Chapter 112: Arriving at Kyria, I’ve Found You
Chapter 112: Arriving at Kyria, I’ve Found You
As trial participants and special forces, Chen Chu and Xia Youhui needed to report if they wanted to leave Leisteru, or else their sudden disappearance could potentially cause some trouble. So, Chen Chu had done just that, under the pretext of wanting to visit injured classmates.
Zhao Zhilong smiled slightly. "Since you\'re already prepared, just be careful on the road."
With that done, Chen Chu and Xia Youhui, who had gone to rent the car, returned to their room. They quickly geared up in their battle armor, strapped on their weapons, and grabbed their luggage. Most of Kyrola was now stable, but considering their true goal, it was safer for them to be fully armed.
However, as they exited the hotel, they saw Li Meng, also fully armed, standing in front of their vehicle with his heavy hammer on his shoulder, waiting for them with a smile.
"Chen Chu, Old Xia, you guys are really inconsiderate. Going to Kyria without even telling me?"
Xia Youhui was taken aback. "What do you mean? We\'re going to kill someone. Do you think you can handle being ambushed by a mid-stage Fourth Realm Emissary?"
Li Meng\'s expression turned serious. "I know you\'re going because of Lin Xue and the others. We’ve all heard the news by now. I might not be able to handle being ambushed, but I can hide. And there’s strength in numbers. What if I find him first?"
"Just get in the car," Chen Chu interrupted. "You won\'t need to do anything when the time comes. Leave it to me. It\'s just a Fourth Heavenly Realm, after all."
With that, Chen Chu tossed his luggage and straight saber into the extended cargo compartment before walking to the driver\'s seat.
When he had performed the maximum enhancement with his Dragon Elephant Art, Chen Chu had estimated that his full strength, including the activation of the rune, had been roughly at the middle stage of the Fourth Heavenly Realm.
Now, after more than half a month, his basic attributes had increased even further. With his current strength, killing a middle stage Fourth Heavenly Realm practitioner was definitely possible.
"Damn, Chen Chu, you\'re still the badass. ‘Just a Fourth Heavenly Realm,’ huh? You\'ll easily kill him when the time comes." Li Meng said with a grin, quickly following.
Accompanied by the roar of the engine, the extended off-road vehicle disappeared into the night.
Just as Zhao Zhilong had warned, the road conditions in Kyrola were quite bad. Even before the rebellion, the country had had only one national highway connecting its major cities, and during the chaos, many bridges and roads had been destroyed.
Even with satellite navigation, the journey of over seven hundred kilometers still took a whole day. After setting off in the middle of the night, they only reached Kyria in the afternoon of the second day.
Xia Youhui looked at the receding road sign and rubbed his sore neck. "We\'re finally almost there."
Li Meng also nodded in frustration. "Yeah, finally."
After a bumpy day and night of eating dry rations and sleeping in the car, even though they were practitioners, they still felt uncomfortable.
In contrast, thanks to his far superior physique, Chen Chu had been able to focus on driving the entire time.
As they faced the setting sun, a huge city came into view.
Compared to Leisteru, which looked similar to the 1980s, Kyria had a bit of a more civilized atmosphere, with buildings standing tall and roads that were wide and flat. Overall, it gave Chen Chu the feeling of entering the year 2000, with a bit of prosperity.
As they approached Kyria, the vehicles on the road gradually increased, and there were also pedestrians on both sides.
However, after entering the city proper, Chen Chu and the others could keenly sense blood and fire in the air.
Many damaged buildings were sealed off, with excavators pushing them down and demolishing them. Some roads were severely damaged and barely passable.
There were also large black burn marks on some buildings, and trees fallen on the roadside that hadn\'t been dealt with yet. Every few steps, there seemed to be Kyrola soldiers.
Following the address, Chen Chu drove through several road checkpoints and arrived at the hospital in the south of the city, where they were stopped by soldiers guarding the gate.
"This is a controlled area. Please park your vehicle in the outside parking lot and verify your identity when entering."
"This is such a hassle." Xia Youhui was a bit annoyed. "Those guys are useless. They\'re just standing around and waiting for talented geniuses like us to come along to get rid of the Blood Cultists."
Li Meng echoed, "Yeah, if it were us, we would have killed all the Blood Cultists in the city long ago."
"You two, stop bragging. We’re not in Leisteru anymore." Chen Chu shook his head and parked the car in the open-air parking lot.
Bang! Bang!
With heavy footsteps, Chen Chu, dressed in black and red battle armor, got out of the car and calmly walked into the hospital after passing the facial recognition at the gate.
