Chapter Twelve: A Commission from London

"Clang," "clang," the two-ton barbell was repeatedly lifted and lowered by Gu Xiechen, who was lying on his back.

Without using his Innate Qi, Gu Xiechen was purely training his physical strength. Muscles bulged and contracted continuously, faint blue veins pulsed beneath his skin, and sweat gathered on his skin like streams, eventually sliding down Gu Xiechen's smooth skin to the dust.

"Nine hundred ninety-nine... one thousand..."

After pushing the barbell up one thousand times, Gu Xiechen placed it on the rack of the fitness equipment and slowly straightened his upper body, swinging his warmed arms.

"Still a bit off. What's wrong? How can I awaken the 'Realm' I obtained?"

He angrily threw a light jab forward, and the air in front of his fist made a crisp "snap" sound, a hazy white energy barrier flashing and disappearing in front of his fist.

Since merging with the crystal ball of that Cristo Crystal Person, Gu Xiechen's physical condition had greatly improved. Now he could easily throw supersonic punches, something he couldn't do even when using his Innate Qi before. However, the improvement in his body didn't make Gu Xiechen happy for long; new problems continuously plagued his mind.

He had successfully merged the crystal ball and felt a mysterious change in an elusive place within his body, but Gu Xiechen couldn't unleash the power of the 'Realm' produced by the fusion, nor could he possess the strength a true 'Realm Master' should have. It was so close, yet as elusive as Kyōka Suigetsu, making Gu Xiechen's frustration understandable.

"According to the Gu Group's top-secret intelligence, the Federation's most famous Realm Master, the 'Thunder Emperor,' awakened his 'Thunder Domain' after merging with a yellow crystal ball and being struck by lightning in a hurricane."

"The Federation's most destructive entity, the 'Fire God,' merged with a green crystal ball. Later, his car was attacked, and his body was half-burned by magnesium-aluminum incendiary bombs, which then awakened his 'Fire Domain.'"

"As for the Federation's biggest joke, the 'King of Food,' he merged with a rare cyan crystal ball, but he awakened his 'Kitchen Domain' while cooking French lamb chops for his lover. The poor man lost all his combat power afterward but invested in and operated the Federation's top chain restaurant. Heh, what a twist of fate!"

Scratching his scalp in distress, Gu Xiechen muttered to himself, "Do I have to try all the methods? Hmm, should I touch high-voltage wires every day, use gasoline*, or commit suicide by poison? Ugh, God, whichever God it is, if I happen to awaken my Realm while touching some forbidden item..."

Large goosebumps erupted all over Gu Xiechen's body. He suddenly remembered that seven days ago, he was tricked by the beautiful physician Maria into being injected with a large dose of aphrodisiac. Fortunately, he used his supreme profound technique to slowly neutralize the medicinal properties, but he still suffered greatly. If he had awakened his 'Realm' at that time, what kind of superpower would he have possessed? The 'Love Domain' that causes all nearby creatures to go into heat once activated?

"Damn it! Why is the Cristo Crystal Person's crystal ball so hard to grasp?"

Gu Xiechen's eyebrows were twisted into a knot when the gym door was kicked open. Maha, radiating killing intent, strode into the gym. He licked his lips and grinned at Gu Xiechen, "Evil Dragon, Bearded Uncle wants you in his office! Heh, hehe, there's an easy job for you. High pay, low risk. Damn it, you get all the good stuff!"

"Good stuff?" Gu Xiechen rolled his eyes and glared at Maha. He sneered, "Don't you know Bearded Uncle's attitude towards me now?"

Lazily getting up, Gu Xiechen ambled towards the Bearded Commander's office.

Maha looked at Gu Xiechen with pity, shrugged, and chuckled dryly, "The great, all-knowing Buddha will bless you! Uh, if you owe Bearded Uncle a debt, you can't escape even if you run off Earth. Poor Evil Dragon, just keep paying your debt. Uncle will let you go once you've earned him ten Level 1 warships!"

"Screw you!" Gu Xiechen flipped Maha off. If he hadn't wanted to borrow the power of the Hell Angels Mercenary Group, Gu Xiechen would have really wanted to break down the door and leave. The Bearded Commander had attributed half the value of that black Cristo Crystal Person to the mercenary group. This meant Gu Xiechen now owed the mercenary group half a black Cristo crystal ball! This was a huge sum of money! Even draining Gu Xiechen dry now wouldn't be enough to repay it.

"Life is indeed full of troubles!"

