Vol 3 Chapter 8 (1/2)
Volume 3 Chapter 8
Translators: Fly, Wryn
Proofer: Wryn
It was an elegantly and plainly decorated restaurant in the suburbs, meant to aid in relaxation. However, there was not a single waiter inside, only two groups of people at each end of a table. The tension was like a highly strung bow, at risk of snapping any moment.
“Long time no see, Solaris Emperor.”
Yue Baylian was the first to break the silence, in a voice as sticky sweet as honey. He even threw a few flirtatious winks at him. There were four cyborgs standing upright behind him, devoid of all expression.
“Indeed it has.” Devon Solaris replied with a faint smile before calling out in a softer, gentler tone, “Yuer.”
Upon hearing this, Yue was stunned for a moment, uncontrollably blurting out, “Dev, you……”
He was about to continue when he noticed the Solaris Emperor’s pair of ruby red eyes. Although his face wore a smile, his eyes were not those that belong to an arrogant yet somewhat doltish Dev, this smile was just a façade the scheming Solaris Emperor used when dealing with enemies.
Seeing this, Yue gave a flirtatious laugh and said, “So you still remember me. Yuer feels so honored! Yuer thought that you have never cared!”
Devon Solaris smiled, “Nonsense, I have never forgotten your beautiful posture and moves as you brandished your whip.”
“Hehehe, Yuer has never realized that Solaris Emperor has such a sweet mouth!”
“But how it pales in contrast to your sweet face?”
“Hehe……”
Why does their conversation seem as though they are reminiscing, even like a couple flirting with each other, yet the atmosphere appears to be steadily deteriorating? Elian and Eli who were standing behind the Solaris Emperor did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Yue put aside his amorous att.i.tude and smiled faintly, “Even the sweetest face cannot capture Solaris Emperor’s briefest attention. For Solaris Emperor to spare a glance my way is even tougher than administering the entire Lunaris Alliance.”
On hearing this, the Solaris Emperor knew that the time for niceties had ended and it was time to cut to the chase. Sighing he said, “Why do you have to oppose me just because of some minute incidents in the past? I do not want pandemonium to break out in the business sector due to our rivalry. It will not bring either of us any benefits. Yuer, it was indeed my fault, i should not have forgotten you.”
“Let us reconcile and not continue hurting each other further, alright?”
Hearing this, Yue revealed a mirthless smile, thinking that the Solaris Emperor was indeed worthy of his name and reputation. First he proposed a truce from the standpoint of a businessman concerned about potential losses. Then he mentions that it’s actually for the sake of their friends.h.i.+p, completely ignoring the hostage situation, so that Yuer would think that his captive was worthless.
If he had not discovered that Dark Sun was in fact the younger brother of the Solaris Emperor, he might have fallen for that.
Unfortunately, no matter how cleverly his lies were told or how perfectly the arrangements were made, he would never be deceived. Because it was Devon himself who told him that the reason he became the Solaris Emperor, the G.o.d of Commerce, was for a single cause – to find his brother.
To say that Devon Solaris would not care about the well-being of his brother…… Ha! Saying that he did not care about the destruction of the world is more believable.
“Solaris Emperor, since you put it this way, I really want to reconcile with you!” Yue smiled knowingly. “I’ll return Theodore Avery to you then. However, there is no way I can return you the bodyguard. He tried to escape so I killed him!”
Devon Solaris abruptly stood up, eyes wide and face paper white.
Yue held up his hands, replying innocently, “Aiya! Solaris Emperor, he’s merely a bodyguard, why get so worked up?”
Devon forced out a grim smile before slowly settling down once again. Yue couldn’t have killed Dar! Since the picture of the hostage was that of Dar and not Avery, then he should know that the person he could threaten me with is Dar, so he couldn’t have killed him, he was just scaring me, scaring me... …
Even though Devon Solaris was 90% sure that Dar was still alive, he was still afraid to the extent that he was trembling slightly. Giving a wry smile, he wondered if he was still the Solaris Emperor? To think that a lie could actually frighten him so much.
Seeing the smile on Yue’s face increasingly widen, Devon Solaris knew that his weakness had been discovered by the other party and he could no longer hide it.
He replied in a serious tone, “Speak! What’s the condition for release? Remember that the annihilation of the Lunaris Alliance does not pose a challenge to me at all.”
“If that’s what you want, go ahead. Do you really think that I care about the fate of the Lunaris Alliance?” Yue gave him an indifferent look.
This time round, Devon had a sense of foreboding. He recalled the incident where they bombed his headquarters with not a shred of concern about the potential collapse of the worldwide economy. Devon Solaris rarely faced these type of opponents where benefits were not their goal and were willing to risk self destruction.
