Chapter 167 East District

The military vehicle slowly drove into the east district of Minoya City. Compared to the bustling city center, the streets here were deserted, even desolate.

The word desolate was an understatement when describing Kang Kejinde as a whole.

But it also depended on the specific area. As one of the top cities in Kang Kejinde, Minoya was no less impressive than the capitals of small countries of similar size.

Kang Kejinde's development was somewhat distorted. Some of the better-protected large cities still had a decent living environment and atmosphere.

However, for some rural villages, the large number of opened other-dimensional spaces caused great suffering to the people. In addition, the local army was weak at the time, and there was constant internal strife, which led to Kang Kejinde's current distorted state of development.

The military vehicle slowly came to a stop in front of a large courtyard.

Led by Fu Hei, Jiang Xiao strode in without being stopped by the soldiers standing guard on either side.

The place had a feel of a Siheyuan (courtyard house) in Hua Xia's imperial capital. It was a small military camp, with neither too many nor too few guards.

Walking into the courtyard, Jiang Xiao had the feeling of entering Hua Xia's military headquarters in the last century as he watched the soldiers busily moving about.

The view was of houses on three sides, but following Fu Hei, Jiang Xiao realized that there was more to it than met the eye.

If calculated in terms of "jìn" (courtyard depth), they had walked through at least four "jìn" of courtyard walls before seeing familiar figures in front of the bungalows on the east side of the yard.

Hou Mingming, Zhao Wenlong.

Both soldiers were wearing dark night watch military uniforms. They stood motionless at the door, and no soldiers were going in and out of the other two sides of the house.

Occasionally, soldiers would pass by, but they continued to walk towards the back of the yard, so this secluded courtyard was very quiet and undisturbed.

As soon as Fu Hei led Jiang Xiao into this courtyard, Hou Mingming and Zhao Wenlong's eyes turned towards them, but other than their eyeballs moving, their bodies remained motionless.

Fu Hei said softly, "The other teams have been sent out. We're the only team here. Just go in. I'm going to rest. I'll have to relieve Hou Mingming later."

"Okay." Jiang Xiao nodded with a heavy heart and strode over.

As he passed the two, Jiang Xiao gently patted Zhao Wenlong's arm, nodded to Hou Mingming, and gently knocked on the door.

"Just go in," Hou Mingming's voice came from behind.

"Okay." Jiang Xiao opened the door and walked in. The entrance was a living room. The room on the left looked like a studio, and the room on the right was a resting area.

Without thinking, Jiang Xiao walked directly to the room on the left, opened the door, and saw modern equipment that was out of sync with the exterior of the house: communication equipment, tables and chairs, sand table, and topographic map.

That familiar figure had undergone a slight change in appearance. Her hair was loose, not tied up in her signature low ponytail. The dark red hair tie that Jiang Xiao had given her during the New Year was also tied around her right wrist.

At this time, she was sitting behind the desk on the inner side of the room, her legs crossed on the table, her elbow resting on the armrest of the chair, her back of her hand supporting her cheek, quietly watching the scenery outside the window.

Not knowing what department the people in the back yard were from, Jiang Xiao walked over and said softly, "Er Wei?"

"Yeah." Er Wei came back to her senses, but didn't look at Jiang Xiao. Instead, she gestured towards the small red square box in front of the desk, "Yours. The higher-ups also ordered a medal awarding ceremony for you, but it's been waived."

"Oh, okay." Jiang Xiao didn't care about the so-called ceremony. As long as he got the reward.

Jiang Xiao stepped forward, picked up the small red square box on the table, opened it, and saw: Second Class · Crescent Moon Medal!

From this, it could be deduced that the mission to capture the leader was far more significant than Jiang Xiao had imagined.

At the same time, a message came from his Inner Star Map:

[Obtained Night Watch · Crescent Moon Medal, Reward: 3000 skill points.]

And what Jiang Xiao didn't know was that in the upper right corner of the Inner Star Map panel, below the Crescent Moon Medal that Jiang Xiao already possessed, a medal exuding the clear glow of the cold moon quietly appeared and hung there.

The two Crescent Moon Medals hung vertically, and beside them, the Starfire Medal from the pioneer army was so suppressed that it could not even spark.

Jiang Xiao wasn't in a good mood and didn't feel any joy from receiving the medal. He stood in front of the desk, looked down at Er Wei, and said, "Are you in a bad mood?"

"Since you already know, why ask?" Er Wei said slowly.

Jiang Xiao pursed his lips and said, "I forced Fu Hei to tell me, don't blame him."

"Yeah." Er Wei hummed casually, not focused on this at all. She turned her head to look out the window, her hand still supporting her cheek, in the same position as before.

The room fell silent again.

Jiang Xiao silently looked at Er Wei's profile. She was thinner and her face was even more gloomy. In those narrow, phoenix eyes, boundless ferocity was suppressed, impossible to hide.

When a person was motionless, terrifyingly quiet, and their eyes contained such extreme emotions, it made Jiang Xiao feel a chill down his spine.

Jiang Xiao's strength was already terrifyingly strong. He could ignore most people and despise most so-called experts, but a person's aura was definitely real.

Strength and aura couldn't be completely equated. Moreover, this fierce beast in front of him, who was outwardly calm but inwardly churning with storm clouds and thunder, not only had aura, but her strength was also terrifyingly strong.

Even though Jiang Xiao was Er Wei's closest person, at this moment, Jiang Xiao was a little afraid of her erupting in anger.

Jiang Xiao thought for a moment and said, "You've told me many times that in the snowy plains, or during missions, you've told me that dying on the battlefield, wrapped in horse hide, is a soldier's glory and the best ending for a soldier."

Er Wei suddenly spoke, "Both of you, go guard the front door, one in front and one in back. No one is allowed to enter or exit within 5 minutes. Anyone who wants to pass, detour."

