Zhu Long didn"t know what origin and background Tang Xiu had, nor did he know why his immediate superior would allow this fellow to partic.i.p.ate in the highly confidential exploration mission of three-star vestige. He quietly observed Tang Xiu while swallowing the wine. He was rather discontented that he couldn"t see what kind of particularities this fellow might have.

"Can I ask you something, Tang Xiu?"

"Please do. I"ll answer it without hiding anything as long as it"s convenient for me to answer," replied Tang Xiu.

"Since we"re a team and I"ll act as the captain, I must know what kind of ability each member has," said Zhu Long. "I need to have the situation under control when we explore the vestige, so tell me what type of superpower do you have?"

Tang Xiu thought for a moment and said, "My power is very strong and I also have very fast speed. But it"s rather complicated to say it. There"s something I need to tell you clearly now, though. I will obey your command before entering this three-star vestige, but I"ll separate from the team after entering and will not be your burden."

"Nonsense!" Zhu Long slapped the table and angrily said, "The three-star vestige is a very dangerous place, far from what you can imagine! Don"t you f.u.c.king try to play a hero if you wanna join my team. Either you fully obey my command or give up now!"

Tang Xiu slightly frowned. He thought for a moment before taking out his mobile and then dialed a cell number. At the same time, he turned the loudspeaker on and spoke after the call was connected, "Senior Duanmu?"

"Ah, Tang Xiu. Have you met Zhu Long?" Duanmu Lin"s voice came from the mobile.

"I met him, but I need you to speak to him to clear up about some issues," said Tang Xiu.

"What issues?" Asked Duanmu Lin.

"After entering this three-star vestige, I need to leave the team and explore the vestige on my own," said Tang Xiu. "He is against it, so I need you to tell him clearly about it."

A mockery could be seen clearly in Zhu Long"s eyes. He knew better than anyone else about his Boss"s temper. Duanmu Lin would never comply with this ridiculous request. It would be strange if he did—he would probably revoke Tang Xiu"s eligibility immediately in joining the team to enter the vestige.

"Give the phone to Zhu Long." Duanmu Lin"s voice came again.

Tang Xiu put the mobile on the table and pushed it forward and said, "Senior Duanmu wants to talk to you. Speak with him!"

Zhu Long sneered, "Chief Duanmu, if you want to revoke Tang Xiu"s qualification, then let Xiao Bing join! She has long been preparing to join the exploration mission for this vestige."

"Who told you I"ll revoke Tang Xiu"s qualification?" Duanmu Lin"s voice transmitted out. "Zhu Long, you"ll agree to his request to leave the team after entering the vestige."

"What?"

Zhu Long"s voice increased several octaves and disbelief filled his eyes. Could it be that he happened to have an auditory hallucination or something? How could the Chief give such an answer?

He… is he out of his mind?

"Didn"t you hear it clearly?" said Duanmu Lin seriously. "Or should I repeat it for you again?"

Zhu Long swallowed his saliva and looked up to shoot a deep look at Tang Xiu. He then bitterly smiled and said, "Roger that! I will naturally accept it since you"ve decided. However, we won"t be responsible once he leaves the team and faces any danger in the three-star vestige."

"OK!" Duanmu Lin replied shortly and directly hung up.

Zhu long took a deep breath and pushed the phone back to Tang Xiu and then said in a deep voice, "I dunno why the Chief accepted that ridiculous request of yours. But I gotta tell you those ugly words I spoke earlier. We will have nothing to do with whatever danger you"ll face in the vestige. Whether you can come out alive will be solely up to your own luck!"

"I"m fine with that," replied Tang Xiu indifferently as he took back his phone.

A resentment appeared in Zhu Long"s heart after seeing Tang Xiu"s indifferent expression. He felt that Tang Xiu was an arrogant, unbridled p.r.i.c.k that annoyed him greatly. Not only had Tang Xiu taken a spot in his originally five-man team, but he would now only have four people left after entering the vestige. In the case they b.u.mped into other countries" explorers in the vestige and had a conflict with them, they had lost a portion of their combat power.

"s.h.i.+t stirrer."

While suppressing his vexed feelings inside, Zhu Long finally gave Tang Xiu such an evaluation.

Tang Xiu got up and asked faintly, "What"s the specific time that we"ll go to the three-star vestige?"

"Three days later."

Zhu Long didn"t want to look at Tang Xiu again and just looked down to drink.

"Then I"ll see you again three days later. You have my number so just text me the gathering location before we go." Then, Tang Xiu turned around and walked outside. He was crystal clear that Zhu Long held contempt and looked down on him, so he didn"t want to stay here only to have his face turn hot and his a.s.s get cold.

"f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

Zhu Long glared at Tang Xiu"s back disappearing outside the door and then punched the table. He really couldn"t figure out as to why Duanmu Lin pulled such crazy stunt and put this s.h.i.+t stirrer into his team.

Half an hour later, a fiery scarlet-haired young man clad in outlandish attire came into the wine shop with a birdcage in hand. He looked around and saw a glum-looking Zhu Long sitting next to the window drinking his wine without a word. A smile immediately appeared on his face as he came over and sat across Zhu Long, whistling while smilingly saying, "Yo, Zhu Long Captain. Don"t you usually act like a big shot who arrives last, eh? How did you come so early?"

