Chapter 12: I Will Find You (1/2)
Chapter 12: I Will Find You
Translator: OneshotwonderEditor: Tehrn
General Rilangalos Dower, whose reputation was on par with General Li Feng, was the one that created the “Tactics of the Valkyrie”, and it alone had made the Dower family prosperous for centuries. The Dower family also became the only family that could be compared to the Li family.
The Zhang family had always been the most influential power in the government, which gave them their nickname ”Iron Curtain”. Their status in the Confederation was unshakable despite the political turmoil of their homeland, the Moon. The Zhangs also had their own powerful tactics called the “Tactics of the Conscious Heart” which had been passed down for generations by the core members of the family.
The fifth of the Five Families was the Lie family from Mars. The Lie Family rose to power on Mars during a bloody political struggle, some four hundred years ago. Their family tactics, which was said to have been imbued with the power of the tianshi—the celestial sage—was called the “Tactics of the Blaze”.
The established prominence of the five families may be irrevocable, but they were not the most powerful existence in the known universe. None of the five families would dare to compare their might to those who resided in the Sacred Land. The Sacred Land was a place of incomprehensible power, but details of this place had always been shrouded in mystery.
The Sacred Land was a place for commemorating the Blade Warriors, whose mysterious legends still heavily influenced the humans today. Although in the hundreds of years after the great war the Blade Warriors had faded into the history, leaving only their names to be remembered.
The Sacred Land had always remained a neutral force; however, their neutrality never undermined their influence, because the only passage to the Hall of Valhalla lay within it. People believed that the Hall of Valhalla hosted the Blade Warriors’ most deadly last reserve, because of that, each of the five houses had sent their elite METAL fighters to guard the passage, thus effectively preventing each other from learning the secrets in the Hall of Valhalla. The presence of all five houses had formed an intricate balance of power within the Sacred Land.
Zhang Jing always liked to record her findings at the end of the day; she found that it was an effective way to further analyze the facts beyond what was apparent. She had written down the details of her encounter with Wang Tong a while ago, but Wang Tong's face kept on popping out. She started to wonder why her subconscious would remind her constantly of this seemingly unimportant boy as if there was a force inside of Wang Tong that had kept on drawing her attention.
After Zhang Jing had failed to figure out why an ordinary boy like Wang Tong had distracted her, she allowed a corner of her mouth to rise a little and tried to undermine her curiosity – a defect in humans' emotion, so that she would practice the “Tactics of the Conscious Heart” in peace.
The luxurious life on the space liner meant nothing to Wang Tong since practicing the tactics had already become his life. Survival instincts had driven him to learn the tactics in the first place, but as he practiced and improved along the way, he had learned and experienced things that he had never been able to before. He started to understand why there were so many individuals, like the one that was trapped in the crystal, who had become obsessed with tactics and martial arts.
To most people who were aboard the ship, it had been seven days of wild parties and celebrations for their close escape, but to Wang Tong, it was no more than an ordinary trip back home. He hadn’t seen Zhang Jing again since their last encounter.
As soon as they landed on Earth, a group of journalists swarmed towards the survivors. Wang Tong didn't talk to any of them; instead, he found an opportunity to sneak out of the spaceport and headed directly towards home. He had been away from home for over a year now, so he really wanted to see how Old Fart was doing.
He arrived at his house located in the Hope District, a nicer word for the ghetto. Many of the residents of the Hope District received social welfare from the government. Without a deep pocket, this place was the best the poor folks could get. The real-estate industry had continued its boom and had caused the housing prices to skyrocket.
”Old Fart, I’m back! Aren't you dead yet?” Wang Tong yelled at the door while his powerful kicks sent the door rattling, but no one answered the door, Old Fart must have gone to drink in the bar again.
He pressed the finger scanner by the door; his fingerprints smudged the glossy surface. Wang Tong was happy to be home again, regardless of whether Old Fart was at here or not.
”Cannot match fingerprint, please re-enter again.”
Wang Tong was baffled by the consul’s mechanical reply and pressed on the scanner a few more times, but the door didn’t move an inch.
”F*ck, I’ve only been away for a year, is this really necessary?” Wang Tong cursed, thinking that Old Fart must have changed the lock as soon as he had left Earth.
The door opened a crack, and a middle-aged woman with an unfamiliar face emerged from behind the door. She asked: ”Mister, who are you looking for?”
”Hum... Who are you? Why are you in my house?” Wang Tong asked with confusion and surprise written all over his face.
”Ah, you must be the one he was talking about. Excuse me, but this is my house now, the previous owner said if a young boy like you came to ask for him, he wanted me to tell you to go to the information hub, he left a message for you there.”
Wang Tong walked over to the information hub with a mind full of questions and punched in his password to the information terminal. A message from Old Fart popped up which Wang Tong opened with anticipation.
”Little S*it, I guess I owe you congratulations if you are able to see this message alive and well. Now let’s get down to it, I wanted to tell you that I have decided to move out, a brighter future and prettier women await me elsewhere. Please do not worry about me; I am doing better than you.
“How did the training go, have you used my tactics to its full potential yet? Well, if not, I hope you would have at least realized by now how badass my tactics is. Ahh...as for the space crystal, I forgot to mention that I had slipped it out of a rich person's house many years ago, if you found anything valuable in it, please do not hesitate to share with me. I wouldn't mind some cash for my reward, my bank account is ... But, if you found trouble instead... then do not contact me ever again.”
Looking at the apparition of the eccentric Old Fart on the screen, Wang Tong felt mixed feelings of warmth and anger. The Old Fart inside the screen seemed to have finished his recording as he bent down to turn off the recorder, but he paused for a moment and continued recording: ”I have already sold my house, and I left some credits for you in your account. You have grown up now, go out there and live an independent life. No need to thank me for what I did for you.”
As Old Fart finished his last words, Wang Tong’s frustration erupted inside of him as he felt like he would have smashed the information terminal if not for the fine that he would have to pay. Old Fart seemed very determined to be left alone, so much so to have sold his house.
Old Fart's house had always been a cozy, albeit dilapidated, home, but now without a home to go to, Wang Tong had to look for another place to stay. If it was the Wang Tong of one year ago, he would have fallen into a panic attack and wouldn't know what to do, but Wang Tong had matured quickly on that hellish planet, he now feared nothing.
Wang Tong went to the bank and checked his credit. He counted the zeros in the number, ”One, two, three, four… what?! Calm down now... calm down...”
Wang Tong was never good at being calm; his frustration eventually erupted into a heart-wrenching cry after seeing that Old Fart had left him only thirty grand. It might be a lot for pocket-money, but this was all that Wang Tong had now, plus a new jacket that was given by the Confederation as a gift.
“What kind of life is this? How can I live on only thirty grand for the rest of my life?