434 Chapter 434: Toxic Reques (1/2)
I had barely left the hospital when I caught sight of a very familiar figure approaching me.
”Instructor Feng Hai?”
”Oh, so you still remember me?” Feng Hai chuckled as he caught up with me. Placing a hand on my shoulder, he grinned. ”Good job with the tournament. I watched almost all of your matches. You did very well.”
”Not well enough.” I wasn't able to keep the bitterness out of my voice. ”We lost against Pendragon Academy in the semifinals, and were eliminated.”
”Even so, you did great. More than enough to be proud of yourself. Thanks to your progress, your school has jumped ranks all the way to the top four – that alone is a feat worthy of praise. You have restored glory and prestige to Jing Tian Academy, and put it on the map of the Global Federation. All of you have surpassed all expectations.”
Feng Hai grinned as he lifted his hand from my shoulder and flashed a thumb's up. I could literally feel the delight radiating from him.
”You'll all be rewarded. The whole team. I promise.”
”Uh, right.” I watched him, somewhat suspicious. ”I don't suppose you came all the way here to personally tell me this and congratulate me, right?”
”Sharp as ever.” In just a second, the celebratory mood was replaced by a somber one, and Feng Hai's expression turned grim. ”You are right. I'm here to ask you for help. I'm very sorry…even though you still have the tournament going on…and you probably want to participate in the third place match, I don't have a choice. You're the only one I can ask.”
”What is it?” I couldn't help but feel a bit of a chill. There was something about Feng Hai's tone that disturbed me. Then it struck me. There was only one reason why he would approach me, of all people, for help. Not to mention, this circumstance seemed awfully familiar. I was already having a sense of déjà vu. Suppressing a sigh, I glanced down at my feet and tried to silence the thumping in my chest. ”Don't tell me…Anastasia?”
Feng Hai gazed at me guiltily, and then nodded. ”That's right.”
”Let me guess. She went missing again.” bloody hell, I just went and searched for her a few dozen chapters ago, and now she disappeared again. How many times did she need us to look for her? This was getting damned repetitive.
”Actually, no. Not exactly.” Feng Hai cleared his throat. ”We know where Ana is. The problem is that…she doesn't want to return. We need you to persuade her to return.” He lowered his eyes. ”We think you're the best person to convince her.”
”Huh? Return? What's going on?”
Feng Hai sighed heavily and then scratched his head. ”It's a long story. To keep it short, we stormed the Assassins' base and rescued her a couple of nights ago…or at least, we intended to do so. But when we went in…everyone was already dead.”
”Oh.”
I think I knew where this was going…
”Ana killed all of them.”
Feng Hai's eyes widened briefly, and then he nodded, impressed.
”That's right. You really are smart. All of the corpses had been blackened and withered away by virulent toxins. The entire environment within the temple had turned hazardous. We had to cast protective spells just to get into its interior. The only survivors were Veneneum Assassins, and they were already weakened from a previous battle, so it was pretty easy for us to take them out.”
No doubt the previous battle was against Anastasia. Still, for her to wipe out an entire temple of Assassins…that was incredible.
”Then we found her. Ana…her Woeful Poison Body…it was out of control. Even with the serum that Doctor Dorden concocted, it wasn't enough.” Feng Hai paused to consider his words. ”Well, it was enough to keep her alive, make her immune to the poison, but as you know, it couldn't fully neutralize the toxins within her body. Consequently, the toxins continued to rampage and leak out…turning whatever surroundings she is in into a lethal environment.”
”What…?”
”That's the curse of the Woeful Poison Body…and why it's so highly sought after. This is why the current Grand Master of Assassins covets her so. This is its final form…a living biological weapon, able to poison and kill everyone in the vicinity from her mere venomous presence alone. Turning entire areas into toxic wastelands, and wiping out every living thing in a couple hundred meters radius. The ultimate killing weapon.”
”Scary,” I muttered, though honestly I couldn't care less. I was immune to poison, after all.
Wait, wasn't that why Feng Hai was approaching me? Because I was the only one who could get close to Anastasia without dying? That made sense. Taking a deep breath, I nodded and smacked my chest.
”Leave it to me. I'll persuade her to return.”
”Thank you. That will be a great help.” Feng Hai looked immensely relieved. Wow. Ana must have been really stubborn to give him this much grief, huh? Just when that thought passed through my mind, the Silver Wolves leader raised his head sullenly. ”Just be warned…right now Ana is a little hard to talk to. She's withdrawn herself not just physically, but also mentally as well. Attaining the Woeful Poison Body has taken a psychological toll on her.”
”That's understandable.” If I was in her positon, I would feel extremely aggrieved too. Actually, that was quite the understatement. I probably would be on the verge of killing myself. Damn, I had best hurry before Ana started getting suicidal thoughts as well. ”We should hurry. Where is Ana right now? Is she still at the temple?”
”No, she left the place and headed for the Black Underworld Swamp.”
”Huh? The Black Underworld Swamp?” I still remembered that place. The both of us had went there together, participating in a mission along with Brent and Redfield. It was that expedition that Henry Porter led, in order to uncover some tomb. In the end, we encountered the Dark Church, who was conducting some ritual to summon a demon…which I then nuked to oblivion. Or was it a blood god? Damn, I couldn't remember.
Even so, I was surprised. Of all the places…
”Why the Black Underworld Swamp?”
”It's one of the most toxic environments in the world,” Feng Hai reminded me. ”It's probably the one place where Ana's Woeful Poison Body will have minimal impact on, given how the Black Underworld Swamp is a cesspool of poison itself. Populated by the most venomous monsters know to men, it's probably the place where Ana's rampant toxins will do the least damage.”