BXBX NOVEL Chapter 172: Greatness For The Sake Of The Heavens
Chapter 172: Greatness For The Sake Of The Heavens
As they were in pursuit, they arrived at a fork in the street. The MPV made an abrupt turn, charging into a factory. Then, after another turn, they lost sight of the MPV.
Chen Xiaolian’s heart gave a pound and he quickly braked, causing the car to skid to a halt in the middle of the street. At the same time, a beam of fire descended, slamming into the factory’s plant. A loud explosion rang out and the flames from the explosion filled the air, obscuring their vision of the street.
Chen Xiaolian quickly moved the car backward. Explosions continued to occur within the factory’s plant and half the street became engulfed within a sea of flames.
“Damn it!” Roddy swore.
“No need to panic,” Chen Xiaolian shook his head. “There is the radar, they won’t get away.”
Within the system radar, two green dots could be seen moving away rapidly.
…
Within a yet to be developed factory site…
The MPV quickly drove into the factory site. Inside the site, the doors to a huge warehouse were opened and the MPV drove in. Two people inside the warehouse quickly moved to close the doors.
The area had a number of armed men who held onto firearms of varying length. On the second floor of the warehouse, some gun-toting men were checking the perimeter through the ventilation holes.
After the MPV came to a halt, the front door was kicked open and the man in the driver’s seat jumped out. The passenger door too was opened and the one known as Seventh Bro came out, his eyes red. He turned around, pulled both Yu Jiajia and Da Gang out from the MPV and threw them onto the ground.
Yu Jiajia’s body was trembling non-stop and an expression of fear filled her face.
There were five to six men inside the warehouse. Those men were clearly mercenaries. They wore combat vests and were armed with guns. Among them were two who were clearly not Asians; those two had noticeable moustache and beard.
“Goods have been delivered!” Seventh Bro spat out in a loud and fierce voice.
At that moment, a slender figure stood up and jumped down from the second floor. Then, that person walked over.
The person was a female whose slender body bordered on being thin. She carried a composite bow in her hand and a quiver of arrows hung from her thigh. The quiver shook as she walked forward.
The woman walked until she reached the two men. After glancing at Seventh Bro, she turned her attention to the leader.
“The matter is complete, now pay up,” This was the man driving the MPV. He held onto Chen Xiaolian’s Fearless War Axe as he warily gazed at the bow-wielding woman before him.
“You did such a sloppy job,” The woman spoke in a rather hoarse voice. “You actually had someone tailing you.”
“I don’t care. I have already brought the one you wanted to you. As for what happen next, that is up to you.”
“Ma Da, is this how you brothers handle a job?” The woman sneered. “It doesn’t seem to conform to the rules.”
The one known as Seventh Bro furiously retorted. “How is this not conforming to the rules? When you commissioned us, you did not say that there would be so many Awakened ones defending the girl! Bloody Hell! Our opponents had [A] class strength! For the sake of this small business, we lost two brothers!”
“In this line of business, death is only natural,” The woman replied indifferently.
Seventh Bro became incensed and he clenched his fists. Ma Da, however, held onto his companion. He looked at the woman and said coolly. “So? Are you not planning to pay?”
“Of course not. We are people who observe the rules,” The woman smiled lightly. “6,000 points. I will give them to you now.”
A few seconds later, they finished the transaction of points through the system. However, Ma Da frowned. “Why 7,000 points?”
“It’s simple. You lost two men. Consider that extra amount as consolation money,” The woman smirked. Although the woman had mediocre looks, the smile made her look savage. “Don’t be so sad, Mr. Ma Da. It is not as though you did not gain any harvest from this. That axe in your hand is something you seized, right? That is a good item.”
“Hmph!” Ma Da snorted and ignored the woman.
Seeing that Ma Da and his companion were about to leave, the woman suddenly said. “Please wait first.”
“What is it?”
“There are rules to everything,” The woman shook her head. “Your tail is coming closer. You should at least help me get rid of it. Leaving just like this is rather inappropriate, don’t you think?”
Ma Da hesitated and looked around. His eyes examined the surrounding men and he said. “You have so many people here. Why would you need any help from us brothers?”
“After taking the money, one should do their best at their job. I have already given you the reward, you should help me finish the job,” The woman continued. “Finish off the tail before you leave.”
