King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 298

Part 6: Invincible

— Chapter 1 - Xiao Yan's Strange Change —

I was only dozing for two hours when I was woken up by a phone call and jumped up alertly. The crystal was still there, but the fire in the fireplace had long since gone out. Fortunately, the central air conditioning in the room was on full blast, so I didn't feel cold.

"Who?" Suren rolled over under the blanket to make herself more comfortable.

I picked up the receiver, and the waiter's gentle voice came through: "Long distance from South Africa, being transferred, please speak."

The first name that popped into my head was "Yan Xun." Only she would call from such random numbers, so as soon as I heard her soft breathing, I spoke first: "Miss Yan Xun?"

Sure enough, a deep and melodious laugh came: "Huh? You beat me to it this time. Did Mr. Feng learn remote sensing ability after experiencing a cataclysmic disaster, so he can see me across telephone lines from all over the world?"

Yan Xun's beautiful voice is the kind that you can never forget after just one listen. It's like a music lover who hears the piano music of Chopin, Liszt, or Richard Clayderman and instantly forgets all his troubles and feels refreshed.

Suren threw off the blanket and sat up. I briefly said into the microphone, "Suren wants to speak to you, please wait a moment."

The clock had just struck seven o'clock, a time when most of the hotel guests were sound asleep. I felt that Yan Xun must have something urgent to call him about.

Suren pressed the speakerphone button, and Yan Xun's voice was instantly amplified: "I'm sorry for disturbing your sweet dreams. I apologize here now. I'll apologize in person when we meet in a few days."

Her soft, sweet voice, yet always carrying a deep, melancholic quality, seemed to have been meticulously crafted by a master sound engineer; every syllable possessed a captivating charm.

It was just a simple sentence, yet it caused Suren to suddenly turn pale with shock: "What? What major event has occurred that requires your intervention—"

I wanted to avoid the conversation, but Suren quickly shook her head at me: "Brother Feng, there are no secrets between us, please listen with me."

Her face turned extremely pale as she stared intently at the countdown numbers flashing on the phone's LCD screen, her breathing becoming rapid.

"It's a problem with Xiao Yan. Xiao Xiao called to say that over the past month, his temper has become increasingly volatile, and he frequently hides alone in the submarine beneath the 'Well of Spirits.' In the last three days, his agitation has intensified; he spends the entire night in his room singing and howling in some unknown language. The night before last, it happened to be a full moon, and he stood on the very top of the Xunfu Garden villa, howling at the moon all night long—strangely, while an ordinary person's voice would inevitably become hoarse and strained after speaking at such a high volume for an extended period, he seemed completely unaffected. Also, he's been rummaging through Feng's study lately, and after checking, Xiao Xiao discovered that he'd torn and eaten almost all the books, leaving only the covers on the shelves..."

Suren frowned. She had been missing for too long, and she had no idea what had happened to Xiao Yan.

I immediately interjected, "Didn't Xiao send Xinzi to follow him? What did Xinzi say?"

In my memory, after Xiao Keleng's personal maid Anzi was killed by the Fang Demon, Xinzi remained depressed, burying herself in her work and rarely speaking to others. Sending her to accompany Xiaoyan was the least likely way to provoke the latter's resentment.

"Xiao Yan said that Xin Zi stayed in the submarine to help him monitor the computer and hasn't appeared at Xunfuyuan Villa for a long time." Yan Xun's voice was slow and steady, and even when he got to the most important point, there was no change in his emotions.

I went over and drew back the curtains, letting the morning sunlight stream in. At this height, all the noise of the city was inaudible, and after the light rain, the air was so fresh it felt like it had been artificially purified.

Seeing the sunlight seemed to dispel some of the gloom in my heart, but then Yan Xun's words made Su Lun and me tense again: "Xiao Xiao said that monks die almost every day at Fengge Temple, with wounds on their throats, just small teeth marks. Although the police have intervened, they have no clue whatsoever and can only include these cases in the 'Fang Demon Murder Case' and wait for a major clue to come before starting the investigation."

My heart clenched immediately: "The Fang Demon? After Feng Lin Huo Shan died, the 'fang pupa' poison in Guan Bao Ling disappeared on its own, which is enough to prove that the Fang Demon is dead. Could there be a second 'Fang Demon' in the world?"

