To supplement passenger numbers, Isabelle would often sell some tickets along the way. These tickets were easier to obtain; usually, anyone with money could buy them. However, these tickets were often more expensive than regular tickets. This was because for some small business owners, it was essentially an opportunity to connect with business magnates.
"Damn it, what the hell are these tickets?!" Zhang Lei was still in pain. Not only him, even Linghu showed a pained expression, while the Silver Sword gang seemed indifferent.
"Damn it, what a spendthrift!" Zhang Lei looked down on Li Zaixing for coming up with this idea. Even if it's the country's money, you can't spend it like this.
The different attitudes of the two groups towards money precisely illustrate the difference in their treatment. It doesn't mean that Silver Sword's treatment is better than that of Guo Yiju, which is obviously impossible!
Episode 3: The Bloody Path to Growth, Chapter 49: Biting the Tail (Part 1)
Silver Sword belongs to the special forces, and their treatment is quite good, but of course, it can't compare to the people in the National Bureau of Foreign Affairs.
Silver Sword had ample funds for its operations, but the extra money had to be handed over to the government and couldn't end up in their own pockets, so they didn't care about the cost.
Unlike the other five people from the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, each of them received two cards before leaving, each containing ten million. This is what is customarily called pocket money, which is used to cover expenses during missions. If they can't spend it all, the money is theirs. Of course, the pocket money given for ordinary missions is not this much. This time, the funds were given because the mission was important and also involved danger, so it can be considered as compensation for Zhang Lei and the others.
But now, the compensation for just one ship ticket has taken up the vast majority of it. No wonder these people are heartbroken. The International Affairs Bureau offers good benefits, but there are few tasks and little extra income. Relying solely on that salary, when will they ever reach nearly two million? Even with the International Affairs Bureau's extremely high salary, that seems like a distant dream...
They had initially thought that this dangerous mission would at least offer some reward, and as long as they could return, they wouldn't feel like they'd lost out. But now, all the money had been given to Isabel, and according to Isabel's expenses, unless they used all of Isabel's free services, they wouldn't be able to keep anything for themselves.
Since the people from the Foreign Affairs Bureau didn't have any major expenses in Japan, they never used these cards, so the Japanese side naturally had no way of knowing about them, and therefore there was no question of freezing them.
Perhaps the Japanese perceive Chinese people as very poor, because their inspection and monitoring of the Isabelle's passengers was practically nonexistent. They probably looked down on the fact that Chinese people could afford to have a lavish trip on the Isabelle.
From Zhang Lei to Linghu, from Li Zaixing to Xiao Peng, including the two girls from the Mei Chuan family, everyone underwent meticulous makeup. The Silver Sword people had ample experience in this area, and with just a few quick touches, everyone looked like a completely different person.
...
Gu Yuan was taking a dump, and like sex, there was often a moment of pleasure. However, at the very moment of his greatest pleasure, he suddenly felt a surge of supernatural energy. This was the third time today, but he had no other choice but to activate his supernatural ability to eliminate it.
Even with only one-sixteenth of his special ability, combined with internal energy, he would be much stronger than someone without any special ability. Kohara had many experiences of delaying his opponents without using his special ability, but that was when the opponent didn't know him well enough. But now, expecting Michiko not to know him was obviously wishful thinking.
Although Michiko's superpower was completely eliminated each time, she came up with a solution. She found a few guys and only needed to eat them once after the superpower was eliminated, since it wouldn't affect them much. Then, she would wait for the superpower to pass through a few half-lives before using it again. This way, she would suffer much less damage than Kohara.
Kohara really didn't want to get entangled with Michiko like this, but he had no choice. Apart from his die-hard fans, no one else would stop Michiko. Part of the reason was that they felt he was indeed in the wrong, and another part was that they were afraid that he would use his superpower to eliminate. This superpower could not distinguish between friend and foe within a certain range. If the cooperation was slightly poor, or if he meddled, Michiko's superpower would be eliminated, and he would lose his internal energy and suffer a backlash.
