Eclipse Hunter Volume 3: Angel, Slaughter
Original novel in Chinese by: 御我 (Yu Wo)
Chapter Seven: Rescue Mission, Begin!—translated by Trespasserby (proofread by J Tao & Minthe; C/E edited by lucathia)
“Bill, it’s been three days. Why hasn’t Ah Ye been found yet?” Ri Xiang Yan expressionlessly asked, hands pushing against the surface of the desk.
Although he knew the Sun Emperor didn’t accept any excuses for failure, this was a direct question from his superior. Kyle, as the Sun Emperor’s subordinate, could only do exactly as duty required and replied, “Because Young Master Ri Xiang Ye seems to be intimately familiar with the position of every surveillance camera within the city, there has not been a single camera that has caught a glimpse of him, making it extremely difficult to track him. At the same time, he has not relied on any of his friends for help, has not used his credit card, has not withdrawn money, and has not been recorded leaving the area. Based on reports from our spies within the large alliances, they have not captured anyone matching the young master’s description.”
The color in Ri Xiang Yan’s face returned to something a little closer to normal after he heard that. He had originally been worried that the reason there hadn’t been the slightest bit of news about Ah Ye was because someone had captured him. That was the outcome he feared the most, but since it wasn’t the case, then he didn’t need to worry about Ah Ye’s safety.
Kyle continued to report, “We have already initiated a blanket search. Unless the young master has left the city or its surroundings, we should have news of him within two days.”
“Ah Ye eats quite a lot every meal. How could he not have withdrawn money to use?” Ri Xiang Yan frowned. Dìdi isn’t starving himself, is he?
Kyle silently replied in his mind, I also have serious doubts. The young master’s intake is undoubtedly astonishing. If he hasn’t used money to buy food, then he could only have stolen food. But he had already investigated the city and surrounding area, and there hadn’t been any remnants of news trails about large quantities of food being stolen… It was like Ri Xiang Ye had vanished without a trace.
Although Ri Xiang Yan was extremely worried about Ah Ye’s situation, as long as Ah Ye hadn’t fallen into someone else’s clutches, then his safety was probably nothing to worry about. Since he couldn’t find Ah Ye for the time being, it was better to deal with other matters first. “What’s the situation with Bai Lian Yue?”
“The assault on the laboratory was a success. However, the target had already been evacuated from the laboratory. We are currently pursuing all leads on him.”
Hearing that, Ri Xiang Yan tapped his fingers on the table, indicating he understood.
That the Sun Emperor hadn’t issued any instructions indicated that he approved of the way things were being handled. Kyle continued to report further, “As for the investigation into individuals Bai Lian Yue has close ties with, he lost both parents and has no wife. Although he has many mistresses, they are frequently replaced. The only individual who can be considered to be relatively close to him is his successor, Bai Lian Xing. However, upon further investigation, Bai Lian Xing is not his biological child but rather, is adopted from a distant relative. The relationship between the two of them is not very close.”
“So, you’re saying there isn’t a single person he cares about?”
Ri Xiang Yan’s expression hardened. People like Bai Lian Yue were the most troublesome to deal with. He didn’t have anything he cared about, so he could act without restraint. The plan to threaten him with his loved ones obviously wouldn’t work.
“Yes.” Kyle nodded.
Ri Xiang Yan returned to being expressionless. His pointer finger lightly tapped the table.
Kyle continued to report, “Regarding retaliation against the Purple Moon Alliance, measures such as using various names to acquire shares of their company and block their financing are already underway. However, the Purple Moon Alliance is enormous. There are banks that operate under them and they are well-established in the business world. In the short term, we are unable to deal them a crippling blow…”
“I know that.” Ri Xiang Yan impatiently interrupted the report. “Of the top ten economic alliances, which one doesn’t have a solid financial base? I wasn’t expecting to topple the Purple Moon Alliance anytime soon; I just wanted to make it known we are openly antagonizing them. This way, the other alliances and the businesses under them will act accordingly. Even if they don’t cut business relations with them entirely, they will at least delay any collaborations. The addition of this kind of news will be enough to make Purple Moon Alliance shares tumble!”