At the door, Hou Mingming and Zhao Wenlong, having received the order, went to the courtyard gates on either side, one in front and one in back.

Er Wei slowly turned her head, raised her eyes, and looked at Jiang Xiao, "I can accept his death, but I can't accept the way he died."

"Huh?" Jiang Xiao looked at Er Wei in confusion, "Didn't he die while on a mission?"

Er Wei beckoned to Jiang Xiao.

Jiang Xiao walked around the desk and came to Er Wei's side.

Suddenly...

Er Wei reached out and grabbed Jiang Xiao's collar, pulling his upper body down.

In the next moment, Jiang Xiao hurriedly grabbed his cloak, afraid that it would take the initiative to attack Er Wei.

Er Wei grabbed Jiang Xiao's collar and slowly pulled his ear to her mouth, her voice hoarse, "He was beaten to death."

Jiang Xiao's breathing paused slightly.

Without any other information, Jiang Xiao could already realize how terrible Xu Li's death was.

Xu Li, a Star Ocean stage shield warrior! Beaten to death!?

If Xu Li was a mage or even an agility-based warrior, the situation might not have been so serious.

Xu Li was a shield warrior! Especially as a Light Chaser, how strong would he be? How high would his defense be?

So... how long would the death process of a Star Ocean · Shield Warrior · Xu Li be? What kind of cruel torture did he endure?

Jiang Xiao reached out and pressed his hand on Er Wei's hand that was grabbing his collar, gently trying to pry it open, but her hand was holding on very tightly.

Jiang Xiao said softly, "Er Wei, wake up, calm down."

Er Wei gently released his hand and gestured to a file package on the desk, "Your mission."

As she spoke, Er Wei supported her face with one hand, turned her head to look out the window, and her hoarse voice sounded again, "No, it's not your mission, it's my request to you."

Jiang Xiao pursed his lips. Not a task from a superior, but a personal request?

Jiang Xiao seemed to have realized what she was going to do.

He picked up the file package and pulled out a dozen folders from it.

There weren't many papers in each folder, the most being 7 or 8 pages, and the least being only one page.

In each folder, there was information about a person, some detailed, some brief, and some even blank.

Er Wei allowed Jiang Xiao to flip through the information without disturbing him, only silently looking out the window, her slightly shaking eyes proving that her restless heart was in stark contrast to her quiet appearance.

Jiang Xiao spread out the 13 folders in order, each folder with a portrait on the first page.

Jiang Xiao said, "You said this isn't a mission, but a personal request."

Er Wei: "You found the target."

"Yeah." Jiang Xiao's finger tapped the 13th folder, "Sofik Karen."

Er Wei said in a hoarse voice, "These 12 people are from all over the world and have jointly established an organization called 'Hua Xing' (Star Transformation). There are 9 original members, and 3 people were later accepted by this organization through assessment."

Jiang Xiao's face was heavy as he looked at the middle-aged white man in the photo.

Er Wei: "Their goal is Star Beads, powerful Star Techniques, and powerful Star Pets. The rare spaces guarded by each country may be on their hunting list. What they want is everything of the highest quality in this world. Maybe they want to become the strongest Star Warriors, or maybe they have other goals."

Hearing this, a sneer appeared on Jiang Xiao's face, "These people are not young, and they still have such naive ideas."

Er Wei: "They did it."

Jiang Xiao: "Huh?"

Er Wei: "Traces of them have been left in countries all over the world. They have caused unimaginable damage to this world, and this damage is continuing."

Hearing this, Jiang Xiao nodded lightly.

Er Wei: "To give an example from our country, do you know what other-dimensional space the Void Calamity Shadow lives in?"

Jiang Xiao: "Yes, it's called 'Void'."

Er Wei: "Do you know where the Void is?"

Jiang Xiao shook his head, "I don't know. That kind of space-based other-dimensional space is a state secret. Whether it's internally or externally, it's completely confidential, and the geographical location is not disclosed."

Er Wei: "But these people know."

Jiang Xiao: ???

Er Wei: "And they destroyed a Void other-dimensional space while snatching a Star Bead."

Jiang Xiao's eyes widened slightly. Who were the people guarding the Void other-dimensional space in Hua Xia? What level of experts were those guards?

Were these guys that strong?

Er Wei: "Our country is like this, and other countries are the same. These 12 people are the world's top wanted criminals. Each of them has space-based Star Techniques, their whereabouts are mysterious, and no one knows where they are to this day."

Jiang Xiao said, "You keep saying 12 people, but there are 13 folders here, information about 13 people."

Er Wei: "He is the one being assessed, in the process of being assessed, so he approached Dragon Cave and Xu Li."

Jiang Xiao: !!!

Since Er Wei took the designation of the Wei Yu Team and was transferred to the Northwest Army, Xu Li was actually ordered to guard Dragon Cave?

Er Wei: "Dragon Cave is very special. It's an other-dimensional space opened on the border between two countries. This level of other-dimensional space shouldn't have any information transmitted, but the fact that two countries jointly own and guard it led to a series of problems. Moreover, when Dragon Cave first appeared, the commotion was too great and couldn't be hidden."

Er Wei: "Therefore, the soldiers ordered to guard Dragon Cave need extremely high personal strength and political awareness. Xu Li was entrusted with this important task, and as you can see, he's dead."

Jiang Xiao looked down at Sofik Karen's portrait, his face so gloomy that it was about to drip water.

Er Wei: "Do you know when Xu Li disappeared?"

Jiang Xiao frowned, "When?"

Er Wei: "He hasn't returned to the team since he attended Hai Tianqing's wedding."

Jiang Xiao's face was unsightly, and he blurted out a word, "Fuck."