We’re an old married couple, and when you’re married for as long as I have, you don’t talk about love anymore. But my wife was with me when I had nothing. At that time, I was young and filled with vigor. When I was bitten to shreds by monsters, the doctors even said that even if they managed to save me, I’d end up useless.
“But she stayed by my side and took care of me for ten days and nights. She dragged me back from Death’s door and said that it’s fine even if I don’t end up as a superhuman. She would become a harvester with me, and we’d be able to feed ourselves somehow.
“I don’t have any other strengths, but I friggin’ value my relationships. I know that Shen Rongfa is a good-for-nothing, useless son of a gun, but my wife is good. Even if my brother-in-law is a dog, I’ll pinch my nose and bear with it.
“Seriously, brat, if you suffered under Shen Rongfa, you could have told me in secret. Do you think that I’m seriously that stupid as to not be able to differentiate right from wrong and would make my ace worker suffer?
“But you just had to make things hard for me in public. What was I supposed to do at that time? I could only support my brother-in-law to the very end, or else, I’d be embarrassed!”