Following behind him were the flamboyant Xia Youhui and Li Meng, the former’s black wings and the latter’s spiked joints looking very conspicuous compared to Chen Chu’s simple black cloak.
With how many trial students and soldiers had gotten injured, however, the nurses and doctors here had become used to seeing special forces soldiers in armor.
As the three of them arrived at the reception desk of the inpatient department, Chen Chu politely asked, "Excuse me, I would like to ask, there was a patient named Luo Fei admitted here last night. Which floor and room is she in?"
Because they had left in a hurry last night, Chen Chu hadn’t had time to get this information from Lin Yu.
"Please... please wait, let me check." The nurse seemed a bit nervous and flustered as she bowed her head and searched on the computer.
Although Chen Chu and his team had repressed their auras, they had become more imposing after killing so many cultists and mutated beasts. For fellow practitioners, it didn’t matter much, since their spirits were strong enough to withstand this hostility. Ordinary people, on the other hand, couldn\'t handle it.
Soon, the nurse nervously said, "The patient you\'re asking about is in room seven on the sixth floor."
Chen Chu, holding his helmet, nodded politely. "Thank you."
"You... you’re welcome."
Xia Youhui suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, is there another patient named Bai Mu here? Which floor and room is he in?"
"Bai Mu? Wait a moment... He\'s also on the sixth floor, room number forty-six."
"Okay, thanks."
As soon as the three of them stepped out of the elevator onto the sixth floor, they saw Lin Xue, looking a bit frail as she stood in the corridor with Lin Yu. They looked surprised when they saw the three of them.
"Chen Chu, Xia Youhui, why are you here?"
Xia Youhui grinned. "You guys got hurt! As classmates and members of the club, can we not come and see you?"
Chen Chu nodded slightly. "You seem to be fine. How about Luo Fei and Yi Rui?"
"Yi Rui is also fine. He was discharged from the hospital this morning and is searching for information on that Blood Emissary. Me and Yu stayed here to take care of Luo Fei."
As they spoke, Lin Xue and Lin Yu exchanged glances, both showing a hint of suspicion. As soon as the three had come closer, they had felt a heavy oppressive feeling from Chen Chu, as if a terrifying beast was approaching.
But how could this be possible...?
In the midst of Lin Xue and Lin Yu\'s confusion, Chen Chu asked, "Logically speaking, who killed which Blood Emissaries is internal information. How did that person know it was Luo Fei who killed his brother in the first place? And then there’s the fact that your schedule was irregular, and Luo Fei\'s arts can shield her own aura and killing intent, so how did he find you?"
Lin Yu whispered, "We were asking ourselves the first question when we came back. We think that he probably kidnapped an official from Kyria, and not a low ranking one. You need to be pretty high up in the new official hierarchy to access the trial data at all.
"As for the second question, it was a trap. He used two Third Heavenly Realm Blood Cultists as bait.
"When we were chasing those two cultists, we heard Luo Fei shoot and kill one of them, and that revealed her location to him. Thankfully, we weren\'t far away at the time and could rush over when we heard Luo Fei\'s cry for help in our earpieces.
"Unfortunately, that person is very powerful. Even with the three of us joining forces, we weren\'t his match. If it hadn’t been for Luo Fei using her secret treasure to repel him, and the fact there had been a supervising teacher nearby who rushed over to help, things would have turned out far worse."
"So cunning and sly." Chen Chu narrowed his eyes.
Behind him, Xia Youhui gave Li Meng a look. "Ah Chu, why don\'t you go in and see Luo Fei? We\'ll go see Bai Mu. After all, we\'re all good friends."
Li Meng immediately grinned. "Right, let\'s go see Bai Mu. Let’s watch the guy who showed off so much when he first came to Kyria suffer this time."
Chen Chu could only shake his head silently at their gloating. After nodding to Lin Xue and Lin Yu, he gently pushed open the door of the ward and walked in.
Inside, a young woman lay quietly on the hospital bed, her hair draped to the side, and her delicate and pretty face looking somewhat translucent in the sunlight coming in from the window. She looked fragile and weak, as if she would break at the slightest touch.
Chen Chu had never seen her like this before. She had always been lively and playful, with a bit of cuteness, and when reading, she had been quiet and gentle. Every time they had sat together, Chen Chu had felt comfortable.
But now...
Sensing someone by her bedside, Luo Fei\'s eyes slowly opened. Instantly, a look of surprise and joy appeared on her weak face.
