Chapter 438: Allure
Most people left the massive meeting room. A man about fifty sat on the long couch. He looked haggard, but no one cared about him.
“I had no choice but to call you here. I’m sorry.” The man chuckled bitterly. He was the host and the leader of the night guardian’s admin department. “Even though I’m the leader, everything has to be approved by the Elders Council.”
Gong Zhe sipped the water. “Even if you don’t tell me, have I known about this, I would have come.”
“Only you can deal with those old folks.” The man leaned back. He held a warm glass of water. “Speaking of, I think I’ll have nightmares tonight. Some of them are triple my age, but they are still alive. Once you look at them long enough…” He paused before saying seriously, “It looks like they have crawled out from hell.”
“We are devils too.” Gong Zhe said peacefully. “We’ll not die from old age. We’ll be slowly corrupted by the curse until we become the thing we hate the most. Just like you said, to kill demons, we have to become demons.”
The man sighed. The way he looked at Gong Zhe changed. They had known each other for a long time. They could call each other friends in the Night Guardian. “If only you hadn’t left, then this seat would be yours.” He lamented. “That incident twenty years ago…”
“Stop.” Gong Zhe stopped him. He looked annoyed.
The man reacted. He was in the grips of memory. He realised he had said something he shouldn’t have. He brought up the sad history of his friend. “By the way,” The man changed the topic. “How do you plan to explain your usage of the ring to the Xia Family? Xia Yuan…”
Gong Zhe turned around to look at the man strangely. He couldn’t be read. “No need to explain.” He continued, “This is the Xia Family’s decision.
“But this is not Xia Yuan's but Miss Xia Meng’s decision.” Thinking back to what the girl said when she handed him the ring, Gong Zhe straightened up and became severe. “She said that this proposal couldn’t be passed. If it does, what differentiates us from Deep Red? We will never abandon our friends who have done so much for us. That cannot be negotiated.”“What if the proposal passed?” The man asked. After all, the Xia Family only had one vote. Including him, there were two votes. That was not enough to decide the voting result. What if there were variables? Then what?
The man was confused. It was how he felt when he met that stubborn girl ten years ago. He had a feeling that there would be a surprising answer waiting for him.
Gong Zhe suddenly laughed. He slowly put down the cup. He looked into his friend’s eyes and said, “Then, we might need to consider new allies.”
The man was startled. Then, his gaze started to change. In the end, frost appeared in his eyes.
…
It was night, but the rain was still pouring. Gong Zhe carried a black umbrella and walked towards the open-air car park. A black car was parked at an isolated location. It was not a branded vehicle. It was very normal-looking. However, it had great modifications. The money spent on the mods should be enough to buy a new car. He walked to the passenger’s seat out of habit.
His driver was waiting for him. He opened the door and glanced at the driver. Then, his gaze moved to the rear-view mirror. The driver looked up. He faced forward, unmoving. His eyes were closed.
A figure appeared in the backseat. It was a young man in a black long trench coat. Water dripped down the coat. This was the Night Guardian’s coat. It was looking sad. His hair was wet from the rain and stuck to his face. It shielded the man’s eyes.
However, the thing that grabbed people’s attention the most was the man’s face of determination and sharp brows.
“How did it go?” The young man asked. His tone contained suppressed curiosity.
A burst of flame appeared in the passenger’s seat to light up a face with a scar near the chin. The facial features appeared carved. The pair of eyes that hid in the dark was like a sharp knife aimed at people’s foreheads.
Gong Zhe rubbed an old-fashioned matchstick and lit up the cigarette on his lips. He took a deep drag before tossing the match away. The sound of a burning cigarette was clear in the small space.
Seeing Gong Zhe like this, the young man didn’t rush him. He knew that Gong Zhe was a man of his word. He had promised him so his report would always be satisfactory.
“Have you caught the person?” Gong Zhe asked.
“Yes.” An Xuan answered, “I blocked him on the road that you mentioned. There was no conflict. As you ordered, he was not harmed.”
“Did anyone see you?”
“No. The rain was too heavy. It silenced all the voices and sights.” An Xuan asked, “Where is the thing I want?” His voice was like a growl.
“The team sent to assassinate No. 4 has been eliminated. There is only one survivor. Her name is Wan Xiaoning. Level A, her code number has been wiped from the admin department.
“Right. She is not dead. Deep Red didn’t kill her, but brought her out of the door.”
“Brought out of the door…” An Xuan frowned. “What about No. 4?”
“He was heavily injured by Wan Xiaoning, who forced her door open. The door in his body was almost destroyed. He’s almost dead.”
At this point, Gong Zhe glanced at An Xuan at the back. He picked up a familiar scent on the young man. An Xuan pulled the trenchcoat tighter.
“Unless necessary, I’d advise you not to activate the door inside you. That’s the devil’s power. You have to pay a heavy price for using it.”
An Xuan, who was exposed, had his expression shifted.
“Don’t worry.” Gong Zhe rolled down the window. He reached his hand out to tap on the cigarette. “I’m not interested in your door or else you wouldn’t have survived until now.”
An Xuan knew the man was telling the truth so he decided to come clean. “You have something that interests me.” He paused before adding, “I mean… the door in your body.”