374 Chapter 374: Saving Xin Chun (1/2)
We dropped several blocks away from Wigan Warehouse, using the tall skyscrapers to keep us out of sight. If the kidnappers were anything close to approaching competent, they would have posted sentries to keep a lookout. Whether they actually did so or not was beside the point. We weren't going to take any unnecessary risks.
\”So how do you plan to get in there?\” I asked when I saw Bu Fan immediately rush in the direction of the warehouse. \”Do you seriously intend to barge in through the front door?\”
\”How else then?\” he snapped at me. I tried not to sigh and roll my eyes.
\”For starters, we could sneak around. Find an alternative entrance that those kidnappers aren't guarding, and stealthily infiltrate the warehouse, find your sister, grab her and get out before anyone notices.\”
\”You think I'm just going to leave those bastards be after they touched my sister?!\” Bu Fan growled.
\”Uh…shouldn't your sister's safety be the top priority?\” I asked uncertainly. Bu Fan glared at me, on the verge of exploding.
\”I don't care! The moment they lay a hand on my sister, they have sealed their own doom! I'm going to destroy their entire sect, kill every single member of their families and erase their existence from this world!\”
The fuck? Why was he sounding like a xianxia protagonist? Only xianxia protagonists would go that far. I understood that there were many edgy readers who loved ruthless main characters because they enjoyed self-inserting themselves into positions of absolute power, but honestly I didn't understand why they reveled in violence and the bloody deaths of others. In the end, the protagonist just became the very same thing that he claimed to hate, but then again they would always hand-wave the logic away with \”strong eat the weak\” and \”survival of the fittest.\” Essentially, as long as you had the power, you could do whatever the fuck you wanted.
That wasn't how reality worked, kids.
Struggling to keep a lid on my temper, I forced myself to speak calmly. \”Focus on saving your sister and getting her out of here. After that, if you want to take revenge, I won't stop you. You can go back to the warehouse and kill all of them by yourself, if you really want to.\”
\”Fine. I'll do that then.\”
There was no doubt that Bu Fan evidently thought of me as a spineless coward who, as one of the reviewers for this story wrote, \”never retaliates\” or \”never gets revenge on people.\” Well, screw him. I was kind enough to help him save his sister, and if he continued that attitude, I was going to leave him be. The only reason why I was still assisting him was because Xin Chun herself was innocent and didn't deserve to go through this ordeal.
Honestly, I wanted to call the police and let them deal with this, but Bu Fan stubbornly insisted that he didn't want to drag them into this. Mostly because he believed that the police were highly incompetent and would more likely fuck things up than resolve the crisis. Being the main character (or so he believed), he strongly believed that he couldn't afford to rely on anyone except himself. He would have gone at this solo if he had to, but he had been running around like a headless chicken with no clues whatsoever before I ran into him.
Even I couldn't help him directly – I had to approach Zhao Zi Jun and request him for assistance before we finally tracked down Xin Chun's location. No one man was an island. Strength wasn't everything. Everyone had different skills and talents, and each person had a role to play in society. It wasn't like all those bullshit xiannxia stories that spout the nonsensical \”if you're not a martial artist, you're trash\” or \”if you don't have talent in martial arts, you're trash.\” Then what about the doctors, merchants, farmers, blacksmiths, and a whole range of support vocations that allowed the martial artists to benefit from their statuses? Treat them like trash, and they would have absolutely no reason to work for you, they might as well leave or find an employer who treats them better. Or resign themselves to death instead of living lives of slavery.
\”So, did you find an avenue in?\” Bu Fan demanded impatiently, breaking me out of my thoughts. A few seconds ago, I had summoned a flock of Corvus and sent them flying around to reconnoiter the perimeter. Obviously I had yet to see anything, given how less than thirty seconds had passed since I had sent my Constellation spirits out.
\”Dude, do you not know how summoning and reconnaissance work? Give me more time.\”
\”We don't have time!\” Bu Fan yelled. I really felt like kicking that spoilt brat.
\”And what does you screaming and shouting like a child achieve other than distracting me from my job and wasting more time?\”
That shut him up, thankfully. I spent the rest of the time peacefully looking through the many pairs of eyes that my flock of Corvus set upon the warehouse as they circled, or perched in different positions. Some sat atop an outcrop of a skyscraper, or balanced precariously upon the railing of a balcony. Others circled here and there, appearing to humans like normal birds soaring lazily in the air. The sentries, if the kidnappers were competent enough to post them, wouldn't be looking out for birds. They would be looking out for humans.
Actually…now that I thought about it…
\”We don't even need to sneak in,\” I muttered. Bu Fan stared at me, astonished.
\”What did you say?\”
Ignoring him, I knelt down and summon a pack of Lepus, Canis Minor and Ursa Minor. The little Constellation spirits looked up at me, awaiting orders. Pushing my glasses up, I smiled at them, relaying my thoughts rather than words. With a nod, the whole horde of them turned and scattered in unison before approaching the warehouse from different angles.
By the way, Lepus was a rabbit or hare-type Constellation spirit. I rarely had the opportunity to summon them because they weren't that strong in combat, but they were small, lightweight and easy to miss because of how harmless they looked. They would be perfect for infiltrating the warehouse. As long as people didn't get suspicious about how there was a random herd of rabbits wandering around the vicinity of a warehouse, anyway.
\”Oi!\” Bu Fan reached out for me irritably, evidently thinking that I was deliberately ignoring him. I raised a hand.
\”Can you be quiet? I'm trying to rescue your sister.\”
\”Huh? So when can we get in there?\”
\”We don't have to go in there.\” A smirk curled over my face. \”The goal of this mission is infiltration and rescue. It doesn't matter who does it. In fact, wouldn't it be better if non-humans carry out the mission instead? Those kidnappers wouldn't be expecting animals to sneak in and rescue your sister.\”
\”Ah…\” Despite his impatience, Bu Fan was a sharp one. \”So that's why you summoned those little creatures of yours.\”
\”You can say that.\”