Xyrin Empire
Chapter 324 - Chapter 324 Chapter 324 Prelude to the Storm

Chapter 324: Chapter 324 Prelude to the Storm Chapter 324: Chapter 324 Prelude to the Storm Xyrin told me that the meeting place this time wasn’t the usual Superpower Team contact point located 300 meters underground but an obscure little restaurant on the other side of the city. Judging from her tone when she called me, I deduced that if I couldn’t show up in front of this impatient Miss within an hour, I would probably face a dire tragedy, the likes of which would make Hannibal Lecter pale–apparently, the girl had recently become addicted to torturing prototypes.

Of course, if that were the only pressure, it wouldn’t be enough to motivate me much. Xyrin has a nasty temperament, true, but she knows her limits. The key thing was the sentence she dropped just before hanging up: “Olympus has appeared.”

Under such a pressing incentive, I raced across half the city with Dingdang, our team medic and pet, in a journey of seven trillion miles, narrowly beating traffic lights and taking shortcuts past semi-trailers. The number of heads we turned on the way must have exceeded that of a couple of sleazy fat men streaking along the second ring road–you’ve all seen cars that can speed on highways, but a clunky little car covered in duct tape and with a trunk that never seemed to close speeding ahead was straight out of a horror movie.

Pfft, if it weren’t for the six-pack Proton Impact Cannon that Pandora jammed in the already full trunk, it would still close!

Anyway, when we came to a screeching halt in front of a certain tiny dumpling shop, I felt like I had regained the feeling of fluttering in the breeze on the shoulder of Little Loli Pandora. That’s when Dingdang suddenly poked its head out of my collar and said something that almost killed me: “Ah Jun, why didn’t we use the jump engine in the car? Pandora said it’s really fast…”

I wanted to stuff this after-the-fact little thing into my pocket–and then button it up!

Following the description over the phone, we easily found Xyrin tucked away in a corner of the dumpling shop–does this count as a special sense between arch-enemies?

“Why are we meeting here today?” I sat down across from Xyrin and looked around. “Is this also one of your contact points?”

I surveyed the surroundings. It was the slow time for restaurants, and there weren’t many customers in the small shop, except for a table diagonally across from us with two people dressed as waiters, seemingly chatting away on their break. It looked like an ordinary dumpling restaurant, but I knew the Superpower Team were a bunch of nerds… mysterious folks. Their contact points and underground bases were scattered across every corner of Earth like rat holes, including under a nearly bankrupt KTV’s drains and smack dab in the center of the Sahara Desert. So, if you told me this unremarkable dumpling joint was a Superpower Team contact point, I’d totally believe it–see those two chatty guys? If I fired a shot here, they would probably whip out a couple submachine guns from their pockets in a flash, and a whole flock of pigeons would erupt from the kitchen. The two waiters and I would perform an aerial ballet amidst flying bullets and feathers, elegantly drifting away in slow motion–yes, I digress.

While perusing the menu, Xyrin answered without looking up, “Because the dumplings here are delicious.”

My inner Wu Yuxin shattered to pieces.

“Did you come just to eat?”

“Obviously, I just got back from a mission and missed two meals–hey, want three-flavored dumplings? Rarely do I show concern for you, so cherish it and pay your respects by bumping fists.”

I sat there with a mournful expression and said, “What about the intel you mentioned?”

“Eat first then we’ll talk.”

I should never associate Xyrin with reliability!

But the location of the meet-up didn’t matter. Xyrin and I could easily handle the exchange of information through our spiritual connection, with no worry of it leaking–though people who were unaware might find our varying expressions while eating the dumplings mysterious, as if our food had been prepared by the culinary wizard from China.

“Little Baobao and Vega caught that woman called Medusa,” I carefully used my body to block any potential lines of sight from the back (although presently there were only us customers in the entire shop) and fed a dumpling to Dingdang, who was peeking out from my collar, while telling Lin Xue about our gains, “We’ve figured out Olympus’s purpose.”

Lin Xue, gracefully having her meal, spoke through our spiritual connection, “Hmm? What exactly are they trying to do?”

