Chapter 506: I'm Back
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
On December 29th, Blackhot city was filled with an atmosphere of new year. The showcases and the doorways of stores on both sides of the fascinating Avenue Bright were newly decorated with colorful lamps. Many firms and hotels were discounting so as to make a fortune in the new year. When it was the same time in previous years, the most average people in Blackhot City , who rarely came out for shopping would come here to feel the wonderful life of wealthy people in Avenue Bright.
Perhaps only those scrupulous people could find that although Avenue Bright was still boisterous this year, much fewer members of the former 7 ruling clans of the Federation of Coal, Steel and Iron could be seen in some top entertainment venues in Avenue Bright.
Since the beginning of this year, the 7 ruling clans of Blackhot City had gradually faded out of the vision of commoners here. Although many industries and businesses of the 7 ruling clans were still running well in Blackhot City, the number of the influential figures of the 7 ruling clans gradually decreased. According to the gossips, many people of the 7 ruling clans, especially young men had left Blackhot City and headed for other countries.
Captain Kerlin finally bought a house of 140 square meters. This was not because that he had accumulated enough money, but because the house price in Blackhot City declined, allowing this cyclops to have his own "love nestle". However, he still didn't have a girlfriend.
A few days ago, Captain Kerlin plucked up his courage and expressed his true feelings to Miss Daina, only to get an answer, "Thanks, but we don't fit each other!" This shocked Captain Kerlin very much. Because of this, he even became frustrated for quite a long time.
When it was close to the new year, watching the room filled with empty glasses, Captain Kerlin wondered that he would be driven mad if he continued to stay here like this.
Thus, Captain Kerlin put on his coat and stood in front of a mirror of a washroom. After washing his face with cold water in a rusty way, he casually combed his disordered mane with some water. After that, he left the apartment with red eyes.
His apartment was not far from the Iron Thorns Fighting Club. After being depressed for a few days, Captain Kerlin planned to have a fight in the fighting club so as to recover his morale. If he was lucky, he could even rip off that Fat in the fighting club.
These days, Captain Kerlin spent a lot on beer which made him poorer. Pinching the remaining silver coins and copper coins in the pocket of his coat, Captain Kerlin swore inside the cunning businessman who rose the price of beer by two times compared to that last year before leaving.
Out of the apartment was the Avenue Bright. It was evening, when the whole avenue was brightly lit and filled with visitors.
Watching those slim toyboys in fine clothes who were holding their women's hand, Cyclops raised his firm chest as he felt his confidence once again.
If it was indeed in a chaotic world, Daina would know that the man who could really protect her and give her a reliance and a sense of safety was only him, instead of those toyboys who only knew how to tease women. Only strong men's punches were the best reliance for women in a chaotic world, Daina would understand it very soon.
"Zerom even wants me to be a mercenary. Humph, didn't he know that this was the right moment for me to shine in front of Daina? Even men would change themselves in a different environment, not to mention women. I will not give up. I believe that Daina would think it through one day for sure."
As Captain Kerlin walked, he plucked up his courage. He confirmed his decision to pursue for Miss Daina once again.
I have a house now. Perhaps, I can buy some fine clothes like those toyboys and have a haircut in the barber shop...
Cyclops won many aspirations from the boisterous stores on both sides of the Avenue Bright. As a result, cyclops became spirited once again. Raising his head and chest, he strode forward in the crowd.
"Hmm, if I want to do this, I have to make some money."
Remembering that Fat in the Iron Thorn Fighting Club, Captain Kerlin revealed a wisp of smile as he paced up.
As he thought about that Fat, he saw a fat in front of him. However, this fat looked more wretched.
Therefore, Captain Kerlin sped up and patted onto the shoulder of the fat in front of him heavily.
Barley, with some acne on his face he turned around and caught sight of Cyclops who covered a half of his puberty with a shadow. Sharwin who was walking with Barley was also frightened at the sight of Captain Kerlin.
Numerous former graduates of the No. 7 National Middle School reached a conclusion at the cost of fresh blood——unless you could beat Cyclops, you'd better show enough respect to him even if you have graduated from school. As for a person who dared to beat his superior in the troop, he would never see whether it was proper if he wanted to beat a former student.
"Ah, Captain Kerlin, are you also here for shopping?" at the sight of Captain Kerlin, Barley, the Fat had already smiled like a dog that had just picked so many rotten meat. He almost stuck out his tongue.