Yan Xun smiled faintly: "All the mysteries will have to wait until we arrive in Hokkaido to be revealed one by one. I hope to see you at Xunfuyuan and Fengge Temple in a few days."

I went over and closed the lids of the rattan trunks one by one. It seemed my trip to Cairo would have to be postponed. If Xiao Yan caused any trouble in the underwater world, I fear the entire Hokkaido and even the whole of Japan would be in turmoil.

Su Lun still hesitated: "Yan Xun, could you please reconsider? What if your uranium power system malfunctions during the frequent transport? Now that Guan Nan Wulang is dead, I'm afraid there's no one else in the world who can rebuild this system. How about you leave Xiao Yan's affairs to me, and you just remotely direct from New York?"

I didn't quite understand what she was saying because she mentioned the word "uranium energy," which is an expensive type of electric power source typically used in the propulsion systems of small spacecraft.

Yan Xun sighed deeply. Even her deepest sighs lingered in the air, echoing for days: "Su Lun, I believe in your and Feng's abilities, but Xiao Yan is my only brother. Just like the scalpel to you, Yang Tian to Feng, and Jin Chunxi to Xiao Xiao, we are siblings from the same mother. If something happens to him, I won't be able to spend the rest of my life happily. So, don't try to persuade me anymore. I've considered this decision for a long time."

Suren gripped a corner of the blanket tightly and rubbed it incessantly, clearly her inner turmoil had reached its peak.

"Alright, see you in Hokkaido. I hope that with the 'Three Flying Flowers Heroes' joining forces, plus the younger brother of 'King of Tomb Raiders' Yang Tian, we can definitely turn the tide and accomplish the impossible mission."

Yan Xun hung up the phone, and the room suddenly became quiet, with only the central air conditioning vents humming.

After a moment of silence, Suren struggled to her feet and staggered toward the bathroom. I heard her turn the tap on the sink to full blast, making a splashing sound.

"Is Yan Xun's trip such a complicated and important matter that it's worth Su Lun's repeated obstruction? Or is Yan Xun's identity so important that any action she takes will attract the attention of the Pentagon?" I considered several possible answers, but rejected them all. After all, there is absolutely no young Chinese woman on the Pentagon's list of mid-level personnel. I highly doubted Yan Xun's true identity and why she had been hiding behind the scenes so mysteriously.

With a loud "bang," I rushed to the bathroom door. Suren was standing in front of the sink, her head and face covered in water. She had smashed a tempered glass soap dish against the corner of the wall, shattering it into seventeen or eighteen pieces.

I stepped inside, silently embraced her, and tenderly kissed her wet hair.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I lost my composure..." she murmured in my arms, her arms tightly wrapped around my waist.

A girl as resilient as her must be under immense, unbearable pressure to vent by smashing things. I didn't say anything, just held her tightly, letting the cold water soak my shirt and drench my chest.

She just sobbed softly, her shoulders heaving. After a few minutes, she slowly raised her head, tears welling in her eyes, and whispered, "Shall we go to Hokkaido first? Yan Xun, Xiao Xiao, and Xiao Yan are my sisters and younger brothers. I can't just stand by and watch them—"

I stopped her from continuing: "Alright, let Tina handle the desert excavation. As long as we have enough money backing us, everything will be fine. I'll call the front desk right away and change our tickets to a direct flight to Hokkaido, departing at 11:00 AM. In the meantime, we can also enjoy a comfortable Chinese breakfast."

I didn't spend much time with Xiao Yan, but his innocent, simple, yet mischievous nature won me over. Therefore, I treated him like a younger brother and would never let him slide into the abyss. The desert excavation work was not something that could be accomplished overnight; it could only proceed slowly. With Tina's abilities and influence, countless sycophants would be willing to go through fire and water for her with just a single order.

I didn't ask about Yan Xun again, but Su Lun's worry for her was obvious, as if she were a seriously ill patient who couldn't be moved easily and whose life was in danger at any moment. However, a girl with such a sweet voice didn't sound like she was seriously ill at all. What exactly was Su Lun worried about?