Michiko deliberately targets him when he is alone or when someone is entangled with his men. Even if Kohara wanted to use force, he wouldn't have the chance. Besides, Michiko can go crazy, but Kohara can't. If he kills Michiko at this time, it will most likely lead to the failure of the pursuit of the Chinese, and he can't bear the responsibility.
In truth, he knew that this situation meant the Chinese's attempt to capture him had most likely failed. He was now just following in the footsteps of the Chinese, blindly following their instructions. In addition, Michiko had gone mad and was making things difficult for him, so the chances of success were really slim.
In the current situation, Michiko's disregard for the overall picture clearly places her on primary responsibility. In fact, her actions might even benefit the operation should it fail, as she would inevitably bear the brunt of the blame. While she would also bear some responsibility, her connections at higher levels would ensure she gets away with it easily.
"Michiko, don't go too far!" Kohara felt a tightness in his chest. Even if the backlash from the elimination of his superpower was small, using it continuously like this was still enough to make him suffer. He had already been very careful, but he didn't know how Michiko could have such accurate information, choosing to do it when he went to the toilet.
"Hmph, that's too much! You dare to use that word!" Michiko hadn't forgotten to scrape Kohara's excrement off her shoulder. No matter how bad Kohara's character was, it didn't affect his superpowers. His superpower elimination was a genuine and powerful superpower.
“Fujita is already dead anyway, what’s wrong with letting his body continue to serve Japan!” Everyone has their own perspective. In Kohara’s view, although it was not very reasonable for him not to ask Michiko, there was nothing wrong with what he did.
"Pah, Kohara, I'm not going to waste my breath on you. Anyway, it's either you or me in this world!" Michiko had already put her fingers in her mouth and was sucking on them. She hadn't found an opportunity before, and the incomplete ability elimination was not only small in range, but also couldn't completely eliminate the opponent's ability, making it rather useless. But now Michiko could use it, especially on Kohara's younger brother, another culprit.
Michiko hadn't tried it, but Daishan's ability was also acquired through absorbing other abilities. In that case, it might be completely eliminated and dispelled by the ability, just like her own. Even if it was only partially eliminated, it would be good, otherwise Daishan would really be difficult to deal with.
Just then, the communicators in Furuhara and Michiko's hands rang simultaneously. This was Japan's latest high-tech product. While mobile phones in other countries were still like bricks, they were already able to make watch-like mobile phone products.
"Hello!" Kohara answered the phone first. Michiko was watching him cautiously from the side. Without activating his special ability, Kohara was more threatening. To be honest, if their positions were reversed, and Kohara had ambushed Michiko, she would probably be dead already. If Kohara launched the attack, Michiko would only be able to activate her special ability to defend herself. In that case, Kohara could simply activate his ability to dispel it, and Michiko would not have time to activate a second ability. Then, Kohara could use his much higher internal strength, ninjutsu, and hand-to-hand combat skills to instantly kill Michiko.
"Michiko, stop fooling around! We've found the Chinese man's whereabouts!" A hint of excitement, relief, and even a touch of ruthlessness flickered across Gu Yuan's face. If the Chinese man was truly captured, he could finally get rid of Michiko, saving this annoying woman from her endless nagging.
Episode 3: The Bloody Path to Growth, Chapter 49: Biting the Tail (Part 2)
"Who are you trying to fool?" Michiko had long since lost all faith in Kohara's credibility. "Do you think I'd still believe you?"
"If you don't believe me, answer the phone yourself and let Watanabe tell you!" Furuhara felt really wronged; no one believed him even when he told the truth.
"Do you think I'm stupid? I might be a little impulsive right now, but I'm not stupid. Let me tell you, the moment I get distracted by the phone, you immediately attack me. Do you think I don't know you? Let me tell you, I can see right through you!" Michiko said, pursing her lips.
"Ugh!" Gu Yuan was about to vomit blood. He felt that he shouldn't waste his breath talking to this woman. If this continued, even if he wasn't assassinated by her, he would be driven to death by her anger.
