Eclipse Hunter V1C6: Cold, Merciless Demon

Eclipse Hunter Volume 1: Brothers

Original novel in Chinese by: 御我(Yu Wo)

---

Chapter Six: Cold, Merciless Demon—translated by Trespasserby (proofread by Lala Su & Minthe; C/E edited by lucathia)

“Should I order Japanese cuisine or Greek?

“At the moment, that is not the most pressing matter, Sun Emperor.”

“Oh?” Ri Xiang Yan scrutinized the lengthy menu in his hands. I wonder which Dìdi would prefer for dinner? “So what is the most pressing matter right now, Bill?”

The serious-faced secretary looked through an agenda and reported in an even tone, “Sun Emperor, my name is Kyle. The most pressing matter at the moment should be responding to the criminals’ demands. Even though an explosion would not affect this special safe room, many personnel would be injured or killed. My concern is that this would cause a suspension in the corporation’s activities and furthermore, serious damage to our reputation.”

“Oh? This is something the security team should be handling.” Ri Xiang Yan raised his eyebrows, and with some dissatisfaction, asked, “What the hell is the security team doing? First they shut me in here and kept me from going home. Now they can’t even do anything about the problem? Tell the head of the security team to come see me!”

“The head of the security team was fatally shot by the hijackers just earlier while pressing the office’s emergency lockdown switch. I’m afraid they are unable to meet with you.” Kyle conscientiously typed into the “aftermath handling” field on his laptop: “Find a new head of security.”

“Oh?” The entire time, Ri Xiang Yan’s eyes had never left the menu. Only, he suddenly thought of something and said as a reminder, “When we give the security head’s family the compensation money, don’t forget to publicize it. Don’t let the media throw up a fuss and say stuff like I’m a blood-sucking vampire who wouldn’t shed a tear.”

Kyle’s typing paused as he threw an odd look at Ri Xiang Yan.

The cold, merciless Sun Emperor… This description was something everyone had known for a long time. As the Sun Emperor’s secretary, Kyle could definitely confirm the truth behind those words. The Sun Emperor was indeed a cold and merciless person. To the Sun Emperor, losing an employee only meant a halt in production, while that person’s life held absolutely no value.

But people were still willing to devote themselves to the Sun Emperor for a few reasons: the Sun Emperor’s generous salaries, comprehensive benefits, and a fair reward and punishment system.

The head of security who had thrown away their life to activate the switch had probably known that even if they died, the compensation money would allow their family to eat well for several lifetimes, especially when he had protected the Sun Emperor’s own life… Kyle did some math. At the very least, the compensation money would be several billion.

“Kyle?” Ri Xiang Yan was unable to receive a response from his secretary for a while and asked somewhat impatiently.

“Yes, I understand.” Knowing he had been lost in thought, Kyle hurried to reply. Only, it was still very strange. The Sun Emperor had never cared about his own reputation. Even when he knew he was described as a blood-sucking vampire who wouldn’t shed a tear, he hadn’t tried to dispel the rumors in the slightest. Why would it be different now…?

Hm. Dìdi will definitely hear a lot of rumors out there. I can’t be a bad example for Dìdi. Ri Xiang Yan earnestly resolved to be the model of a good person in the future.

Suddenly, Kyle’s attention was caught by the news flash on the laptop. Criminals had taken the building’s workers hostage, planning to use this method to force the Sun Emperor out. He sighed. Looks like today’s issue won’t be resolved without a few thousand deaths.

In his heart, Kyle sympathized with those people and reported, “Sun Emperor, the criminals have given you one hour. If the hour passes and you have not come out, they will blow up the entire building.”

“So, it’s like that?”

Ri Xiang Yan frowned. He had just resolved to be a good role model and now a difficult problem had already arisen. Logically, he shouldn’t care and should remain in the specially constructed safe room. Even if there were an explosion, it wouldn’t harm him. Besides, if he really died, the financial crisis that would result would be the truly horrifying catastrophe…

However, several thousands of lives were on the line at that moment. Ri Xiang Yan couldn’t help rubbing his temples and said, “Fine. I’ll go out.”

