“That’s basically the situation.”
Inside a meeting hall in the White House, Zheng narrated his encounter with team Pacific’s leader. He was so focused on the event that he became unaware of using the catchphrase of a certain person in this team.
“I apologize for being too selfish. I was overwhelmed by rage when I imagined they were a team that enslaved newbies. I almost couldn’t contain the rage and wanted to destroy those trash, and every time I thought of the things that happened to my clone in team Devil… I acted too rash. We are at a disadvantaged position in terms of influence and I rejected the other team’s offer. Sorry, guys. This movie could be difficult for us.”
The conversation between a human and an alien who seemed to have known each other shocked the civilians and the politicians in the White House. The politicians immediately invited Zheng inside. Unfortunately, Zheng knocked down the guards who came to invite him with ease. After seeing Zheng ignored their handguns, the politicians finally offered a real invitation and got the civilians under control. In their words, any little thing could lead to drastic changes in society during a time of crisis. They couldn’t control the source of the turmoil but in the very least, they could limit the turmoil from spreading.
“That was the process up till I entered the White House. I didn’t know what to say to them and to avoid clashing with your plans, I didn’t say anything. I let them know that my comrades are coming so we would just wait.” Zheng said with a bitter laughter.
The rest of the team nodded, aside from Xuan who was using the laptop as if he didn’t hear anything and XueLin watching him with pleasure from the side. The two of them felt like they didn’t belong here. Their focus was the laptop in front of them.
Zheng coughed seeing the response. Yet, Xuan and XueLin didn’t waver away from the computer screen. Veins emerged on his forehead and he exploded. “God damn! Say something please! Or was I doing a stand-up comedy?”
(It wasn’t a stand up but this now sounds like he has the potential.) ChengXiao and Heng thought.
Xuan slowly raised his head and calmly said. “Can you sense what stage team Pacific’s leader unlocked?”
Zheng paused for a few seconds and thought. He didn’t expect Xuan to actually respond. “Unlocked stage… it was only an image of him so I couldn’t sense his stage. However, he’s a leader. He should be at least at the second stage. Being cloned into team Devil means God has acknowledged his potential. I guess he should be between stages three and fourth but haven’t achieved stage four yet.”
Xuan nodded. “There’s a high probability he’s at the third stage. Which means he can emulate another person’s thinking process to a certain degree. How much depends on his aptitude. You mentioned he encountered team Celestial and fought them. So he probably met Adam face to face.”
“You’re right!” Zheng interrupted Xuan. “That explains why waited for us at the White House. Even if he only emulates twenty to thirty percent of Adam, his intelligence would be pretty impressive… Did I ask about his intelligence? I was only talking about my fault. I threw away our chance for peace due to my personal feelings. This battle is going down to a fight in the end. Are we going to be fine with this?”
Xuan finally moved away from the laptop. He sneered at Zheng. “Peace? Do you believe absolute good or evil exist in this world? You’re assuming the other party is a gentleman who’s trustworthy. But he’s someone that enslaved newbies. Can you trust those people? You said team Pacific joined the Angel Alliance after team Celestial failed to wipe them. He wouldn’t have joined the alliance otherwise and he wouldn’t be joining with good intents. He’s someone who cares only about raising his own power, because he wouldn’t need the alliance nor would he fear your clone when he can overwhelm your clone with his own strength. Even without these reasons, waking up our members important enough for us to wipe them or at least capture their psyche force user. Keep in mind that we are disadvantaged in terms of influence but our strength is strong on the whole!”
“Right! We are strong!” Zheng became increasingly excited as Xuan went on. He gripped his fists tightly and said.
(Looks like Xuan excited him again. It’s going to end up in a battle of the mad hot-blooded man.) The rest of team China thought.
“And you are the leader of team China.” Xuan looked down at the laptop. “Since you’re the leader, you hold the right to determine the team’s future. Even if the direction you choose is wrong, it will be the way we head toward until it’s proven wrong.”
Zheng sat on the chair and let out a long breath. He gave Xuan a deep look then said to the team. “Let’s try to come up with a story to tell the American politicians. They are the source of our influence in this world.”
(Is that a phantom feeling? Can’t help but feel that Xuan is hiding something. Is he giving his last words and teaching me how to be a better leader? I hope I am wrong.)
While team China arrived at the White House, team Pacific and their leader, Lionheart, returned to a gigantic space vessel that was floating a short distance outside the Earth. The vessel was so huge that one could consider it a continent.
“Too bad the peace bait failed. Team China’s leader is a total retard who only wants to fight us. Can’t believe we got fucking matched with such a retard. I want to tear him…” Lionheart had none of the elegance that he displayed in front of Zheng. He looked furious with bloodshot eyes and messy hair. His fingernails were growing out. He was still handsome but nowhere near cool. He was like an abandoned dog.
“Calm down, leader. Calm. We are safe. You don’t have to be complaining so hard. Plan our moves accordingly and we still have a good chance to wipe team China… We have to at least kill Zheng Aha before he becomes as powerful as his clone. Kill him while he’s still in the infant stage!”
Two men sat near Lionheart. One was appeared serene and refined. His age was similar to Lionheart with an average appearance. However, his closed eyes gave off a mysterious feeling. The other man was a muscular Caucasian approximately thirty-seven years old. He wore an eye-catching leather jacket. His body was covered in tattoos like a middle age thug. He was chewing on a piece of chicken thigh nonstop. The one who spoke was the man with closed eyes.
Lionheart took a deep breath and calmed himself. He combed his hair with his fingers then sat down on the sofa next to the younger man. “Damn it. What kind of freaking rules are this? Forbids using individual flying devices, forbids attacking team China before the alien’s attack, forbids the aliens from giving us a saucer before the humans obtain their first saucer. What kind of garbage rules are these? That’s making us sit here and wait for team China to come.”
The man's lips twitched as though he just gave off a smile but he immediately turned to a serious expression. “You are overthinking. The restrictions are only there to even out the advantage we have in influence. These aren’t hard restrictions that will make God erase us. You can stand on a flying device and not get erased. The device just wouldn’t work. We couldn’t attack because the dish couldn’t get down to the ground and we couldn’t use its weapons. And the aliens won’t give us a saucer… we can get one by ourselves.”
Lionheart looked excited. He pondered for a few moments with his head lowered then laughed coldly. He said to the man with closed eyes. “How does the rank 3 Shaka’s enhancement feel, Julian? You seem strong with your eyes closed.”
Julian's lips twitched again and said in a calm tone. “The power can’t be shown like this. The enhancement is different from what I expected. Keeping my eyes closed is only used to store my energy. The Transmigration to the Six Paths and The Treasures of the Heavens need energy to activate so I won’t have any combat strength before I open my eyes. Once I open my eyes, I have to finish the fight in an extremely short amount of time. It’s difficult to gauge the enhancement’s power, probably weaker than the Vampire Prince bloodline and the many blood abilities you have.”
Lionheart nodded then looked to the middle age man who was still eating. He shook his head then said with a cold tone. “Keep the newbies inside the alien base. We will exchange two more mind control devices after the movie to get them to hand out their points and rewards… Now then, seize a saucer! We will give team China a surprise attack!