1187 Duel 1 (1/2)
”I'm just going to focus following up on Yuria then. After all, the Savior's friendship must be continued,” Garen said.
”That's not a bad point. You and Yuria have a natural, master and disciple relationship, just take advantage of this,” Nine-Tailed Fox agreed. ”However… I still feel that something is wrong. Ever since the plot has changed, I've already felt this.”
”You too?” Li Hua frowned. ”Same here. When we were tracking down Vulture's deployment staff and we fought hand in hand with the two long-range gunmen, I've already sensed that the situation seems to have derailed from the original plot. Shouldn't Vulture's main focus be on the Saviors at the moment?”
”We should look into this.” Right now, Nine-Tailed Fox really seemed like a big shot and not that common, mischievous and adorable little girl.
Garen sat in the corner looking at everyone discussing every possibility. His mind, on the other hand, had drifted far away.
”I'm going to go wash up a bit.” He was a bit bored and whispered to Kong Xinxue. She was currently in the midst of a discussion with Yuan Xing regarding staff placement issues and nodded her head in acknowledgment.
Garen got up and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.
The door was definitely soundproof. Not far away, two stalwart bodyguards decked in black uniform glanced over, then retracted their stares swiftly.
Walking on the thick black carpet, Garen soon came to the washroom. He stood in front of the golden-rimmed mirror and sized himself up.
Staring back in the mirror was Kong Xiaofei's figure. His short, red hair, his features firm and delicate, his strong physique, his stocky and imposing build, and his solid muscles bulging beneath his white shirt.
He turned on the faucet, hot water streamed out and washed into the sink beneath it.
Garen splashed water on his face a few times, and took deep breaths, feeling much better and relieved.
He could still hear the vague engine and honk sounds from the boats out in the sea. There were people messing and playing around with each other, which made quite a bustling scene.
”Staying on in this world is not an idea, I should go on some missions and earn some Contribution Points. I guess I'll drop by the Lighthouse Headquarters and have a look.” Garen had this sudden thought in his mind. This world had already confirmed the battle among the Four Great Cornerstones and with huge organizations like Vulture involved in it, the safest choice would be keeping his distance from the hub.
As for Li Hua and the others, perhaps they were the only ones who knew the real purpose they forcefully included themselves in the plot. Contribution points would be one thing, and the second purpose would be gaining benefits from it.
After all, the Four Great Cornerstones were the most mysterious beings in this world, possessing such extraordinary powers in a world with such strict restrictions. If Garen was able to gain a clear idea of this cause and master the principle, he would then be able to achieve this world's lowest grade of martial powers if he transmigrated to other worlds.
”Perhaps some of the people here were also pulled into this and so they had to take the initiative, like Yuan Xing, Kong Xinxue, and even Pan Pan; whereas some others might be here merely for beneficial purposes, like Li Hua and Nine-Tailed Fox.”
After having a rough understanding of the current situation, Garen decided to put himself in earlier on due to the Soul Energy Forces. Fully adapting to this identity was probably one of the centers of the whirlpool. Later on, Kong Xinxue would basically become Athena who would be constantly kidnapped in the plot. The part where the mind reader fell in love with Kong Xinxue was the most crucial part of the original plot.
”But now, I'm afraid I can't just join out of boredom anymore…” Garen forced a smile as he turned the faucet off. Lifting his head, he analyzed his face in the mirror.
All of a sudden, a black figure walked by the corridor outside behind him.
”?”
Garen frowned slightly. The reflection he saw from the mirror was a short silhouette and it seemed like a girl. Due to her speed and he was not paying attention, he missed it.
Turning around, the empty corridor stared back at him.
”My hearing shouldn't have degenerated to this point, should it?”
Other than his sense of sight, he was slightly doubtful about his two other senses. With his Sword Master grade of sense, there was definitely no way he would miss anyone nearby.
He recalled the black figure from just now. It seemed to be a little girl dressed poorly in tattered clothes, she had long hair, but aside from that, the rest was sort of a blur to him.
”Perhaps there are other transmigrators? There are guards stationed everywhere here and people standing guard front back left right, there's no way anyone can just casually enter and leave,” Garen's inner intuition was ringing.
He walked out and stood at the golden corridor, he noted the attentive guards on duty at both ends of the corridor.
Frowning as he made no discovery, Garen returned to the washroom to dry his hands with the hand dryer. Then only did he go back to the room where everyone was discussing the problem.
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Sweeping across the blue sea, the seagulls screeched loudly and together with the sounds from the waves, it gave off a refreshing feeling.
The sun shone on the sea's surface, standing on the beach one could see sparkles of gold on the sea's surface.
”How wealthy…!” Yuria was strolling on the beach with his sister. Passing by the beach umbrellas, he could not help but gawk at the beautiful ladies under the umbrella sunbathing with their bare naked chests.
”Brother… Can you not embarrass me?” Yurijie could not help but pinched him hard. Both of them were wearing orange colored swimsuits, just that hers was a bikini. However, her figure was obviously overshadowed by most of the beauties on the beach. As she observed Yuria's gaze constantly fleeting toward the ladies, her heart was full of jealousy.
”Why is it embarrassing!” Yuria was like a legendary who had no clue on how to conduct himself with dignity, he did not even feel guilty for stealing a few more glimpses. ”Aren't I just fulfilling their original intention of dressing up by staring? Think about it, these gorgeous ladies spent so much effort to doll up, but if nobody even enjoys or appreciate their effort then what's the use of it.”
”Well, you could at least be a little more discreet! Such an embarrassment!” Yurijie complained as her face turned a bright shade of scarlet red.
”Why is it embarrassing?” Yuria shook his finger, ”Xiaojie, seems like you have yet to truly realize Brother Saber's essence!”
”Essence?” Once the topic related to Garen was brought up, Yurijie's face instantly turned solemn. ”What essence?”
”I remember Brother Saber once said, if you want to achieve victory, you have to use some sort of secret technique or an unexpected attack to catch your enemy by surprise. Shock them so much that they can't react on time, and then you'll be able to succeed.” Yuria was getting slightly proud as he spoke about his feelings. ”So I came to a new realization of this principle.”
”What principle?”
”That is…” As Yuria was about to talk about the true meaning of Sword Master, his eyes suddenly stared at a lone pleasure boat out at sea.