Chapter 199: Mata

Qin Mang and Xia Fei had a fairly good relationship, and since the former did not have long to like due to the poison in his body rearing its head once again, it was quite normal for him to leave a few items to the latter. Despite the two of them not being a formal master and disciple, they had, at the very least, spent quite some time together and had similar personality traits.

Xia Fei guessed that Qin Mang probably had something in his possession that was being eyed by many different forces. Once the word that Xia Fei was inheriting it, those people regarded him as a thorn in their flesh all sought to be rid of him sooner rather than later.

Xia Fei said with a smile, “The old man is just being nice, but I’m afraid even he hasn’t considered the repercussion of leaving his stuff to me.”

Thuram lay in bed without a care for his image. This incredible person hailing from the Adjudicator’s Headquarters did not care about the tiny details in his day-to-day life and was pretty laid-back.

“Qin Mang has always been an oddball, always doing whatever he wanted. He liked collecting martial arts monographs when he was younger, eventually collecting things related to the ancient civilization. Thus, it’s no surprise that people are irked with his plan to bequeath his collection to you; those things are invaluable, after all.

“Nobody dared to covet it when he’s alive and kicking, but now that he’s on death’s door, everyone who’s been eyeing his possession may all just be ready to tear up a storm.”

Xia Fei recalled that there were countless precious sources of information in the library. Having read plenty in the two years he spent with Qin Mang, he naturally knew their importance. If the elderly curator really did pass away, people would be flocking straight toward his belonging the moment he flatlined, and an outsider like Xia Fei would be involved involuntarily.

“Here’s a piece of advice,” began Thuram. “It’s best that you don’t take a single thing that Qin Mang leaves you, or else you’ll be in deep trouble.”

Xia Fei smiled. “Of course I know that. I just want to see the old man one last time; as for his possessions, I have no interest in any of those.”

Thuram squinted. “Don’t worry. I’m not just going to Endaro Star Region to see the old guy away; I’m also escorting you there to protect you and get you out just in case. Nobody can harm you under my watch, but if you take things that you aren’t supposed to take, they may get desperate.”

Xia Fie nodded. “Understood.”

“Also, why is Porter with you?” asked Thuram.

Xia Fei was shocked. “You know Uncle Porter?”

Thuram replied with a smile, “Don’t you know him?”

Xia Fie was left helplessly speechless. Qin Mang and Thuram both acted weird when Porter was mentioned. Xia Fie knew that Old Porter was hiding something, but he did not know what he was hiding.

“Back in the days, Porter was known as the famous machine god, a three-time Gold Finger Cup champion in the Alliance. Although he has one less eye than he did before, he might fool others, but he’s not fooling me.”

“Porter is a three-time Golden Finger Cup champion?” questioned Xia Fei.

The Golden Finger Cup was the most prestigious machinist competition in the Alliance. It was already considered quite difficult to bag a crown among countless machinists in the Alliance, yet Old Porter managed to win it thrice in a row—an honor that was simply unmatched.

“How do you know him?” asked Thuram.

Xia Fei quickly went over the process with Thuram, not failing to mention that he had invited him to his company.

Thuram could not help but let out a hearty laugh, afterward. “Oh Xia Fei, how should I put this? After Porter won the Golden Finger Cup thrice, the president from the Adjudicator Headquarters had personally tried inviting him to join the Union as well, but he unexpectedly rejected the offer. Eventually, I heard that Porter was from a notable family in the Alliance and left for some reason. That’s why he didn’t care a bit about money or honor; he didn’t even bat an eye at the Alliance.

“For the once machine god to actually be willing to work at your crappy company, that’s truly the most incredible anecdote I’ve heard.”

Xia Fei was left speechless. He knew Old Porter was not a nobody, but he did not know he had such an incredible background.

“The old man mentioned Uncle Porter, too; could it be that he’s known about this all along?” Xia Fei asked curiously.

Thuram rubbed his temples. “Do you know how I got to learn about Porter?”

“No idea.”

“Back then, Qin Mang started off learning martial arts, but then he got addicted to machines and technology. He would watch the Golden Finger Cup live every time. It was fine if he went alone, but he dragged me along with it every time, so he must know Porter’s identity. He probably didn’t tell you so that you could discover it yourself,” said Thuram.

…

Ten days later, on planet Hek, in the Endaro Star Region’s Heaven Execution Training Camp.

The Central Hospital was the biggest and best hospital on Hek; a black hovercar appeared under the protection of several other hovercars with the Adjudicator Union’s logo. This hovercar directly headed toward the VIP wards located at the back of the aforementioned hospital.

The VIP wards were specially used to house important people; they were all individual villas with exquisite beam carvings, different flora in the yards, and even personal swimming pools.

The black hovercar stopped in front of the lavish Ward 1. Xia Fei and Thuram got out from either side of the car, where the few who were there enthusiastically opened the doors for them.

