Envoy X Arrogance X Slap Him

Iron Wall stood in front of the tin shack at the camp entrance, his fingers pinching the rim of a crude pottery teacup. The veins bulged on his arm, and he nearly crushed the cup.

Sitting before him was a man in a dark gray uniform coat.

The coat's collar was neatly turned down, its shoulders were free of dust, and its cuffs were buttoned with meticulous care.

In Meteor City, such clothing was a declaration of status in itself.

Bo Tong sat cross-legged on an old wooden chair Iron Wall had brought out for the occasion, his gaze sweeping over the shack's four walls.

The rust-covered tin sheets, the grayish-white light filtering through the gaps, the old wooden crates piled in the corner, and the scraps of cloth scattered about were clearly beneath his notice.

He picked up the teacup and looked at it, then put it down without drinking.

"This place... is even older than the Fifth District's garbage transfer station."

His voice carried a deliberately exaggerated nonchalance.

"I heard District 13 was a newly designated area. I thought that no matter how bad it was, it would at least have a few decent-looking buildings."

"But all I saw on the way here were scrap heaps and broken-down shacks."

He turned his head toward Iron Wall, a mocking smile on his lips.

"Is this the kind of place your Rust Remains Alliance lives in?"

Iron Wall tightened his grip on the teacup.

He didn't answer. He simply picked up the tea Bo Tong had found so objectionable, set it on a scrap metal barrel nearby, and straightened up again.

"Envoy, you've had a long and tiring journey. Please rest a while first."

"The alliance leader will be here soon."

Bo Tong glanced at Iron Wall, as if trying to find a crack in his expression.

But there was nothing unnecessary on Iron Wall's rugged face.

He was merely speaking in a perfunctory manner, without a trace of excess emotion.

Bo Tong leaned back in the chair and crossed his legs the other way.

"All right. I'll wait a little longer."

He narrowed his eyes, sounding as if he were talking to himself, yet also as if he were deliberately speaking for Iron Wall to hear.

"Do you know what the Dawn Society headquarters in the Fifth District looks like?"

"It's a converted three-story bank. The outer walls are made of bulletproof steel plates, and there's a row of narrow windows on the second floor that keep out the wind and rain."

"Two guards in uniform coats stand at the entrance. Their epaulets have arc-shaped patterns on them. One look and you can tell it's a proper organization."

He extended a finger and poked a rusty spot on the tin roof above his head.

"Now look at this place."

"A tin shack, with nothing but packed dirt for a floor."

"You can't even make a decent sound walking on it."

Iron Wall said nothing.

His hand hung at his side. He clenched it into a fist for a moment, then seemed to remember something and relaxed it.

He could see Bo Tong watching him out of the corner of his eye, waiting for him to slip up.

But he didn't.

He couldn't let the Rust Remains Alliance be destroyed by a moment of impulse.

He had to endure!

Iron Wall simply stood there, his shoulders and back straight, his gaze fixed ahead, standing quietly in place like a guardian deity.

Bo Tong waited a few more seconds. Seeing no reaction from Iron Wall, he gave a twitch of his lips and turned his gaze to the grayish-white wasteland outside the shack.

"To be honest, I didn't really want to come."

"When Chairman Nubia told me to make this trip, I wondered."

"What could there possibly be in District 13 worth coming here in person for?"

He rested his hand on his knee and tapped it twice with his fingertips.

"Now it seems the trip wasn't wasted."

"At least I got to see what true desolation looks like."

Iron Wall's Adam's apple bobbed, but he still said nothing.

Just then, the grayish-white light at the shack's entrance dimmed for a moment.

Someone had come in.

The instant Iron Wall caught sight of the figure out of the corner of his eye, his heart leaped with joy.

Jiang Ye stood in the doorway, wearing an old coat with dust from the gravel ground still on its shoulders. There was a mark across the knee of his trousers where a wooden stick had swept past, and the loose strands of hair at his temple were slightly damp.

His breathing was a little heavier than usual. He had clearly just returned from training.

Iron Wall stepped slightly to the side, making way for him to take the lead position.

"Alliance leader."

He called out, and the tension in his heart finally eased.

He didn't know when it had started, but he felt that as long as Jiang Ye came, none of their problems would be problems anymore.

Seeing the main figure appear, Bo Tong rose slowly from his chair.

