Chapter 148 – Your Delivery Has Arrived

Volume 3: Rising Winds and Clouds

"Excellent."

Lin Haifeng nodded firmly.

These weren't merely decent reinforcements. They were formidable.

Four Sequence holders, including a powerhouse in the top ten. That was almost enough to make up for Wen Yu and Kuangliu's "disappearance."

And besides…

Remembering the power he had once seen Sequence 1 display in person, Lin Haifeng couldn't suppress a shiver.

It was power beyond anything he could have imagined.

He smiled at the four before him.

"When will your Captain be back?"

Zhang Ziping answered immediately. "His Teleportation ability works on other people, but not himself. He should be running straight back across the sea. He'll go directly to Modu Settlement and settle the Demon Worship Cult business before coming to see you."

Lin Haifeng nodded.

One interesting detail had caught his attention. Although Qin Min was nominally the Ultimate Force Squad's Vice-Captain, Zhang Ziping had been doing all the talking. An old fox like Lin Haifeng couldn't help wondering what that meant.

He concealed his speculation well.

"You must be tired. Have something to eat and get some rest."

…

Trapped in the Treasure Land, Wen Yu and Kuangliu knew nothing of Lin Haifeng's powerful reinforcements. At that very moment, they faced their greatest crisis since the Apocalypse began.

"Listen to the next question: A gecko is climbing out of a well ten meters deep. It climbs five meters during the day and slips back three meters at night. When will it climb out of the well?"

Wen Yu and Kuangliu stood on the empty tenth floor of the Demon-Suppressing Tower, utterly baffled by this elementary-school math-contest question.

After a long silence, they looked at each other.

Their eyes conveyed a dawning sense that they might be spending the rest of their lives together.

"What's the answer?"

"No idea…"

They had already had this conversation several times.

This so-called Demon-Suppressing Tower was one giant scam.

The rewards were meager-just a few Magic Crystals and Points on the earlier floors-but the Trials were bizarrely varied.

Complicated math problems. Bathing a Mutated cat. Helping a Mutant Horse give birth. One ordeal after another had left both men miserable.

"Looks like it'll be a while before we get out. Wonder how the old man's doing."

…

Kuangliu needn't have worried about Lin Haifeng.

After arranging a meal for the four Ultimate Force Squad members, Lin Haifeng returned to work. Intelligence flowed steadily into his hands.

He had already stationed the four squad members at different locations to counter Peng Jun's moves.

Looking down over the unusually quiet Military Headquarters, he lifted his teacup and continued his calculations.

"Sequence 5. The Demon Worship Cult. Your identity as a Demon Seed. And the mole… Peng Jun, Peng Jun. What a shame. All your little schemes are worthless before a true pinnacle of strength. I wonder how long they'll last against Sequence 1. Ten minutes? Half an hour?"

He raised his wrist and checked the time.

"Sequence 1 should be there by now. Which means you have only minutes left."

As the Military's Boss, Lin Haifeng had an astonishing array of hidden resources. He already knew most of Peng Jun's supposedly secret plans. Otherwise, he could never have formed a partnership with the Ultimate Force Squad that Sequence 1 had assembled.

Or, to put it another way, it was Lin Haifeng's ability and methods that had persuaded Sequence 1 to work with him.

And yet even he felt a profound fear of Sequence 1's strength.

It was power far beyond that of a Divine Beast Species.

…

Peng Jun had received word that the Military was moving.

First, he dispatched Sequence 5 to Yanjing Settlement to assassinate Lin Haifeng alongside another powerhouse. Then he scattered his own forces-the Demon Worship Cult and troops loyal to him-across multiple locations to escape annihilation by the advancing Military.

His reasoning was sound.

In a head-on battle, he had no chance whatsoever. It would be suicide by another name. But if Lin Haifeng died, the Military would lose its leader. With his planted agents helping from within, Peng Jun estimated a seventy-percent chance of taking Yanjing Settlement without a fight.

For a man attempting to defeat a vastly stronger opponent, seventy percent was more than enough.

Once Yanjing Settlement was in his hands, everything else would become much easier.

He took out his encrypted communicator and issued order after order.

At last, with every preparation in place, he poured himself a glass of red wine. Gently swirling it, he walked to the window and stood motionless, watching the light fade outside.

A voice startled him from his thoughts.

"Hello, Mister Peng. Your delivery has arrived…"

…

Peng Jun jolted alert. Even the little Eagle on his shoulder seemed frightened, flapping its wings twice.

The voice had not come from the door.

It had come from just behind him.

He spun around and saw a casually dressed man, no older than thirty, sitting on his desk and carefully toying with something.

Two black cylinders turned and knocked against each other in his hands, making crisp little chimes.

Until that moment, Peng Jun had heard nothing. He hadn't sensed the slightest trace of an aura.

Neither had the black Giant Eagle, despite being a Demon Seed.

There was only one conclusion.

The intruder was probably terrifyingly strong.

Peng Jun studied the young man warily, then glanced at the firmly closed office door. He spoke without hesitation.

"Who are you? How did you get in?"

The young man set the two black cylinders on the desk and grinned at him, showing white teeth.

"I'm making a delivery! These two things, right here."

He pointed at the cylinders.

"I'll need to take them away again, though. And when I do, I'd like there to be something extra inside. For instance…"

He gestured toward Peng Jun with his lips. His tone grew heavier.

"Two Demon Realm Heart Fragments. What do you two think?"

Peng Jun's heart sank.

Demon Realm Heart Fragment. That was the full name of the Black Crystals embedded in him and the Giant Eagle. Apart from Demon Seeds, even ordinary members of the Demon Race would not know it.

"Who are you really? Who sent you? Lin Haifeng? Whatever he's giving you, I'll double it!"

Bribery had always been an effective tool.

And unlike in movies and novels, a great many people could indeed be swayed by the word "double."