Chapter 436 - Entrusted By Father Xie
Of the eight bodyguards outside, three snuck away to find the sniper. The enemy they were after was very skilled. He had already gunned down three of their comrades in quick succession. The remaining two wanted to get to the villa, but the sniper was preventing them from approaching any closer. It became incredibly difficult for them to advance. They were all military veterans. Their strength and combat awareness couldn't be underestimated, but they were far from being comparable to this sniper.
When the three bodyguards finally found the hiding spot of the sniper, they discovered the person had long fled.
After Wisp died, Bayonet jumped out of the window. Before long, his silhouette disappeared into the darkness, vanishing without a trace.
Watching Bayonet disappear, Nie Yan sank into silence. He couldn't help but wonder if Bayonet would come looking for him.
"Nie Yan, why do you want to recruit such a dangerous person?" Xie Yao asked with a bit of apprehension. She carefully moved around Wisp's corpse.
"I don't know. I just feel like he's trustworthy," Nie Yan replied, not knowing how to explain.
Xie Yao's eyes flashed with a trace of doubt. Although she didn't really understand, she chose not to ask any further.
A while later, the monitoring satellites returned to normal. Cloudwater quickly dispatched a large security force over to Xie Yao's villa.
Nie Yan had Xie Yao call her parents to let them know she was safe and sound. He then quietly brought her to his car, away from everyone's sight, before disappearing into the curtain of night.
The sniper was still at large. That fellow was extremely dangerous.
Nie Yan knew how hitmen operated. They wouldn't give up so easily after failing to kill their target. The larger the security force that arrived in Cloudwater and the more chaotic things became, the greater the danger Xie Yao was in.
He sped along the streets in his Thrawn and finally returned to his own family villa.
The people targeting Xie Yao would probably never guess that she was still in Cloudwater. Sometimes the most dangerous places were the safest.
After arriving at Nie Yan's home, Xie Yao called her parents once more and told them everything that happened. The attempt on her life had momentarily thrown both the Dragonsoar and Glory Financial Groups into turmoil. They immediately started investigating the matter. When they found out who dared to lay a hand on their precious princess, they would unleash their combined fury onto the culprit!
"My father wants to speak with you."
"Alright." Nie Yan took the phone from Xie Yao. He understood Xie Jun probably wanted to ask him to do something.「Uncle, what would you like me to do?」
「I leave Xie Yao in your hands. Please keep her safe. It isn't suitable for her to appear in public right now. Having her stay at your place is probably the safest option. After we finish handling this matter, we'll come pick her up. We'll be troubling you in the meantime,」Xie Jun said solemnly. Nie Yan could tell from his tone that this matter definitely wasn't small, or else they wouldn't be leaving her with him.
「Don't worry, Uncle. I'll definitely keep your daughter safe,」Nie Yan declared.
Nie Yan and Xie Jun chatted for a while longer. He learned from their conversation that they had gotten into a business dispute with the Century Financial Group. Furthermore, internal fighting had broken out in the Dragonsoar Financial Group due to Liu Rui's father.
Nie Yan suddenly recalled such an incident occurring in his past life. Although he wasn't aware of Xie Yao's background back then, it was pretty big news. The Dragonsoar and Glory Financial Groups had fallen into a crisis when a huge argument broke out between Liu Rui's father and Xie Yao's grandfather during a shareholders meeting. This matter wouldn't be resolved until several years down the line.
Nie Yan recalled Xie Yao and Liu Rui's engagement was announced not long after. Back then, he was overwhelmed with despair and sunk even further into depravity. This was also the period in his life where he carried out his most outrageous antics.
Did Xie Yao's engagement with Liu Rui happen to be related to this matter?
「Uncle, if you need me to do anything, just say the word. I'll definitely do my best to carry it out.」Nie Yan was determined to make sure what happened in his past life wouldn't be repeated.
Xie Jun chuckled.「Do these words represent you or your Nie Family?」
「My words represent the Nie Family!」Nie Yan replied. He understood Xie Jun was trying to tell him that there wasn't much he could do by himself.
Xie Jun was taken aback. Nie Yan was only 18 years old. Did Father Nie really entrust authority over the whole Nie Family business to his son?
Xie Jun didn't put Nie Yan's words to heart. Nevertheless, the earnesty left a deep impression on him. He felt at ease entrusting his daughter to this boy.「Remember my words back at the banquet? Both of you are adults now. I'm fine with leaving the two of you alone together. Just make sure to take responsibility.」
Nie Yan and Xie Yao felt a bit embarrassed since they knew what Xie Jun was alluding to. Xie Yao in particular blushed red.
「Understood, Uncle!」Nie Yan laughed.
Xie Yao took the phone back from Nie Yan and chatted with her father for a while longer before hanging up.
