Chapter 106 – Take Precautions
While Lin Jiu was focusing on developing his energy meal sets, he received a message from the Elton family.
The coordinates Lin Jiu provided were correct, and the Elton and Limo families joined forces to raid the research base. The two sides engaged in fierce fighting, and both suffered casualties. But in the end, the Elton and Limo families successfully destroyed the base and freed many captive researchers, including numerous descendants of the Merfolk race and even some from the Haijia race. Some had volunteered, while others had been forced to participate.
What they discovered was shocking: the Cecil family had overstepped all bounds. Their research subjects weren’t limited to the Merfolk and Haijia races; they had also captured descendants of other ancient races. During the chaos, the Elton family managed to seize a large amount of research material—proof of the Cecil family’s crimes.
Once this evidence was made public, the Elton family wouldn’t even need to take action. The other ancient families wouldn’t let the Cecil family off the hook.
For years, there had been mysterious disappearances of ancient race descendants. Many assumed they had been recruited by other countries or emigrated. While some had indeed left, others had been captured by the Cecil family and taken to their research labs as experimental subjects.
When Lin Jiu heard this, he was completely shocked. The Cecil family had truly gone mad, willing to do anything to awaken their bloodlines. Didn’t they consider what would happen if their actions were exposed?
Lin Jiu asked, “What’s the current situation with the Cecil family?”
Ansair coldly said, “Vannes has disappeared, taking only a few people with him. But his most beloved youngest son, Hailier, was left behind at the old mansion.”
Lin Jiu thought to himself, Hailier and the people he took with him were now useless. Vannes would never take them along again; now, Hailier and the rest were just ordinary people.
What Lin Jiu was more concerned about was Vannes himself. A big fish like him slipping away gave him an uneasy feeling.
Lin Jiu asked, “Any news about Vannes?”
Ansair replied, “Not yet.”
Lin Jiu said, “This man must be caught. As long as he’s alive, there’s a chance he’ll cause trouble again. Our side won’t be safe.”
Ansair hesitated and said, “We are planning to publicly release information about the Cecil family’s research lab and expose the ancient race descendants they captured. Once that happens, we won’t need to take further action. The Cecil family will be in grave danger from all sides.”
Lin Jiu asked, “Which ancient races are involved?”
Ansair replied, “Siren, Haijia, Ruta, Charm Sprite, and even many strange-looking ocean creatures.”
Lin Jiu was impressed. Aside from the Demon Spirit race, the Cecil family had managed to capture the other four major ancient races. Let them suffer the consequences of their reckless behavior.
Lin Jiu said, “Then go ahead and release the information. Vannes must be caught.”
Ansair assured him, “Rest assured, neither my father nor I will let Vannes get away.”
After finishing the conversation with Ansair, Lin Jiu updated Si Xu on the situation. He began to consider what kind of weapon he should carry for self-defense. As long as Vannes remained at large, he wouldn’t feel at ease, especially after all the hardships Vera had endured. He couldn’t let her get hurt again.
Although Vera had become a Siren and had some ability to protect herself, her combat ability on land was limited. And in the event of a surprise attack, none of them were invincible. The hidden threat still needed to be guarded against.
Lin Jiu had already given his magic energy gun and bullets to Si Xu, who had been studying the blueprints for the magic energy gun. Lin Jiu wasn’t sure if he had made any progress.
He thought about whether giving Vera a magic energy gun would get him into trouble. Vera had the space ring he had given her, so she could hide the gun inside, and no one would know unless she took it out. But if she actually used it, it would be considered illegal possession of a firearm.
Lin Jiu felt a headache coming on. The magic energy gun wasn’t cheap, and its power was immense. Without shooting experience, it could easily lead to accidents.
He checked the progress on converting the magic crystals and saw that it wasn’t finished yet. He wondered how much magic energy he would get from those five crystals. If he ended up spending the energy on something else and didn’t have enough to buy Si Xu’s advanced gene enhancement serum, what would he do?
After thinking it over, Lin Jiu decided to ask about Si Xu’s progress. If Si Xu had weapons ready, he could save the magic energy for other uses.
Luckily, Lin Jiu asked. As soon as he inquired about the weapon-making progress, Si Xu handed him three miniaturized magic energy guns.
Lin Jiu was speechless.
He looked at the tiny magic energy guns and then at Si Xu. “Why are they so small?”
Si Xu replied, “To save materials and reduce the power.”
Lin Jiu: “???”
Si Xu explained, “After I got the blueprints, the weapon-making system gave me a task. If I could successfully create the magic energy gun, I would be rewarded with weapon-making minerals. I tried using Earth’s materials, but they couldn’t withstand the magic crystal’s energy. The gun would break after a single shot. Without usable materials, I couldn’t make the gun. So, I asked the system to give me the rewards first, and it agreed.”
Lin Jiu: “…”
Can you really do that? Isn’t that cheating?
Lin Jiu was about to call the system to ask about this when he realized that the hunting system probably knew what the subsystem was doing. But if the hunting system wasn’t monitoring the subsystem, it wouldn’t know what it had done.
He quickly decided against asking. If the hunting system wasn’t aware, he would just be exposing it by asking.