The plane taxied on the runway after the rain, then took off smoothly and ascended to an altitude of 15,000 meters.

Suren unbuckled her seatbelt and gazed at the fluffy white clouds outside the porthole, her brow still slightly furrowed.

I spread out a sheet of white paper on the simple table, held a pencil, and drew a simple sketch, which I then showed to Su Lun. In the center of the sketch, I wrote Xiao Yan's name, and then used seventeen or eighteen arrows to point outwards to everyone who might be related to him.

"These people have all likely had close contact with Xiao Yan within the past six months, such as tycoons, important figures, Sun Long, and so on. The key to solving the problem lies with these people; the closer their relationship with her, the more attention we should pay to them. After arriving in Hokkaido, we must contact them by any means necessary—phone calls, faxes—to inquire about Xiao Yan's unusual behavior. If possible, I will have a detailed conversation with him, then subdue him and arrange an emergency consultation with a Japanese neurosurgeon—"

From the hotel to the airport, these thoughts kept running through my mind. I cast a huge net, but I didn't have many clear targets.

The last name I wrote on the sketch was "Nobuko".

Suren pointed to the two words: "This girl is probably no longer alive, right? Although Xiao Yan keeps saying that she stayed in the submarine, it's not a convincing reason. Fang Demon killing people is a necessary way to vent his brutal nature. I don't believe that he would leave the weak woman next to him alone and instead go out of his way to hunt down the monks of Fengge Temple."

My heart sank: "You mean, Xiao Yan is the Fang Demon?"

She didn't say it explicitly, but this was the viewpoint she held subconsciously, which suddenly filled me with a silent sorrow. Intelligent people like Xiaoyan are most prone to going astray, resorting to any means in their pursuit of the ultimate wisdom, inevitably leading them astray. However, a sliver of hope remained in my heart, believing that she possessed some innate wisdom, and that as long as she didn't completely sink into the deepest abyss, there was still a possibility of escaping this sea of suffering.

Suren gazed once more at the fluffy white clouds outside the porthole, his smile growing increasingly bitter: "It's not just me who thinks this way, Yan Xun and Xiao Xiao think the same way. The three of us think about problems in exactly the same way; if one of us thinks of something, the other two will definitely think of it at the same time."

My heart sank to the bottom. Before sketching the design, I had about 50 percent confidence that "Xiao Yan is not a fanged demon." But after listening to Su Lun's words, that confidence plummeted to less than 1 percent.

The flight attendant pushed the wine cart over, and I took two glasses of lemonade, handing one to Suren.

"That's the worst-case scenario, isn't it?" I forced myself to pull myself together and looked at the azure sea beneath the wings.

“Yes, the worst, the worst, the worst possible outcome.” Suren repeated helplessly, taking out sunglasses and putting them on to cover his swollen eyes.

“Suren, cheer up. We didn’t give up in the 'Asian Gear' world, we’ll definitely turn things around this time. Believe me, as long as we catch Xiaoyan, we’ll take him away from Hokkaido and find the best neurologist in the world to help him get rid of the demon in his mind—” Without realizing it, I also followed her point of view and equated Xiaoyan with the Fang Demon without any difference.

Suren smiled, but her heart was too heavy, and even her forced smile was unbearable to look at.

I turned on the LCD TV on the back of the seat in front of me, hoping to ease the tension by watching the news, but several consecutive screens were filled with reports about the "Fang Demon Murder Case" in Hokkaido. Several Japanese female reporters, scholars, and biologists were talking animatedly in front of a circular studio.

"Don't move, just look at this!" Suren straightened up and quickly put on her headphones.

In the female reporter's footage, the Tower of the Dead soars abruptly into the sky; perhaps she deliberately used an upward angle to emphasize the grandeur and mystery of this iconic building of Maple Leaf Temple. Then there is the bottomless Well of Spirits, the deep corridors of Maple Leaf Temple, the cliffs behind the temple, and the raging sea.

In one of the fleeting shots, I happened to see the newly renovated Xunfu Garden at the foot of the hill. The watchtowers at the four corners still stood in the cold wind, but there were no longer any Shenqianghui members patrolling and standing guard. The towers were empty.