Ma Da looked at Seventh Bro. Seventh Bro’s eyes were red and he said. “They killed Ninth Bro and Thirteenth Bro! Boss, this debt must be repaid!”
“All right!” Ma Da gritted his teeth and looked at the woman.
…
“All the factories here look the same,” Roddy looked around anxiously. “Since there are no people around, I can just summon the Mech to flatten this place! The system will just refresh this place later on.”
“Are you going to kill off Da Gang and Yu Jiajia as well?” Chen Xiaolian frowned. “Be patient! We are getting close! The radar shows that the distance between us is getting smaller… there is less than 1 km. They have quite some men, there are three green dots now…”
The two of them got out of the car. They walked forward and searched around the factory area. Cautiously, they moved closer to their targets.
…
“Our target are two men, they are not very old,” Ma Da quickly said. “One of them has fairly good strength. He had only fought with his hands and did not reveal any skills or abilities. The other one is more difficult to handle. In our fight earlier, he summoned out Four-eyed War Cats… surprisingly, he has three of them. I did manage to kill one of them though. Additionally, this Fearless War Axe also belonged to him. To be in possession of an [A] class weapon, he is probably not your average fellow.”
“Boss, they are getting closer,” The Seventh Bro said slowly. “We can see them in the radar.”
“They have already entered their combat state?” The woman smiled. She turned to her underlings and said. “Get our two guests to the side first. Make sure you be careful with the little girl, she is a precious treasure after all.”
A mercenary pulled Yu Jiajia up. Disregarding her attempts to struggle, the mercenary gagged her mouth and locked a pair of handcuffs on her before dragging her away into a corner.
Likewise, Da Gang was dragged to the side like a dead mutt. He had also been handcuffed.
“Boss, the male is injured,” One of the mercenaries moved over and whispered toward the woman. She replied. “Never mind that, our objective is the girl. As for the other fellow… just kill him.”
The mercenary raised an eyebrow and pulled out a dagger. He then walked to the corner.
Seeing the man coming closer while wielding a dagger, Yu Jiajia struggled frantically and attempted to cry out. Unfortunately, her mouth was gagged and only a futile whining sound came out.
The mercenary reached Da Gang and he bent down.
It appeared that the mercenary was of a religious kind. Instead of directly stabbing the dagger forward, he extended one hand to place it upon Da Gang’s forehead. Then, he started mumbling some prayers. Subsequently, the dagger moved down slowly to tear Da Gang’s clothes. Both of Da Gang’s outer and inner clothes were slit apart to reveal his bony chest.
The dagger came to a stop before Da Gang’s heart and the man gently inhaled…
Yu Jiajia struggled desperately and tears trickled down her eyes. She frantically struggled to shout and her two legs lashed about. However, another mercenary came over and held down her legs, removing any possibility of escape for her.
“Where did you find these minions?” Ma Da observed the mercenary who was about to kill Da Gang. He narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze back to the woman. “I hate working together with normal people.”
“You do not understand. Hiring people with money to help out with an issue beats doing it yourself,” The woman said coolly. “In this world, life is cheap. Those mercenaries… Africa, the Middle East… all you need to do is throw some money out and you can get a bunch of them. Besides, aren’t they useful?”
“Mere cannon fodder,” Ma Da shook his head. “Later, are you planning to throw them into the two Awakened ones?”
“As you said, mere cannon fodder,” The woman smiled softly.
…
The tip of the dagger had already pierced into Da Gang’s chest and bright red blood flowed out.
Yu Jiajia who was right beside became like a deflated balloon. She let out a cry of grief and slumped onto the ground.
Yu Jiajia’s head tilted and she lost consciousness.
…
The mercenary’s hand was still pressing onto Da Gang’s forehead. His other hand pushed down lightly on the dagger and it slowly cut down. At the same time, his mouth continued mumbling the prayer.
It was at that moment…
The unconscious Da Gang suddenly opened his eyes!
At that moment, his dim-witted expression changed, becoming blank. There was no expression on his face. However, his pupils quietly studied the mercenary who was stabbing him.
The mercenary was stunned for a bit. However, he did not stop the movement of his hand.
The dagger was quickly deposited into Da Gang’s body. It was so deeply embedded that even the handle had went in.