Standing at the door of the Bearded Commander's office, Gu Xiechen muttered, then punched the doorbell forcefully.

The automatic door to the office immediately opened, and the Bearded Commander's hearty laughter rang out: "Evil Dragon? Come in quickly, I have a good job for you."

Striding into the office, Gu Xiechen gave the Bearded Commander a less-than-standard military salute and stood solemnly before his desk, saying, "What's the mission?"

The Bearded Commander spat out a piece of tea leaf from his mouth, grabbed a document in front of him, and tossed it to Gu Xiechen.

"A descendant of an old family in London has recently encountered some minor business problems. His investments have repeatedly failed, and he's experiencing some cash flow issues. Hmm, according to our information, his relationship with several major federal banks isn't very good, and he can't secure any loans. This information has been confirmed. So, he's preparing to auction off some of his family's treasures."

Taking a large gulp of strong tea from the cup in front of him, the Bearded Commander continued, "Of course, this client is a person of status, and he's holding a small, private auction. However, some of the treasures in his family's collection are astonishingly valuable, so he's commissioned our mercenary group to provide full protection for the private auction."

Gu Xiechen flipped through the document in his hand. Yes, the situation was just as the Bearded Commander described. The client's family history could be traced back to the Victorian era in old England, representing the typical aristocratic class who valued face over practicality. The family treasures he was putting up for auction numbered over seventy items, with more than half of the collection being 'national treasure' level rare items. Hiring the Hell Angels Mercenary Group for full security at the auction was clearly necessary.

After a moment of thought, Gu Xiechen looked at the solemn Bearded Commander and frowned, "I sense a strong conspiracy. Either tell me the truth, or I refuse the mission."

"Uh!"

The Bearded Commander clicked his tongue in surprise and immediately confessed, "Alright, you're an Innate-level fighter, so you can generally protect yourself. We've learned that the Sacred Unicorn is planning a retaliatory action against us. I intend to use you to lure them out and then give them a good lesson! And open up the London market at the same time!"

After gulping down some strong tea, the Bearded Commander wiped the moisture from the corner of his mouth and chuckled obsequiously, "You're a new face, people from the Sacred Unicorn won't recognize you, and they won't know the extent of your strength, so their vigilance towards you won't be very high."

Gu Xiechen shrugged and tossed the document back onto the desk, sneering, "So I'll have the chance to play the pig to eat the tiger and help you capture them all, right?"

The Bearded Commander nodded vigorously and smiled, "How does that feel?"

Gu Xiechen briskly rubbed his fingers together: "What's the compensation?"

The Bearded Commander's face darkened. He glared at Gu Xiechen and boomed, "You just made me lose half a crystal ball! And a rare black top-grade one at that!"

"For this crystal ball, the Roman Holsom Family will definitely not let this go! Our mercenary group has not only suffered a huge financial loss but has also made an enemy like the Holsom Family! All of this is for you! And you still have the nerve to ask me about compensation? Huh? Compensation? Compensation? Do you still want compensation?"

Gu Xiechen shook his head helplessly and turned towards the door. As he walked, he shook his head and sighed, "Alright, alright, I'll take this mission."

The Bearded Commander narrowed his eyes, watching Gu Xiechen's back as he lightly tapped the desk, lost in thought.

Seeing Gu Xiechen reach the door, the Bearded Commander suddenly boomed, "Evil Dragon!"

"Hmm?" Gu Xiechen turned his head.

"Zakla Energy Crystal!" the Bearded Commander said in a low voice, "A large amount of Zakla Energy Crystal might allow you to truly complete the fusion."

"Energy, it's all about energy!" the Bearded Commander said earnestly to Gu Xiechen, "Your fusion might not have failed. If there's a large amount of Zakla Energy Crystal, you might be able to become a 'high and mighty' 'Realm Master'! Consider signing a lifelong contract with our mercenary group. I'll give you one cubic meter of Zakla Crystal for you to try absorbing!"

"Uh?" Gu Xiechen's heart stirred slightly. He nodded, "I'll consider it."

The automatic door opened, and Gu Xiechen strode out.

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Comrades, Pig Head had a small tragedy... Yesterday, my phone ran out of battery, and Pig Head's beloved phone could no longer be turned on...

I won't say anything else, but I lost a lot of useful numbers from my SIM card, like the number for bottled water delivery and the number for takeout wontons...

To comfort Pig Head, please give more recommendation tickets, comrades...

Alas, recommendation tickets, recommendation tickets, I offer a large number of recommendation tickets to comfort Pig Head's slightly injured heart (To be continued)