The Japanese female reporter had an impressive ability to make connections, managing to go from talking about a fanged demon committing murder to World War II, and then connecting it to the American moon landing, Russian icebreaking in the Arctic, Australian discovering millennia-old bacteria in Antarctica, and so on. She clearly went to great lengths to boost her television ratings, but after reading the entire report, I only remembered half of her name: "Nosa something something."

"Extremely boring," I secretly commented.

As the images of the murdered monks of Fengge Temple appeared one by one on the screen, Suren leaned forward to examine their wounds closely. Suddenly, he turned to me and asked, "How are these teeth marks different from the ones you've seen before?"

I tried hard to recall, and nodded seriously: "Exactly the same."

Suren exclaimed "Ah!", picked up the sketch I had drawn, quickly glanced through it, and then hurriedly said, "I'm certain that the Fang Demon isn't dead, and it can't be the Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain Demon, but someone else entirely. Japanese ninjutsu is most adept at using deception techniques like 'disappearance' and 'invisibility.' Currently, there must be another dark force around Xiao Yan that's dragging him into the abyss of depravity. And the instigator of this force is very likely any one of these names."

She picked up a pencil, pondered for a moment, and crossed out the names "Daheng" and "Sun Long". Then she pondered again and crossed out one or two more. She did this several times until only "Xiao Lai" and "Xinzi" remained. She then added "cyber hacker".

Xinzi is likely dead, and Xiao Lai is a confidant of Sun Long, the leader of the Divine Gun Society, and had once been my personal protector. These two are highly likely to be ruled out. The only remaining possibility is a "hacker." If the mind attack on Xiao Yan was carried out via the internet, then the clues available for investigation become countless. In the intricate web of the computer world, thousands of messages are sent to him every second, with ever-changing origins, making them virtually impossible to trace.

I suddenly snapped my fingers and smiled: "I've got it! Cut off all internet communication signals in the Hokkaido area, making it an absolute blind spot. That way, all of Xiaoyan's activities will be under our control!"

In the past, Xiaoyan and I had discussed the question of "what can hackers do outside the internet?" and came to a seemingly insurmountable conclusion: "Hackers are a derivative of the internet; without the internet, hackers are nothing." Now, I am going to use this theory to block Xiaoyan's unhealthy channels of contact with the outside world.

Suren's furrowed brows quickly relaxed: "That's right, let's control Xiao Yan's special ability first and turn him back into an ordinary person."

In the hacking world, no one is his match, but if you remove that, the situation changes immediately, and he is no longer a match for any of us.

As if the clouds had parted and the sun was shining, we were immediately energized again. Actually, it's very simple to do this. Just cut off the wired network in the Xunfuyuan and Fenggesi area, and then apply radio interference signals to make his wireless internet device "blind." That would do the trick.

"I contacted Xiao, and we started taking action as soon as we got off the plane." In a society where money is everything, cutting off the internet line in a remote area is not a major event. With Xiao Keleng's diplomatic skills, it would be a piece of cake.

“Brother Feng, investigate Xiao Lai again discreetly. We should try not to overlook any suspicious points. The Divine Gun Society is not a law-abiding citizen, nor is it the righteous sect of the martial arts world it once was. Therefore, we should not underestimate anyone belonging to the Divine Gun Society.” Su Lun calmed down, and his ability to think critically instantly improved.

“Xiao Lai should be fine—” I only said half a sentence before Su Lun suddenly grabbed my wrist, leaned over, and stared intently into my eyes: “Brother Feng, I don’t want anyone to have any problems. Yan Xun is my good sister, and Xiao Yan is her lifeline. If something happens to Xiao Yan, even Yan Xun will be in grave danger. Brother Feng, I don’t want to hear the word ‘should,’ but Xiao Lai ‘must’ be fine.”

Her fingers gripped me like a pair of pliers, causing me excruciating pain, but I didn't struggle and let her fingers tighten.

“Brother Feng, if I had done it perfectly, Big Brother wouldn’t have died. When I pressed the button to detonate the bomb, it wasn’t just his heart that exploded, but mine too—my heart, my body, my future—all shattered and scattered to infinity. You are not me, you can’t understand that pain, you never will. This time, I don’t want Yan Xun to repeat that mistake, so—we must make sure Xiao Yan is alright, we must!”