As expected, he only cares about his own life… Kyle froze. Wait a moment. What did the Sun Emperor just say? He hurried to confirm while stammering, “My apologies. Sun Emperor? May I ask what your decision just now was?”

Ri Xiang Yan raised his eyebrows. “I said, I’ll go out.”

Kyle’s mouth hung open. Although he had some things to say about the Sun Emperor’s indifference, he didn’t actually want the Sun Emperor to go out. If the Sun Emperor lost his life… Don’t even joke about it! The entire world economy would be in complete chaos. The breadth of the effects would be the true disaster.

Kyle leapt up, protesting loudly, “No, Sun Emperor! You can’t go out! It’s too dangerous! If something happens to you, the world economy will collapse!”

But Ri Xiang Yan had already stood up. Waving his hand, he said, “Don’t worry. They’re just some criminals. However much money they want, we’ll give them. If they’re employed by a competitor, I am confident I can increase their price tenfold and make them switch sides!”

“B-But…” Kyle still didn’t feel very reassured.

“Bill…” Ri Xiang Yan suddenly looked back to ask, “Do you have a little brother?”

“Huh? No…” Kyle’s eyes widened. The Sun Emperor seems a little off today? Not only was his behavior completely off, the Sun Emperor was even asking something as inconsequential as whether he had a little brother or not at this sort of time.

“Sometimes, for his little brother, a big brother has to do some foolish things.” Ri Xiang Yan laughed. “Just stay in here. When I’m gone, the Sun Alliance will be relying on you to continue functioning.”

“Understood.” This was the first time that Kyle felt moved. This person before his eyes was the Sun Alliance’s leader. His leader.

Ri Xiang Yan pressed the switch to the office and leisurely walked out…

On the streets, a motorcycle sped past, even using exhilarating, extreme positions to weave through several cars. The motorcycle rider’s target was the skyscraper in the distance. In fact, it was the tallest building in the area, one of the Sun Alliance’s five headquarters.

The motorcycle stopped before even drawing close to the skyscraper. The skyscraper had too many people and members of the media around it. If he burst into the skyscraper in front of the media, the criminals would probably be the first to know.

Using the seamless media coverage to learn about the police and situation outside was something even the stupidest, most inexperienced thief knew how to do.

“Ah! Dear heavens! Dark Sun, your idiot of a brother actually walked out of the office. Quick, head up. They seem to plan on carrying your brother away from the roof.”

An Te Qi’s flustered and exasperated voice came across the earpiece. This was something he had especially prepared for Dark Sun. An Te Qi was in charge of observing the current situation and informing Dark Sun, allowing him to make optimal decisions based on the situation.

Dark Sun lightly scanned the area. Because this building was the tallest in the area, there was no way to use other structures to reach the highest floor.

Since that was the case, then he’d just do it a different way!

Dark Sun’s motorcycle reversed and stopped next to a building that was just second in height to his target.

He quickly entered the building and took the elevator. The elevator was unable to go directly to the highest floor, but it didn’t matter. For what Dark Sun was about to do, being off by one or two floors wouldn’t affect him.

“May I ask if you have a reservation?” A busboy dutifully came forward.

This was a high class restaurant. The guest before him was dressed bizarrely in a simple, tight-fitted shirt and pants. The pant legs were inserted into his boots, and he was also wearing a ski visor at an inappropriate time. But the busboy still keenly noticed that although this guest’s clothes seemed casual, with a careful look, they were of fine craftsmanship and the materials were all of the highest quality. The boots were even made from genuine leather.

Dark Sun said, “I want a large window with a view of the adjacent building.”

The busboy assumed Dark Sun wanted to sit by the window. He respectfully replied, “Of course. This way, please.”

The busboy led Dark Sun to a floor to ceiling window. Set before the window were a simple but tasteful table and chairs. The busboy gracefully pulled out a seat for Dark Sun. But Dark Sun had no intention to sit down.

The busboy’s smile froze, not understanding what this guest was planning to do yet afraid to upset him.