Sharwin hurriedly greeted Captain Kerlin.
Slightly frowning his forehead, Cyclops watched this obscene fat. Barley's exquisite woolen suit and silk shirt made him a bit uncomfortable. "Why Barley, a fat rascal who was not even qualified to be a soldier a year ago could live so well; however, I always lack money although being frugal. How unfair was the God! Toyboys always attract women's attention, cunning and obscene guys could make money; however, I always lack both."
"Where are you going?" Cyclops asked with a solemn look.
"We are just taking a walk here; and planning to buy some gifts for our family members by the way." Barley replied with a smile, "We heard Captain Kerlin bought a house near here. It's really admirable. The house here is the most expensive in Blackhot City. So many women want to marry a man who has a house here. We wish Captain Kerlin to marry a beautiful hostess for his mansion!"
Barley was really good at observing people's expressions. The moment his upper lip touched his lower lip had Captain Kerlin's face relieved.
"Hmm. Don't be too late outside..." after glancing over Barley and Sharwin, Captain Kerlin really couldn't find a place to lose his temper; therefore, he just strode forward.
Seeing Captain Kerlin leaving, Barley and Sharwin exchanged glances with each other before letting out a sigh. Cyclops almost hung his bad mood on his face completely today; if it was before, seeing him standing outside the school gate in such an expression, all the passers' legs would have became weak. Thankfully, he left. Right one minute ago, they were still talking about Miss Daina. If Cyclops heard what they talked just now a minute earlier, he might have crippled them.
"How risky..." Sharwin said as he patted his chest.
"Judging from his look, it seems that he had not made any progress in pursuing for Miss Daina!" Rubbing his jaw, Barley watched Captain Kerlin disappearing in the crowd.
"No crap. Do you really want to see Miss Daina being pressed down by this beast? To be honest, I would barely accept any man Miss Daina would stay with..."
Barley shook his head as he sniffled, "Come on, we'd better mind our own business!"
Sharwin nodded.
Of course, the two people were not here for shopping. Several minutes later, they appeared in a chartered room of a high-end restaurant in Avenue Bright. After about 10 minutes, First Lieutenant Clarke of the Logistics Department of the No. 19 Division of Iron Horn Corps in informal dress appeared in the same chartered room.
After enjoying the expensive, yummy food and drinks, Barley instantly took out a purse from his pocket and pushed it in front of First Lieutenant slightly.
Taking over the purse, First Lieutenant Clarke casually weighed it by hand before revealing a smile. He then raised his cup, "Cheers, for our cooperation in the next year, cheers!"
"Cheers!"
Three cups then collided with each other...
...
After dinner, a waiter entered to chartered room to settle accounts for them.
"96 silver coins and 86 copper coins in total. Which one of you will pay the bill?"
"I will!" saying this, Barley instantly took out of a gold coin and flicked it towards him, "Keep the change!"
"Thanks!" the waiter bowed and left.
After chatting with Barley and Sharwin for a short while, Clarke left first. After that, Sharwin drew a cold breath in the room, "Alas, it's too luxurious. I've not imagined that it could cost us about one gold coin for one dinner. I'm not even full!"
"This is face!" Barley said in an experienced way, "If not such a high-end restaurant, Clarke might not even come at all!"
"Why not? We're presenting him gold coins. When you gave him the 60-odd gold coins just now, I felt really pitiful. We only made over 100 gold coins in one year; however, he took away half of them..." Sharwin sighed.
"Don't worry. Do not always focus on that bit of money. As long as we keep a good relationship with Clarke, we could make twice the amount tomorrow from him. This starts from establishing our mutual trust." Barley gritted his teeth, "Let's go, go catch that waiter..."
"What?" Sharwin became stunned.
"Ask our money back. Damn it! That's 3 silver coins and 14 copper coins. Mrs Anna has a bad business recently. With this amount of money, we can visit her twice."
Sharwin and Barley then instantly rushed out of the chartered room.
...
"Sir, you...you've told me to keep the change." the waiter stared at Barley with an amazing look.
"There must be a mistake. I meant that you keep the 4 copper coins, but you have to give us the 3 silver coins and 10 copper coins right now. Quick, we're in a hurry!" Barley said with a shameless look.
Finally, the waiter put the 3 silver coins and 14 copper coins on Barley's hands.
