As the beast-shifter struggled to move away, Qin Jiulin charged in, pinning down its remaining arm with one front paw. His hind paw pressed down on its tail and the other intact leg. Then, he bit down on its neck.
With his powerful bite, the beast-shifter’s neck snapped.
Qin Jiulin wasn’t taking any chances. He shook his jaws violently to ensure that the spinal cord was completely severed before releasing his grip. Liu Zhongyuan shifted back into human form, while Qi Yue, who had flown down to toss them some clothes, was waved off by Liu Zhongyuan. Qi Yue then flew back up to a higher vantage point.
Qin Jiulin swished his tail leisurely as he walked forward. He planned to go to the river to bathe since his body was currently covered in a filthy mixture of dirt, blood, and flesh, which made him feel quite uncomfortable.
Liu Zhongyuan transformed back into his massive snake form and quickly caught up. After a brief wash in the river, they returned home to take a proper bath and change into clean clothes. Only then did they go to report the results of the mission to Gao Siyang.
Gao Siyang looked at the three of them and took a deep breath. “I’ve already watched the video footage from Qi Yue’s equipment. As expected, only you guys could handle this. If I had sent anyone else to deal with that beast-shifter, I doubt they would have made it back.”
Liu Zhongyuan patted his chest confidently. “It wasn’t that big of a deal.”
Gao Siyang shook his head, exasperated. “It might not be a big deal for you guys, but for others, it’s a huge problem. Anyway, that’s something to worry about in the future. This time, you guys really saved the day.”
Qin Jiulin asked, “Captain Gao, you mentioned earlier that someone was against killing this beast-shifter because they wanted it to deal with the other beast-shifters nearby. Who were those people?”
Gao Siyang sighed. Technically, all matters here were under his jurisdiction, so it seemed unlikely that anyone could truly oppose him. If someone could override his orders, it must be…
“That’s right. You guessed correctly,” Gao Siyang admitted. “But don’t worry. All he can do is voice his opposition. I’m the one in charge of this army now, and his words don’t carry any real weight.”
Qin Jiulin speculated, “Could it be… Zhou Lie?”
Gao Siyang looked at Qin Jiulin in surprise. “You know him? Well, I guess that makes sense. He was on the same level as me in the military before. It’s not surprising that you’ve heard of him.”
Qin Jiulin frowned. “It’s strange, though. Where has he been? Did he come here alone?”
Gao Siyang explained, “When the incident happened, he and I were both still in the military. But he refused to heed my advice and insisted on taking his people out. It wasn’t until recently, when you guys were on your mission at the military base, that he arrived here with less than a hundred remaining soldiers.”
Liu Zhongyuan smirked. “And now he’s here to take your power? His appetite sure is big.”
Qin Jiulin added, “I’ve heard that Zhou Lie has two sons, both in the military. Are they part of the hundred or so soldiers who came with him?”
Gao Siyang nodded. “Yes, they are. I didn’t expect you to know that, but it’s not exactly a secret.”
“Anyway, you don’t need to worry about him. As long as you stay on my side, I won’t be afraid of him.”
Liu Zhongyuan chuckled. “Of course, of course. We’re the strongest beast-shifter squad around now. If Zhou Lie wants to seize power, he’ll have to win us over first.”
Just as Qin Jiulin had suspected, it was indeed Zhou Lie. In his previous life, Zhou Lie had been the military leader in charge of the city of Modu. Qin Jiulin had thought Zhou Lie was long dead, given how much time had passed without any sign of him.
But not only had Zhou Lie shown up, he was now trying to wrest power from Gao Siyang. How ridiculous. “Still, Captain Gao, you shouldn’t take this too lightly,” Qin Jiulin warned. “If something happens to you, our squad, no matter how strong, would have no choice but to help him take control of Modu.”
Gao Siyang took a deep breath. “You’re right. If something happens to me, you guys won’t have much of a say, even if you don’t agree. But don’t worry. I’ve worked with Zhou Lie for many years, and I know his personality and tactics better than anyone. I won’t give him that opportunity.”
Qin Jiulin added, “Besides us, don’t forget there’s another beast-shifter squad. If we’re not an option, he might try to win them over.”
Gao Siyang shrugged. “I don’t care about the other squad. I only care about where you stand.”
Liu Zhongyuan grinned. “No need to be so serious! Our plan is simple: we’ll keep moving forward, step by step, solidly and steadily. No detours.”
