The Legend of the Dragon King - Chapter 434

Chapter 434

Chapter 434 - Losing Face

In a conference room located near the top of the Heaven Dou Spirit Pagoda, over a dozen high-level executives sat glued to a large screen, some sporting a few patches of grey hair and others more advanced in their years . On screen played a recording of a battle between six children and three mechas . The video had high resolution and crisp audio, courtesy of the mechas’ recording devices .  

“We’re enforcers sent by Headquarters to evaluate the ability of the local enforcers to adapt to new situations . You have been disappointing . Just because we’re young children, you underestimated us and neglected to consider the possibility that we were hostile . Do I need to remind you that evil soul masters launched a terrorist attack not too long ago? Those evil soul masters excel at disguising themselves . If you’re all so lax, then what would you do when danger really comes? We’re just here to keep you all on your toes . Go back and reflect on this, then write a report to headquarters . Understood?” 

Once the leader of the band of children delivered these words, he went calmly on his way . Not once did he glance back . Doubtful expressions flickered across the faces of everyone present .

“Pagoda Master, does the enforcement department of Headquarters have jurisdiction over us? Isn’t that the job of the supervisory department?” asked a middle-aged man, his eyes on the elderly man at the head of the table . “Isn’t what he said wrong?”

The elder snorted . “Forget about these kids’ backgrounds for now . Let me ask you, were their words not correct? How is our enforcement department so lax that they can’t even deal with kids? There was a terrorist attack just earlier today! And according to a reliable source, an evil soul master attacked the train station afterward! I’ve already dispatched some people for an internal investigation . If our enforcement department’s standard has really dropped so low, then everyone there can just forget about their paycheque!” 

The entire room lost their tongues at such a display of fury .

“Raise the enforcement department’s alert level to orange . We’ll use the internal investigation to examine the state of affairs . Now that I think about it, it’s not enough for just those three pilots to write reports . Have everyone in the enforcement department write one as well . And double their training . ” 

“Understood!” The meeting adjourned and the heavy atmosphere in the room lifted as everyone shuffled out . Everyone but the Pagoda Master and a middle-aged man .

“Has the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo said anything?” the Pagoda Master asked .

“She hasn’t said a word . It seems like she’s leaving it to our discretion and won’t intervene with our decision . Pagoda Master, should we capture those kids?”

“Do you like losing face that much? Put a hush order on this matter . Don’t let it leak out to the public . ” 

“Got it! Kids these days sure are daring though . ”

The Pagoda Master glanced at him . “You said that they have to visit ten cities for their exam?”

The middle-aged man nodded . “That’s what Gu Yue told me . ” 

A sly smile slid across Pagoda Master’s lips . “Make sure this doesn’t leak to the other branches then . We won’t be the only ones to lose face . ” 

The middle-aged man’s cheek twitched .  Pagoda Master, what kind of attitude is that? 

The Pagoda Master finally rose from his seat and approached the window, peering out to the cityscape . “We’ve been at peace for too long already . We needed something to put us on our toes . Just five more years…” 

☀ 

He could hardly feel his legs . Or breathe, for that matter . Despite looking long and hard, Tang Wulin and his companions were unable to rent a car . At least, they couldn’t find one that could take them out of Heaven Dou City . Left clear of other options, they purchased a small soul car for eight hundred thousand credits instead . That was nearly all of the money Tang Wulin had received from his uncle-master, and it was only enough for one car . Sadly, this car could only seat five comfortably, which was kind of an issue seeing that they had seven people .

Right after his purchase, Tang Wulin apologized to Wu Zhangkong . There was no room for him, not even with everyone squeezing together . He had to find his own way .  

Xie Xie was the driver, Xu Lizhi rode in the front, and Tang Wulin was squished into the back with the three girls . Fortunately for Tang Wulin, the girls were quite skinny . Unfortunately for him, he was not . He found himself pressed against the window like a strange specimen . Beside him sat a triple layered cookie of Gu Yue, Ye Xinglan, and Xu Xiaoyan in that order .  

Xie Xie was an adequate driver yet was driving without a license . He did have one, but of course, it had been confiscated along with his other belongings . There was no choice but to rely on him, though . They could only cross their fingers not to be caught .  

As the car cruised through the highway, Tang Wulin did his best to tolerate the discomfort . The back was so crowded that he couldn’t even move .  

“When we get to the next city, how about I go earn some more money forging and get us a bigger car?” Tang Wulin forced a bitter smile .  

Gu Yue rolled her eyes at him . “Are you trying to avoid me already?”

In truth, Tang Wulin felt quite comfortable with her pressed up against him . She was soft in all the right ways . “Gu Yue, did you put on some weight? I don’t remember you being so soft . ” 

At the sound of those words, Gu Yue whipped her reddened face away from him, fumes rising from her head .  

Xie Xie chuckled, catching a glimpse of that exchange from the rearview mirror . “Wulin, you’re so innocent . That’s called puberty . It’s normal for girls this age to be developing like that . ” 

“Shut up!” the three girls shouted in unison .  

“Eh… Lizhi, what do you think? Am I right?” Xie Xie sent a pleading glance to Xu Lizhi .

“Uh, I’m feeling kind of sleepy . I’m going to take a nap . ” Without another word, Xu Lizhi closed his eyes and pretended to snore .  

Pressed up against the door, Tang Wulin had no choice but to watch the landscape fly by . His heart gradually became at ease .  

A pleasant fragrance drifted over to him . Blinking out of his reverie, he realized it had come from Gu Yue . He swallowed .  Oh my god . Xie Xie was right! She’s really going through puberty, already starting to grow up .  A sigh escaped his lips .  We’re not kids anymore .

Gloom settled in his heart, thick and heavy like fog . To this day, Tang Wulin still hadn’t heard from his mother or father, and as a result saw his friends as the most important people in his life . Nothing would be too much for them; even sacrificing himself for their sake wasn’t off the table . They were what drove him to live on, what gave meaning to his life . For this reason, Tang Wulin was afraid both of losing them and of anything that might change the foundation of their relationships .  

Years ago, when Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi had left their group, he  struggled with depression . The world had seemed covered in a shroud of grey, cold to the touch . It took him a long time to recover .  

Noticing the shift in his mood, Tang Wulin shook his head and set himself back in a positive mindset . It would do no good to dwell on the past .  

“It’s boring in here . Let’s talk about something,” Tang Wulin said . He had regained his calm by now, his heart an example of virtue .

Gu Yue glanced at him . They were still stuck together, side pressed to side . She had been the one to push him to the window seat and place herself between him and the other girls . She hadn’t even bothered to hide her intentions . Everyone knew what she was doing and didn’t dare get in her way . Young they might be, the rest of the group could practically smell the sexual tension, especially from how well Gu Yue treated Tang Wulin . The only perplexing thing was how often she ran hot and cold, as if she was deliberately maintaining some distance from him .  

“What do you want to talk about? Battle armor? I should be able to break through rank 40 when we return and get another spirit soul . We can continue making battle armor then,” Ye Xinglan said .

Tang Wulin laughed . “We’re finally away from school, so let’s talk about something unrelated . Okay . How about our ambitions? Xinglan, you start . What’s your heart set on?”