However, the mercenary’s hair was standing on end, because all Da Gang did was look at him quietly. There was no change in Da Gang’s expression, a cold, silent and emotionless face…
At that instant, the mercenary who was holding down Yu Jiajia suddenly exclaimed in shock and pointed toward his companion’s hand.
The dagger-wielding mercenary lowered his head and was likewise, shocked!
The dagger in his hand had been stabbed into Da Gang’s body. At present though, the metal dagger was slowly melting and transforming into liquid metal!
It was just like an ice cream that had been left under the sun!
The mercenary quickly pulled his hand away. Then, his gaze fell onto the wound on Da Gang’s chest to find that the dagger had already melted away! A faint silvery, metal glow shimmered around before disappearing into Da Gang’s body.
The gash on his chest had also healed up. In the blink of an eye, the wound had been closed and not a single drop of blood was left.
“% ((* &%”
The mercenary loudly shouted out something.
However, he never got the chance to continue his sentence.
Da Gang’s hands abruptly lashed out and the metal handcuffs instantly broke!
His hand shot out and his palm pierced directly into the mercenary’s chest, right into the heart.
With a “pu”, Da Gang retracted his hand; a fist-sized heart lay within his palm. The heart was still beating!
The mercenary could not even let out a groan; he raised his head and his body slumped down to the ground.
The mercenary to the side was scared witless and he yelled out. “Demon!”
He pulled out a handgun and fired at Da Gang!
Bang bang bang bang!
The bullets struck Da Gang’s body, but not a drop of blood appeared. Liquid metal holes appeared across the surface of his body and they slowly healed up.
Da Gang then curled the corners of his lips into a smiling like expression. He quickly inhaled and the bullets flew into his mouth. Then, he spat them out at the mercenary.
Pu pu!
Following those sounds, the bullets struck the mercenary’s throat and he fell onto the ground.
…
Ma Da, Seventh Bro and the woman were caught off guard by this. They rushed over the instant they heard the commotion only to see Da Gang standing before the two dead mercenaries.
The woman’s face revealed shock. She stopped moving, grabbed her longbow, nocked it and pulled it. Then, a swooshing sound rang out!
A beam of fire flew out, striking Da Gang in the face!
Da Gang’s head exploded like a burst watermelon! However, no blood leaked out. Instead, there was only a wriggling mass of liquid metal.
At that point, Ma Da and his Seventh Bro had already stepped before Da Gang.
Da Gang’s body suddenly darted forth. With lightning like speed, he charged toward Seventh Bro! Seventh Bro who had already pulled out a knife reacted by stabbing the knife into Da Gang’s body!
Da Gang did not dodge. Despite accepting the knife attack, his body did not falter and he made contact with Seventh Bro’s body.
Ma Da’s face sank and he shouted. “Seventh Bro, hurry and retreat!”
Unfortunately, before Ma Da could finish his sentence, Da Gang’s hand had already caught Seventh Bro in a chokehold. His fingers tightened and a “ka” sound rang out! Seventh Bro’s neck was broken!
Ma Da howled out and his eyes turned red. Brandishing Fearless War Axe, he cleaved down brutally.
Ca!
The entirety of Da Gang’s arm that was holding onto Seventh Bro’s neck was chopped off!
At the same time, Da Gang’s head wriggled back to shape. His restored head turned to face Ma Da and grinned.
“Bastard! Go die!” Ma Da leapt into the air and Fearless War Axe transformed into a blade of light before slashing down!
Ca!
Da Gang’s head was struck by this axe strike, which cleaved its way down! It directly split Da Gang’s body into two!
Ma Da landed and saw the two parts of Da Gang’s body that he had severed…
Before he could let out a breath of relief, Ma Da’s expression fell.
“Ge ge” sounds came out of his throat.
There was a metal spike there. It had stabbed in through his back, piercing through his body and finally emerging out from his mouth!
Ma Da struggled hard to turn around.
Behind him was shockingly, the chopped off arm!
It was the arm that he had chopped off! Da Gang’s arm!
The arm’s finger had transformed into a sharp metal spike, which then stabbed into his body.
Ma Da fell to the ground in resentment, his eyes left open even in death.
On the ground, Da Gang’s two body parts had already merged and it quickly took on a human form. He then shook his body and twisted his neck. Then, he coolly regarded the chopped off arm lying behind Ma Da.
