As the two were talking, they heard the sound of rapid footsteps approaching from further down the mountain.
“Who would come to this remote wilderness at this hour?” Xu Ze raised his eyebrows in confusion. The young man, Lin Zhiyuan, smiled and said, “The National Security Department, Section Three, has finally arrived… Saves us the trouble…”
“National Security Department, Section Three?” Xu Ze was taken aback. He naturally knew what the National Security Department did, but he asked in surprise, “Does National Security handle this kind of thing too?”
“Heh… They deal with it occasionally. But mainly it’s because that ninja below was a spy sent by the Japanese, so it falls under their jurisdiction…” Lin Zhiyuan smiled, then looked at Xu Ze. “By the way, I don’t know your name yet?”
“I’m Xu Ze… And you?” Xu Ze replied with a smile.
“I’m Lin Zhiyuan… Let’s keep in touch when we have the chance.” Lin Zhiyuan smiled and exchanged phone numbers with Xu Ze.
Just then, several figures in black tactical gear strode over quickly. The leader nodded at Lin Zhiyuan and asked urgently, “Mr. Lin… that spy…”
“Captain Li, no need to worry. He’s dead,” Lin Zhiyuan said calmly, nodding towards the cliff edge. Then he added with regret, “It’s a pity we couldn’t take him alive.”
Captain Li quickly leaned over to look down the cliff. He could vaguely make out a figure lying at the bottom in the moonlight and let out a sigh of relief. He turned and nodded to the people behind him.
One of them promptly pulled out a coil of black rope from their gear, hooked and locked it around a nearby tree, then slid down the rope to the base of the cliff. The others didn’t hesitate either, following in sequence down the cliff…
Once at the bottom, they quickly checked the black-clad figure. After confirming his identity and that he was indeed deceased, they signaled to Captain Li up at the summit.
Seeing his subordinates’ signal, a smile appeared on Captain Li’s face. While capturing him alive would have been ideal, at least the target was eliminated. The Japanese would surely feel the loss of such a high-level spy.
Captain Li turned back, looking curiously at the young man beside Mr. Lin, unsure of Xu Ze’s background.
Seeing Captain Li’s puzzled expression, Lin Zhiyuan smiled and introduced him. “Captain Li, this is Xu Ze… He’s also an expert. If it weren’t for his help earlier… that Japanese agent would have escaped.”
“Oh… Mr. Xu, hello… Thank you for your efforts,” Captain Li said, startled by the introduction. He quickly removed his goggles and gloves to shake Xu Ze’s hand.
Shaking hands with Captain Li, Xu Ze said lightly, “It was nothing. A scum like that deserves to be dealt with by anyone. No need for thanks, Captain Li.”
Seeing that the tactical team below had already taken the ninja’s body away, and noticing the time was getting late, Xu Ze smiled and said, “Brother Lin, Captain Li, it’s quite late. I should be heading back now.”
Lin Zhiyuan smiled and nodded. “Alright… Brother Xu, you go ahead. Let’s keep in touch.”
Xu Ze smiled and nodded to Captain Li, then got into his car. Seeing the shattered window and the small hole in the door, he couldn’t help but sigh. Then he started the car and drove down the mountain.
Back at the hotel, Xu Ze took a shower and lay down on the bed, planning to tell Li Yue the next day and have someone sent to repair the car.
Lying in bed, Xu Ze thought about Lin Zhiyuan’s words. So there were quite a few experts in this world… Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, Yellow levels… Tang Zhi had mentioned long ago that his own great-grandfather was a Heaven-level master, but after his passing, there were no more Heaven-level masters in the world. It seemed the highest level now was Earth… followed by Mysterious. He had thought he was already quite powerful, but it turned out there were many stronger than him.
“Xiao Dao… how strong do you estimate those so-called Earth-level masters are? Roughly equivalent to what level would I need to be?” Xu Ze asked quietly.
“Based on system analysis of Lin Zhiyuan’s energy levels and the information he provided, Lin Zhiyuan is currently roughly equivalent to the energy level of a newly promoted Level 3 Medic. Earth-level masters are likely between Level 5 and 6, not exceeding Level 7 Medic energy levels… As for the legendary Heaven-level masters, they would probably be Level 7 or above,” Xiao Dao replied promptly.
Hearing Xiao Dao’s analysis, Xu Ze felt somewhat relieved. “So, as long as I reach Level 6, I’d be one of the strongest masters in this world…”
“Correct… If Lin Zhiyuan’s information is accurate, the probability of that is seventy-eight percent.” Xiao Dao, naturally understanding Xu Ze’s concern, reassured him with a laugh. “That is to say, once you advance to Level 7 Medic… no one in this world will be your match.”
“Of course, with the help of my equipment… once you reach Level 5… there shouldn’t be any of these so-called masters you can’t handle.”
Hearing Xiao Dao’s confident words, Xu Ze let out a soft sigh of relief. Naturally, with Xiao Dao’s help, if he couldn’t handle a current so-called Earth-level master at Level 5, it would be a massive embarrassment.