Zhu Long lifted his eyelids and replied coldly, "To see an arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.d who knows nothing about life and death, mind you."

The fiery red-haired youth"s expression moved and inquired again, "As far as I know, the team for the exploration mission to three-star vestige aside from you and I are Aquababy, Electrolady, and another one who was just stuffed in. Don"t tell me "this arrogant p.r.i.c.k who knows nothing about life and death" is that other member?"

"It"s him," Zhu Long nodded.

The red-haired youth"s curiosity was piqued and he exclaimed, "Your temper is usually rather good, Capt. To think that kiddo can actually make you like this, I"m really curious about him, though. Tell me, what background does this brat has? And what"s his ability?"

"Who the h.e.l.l f.u.c.king knows from which block of stone that brat got out of?" Zhu Long angrily said, "His power… hmph. He said he has a bit of strength, a bit faster. Just some f.u.c.king nonsense superpower."

The red-haired youth looked disappointed. He shook his head and said, "Naw, boooring. Which one of us who is not strong and fast? Did that old fogey Duanmu pull a prank on us? What"s the point of stuffing such a guy into the team? Didn"t he know exploring three-star vestige is like stepping on a thin wireline? Be careless and pay no attention, then boom! You get your bones crushed and not even your bones remain, no?"

Zhu Long sullenly replied, "Chief Duanmu spoke to me and he agreed to let that brat leave our team once we enter three-star vestige and freely move, you know."

"SAY WHAT?" The red-haired youth abruptly got up and exclaimed in disbelief.

Zhu Long just shook his head and completely downed the wine in the bowl into his stomach.

Looking at his vexed expression, the red-haired youth muttered to himself, "Could it be that guy really has a very powerful ability? Or rather, did Chief Duanmu get strongly pressured or something? You know what the three-star vestige means, right? It"s a f.u.c.king place full of perils and death traps. Don"t tell me this guy thinks that it"s like the back garden of his house?"

****

Paradise Manor.

Shanjenna was sitting cross-legged on her bed. Her aura kept increasing after she took the medicinal pill. The porcelain vase Tang Xiu gave her only had two pills left, yet this medicinal pill gave her a crystal-clear sensation that her physical strength was being enhanced and strengthened at an extremely rapid pace, greatly improving her strength. The most important thing of all was that the enhancement process was still far from stopping.

Whoosh…

The clothes on her back were suddenly torn open by a pair of jet-black wings that suddenly blasted out. The black wings looked glossy and smooth while the hazy blood within was s.h.i.+ning brilliantly. As time went on, the pair of wings grew a bit and were followed by two sanguine streaks that gradually appeared.

"Eh? I just broke through?"

Shanjenna immediately opened her eyes with a look of ecstasy in her eyes. She was only a Baron-rank the first time she met Tang Xiu. At this time, however, she didn"t break through to Viscount-rank but straightly to a Count-rank!

Count! Her elder brother, who was well-known as the best genius of the clan in the past millennium was currently only a Count-rank. This was also due to the support of their clan"s heritage of the blood pool.

But what about her?

She only needed two medicinal pills to break through to the Count-rank. If his clansmen were to find out about it, they would probably be slack-jawed and have their eyes pop out, right?

"This oriental country is really mysterious and magical, so are their so-called oriental ascetics. If I can get a lot of medicinal pills and then bring them back to the clan, my clan will probably become the strongest vampire clan, won"t we?"

Shanjenna swayed her wings as her imagination fully covered her beautiful face. Mo Yi took a lot of her blood recently and even though it slightly harmed herself, compared to the benefits she obtained now, all of it was simply negligible.

"Now that I think about it, I can"t leave this place easily. I must comply with Mr. Tang"s request even if he has a more excessive request. I"ll be a Count! The more I get medicinal pills with better effects, the faster I can break through to a Marquis-rank, right?"

A few minutes later, she flashed like a gust of wind and appeared in Mo Yi"s laboratory. She then watched Mo Yi and Gui Jianchou studying her blood. She didn"t want to retract her wings back and immediately dashed to Mo Yi"s side, stretching out her arms and, speaking with a high spirit, she said, "Professor, you can continue taking my blood out if you don"t have enough today. I"ve made up my mind that I"ll try my best to fulfill your request no matter how much blood you need."

"Huh? You what?" Mo Yi was completely stunned while looking at Shanjenna"s unexpectedly high spirited behavior, leaving him dumbfounded and speechless for a while.

A weird expression could also be seen on Gui Jianchou"s face. He previously encountered the situation where she angrily yelled at him and Mo Yi when they wanted to take her blood.

But now… how did she change… or rather… what happened to her?

Gui Jianchou turned to glance at Mo Yi as a smile immediately appeared on his aged face. "Shanjenna, did you b.u.mp into some happy things or something? How come you didn"t yell at me and Professor Mo today?"

Cough, cough…

Shanjenna felt like she had just been seen through and was a bit embarra.s.sed. In order to get Tang Xiu"s recognition and obtain more medicinal pills, however, she braced herself and thickened her face. "Well, it suddenly occurred to me that it"s worthwhile to make contributions to science. Like, self-sacrifice for the greater good?"