Once their stocks fell, it would be even easier to buy them up. With some covert manipulation as well, it would be enough for the Purple Moon Alliance’s property to change hands, with no one the wiser. Also, as long as the Sun Alliance divided up a majority of the benefits between the other alliances, they wouldn’t say much about the Sun Emperor’s annihilation of the Purple Moon Alliance.
Kyle had known what kind of strategy the Sun Emperor was most likely to use. Although this strategy seemed simple, only the Sun Alliance, which controlled the economy, could carry it out successfully. After all, it wasn’t a simple feat to have the majority of the alliances go along with the situation. It seemed like the Sun Emperor really wanted the Purple Moon Alliance to disappear completely this time.
“After the Purple Moon Alliance falls, even if Bai Lian Yue has An Te Qi in his grasp, what good will that be?” Ri Xiang Yan snorted.
At this moment, the computer in front of Kyle pinged with a message. This was nothing odd, as his computer was constantly receiving information from all over the place. However, the moment he saw the subject line, Kyle frowned.
“Bai Lian Yue” is actually displayed as the sender of the message! Kyle decided on the spot to deal with this message first. As soon as he saw the contents, he froze. Then, he hastily reported, “Sun Emperor! The news from the Purple Moon Alliance is that they are requesting a meeting between the leaders of both sides.”
“Oh?”
Hearing the news, Ri Xiang Yan faintly smiled. Looks like someone’s realized they’re in trouble.
“The other party wants an immediate reply. The meeting is to take place at noon two days from now, and they will decide the location.”
As Kyle gave his report, he frowned. These demands were both rude and unreasonable. Even an ordinary CEO would normally have their schedule planned out a month in advance, to say nothing of the leader of the economy, the Sun Emperor. A last-minute request to meet in two days was utterly absurd.
In addition, the other party wanted an immediate reply and to decide the location themselves. Did they see the Sun Emperor as a subordinate? They couldn’t possibly be ruder.
Hearing that, Ri Xiang Yan frowned as well. Why does Bai Lian Yue think I’ll agree to this meeting?
At this moment, Kyle suddenly realized there was an attachment with the message. Against all odds, he somehow hadn’t noticed it immediately. It looks like I’ve been working too hard recently… All I can do is brace myself and report it.
“Sun Emperor, there is also an attachment with the message. It seems to be an image.”
“Oh?” The Sun Emperor did indeed shoot him an icy glare. He commanded, “Print it out.”
Kyle automatically opened the image and pressed the print button. Only then did he have time to make out what the image was of, and his blood ran cold. Young Master Ri Xiang Ye…
Ri Xiang Yan indifferently took the photo from the machine, but the moment his eyes focused on it, he immediately cried out in alarm, “Ah Ye!”
Indeed, the photo was of Ri Xiang Ye, or perhaps it should be said, of Dark Sun. In the photo, he was imprisoned in a cell. It was clear that his captors were very afraid of him. The room had solid metal walls rather than iron bars to imprison him in his cell, and the walls were covered with a dense net of red lasers.
Although Dark Sun’s hands and feet weren’t bound, when faced with a prison cell like this, even he was clearly helpless. He could only stand still in the cell.
“Bill!” Ri Xiang Yan shouted once again.
“Yes, I am currently determining whether or not the photo is a forgery. Please allow me five minutes.”
He didn’t need the Sun Emperor to give the order. Kyle had already been using the computer to find the subordinate who was most skilled in this line of work and request him to analyze the authenticity of the photo as soon as possible.
Hearing that, Ri Xiang Yan lowered his head to look at the photo. The Ah Ye in the photo didn’t have any traces of panic on his face, but Ri Xiang Yan still felt absolutely heartbroken. His beloved dìdi was shut up like a criminal, and had even fallen into the clutches of his enemy. If he didn’t handle this properly, Ah Ye’s plight would become even worse. As Ri Xiang Yan thought that, his hand that was holding the edge of the photograph unexpectedly began to shake uncontrollably.
“Sun Emperor, the verification is complete. It is indeed an unaltered photograph.”