Seeing Xu Ze was more at ease, Xiao Dao continued with a smile, “Actually, you don’t need to worry at all. Based on comprehensive analysis, these so-called experts generally don’t appear in modern cities. They can’t compare to you; they can barely absorb energy in this environment and must be in places with excellent natural conditions. So… once you advance to Level 3, you generally won’t need to be too tense in these cities.”
“Moreover, with your constructed energy cycle, your cultivation speed is absolutely incomparable to theirs. Based on the current rate, I estimate it shouldn’t be a problem for you to break through to Level 7 within ten years… The probability of them breaking through to the so-called Heaven level, I’d estimate, doesn’t exceed zero point one three percent.”
“That’s good… Otherwise, running into such terrifying people every day would be far too stressful!” Xu Ze chuckled. Suddenly encountering people who were not weaker, or even stronger, than him had made him somewhat nervous. But now he felt relieved. Although Lin Zhiyuan was a bit stronger than him, he had Xiao Dao. If he needed to deal with him, it would only take a moment at most…
As for those Earth-level old monsters, they certainly wouldn’t be easy to run into… By the time he actually encountered them, he would probably be at Level 4 or 5 anyway, so why fear them then…
The next day, Li Yue received Xu Ze’s call. Hearing there was a problem with the car, he was slightly surprised but promptly sent someone to pick it up for repairs.
He was thorough, though, and directly had another car—a Mercedes SUV—delivered for Xu Ze to use in the meantime.
After Xu Ze finished the acupuncture treatment for Old Master Li, Li Yue finally couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer, asking the question he’d been suppressing since receiving the report: “Xu Ze… what exactly happened to your car? The broken window is one thing, but how did the door get punctured like that?”
“Someone threw a knife at it,” Xu Ze answered truthfully.
“What? A knife did that? That’s an Aston Martin. It’s not bulletproof, but an ordinary person couldn’t even cut through that door with a hatchet, let alone by throwing a knife…” Li Yue was quite skeptical.
Old Master Li, overhearing their conversation, felt his white eyebrows twitch. He naturally knew what kind of license plate his grandson’s car had. The fact that someone in Beijing dared to attack the car with a knife was no small matter.
He said angrily, “Xiao Ze… Did someone bully you? Tell your Grandpa Li, I’ll take you to smash down their door!”
“Uh…” Seeing Old Master Li’s anger, Xu Ze quickly smiled and explained, “Grandpa Li, no one bullied me… I just happened to run into a Japanese spy yesterday and gave National Security, Section Three, a hand… That little devil threw a couple of knives at me. I wasn’t hurt, but the car got two holes.”
“Ah? A Japanese spy? Damn those beasts… How dare they cause trouble on our land again!” Upon hearing ‘Japanese spy’, Old Master Li slammed his hand on the table, furious. “Did you catch him? I’ll have him shot for sure!”
Seeing Old Master Li’s rage, Xu Ze hurriedly tried to calm him. “Grandpa Li, don’t be angry, don’t be angry. I already knocked that guy off the cliff. He fell to his death.”
“Dead? Are you sure?” Old Master Li stared at Xu Ze, his eyes wide, seemingly still not satisfied.
“Yes… dead. Section Three confirmed it and took the body away,” Xu Ze promptly confirmed.
Hearing this, Old Master Li’s anger subsided a little. He looked at Xu Ze and praised him warmly, “Well done, Xiao Ze! You’ve done a service for our country… If you were in the military, I’d have them award you a Second Class Merit for sure!”
“Heh… You flatter me, Grandpa Li. Even though I’m not a soldier, when I run into scum like that, of course I have to swat them down!”
Just after leaving Old Master Li’s courtyard, Xu Ze’s phone suddenly rang. Looking at it, his face lit up with joy—it was Sun Lingfei.
“Xu Ze… Did you miss me?” Hearing that familiar voice made Xu Ze’s heart beat faster. He quickly smiled and said, “Of course… Lingfei, what have you been up to these past few days? I’ve missed you so much!”
“I missed you too…” Sun Lingfei replied in a low, slightly blushing voice, then said happily, “I’m at Wangfujing… Come quickly… Keep me company while I shop!”
Xu Ze drove straight to Wangfujing. Seeing Sun Lingfei after a few days, he noticed she looked somewhat haggard. But he knew the reason and didn’t bring up unhappy topics, simply spending a joyful morning shopping with her.
After shopping, Sun Lingfei wanted Xu Ze to accompany her to a nearby street to eat rice noodles. Xu Ze was naturally willing. They didn’t take the car and walked towards that small street.
However, as they passed by Beijing Hospital, not far from Wangfujing, a scene at the hospital entrance caught their attention…
A pale little girl, just a few years old, was singing and dancing for a crowd of onlookers at the hospital gate. Beside her, a man sat on the ground, watching the dancing girl and continuously wiping tears from his eyes…
