Chapter 157 - 156: Great Harvest and the Aftermath

’Huh? Looks like there’s something else in the backpack.’

Lin Li placed the small, exquisite Spiritual Crossbow into the Mysterious Small Island. Just as he was about to toss Wang Jixiong’s backpack, he felt a few scattered items inside.

He unzipped the backpack completely and peered inside.

’This is...’

When Lin Li saw what was at the bottom of the backpack, his expression froze. A moment later, a joyous laugh burst from him.

"Hahaha... Spirit Stones! The guy was actually carrying Spirit Stones on him!!!"

After his bout of laughter, Lin Li immediately dumped all the Spirit Stones out of the backpack.

He did a quick count. There were thirty Spirit Stones in total, worth 1.5 million in cash.

’Counting the Spiritual Short Saber and Spiritual Crossbow I seized, my haul from this scumbag is worth 4.7 million. Hahaha... I’ve struck it rich!

Tsk... Ridding the world of scum and making a windfall at the same time. I hope the heavens let me run into more good fortune like this in the future.’

His joy overflowing, Lin Li stuffed the Spirit Stones back into the backpack, muttering a prayer to the heavens for more opportunities like this to come his way.

RUMBLE...

A sudden, deafening peal of thunder snapped Lin Li out of his joyous reverie.

DRIP. DRIP.

Tiny raindrops fell from the dense, layered clouds, pattering against the flowers and trees of the wilderness.

A raindrop landed on the tip of Lin Li’s nose. The chill of the water shot straight to his brain.

’Damn, it’s raining. I’m going to get soaked.’

Lin Li stored the backpack full of Spirit Stones in the Mysterious Small Island, then hurried over to his motorcycle and dragged it out from a thicket of leafy bushes.

’Good, it’s not busted. Otherwise, I’d have to run all the way back to the safe zone.’

After checking the motorcycle and confirming it wasn’t damaged, Lin Li hopped on.

VROOOM...

The engine roared to life, and Lin Li sped off toward the safe zone.

In moments, the body lying in a pool of blood behind him vanished from sight.

If Lin Li had taken Wang Jixiong’s body back to the Superpower Administration Bureau, he probably could have collected a bounty.

But he figured he had already gotten a 4.7 million haul from the man.

It wasn’t worth the extra contact with Investigators from the Superpower Administration Bureau just for a bounty of a few tens of thousands.

...

RUMBLE...

A brilliant flash of silver-white lightning cut through the ink-black clouds, immediately followed by an earth-shattering peal of thunder that seemed to descend from the heavens.

PITTER-PATTER...

The rain grew heavier. Fingernail-sized drops linked into sheets, and when the wind blew, these watery threads danced erratically in mid-air.

RAT-A-TAT...

Raindrops struck the leaves and branches of the plants, bursting into brief, beautiful little splashes.

The already silent wilderness grew even quieter amidst the sudden, violent downpour.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP...

Two figures in raincoats appeared in the wilderness. They cut through the tall grass, heading purposefully in a specific direction.

"He’s dead?!!" The younger of the two men stared in shock at Wang Jixiong, who was lying face down and lifeless.

A faint golden Spiritual Light gleamed in the older man’s eyes. He knelt, rolled the dead Wang Jixiong onto his back, and examined the wound on his chest, his tone calm as he spoke.

"Wang Jixiong sustained attacks from two types of Superpowers before he died. Likely fire and a Wind Blade."

The younger man glanced around and said with some frustration, "Sigh, what a shame we were a step too late."

"Yeah. This rain has washed away all the tracks at the scene. If we’d gotten here before it started, we might have found some clues." The older man stood up, sighing as he looked at the muddy ground.

RUMBLE...

Another brilliant silver-white bolt of Thunder flashed through the ink-black clouds.

The flash of lightning clearly illuminated the two men’s attire beneath their transparent raincoats.

They wore matching black uniforms—the official attire of Investigators from the Superpower Administration Bureau. Their identities were unmistakable.

ROAR... A loud beast’s roar echoed from the distance, piercing the curtain of rain to reach the two Investigators.

"Captain, we should go. It’ll be hard to get back once it’s completely dark," the young Investigator said, frowning at the sound of the distant roar.

"Mm," the Investigator captain nodded, muttering to himself. ’I was hoping to use Wang Jixiong to track down the organization behind him, but now the trail’s gone cold.’

The two Investigators then carried the deceased Wang Jixiong away, leaving the wilderness and heading quickly back toward the safe zone.

SPLASH, SPLASH...

RUMBLE, RUMBLE...

The sudden downpour intensified. The Thunder in the ink-black clouds was unusually active, a deafening crash echoing every ten or twenty seconds.

After the two Investigators left with the body of Wang Jixiong, a figure emerged from behind a large, leafy tree more than ten meters tall in the distance.

He was a man, one-point-nine meters tall, with a square jaw, a clean-shaven head, and thick eyebrows. His body was a mass of knotted muscle, and he wore camouflage fatigues.

He was standing under the large tree, but the rain was so heavy that even its dense foliage couldn’t keep him from being soaked to the bone.

The muscular, bald man stared intently in the direction the two Investigators had gone, his face an emotionless mask.

He was completely drenched, but he didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

RUMBLE...

Another clap of thunder cracked overhead. The expressionless, bald man pulled a cell phone from his pocket.

In this day and age, smartphones were ubiquitous—practically everyone had one. And yet, the phone in the bald man’s hand was not a smartphone.

Anyone in the know would have recognized it and gasped, "That’s an Ultra-Power Type 1 phone! It costs 300,000!"

The Ultra-Power Type 1 phone’s body was forged from a sturdy composite metal, tough enough to withstand a gunshot.

In addition to its durability, it had incredible battery life. A single full charge could last for a week of continuous calls.

Without making calls, its standby time was three months. It was also extremely waterproof; you could soak it in water for three days and three nights, and it would still function perfectly.

...