"Chen Chu, why are you here?" The moment Luo Fei saw Chen Chu, her eyes seemed to brighten.
Chen Chu smiled gently. "Old Xia and I heard you were injured, so we drove from Leisteru to see you."
A hint of tenderness appeared in Luo Fei’s eyes as she whispered, "I\'m fine, just a bit of damage to my meridians and vitality. I should recover in a few days with some rest."
Chen Chu nodded. "Alright, make sure to rest and recover. I\'ll take care of that guy."
While it was said that killers would always be killed, Chen Chu was no saint. There was no way he was going to let this go, not when it involved his close friend.
"Be careful, both you and the others," Luo Fei reminded him. "He’s good at hiding, and he may be stronger than he first appears. He actually managed to block my Thorn Blood Bracelet."
She thought Chen Chu meant to join forces with Lin Xue and the others to fight the Blood Emissary together. Chen Chu didn\'t explain, instead just nodding slightly. "Yeah, don\'t worry, I won\'t be careless."
He then curiously asked, "But what is that Thorn Blood Bracelet? Something like that could actually force back a middle stage Fourth Heavenly Realm elite?"
As if she knew he would be curious, the girl\'s eyes narrowed into crescents, revealing a smile as she explained. "It\'s a one-time-use treasure made from high-level mutated beast materials. You wear it on your wrist, and it will activate when you encounter life-threatening danger and erupt with powerful force to repel enemies.
"It’s a disposable item, though, so it’s very precious. My aunt only gave me one this time. And she will definitely scold me when we get back."
The girl cutely stuck out her tongue when she finished. Chen Chu, meanwhile, could only express his sincere envy.
This was the difference between ordinary people and cultivation families. He hadn’t had any high-level resources or self-defense treasures to bring with him; everything that he had gotten, he had had to work hard to obtain by himself.
Chen Chu chatted with Luo Fei for a while, mainly about their trip to Kurutoor City. The girl had a smile on her face throughout the conversation. When she started to show signs of fatigue, Chen Chu let her rest, pushing the door open and walking out of the ward.
Chen Chu looked at Lin Xue and said gently, "Lin Xue, Old Xia and I will go to report in and handle any accommodation issues. It will be up to you and the others to take care of things here."
Lin Xue nodded. "Okay, go report first. Tomorrow, we\'ll figure out a way to track down that guy together."
"Okay, no problem." Chen Chu nodded.
Chen Chu then went to the end of the corridor to visit Bai Mu\'s ward. As soon as he entered, he saw Xia Youhui, Li Meng, and Bai Mu, who was almost recovered, chatting and laughing.
Chen Chu walked in with a slight smile. "How\'s the recovery going?"
"Hehe, it was just a minor injury." Bai Mu grinned.
"Tsk, don\'t listen to his boasting. This guy came in with a few broken ribs. He\'s lucky he didn\'t hurt his internal organs," Xia Youhui said.
"...That serious." Chen Chu paused slightly.
But he didn\'t ask Bai Mu why he hadn’t exchanged for high-level recovery resources. He came from an ordinary family, just like Chen Chu; not everyone could freely spend points like Xia Youhui, Lin Xue, or any of the other wealthy students.
Bai Mu waved it off. "It\'s nothing, I\'m almost recovered now. Nothing major."
"It’s good you\'re recovering."
The trio stayed in Bai Mu\'s ward for a while, before Chen Chu finally said, "Well, Bai Mu, we won\'t disturb your rest any longer. We\'ll come see you tomorrow."
"Okay." Bai Mu smiled and nodded, obviously very happy that they had all come to see him.
After bidding Lin Xue and Lin Yu goodbye, the three of them walked out of the hospital. When they reached the parking lot, however Chen Chu didn\'t get into the driver’s seat, but opened the trunk and strapped his straight saber to his back, leaving Xia Youhui and Li Meng stunned.
"Ah Chu, aren\'t we going to report in?" Xia Youhui asked.
Chen Chu said calmly, "There’s no rush for that. Let\'s take a look around first. That guy\'s target is Luo Fei. If he could find out that she was the one who killed his brother, then he definitely knows she\'s here."
"You\'re right, that guy could be planning an ambush nearby." Xia Youhui and Li Meng narrowed their eyes at the realization, then hoisted their heavy shield and hammer on their backs.
The hospital surroundings were relatively open, with few buildings. Dressed in armor and carrying large weapons, the trio were very conspicuous as they circled around the residential buildings nearby.
Soon, Chen Chu\'s lips curled up.
"I\'ve found you."