Star Gate

Chapter 143: In A Rush To Die (II)

Li Hao furrowed his brows while his mind operated at high speed. He hadn’t thought that the Qiaos would come to him for help in the end. What was the meaning of this? The Qiaos were professional miners, did they lack experts?

No!

This wasn’t a difficult task and they were the experts, so what were they doing knocking on Li Hao’s door? It was... the height of strangeness.

The young man had some thoughts after a while. They want me, but what good does having me do? Absolutely nothing! Not only am I of no help, but they’d have to worry that I might discover something. However, Qiao Peng is here all the same...

The ruins!

Li Hao roughly grasped the Qiaos’ intentions. Maybe the mine collapse meant nothing to them, but if they could utilize this chance to invite Li Hao in and possibly activate something through his bloodline... then it was a matter of paramount importance!

Perhaps they might even try to kill him?

Li Hao took an inward breath. It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility!

Silver City had drawn a lot of attention these days, as had he. It wasn’t a sure bet to have him visit the mines with a regular reason. He’d gone a few days ago, but with a Night Watcher. His visit had also been common knowledge and many were keeping an eye on him.

An excuse of privately helping with identifying a new mine opening might draw less attention from his watchers. Yuan Shuo was an expert in this field and Li Hao was his prized disciple. It was reasonable that a large corporation like Qiao Mining Industries would request the young man’s help.

Li Hao’s only concern was that... there might be no return from this! Qiao Feilong might seek to kill him, grab what he could from the ruins, then make a run for it. Exposure wouldn’t be a concern for them anymore.

Danger! Li Hao sniffed the scent of danger. The Qiaos might really use this opportunity to kill him. No wonder they still invited him despite knowing there were ancient ruins and their own secrets present. There were certainly ulterior motives at play.

Despite understanding the connotations, Li Hao showed a conflicted expression.

“I won’t have the commissioner inspector make this trip in vain.” Qiao Peng lowered his voice with understanding. “Whether it’s star coins or mysterious power, everything is negotiable...”

“I don’t have my teacher’s skills!” Li Hao frowned. “And it’s just identifying a new mine opening. Does your company lack talent like this?”

“We don’t,” Qiao Peng replied with resignation. “And to be honest, we’d much rather have our own people handle things if possible. But the collapse site is in an awkward location and our experts are elderly. They’re not light on their feet, so we want someone nimble who can swiftly reconnoiter the surroundings and immediately restart operations at the mines. Commissioner Inspector Li and Professor Yuan Shuo are the most suited in Silver City, but we really can’t afford to invite the professor!”

Qiao Peng chuckled with resignation. “He is a Dominator, a walking god—how much would it cost to be graced with his presence? Our mountain is worth only so much. We can’t bear to part with more than it’s worth and the professor won’t be satisfied if we offer too little. After some consideration, we guess that the commissioner inspector’s learned roughly eighty percent of the professor’s knowledge. That’s enough!”

It was a perfect reason. Why didn’t they go to Yuan Shuo? Because he was too expensive. Why did they come to Li Hao? Because he was a fighter jet among experts—agile, efficient, convenient, and decisive.

“And how much can you pay?” Li Hao raised a brow.

“One cube of mysterious power or one million star coins!” Qiao Peng responded seriously. “This is absolutely a fair price!”

“Forget it, my monthly salary is one cube.” Li Hao was disappointed. “I thought the Qiaos ran a big empire, but this is all you can offer?”

Qiao Peng cursed inwardly! I’m willing to put up ten or one hundred cubes, but I bet you wouldn’t dare accept it! And I’m paying you this much only to have you prospect the area. How are you not satisfied? This guy is much greedier than the stories make him out to be.

“It’s a lot, commissioner inspector. It’s not that we can’t afford a higher price, but to be honest, it wouldn’t be worth it if we did. If the price is too high, then... we’d rather wait a few days than restore operations tomorrow,” Qiao Peng paused. “It’s just a day’s work for one cube. Commissioner Inspector Li, please feel free to ask around to see if we’re offering a fair price.”

Li Hao seemed tempted and considered the offer for a bit. “Very well, then give me a moment. Are we going now?”

“Yes, as soon as possible!” Qiao Peng bobbed his head, wanting nothing more than for Li Hao to follow him right now. He couldn’t forcefully abduct the lad—there might be people from the city keeping an eye on him. They were also too close to Yuan Shuo. If Li Hao was taken against his will, it would send the city into an uproar.

They had to ensure that the young man followed them willingly! Once they were inside the mines, no one would brazenly follow them in because they understood that the trip was just for a new mine opening.

Qiao father and son had made quite the airtight plan, and they did have some other motivations in play. If special circumstances were triggered when Li Hao approached the ruins... they could either kill him on the spot or find a way to collect some of his blood.