Ye Jingshan, as well as an old man with balding white hair, greeted Thuram, but upon seeing Xia Fei, the battalion commander appeared to be slightly shocked, a strange expression flashing across his eyes.

“Is the old coot inside?” Thuram crudely asked.

“Master is waiting; he ordered me and my senior to greet you,” answered Ye Jingshan. He had somehow managed to eke out a smile on his usually cold face. Xia Fei was a bit taken back by this, for he had always thought that Ye Jingshan was incapable of smiling. Alas, this smile of the battalion commander was incredibly forced, so it looked horrible.

“Get that formality out of the way. It’d be weird if the old guy allowed anyone to greet me. Let me through; I’m going to go see that old fart.”

Thuram then boldly walked toward the yard where Xia Fei followed behind with hands in his pocket.

“Xia Fei, you should report back to the camp first,” Ye Jingshan said with furrowed eyebrows.

“Report, my ass. The old man is Xia Fei’s immediate superior, and if the superior is in the hospital, they should report back to the hospital,” Thuram turned around and yelled. He always had a sonorous voice, and now with a hint of anger in his voice, it boomed so loud it almost hurt the ears.

“Yes. You are correct, sir.” The old man secretly pulled at the corner of Ye Jingshan’s shirt and smiled like a sly fox.

“Whos’ that balding guy?” Xia Fei approached Thuram and asked quietly.

“He’s the oldest disciple of that old thing called Nalian. Qin Mang has taken in quite a few disciples; unfortunately, he’s not too good at picking them and most are simply terrible. Knowing that their master is about to die, these disciples followed the smell in hopes of getting one, last haul from the old thing.”

Xia Fei asked with knitted brows, “Ye Jingshan is also the old man’s disciple?”

“Yup.”

This explained how Xia Fei had managed to enter the internal division when he was in the Heaven Execution Training Camp; it was all because of Qin Mang pulling strings from behind the scenes.

It appeared that the old man had secretly helped him a lot; Xia Fei was very grateful about that.

“The old man’s disciples aren’t always bad; Yawei in the Death Trio Star Region is one of the exceptions,” said Xia Fei.

Thuram wrinkled his nose. “That’s because he’s too far away and knows that he doesn’t have any chance in this. All I’m saying is that the old thing only has a few handful of good disciples.”

After walking through a flowered path, they could see a bunch of old men surrounding the bed, smiling at Thuram.

“See? The few failed disciples aren’t the worst; these old farts are the most likely to harm you, and all of them are quite strong,” Thuram secretly told Xia Fei.

Xia Fei furrowed his eyebrows. He was quite angry that people were trying to take a piece of Qin Mang’s belongings, yet he managed to suppress his displeasure and wore a smile on his face.

These old men enthusiastically approached Thuram in greeting, each happier to see him than the last. Thuram also had a great smile on his face as he dealt with them. He might be known for his terrible temper, but he was still quite adept when it came to dealing with this particular bunch.

Xia Fei did not have much to say to them, so he stood at the door and looked inside. The villa was filled with people in Adjudicator uniforms; there was no way anyone could approach Qin Mang undetected.

All of a sudden, Xia Fei felt a chill on his back. He quickly turned around and saw an old man with black hair approaching with a smile.

His eyes were as sharp as a falcon’s, and whenever they set on someone, a deep chill could be felt right to the bone. Although his face was filled with wrinkles, his hair and beard were glistening black like a young person’s, which made for an extremely weird sight.

“Younger brother Thuram, you’re here!” said the old man enthusiastically with open arms.

Thuram turned around and a wide smile appeared on his face immediately. “Mr. Mata, you’re as good as always!”

The two then hugged like brothers.

Mata would glance at Xia Fei every so often; his sharp glances made Xia Fei incredibly uncomfortable.

“Brother Thuram, why didn’t you tell me? If I knew that you’re visiting Qin Mang as well, it would’ve been nice if we had traveled together,” Mata said facetiously.

Thuram laughed. “We, at the weapons and equipment department, have nothing to do unlike you guys at the headhunters department. Who would’ve thought that you’d be following right behind me despite being so busy?”

“You shouldn’t say that; Qin Mang is both our friends. I have to be here if you’re here.”

Xia Fei inferred from their conversation that Thuram and Mata were rivals. Knowing that Thuram was heading to Endaro Star Region, Mata quickly followed, which made Thuram extremely unhappy. Alas, he could not shed all pretence of cordiality, so all he could do was make some backhanded comments.

“And this little brother is?” asked Mata as he looked at Xia Fei.

“Xia Fei.”

“So you’re the only librarian at the library.”

Xia Fei nodded with a smile.

“Since we’re all here, let’s go see Qin Mang.” Mata dragged Thuram and Xia Fei inside.