Once Xie Yao realized she would be living in Nie Yan's home for the next few days, she couldn't help but turn frantic. Looking at Nie Yan, her cheeks burned hot. "Nie Yan, your parents aren't home yet?"
"No. I'm not sure when they will be. Sometimes they spend several days at the company," Nie Yan replied. His home life wasn't all that different from Xie Yao's. Both their parents were busy day and night with work.
Xie Yao nodded. It would be best if Nie Yan's parents didn't come home while she was there, or else things would inevitably become even more awkward and embarrassing.
Nie Yan showed Xie Yao around his home and prepared her a room next to his own. "I don't have a spare game capsule. I'll have someone deliver a decent game helmet you can use for the time being. For your safety, I think it's best if you don't leave the house the next few days. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
"Alright." Xie Yao nodded. She was a lot more reserved in this unfamiliar environment.
This was Nie Yan's first time seeing this side of Xie Yao. It made him want to protect her even more.
"We'll have to figure out your clothing situation too. Tell me your sizes. I'll have my aunt deliver some over." Nie Yan gazed at Xie Yao's body. She was slim and stood at around 167 cm. She was pretty tall for a girl.
Xie Yao started telling Nie Yan her clothing sizes. When it got to her bra size, she hesitated. It was too embarrassing.
Nie Yan glanced at Xie Yao's chest, recalling the previous incident in her bed. "You're probably a 36D, right?" He shamelessly chuckled. Her assets were quite well developed.
Xie Yao was speechless. Nie Yan's guess was almost spot-on. She couldn't help but flush red with embarrassment.
Seeing Xie Yao's flustered appearance, Nie Yan laughed. He didn't tease her any further, instead calling Ah Chen's wife and asking her to help him buy some underwear and other daily articles.
By the time Nie Yan finished arranging everything, it was almost dawn. He called up Guo Huai.「How's the guild doing?」
「You finally called!」Guo Huai breathed a sigh of relief.
Nie Yan's sudden departure had left Asskickers United in a mess. There were many matters Guo Huai didn't dare to decide on without approval. Based on the words Nie Yan had spoken before hanging up, Guo Huai understood the matter was urgent. So, he didn't dare to call despite being worried something bad had happened.
Nie Yan understood Guo Huai's feelings. The situation came too suddenly, so he couldn't help but leave on short notice. Thankfully, nothing happened to Xie Yao, or else he would've been left with a lifelong regret!
「Things at the guild have calmed down. There's still a few matters that require your attention. Besides this, I also need to talk to you about the War God Tribe. The five guilds under the Tuoba Family are planning to make their move. The Tuoba Family's influence in Nisode is still strong. I'm worried the War God Tribe will be defeated. But we can't afford to get into another war. We suffered disastrous losses during the last one. It'll take weeks for our players to return to their previous levels and months to catch back up to the rest of the pack. I'm not sure we can survive another major war,」Guo Huai said. Asskickers United couldn't take any more losses.
Nie Yan thought for a moment.「Radiant Sacred Flame, Sapphire Shrine, and Holy Empire also took heavy losses. How about we have Battle Crazed Alliance go?」
「Not possible. Battle Crazed Alliance is currently at war with several rival guilds. They still haven't united Hilderlocke yet. They don't have any troops to spare.」Guo Huai shook his head. He had long since thought this matter through. The situation over at Hilderlocke was far from smooth!
「The War God Tribe won't fall so easily. Let's wait and see how the war develops,」Nie Yan said. This was the only thing they could do for now. He couldn't sacrifice the wellbeing of Askickers United for the War God Tribe.
「The Tuoba Family definitely planned this in advance. That's why they waited with their attack until our war with Bloodlust Blades, Alliance of Mages, and Divine Protectors was over. We can't easily provide support to the War God Tribe,」Guo Huai said in a concerned tone.
Nie Yan recalled the events of his past life. Back then, the War God Tribe hadn't grown this quickly. They were still a small guild unworthy of the Tuoba Family's interest. It was only later on when the Tuoba Family's influence waned due to internal fighting that they rose to power and united Nisode.
Meanwhile in the present, The War God Tribe had prematurely attracted the attention of the Tuoba Family. A starving camel was still larger than a horse. If they went to war with the War God Tribe, it was hard to say which side would come out on top.
The War God Tribe probably wouldn't have any problem holding onto their strongholds. It appeared their only option was to endure for the time being.
Nie Yan handed over a list to Guo Huai with the names of 2,000 Asskickers United elites who hadn't dropped levels in the battle at the Cripps Strongholds, and ordered him to dispatch as many as possible to aid the War God Tribe in their crisis. As for himself, he definitely couldn't go to Nisode. There were already too many important things he had to attend to.