"Why would I lie to you?" Gu Yuan asked earnestly. "Tell me, what will it take for you to believe me!"
Michiko tilted her head, revealing a cute and innocent look, "It's very simple, I'll believe you if you commit suicide, as long as you're dead, I'll definitely believe what you say!"
In fact, Michiko already knew that it was probably Watanabe who was looking for them, otherwise their phones wouldn't have rung at the same time. However, even if it really was Watanabe looking for them, they couldn't risk answering the phone in front of Furuhara. Just like Furuhara was unsure of what Michiko would do, Michiko didn't know what Furuhara was thinking either, and she couldn't take the risk.
"Gu Yuan, you wait! If I can't kill you this time, I'll have another chance!" Michiko didn't linger. She heard footsteps outside. Gu Yuan's loyal followers were coming up, especially that Dai Shan, who was not easy to deal with.
Fine, Gu Yuan could only sit down hard again. Everyone knows that being halfway through taking a dump is almost as bad as hanging there for half a day. "That damn bitch, wait until this is over, I'll see how I deal with you!"
...
"Linghu, I had a feeling that some eyes were watching us, as if we'd been discovered!" Zhang Lei whispered to Linghu.
"It's alright!" Before Linghu could speak, Li Zaixing leaned over. "We're already on board. They wouldn't dare search Isabel even if they had the guts. But they'll definitely have other plans, so just be careful. Anyway, remember we're guests on the ship. As long as we don't cause trouble, the bodyguards on this ship will help us. Nearly $200,000 per person isn't a waste of money!"
"Yes, I can sense it. There are at least five superpowered individuals on this ship right now, and they're still activating. Who is Isabel's owner? How could he have so many superpowered individuals serving him, and even in the security guard profession!"
Despite being careful not to be overheard, Zhang Lei's words were already very polite, but there was still an element of disbelief in them. He only had a limited understanding of how important superhumans were, but he knew that they were sought after in every country and would not be used as security guards.
"Security guards? The security guards on this ship earn at least dozens of times more than us!" Perhaps because the relationship between Zuo Jian and Zuo Ying wasn't very good, apart from the initial period, Zhang Lei didn't sense much dissatisfaction from Zuo Ying. At most, there was a little bit of sarcastic remarks, which was probably related to the mission.
"Moreover, the fluctuations you felt weren't just from security guards. Many of them are the big boss's bodyguards, as well as senior employees of the security company!" Xiao Peng also came over. Perhaps because they all had superpowers, Xiao Peng was able to integrate into the circle of superpowered individuals more easily. Of the seven people in Silver Sword, apart from Li Zaixing, Xiao Peng had the most contact with the five people from the National Bureau of Extraordinary Abilities.
“In many small countries, the control over people with superpowers is not as strict as ours. People with superpowers often go out to work. They often earn more in a year working for these high-end security companies than an entire family in their hometown would earn in a lifetime. No wonder they are willing to do this kind of work!”
“Our country has a tight control over people with superpowers, but there are still quite a few people who serve big bosses for money. Like us, we care about two million, and we’re extremely reluctant to get on this ship. But for them, it’s nothing. They can make two million a month! But at this price, they’re probably doing more than just security. I’m sure there’s someone I know on this ship!” Linghu closed his eyes and carefully sensed the mixed fluctuations on the ship.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please come this way. You boarded the ship in Japan, right?" The waiter who came up to us was very handsome, so handsome that he could definitely live off women. I reckon he could be supported by four or five rich women at the same time without any problem.
He spoke with a very magnetic English accent, which gave off a noble feeling. However, the Silver Sword team was truly an elite force. Zhang Lei didn't think it was a problem that he couldn't understand Japanese, since ordinary people wouldn't normally learn it. But while Zhang Lei was still pondering the meaning of his two sentences, the Silver Sword team members had already moved forward and were speaking English so well that even the British would blush at their own London accents.
At the same time, Michiko and Furuhara finally arrived at the location designated by Watanabe. "Lord Watanabe, where are the Chinese people?"