Chapter 44

By the present year of 2005, the world was beginning to feel familiar to Han Xuan, meaning it had started to resemble the era before his rebirth—skyscrapers were multiplying, various electronic products were springing up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, and the cars on the roads no longer looked dated. Yet, alongside these changes, there was still much that felt unfamiliar to him.

Zhao Zizhe answered the phone, and the prospective father-in-law and son-in-law chatted animatedly about everything under the sun. Only after being prompted by Wu Xiao did he finally hand the phone back to Zhao Ziwei.

I muttered inwardly, wondering what kind of person could possibly place such an outrageous order, and why all these ill-fated places always seemed to fall on my shoulders.

Qianhun Moyi held me contentedly, a single tear falling from the corner of her eye onto my chest—a tear of pure joy and fulfillment.

No one answered. The sea wind continued to roar, and the waves crashed against the cliffside like fierce beasts. When Sister Gu and the others completely vanished from sight, Lin Rui could no longer endure it. As excruciating pain coursed through his entire body and heavy blood loss took its toll, he pitched forward and collapsed heavily onto the ground, losing consciousness.

Today was merely about reaching a preliminary consensus, and there was still much to discuss afterward. Bidding them farewell, the motorcade left Irvine and headed back to Los Angeles.

He knew very well that his ghost arts were only at level one, while hand-to-hand combat was already at level two. Clearly, close-quarters combat was much more effective for Lin Ming.

"You never take anything seriously. Nine out of ten gambles end in a loss; do you want me to spend the rest of my life working as a hired hand for others?" Li Jianan cast a white-eyed glare at Zhang Mingyu, looking thoroughly displeased.

"Hey, old drunkard!" Lin Ming channeled his spiritual energy and pressed it hard against the old drunkard's wound, yet it proved completely useless.

After sending Cui Shanzhi to the hospital, Park Jinzhen began to worry. Who should they send up next time? If they sent someone specifically tailored to counter the opponent, those bastards from Longhua might immediately concede defeat and then send out a targeted counter-pick, which would effectively mean trading pieces for nothing.

"Therefore, I am going to brazenly ask you for this favor. She is vitally important to our company," Han Dong said.

"My requirement is that this decree must be completed within a month. Lord Huang, Lord Gu, what are your thoughts on this?" Ximeng asked after finishing his sentence.

With a sudden leap, his body surged forward, lunging toward the table laden with pastries. His ten fingers spread wide and curved like eagle talons, executing one of the most ferocious moves in the Eagle Claw technique: "The Soaring Eagle Capturing the Rabbit."

Yet these measures could only provide astronauts with a gravitational effect; everything else remained unaffected because the costs were simply too high to imbue every single object with those special metals. Consequently, ordinary items were still subject to the forces of weightlessness.

Of course I had seen fortunate people, but their good fortune was always earned through their own wisdom, determination, and courage.

One must know that although the Portuguese had suffered several setbacks at the hands of the Great Ming Dynasty, many of the Ming's firearms—whether muskets or cannons—were actually modeled after Portuguese designs.

As for the past? It was because everyone had the Eunuch Faction pressing down upon their heads, which united them to fight against the eunuchs. Moreover, this unity was achieved only through the mediation of emissaries sent by Huang Taiji from beyond the mountain passes; otherwise, even under the oppression of the eunuchs, these people would have constantly infighted.

At some unknown moment, the light of the desk lamp began to dim, the dark sky gradually grew pale, and this frenzied night was finally coming to an end.

Therefore, when the fleet was at full complement, its personnel count should have been seventeen hundred. Right now, there were only nine hundred True Immortals and one hundred and fifty Dust-Transcenders, falling far short of full strength. Still, considering the formidable power of cultivators, this headcount was basically... passable.

Now only a single bed remained vacant in the dormitory, leaving the three of them to assume it belonged to the yet-un-arrived roommate.

"Alright! You go ahead and take care of your business then! I need to take a call." As Ling Chen spoke, his phone suddenly rang.

Leaving Geng Wei's dormitory, Xin Zejian discovered that Bai Yiyan had not left. She was standing against the wall, lost in thought.

Eulai gazed at these three gigantic beasts, countless strands of spell power surging forth to wrap tightly around the three of them.

Yet now, something completely unacceptable had happened, which felt utterly despairing. When everything was identical—using the exact same materials and methods—and yet your work turned out far inferior to someone else's, how would you feel if you were in those shoes?

"Old Lu!" Xin Zejian tried to run over, but was forcefully repelled by the surging demonic energy emanating from him.

His body was terrifyingly hot, and he was even beginning to lose consciousness. The fire-elemental energy within the Nine-Tailed Fox's core was equivalent to the Archangel's magic, and before long, he would burst apart and die from the overload.

The quick-witted Zhang Jun apparently did not realize that while Sun Yang had acknowledged his identity as a security guard in his previous reply, he had never said he was no longer working with his original team.

"That's not the case. This record is a photograph taken directly from their archival files. As for this mirror, it was acquired by accident by an Italian soldier named Francis during the looting of the Old Summer Palace by the Eight-Nation Alliance."

Although no one in the hospital had witnessed Ling Zikai treating Zhang Jun at the time, back at the Zhang household—especially in the mind of the elder Mr. Zhang—there was absolute certainty that Ling Zikai had saved Zhang Jun's life at the critical moment. They simply didn't know what mysterious methods he had employed.

Hu Zhiqiang muttered silently to himself. Originally, he had planned to wait until Gold Typhoon collapsed and surrendered so he could directly take over Dao Lang, but now... that was no longer possible.

Lin Mu rubbed the bridge of his nose, let out a breath, flipped through the pile from left to right, picked up a document, and began to read it attentively.

Gu Wei hurriedly took out his phone to call Zhang Ruofeng, who told him from the other end of the line that he had a stomachache and asked them to go on inside while he would follow shortly.