Reading that reply, Kyle felt his heart skip a beat. Someone has the Sun Emperor’s greatest weakness in their grip. What will he do?
Hearing that, Ri Xiang Yan slowly leaned back into his office chair with thoughts whirling through his mind non-stop. He said, “Agree to the Purple Moon Alliance’s demands. Mobilize our strongest combat elite troop. I remember Ah Ye saying to me that his friend called Eli had a strange ability. Bring him to me immediately!”
“Understood.”
After Ri Xiang Yan finished issuing the command, he thought for a moment, then gave another command, “Bring Elian and the other girl here. I heard Ah Ye say that their combat skills are also not bad.”
Hearing this command, Kyle asked with slight hesitation, “But they are not professionals, and they are still children…”
“And isn’t Ah Ye a child?” Ri Xiang Yan icily replied.
“Yes, sir.”
“Has the hedgehog-head woken up yet?” Ri Xiang Yan’s voice was even more merciless. In his heart, he thought, Ah Ye’s treated that guy so well, he should be ready to die for Ah Ye!
“No.”
Hearing the Sun Emperor’s tone, Kyle knew that the Sun Emperor wouldn’t listen to anyone’s advice. He instinctively wanted to use up everything he could, leaving nothing unspared.
But Kyle’s intuition was telling him that this wasn’t a very good situation. If something happened to Young Master Ri Xiang Ye’s friends while they tried to save him, wouldn’t the young master be very sad?
With how the young master left home, anyone can tell from a glance that the Sun Emperor isn’t good at dealing with matters of the heart! However, this was understandable; a huge economic alliance like the Sun Alliance wasn’t run with emotions.
Having been in a seat of power for so long, the Sun Emperor had only subordinates by his side who obeyed his orders and enemies who didn’t obey them. It probably wasn’t easy for him to understand something like the feelings between friends or why his little brother wasn’t listening to him.
Kyle couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. When will these brothers figure out how to properly interact with each other?
“My younger brother has been kidnapped. On the day of the negotiations, I want you to use your ability to scout for his whereabouts.”
Ri Xiang Yan’s hands were folded over his knee as he issued orders to Eli in front of him.
“What did you say?! Ah Ye’s been kidnapped?”
Off to the side, Eloise shouted incredulously. Elian was also frowning.
Eli was taciturn. He knew that before the Sun Emperor, saying no wasn’t an option. But once he began helping the Sun Emperor probe his enemies’ thoughts, would he ever be able to escape in the future?
Elian suddenly asked, “How was Ah Ye kidnapped? And what happened to Ezart? It’s been almost a week since he last came to school. Was he kidnapped like Ah Ye?”
Eli lowered his eyes, which were brimming with gratitude to Elian. He knew Elian really did want to know the answer to these questions, but it was likely that the main reason Elian had asked was to help him out and give him time to read the Sun Emperor’s thoughts. Then he could weigh the pros and cons before answering the Sun Emperor.
The Sun Emperor raised an eyebrow at Elian’s questions. Although he didn’t have Eli’s ability to read minds, how would it have been possible to hide a ploy like this from the scheming king of the business world?
He knew what Elian’s intentions were, but he still planned to answer these questions. That way, they would understand Ah Ye’s plight, and it would foster feelings of voluntarily wanting to help Ah Ye out. Therefore, Ri Xiang Yan took the opportunity to answer, “No, Ezart is comatose. The reason is that he drank a drug that An Te Qi had left behind.”
“… Huh?” The three of them all froze.
“Because Ah Ye wanted to save An Te Qi, he fell into the clutches of my enemy. At the moment, my enemy is requesting a negotiation.”
Hearing that, the trio was in shock for a long time. Elian was the first one to snap out of it. He muttered, “No wonder Ah Ye was kidnapped. He must have been too hasty while trying to save An Te Qi. If he doesn’t save An Te Qi soon, then Ezart will also die. Ah Ye really likes those two a lot, so if something happens to both of them, he will be extremely distressed.”
It was Ri Xiang Yan’s turn to be stunned. Only then did he understand. Is that what Ah Ye was thinking? Saving An Te Qi wasn’t just for An Te Qi’s sake but also for Ezart’s sake?