“They want to become gods.”

“Pfft!”

Lin Xue ended up spraying the dumpling that she had just put into her mouth; then I saw the crystal-clear three-fresh-filling dumpling flying toward my chest in a beautiful parabola. But then another dumpling appeared out of nowhere from below my line of sight, like a Patriot missile, knocking the oncoming ‘hidden weapon’ midair. The two dumplings embraced passionately in the air, collided with a smack, and entangled on the tabletop in a tragic romance–it was Dingdang, the little one who was wriggling around at my collar. She had just thrown the half-eaten dumpling she had as a weapon to meet the enemy.

What a… painful scene, it would scare people half to death if outsiders saw it.

A man who uses his Adam’s apple to launch dumplings… Forget it, let’s not think about this issue anymore, too painful.

“What did you say?” Lin Xue looked dumbfounded with me at the two dumplings lying on the table and then slowly asked.

Immediately, I detailed to Lin Xue the intelligence we got from Medusa, including how the enemy had taken control of a Xyrin Mother Nest and started to use its power to massively ‘cultivate’ artificial superpower users. Lin Xue, silently listening until I finished, began to poke the table with her toothpick repeatedly, “What a troublesome situation… Wood, do you think it’s possible–I’m saying just possibly–for them to create Xyrin weapons?”

“Absolutely impossible. Those Xyrin relics are antiques from hundreds of thousands of years ago. Even if they are well preserved, they no longer have energy. Olympus definitely can’t master Ghost Energy Technology; they can only learn some surface-level Xyrin Technology from those antiques.”

“Even surface-level technology is dangerous,” Lin Xue suddenly put on a serious expression–an expression I had never seen on this carefree girl’s face before. In my memory, this crazy girl who always quarreled illogically with me had never shown such a worry for the nation and its people, “For a Xyrin Apostle like Sandora, the Xyrin Technology Olympus researched is a complete joke, posing no threat. However, to the human world, this threat is comparable to Hitler having nuclear weapons. With just a small action, the Olympus madmen could cause an astonishing number of deaths, and fanatics brainwashed by religion are most thrilled to execute heretics.”

Of course, I understood this principle. To a god, it makes no difference whether primitive people use stone tools or bronze tools, but for primitive people, if an opposing tribe masters the technology of smelting bronze first, it is a disaster that leads to annihilation. A Xyrin Apostle might not take Olympus seriously, but we cannot ignore the threat they might pose to the mortal world.

I have to admit, having been with a group of superhumans for so long, I’ve developed a severely misguided understanding of the world’s power structure; I even considered Olympus quite weak and neglected the fact that ordinary people around me are infinitely more vulnerable than Olympus…

“Actually, Olympus has already made a move.”

Lin Xue sighed, revealing a shocking fact.

“Just seven days ago, Olympus, who usually keeps a low profile, suddenly resurged and threatened a mid-sized organization in the Dark World with some renown, demanding they hand over their prized relic. Of course, the organization did not comply–and the next day they were utterly destroyed by Olympus, with only one survivor escaping into Chinese territory. That’s how we received the news. Then, Olympus used similar methods to eliminate several resistant opponents and declared that a new era is about to begin… They’ve now become a dangerous force suddenly rising in the Dark World. Many small organizations have already banded together, ready to fight against the tyranny of Olympus, but they’re collapsing like flies sprayed with insecticide, while other major organizations have chosen to be silent at this time… It’s like they’ve been bought off or threatened by Olympus…”

Why haven’t I received any similar messages?

In the blink of an eye, I figured out the reason: the commands I had given to the Xyrin Agents were to gather all information related to Olympus and report any that could pose a threat to us–obviously, even if Olympus planned to destroy the world, it wouldn’t be considered a threat to us. I didn’t see that coming, I’m such a failure.

Massacres… I had only seen them on TV before, and suddenly, there was one right in front of me.

As for why that organization was wiped out, I didn’t need to ask to guess: it was probably due to some non-flammable trash discarded haphazardly by the Xyrin ancestors tens of thousands of years ago, which Olympus must have deemed precious.

