That night, New Delhi’s TV station aired the news about the alleged ‘terrorist attack’ on Might Biotechnology Corporation. There was no footage of a gunfight, only snippets of firefighters putting out fire and policemen busy ushering people away. A representative from the New Delhi police force also appeared in the news. He reprimanded the attack and hinted that the terrorists may be from the Middle East.
It was obvious that they were bribed to say that.
It wasn’t difficult to guess who bribed them either. It was none other than the Hattori clan’s representative, Hattori Mei.
It wasn’t that Hattori Mei didn’t want to plaster Xia Lei’s picture on air to accuse him as a terrorist, the venal officer wasn’t keen on doing so. Xia Lei was a very influential person in the Chinese military industry. He was also the associate dean of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. All in all, he was a prominent figure in society. If the Indian police had accused him of being a terrorist, the whole situation would spiral out of the Hattori clan’s control.
There were some things that money couldn’t achieve. Hattori Mei was fully aware of that. Her opposition to Xia Lei could only be done in secret. Although they were both in New Delhi, Hattori Mei wouldn’t dare to do anything drastic and obvious here.
On the very same night, Xia Lei obtained some information on Hattori Geppa. He found out that the man was Hattori Masao’s illegitimate son.
This knowledge came as a surprise to Xia Lei. He was shocked to know that Hattori Mei had such a brother.
“Hattori Geppa, I’m sure we’ll meet again soon.” Xia Lei smirked coldly. According to Hattori Mei’s private number that he had managed to obtain, he found her exact location using satellite positioning.
Her location was a bit of a shocker to Xia Lei. She was currently in the United States Embassy in New Delhi.
Her location presented a bold thought in Xia Lei’s mind. He was contemplating hacking into the embassy’s system. Ultimately, he decided against it. No matter how great of a hacker you were, it was close to impossible to execute a seamless undetectable operation. If he did invade the embassy’s system, they would certainly be able to track his location.
As the hegemon of the world, America’s digital capabilities were top of the globe. The security systems of the American Intelligence Department and International Organizations were under the care of a watchful cybersecurity team. Xia Lei would prefer not to step foot into this territory.
Hattori Mei’s whereabouts shrouded Xia Lei with worry. The Hattori clan had started their collaboration with the CIA since the West province Dawang incident. If Hattori Mei had revealed to the CIA that Xia Lei was in India, would the CIA leave him alone?
After Dawang’s battle, the CIA had already improved on their operations. Before Gu Kewen’s life ended, she told him that he was now a threat to the American war strategy. The Americans were planning to kill him and bring his body with them. If the CIA had really made their way over to India, their strategies would most definitely be more fortified than before!
Coming to that conclusion, Xia Lei could no longer sit still. He left his room. Just as he was about to dial for Anjum Khan, Tsukino Kyoko had approached him.
“I was just about to gather you all for a discussion,” said Xia Lei.
“She’s awake,” Tsukino Kyoko interjected.
“What?” Xia Lei’s face was in utter disbelief. “Are you for real?”
“Go and take a look yourself,” replied Tsukino Kyoko.
Xia Lei strode towards Ning Jing’s room. He had estimated her to regain consciousness by tomorrow morning but she had woken up earlier than expected.
“Oh, you mentioned that you needed us for a discussion. What is it about?” Tsukino Kyoko chased after Xia Lei.
“I found out where Hattori Mei is. She’s in the US Embassy in New Delhi now. I’m worried that this isn’t a Hattori clan solo mission.”
“You’re worried that the CIA may be involved?”
“Yeah. I have a feeling that they might deploy the Delta Force.” Xia Lei’s expression hardened. “Hence why we need a change in plans. We cannot wait until tomorrow to move. We need to leave this place as soon as possible.”
“Alright, got it. Go head over to Ning Jing. I’ll go get the others ready.” Tsukino Kyoko left with quickened steps.
Xia Lei entered Ning Jing’s room.
The light was dim in the room, the air was filled with a strong note of medicine. Ning Jing was laid flat on a medical stretcher. Only her eyes, nose and lips were exposed to her surroundings. There was a wooden stick right next to the bed with a bag of IV drops hanging on top of it. Its anti-inflammatory contents slowly dripped into Ning Jing’s system. Though Xia Lei had done the necessary treatment for it, necessary measures were needed to avoid inflammation or suppuration would occur soon.
Ning Jing seemed to have felt his approaching presence. She tried her best to open her eyes. Her gaze fell on Xia Lei, lips twitching to make out a word but all she could mutter was a simple “Ah.”
Xia Lei sat on a wooden stool next to the bed. He comforted her. “It’s alright, you’re safe now. You should be better in another few more days.”