“Oh no!” Eloise was so anxious she was pacing back and forth. “Ah Ye definitely must have been blaming himself again. Every time he does something wrong, he’s always in agony and saying that he’s so stupid and doesn’t understand anything… Aiyah! Anyway, we need to go save him! Elian! Eli!”
The two people Eloise had called on stared at her helplessly. They hadn’t even finished considering things and she had already decided to set off?
“Ah Ye isn’t stupid!” Ri Xiang Yan roared while slamming his hands on the table. Who dares to call Ah Ye stupid?!
“Right? Right?” Eloise loudly parroted, “Ah Ye is the cutest! But he doesn’t realize it at all. Let me tell you, one time, Ah Ye even asked me if he was ugly.”
“What?!” Ri Xiang Yan leapt up from his office chair, furiously bellowing, “Who dares to call him ugly?!”
“I know, right?! He clearly isn’t ugly at all. Ah Ye’s so cute I could die!” Eloise nodded her head as though this was completely obvious.
With an obnoxious level of pride, Ri Xiang Yan said, “Of course my Ah Ye is the cutest. Ever since he was little, he’s been as cute as a lump of dough.”
Is a lump of dough supposed to be cute… Off to the side, Kyle continued typing away expressionlessly. He logically did not judge the Sun Emperor’s description.
“Really? Do you have any pictures of him from when he was little that I can see?”
“Of course. This is Ah Ye when he was five.” Ri Xiang Yan pulled out a necklace. The small locket was a round, carved case that could be opened. When he opened the cover, there was a little photograph inside.
“Ah! He’s absolutely adorable!”
“Of course my dìdi is adorable.”
“Do you have any other pictures?”
“Yes, but they aren’t here.”
… Looking at it from this angle, don’t the Sun Emperor and Eloise have a lot in common? Elian and Eli stared at the two of them, speechless.
“Sun Emperor, the Purple Moon Alliance has sent a reply,” Kyle calmly reported.
“Let me tell you, I have several hundred pictures at home of Ah Ye when he was little. I had some of them enlarged… Huh? Oh, oh! Ahem.”
Ri Xiang Yan froze at first, then seemed to abruptly remember he wasn’t here to share pictures of Ah Ye. He snatched the locket out of Eloise’s hands and sat back down expressionlessly. He resumed his position of sitting arrogantly with his hands folded over his knee. “Speak.”
“The time they have decided on is noon tomorrow. The location is a restaurant in the suburbs. Both sides may bring four people as company.”
Ri Xiang Yan let out a hum to show he understood. Then his gaze shifted to Eli and he asked, “What is your decision?”
Eli lowered his head in contemplation for a moment. But he still could only powerlessly say, “If you agree to some of my requests.”
“Then speak.” Hearing that, Ri Xiang Yan could only faintly smile, thinking to himself, In the end, it still comes down to a business exchange. Not the ties of friendship!
“In the future, if someone tries to force me to use my ability or tries to kill me to silence me, you must prevent that. For your end of the deal, I will help you read others’ minds, but this will be limited to only three times a year.”
“Hmph!” Ri Xiang Yan coldly chuckled.
“Are the terms unsatisfactory?” Eli asked warily.
Even though he could read the Sun Emperor’s thoughts, it was too difficult to find an answer in a mind that was ten layers deeper than that of a normal person. It was simpler to directly ask. Even if the Sun Emperor didn’t say his answer aloud, it would emerge in his mind and then Eli could easily read the answer with his mind reading ability.
“So long as you can read my little brother’s location, you will be added to my list of elites. That way, no one will dare to touch you. You can dispense with the request that I only ask you to help me read others’ thoughts three times a year.”
Ri Xiang Yan slowly stood up, emanating the cold, haughty, self-confident aura of a monarch. He vowed, “I, the Sun Emperor, have never needed the ability to read minds to find out what my rivals are planning!”
Eli was speechless. Even though he had asked, his mind reading ability had still been unable to find the answer. He didn’t know if the Sun Emperor’s thinking was so fast that the answer had flashed by too quickly for him to catch it, or if the Sun Emperor was thinking of too many other things and the answer had been hidden behind those thoughts, even when he was answering the question of someone right in front of him.
