Chapter 27: Finally Making His Move?

“They canceled the second nuclear launch, then sent something deadlier than a nuclear bomb. We've really made Tiandu angry...” Tian Yi sat cross-legged on the submarine's deck, gazing into the distance. He had somehow acquired a can of coffee and was sipping it as he watched.

Gu Wen emerged from the hatch just then. Hearing Tian Yi's words, he added, “These people showing up are like the last turd that clogs the sewer. Time for them to despair.”

“Could you use fewer metaphors involving excrement?” Tian Yi asked.

“I'll do my best,” Gu Wen replied. “I came up to tell you the Freedom Front people are almost here. If we can't deal with the problem in front of us before then, they certainly won't come any closer. You've been broadcasting live, after all. That many Celestial Guards are enough to scare them off.”

“Yes... we'll have to think of something fast. Blood Owl still isn't strong enough at this stage. Even with my support, he can't take on all seven Celestial Guards and win.” Tian Yi made it sound quite serious, but he was still sipping his coffee and enjoying the sea breeze.

“What? What do you mean, ‘think of something fast’? Didn't you consider the possibility that the Celestial Guards might show up? That was a very likely complication,” Gu Wen snapped.

“You're supposed to think about things like that. You're the crackpot strategist, and I'm the hands-off boss.” Tian Yi shrugged. “That's how the Inverted Cross is supposed to work. I've only been getting more involved because we're just starting out.”

“Who do you think I am, Ikkyu? You expect me to come up with a brilliant idea in the time it takes to piss?” Gu Wen retorted.

“For such a well-educated man, you certainly can't open your mouth without talking about piss and shit,” Tian Yi replied.

In the time it took him to say that, Gu Wen's expression turned serious. “I've got it.”

“So it only took you as long as a fart!”

“You're the one using filthy language this time...” Gu Wen said. “Anyway, here's what I suggest. We find a way to get Blood Owl and Darkwater aboard the submarine, then run.”

“Not a very good plan,” Tian Yi remarked.

“But it's the most realistic one,” Gu Wen continued. “That way, neither we nor the Freedom Front lose any fighting strength. All that happens is those prisoners die. They were in Tidal Prison to begin with, anyway. Ideally, they'd return to the outside world and accomplish something, but if they can't, they can only blame their bad luck.”

“Wouldn't that turn our live broadcast into a propaganda film for the Empire?” Tian Yi said. “I've already made all those grand promises about ‘giving them a lavish gift’ and so on. If the promise turns out to be as empty as an unfilled rice dumpling, that's going to be quite a blow to morale. The resistance leaders will think the Inverted Cross got carried away, or decide ‘they'd have been better off staying in prison.’ Our image will go from unfathomable to unreliable in an instant. As our strategist, you need to come up with something.”

“Someone who said ‘think of something fast’ barely a minute ago was never reliable to begin with.” Irritated by Tian Yi's words, Gu Wen shot back, “That's my only suggestion, unless...” He ventured onto very dangerous ground. “Unless the Inverted Cross has resources I don't know about that we could use. Such as...”

“Such as me?” Tian Yi did not turn to look at Gu Wen, but he couldn't help laughing. “You don't think I'm a Paper-rank ability user either, do you?”

“It's not a feeling. I'm certain,” Gu Wen said. “The mysteries surrounding you puzzle me more than the bookshop, the Black Documents, Darkwater's civilization, and all the rest.”

“All right. I can go deal with this,” Tian Yi said. “But I have some conditions...”

“You're setting conditions for me?” Gu Wen laughed. “What kind of boss negotiates terms with his subordinate?”

“You're not my subordinate. We're partners.” Tian Yi's tone was very serious. “No one aboard this submarine is my subordinate. You call me boss, and I call you my subordinates, but that's just a pretext for outsiders. Otherwise our organization would seem very strange.”

“I see,” Gu Wen said. “These conditions of yours... you're afraid I'll work out too many of your secrets and one day turn them against you?”

“I'm not a madman, Gu Wen. I have my own rules and objectives,” Tian Yi said. “Sometimes I act on a whim, but I do have certain principles. You simply don't understand them.

“But you're a madman, through and through. Beyond saving. What you've just said is part of a scheme too. Everything you've said since you came up here has been...

“I've never worried that you might plot against me ‘one day,’ because you've never stopped plotting against me. Once you find a way to kill me, you'll eagerly conduct another ‘test.’ If I fail, you'll kill me.

“Perhaps you are cleverer than I am. But now, listen carefully to my conditions...”

...

Blood Owl had been facing the six Celestial Guards alone for a full minute, while Time Attendant and Long Tassel watched each other from far apart in the sky. The other prisoners had almost given up hope, but they still made their way onto the island one after another and stood behind Blood Owl. That was precisely why the Celestial Guards had not acted rashly.

You could never let your guard down against cornered beasts. The Celestial Guards knew perfectly well that these demons who had crawled out of hell would be difficult to handle. Only by keeping their heads in battle could they wipe them all out and emerge unscathed. One small lapse, and someone on the other side might make a desperate move that took both sides down together.

Just as the battle was about to erupt, the camera robots suddenly stopped working and dropped into the sea one after another, as though they had lost power. Viewers around the world lost the picture at the same time.

Blood Owl glanced at the sea out of the corner of his eye. The submarine was gone, but he could still sense Tian Yi's “sin,” and his strength had not disappeared.

Has that guy come ashore...? Blood Owl thought.

“Yes, I'm here.” Tian Yi appeared beside Blood Owl like a ghost, without the slightest warning. He answered as though he could hear what Blood Owl was thinking.

“Are you insane? A Paper-rank ability user coming up here to die?” Blood Owl said, looking at him.

“If I die, you won't have the strength to keep fighting either, will you?” Tian Yi said with a smile. “Don't worry. You don't need to fight them now.” He turned to look at the prisoners. “You don't need to do anything either. I can handle this myself.”

Even Blood Owl was shocked. What was this guy trying to do? What could he do? Any one of the Celestial Guards only had to lift a finger, and the kid would drop dead on the spot!

With both hands in his trouser pockets and a languid expression on his face, Tian Yi began strolling toward the Celestial Guards...