Lord of War

Lord of War

He was that kind of person.

Unlike the previous name, Tang Xiao was not afraid of him. If anything, he was looking forward to seeing what this man's arrival might bring to the Fourth Civilization.

But the appearance of this name made Tang Xiao smile bitterly.

Because according to his former worldview and values, he would never have approved of such a person. Yet now, standing from the perspective of the Fourth Civilization's administrator, he had no choice but to rely on this man's strength.

That was right. Even he himself was gradually straying further and further down the path of darkness.

Perhaps this was only the beginning.

After returning to the mothership, Tang Xiao went to his office and sat down. He instructed the Mainframe to bring him a steaming pot of coffee and two cups, setting them on the desk as he waited for the man's arrival.

A moment later, there was a polite knock on the door. After Tang Xiao told him to enter, the door opened, and a man in his thirties walked in.

He was dressed impeccably in a black suit and dark red tie. His hairline was slightly high, revealing a broad forehead, but his hair was combed perfectly neat. The moment he entered the room, his melancholy eyes, set deep in their sockets, remained fixed on Tang Xiao.

Tang Xiao smiled at the man before him—Yuri Orlov, the Lord of War.

"Hello, Administrator." Yuri revealed a humble smile. He approached with great deference, clasped Tang Xiao's hand in both of his, and slipped him a business card. "My name is Yuri Orlov, an ordinary businessman."

Tang Xiao looked at the extra business card in his hand. It bore Yuri Orlov's name, along with a phone number that perhaps could not be reached at all now.

"I looked over what you wanted. Weapons, markets, and demand. Three words—simple and clear, aren't they?" Tang Xiao said.

"Very simple, but also very difficult. Still, I like this place, you know. A huge market, urgent demand. If one day everyone in this Milky Way Galaxy had a Kalashnikov in hand... oh, that would be wonderful." Yuri sat directly on the sofa opposite Tang Xiao and smiled.

"Why did you choose to deal in weapons instead of... well, you know, things like tobacco or cars?" Tang Xiao asked.

"Well, where there is demand, there is business. People always need to eat, so some people deal in food. But do you know? People are always fighting. Looking across our entire history, there has never been a single day of complete peace. Even our Fourth Civilization went through three wars against natural disasters before arriving here, didn't it? So people's demand for war is even greater than their demand for food." Yuri spread his hands.

"Then in that case..." Tang Xiao gestured. The T-850 standing nearby brought over a brand-new Type 21 assault rifle and placed it on the table, then tossed over a manual.

Tang Xiao pointed at the items. "Can you sell me this gun?"

Yuri said nothing. He merely picked up the rifle and handled it with practiced ease. "A fine gun. 5.56-millimeter caliber, gas-operated automatic mechanism, rotating bolt lock, aperture rear sight. There's no magazine, but judging from its length, a standard thirty-round magazine would be the best choice."

With a click, he pulled the bolt and assumed a firing stance, aiming at the T-850. Then he suddenly laughed, casually flung the assault rifle back to the T-850, tore the manual in half, and threw it into the trash.

"However, we don't need these things," Yuri said with a smile. "You don't care how good this gun is, how accurate it is, or how durable it is. All you care about is how many people use this gun, and... how many people die beneath its bullets. And most importantly..."

"Go on."

"If you can buy this gun, I'll help you arm an army." Yuri abruptly changed the subject and spoke bluntly.

"What does that have to do with this gun?"

"Because..." Yuri laughed speechlessly. Leaning closer to Tang Xiao, he said through laughter, "Heh heh heh... because you really... really need an army. Hahahaha."

After saying that, he leaned back into the sofa and could not help laughing loudly. It was impossible to tell whether he was laughing at Tang Xiao or at himself.

"War, war never changes," Tang Xiao suddenly said, struck by inspiration.

"War, war never changes..." Yuri repeated it, then shook his head with a smile. "I like that saying. You'll be a good administrator—at least the kind I like. So, what do you want me to bring you?"

The smile on Tang Xiao's face suddenly turned somewhat sinister. "I want every single thing in this Milky Way Galaxy that can kill people. Then I will use those things to establish a living space for our Fourth Civilization."

"Oh~~~ Then you'll need plenty more, plenty more bullets to go with them." Yuri understood immediately.

"I hope we have a pleasant partnership." This time, Tang Xiao took the initiative and extended his hand.

Yuri still clasped Tang Xiao's hand with both of his in great humility. "A pleasant partnership, Administrator. Oh, right, I have a younger brother, Vitaly Orlov. I always work with him. I hope you can awaken him as well. He won't refuse. What was that saying again? Brothers in arms."

"I'll enroll both of you in an accelerated Galactic Standard course. The two brothers together." Tang Xiao's smile grew increasingly wicked.

"Fine, fuck studying, but who turns down money? So, classes—ah, very good, hahahaha. Then I'll take my leave, Administrator." Yuri spread his arms and laughed at Tang Xiao for a while before turning and leaving the office.

Tang Xiao watched his retreating back and gave a bitter smile. "It seems I've brought another dangerous person into this galaxy." He picked up the coffee pot, poured himself a cup of lukewarm coffee, and drained it in one gulp.

Then he opened the list of people available for awakening. Sure enough, among the Legendary figures, Vitaly Orlov's name had appeared. Seeing that name seemed to bring him some understanding. Vitaly Orlov's abilities were clearly not worthy of the word Legendary, yet he had still appeared here. That could only mean one thing—

Legendary figures were all characters from film, television, and games. Perhaps some of them were less capable than Master Class figures, or even Elite Class figures, but as long as they came from film, television, or games, they were Legendary Class.

If that was the case, then what were the next two ranks? Tang Xiao looked at the two question marks after them, countless guesses rising in his mind.

Note 1: At last—the movie Xiao Jing loves most, without exception.

Illustrations 1 and 2 in the bonus chapter: Yuri Orlov, the protagonist of "Lord of War," played by Nicolas Cage.