Give Me Another Hundred Million and I'll Tell You

Once he got closer and confirmed Xia Yu wasn't dead, the Mandarin wanted to question him, but Xia Yu had left far too deep an impression on him earlier. When he got within about ten meters, he didn't dare get any closer, afraid another Gatling might suddenly go rat-a-tat-tat. That had been far too sudden.

The Mandarin badly wanted to kill Xia Yu, and he still hadn't vented his anger. But he truly wanted the various methods Xia Yu possessed. Powerful as the Ten Rings were, the Mandarin had plenty of enemies in Asia, and his ten rings weren't invincible. So, angry as he was, he truly coveted Xia Yu's various methods.

This kid didn't seem easy to deal with, and not a single word out of his mouth was true. The Mandarin was torn. He couldn't bear to kill him, but if he wanted to take him back and torture him, he didn't dare get close. For a while, he just stared at Xia Yu in silence.

Xia Yu's injuries improved a little with every passing minute. If the Mandarin wasn't in a hurry, he was even less so. He just stared back without speaking, while secretly circulating his Internal Energy harder to heal himself.

And so a bizarre scene unfolded. Beside a dilapidated, abandoned village on the edge of the desert, a young man in black armor lay at the foot of a small hill, his head toward the village and his feet against a sand dune. Every now and then, a small stream of blood spurted from his mouth. About ten meters away stood a strange figure shrouded from head to toe in black robes. Neither spoke; they just stared each other down.

"Pfft." Xia Yu opened his mouth and spat out another mouthful of blood.

The Mandarin had watched Xia Yu spit out four or five mouthfuls of blood by now. He said, "You're badly hurt. If you don't want to die, answer my questions honestly. Not only will I spare you, I'll also find someone to treat you and save your life."

The Mandarin didn't know that this was congealed blood Xia Yu was expelling as he repaired his internal organs. Although the Mandarin had practiced some martial arts in a mysterious place, the so-called qi of martial arts in the Marvel Universe wasn't the same thing as Xia Yu's Internal Energy. The Mandarin would never have imagined that Xia Yu was healing himself. He thought Xia Yu was so badly injured that he didn't have long to live.

"What's your name?" The Mandarin asked.

"Nangong Feiyun," Xia Yu said without missing a beat.

"Wasn't it Ximen Chuixue?" The Mandarin felt his temper rising again.

"Oh, I lied to you before. Now my life is in your hands, so of course I'm telling you the truth," Xia Yu said with great sincerity.

The Mandarin made no comment and asked again, "Tell me, where did that sword of yours go? And what was with that Gatling that suddenly appeared in your hands?"

"Actually, I've got a big pocket behind my butt. The sword's in the pocket, and I pulled the Gatling out of it too. I was just so fast you didn't notice," Xia Yu said, making it up as he went.

"Bullshit! Do you take me for a blind man? Where's the pocket behind your butt?" The Mandarin was going crazy. He was wearing armor! Where was the pocket? Where was it?

"I told you, but you don't believe me. Why don't you come over and see for yourself? I'm not lying to you." Xia Yu beckoned to the Mandarin. Come on, come on!

Furious, the Mandarin waved his hand, setting off a fiery explosion beside Xia Yu, and shouted, "Don't think I can't kill you! Keep spouting nonsense, and see if I don't chop you to pieces while you're still alive!"

"I believe you, I believe you, I believe you. Don't go straight to killing every time. You just want to know where I get my stuff, right? I'll tell you the truth. Watch." As Xia Yu spoke, he plunged his right hand into the sand and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He took one out, lit it, and continued, "I actually fished them all out of the sand. The desert has everything. Want to try?"

The Mandarin's heart had skipped a beat when Xia Yu pulled out the cigarettes, afraid he might produce another weapon. It wasn't until Xia Yu finished speaking that he reacted. Forcing down his anger, he said in a deep voice, "Nangong Feiyun, I'm giving you one last chance. I don't have much patience left. See this ring on my right thumb? It has a little function: it can shoot poison that'll leave you unable to live or die. When the poison takes effect, you'll itch unbearably, and your whole body will fester and ooze pus. Want to try it?"

At the words "itch unbearably" and "your whole body will fester and ooze pus," a flicker of delight flashed through Xia Yu's eyes. He said to the Mandarin, "If I tell you everything, will you really let me go?" Xia Yu was stalling for time while he communicated with the system.