Though he meant his words, his heart dropped.
Her body had multiple injuries, the largest damage focused on the skin of her face. Her features were gone and the explosion had mutilated her entire face. A burn wound of such a scale would probably require many rounds of plastic surgeries to fix, and even then it is not a surefire guarantee. She was still so young and at her prime. How was she expected to live the remaining half of her life in this pitiful state?
“You…” Finally, a coherent word came rolling out of Ning Jing’s mouth. She looked weak.
Xia Lei gave her a light pat on the back of her hand. He gently uttered, “It’s alright, take it slow. You’re still very weak. You’ll definitely feel better in two more days.”
“Who…” Ning Jing muttered another word.
Xia Lei was a little stunned.
“You…” Ning Jing finally made out the third word.
Though her sentence was barely coherent, Xia Lei’s blood went cold.
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This was the first thing she said to him.
It didn’t matter if she was Ning Jing or a vessel housing Zhu Xuanyue, there was no way she couldn’t recognise who he was!
Did the explosion cause her some brain damage that led her to suffer memory loss?
Judging from Zhu Xuanyue’s existence, a direct hit from a cannon was merely sufficient to register any harm to her brain.
If she was really just Ning Jing, it made no sense for her to be the sole survivor of the accident!
Staring at the woman whose face was unrecognizable, Xia Lei couldn’t help but question himself. Who was this woman before him?
He stared at Ning Jing, Ning Jing stared at him.
A silent minute passed.
“Who… are you?” Oddly, Ning Jing could utter a complete sentence.
“You really don’t remember me?” Xia Lei moved his face, allowing the light to catch some of his features. “I’m Xia Lei. Do you not remember me?”
Ning Jing shook her head lightly, then muttered something else. “Who… am I?”
“Huh?!” Xia Lei was once again shocked to the core. She even forgot who she was!
“Who am I?” Ning Jing’s voice got increasingly clear, her words were articulated better. Suddenly, her weariness dissipated.
Xia Lei’s left eye twitched. The gauze wrapped around her body quickly disappeared layer by layer, allowing him to peer into her skin condition. Scars were already forming on the initially damaged skin layer, which was an indication of a healing body. Under normal circumstances, her injuries would’ve needed ten to twenty days to get to this point. She had only required twenty hours!
Not only was her wounds healing at an astonishing speed, but her energy also seemed to have improved fast. Her recovery was evident from her speech. When she first woke up, she was feeble, unable to utter a single coherent sentence. In a few minutes, she was able to produce coherent sentences.
An urge flashed across Xia Lei’s mind and he got more unsure of who this woman really was. He tried to use his X-ray vision to peer into her face. Unfortunately, her face was covered with scars and it was barely possible to even make out her facial structures. Seeing past the scars, all he could see was just flesh and blood. Her skin was still on its way to recovery.
After a pregnant pause, Xia Lei probed. “You’re Ning Jing.”
“Ning Jing? Who’s Ning Jing?” Her stare was blank and in a daze.
“Zhu Xuanyue?” Xia Lei tried again.
“Zhu Xuanyue? Who’s Zhu Xuanyue?” She got even more confused.
Xia Lei had gotten very anxious. “Do you still remember what happened in the laboratory?”
“I remember… black…”
“A black-robed man?”
“No, black sky.”
“Could you recall the bodies? There were three bodies, one with the name Gu Kewen, a blonde Caucasian and another raven-haired Asian. Did the explosion destroy all three bodies?”
“You’re so annoying, I’m just going to head back to sleep.”
Xia Lei felt as if his throat was constricted by something. He couldn’t say another word.
Ning Jing’s current condition was by no means normal. Memories of what she had experienced personally in the laboratory were completely wiped clean.
Abruptly, footsteps could be heard outside the door. Tsukino Kyoko said, “Boss, we’re ready. Anjum Khan has returned too.”
Xia Lei spared Ning Jing one last look before he left the room.
The six Chinese Zodiac Battle Team members were all in the yard, each of them with a camo backpack behind them. They looked prepared for the journey ahead.
“Anjum Khan, how’s your progress?” asked Xia Lei.
“I brought your money into New Delhi, managed to find an officer in the intelligence department. He agreed to our requests. He’ll leak the information you designed into their system as soon as we arrive in Punjab,” reported Anjum Khan.
“Are you sure he could be trusted?” questioned Xia Lei.
Anjum Khan answered, “How trustworthy would someone be if they could be bought over with twenty thousand USD? We’re not asking for his loyalty, we’re just asking for a hassle-free favour. If he doesn’t do his part, my men will take care of him.”
“That’s great to hear.” Xia Lei continued, “Bring Ning Jing along, we’ll start our journey to Punjab tonight.”