Chapter 111: Supersonic

Chapter 111 -103: Supersonic

As for how to handle it later, delay as long as possible. If that failed, he’d just pass the buck to someone else.

It had to be said, Taruno had grown quickly since his “rise to prominence.” It seemed he’d exchanged plenty of notes with the officials in Talin City.

Compared to Taruno’s ignorance of the Inner World’s circles, Leiteri had a much clearer understanding of what it meant to be an Executor.

He was unimpressed by Taruno’s suggestion. That method might work for fooling ordinary people, but the Boss needed a real solution.

“Boss, I suggest we hold off on making any major moves for now.”

“Give me a few days. I’ll stage an ‘accident’ and kidnap the vice president of Comir Bio-pharmaceuticals for you. Interrogating for intelligence is what we do best.”

“Even if we can’t get the mastermind’s identity out of him, we’ll still get more information. Then we can decide on our next step.”

Leiteri’s suggestion was very characteristic of his line of work. After a moment of consideration, Chen Qi agreed.

Before they had a firm grasp on the situation, they really couldn’t just raid Comir Bio-pharmaceuticals.

As long as Comir Bio-pharmaceuticals was still around, they at least had a handle on the enemy’s distribution methods.

Even if they couldn’t find the culprit, they could at least lock onto the Blood Salt and confirm the extent of its danger.

But once Comir was gone, if the other party started over somewhere else, they’d truly be fumbling in the dark.

He believed Lin Biyun must have considered this as well, which was why she hadn’t made a move on Comir Bio-pharmaceuticals.

But Chen Qi couldn’t just do nothing, either. He didn’t think he’d find anything substantial just by tracking peripheral intelligence.

Leiteri’s methods might be unorthodox, but they were perfect for flushing out the enemy—or, to put it another way, for a probing attack.

Perhaps this disturbance would force some things to the surface.

And as long as any clue emerged, with the backing of the Kingdom Intelligence Agency, Chen Qi could lock onto it immediately.

“Taruno, give the Kingdom Central Intelligence Agency a heads-up.”

“Tell them not to interfere with Leiteri’s operation.”

“And tell them to keep a close watch. If anything goes wrong, they know the consequences.”

The Kingdom Central Intelligence Agency knew exactly who they were coordinating with.

Plenty of past Order Keepers had been notoriously short-tempered.

Thanks to those predecessors, Chen Qi didn’t need to establish his own authority through intimidation.

After Taruno contacted the agents in charge of the Blood Salt Case under Chen Qi’s authority, their interactions were quite harmonious and pleasant.

This operation to “flush out the enemy” was also a test for those agents from Chen Qi.

‘If they dare try to fool me and botch this, then they shouldn’t blame me for learning a thing or two from my predecessors.’

“Don’t worry, Boss. We’ll definitely handle this.”

Both Taruno and Leiteri swore an oath, giving their assurance.

Chen Qi nodded in satisfaction, preparing to send the two of them off to get it done.

However, before he could signal for them to leave, the communicator on Taruno’s wrist suddenly flashed red.

“Boss, there’s a problem at the Fadir Mine.”

“Just a moment ago, the mine was attacked by a group of unidentified armed militants.”

“I’ve always set intelligence from that area as the highest priority. This just happened.”

The moment the communicator flashed red, Taruno realized something major had happened.

To do his intelligence work well, he had meticulously categorized his various responsibilities.

A red light indicated the most critical, highest-priority incidents, which were usually related to the Boss.

He kept this communication channel open 24/7, not daring to be careless for even a second.

…

“The Fadir Mine was attacked?”

“Interesting. What’s the situation now?”

The moment Taruno spoke, Chen Qi realized this was definitely another deliberate probe.

Right now, that mine had no valuable targets besides the Source Ore.

You probably couldn’t even hire a small mercenary squad with the money you’d get from selling all the scrap ore in the entire mine.

So no matter what happened at the Fadir Mine, the ultimate target could only be the Source Ore.

“Boss, they only launched a probing attack. They engaged the guards for a moment and then retreated.”

“Their intent to attack wasn’t strong. I suspect they were deliberately testing us.”

Taruno reported the latest developments to Chen Qi while contacting the guards on-site.

Upon learning the armed militants had retreated, Taruno breathed a huge sigh of relief.

‘Security over there was the first task the Boss gave me. If I screw it up, my future is over.’

‘Thank goodness it was a close call but no disaster. I have no idea what secrets that mine holds for it to have one incident after another.’

But Taruno knew his place and never let his imagination run wild.

“Heh, it seems someone’s getting impatient.”

‘They’re trying to rush me!’

Even if the mountain were blown up, the Source Ore wouldn’t necessarily be damaged.

But Chen Qi’s Source Ore wasn’t in its complete form; it was severely weakened.

Any problem with the mine would definitely affect the Source Ore.

Besides, this was just a conventional approach. If Chen Qi continued to ignore it, who knew if his opponent would decide to destroy what they couldn’t have.

Chen Qi had to admit, although this probing method was a bit cliché and almost identical to the last one, it was damn effective.

After receiving the Earth Master’s legacy, the Source Ore’s importance in Chen Qi’s mind had skyrocketed.

His opponent had issued a warning, and Chen Qi really didn’t dare to ignore it.

‘Forget it. Leaving such a precious treasure out in the open really worries me. I should just retrieve it.’

‘As for who’s behind this probe… does it matter?’

The Chen Qi of today feared no one. He’d even dare to go head-to-head with an Apostle.

“I’ll handle the matter at the Fadir Mine myself.”

“You two go handle the business with Comir Bio-pharmaceuticals.”

Having made his decision, Chen Qi didn’t hesitate.

‘Since this is probably going to be a major battle, there’s no need for my underlings to join the fun.’

The intensity and scale of this battle would be nothing like the child’s play against Flette and his group before.

‘The entire mine might get torn to shreds. Ordinary people going there would be useless cannon fodder.’

Chen Qi waved his hand, stopping Leiteri, who was about to volunteer again.

Taruno tactfully led the five members of the Hummingbird Squad away. ‘A bunch of guys who can’t read the situation. Even if you want to help the Boss, you need to have the strength for it.’

He had, after all, followed the Boss through the first great battle at the Fadir Mine. That was simply not something ordinary people could meddle in.

‘The armed militants showing up now are just cannon fodder.’

‘The Boss could kill them all with a single slap.’

…

‘Hmph. It really has been a while since I’ve stretched my legs.’

‘This time, I’ll show them some thunderous methods, lest people think they can just walk all over me.’

Being probed and pressured one time after another… even a clay doll would get angry, and Chen Qi was furious.

‘Is it because you think I haven’t killed enough people that you think I’m a pushover?’

‘If that’s the case, then don’t blame me for being ruthless. You forced my hand.’

KA-CHUNK! KA-CHUNK!

An Exoskeleton Armor radiating blue electrical light enveloped Chen Qi. The next instant, he leaped straight down from the building’s shattered window.

BOOM!

A series of sonic booms echoed over Talin City, as if a supersonic fighter jet were streaking by at low altitude.

But this was the speed of Chen Qi, who had successfully broken the sound barrier with the assistance of his Exoskeleton Armor.

Of course, the various insights into airflow sponsored by Feng Xingyun also played a significant role.

Moving at high speed, Chen Qi resembled a ground-effect vehicle, successfully achieving nap-of-the-earth flight.

The straight-line distance from the Chrysalis Building to the Fadir Mine was about 34 kilometers.

100 seconds later, Chen Qi officially arrived on the battlefield.

At that moment, the saboteur militants had only just retreated from the mine area.