Venerable Demon King & The Doting Immortal (QT)
Chapter 354: Han Xin distancing himself unsuccessfully.

Chapter 354: Han Xin distancing himself unsuccessfully.

However, the second round was a different story. Xiang Yu transformed into a fierce competitor. His focus was razor-sharp, his moves calculated. As he played card after card, the others began to sweat, their confidence waning.

The amount of Star Coins they were about to lose felt staggering. They were about to lose an equivalent of three months’ salary. But to Xiang Yu, it was just a drop in the bucket.

Seeing their discomfort, Xiang Yu leaned back in his chair, a smile playing on his lips. "Old Tong," he said, "I am not an unreasonable person. How about this? You answer my questions, and I will let this go."

Old Tong raised an eyebrow, sensing the shift in the atmosphere. He waved his hand, and the other two men quietly stepped away, giving them space. The old engineer’s impression of Xiang Yu began to change. Who had said this crown prince was useless? With each move, Xiang Yu was leading him deeper into a trap, and Old Tong was unwittingly falling for it.

"Whatever His Highness needs to know, I will try to answer truthfully," Old Tong replied, his tone shifting to one of cautious respect.

"Good," Xiang Yu said, leaning in closer, his voice low and serious.

Meanwhile, Han Xin had long since left the palace, rising early to avoid Xiang Yu waking up and finding him in his bed. After sleeping together last night, he sensed things were spiralling out of his control.

He had tried multiple times to slip away unnoticed, but each time he found himself ensnared by the intoxicating scent of Xiang Yu, which lingered in the air. He slept more soundly than he cared to admit, a comfort he didn’t want to confront.

Determined to distance himself from the crown prince, Han Xin ignored all messages from Xiang Yu. When Zeus, his AI assistant, chimed in with an update, Han Xin was quick to cut it off. "Don’t tell me anything about him for the next twenty-four hours," he instructed.

"Yes, sir," Zeus replied, it’s tone compliant.

As Han Xin finished assembling his plasma rifle, the Stellar Viper, a sleek stealth aircraft, hovered silently above the desolate warehouse in the lower city. The atmosphere was tense, filled with anticipation.

"Are you ready?" Han Zhan asked, gripping his plasma gun tightly.

"Ready," Han Xin confirmed, pulling down his black mask, his mind focused.

***

A soft breeze whispered through the dilapidated warehouse, stirring up debris in the contaminated zone of the lower city. The air was thick with the scent of decay, and wisps of green smoke curled upward, twisting and turning as if trying to escape.

Suddenly, seven men clad in tight black gear fell from the sky, their descent silent and precise. Plasma guns hung heavy in their hands, ready for action.

Without a word, they moved as one, splitting into three groups with an unspoken understanding. The shadows swallowed them as they slipped into the smoke, their movements fluid and practised.

The warehouse was still for a moment, but soon, barely audible groans pierced the silence, followed by the soft thud of bodies hitting the ground. The guards, unaware of their fate, fell one by one, silenced before they could call for help.

From the far corner of the warehouse, a ragged young man stumbled into view. His colourful shirt, stained and torn, looked like a rainbow had thrown up on it. A plasma gun hung loosely from his shoulder, and he swayed unsteadily.

As he leaned over to relieve himself, a figure emerged from the shadows. The masked figure moved swiftly, and in one fluid motion, snapped the young man’s neck. The body fell, lifeless, with a dull thud, landing in a heap on the cold concrete floor. The figure made no effort to catch it.

Those fierce, alluring eyes belonged to Han Xin. He stepped forward, his presence commanding and ominous. With a swift kick, he sent the young man’s body rolling into a nearby pile of trash, as if it were nothing more than refuse.

The mask on Han Xin’s face concealed his features, but his piercing gaze was clear as he looked through the scope of his plasma rifle. He took a moment to survey the scene, his gaze sweeping over the warehouse his breathing steady and exuding calm and collected focus.

The atmosphere was tense, thick with anticipation. Suddenly, the sharp crack of gunfire shattered the stillness. Han Xin’s finger squeezed the trigger with precision, and one by one, he took down the guards patrolling the perimeter.

The sound of bullets echoed through the air, a violent symphony that sent waves of chaos rippling across the warehouse. Screams erupted as employees scrambled for cover, their panic palpable

With each shot fired, Han Xin felt a surge of adrenaline. The guards fell, one after another, their bodies crumpling to the ground in silence. The once-busy warehouse descended into chaos, the only sounds now were the panicked cries of those trying to escape the onslaught.

As the last of the hostiles dropped, Han Zhan and the other men moved in to round up the survivors. They worked swiftly, corralling the frightened employees into a corner of the factory. Han Xin continued to scan the area, his rifle ready, vigilant for any remaining threats

But amid the confusion, one of the hostiles, cleverly disguised as an employee, saw an opportunity. He lunged for a plasma grenade at a nearby workstation, his intentions clear. He aimed to throw it into the neatly packed crates of grenades ready for shipping, to obliterate everything in a fiery explosion

Han Xin’s instincts kicked in. He sneered beneath his mask, knowing he couldn’t let that happen. In a fluid motion, he pulled the trigger again. The shot rang out, and the man fell, lifeless, blood pooling beneath him. The grenade slipped from his hand, rolling harmlessly away

The employees gasped, terror, etched on their faces as they witnessed the scene unfold. Han Zhan stepped forward, his movements steady and deliberate. He approached the fallen man, his boots crunching against the debris, and leaned down to retrieve the small grenade that now glowed with a luminous blue light

He held it up, examining it in the dim light. A smile crept onto his face as he toyed with the grenade in his hand, the weight of it feeling almost playful. "Well," he mused, glancing at the gathered employees, "this could have been quite the disaster."

Han Xin lowered his rifle, the tension in his body easing slightly as he watched Han Zhan’s casual demeanour. He couldn’t help but marvel at his cousin’s inability to take anything seriously.