Calming himself down, “Then what do you want?”
“What do I want?” Yue blinked a few times before replying, “Don’t you have any idea?”
“What?” Devon Solaris frowned. Indeed, he could not grasp what Yue wanted.
“I want...... hehe...... hahaha! You still don’t know?” Yue’s soft giggles soon turned into hysterical laughter, “I want you to suffer! Solaris Emperor, I want you to feel more pain then I did when you forgot about me after you were done using me, hahaha!”
“You are crazy!” Devon Solaris slammed his fist down onto the table, bellowing, “I have no time for your nonsense! Where is he?”
On hearing his query, Eli who was standing behind him lowered his head and closed his eyes, whole-heartedly trying his best to read Yue’s thoughts on Daren’s whereabouts...…
“Right beneath your feet.” Yue casually replied.
Devon Solaris froze. What, what does it mean? Is it a trap? Or...…
“It’s true!”
At the same moment, Eli whispered in panic, “He, he has even loaded nuclear warheads below...…”
Although he spoke softly, everyone present still heard him. Apart from the four modified humans standing behind Yue who were emotionless, all the others got a fright.
“Oh?” Yue could not help looking at Eli, raising an eyebrow, “What an interesting kid, but not to worry, even if it exploded, none of us will be affected, however the people below......he! Let’s not talk about ashes, have you ever seen a nuclear warhead going off? Humans will be instantly vaporised!”
His heart aching, Devon Solaris bellowed, “If you kill him, I will never let you off!”
Yue held up his hands, blinking innocently, “That doesn’t matter. If I can see the world’s most beautifully pained look on your face due to the lost of your precious brother, I will not have any regrets even if I die.”
Devon expression turned ugly, his asked darkly, “What exactly do you want?”
“Haven’t I said it already? I see that Solaris Emperor’s memory is not that good?”
Devon Solaris was silent for a moment before saying, “Let him go. You can take me instead. You can torture me in any way you want.”
Yue gave a sweet smile, “Deal. Follow me down, then I will release him.”
Devon Solaris hesitated for a moment. What if he was captured but Yue still refused to let Dar go?
Noticing Devon’s hesitance, Yue gave a faint smile, “Don’t worry. It is you I want right from the beginning. With you in hand, your brother is worthless to me.”
Devon glanced at Eli, and after the latter nodded to signify that Yue was telling the truth, he took a deep breath and said, “Got it. Then, bring me to my brother now. I want to see you release him personally.”
“No problem.” A smile grew on Yue’s face as he stood up, making a gesture for Devon Solaris to follow.
“Solaris Emperor...…” Elian called after him anxiously. Are they supposed to let Dar’s brother be taken away right before their eyes?
Devon threw a glance back at Eli, the latter looked as if somebody had used a loudspeaker next to his ears, and was almost struck unconscious by Devon’s message.
Stay above and wait for Dar. Once you meet up with him, take him away immediately. Let Bill deal with the rest. All you have to do is ensure Dar’s safety. Even it means paying with your lives, you have to stop him from coming back to rescue me! Do you hear me?!
Eli grabbed onto Elian to stop himself from collapsing onto the ground from dizziness. Drooping his head, he nodded slightly.
Seeing this, Devon averted his gaze, and said impa.s.sively to Yue, “Let’s go.”
Yue looked at Eli suspiciously but failed to speculate Devon’s thoughts. However, recalling Solaris Emperor’s panic-stricken expression when he heard the false information about his brother being dead, he guessed he would not dare to risk his brother evaporating from the surface of the planet.
“Let’s go, my beloved Solaris Emperor.” Yue dared not lower his guard yet. Only when he has the Solaris Emperor completely in his hands would he be able to relax.
Devon glanced at Yue, then, like a high and mighty aristocrat, he walked pa.s.sed Yue casually, as though he was an invited guest instead of a hostage.
“Dark Sun has escaped?”
Yue had just brought Devon Solaris to their underground base when a subordinate approached with the report. On hearing that, quirky looks surfaced on both their faces. Especially Devon, the corner of his lips twitching uncontrollably. He had not expected Daren to escape by himself. Aren’t I just asking for trouble this time?
Yue glanced at Solaris Emperor with a smile that did not reach his eyes, “This is great. He has escaped before I could release him. You can finally rest a.s.sured this time round.”
Devon looked away, ignoring his dig.
Yue pondered about how overly easy it had been to capture Dark Sun and smelled something fishy. It seemed that he was indeed trying to rescue Avery by walking into the trap.
“Was Avery rescued as well?”
The subordinate who was half-kneeling on the ground reported, “Mr. Avery is still in the laboratory.”
Yue said, “Kill him.”
Devon said, “Kill him!”
Yue gave Devon Solaris an odd look, the latter actually wanted Avery dead too?