The chopped off arm quickly melted into a pool of liquid metal and it flowed toward his feet before fusing into his body.
A new arm emerged from Da Gang’s broken arm. He waved the new arm and smiled in satisfaction.
It was then that the other mercenaries within the warehouse fired out with their weapons in a frenzy.
Bang bang bang!
The sound of gunshots echoed out endlessly.
The bullets struck Da Gang, creating bullet holes all over his body. However, he ignored them and slowly walked forward. Then, he raised his left hand. His left palm transformed into a gun!
…
The intense gunfire rang out like a tempestuous rain before quickly fading away.
From the warehouse to the corners of the second floor, the surroundings and the door…
The various mercenaries had all fallen. All of them faced the same fate, a bullet shot into the middle of their foreheads!
Da Gang lowered his head and inspected the gun that was transformed out from his palm. He smiled and continued to slowly walk forward.
The woman quickly released three arrows in succession!
Then, she turned tail and ran.
The first arrow struck Da Gang on his waist and exploded, causing his body to tilt a little. The detonated area soon healed up.
The second arrow was caught by Da Gang using his mouth. He bit the arrowhead and gulped it down his body. A boom resonated and Da Gang’s belly expanded outward before returning to its normal state.
As for the third arrow, Da Gang suddenly raised his hand and plucked the arrow out of the air with his palm. With a backhand toss, he threw the arrow back toward the woman.
The woman’s running speed was very fast. She had already leapt up onto the second floor and was atop a stand there. She was about to charge out through the shutters when she heard an air piercing sound closing in on her. Faced with no other choice, she could only throw herself to the side.
A loud boom echoed outward!
The shutters were destroyed and they collapsed down.
The woman fell down from the stand. However, before she fell to the ground, she made a somersault. Unfortunately, before she could steady herself, she heard a cold voice coming from her side.
“I caught you~”
Unknowingly, Da Gang’s body had appeared behind the woman!
The woman subconsciously reached for her quiver of arrows. However, Da Gang reached out, gripped her wrist and held them up high.
Da Gang’s fingers transformed into metal pliers and they held both of the woman’s hands together. He held her up and her body was suspended in the air.
“You, you… just who are you?” Astonishment filled the woman’s eyes.
Da Gang raised his head. “I am…”
His expression turned distant. He entered a contemplative state for a moment before shaking his head. “This is truly peculiar. I should have died…”
A perplexed expression suddenly appeared on his face and he seemingly became absent-minded, as he stood right there.
The woman struggled desperately. However, Da Gang’s strength was just too much for her. No matter how she tried, she could not extricate herself.
After a moment, Da Gang released a deep breath. He closed his eyes and reopened them.
“I… … am me again. Hehe…”
As he spoke, he put the woman down the ground and dragged her with him as he slowly walked over to the corpses of Ma Da and Seventh Bro.
At that moment, the warehouse was filled with corpses. With a relaxed expression, Da Gang leisurely dragged the woman with him as he strolled through the blood-stained warehouse.
“Two~ tigers, two~ tigers, they’re so fast, they’re so fast…”
He gently hummed the nursery rhyme and walked until he reached Ma Da and Seventh Bro’s side. He bent down and searched their bodies for a bit. He found a ring from Ma Da’s finger.
“A Storage Ring? Low-end goods… still, better than nothing.”
Da Gang made a peculiar face as he pinched the ring. Probing about, he said. “It seems he is quite a poor fellow. There is nothing good here. Hmm… a Concealment Card? Thanks, I’ll be keeping this.”
He retrieved a glowing silver card from the ring. With a flick, the card transformed into a mass of light and it disappeared into his body. Next, he pinched lightly and the Storage Ring burst out!
The woman was petrified!
Da Gang turned his gaze toward the woman.
“You… just who are you? Who are you?” The woman shuddered.
“I…” Da Gang considered the question. “My current name is Da Gang… eh, that is not right, that is not right. That is not the right way to put it. Last time, my name is also Da Gang. Only… I also have another name. I believe you must have heard of that name before oh.”
As he spoke, he reached out his hand to pat the woman’s face. “Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. You are very lucky. I have this habit, you see. I generally do not kill women.”
His somewhat demented expression struck fear into the woman’s heart.