She bit her lip and spat out the last two words through gritted teeth.

I know that the death of the scalpel caused Su Lun a very deep heartache. Precisely because she couldn't express it, this pain lurked in her heart like a silkworm, constantly gnawing at her happiness.

"I promise you, I will protect Xiaoyan, no matter what. From now on, I will immediately identify and eliminate anyone or anything that might harm her. Don't worry." I put my arm around her shoulder, patting it gently, and kept telling her softly, "Don't worry, don't worry, don't worry..."

When the plane landed in Hokkaido, the weather was fine, and Suren's mood stabilized again.

We haven't called Xiao Keleng, deliberately preventing her from picking us up at the airport. She's already overwhelmed with the Xunfuyuan matter; there's no need to bother her further.

As I walked out of the customs inspection channel, a young man wearing a thick black down jacket immediately waved and called out, "Mr. Feng, here, here!" He pushed aside the people around him and came to greet me. It was Xiao Lai, who was beaming with joy.

Suren's brows, which had just relaxed, immediately furrowed again, but she quickly put on a nonchalant smile.

“Mr. Feng, Miss Xiao asked me to pick you up from the airport. There’s also an airmail package from New York, which is already in the trunk of the car. Shall we go? She’s hosting a welcome dinner for you two at Xunfuyuan.” Xiao Lai held my hand and shook it for two or three minutes before letting go, attracting the attention of all the passing passengers.

His face was still covered in acne, making him look like a child who had never grown up. If the local Yamaguchi-gumi or Red Army knew he was a key member of the Sharpshooter Society, they might immediately mobilize their forces and swarm over. Of course, he wouldn't appear alone in public. When we approached a Honda station wagon with its doors wide open, a dozen or so burly and alert young men in black surrounded us, vigilantly observing the surroundings.

Part 6: Invincible

— Chapter 2 — The Secret of the Bronze Warrior —

"Where's the airmail package? Give it to me. How could you put it in the trunk?" Suren suddenly became agitated.

A man in black opened the trunk and took out a tightly bound square package. Suren tossed her handbag onto the seat, carefully cradled the package in her arms, and then got into the car. Her actions were so strange that Xiao Lai couldn't help but widen her eyes in astonishment.

The car drove out of the airport and sped north on the highway.

Xiao Lai briefly introduced the current situation at Xunfu Garden. When he mentioned Xiao Yan's unusual behavior, he immediately became hesitant: "Miss Xiao said that this matter must not be mentioned to outsiders. If you need to know anything, you two can ask her in person. Recently, there have been frequent bloody incidents at Fengge Temple! This book is reprinted from Shiliuk Literature Network! The police department has banned tourists from any place from entering the temple and is strictly screening every monk."

Suren's excessive silence stifled Xiao Lai's interest in talking, so the carriage quickly fell silent.

In early spring, Hokkaido is still a world covered in ice and snow. There are still some patches of snow on the walls of Xunfuyuan Garden, not to mention that the leaves are turning green and the grass is turning green.

The rebuilt Xunfu Garden is almost identical to the original. Those who hadn't witnessed the demolition would never guess that the main building had been reconstructed. All of this is thanks to Xiao Keleng's meticulousness and dedication. Xiao Keleng, known for his keen eye for talent, was appointed to manage all of Xunfu Garden's businesses in Japan, making the best use of his abilities.

As the car entered the gate of Xunfu Garden, Su Lun couldn't help but let out a soft sigh: "Brother Feng, this place feels so strange to me. I've never felt at home here before, but this time, coming with you, everything is different."

I understood what she meant. I gently patted the back of her hand, and as our eyes met, our hearts were in perfect harmony. That unspoken sweetness was the most delightful.

Upon seeing Xiao Keleng, everyone exchanged only brief pleasantries, but a heavy weight seemed to weigh on their hearts, preventing them from feeling happy.

"Xiao Xiao, take me to your room, I have something to say." Su Lun held the package tightly, never letting it out of her sight. It must have been sent by Yan Xun, and it must be extremely valuable, which was why she was handling it so carefully.