Having Avery around was beneficial for Dark Sun. Be it repair work after a battle, upgrading modifications, or even the creation of more modified humans. This was also advantageous for the rescue of Devon. If Dark Sun turned up with some modified humans in tow, it was possible for them to rescue Devon. That was why he wanted Avery dead. But why would the Solaris Emperor want him dead?
Noticing Yue’s expression, Devon coldly replied, “Traitors must die.”
“Even if he is very useful?” Yue raised an eyebrow in query. It had always been a businessman’s nature to fully make use of all the resources made available to them. Throwing away such talent without a second thought was such a waste.
Devon Solaris merely sneered, “If somebody useful is not loyal, the more he should be killed. If he betrays me, his usefulness will bring benefits to my enemies.”
“I see.”
Yue nodded. The Solaris Emperor was indeed worthy of his reputation. It was probably his viciousness that helped him rise to his status of the G.o.d of Commerce. But was it possible that he was trying to use reverse psychology on him? To make him change his mind and let Avery live instead?
“If that’s the case, how about I let you kill that traitor with your own hands?”
Devon smiled, “There is nothing better than that.”
Yue scrutinised his face a few times, but that handsome face of his showed nothing but his usual haughty expression. He really could not tell what he was thinking!
Even though he was currently his hostage, he had never once lowered his head in submission, nor changed his expression when giving a command to kill. It was impossible to knows the thoughts of someone like him even with telepathic abilities.
“Follow me please, Solaris Emperor.”
A hint of gentleness surfaced on Yue’s face. Devon was exactly like that in the past as well! Even when a delinquent wanted to punch him, he calmly replied that he wanted to experience the feeling of getting beaten up......ha! If it had been the other normal young aristocrats, they would have long been overwhelmed with rage.
Devon Solaris took the first step, his posture displaying no hint that he was a hostage. Yue followed to his right, four modified humans enhanced by Avery trailing behind them. All in all, he looked as though he was the king out on an inspection.
Whenever they reached a fork along the corridor, Devon Solaris would glance at Yue out of the corner of his eyes and the latter would point out the correct path for him to take.
When they reached an electronic door, Yue walked forward and slid a card through the reader, activating the door.
Avery was indeed inside. He was rather jumpy, probably because he was caught off guard by their sudden appearance. He asked with a weird expression, “Devon, it’s you?”
“Long time no see, Avery.” Devon smiled.
Yet, this smile raised Avery’s gooseb.u.mps and gave him a sense of foreboding doom.
“I’ll cut the c.r.a.p. You should have come to a realisation long ago when you betrayed me.” Devon continued smiling with the addition of a BHP09 handgun in his hand pointed straight at Avery.
Yue glanced from the corner of his eyes but paid it no need, allowing his captive to remain armed.
Seeing this, Avery blanched as he roared, “St... Stop! Devon don’t kill me. At least not now......”
Hmph! As if Devon would heed his words. He raised his silver handgun emotionlessly, “Goodbye Avery.”
A shot rang out. But a silhouette swifter than a gunshot flashed before Avery. He had to take the bullet in his arm due to the sudden development, the bullet penetrating deep into his flesh.
Devon stared wide eyed, unable to believe that the person who s.h.i.+elded Avery, whom he injured with his own bullet was his......
“D...Dar! What are you doing here?”
Daren did not reply, unable to comprehend the rapidly changing situations. What is gege doing here? Not to mention he is standing beside Yue without a hint of being coerced. Is gege really that determined to kill papa Avery?
“Don’t move Dark Sun!”
Yue quickly drew out his whip, knocked Devon’s handgun away with a flick and placed a stranglehold around Devon’s neck. After subduing Devon, he ordered the four modified humans to form a s.h.i.+eld around them, so that no matter how strong Dark Sun was, he could not rescue Devon.
Yue’s actions vanished the bewildered Daren. Dark Sun the ultimate protector of his master emerged instead. He gazed at Yue expressionlessly as he rapidly a.s.sessed how to save Devon.
“Kill Avery. Kill him now!” Yue screeched.
He had seen Dark Sun’s disfigured left hand which was difficult to heal completely without Avery’s skills. He must not allow Avery the opportunity to treat Dark Sun.
“St......” Devon was startled. Dar must not be allowed to kill, especially Avery whom he likes tremendously. He will be heartbroken!
Yue tightened his whip around Devon’s neck, cutting off his ability to breath, let alone speak. Devon could only struggle with the whip, hoping to stop his brother from killing.
“Kill Avery, Dark Sun. Or I will kill your brother!”
At that, Dark Sun spun around with the metallic claws of his right hand flas.h.i.+ng, his target the same one he selflessly protected only moments ago.