Chapter Forty-Three: Just Another Assignment

He was the one who, deep in his heart, had come to hate with baffling intensity—especially that sword. Only yesterday it had drawn blood with every stroke, and now it had rushed here to save him?

How unimaginable.

He stood slowly before her, like a great mountain, as steady as bedrock.

At that moment, a faint sense of foreboding flashed through Mu Shan’s mind. He looked toward Ruo Xi, only to find that she was no longer where she had been.

Where had she gone? Mu Shan hurriedly scanned his surroundings.

“Hah! I never expected people from the military to come here.”

Lin Kuang stood not far away, and Ruo Xi was unmistakably lying beside him on the ground. His tone shifted as he continued, “Didn’t they say the military and the Gene Order never interfere with each other?”

His words carried a distinctly domineering edge.

“We do not interfere, but a case involving such a large-scale death is something we cannot ignore,” Hao Po replied. Though he was explaining, his tone was equally forceful, sharp as a needle against an awl.

“Besides, so many people are dead. We need to investigate the cause and collect the bodies.”

“You won’t suspect me, will you? I only just arrived, looking for people willing to undergo genetic enhancement!” Lin Kuang said, as though it were perfectly reasonable.

“All I saw was Ruo Xi collapsing there!” Hao Po deliberately emphasized the words collapsing.

“Then you’ve guessed wrong. She was knocked out by the person behind you.” Lin Kuang pointed behind Hao Po and smiled.

Hao Po turned to look at Mu Shan, only to find him wearing an embarrassed expression, as though that were exactly what Lin Kuang had said.

Although the Gene Sequence and the military belonged to the same nation, they had rules of mutual noninterference and nonaggression. Without a very proper reason, how could they seize Ruo Xi away?

Though both sides sought talent, the Gene Sequence recruited only the exceptional—monsters, a crowd that, like Lin Kuang, never dared show their true faces and were known only by code names.

The military, by contrast, trained soldiers—people meant to protect the nation. The rules were clear: if they broke them, they would be dealt with entirely under military law.

“This is troublesome. If we don’t have a proper reason, how are we supposed to bring Ruo Xi back?” Hao Po turned and said quietly to Mu Shan.

At the same time, his gaze sharpened, and he looked to Mu Shan’s left shoulder, only to discover that the arm was already gone.

“What happened to your arm?” Hao Po asked.

“He cut it off,” Mu Shan replied in a voice so brief it carried no trace of anger at all.

“Cut it off!” Hao Po’s tone was filled with shock, and without realizing it, his right hand tightened around his sword.

Though nothing on the surface had explicitly designated whom they were to protect, anyone with eyes could see that Mu Shan’s life was hanging by a thread.

Whether the mission was to keep him from losing so much as a hair, or simply to keep him alive, the way such assignments were usually issued—those at an authority even higher than a first-tier mission—meant one thing: protect him to the utmost, without allowing the loss of a single hair.

“Can you bring Ruo Xi back?” Mu Shan pleaded through clenched teeth.

“Give me a proper reason. Without one, I can’t act.

My mission is only to protect you. Even if he just cut off your arm, without orders from above I can’t take revenge for you. He is no ordinary man, after all.” Hao Po said helplessly.

“Didn’t you just say many people had died?” Mu Shan said. “I saw him kill Aunt Mei with my own eyes. If you had arrived a little later, I would have died too. So I suspect he intends to kill everyone here!”

“I agree.”

Mu Shan froze and turned around, only to find that Hao Tian and Hao Yun had somehow already appeared silently behind him.

“There are two people here whose lives are hanging by a thread. How can you be sure only one of them is the one we need to protect? It could be both,” Hao Tian said.

Hao Po looked startled, then turned his gaze to Hao Tian. There was unwavering determination in that look, and though he opened his mouth, no words came out.

“If there’s responsibility to bear, I’ll bear it. Save the people first!” As soon as Hao Tian finished speaking, he immediately raised his sword and charged toward Lin Kuang.

“Ruo Xi is that man’s beloved. If it means violating military regulations, it’s still worth it!” Hao Yun said.

“In that case, you stay here and protect Mu Shan,” Hao Po said gravely.

Hao Yun shook his head, smiled, and said, “Ruo Xi’s charm is indeed formidable.”

This was no longer a matter of violating military regulations, but a matter of whether they could win. Hao Po had previously injured his lungs; without ten days or half a month, he would never recover. And now that he was about to act again, his injuries would only worsen.

Before, even fighting Lin Kuang had been extremely difficult. Now, with his strength badly reduced, even with Hao Tian’s help, it would still be exceedingly hard. They could only brace themselves and go forward.