Gao Siyang thought for a moment and nodded. “I understand what you mean. I’ve already added the contribution points for this mission to your accounts. If there’s nothing urgent in the meantime, go with Zhang Yuankai and the others to the military base. We need to stock up on enough military supplies to last through the winter.”
Liu Zhongyuan replied confidently, “No problem, leave it to us!”
With the mission report completed, the three of them left. Qi Yue, who had been watching them, turned back to see Gao Siyang still busy with work in the office. He couldn’t shake a sense of foreboding.
Sure enough, not long after they left the safe house and were heading toward the cafeteria, they ran into two people.
Most others wouldn’t recognize them, but Qin Jiulin knew them well. Very well. In fact, he had dealt with them many times in his previous life. After all, back then, Qin Jiulin had also been one of the top beast-shifters in Modu.
The taller of the two men spoke first. “Hello, are you from Liu Zhongyuan’s beast-shifter squad? I’m Zhou Qiyang, and this is my brother, Zhou Qishang.”
Hearing the surname Zhou and recalling their earlier conversation with Gao Siyang about Zhou Lie and his two sons, Liu Zhongyuan immediately realized these were likely the two sons.
“Yes, I’m Liu Zhongyuan,” he said. “These two are my teammates. Do you need something from us?”
Zhou Qiyang smiled when they confirmed their identities. “Nothing major. We just wanted to introduce ourselves. Do you have some time?”
Liu Zhongyuan scratched his head. “Sorry, we don’t really have time right now. We just finished a tough mission, and we’re starving and exhausted. We’re heading to the cafeteria to eat. If it’s not an urgent matter, we’ll have to take a rain check.”
Zhou Qiyang froze for a moment, seemingly surprised that his friendly approach was met with such a cold response. He sized up Liu Zhongyuan carefully before finally smiling again. “Fair enough. We won’t hold you up, then. We’ll talk another time.”
Liu Zhongyuan smirked. “You’re quite understanding.”
With that, he grabbed Qin Jiulin’s hand, leading him and the ever-cheerful Qi Yue toward the cafeteria without so much as a backward glance. Qi Yue snickered quietly behind them, while Qin Jiulin seemed a bit surprised.
When they reached the cafeteria, they found a corner to eat in peace. Liu Zhongyuan asked, “Jiulin, you seemed to look at them a bit strangely earlier. Is there something off about them?”
Qin Jiulin shook his head. “Not particularly. I just think their timing is a bit off.”
Liu Zhongyuan agreed. “Yeah, Captain Gao mentioned that they arrived while we were on our mission at the military base. If they wanted to recruit us, they could have approached us as soon as we got back. But they waited until now.”
Qi Yue chimed in. “Why would that be?”
Qin Jiulin gave him a look. “Why do you think?”
Qi Yue stared at him, confused.
Liu Zhongyuan filled in the gaps. “Obviously, they were busy trying to recruit someone else first. They didn’t have time for us.”
Qi Yue’s eyes widened. “You mean… Xia…?”
Qin Jiulin nodded. “Who else could it be? There are only six beast-shifters here, and five of them are loyal to Captain Gao. The only ones Zhou Lie could target are the other squad. If not us, then them.”
Qi Yue looked worried. “So…”
Liu Zhongyuan was about to say something when he noticed Xi Sihan and Cheng Tianxiang approaching from a distance. “Hey, fancy running into you here. Mind if we sit with you?”
Liu Zhongyuan waved them over. “No problem, have a seat. Let’s chat.”
Once seated, both Xi Sihan and Cheng Tianxiang sighed heavily. “We actually wanted to talk to you guys,” Xi Sihan admitted.
Qin Jiulin raised an eyebrow. “Does it have something to do with Xia Liansheng?”
Cheng Tianxiang couldn’t help but interject. “Yes, yes! He’s been acting really strange lately, sneaking around with some people we don’t recognize. We don’t know what they’re discussing, but it’s definitely suspicious.”
Qin Jiulin frowned. “Who’s he sneaking around with?”
Xi Sihan shook her head. “We don’t know them, but Xia Liansheng seems to admire them.”
Liu Zhongyuan asked, “Could their last name be Zhou?”
Xi Sihan shook her head again. “We’re not sure. He doesn’t tell us that kind of stuff. He just asked if we plan to stick with his squad in the long run.”
Cheng Tianxiang quickly added, “Of course, we refused! Why would we follow him? Eventually, we want to leave his squad. He’s not a terrible leader, but we just can’t seem to respect him for some reason.”
Liu Zhongyuan smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Some people are just like that. He probably knows that.”