...
After leaving the restaurant, Barley and Sharwin put on their original average clothes and packed the clothes, each of which was worth more than 2 gold coins before hurriedly rushing into a high-end garment store to return them.
"Sir, is there any problem with my clothes?" the clerk watched Barley and Sharwin with a depressed look.
"No problem, but we don't want them all of a sudden. According to your regulations, as long as the clothes are well-preserved with a label in 7 days, we can return them without any reason. We bought these clothes yesterday, can we return them?" Barley explained with a serious look.
After checking the two clothes carefully, the clerk found that they were well preserved, including their labels. Therefore, he returned it back to Barley in a frustrated way.
...
After walking out of the garment store, Barley and Sharwin exchanged glances with each other before bursting out into laughter's.
After that, Barley put his hand onto Sharwin's shoulder, "Brother, trust me, we will not pick up clothes from this store one day!"
"Where else will we pick if not here?"
"We will have our own tailor, the best ones, like those big figures of the Federation of Coal, Steel and Iron in Blackhot City..." Barley said with a hopeful look.
Sharwin smiled pleasantly, "Of course, I believe in you!"
"Let's go. We will go back early today. We have to buy some Spring Festival goods to gift to the homes of Doug, Bagdad, Leit and Hista. I'm afraid that they would not have a vacation until the end of the year!"
"It's said that Bagda would soon become a LV 3 soldier..."
"This guy truly is indeed progressing very fast. He has already lit 3 surging points in less than 2 years since graduation!"
"I miss Bighead. He might be sharper!"
"He might have been LV 6!"
Speaking of Zhang Tie, Barley and Sharwin both revealed a special look. That's their good brother, who made them proud of.
...
Barley and Sharwin then departed and returned to their own home at a late time.
Barley was living in a nice residential area of Blackhot City. When he came back home, it was already midnight. Nobody could be seen in the residential area anymore. Besides faint barks from afar, it was tranquil over here.
Several days ago, a guy committed suicide by jumping off the building. He looked pretty miserable when he died. His brain had spattered over ten meters away. After a cold breeze, seeing the shadows on both sides of the roads under the reflection of the roadside lamps, Barley passed by the place where that guy had committed suicide; gradually, he felt goosebumps over his neck as he paced up.
At this moment, a hand reached out of the darkness and fell on Barley's shoulder.
In a split second, Barley felt his head full of blood. Feeling soft at foot, the moment he uttered half a word, his mouth had been covered.
"It's me!" a voice sounded at Barley's ears. Barley turned around and caught sight of Zhang Tie's faint and familiar face.
Zhang Tie was still smiling like before. Seeing Barley's widely opened eyes, he knew that Barley had already recognized him. Therefore, he moved his hand away from Barley's mouth, "It's only a bit longer than 1 year. How did you become so timid?"
"Bighead?" Barely muttered as he was shocked. At this moment, even if that guy who had jumped off the building stood in front of him, he would not be as shocked as he was seeing Zhang Tie.
"Such a nickname has not been called for a long time!" Zhang Tie rubbed his face,
"Is that you?'
"Yes, it's me..."
Chapter 507: The Current Situation
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
The special pass that Lieutenant Colonel Labelli gave Zhang Tie was a certificate used by the military officers of the Ministry of Supervision of Iron Horn Corps in special tasks. It contained Zhang Tie's photo, the duration of the certificate, military rank and code, except for a name. With this pass, Zhang Tie could be low-key in this city. Very few people would pay attention to him in case of troubles and embarrassment.
After leaving Barley's residential area and reaching an appointment with Barley about the next meeting time, Zhang Tie went to Grandma Teresa's Orphanage.
Walking in the familiar street of Blackhot city in the cold and silent evening, Zhang Tie had mixed moods inside.
Over the past one year, the Blackhot city seemingly had changed a lot; however, it didn't change actually.
Bagdad joined the army and became a soldier of No. 39 Division. Barley and Sharwin, who had not passed the physical examination, opened a small firm in Blackhot City, the shareholders of which were the seven members of the brotherhood.
Barley reached an agreement with First Lieutenant Clarke of Logistics Department of No. 39 Division whom he had met once before and started to do business on the treatment of junks of the Logistics Department of No.39 Division.