At that moment, the system was thinking: [If the boss wants a favor, I’ll just pretend I don’t know. I’ll turn a blind eye. With his intelligence, he’s bound to make the magic energy gun eventually, and the rewards are his sooner or later. Giving them to him early is no problem.]
Lin Jiu picked up one of the guns and tested it in his hand. It was light and easy to carry, small enough to slip into a pocket.
A gun this small was actually perfect for women. Lin Jiu couldn’t help but wonder if Si Xu had known he wanted a woman’s weapon, which was why he had made these pocket-sized magic energy guns.
Si Xu loaded a magic energy bullet into the mini gun. “With the smaller size, the power is reduced, but the consumption of magic energy bullets is also lower. Each bullet can now be used more times. Don’t worry about the power. The gun fires energy beams, but the mini version shoots a thinner and shorter beam. It just can’t adjust the thickness and range like the full-sized one. Still, it’s far more powerful than regular bullets. Unless you’re up against giant sea monsters, it’s more than enough for dealing with humans.”
Lin Jiu never doubted Si Xu’s creations. His brain wasn’t like that of a normal person. As long as he put his mind to it, he could create anything.
The only thing Lin Jiu worried about was, “Can I give one to my mom?”
Si Xu laughed, “Of course. These three are for you and your family.”
Lin Jiu asked, “Besides my mom, Mrs. Si also needs one. Can they carry guns?”
Si Xu replied, “They’re not ordinary people, and there’s a potential danger. We can apply for permission for them to carry weapons.”
This reassured Lin Jiu, though he quickly became concerned again. “But they’ve never trained with guns…”
Si Xu smiled and pulled Lin Jiu into his arms. “Don’t worry, I’ve already arranged everything. They’re now members of a shooting club.”
Lin Jiu: “…”
Wow, you move fast! Why didn’t anyone tell me, leaving me to worry for nothing!
Lin Jiu kept one of the mini guns and took a few magic energy bullets to give to Vera for self-defense, returning the remaining two guns to Si Xu.
Si Xu handed him another one. “You need one for protection too.”
Lin Jiu: “… This is a woman’s gun.”
Si Xu raised an eyebrow. “No one said this is a woman’s gun. I just thought it would be light, energy-efficient, and save materials, so I made it this way.”
Lin Jiu replied, “Alright, fine.”
After putting away the mini magic energy gun and bullets, Lin Jiu finally prepared to wash up and rest.
Both he and Si Xu were busy, hardly seeing each other during the day, so nighttime was the only chance they had to talk and rest together.
When Lin Jiu came out of the shower, Si Xu pulled him into an embrace and kissed his forehead before saying, “I have to go on a business trip tomorrow.”
Lin Jiu looked at him sharply. “Another mission?”
Si Xu replied, “It’s a mission for Team One. Lu Yu ran into some trouble over there, and the higher-ups are sending me to check it out.”
“Where?” Lin Jiu asked.
“Don’t worry, it’s domestic this time. Something came up in the South China Sea. I’ll just check it out and be back.”
Lin Jiu responded, “I want to go too.”
Si Xu chuckled softly. “I’m leaving early tomorrow. You might not wake up in time.”
Lin Jiu immediately got up to find his phone. “I’ll set an alarm. I can definitely get up…”
Before he could finish, Si Xu pulled him back and kissed him.
Through actions, Si Xu demonstrated to Lin Jiu that sometimes, having an alarm doesn’t mean you can actually wake up.
By the time Lin Jiu woke up, it was already 10 a.m., and Si Xu had long since left.
Feeling sore all over, Lin Jiu reached for his phone. Sure enough, Si Xu had messaged him, telling him to rest well and that he would return in a few days.
Since the mission was within the country, Lin Jiu wasn’t too worried. Besides, there hadn’t been any major incidents reported in the South China Sea, and it was Lu Yu’s task anyway. Si Xu wouldn’t be delayed for long, so Lin Jiu didn’t insist on going along.
Last night, Si Xu had kept him up late, and Lin Jiu was both tired and sleepy. It was nearly 11 a.m. by the time he lazily headed to the shop.
While preparing energy meals, Lin Jiu kept yawning. Vera noticed but didn’t say much, simply reminding him to get some rest.
Lottie had already started school. High school in Z Country was giving Lottie a real sense of what studying meant, and except for weekends, he had no time to come to the shop, being busy with schoolwork.
Without Lottie to help, Lin Jiu couldn’t bear to let Vera overwork, so he often helped her prepare the meals.
While Lin Jiu was in the middle of yet another yawn, a sudden wail from a woman snapped him awake, clearing his drowsiness entirely.
Before Lin Jiu could ask what was happening, he saw a woman rushing into the shop, clutching a child in her arms and crying.
“Boss Lin! Boss Lin, please save my child! I beg you, save him!”
The woman knelt on the floor as soon as she entered, wailing as she held her unconscious child, who appeared to be only a few years old. The woman kept crying, pleading for Lin Jiu to save her child.
Lin Jiu was stunned. He wasn’t a doctor, so how could he possibly save anyone?
Today, Fu Xi and Bai Kai were working in the shop, and they immediately went over to ask questions.