“I understand.”
Although he wasn’t able to read the Sun Emperor’s thoughts, Eli still nodded. This was because the Sun Emperor’s conditions were really quite favorable. In the first place, he hadn’t had any hope that he would be able to refuse the Sun Emperor and had even been mentally prepared to be forced into becoming the Sun Emperor’s underling.
But now, he just had to do one mission, and then he would never be forced into reading minds again while also receiving the Sun Emperor’s protection. It was simply a gift from heaven… As long as the Sun Emperor wasn’t planning to silence him during the fight and that was why he was fine with giving random offers.
Even though Eli had those misgivings in his heart, if the Sun Emperor really wanted to silence him, he wouldn’t be able to flee to the ends of the earth to escape. He probably wouldn’t even be able to step out of the city before being wiped from existence.
Right now, his only option was to strive to save Ri Xiang Ye, hoping that he would have mercy on his friends and prevent his older brother from silencing them. The best-case scenario was that the Sun Emperor still agreed to comply with the terms he had stated.
“Eli will definitely be coming.” Ri Xiang Yan looked at the other two people. He elegantly cocked his head, “As for you…”
“I would like to come as well. My skills are very strong. I can definitely be of assistance,” Elian hurriedly said. On one hand, he was worried about Ah Ye’s safety. On the other, he was also thinking that Eli was in danger of being silenced. If he didn’t go along, he wouldn’t be able to rest easy.
“I want to go too!” Eloise hastily cried out.
“You can’t!” Elian and Eli shot back at the same time.
“Why not?” Eloise unhappily shouted.
Of course, this was because if the Sun Emperor really wanted to silence Eli, then it would be easier for two of them to escape than three. Especially because Eloise didn’t specialize in speed, it was even harder for her to flee… However, they couldn’t say this in front of the Sun Emperor.
They thought hard to come up with a reason to urge Eloise to stay, but Elian could only internally let out a sigh and give a reason even he didn’t believe, “You have to look after Ezart and when he wakes up, hurry to bring him along to help too!”
“Is that so?” Eloise frowned and said, “O.K. then. I’ll wait for Ezart to wake up. Ah Ye likes Ezart so much. If he sees Ezart coming to save him, he’ll definitely be super happy.”
Hearing that, Ri Xiang Yan faintly smiled. “If that’s the case, you can stay with my secretary, Bill. If Ezart wakes up, he will immediately make preparations for you to come find us.”
When they heard that, Elian and Eli couldn’t keep their expressions from changing. In that case, hasn’t Eloise just been sneakily turned into a hostage?
Completely oblivious to her teammates’ worry, Eloise enthusiastically thumped her chest as she promised, “Rest assured! The instant Ezart wakes up, I’ll immediately bring him to you guys.”
Eloise… Elian couldn’t help letting out a heavy sigh in his heart. It looked like all they could do was try their best to save Ah Ye so that he could keep the Sun Emperor from sealing their mouths shut.
Elian opened his mouth to ask, “Then, Sun Emperor. Please tell us what your plans are so that we can coordinate with you.”
“It’s simple. I will allow negotiations to break down, but not so far that it will infuriate my opponent. Then we will decide on a time for a second negotiation.” Ri Xiang Yan pointed at Eli, commanding, “While I am holding the discussion, you are to find out where Ah Ye is being kept.”
After Eli nodded, he said, “If you ask where Ah Ye is, it will be easier for me to read the answer.”
Hearing that, Ri Xiang Yan gave an “Mm” in response. He lowered his head, pondering the best things to say to fish out Ah Ye’s whereabouts. However, by lowering his head, his eyes landed on the round locket in his hand.
In the photograph, Dìdi had on a wide, cute smile. He abruptly realized that this was a photograph of Ah Ye when he was just seven, and not the current Ah Ye…
Everything is ready. All that’s left is to wait for the negotiations tomorrow.
Ah Ye, wait for Gēge to rescue you. We’ll go and take photos together. Please don’t get hurt. Please don’t…
Instead of going through a lot of trouble to find An Te Qi’s location, it was faster to just get caught and brought in directly.