Dark Sun looked out the window. This was a good location. The building’s height was sufficient and at the same time, the location just happened to be blocked from the sun. The shadow would be able to obscure his figure, making it unlikely the people below would notice him.

Wings, activate!

Special fluid steel moved out from Dark Sun’s bones, forming the structure of wings behind him. Two pieces of steel shaped like feathers pierced out from his clothing with bilateral symmetry.

It was like watching a young bird grow its wings on fast forward. One layer of steel feathers then another continued to be placed on top of each other. Not even twenty seconds had passed before two gigantic steel wings about three meters long had emerged from Dark Sun’s back.

“A-A… Angel!” The busboy kept backing away in shock… After stumbling, he fell to the ground and blankly stared at the guest who had sprouted wings.

Dark Sun turned his head to look at him and laughed without any mirth. He corrected him, “Wrong. I’m a demon.”

The busboy dazedly looked at the wings. Only then did he discover that what should have been soft feathers on an angel’s wings were instead sharp, bladed steel feathers on the pair of wings before him. … Is he really a demon?

With a few quick steps, Dark Sun rushed toward the window and smashed through it… The busboy and other people in the restaurant rushed forward to see…

A demon’s incomparably beautiful form was soaring in the azure sky.

“Interesting… You really won’t accept my proposal?”

Ri Xiang Yan was secretly a bit astonished, but on the surface he still appeared unruffled.

No matter how favorable the conditions Ri Xiang Yan raised were, the methods he used to create dissatisfaction between them and the employer backing them, or even the discord he caused between the criminals themselves, they all were useless. These criminals could not be swayed. This extremely shocked Ri Xiang Yan.

One should know, Ri Xiang Yan had been maneuvering about the business world since a tender age. It could be said that negotiations, agreements, and sabotage were basic skills required for survival. Even CEOs from the business world were in the palm of his hand, so how could these insignificant hoodlums have such an unexpectedly strong determination?

“Move!” Several criminals roughly dragged Ri Xiang Yan.

“Don’t touch me!” Ri Xiang Yan roared, oppressiveness flaring. He coldly sneered. “You don’t have the qualifications to touch me. I will walk on my own.”

He shook off the criminals’ hands, and without taking anyone’s leave, gracefully and haughtily strode toward the helicopter.

“What is that?”

One of the criminals was suspiciously watching something in the sky. It seemed to be a bird… But it was a bit too big. What is it?

Even before he could make out what it was, the flying object in the sky had already retracted its wings and then plummeted straight down from the sky. It landed heavily on the floor, leaving two deep footprints with fractures extending from them.

“He” had dropped between Ri Xiang Yan and the criminals. Ri Xiang Yan was a little shocked. He turned his head curiously to see what could have “fallen” on top of the tallest building… A person? He blinked. This figure seems somewhat familiar?

The criminals were stunned for a moment. How could a person have dropped down from the sky?

“Who are you? Get away from that person!” A criminal shouted. Their huge machine gun was already raised.

Upon seeing this, the other criminals each raised the weapons in their hands.

“Get on the helicopter,” Dark Sun quietly said to Ri Xiang Yan.

“Ah…” Ye?! Ri Xiang Yan hastily kept himself from saying “Ye.” He had already recognized his little brother but had to keep his identity a secret.

Why is Ah Ye here? Dear heavens. Doesn’t he know that this place is very dangerous?

“Get on already!” Dark Sun quietly shouted.

Ri Xiang Yan frowned, but still followed his words and boarded the helicopter. But isn’t this the criminals’ helicopter?

The criminals were probably thinking the same thing, that it was their own helicopter, so they didn’t prevent Ri Xiang Yan from climbing aboard.

Only, once Ri Xiang Yan had boarded, Dark Sun shut the door to the helicopter and even destroyed the lock. Then he pulled a gun from his holster and shot the pilot to prevent him from flying the helicopter away.

Now that he had ensured his brother’s safety, the show could begin.

