Chapter 158
Chapter 158: Dark Clock: Part 1
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
A river of people was flowing up the gangway to the giant cruise ship .
Dao Ling wore a black suit and blended in a group of naturalists from Olro . The group was here to conduct a field study of the ancient history of Xilin and now was ready to depart to their home country . Each member of the group held an individual visa . Had it not been for Luo Xinna who had backdoor access, Dao Ling might not be able to get a cruise ticket reserved for the tour group .
Wearing a hat and a black suit with a walking stick in hand, these naturalist gentlemen were looking down and giving their valediction to a woman in a white dress on the harbor . Mrs . Vessani, sixty, skin slightly wrinkled but looking graceful with a white gauze on her shoulders, was flanked by three bodyguards .
“It was my pleasure to host you all, gentlemen . With all the histories, cultures, and myths in Xilin, thirteen days of study tour seem to be too short . If the opportunity arises again, I hope I could bring you all to…” Mrs . Vessani’s voice was graceful and euphemistic, it sounded like a poetic, sweet rhythm to the ear . After repeatedly expressing her regret to Kenhardt, who was the study group leader, she extended her invitation for their next visit .
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Quietly staying at the rear of the group, Dao Ling and Luo Xinna watched as these people exchanged pleasantries . Their decorous etiquette and gracious manners bewildered the two . They felt as if they were in a different world . As mere churls themselves, they were nowhere as sophisticated in speech and manner as these people .
“At least we are in and onboard . The study group has a boarding priority . If it wasn’t because of you, I would find a way to Miga,” Luo Xinna said in a low voice behind Dao Ling .
“I don’t know if Lin Sheng would be coming after us . So too Sarroux . Probably, they still think we have gone out to take care of a few things . If that is the case, it would be three days later before they realize that we have deserted them,” Dao Ling said quietly .
“We are going to make it out . No worries . ” Luo Xinna nodded lightly when he saw the group leader, Kenhardt, kissed the hand of Mrs . Vessani, and the group began to move further up the gangway . “Let’s go,” he urged, nudging Dao Ling .
The two stayed at the rear of the line, behind a bearded, middle-aged man . They stepped on the sampan and finally went onboard the Red Roses, the mid-size cruise ship from Olro of more than one-hundred-meter-long with over two-hundred-passenger capacity .
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A pair of black leather boots stepped on the concrete floor of the harbor . Lin Sheng, wearing a black leather coat, hair cascading down as he stood at the entrance of the harbor . More than a hundred disciples of the Ironfist Society were marching on the street, blocking the entrance and preventing traffic from going in and out of the harbor . Vehicles transporting goods came to a standstill along the street . People began to yell and curse as they disembarked to check what was going on that held up the traffic . Passersby and merchants stopped on both sides of the road, taking a glimpse of what was happening .
The expression on some of the faces started to change when they saw the uniforms of the Ironfist Society, which was on the crest of a wave right now . A few police officers, who happened to be patrolling in the vicinity, hurried over with an inimical expression on their faces . But when they saw that it was the Ironfist Society, their expression took a sudden change and slowed down their steps .
Lin Sheng looked up, eyes on the red cruise ship . He was tall and burly, physically well-proportioned yet appearing cold and manic . Coupled with his unbridled aura of a dragon, his persona was force field-bending . It was almost like looking at a massive, callous, and cruel killer beast; one would shudder in fear by just looking at his eyes .
“Get them . ” Lin Sheng commanded, his voice hoarse . “The Ironfist Society will not tolerate disloyalty . ” He might sound casual, but he would make sure to make his words into rules .
A masked man with a cross sword, wearing a simple black suit, flew past Lin Sheng, heading up the cruise ship . Two armored soldiers were following closely from behind .
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Sarroux came up beside Lin Sheng, his impassive face filled with a hint of anger . Beside them, groups of men with the Han-character of ‘Fist’ on the back of their shirts flowed into the crowd on the harbor to clear out a path for Lin Sheng and Sarroux .
Other than eating and drinking, these men had been training and practicing every day . They were brawny and seriously skillful in close-quarter combat . Sarroux had even hired someone to teach them bullet-evading techniques . The training they received was not something that the usual cliques could match . All the more so because the martial art they practiced originated from the best fighting techniques Lin Sheng had replicated from Blackfeather City . A fighting technique highly regarded by a horde of superhuman beings in Blackfeather City was no joke . Even the most basic techniques of it could outmatch the fighting techniques of Xilin by far .
Protest and shoving quickly arose in the crowd as they were forced aside, but men from the Ironfist Society quickly kept the situation under control . When a path was finally cleared out, Lin Sheng and Sarroux strutted past the crowd toward the red cruise ship .
“What the heck! It’s the Ironfist Society—” A few bare-armed, burly, bald men with tattoos on their skin started cursing . These men might be muscular, but they were no match for the professionally trained disciples of the Ironfist Society . A few ordinary disciples from the Ironfist Society was able to beat the daylights out of them .
When Lin Sheng and Sarroux arrived at the gangway, the two bearded ticket collectors were seen lying unconscious on the ground . Just then, some faint sounds of fighting and gunshot were heard on the deck near the starboard . Lin Sheng stepped onto the gangway and paced up unhurriedly with Sarroux following closely from behind . In just a few beats, the two were on board .
A Blackfeather swordsman and two vault guards had kept the situation under control . A blue-haired young man was seen sitting in a corner . Supposedly the security officer of the cruise ship, he had a gun in one hand and pressing his other hand on his bleeding wound in the abdomen .
Dao Ling and Luo Xinna were keeping their heads low and blending in with the crowd, hoping that Lin Sheng would not spot them . When they saw Lin Sheng had come onboard, their hearts sank, realizing that the Ironfist Society had used some unknown method tracking them to this ship .
“I think we should step out and apologize . The president would surely forgive us as he needs people . ” Dao Ling helplessly let out a sigh with Luo Xinna gritting his teeth, concurring and knowing that there was nothing more they could do . In any case, they were still Transcendents, and as long as they had not committed too obvious sin against the Ironfist Society, Lin Sheng would certainly absolve them . The two so thought and exchanged a look . But they both clearly sensed the dispiritedness in each other . They appeared from the crowd and came before Lin Sheng, one following the other .
“President,” Dao Ling took a deep breath, “I am merely taking a tour of the cruise ship on an invitation . It’s my fault not informing President about this beforehand . ”
Luo Xinna quickly stepped out . “President, I heard that some VIP guest who could be of help to the Ironfist Society was on board and about to leave, so I came to give him a courtesy send-off . ” He pointed to Kenhardt, the tour group leader . Kenhardt, who had received some hush money from Luo Xinna, smiled at Lin Sheng with his hat off .