Ri Xiang Ye slowly circled once around the room. As expected, the Morse code from An Te Qi really had been a trap. As soon as he arrived at the specified location, he saw four modified humans waiting for him. Although he still was able to flee, if he did run, then he really wouldn’t have any way to find An Te Qi’s whereabouts.
Rather than running off without anything to show for it, it was better to get caught and directly brought in.
“Anyway, no matter what kind of prison it is, as long as there’s a door, it can’t keep me in!”
Ri Xiang Yan took a tour of the cell. It was truly a prison that could be described as impenetrable, but no matter the thickness of its walls, it wasn’t a big issue. What was most important was the type of lock on the door. Based on what people normally did nowadays, most of the time the lock was electronic.
He glanced at the door. It was indeed an electronic lock that required a card swipe.
Ri Xiang Ye walked over and looked at the electronic lock. The front of the lock was enveloped by a number of lasers. If he wanted to touch the lock, the lasers would definitely burn him.
But he extended his left hand without the slightest bit of fear. At most, the lasers would be able to damage his skin and flesh. They were incapable of slicing through his strengthened bones. As soon as his left hand touched the lasers, the stench of burning flesh began to emanate from it. Immediately, what was originally a pale and slender hand was halfway to being charred black.
However, the teenager with the burnt left hand didn’t show the slightest expression, as though what had been burned was a chunk of wood instead. He continued extending his hand toward the lock. At last, he pushed against the card swipe of the electronic lock with his finger and extended his fingernail into the gap to begin overriding the system.
Ri Xiang Ye expressionlessly carried out the task. Because his older brother hated seeing him use abilities a normal person didn’t have, he had never dared to use this ability. However, hacking into computers was actually one of his abilities, and he was particularly skilled at it!
“What are you doing? Get away from the electronic lock! Otherwise, we will open fire!”
At this moment, an announcement echoed through the cell. Clearly, his captors had already noticed something wasn’t right.
But Ri Xiang Ye didn’t pay them any mind at all and continued hacking.
A gun silently extended from each of the four corners of the prison cell in order to prevent him from continuing with what he was doing at the lock. They fired two warning shots, but Ri Xiang Ye dodged them without difficulty.
“Immediately move away from the electronic lock. Otherwise, we will use machine-gun fire.”
Having heard that, Ri Xiang Ye slowly raised his arms, including his charred left hand. Then, he slowly moved away from the door lock.
“Just like that, move farther away!”
Finally, Ri Xiang Ye approached the middle of the cell. He lifted his head up to innocently ask, “Is this O.K.?”
“Stand there. Do not approach the lock on the door again.” The speaker even broadcasted the mutter, “What the hell? Is that boy actually man or machine?”
Although he couldn’t approach the door again, Ri Xiang Ye smiled faintly. He lowered his head. An extremely unobtrusive silver thread was on the floor leading from his left hand all the way to the lock on the door. It was a network cable. Even though his left hand was this far from the lock, as long as he had this cable, he would be able to hack into the electronic lock just the same as before.
When I suddenly run outside, those people who want to shoot me with their guns will definitely have a big fright, right? Thinking of that, an absolutely adorable smile came across his face. He sat cross-legged onto the floor so that most of the silver thread would be hidden underneath his bottom and would be even harder to notice.
Just three more minutes before I get to go save An Te Qi-bàba!
Ri Xiang Ye couldn’t help happily humming a little tune, looking just like an innocent boy. It was just that his sincere smile along with his charred left hand made for a very strange scene. Even the people watching the surveillance cameras couldn’t help but shudder at the sight.
Because he was in a good mood, Ri Xiang Ye felt the three minutes pass by quickly as he hummed a little tune. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the electronic lock and gave it the order to open the door. Then he retracted the silver thread back into his left hand. At this moment, the prison door also smoothly opened. He instantly used his quickest speed to flash out the door in a single breath.
The empty prison cell was quiet for a few moments. Then the people behind the security monitors finally came to and immediately sounded the alarms. A frantic shout came from the broadcast speakers.
“E-Escaped prisoner!”
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