The reason Dark Sun had his brother climb into the helicopter was because it had bulletproof properties. In order to prevent his brother from being injured by a bullet, he had him go aboard. As for destroying the lock, one reason was he feared that the criminals would board to seize Ri Xiang Yan. The other reason was…

Ah Ye?! Ri Xiang Yan desperately beat on the helicopter’s bulletproof glass and forcefully pulled on the door handle. But the door had already been jammed by Dark Sun. There was no way to open the door.

To keep his brother from stubbornly rushing out to protect him… Ri Xiang Ye giggled on the inside.

There were two factions on the roof. One faction was about twenty gun-slinging criminals, and the other was Dark Sun by himself.

After Dark Sun had executed the helicopter pilot, the others were infuriated. Also seeing that the hostage they had to carry away was already stashed in a safe place, the criminals had nothing to worry about. The large brute in the front who held the heavy machine gun roared wildly as he strafed where Dark Sun was.

Dark Sun quickly darted away. The ground was covered with bullet holes. But none had hit Dark Sun.

Dark Sun knew that when there was more than one enemy, the most important thing was to use “chaos.” He quickly rushed into the group of enemies. Several reflexively opened fire, but none shot Dark Sun. Instead, they mistakenly hit their own people. In this way, several of them fell to the ground, never to get up again.

“Stop! Stop!” Several criminals saw that the situation was not in their favor and immediately shouted.

The criminals saw they had injured their own people and hurriedly stopped. It was a pity that Dark Sun didn’t give them any time to think. The moment they halted, sharp steel fingernails extended and with a few slashing sounds, several people were unable to even call out. They fell to the ground wordlessly, unable to rise again.

Seeing the others get hurt one after another, the criminals were all scared. They couldn’t pay any mind to the order from earlier to hold fire. Several of them couldn’t bear it any longer and began shooting wildly, only to see Dark Sun dodge behind a criminal, who suddenly become the target of all the shooting. After the criminal had been riddled into a honeycomb by friendly fire, Dark Sun would once again flit behind another person.

If the criminals stopped firing, then Dark Sun would instead begin killing. The flashing silver tips of the sharp nails became the criminals’ nightmare. It wasn’t long before enough criminals had been killed that only about ten were left.

At this moment, the criminals once again stopped. Dark Sun naturally raised his fingernails again and slashed toward a throat. Who would have known that he would miss instead?

Since Dark Sun had left the research facility, this was the first time he had miscalculated an attack. If he had still been as emotionless as before, Dark Sun would have had no reaction whatsoever and would have directly executed the next attack. However, at this moment the emotion-suppressing function was off. He actually froze and did not carry out his next attack.

In that pause, the criminal had already turned around and quickly swung his hand. Dark Sun was unable to completely dodge out of the way. A wound opened up on his arm, but he took no heed of it. Instead, he glanced at the criminal who had cut him.

The criminal was currently holding a curvy short sword, a kris. Because the edge of the blade was curved like a snake, it was able to create larger wounds than a straight-edged blade would.

At this moment, among the ten criminals left, five of them suddenly tossed aside their guns and drew several different kinds of weapons.

One was wielding two ancient katars used by assassins. Two of them were wielding a katana and a whip. There was even someone with a heavy, double-headed battle axe.

It was practically a weapons exhibition!

The color of Dark Sun’s face changed a bit. He felt there was something not quite right about the situation. If current day criminals didn’t carry guns, then at most they would add on a knife or so. But the current situation had five people who were all holding weapons that would only been seen in an exhibition.

The feeling that these five people gave him was different from that of the other criminals. But as for what exactly was different, Dark Sun couldn’t say.

Regardless of the amount of misgivings in Dark Sun’s heart, the five criminals had already rushed forward. The one directly before him was… For the time being, he decided to use the weapons they were holding to address them.

The double-headed battle axe criminal had already dashed up, looking extremely menacing with a huge axe and bulging muscles.

The steel fingernails were too delicate and were unable to block a heavy weapon like that. Dark Sun hit upon a plan to avoid confrontation. He elected to use the strategy of directly assassinating the enemies by aiming for their vital points.

