Chapter 102: Enemies in the Shadows (Requesting Monthly Votes)
Chiqiong Martial Arts Hall
Although it was the Spring Festival, for some reason related to yesterday’s space gate, staff were already busy.
“Director Sun, Mr. Lin!”
Seeing Lin Qi enter, the receptionist bowed respectfully in greeting.
Lin Qi nodded in response, walked ahead of Director Sun, stepped into the elevator, and arrived at the top floor, where a burly figure came walking toward him.
Lin Qi recognized him at once—it was Director Lu; his face was full of thick flesh, impossible not to remember.
“Good morning, Lin Qi! Come by and visit me anytime!” Director Lu greeted with warm enthusiasm.
Lin Qi was taken aback, then replied: “I will.”
After Director Lu walked away, Lin Qi wondered:
“What’s going on with Director Lu?”
Director Sun did not answer but smiled: “You’ll find out soon.”
“Ding!”
The office door opened—this was Lin Qi’s third time entering Yue Feng’s office.
A wisp of jasmine fragrance drifted out; on the nearby desk, Yue Feng wore a combat suit, as if ready to depart for battle at any moment.
Two cups of brewed tea already sat before him.
“Lin Qi, try this special jasmine tea!”
As the jasmine scent filled his nose, his mood lifted.
Lin Qi sat down and drank; the jasmine tea filled his mouth, calming him completely.
“Director Yue, what did you want to see me about?” Lin Qi asked first.
“Too formal—call me Uncle Yue,” Yue Feng shook his head.
“Alright, Uncle Yue,” Lin Qi nodded.
Yue Feng smiled in satisfaction, stood up, and said:
“Lin Qi, we saw your performance at Wanda Plaza!”
Beside him, Director Sun activated a projection showing footage of Lin Qi’s battle in the plaza.
“For your first battle against a disaster beast, your performance exceeded our expectations.”
“You killed fifteen disaster beasts and rescued twenty people. The Chiqiong Martial Arts Hall has decided to reward you.”
“Next, you, Jiang Tao, and Li Zhou will all be interviewed by television.”
“Interview?” Lin Qi frowned.
“Once you accept the interview, you’ll be awarded the title of Outstanding Young Martial Artist and a reward of one million Xia National Currency,” Yue Feng continued.
“No problem!” Lin Qi’s frown vanished and he agreed immediately.
Yue Feng smiled and went on:
“According to the rules established by the three martial arts halls and the government and military:”
“During a disaster beast surge, anyone who participates in killing disaster beasts will be paid by the government for the corpses they deliver.”
“You killed fifteen disaster beasts. At Xia National market prices, we will give you five hundred thousand Xia National Currency.”
Lin Qi nodded; five hundred thousand was no small sum—and even that was generous.
This alone brought him one and a half million Xia National Currency—he made a fortune.
Yue Feng took a few more steps and said:
“Lin Qi, have you broken through to the second realm?”
“Yes,” Lin Qi nodded.
“Good!” Yue Feng smiled.
“Lin Qi, in my view, you have S-class genius potential!”
“I’ll tell you this: if you rank among the top ten in Cang Province during your final semester’s monthly exam, I will personally award you a major prize,” Yue Feng said solemnly as he sat down.
Lin Qi’s expression remained calm, but his heart accelerated uncontrollably.
Who was Yue Feng? Deputy Director of the Chiqiong Martial Arts Hall, a master of the seventh realm.
Even a single drop of resources leaking from his fingers would be enough to sustain him.
“Alright,” Lin Qi nodded seriously.
Top ten in Cang Province? Not difficult for him now. Director Sun and Yue Feng exchanged a glance and nodded.
They continued drinking tea for a moment.
“Lin Qi, you’ve proven you have S-class genius potential. It’s time you learned some things,” Wu Feng suddenly said.
Director Sun projected another screen—this time, a map of the entire Cang Province.
Many locations were marked with red and blue dots.
Lin Qi saw Wanda Plaza, Alley 21, and Linhai Park in Tianhai City marked with blue dots—but three other locations were marked red.
He was puzzled.
“At exactly ten o’clock yesterday morning, space gates descended simultaneously across all nine cities of Cang Province.”
Lin Qi was stunned.
Space gates appeared across the entire Cang Province—at the same time?
Yue Feng pointed to the red dots on the projection:
“This was a coordinated operation. Someone opened space gates to trigger disaster beast surges, drawing our martial arts halls’ attention.”
!
“But their real target was several S-class geniuses within Cang Province.”
“Yesterday, at the same time, three S-class geniuses in Tianhai City were assassinated,” Yue Feng revealed the shocking news.
“Assassinated S-class geniuses?” Lin Qi’s heart skipped.
Do high talents really get assassinated?
“Correct—but none of them succeeded,” Yue Feng continued.
Lin Qi exhaled in relief; if they had succeeded, it would have been terrifyingly unsafe.
“Who did it?”
Lin Qi asked.
Director Sun switched the main screen and said:
“Let me explain.”
Two figures appeared on the screen—unlike ordinary humans.
Their appearances had changed: the first had skin darkened to deep brown, eyes enlarged several times, appearing grotesque.
The second had skin hardened and smooth like armor, facial features compressed, head sharpened.
“In our society, besides disaster beasts, we have another enemy—powerful, hidden, and extremely difficult to find.”
Lin Qi was secretly alarmed: another enemy besides disaster beasts?
“Who are they? What’s their connection to these people in the images?”
Yue Feng slowly spoke: “We call them the Insect Clan.”
“The Insect Clan—a force stronger than disaster beasts. They possess insect-like physical traits.”
“Yet they have intelligence equal to humans and technological capabilities surpassing ours in certain areas.”
“Individually, they possess extremely formidable combat strength, and some even have special abilities.”
“They can directly rival our S-class and higher geniuses.”
The Insect Clan?!
Lin Qi frowned, absorbing Yue Feng’s description of this enemy.
“The Insect Clan possesses intelligence equal to humans, advanced technology, and individual combat power...”
“If they’re this powerful, why have I never heard of them?” Lin Qi asked after his shock.
“Excellent question!”
Director Sun replied: “Because their numbers are extremely scarce—just as rare as our S-class geniuses.”
“They hide in the shadows and have formed an organization called the Insect God Society through special means.”
“Using technology, they genetically modify members of their organization, granting them strength, speed, or defense far beyond ordinary martial artists.”
“The two in the images are members of the Insect God Society.”
Lin Qi understood—it all made sense now.
“From their first appearance, they’ve been hostile to humanity, orchestrating the first assassinations of geniuses with special abilities.”
“Every year, the Insect God Society leaves its shadow—and a top genius dies.”
“Lin Qi, if you ever awaken a special ability, you will become their target,” Director Sun continued.
…
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