In either case, the Qiaos needed to confirm the usability of the young man. If there was no response from the ruins and his blood proved useless, they would needlessly offend a large host of people if they killed him. It would also expose them after numerous years of concealment—an immense loss rather than a gain.

They would inevitably extract some sort of gain by inviting Li Hao this time. They would ensure he left a bit of blood behind at the very least. The mines were also one of the least inconspicuous ways to ensure this. It’d just caved him and rubble abounded. Any random fragment of rock could inflict a bloody scrape—that would be a very ordinary occurrence.

......

Li Hao didn’t delay. He returned to the house for a change of clothes and quickly walked out of the front gate. His communicator rang just when he climbed into the Qiao family car. Qiao Peng pricked his ears in the front seat when the young man picked up, eavesdropping on his conversation.

“Li Hao!”

“What is it, chief?”

Qiao Peng raised an eyebrow. Liu Long?

“Director Hao’s come from White Moon and says he’ll be the master of ceremonies for the ribbon-cutting ceremony tomorrow. Hurry up and present yourself to him!”

“Now?”

“Yes, the faster the better.”

“Um...” Li Hao hesitated. “Chief, can it wait? Or do you want to come to Qiao Mining and wait for me at the front of their mountain? I’m going to locate a new mine opening for them right now and will be done soon.”

“What are you blathering on about?!” Liu Long’s furious roar split the receiver. “You’re going to pick up some extra income when Director Hao’s waiting for you?”

“No, that’s not what I mean...” Li Hao explained. “The Inspectorate has a duty to handle certain cases and one like the collapse of a mine involves general safety. I’m primarily going to investigate to see if they’ve concealed any casualties. Chief, I’m busy with proper business!”

“Bullshit! Get back here!”

Li Hao set his jaw with reluctance. “It’s just one hour, chief. I’ll be there as soon as I’m done. I said I’d do it and we’re almost there, it won’t do if I don’t go! And chief... I... I need mysterious power.”

“Fuck that!” Liu Long cursed. “I’d smack you to death if you weren’t Yuan Shuo’s damned student! I’m driving there right now and you finish as fast as you can! Li Hao, all your learning’s gone straight up your ass! Don’t give yourself airs just because you’re Yuan Shuo’s student. How dare you act like this with Director Hao in residence?! I really couldn’t tell before!”

“It’s just a coincidence!” Li Hao hastened to explain, but Liu Long had already hung up. The young man swore with frustration and looked irritably at Qiao Peng. “Look at this, I was yelled at for you guys! I don’t care what the situation is, Qiao Peng, you get one hour at most. It’d be best if we can decide on a new location, but you have to pay up even if we can’t!”

Meanwhile, Qiao Peng was also inwardly cursing up a storm! Screw this blasted development! Liu Long was coming too?? And Hao Lianchuan was in town?! If Liu Long came and Li Hao was also here, that’d draw all eyeballs to them!

And if Hao Lianchuan also turned his attention to them... they needed to exercise utmost caution. Taking Li Hao and Liu Long to that place might result in exposure.

“Let’s not, Commissioner Inspector Li,” Qiao Peng quickly raised. “Let’s forget about today. I don’t want to have Director Liu make a trip in vain. We can reschedule for another time.”

The plan was ruined with the addition of Liu Long’s presence. They could take a break and go about their business.

“None of that bullshit.” Li Hao frowned. “I’ve already been yelled at and will be yelled at again if I tell chief not to go. It’s fine, Director Liu is very good to me and I do lack mysterious power. Taking one hour to earn one cube... he won’t mind. He won’t do anything apart from yelling at me.”

He glanced at Qiao Peng out of the corners of his eyes and suppressed a laugh. You’ve now got troubles you can’t speak of, huh!

Liu Long’s call had come in such a timely manner naturally due to Li Hao’s actions when he went inside to change. Since the Qiaos were so earnest in their invitation, the young man might as well go. Refusing could raise suspicion.

Liu Long wanted to tag along to see if he could sense something. Perhaps he could probe the attributes of the three supernaturals, their abilities, and their strength. Martial masters could easily hide themselves, but supernaturals would give something away if they were close to a Dominator—especially if they were Sunflare.

And here they were, fretting about a lack of opportunity to understand their opponent! A chance had come knocking at their door. Otherwise, the director of a Night Watcher branch really didn’t have a reason to visit a mine.

While Yuan Shuo had gone last night, what he sensed might not be the same as Liu Long. Perhaps the professor felt that he could take on their opponents, but it was still up to Liu Long to draw his own conclusions.

......

At the same time.

A mystified Liu Long drove toward the mountain. What... nice fellows to offer themselves up on a silver platter. Was the Qiao family in such a rush to die?

He wanted to sneak into the mountain as well, but worried that his abilities of concealment would fall short compared to Yuan Shuo’s. They would be in grave trouble if he was discovered. Thus, this was perfect. He had a legitimate reason to walk right in.