“Combining the information you’ve given me, Olympus went silent for a month before suddenly making a high-profile comeback,” Lin Xue stabbed a toothpick into the table with a puff, her expression showing impatience, “there’s only one explanation–they’ve made a breakthrough.”

A breakthrough–does that mean they can now create Superpower Users as mighty as the gods from ancient myths?

I still remember what Mr. Lin told me: according to the Superpower Team’s research, all modern Superpower Users share a common genetic origin, which comes from the “gods” of the ancient civilizations. I can now be sure that, tens of thousands of years ago, several Xyrin Apostles descended on this planet. And it was their appearance that led to the emergence of Superpower Users. If I were told that Olympus had found a way to restore the “gods” by studying the Xyrin Relics, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.

But there’s something I really don’t understand: do those Xyrin Relics, abandoned hundreds of thousands of years ago, still possess that kind of energy?

“Lin Xue, could you do me a favor?”

Lin Xue immediately shot me a wary look: “What is it? I’m okay with crossing moral lines, but don’t ask me for money!”

Suppressing the urge to throw this girl out the window, I gritted my teeth and said, “Just help me spread a message–the wider the better!”

Lin Xue eyed me strangely: “You looking to place a personal ad? Have Qianqian and Sandora finally decided to dump you?”

“…Can’t you think of something normal for once!”

But as much as she joked around, I was confident in Lin Xue’s work. Thanks to the sophisticated information network of the Superpower Team, it took only three days for a series of both genuine and fabricated reports to circulate in the dark world: a mysterious organization within the borders of China called Boundless Love had discovered an ancient relic in the Taklamakan Desert…

What’s in the relic, do I even need to say?

I have to admit, experts are experts. The Superpower Team’s operatives are obviously countless times more professional than those rigid Xyrin Agents when it comes to fabricating… spreading information. A story that was full of holes and unbelievable when I spoke of it was transformed by these deceiving Spies into something elusive and enigmatic, half-revealed yet convincingly serious; despite being a leak from us, outsiders would swear it was an accidental spill of insider information, carrying a scent of authenticity. Of course, just that wouldn’t be enough to hook Olympus. What really did the trick was that there indeed were Xyrin Relics beneath Taklamakan. You all must remember our first venture there, lured by Lin Xue, right? Yes, the Underground Palace buried under the sand. Back then, we inadvertently activated one of the defense systems inside. Given Olympus’s capabilities, they must be aware of those relics, but since the Superpower Team didn’t spot any of Olympus’s people near the relic, it indicates they’re not very clear on the location of the palace. That made our fake news all the more credible; honestly, even I almost started to believe there might really be a Xyrin Relic under Taklamakan that we were unaware of…

As for whether Olympus would actually be lured in, I wasn’t worried at all. After all, this wasn’t our only tactic. As Olympus gradually came into the open, the opportunities to act were simply too many…

A few days quickly passed, and there was still no movement at the Olympus end. However, the information fed back from Lin Xue was very promising, meaning they were gradually taking the bait. It wouldn’t be long before Pandora and Visca had a battle on their hands, sparing those two brats from creating chaos in the living room all day long…

But compared to those incomprehensible power struggles, it’s the tangible gains that really cheer us up: Medusa has finally opened her mouth.

After the collapse of her mental pillar, Lilina, the expert in manipulation, managed to brainwash Medusa once again and extracted quite some useful information from her, such as the locations of some Olympus sub-bases…

Although Medusa’s level didn’t reveal the whereabouts of their Mother Nest, just these few sub-bases were enough to surprise us, especially since Pandora and Visca had already started discussing how to divide the spoils…

Time passed with a mixture of tension and excitement, and then, Lin Xue suddenly brought us a huge piece of good news–well, at least I thought it was good news: Olympus had finally made their move on the relic.