He looked Jiang Ye up and down, his gaze sliding from the dusty coat to his face, where it lingered for a moment.

He had long heard that the leader of the Rust Remains Alliance was a twelve-year-old vagrant.

But he hadn't expected him to be this skinny.

"You're the leader of the Rust Remains Alliance?"

Bo Tong asked, a hint of disdain in his voice.

Jiang Ye didn't answer immediately.

When he came in, he hadn't yet fully subdued the air about him from the sparring session he had just finished.

His gaze was still a little sharp, and he was like a freshly sharpened blade that had yet to be returned to its sheath.

He stood in the center of the shack and glanced at Bo Tong.

It was an ordinary glance, but the instant Bo Tong met it, a chill suddenly ran down his back, as if he had plunged into an ice cave.

The chill shot from his tailbone to the back of his head, as if a demonic beast lurking in the jungle had fixed its gaze on him.

He had seen many eyes: fierce ones, indifferent ones, and empty ones. But in the instant Jiang Ye looked at him, what he felt was a threat called death!

Bo Tong could distinctly feel his heart skip a beat.

Fortunately, Jiang Ye looked away and spoke calmly.

"That's right."

He walked over to a spot beside Iron Wall, his tone flat and utterly relaxed.

"I'm the leader of the Rust Remains Alliance."

"What did you come to see me about?"

Bo Tong's Adam's apple bobbed.

He instinctively reached up to straighten his collar, trying to regain some composure, but when his fingers touched it, he realized he had already crumpled the fabric.

He cleared his throat and straightened his back again.

"I'm an envoy sent by Chairman Nubia."

"You can call me Bo Tong."

He paused, returning his voice to its earlier assured tone.

"You should know why I'm here."

"Tie Liao is dead."

"He was the Dawn Society's flag bearer, one of Chairman Nubia's men."

"I can tell you with complete certainty."

"You killed him, and the chairman is very angry."

Bo Tong watched Jiang Ye with a smug smile on his face, silently waiting for his reaction.

In Meteor City, ordinary people generally had one of three reactions to those words.

Fear, explanations, or even excuses.

But Jiang Ye merely stood there, watching him quietly and waiting for him to continue.

His fearless attitude caught Bo Tong off guard for a moment, and the scene fell silent.

Feeling the awkwardness around him, he could only take a breath and finish what he had to say.

"Chairman Nubia wants you to go to the Fifth District and see him immediately."

"Otherwise..."

He paused, a scornful smile returning to his lips.

"The entire Rust Remains Alliance will be utterly destroyed because of your wrong decision!"

The shack fell silent for a moment after those words.

Wind blew through the gaps in the tin sheets, stirring the edges of the scraps of cloth piled in the corner with a rustle.

Iron Wall's gaze sharpened, and he could barely contain his anger.

How dare he say something so outrageous on the Rust Remains Alliance's territory!

He clearly didn't take them seriously at all!

Jiang Ye didn't look at Bo Tong.

He turned his head and glanced at Iron Wall's clenched fist, then at the mocking smile that had yet to fade from Bo Tong's face.

Then Jiang Ye spoke casually.

"Iron Wall."

"Slap him."

The two words fell as lightly as two pebbles dropping into a deep pool, but to Iron Wall, they sounded like a morning bell ringing in his ears.

Deafening!

He looked at Jiang Ye in disbelief.

After making sure he hadn't misheard, he stepped toward Bo Tong, breathing heavily.

Well, there was no helping it. The alliance leader's orders came first.

Seeing this, the smile froze on Bo Tong's face.

"Don't you dare...!"

Before he could finish, Iron Wall had already raised his hand.

His palm was broad, his knuckles thick, and his palm bore hard calluses from years of gripping iron implements.

His hand swept through the shack's dim yellow light in an arc and landed squarely on Bo Tong's left cheek.

Slap!

The crisp sound echoed through the tin shack several times before fading.

Bo Tong staggered half a step to the right, his heel striking the leg of the old wooden chair. He stumbled and almost lost his footing.

He covered his face and raised his head. The composure in his eyes was finally gone.

All that remained was disbelief!

Bo Tong would never have believed that Jiang Ye would dare order a subordinate to slap him, an envoy.

After all, he had come today as a representative of the entire Dawn Society.

Jiang Ye's action was undoubtedly a slap in the face to the entire Dawn Society!