Da Gang rubbed his eyebrows. “What a load of memories… this is really giving me a headache. Eh… after I died, I was refreshed back to a normal human. It seems something interesting happened while I was a normal human eh…”
He sighed. “What a coincidence… is this God’s arrangement? Oh, that is not right either. There is no God here. Then, is this the Development Team’s storyline setting? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!”
After that, he turned his head and looked at the woman. “You can go.”
After saying that, he loosened his grip.
The woman was shocked. “You, what did you say?”
Da Gang curled the corners of his lips. “Did I not make myself clear? I said: You can go. Look at my mouth, can you understand?”
The woman shuddered again. “You… you are letting me go? You are not going to kill me?”
“Are you deaf? I just told you, I generally do not like to kill women. I also do not like to hurt women.”
“Then… are you not going to interrogate me?” The woman was shocked.
“There is nothing to interrogate,” Da Gang waved his hand. “A mere fight between ants. You think a dinosaur will care about some conflict between ants? Leave leave… aiya, hurry up will you… it seems my two ‘new friends’ are coming over.”
The woman managed to calm down and she turned. She took two steps before turning around. “You… Your Excellence… Your Excellence’s name is…”
“Are you really that curious to know who I am?” Da Gang rubbed his head and frowned. He then muttered in a low tone. “Hair… annoying.”
After that, he smiled at the woman. “My name is Da Gang. However, I have a nickname that you have probably heard of.”
After saying that, he deliberately paused and spoke out slowly.
“Greatness (dà) for the sake of the Heavens (tiān),
“Firmness (gāng) for the sake of strength (liè)!”
…
Once the woman heard what he said, her body trembled! Her face quickly filled with dread!
Her mouth was left gaping wide as she stared at Da Gang. “You, you… you are… you are… Tian… Tian…”
“Shoo shoo shoo,” Da Gang gestured with his head. “Hurry up and leave. I am going to count to three. If you are still not gone, I may regret letting you go oh.”
This time, the woman did not hesitate. She bowed toward Da Gang. “I am sorry! I didn’t think that I would end up offending you… I am leaving now! I will never offend you ever again!”
After that, the woman leapt up to the second floor and rushed out from the collapsed area. She then disappeared without a trace.
Da Gang sighed. He then walked to Yu Jiajia’s side. He observed the unconscious Yu Jiajia before rummaging out another handcuff from one of the mercenaries body. Handcuffing himself, he lay down beside Yu Jiajia.
He yawned. “Time to sleep, time to sleep… once I wake up, I will be seeing my two ‘new friends’ eh!”
…
…
Ma Da. Raw: ‘马达’, pinyin: ‘mǎ dá’. ‘mǎ’ (马) means horse, ‘dá’ (达) means reach.
[Author’s note: I have been hiding behind the monitor and observing carefully for the past few days.
[I found that no one managed to guess who Da Gang really is.
[Wa ha ha ha ha ha ha~ ~
[Phew, *exhales deeply*
[When setting up a storyline for a novel, the thing to worry about the most is that before the good part arrives, some smart readers would already see through it.
[Thankfully, Da Gang is Tian Lie, this story set up was not seen through. *feeling prideful*
[Truth be told, it has been hinted a few times.
[For example, Da Gang had to witness the domestic violence committed by his father against his mother. Thus, he is always unwilling to harm women – Tian Lie just does not want to hurt women.
[Why does Tian Lie have such a violent temper, why is he so preachy: Because when he was still an ordinary person, he would be bullied since his childhood days.
[Another example is Da Gang’s name: Greatness (dà) for the sake of the Heavens (tiān), firmness (gāng) for the sake of strength (liè).
[Da Gang is Tian Lie, Tian Lie is Da Gang.
[However, Da Gang is Tian Lie’s name when he was still an ordinary person. After Tian Lie died, he became Da Gang. Then… due to the metal sphere’s activation, he returned to become Tian Lie.
[Naturally, this time, he is no longer an Awakened. He is now an Irregularity.
[Additionally… he and Chen Xiaolian had become… friends.
[I myself am looking forward to the following part of this story ~ ~
[Lastly, we have fallen out of the top ten of the monthly ticket rankings!
[Seeking fire support!
[Seeking monthly ticket!!!].
[TL: Don’t look at me, I was surprised too. >_>
[Also, the above post was written on July of 2015.]