"Of course. I keep my word," The Mandarin said.

"I have one more small request," Xia Yu said.

"Go ahead." The Mandarin waved a hand, indicating he didn't mind.

"Well, could you transfer me another hundred million? Hahahahaha!" As soon as Xia Yu finished, he couldn't help bursting into laughter himself.

"How dare you play me!" The Mandarin was so furious that smoke practically poured from his ears. He fired a poison beam straight at Xia Yu, a minor skill of the ring on his right thumb.

It hit instantly. Xia Yu immediately began trembling all over, clenching his teeth and letting out a low roar. His face twisted beyond recognition, and a black fluid slowly began seeping from his body.

This was actually a little different from what happened when the Mandarin had used the skill before. Other people's skin had festered immediately. But the doubt lasted only a moment. For one thing, the Mandarin had absolute confidence in his ring. For another, anyone could see that Xia Yu was in extreme pain: the veins in his neck were bulging and ready to burst. As for why his skin hadn't festered immediately, perhaps it was because of his body, or the energy within it.

"Aah!~!~!~!~!" Xia Yu let out an indistinct cry, drool hanging from the corner of his mouth. He really was in pain. He had earned thirty thousand Points for completing the mission and was now loading the fourth, fifth, and sixth levels of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill. He had just asked the system and learned two very important things. First, the Nine Yang Divine Skill's immunity to all poisons worked here too. Second, loading the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill to strengthen his body also repaired it, healing his injuries in the process. Loading the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill meant pulverizing and rebuilding every muscle and bone in his body multiple times in a short period. Xia Yu really was in pain. With such a drastic improvement to his body, impurities and bloody fluid naturally flowed from his pores.

"Aah!!" Another heartrending scream rang out. Blood even flowed from Xia Yu's eyes, making him look utterly terrifying in broad daylight. He clenched his teeth and trembled, seemingly using all his strength to say, "Kill me. I... I can't... can't take it. I'll tell... tell you the truth." Xia Yu convulsed again.

The Mandarin grew anxious. He knew how much pain the poison caused; everyone who had been hit by it had begged for death. So Xia Yu's reaction was only to be expected. He hurriedly said, "Tell me what? Quick, say it. Once you do, I'll end your suffering."

After great effort, Xia Yu managed to open his mouth. "It's... it. It's this... this trea... treasure." As he spoke, an antique-looking jade pendant appeared in his right hand. He clenched his teeth and raised it with a trembling hand.

The Mandarin had obtained the Ten Rings by a stroke of luck, so he found such things easier to believe in than most. And with Xia Yu looking the way he did, the Mandarin couldn't take his eyes off the jade pendant once Xia Yu produced it. He firmly believed that such a divine artifact must have more functions, and that Xia Yu might not have discovered them all. That was what his years of experience using the rings told him.

His eyes followed the jade pendant in Xia Yu's right hand. Xia Yu threw it with all his might, but it still landed a little way in front of the Mandarin. The Mandarin hurried forward and bent down to pick it up.

Another large case appeared in Xia Yu's right hand, and he hurled it hard at the Mandarin. The instant he threw it, a riot shield appeared out of thin air in his right hand, and an AK appeared in his left.

On this trip to Afghanistan, Xia Yu had made a connecting flight in Huaxia, mainly to buy some Huaxian food and the like, which he kept in his ring for use in Afghanistan. He had bought the jade pendant at the airport in Huaxia. He had taken the riot shield from a drug dealer's trunk while on a mission in New York. As for why the drug dealer had a riot shield, go watch Lucy. Don't ask me. He had stored the case when he rescued Tony; it contained three small missiles. The AK needed no explanation.

Click pause for a moment so everyone could get a clearer look. Xia Yu sat on the ground, the riot shield in his right hand covering his entire body and the AK in his left aimed straight ahead. The abandoned village was in the background. Yellow sand filled the air, and the blazing sun hung overhead.

The Mandarin had just bent down and picked up the jade pendant, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. Hearing something rushing through the air, he looked up and saw a dark shape flying toward him. His eyes were wide with surprise, but if he hadn't been wearing a mask, we could have seen that the smile at the corner of his mouth hadn't yet faded.

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Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!