The double-headed axe swung down. Dark Sun deftly pivoted, not only evading the axe but also moving directly in front of the double-headed battle axe criminal. The lethal nails were just about to rip open the double-headed battle axe criminal’s throat… But slim silver sliced toward Dark Sun’s hand. It was the katana’s blade. He had no option other than to hastily retract his hand and retreat.

At this moment, he felt another threat from behind. He quickly turned sideways, and the katars almost brushed against Dark Sun’s arm, nearly slicing into him.

Besieged by three people, Dark Sun realized that these three people’s martial arts were topnotch. Their tacit cooperation was also very good and was putting him at a disadvantage. He retreated several steps, planning to switch to his gun to dispose of them.

As he drew the gun, he felt a powerful killing intent behind him and reflexively spun on his heel. At that instant, the kris was almost at his chest. Dark Sun immediately used his hand to grab the blade. His tremendous strength left the criminal with no way to pull his weapon back.

As his hand was occupied holding the kris, he couldn’t move. But for Dark Sun, this wasn’t a huge issue. He raised his right leg and heavily kicked at the criminal. He flew around five meters away. If the average person received this sort of kick, they’d immediately fall unconscious.

After a gust of wind, there was a sudden impact to Dark Sun’s right arm. At this moment he recalled that there was still the long range whip criminal!

After the first successful attack, the whip criminal readied for a second attack. But this time, Dark Sun was already on guard. How would he allow him to succeed so easily? He adroitly grabbed the whip, planning to use the whip to pull the criminal over.

But the other three criminals once again rushed over, brandishing their weapons and fiercely attacked. Only relying on the slender steel nails on his hands, Dark Sun had no way to block these heavy weapons. And these four people weren’t slow, attacking him from every direction using their robust bodies. It would be difficult to use speed to win. This was the first time Dark Sun felt pressured.

No!

Dark Sun abruptly felt something was wrong. Even in a combat school like Yelan Academy, he was able to use his speed to defeat so many people. There shouldn’t be any reason for me to feel pressured by five people attacking me?

Dark Sun fended them off while he let the microchip in his brain conduct an analysis. A few clashes later, the microchip had already computed that the speed and strength of these five people was three times that of an average person.

Even if strength could increase substantially through exercise, it wasn’t that simple to do that with speed. One could probably increase it by two times, but to be three times faster than the average person… This was something not one in ten thousand would be gifted with. How could there be five of them in one place?

However, the situation before him didn’t allow Dark Sun time to think. He could only record this suspicion and continue to fight against these people… The kris criminal who had been sent flying with a kick earlier actually stood up again and joined the fray with a nimbleness that rivaled the others, with no sign of great injury. Dark Sun’s situation became even grimmer.

Although he had injured his opponents, wounds also gradually appeared on Dark Sun’s body. The worst one was still the wound inflicted by the whip when it hit the joint in his elbow, severely affecting Dark Sun’s right arm movement. For Dark Sun, who used skilled movements at a speed that exceeded that of a normal person, this was a very serious problem.

Ah Ye, Ah Ye!

As soon as Ri Xiang Yan, trapped in the helicopter, saw his little brother was injured, he immediately began looking about, finally finding a small fire extinguisher. He raised the fire extinguisher and desperately struck it against the bulletproof glass. Although the glass was so thick that it couldn’t be cracked, Ri Xiang Yan refused to give up and kept frantically smashing…

Ring ring…

Ri Xiang Yan froze. He turned his head to look at his own cell phone. He was originally going to ignore the ringtone, but this seemed to be the ringtone from home. If it was coming from home, then it could only be Ah Ye… Wait, there was still An Te Qi!

In the end, Ri Xiang Yan picked up the phone.

“Ri Xiang Yan?” As expected, it was An Te Qi’s voice.

“You!” Ri Xiang Yan hysterically roared, “Why did you let Ah Ye come? Do you know that he’s hurt?”

An Te Qi hurriedly explained, “I know! But that isn’t important. Dark Sun wanted me to send him his weapon. I’m already at the bottom of the building, but the police officers down here have blocked me. Think of something fast or Dark Sun’s injuries are going to get worse.”

Ri Xiang listened and considered for a moment, immediately dialing Secretary Kyle’s phone.