Ever since Olympus surfaced and thunderously destroyed a mid-sized organization, they’ve become the focus of the Dark World’s attention. All the forces that shunned the light now knew there existed such a mysterious and powerful organization with extreme interest in certain “Ancient Relics,” and with the emergent organization “Boundless Love” finding a mystic site in the Taklamakan, countless eyes were drawn to China’s mysterious land. Although the smaller organizations dared not confront Olympus, the old-timers lacked understanding and regard for this mysterious power. However, whether large or small, they were definitely keeping an eye on that desolate and barren wasteland. Olympus’s sudden move was blatantly overt; they just swaggered right into the trap we had prepared, and then…

They found a hole in the ground with a sign that read “Welcome”…

And a bunch of men in black suits roasting lamb skewers in the hole, led by a big man dressed like a Men in Black agent…

Those Olympus vanguards just threw down a couple of harsh words before they were collectively subdued and had their arms broken. Then, together with a hundred sets of Island Country’s Animal World DVDs, they were packed up and shipped back to their homeland.

Now, back to our hideout–eh, let’s not worry about the details.

“Boss, I really took a loss on that trip,” Sicaro complained to me as soon as he returned, covered in sand from the Taklamakan, “I thought Olympus was so formidable. I brought all seasoned elite soldiers, but they turned out to be no better than fresh recruits, not even up to par with the city management team…”

In the eyes of this Imperial Officer, the strongest force of humanity was the city management team, which instantaneously solidified my resolve to banish this guy to roast lamb skewers in the Taklamakan forever.

“What’s the point of doing this?” Sandora seemed a bit unclear about my plan, “Although we sent a few of Olympus’s pawns running, it won’t hurt the roots of such a large organization. Compared to the previous trouble the Superpower Team went through, the gain is really not substantial.”

“I never intended to topple Olympus with such petty skirmishes,” I said, ruffling Sandora’s golden hair, “You don’t understand human psychology well enough. What’s Olympus’s biggest trait? Arrogance, conceit, and previously, they never imagined that there was a force in the world capable of thoroughly crushing them. So, the moment they showed up, they arrogantly offended all of humanity. Now, what do you think those guys who always believed they were the best in the world will think if suddenly a more powerful organization emerges and continuously beats them to a pulp in head-on clashes?”

Sandora showed total incomprehension–the idea of such a scenario had never even crossed the Xyrin Apostle’s mind. Their worldview was binary: conquer or die. There was no room for deviation…

“They’ll have two reactions,” I continued, waving a finger in front of the curious baby Sandora, “First, they’ll be scared and then shrink back, no longer showing themselves and give up on their unrealistic fantasies, or they’ll go back into hiding to wait for a chance to strike back. However, now Olympus has started to go public, and they’ve made such an arrogant stance against everyone from the get-go. In other words, the moment they showed their faces, they lost any chance for retreat. If they show the slightest sign of hesitation, the entire world will vigorously gang up on these dangerous and powerful anti-human offenders. The second reaction would be to reveal their trump cards prematurely; since they’re already targeted by all of humanity, they might as well go all in. And I reckon, the fanatics brainwashed by religion are usually not very rational. There’s a high chance they’ll do this, so my current actions are quite simple–to establish authority, create the image of an even stronger and more mysterious organization, forcing Olympus to come out and face us.”

This was an easily conceivable situation. Let’s make an analogy: You cultivate unmatched martial arts skills and then get a power boost from some white-bearded hermit under a cliff, filling you with sixty years’ worth of inner strength, ready to unleash. So you arrogantly go to your neighbor Zhao Dazhuang’s yard, kick open the gate to avenge the humiliation of a toy being snatched away when you were six years old. After barging in and hurling insults, you suddenly find that you’re faced with an entire platoon of Ultramans…

At this point, you have two choices: turn tail and run, but since you’ve already kicked in their door, exposing yourself, you’re sure to be beaten into a pitiful little monster by Ultraman. The other option is to go all out in a desperate fight–to die a martyr, if need be. Of course, in the end, you still end up a pitiful little monster…

Olympus will definitely choose the latter because their situation is slightly better. At least with the second option, they think there’s a good chance to win (or so they think). If they pick the first option, they’re done for. (To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please visit www.NovelFire.net. More chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)

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