Chapter 365 - 335: Lou Limin

Chapter 365: Chapter 335: Lou Limin

Gong Da, Liu Hanhua, and another Security Officer heard the message that came through their communication watches and froze. The deputy director’s order caught them completely by surprise.

However, they didn’t dwell on it. Obeying a superior’s orders was their sworn duty. Without a moment’s hesitation, they immediately withdrew from the standoff.

"Pull back!" As he withdrew from the battlefield, Liu Hanhua shouted toward a spot in the mid-air.

"Right." From his position in the air, Li Qian nodded and began to withdraw as well. In truth, he had been preparing to retreat even before Liu Hanhua called out.

From his high vantage point, he had already seen the plumes of rising dust. Within it, the massive silhouettes of Rock Giants were vaguely discernible. They were, without a doubt, charging right toward this spot.

’Stick around now, and you’ll just be waiting to be crushed to a pulp.’

’They must be after that Dark Red Rock.’

’The people in that convoy are almost certainly the same ones who went into the Underground cavern to steal the Dark Red Rock—the same group they’d run into outside the Black Stone Forest.’

As he pieced everything together, a faint smile touched Li Qian’s lips and he continued his withdrawal.

’Looking at the situation,’ he thought, ’they’re really in for it now.’

The three Security Officers retreated, and even their hidden assailants followed suit. A large man with tattooed arms, who had just leaped from an SUV, now wore a look of confusion.

But when he saw the Dark Red Rock, no longer hidden by the Array, and felt the faint tremors in the ground, he instantly realized what was happening. "This is bad!" he yelled. "Retreat!"

The man was decisive. Realizing the disaster about to befall them, he made his choice in an instant.

They had paid a heavy price to steal this Dark Red Rock from the Underground.

They had already lost several of their own.

Now, just when their prize was within their grasp and they were about to reap a handsome reward, it had all fallen apart at the very last moment.

Filled with bitterness, pain, and resignation, he had no choice but to order his men to retreat.

He knew what was happening. If they didn’t get out now, their end would be nothing short of tragic once those frenzied Rock Giants caught up to them.

They were just hired muscle, paid to do a job. Risking their lives for it? Not a chance.

With the convoy destroyed, the group of about ten men didn’t hesitate for a second. They just took off running for their lives.

Although the group of about ten men had heard the tattooed man’s command, the turn of events was so abrupt that some were too slow to react.

By the time they did, they broke into a desperate sprint. But a scrawny young man bringing up the rear was a step too slow.

With a deafening CRASH, a massive rock fell from the sky.

"Lao Si!" The tattooed man yelled, turning back to see it happen.

But the rock was falling too fast. The scrawny man called Lao Si reacted, but he had no time to dodge.

BOOM!

The massive boulder landed squarely on Lao Si.

A boulder that size, weighing well over a thousand pounds and falling from such a height, meant the person underneath was beyond dead.

"Fuck!" the tattooed man cursed, then roared again. "Keep moving!"

He had every reason to be frantic. If they lingered, Lao Si wouldn’t be the only one to die.

As for the Dark Red Rock, any thought of claiming it was long gone. They had abandoned it without a second thought.

From a distance, Li Qian watched from his hiding spot behind a building, mounted on Qizai. He couldn’t help but mutter to himself, "Tsk, tsk. How tragic. Good thing I hid myself when I made my move to... obstruct them."

He glanced at the three Security Officers nearby and smiled. ’Otherwise, it would’ve been a pain to have them after me. This way, they’ll pin all their hatred on the Public Security Bureau.’

Li Qian simply watched in silence, making no move.

The horde of Rock Giants, including the Rock Sword Master and Rock Monsters, came and went with startling speed.

In just ten minutes or so, they had swept up the Dark Red Rock and vanished from the scene.

’It seems they really were after that Dark Red Rock...’

’I just wonder what exactly that Dark Red Rock is.’

Just as he was pondering this, several cars came roaring up to the scene.

Li Qian recognized them instantly as Public Security Bureau vehicles.

The first person out of the car was a middle-aged man with a square face.

Upon seeing the square-faced man, the three Security Officers who had remained on-site immediately saluted and called out, "Director Lou."

Lou Limin nodded at the three Security Officers who greeted him.

After nodding, his gaze immediately fixed on a single direction.

It was the direction in which the Rock Giants had withdrawn.

A middle-aged Security Officer who appeared to be around the same age as Lou Limin asked, "Director Lou, what do we do now?"

After asking, he added a reminder, "That Mutated Red Star Stone should be extremely valuable."

Lou Limin nodded at his words, but a bitter expression crossed his face. "Seeing how frenzied those Rock Giants were, I have no doubt its value is high. But we don’t have the power to go after it."

The middle-aged Security Officer nodded in agreement. "Yes. Right now, maintaining stability is what’s most important."

As the two men were talking, the expression on Li Qian’s face changed slightly. He had already landed on the ground and was watching everything from a short distance away.

The moment he heard the words "Mutated Red Star Stone," an electronic notification suddenly sounded in his mind.

[Inspiration Value +2, Current Task Progress: 92%]

Hearing the notification chime in his mind, Li Qian couldn’t help but mutter, "Mutated Red Star Stone, huh?"

’Looks like this Mutated Red Star Stone is an essential requirement for the evolution of a Rock Monster, and maybe even a Rock Sword Master.’

’But from the sound of it, this Mutated Red Star Stone must be extremely rare. Getting my hands on it won’t be easy.’

’Luckily, all I need to do is research the evolution method for Rock Monsters, not evolve them into Rock Giants on a massive scale, so it doesn’t affect me too much.’

’Besides,’ he mused, ’I wonder if there are any alternatives.’

’After all, while Rock Giants are rare among human Beast Tamers, they’re not unheard of. So how did those evolve?’

’Maybe there’s another evolutionary path...’

’No, given the circumstances, there must be another way to evolve them!’

While Li Qian was lost in thought, the conversation between Lou Limin and the other Security Officers continued. "Captain Lou, is it still necessary to lock down Zhenxi Town?"

Lou Limin thought for a moment before giving his orders. "The situation isn’t clear yet, and we don’t know if there are any more of those Tufuzi in town. We’ll lift the lockdown tomorrow morning. Tonight, we’ll patrol on high alert for one more night, just to be safe and guard against any other incidents."