Chapter 763 - Lacey Panties (1/2)

The Sweeper caused a ma.s.sive uproar in the Villepinte International Military Weapon Exhibition, attracting ma.s.s media attention. It filled the headlines and was the talk of the town. Xia Lei, Thunder Horse Organization, Sweeper, h.e.l.lbound One-soldier Cannon along with the XL2500 sniper rifle and the Hurricane a.s.sault rifle became top searches on the net overnight. The number of “Xia Lei” searches were beating many mainstream celebrities in the process. He was now insanely popular!

That was good news but Xia Lei found it hard to feel glee. There was no call from Dark Mona. Amanda’s satellite phone was out of service and there was no progress on the ransom for Amanda and Park Taeyong’s safety. Their lives were at stake with every pa.s.sing second! How could he be happy with the problems flooding his life?

“Still no news about it?” Xia Lei asked Yelena. They were the only ones in his office.

Yelena replied, “Don’t worry too much, father is devising a way around this.”

“But what can he do?”

“You must have forgotten that father has five fighters in his hand. I believe that they are already mobilized,” she reminded him.

Five fighters...

“Do you know who those five are?”

Yelena wagged her finger. “Trust me, I’m not trying to keep you in the dark. I really don’t know much about them.”

“Impossible.”

“Nah, it’s not that complex of a situation. I only know a tad bit about the former pig, Yevgeniya. I’m sure you’re aware that Liang Siyao killed her. Her position was replaced but I wasn’t told by whom.”

“What about the other four? The snake, rat, monkey and rabbit?”

She explained, “Well, they hardly move with us but I do know that father a.s.signs them the harder missions.”

“Can you tell me everything you know?” Xia Lei was hopeful.

“Alright.” Yelena sighed before she went on. “The rat is j.a.panese and an expert in stealth, a.s.sa.s.sination, and poison. An extremely dangerous a.s.sa.s.sin.”

“Is he a ninja?”

“I guess you could say so. Her name is Tsukino Kyoko.”

“It’s a she?”

“Are you surprised? Perhaps she might be a beauty,” said Yelena.

“...”

“The monkey is an Indian man named Anjum Khan. He’s a sharpshooter. The rabbit is Iraqi and his name is Sa’im al-Majid al-Tikriti but you could just refer to him as Sa’im. He’s an intelligence expert, essentially father’s eyes and ears. A lot of the information I provided you before was from him. The snake…” Yelena paused. “Sorry, I don’t know anything about him. He’s the most mysterious member of the Chinese Zodiac Battle Team. I’ve never heard of his name nor seen him before.”

Those were all Xia Lei needed to piece an impression of the remaining four members.

Each of them had attributes that aligned with the characteristics of their respective animal.

India’s Anjum Khan, the monkey, was agile and a remarkable sharpshooter.

The rabbit, Sa’im, could be considered the backbone of the team due to his duty as the intelligence expert. Rabbit senses were especially sensitive, which made sense for him to be coined the position.

Tsukino Kyoko, the rat, was stealthy and excellent in things that could be considered “shady business”.

The ident.i.ty of the pig remains unknown.

The snake remained the most mysterious member of the team as not even Yelena had encountered him before.

“Don’t tell father I told you these. He mentioned that he wasn’t planning on revealing much to you yet,” warned Yelena.

Xia Lei smiled, “Alright. Honestly, I don’t see how it’ll affect anything but since you told me so, I won’t utter a single word about this.”

“If Amanda and Taeyong knew you were paying fifty million USD for their ransom, they would be beyond moved.” Yelena looked at Xia Lei with a straight face. “If I happen to fall into their hands someday, would you come to my rescue with that amount too?”

“Of course, but I don’t wish for anyone to get captured by the FA Organization again,” replied Xia Lei.

Yelena sighed and mumbled, “The death of Marcus and Bagu had us short of two members. While there is a replacement for the pig, who would come fill in their absence?”

Inexplicably, the images of Qin Xiang and Lu Sheng appeared in Xia Lei’s mind. Qin Xiang was a very skilled thief with great agility. Perhaps she would be a great fit for the goat’s position. On the other hand, Lu Sheng was a martial artist, seemingly the most suitable person to take over Marcus’s spot. The man also had attributes that aligned with the ox. Sadly, this thought shall remain a thought, Xia Lei couldn’t bear to see them lead such dangerous lives.

Footsteps were heard approaching the door and soon enough, Liang Siyao had appeared at the entrance.

Yelena announced, “Director Xia, I’ll excuse myself now.”

“Alright,” Xia Lei replied.

The two women walked in opposite directions, one was heading to the exit while the other was venturing deeper into the office. As their shoulders brushed against each other, they gave the other a look through the corner of their eyes but not a single word was uttered. Yelena’s glance was filled with malice.

“I don’t think she likes me very much,” commented Liang Siyao as soon as the other female was out of sight.

It was only natural for Yelena to despise Liang Siyao. She was the one who killed Yevgeniya after all. The knowledge was something Xia Lei had to keep hush from her. “Don’t mind her, she doesn’t have the best temper. Come, take a seat, what would you like to drink?”

Liang Siyao gave a small smile and replied, “Tomato spare ribs soup.”

Xia Lei laughed, “Sorry, I only have tea, wine, and coffee here. If you really wanted to have soup, why didn’t you make it at home? There’s no soup in my office.”

Her gaze had a hint of resentment. “Do you remember how you would cook for me back then? I loved the tomato spare ribs soup you made. You were so nice to me. What happened?”

Of course, he remembered those days but the thought of it had his heart clenched. If it wasn’t for her betrayal, their child would probably be crawling about now. What was she trying to achieve by bringing that up? It was a lost cause with no chance for redemption.

“I… I was joking, I’m not thirsty.” Liang Siyao switched the topic. “I’m here to talk about it.”