Shaun raised an eyebrow and glanced at Dias. "So confident?"
What made him think he could pull that off?
He was a young Hunter with a B-class gene, born in the Lagging Thirteenth District and never having left his home planet before. What made him so confident? What was he relying on?
Still, Shaun trusted Dias. When it came to leadership, Dias wasn't as capable as the other deputy captains. But when it came to picking people, no one in the entire Sixth Detachment could beat him.
Even the deputy captains who disliked Dias had to admit that although he seemed unreliable most of the time, he had an extraordinary instinct for people. Bifur, Kari, Yudi, and other key talents had all been discovered by Dias. The people he had picked—once ordinary figures who had nearly drowned in the crowd, now gradually displaying their dazzling talents—were proof of his instincts.
If several Hunter groups hadn't staged a mass rebellion a few years ago, Dias wouldn't have been forced to investigate Xilin's background so thoroughly this time.
"That kid isn't simple. He doesn't bluff."
"I hope you're right," Shaun sighed. He was under a lot of pressure, too. After all, this mission was very important to the Sixth Team.
The other five deputy captains had already shown their dissatisfaction. If Xilin failed to perform well, Dias might be dragged down with him. After all, Dias had vouched for Xilin when he recommended him as a main team member for the mission. Otherwise, the deputy captains wouldn't have agreed so easily just because Xilin looked like Aifulan.
On the agreed-upon day, Xilin woke up right on time, as if he'd set an alarm. Shaun didn't have time to ask him much. After Xilin said he felt all right, Shaun took a few people aboard a spaceship and headed to a planet in the R Star Zone, as Aifulan had specified.
Though both were part of the Lagging Thirteenth District, the R Star Zone was somewhat more developed than the X Star Zone. After the spaceship landed at the port, Shaun took only Xilin with him; the others stayed aboard and stood by.
Many merchants liked to use the Lagging Thirteenth District as a place to process raw materials for their goods, since they could obtain large amounts of cheap labor there. Walking down the street, Xilin saw familiar sights like those he'd often seen on Brown Earth Star.
Creatures of different species hurried back and forth. At a shop counter, a Two-headed Daler was eagerly showing a customer the merchandise. They could serve two customers at once, were cute, and came cheap.
It was worth noting that names ending in "person" generally referred to primate species resembling the common human population, with a high degree of evolution. Of course, some species were no worse than humans, but they were uncommon because of their small numbers.
Shaun led Xilin into a hotel more than a hundred stories tall. After they gave the attendant their reserved floor, he respectfully escorted them upstairs. The floors above the hundredth weren't available for just anyone to reserve, and Aifulan had booked five of them at once. That alone spoke volumes about his wealth and status.
Aifulan's people led the two of them to the middle floor of the five. His men were stationed on the two floors above and below, forming a security detail. This showed just how cautious Aifulan was about the matter.
Xilin had come wearing a mask and makeup to disguise himself. At a gesture from Aifulan and Shaun, he removed the mask.
Aifulan examined him carefully, then ran a scan with a device. Only then did he nod with satisfaction.
"Mr. Aifulan, you can trust us. We wouldn't cheat our clients for profit. The Vanguard's reputation speaks for itself," Shaun said, leaning back in his chair.
Aifulan gave no sign of agreement. "But his gene is only B-class."
"As far as I know, the Daongs Family has plenty of B-class offspring," Shaun said. He knew that even the children of powerful families and influential military and political figures often had B-class genes. They could gradually improve and evolve to A-class later, but the resources and money required were beyond the means of ordinary people.
Aifulan frowned. "B-class is too risky. I don't want any extra trouble."
Shaun looked at Xilin, silently asking what he thought.
Xilin wasn't offended. Smiling politely, he asked, "Mr. Aifulan, are the two bodyguards behind you A-Class Genotypes?"
"That's right."
As soon as Aifulan finished speaking, Xilin moved. Even his afterimage was a blur.
Bang!
One of the bodyguards behind Aifulan was sent flying, crashing straight into the wall. The impact caved in the entire reinforced wall. The other bodyguard had a gun in hand, its barrel pressed against Xilin's head.
As expected of someone with an A-class gene. The bodyguard was undeniably fast. If Xilin hadn't been useful to the deal, he would have fired without hesitation.
But sweat ran down the armed bodyguard's forehead, and his contracted pupils revealed his state of mind.
The people who'd heard the commotion and rushed to come in were waved away by Aifulan's butler. The old butler, who usually remained unruffled even when a mountain collapsed before him, was deeply shaken.
While Aifulan marveled that the Vanguard was indeed full of hidden talents, Shaun, the Sixth Team captain, was even more rattled. Only heaven knew how much effort it took him to keep his face composed.
Good grief, what kind of monster was this kid?!
At first glance, the exchange had seemed like a draw, but that wasn't the case. Aifulan, the old butler, and Shaun could all see that.
For the bodyguard pointing his gun at Xilin, if he'd been able to fire in that moment, he would have done so immediately instead of checking whether anything had happened to the weapon. That was precisely why he'd survived. Anyone trusted to guard Aifulan had to be skilled. Only after that moment had passed did he realize something had changed about the gun in his hand.
A thin black needle was lodged in the catch at the high-pressure pump and firing chamber. If he'd fired just then, the "feedback" caused by the needle might have made the laser beam shoot back at the bodyguard instead of at Xilin!
High-energy weapons rarely came in such a small form. This one looked much like a conventional gun that fired metal bullets, but it was a genuine Laser Gun. That was exactly what had given Xilin his opportunity.
Shaun rubbed his chin. Aifulan had equipped his bodyguards with the latest guns. Unless someone understood the weapon model and had a certain level of physical strength and reflex speed, there was no way he could have pulled that off.
The Electronic Notebook Shaun had given Xilin two days earlier had only briefly mentioned this model. It hadn't gone into detail. Remembering the computer screens that had still been flashing in Xilin's room, Shaun felt an urge to cover his face.
Dias, where did you find this freak?
Indeed, after seeing the gun model, Xilin had looked it up on a computer and studied it in depth. The entire process of gathering information on the model had taken no more than two minutes. He'd then "digested" the information while "sleeping." The reason Xilin had been sleeping longer than usual lately was that he'd entered that special state. In that state, his focus and comprehension reached their peak, allowing him to process the information he'd gathered in the shortest possible time. To outsiders, though, it looked no different from ordinary sleep.
Xilin ignored the bodyguard and walked over to Shaun. He looked at Aifulan, as if asking what he thought.
Aifulan's smile widened a little. "Very good."
The armed bodyguard lowered his gun and returned to Aifulan's side. The other bodyguard, who'd been driven into the wall, pulled himself out and moved his limbs, his bones cracking as he put them back into place. As an A-class genetic human, he hadn't been badly hurt by the powerful impact. Still, he looked at Xilin strangely, as if he were staring at a monster.
"Mr. Aifulan, do you remember the proposal I mentioned?" Shaun straightened up. To secure greater benefits for his team member, the Sixth Team captain seized every opportunity he could.
"Of course." Aifulan gestured to the butler standing nearby to bring over the documents.
"The Seven Luminaries Academy?" Xilin looked at the documents, taken aback.
The Seven Luminaries Academy—the full name was the Galactic Federation Seven Luminaries Higher Academy—was one of the top institutions of higher education. It was located in the B Star Zone and wasn't somewhere just anyone could go.
Thanks to readers Xian Di Mo Yang and Zijin Xueshen for the review votes!^^!
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