Nightmare’s Call

“What bring you all here?” Lin Sheng looked grimly at Yan Mingsha, the female lieutenant colonel.

“This miniature golden pyramid is a piece of crucial evidence. We need to take it. Besides, I’d appreciate if President could divulge the whereabouts of the golden-winged sea hawk that this monster was after,” Yan Mingsha said coldly.

Lin Sheng glanced at the miniature pyramid on the floor. A faint sign of life was suddenly detected in the pyramid as soon as Yan Mingsha appeared. It seemed that the monster and Yang Mingsha and the others had some form of direct relationship. But what was more important was that the monster was not dead yet. Lin Sheng stayed silent for a moment before he said with his head lowered, “What if I decline?”

“President Lin, don’t cut off your nose to spite your face,” Yan Mingsha said casually. “I come representing the Defense Affairs Division of the military. And I’m not asking.”

Lin Sheng was silent again.

“Take it away.” With the wave of her hand, two soldiers stepped out. They used their gun barrels to pick the tiny golden pyramid out of the fire before tossing it into a cloth bag and taking it away.

“Do you all really think all will be fine and dandy?” Lin Sheng looked up suddenly.

“Eh?” Startled, Yan Mingsha looked intently at Lin Sheng. “What do you mean?”

Lin Sheng’s half-dragon body had ebbed as with the golden glow in his eyes, which had returned to its original color. “This thing killed three of my disciples. Had I not been in the premise, there would have been a terrible bloodbath.” Lin Sheng’s voice was calm, his body shrinking into its original size.

“That’s your problem,” Yan Mingsha replied coldly.

“Our record keeper has informed our headquarters of what has happened tonight,” Lin Sheng said. “I hope you would still keep your smile when the envoy arrives.”

The Ironfist Society headquarters? Yan Mingsha’s heart missed a beat, but she showed no emotion on her face. As the chief of a division, Lin Shen had the strength of a Two-Winger. The Six-Wing system included most of the mutants and Darksiders.

Yan Mingsha could certainly ignore Lin Sheng, who was just a Two-Winger. But Lin Sheng had claimed to have a backing—the Headquarters. If Lin Sheng’s claim was valid, then she must not take it lightly. Her brows knitted together as she had no idea how powerful the Headquarters was, but she already felt intimidated. The matter had gotten rather thorny now. It did not look like Lin Sheng was not bluffing, however. If the Headquarters claim were real, then she would have to take a good hard look at this Ironfist Society again. Armed with the special authority given by the vice-minister, she had the discretion to deal with everything within her jurisdiction.

Lin Sheng reached his hand into the fire on his right. The flame not only did not hurt his skin but also rapidly died down. “Lieutenant Colonel, have you given it a careful thought?” Lin Sheng pulled his hand back as the fire went out.

Yan Mingsha’s pupils contracted upon seeing what Lin Sheng had done to the fire—it was an act of intimidation. And she knew he had not shown all his strength. She started to calculate in her mind that if things went ugly, she might be able to walk away relatively unscathed, but not so with her men; nine out of ten would likely be dead. She was unable to figure out what was Lin Sheng’s redline.

“What do you mean?” Yan Mingsha asked coldly.

“Compensation, of course.” Lin Sheng said. “This thing has killed three of my men. I need compensation. Otherwise, the thing must die.”

“You have already incapacitated him!” Yan Mingsha said sullenly.

“That’s not enough!” Lin Sheng cut her off. “I need him dead!” He shut his eyes, and a murderous air began to pervade in the surroundings like a storm.

“I think you must have a death wish!” Yan Mingsha’s eyebrows cocked as wrath boiled inside her.

“Then, we will see!” all of a sudden, flames burst out of Lin Sheng’s body. As he rapidly semi-dragonized, his black jacket was torn apart. A purple pattern emerged on his brow, and his body swelled to an enormous size. The floor cracked, and stone shattered under his feet as Lin Sheng sprang up spontaneously and disappeared into thin air. Almost at the same time, rounds of bullets hit the spot where he stood a second ago but missed him by far.

Shocked and unable to locate where Lin Sheng had gone, Yan Mingsha immediately bounced backward with a frantic whoosh, her body glimmering in fluorescent green like a shield, protecting her from any attack. But it all came too late. A big hand came out of nowhere from her left, penetrating the fluorescent green light and aimed straight at her throat.

“Stop!” A loud bark was heard from afar.

Just as Lin Sheng was about to snap Yan Mingsha’s throat, he heard the voice and let go of her. He bounced several steps back, pulled back his right hand, and returned to the spot where he was seconds ago—all done in one quick sweeping motion.

“Hey, you!” A tall, shorthaired man, wearing a white military outfit, stormed in and glared at Lin Sheng.

At the same time, beside Yan Mingsha, the cloth bag that contained the miniature golden pyramid suddenly exploded, blowing up everything in the bag and sending debris flying in all directions. That was what Lin Sheng had actually done; his target was the miniature pyramid.

Drenched in her own cold sweat, Yan Mingsha reached to touch her neck. She felt a sharp pain pricking her. She was lucky that her big brother had arrived at a critical moment. Otherwise, she would have been dead.

“You…” Yan Mingsha gritted her teeth as she gave Lin Sheng a dead stare, but she was more restrained in her words now. “Thank you for the hospitality, President Lin. I will surely reciprocate your ‘cordialness’ someday!” That said, she turned around and walked out.

The man in white military uniform also glanced coldly at Lin Sheng before following her back out.

“I’m looking forward to it.” Lin Sheng said darkly.

Only then, the soldiers came to their senses and retreated, leaving the courtyard. They had witnessed firsthand how fast Lin Sheng was and his terrifying capability. Even more fearsome was the high-pressure air of intimidation that Lin Sheng exuded. He could not have possibly evaded the bullets of the sniper rifles, but his intimidating energy stunned the snipers momentarily, causing a slight delay in their action. It was during that short moment that Lin Sheng made a move to blow up the miniature pyramid while performing that fake move to lock the female lieutenant’s throat. He was so fast that it was as if he had never left his place at all.

As for Yan Mingsha, her blood running cold. She left without even daring to bark back at Lin Sheng as she had just cheated death. With the Redwin military and all the soldiers behind her, she still suffered a shellacking in the standoff. If this news broke out, she would become an utter laughing stock.

Lin Sheng stood still in his place until all the soldiers had left, and the red dots of the sniper rifles on him gone.

A few minutes later, a group of disciples rushed in from the yard. Dao Ling, Sarroux, and Luo Xinna hurried over after getting a call from one of the disciples. But the party was over by the time they arrived.

“Big Brother!” Sarroux came up, dropping to his knees before Lin Sheng. “I’m sorry. We are late!” He cried loudly in shame with his head lowered. Likewise, Dao Ling and Luo Xinna looked embarrassed, keeping their heads low. Unlike Sarroux, Dao Ling and Luo Xinna were in the vicinity when the standoff was ongoing, but they flinched and decided not to come to Lin Sheng’s aid when they saw the Redwin soldiers.