Zhang Tie, who had stayed in the Logistics Department of the Iron Horn Corps for a period, knew it clearly that many items that were overdue or couldn't meet the requirements of the army should be treated like junks in the strict military supply system of Norman Empire. Some of these junks were useless; some of them were still very useful in the folklore after processing.
First Lieutenant Clarke had the disposal right of some wasted weapons, which should be sold in the price of scrap iron according to the regulation of Norman Empire. However, actually, they were very profitable.
Take a standard 1.57 m-long single hand long sword used by the army of Norman Empire as an instance. If the tip of the blade was broken or a part of the blade was severely damaged, this sword would be discarded as useless. Barley's team took over this kind of sword from Clarke. After polishing it into a 1 m-long common sword, even a short sword or a dagger, they could still make a profit. As commoners had less requirements on weapons than military, neither did they have so many standards. Their only requirement was that this weapon was available. However, the military products of Norman Empire were always very high. Even though it was thinner than before, as long as it was available, it would have a high demand.
Barley and Sharwin were running a mini workshop. Besides some sets of grinding machines and metal processing tables, they also invited some assistants. They processed the discarded military products here. After that, they sold the new ones. Last year, excluding expenditures, they even made over 100 gold coins.
As Barley and Sharwin have just had a meal with Clarke in Avenue Bright and bribed him, Barley estimated that they could make twice the amount of money in the next year.
"Before leaving Blackhot City, I gave some money and resources to Barley and the other friends; they didn't input all the money in this business; in Barley's words, the secret of making money is not to always expand your business but to be familiar with your business. Without a solid foundation, one might suffer a loss no matter how much you spent."
Speaking of business, Zhang Tie had to admit that the fat was born to be a businessman. "This guy is much sharper than me on doing business."
"If I don't come back, Barley might continue to do his business here; however, Barley had to consider whether to stay in Blackhot City or not given the current critical situation."
Zhang Tie had already told Barley about the reason that he came back. Blackhot City was not a place to stay for long. Once the 3rd holy war broke out, Blackhot City, which was on the border of Blackson Humans Corridor, would become the frontier of the war or be destroyed in a wink. Otherwise, as long as other places were involved in the war, they would not be able to retreat from Blackhot City. The long and narrow terrain of Blackson Humans Corridor determined the fate of Blackhot City in the coming holy war.
After leaving from here, they might have to say goodbye to Blackhot City forever. Although Barley believed in Zhang Tie but he had to negotiate with his family members solemnly about that.
Any family would be very serious on making a decision which was involved with the fate of the whole family.
Zhang Tie told Barley that as long as his family wanted to leave out of here, he would be responsible for their migration certificates. Barley would go for Sharwin tomorrow. As to other brothers, he could only notice them when they would come out of the barracks in a few days.
Zhang Tie had about one month to manage things here from now to the next February.
After coming to the orphanage of Grandma Teresa, Zhang Tie was amazed that the name-plate of the orphanage had disappeared. The orphanage was closed. Using his dark vision, Zhang Tie could see the playground of the kids was covered with packs of goods. The orphanage seemingly became a warehouse.
Seeing the light coming from the small room of the night watchman, Zhang Tie walked forward and slightly knocked at the door of the room. After a few seconds, he received no response; therefore, he knocked once again.
This time, he heard some noises in the room. After a few seconds, the night watchman pulled open a palm-sized iron window and showed half of his face with a vigilant look while lifting his fluorite lamp towards outside.
"Whom are you looking for?"
"I want to know where are Grandma Teresa and those kids?"
"You mean that old nun who adopted a lot of orphans?"
"Yes!"
After thinking for a short while, the man in the room replied, "They've moved away two months ago."
"Are they still in Blackhot City?"
"Not anymore. After disposing the real estate here, that nun left with those orphans by airship!"
"Hmm, thanks!"
Zhang Tie turned around and left the orphanage. After hearing the night watchman's words, Zhang Tie let out a sigh. Besides Patron School, nobody would do that.
When Zhang Tie met Crell in Ice and Snow Wilderness, who was familiar with Grandma Teresa very much, he started to doubt that Grandma Teresa's status in the Patron School might not be that humble. It seemed that Grandma Teresa had other missions to accomplish in Blackhot City, for instance, to seek for orphans who were suitable to the cultivation system of Patron School. Given the current situation, it was indeed like that.
Whatever, after knowing that Grandma Teresa and those orphans left Blackhot City, Zhang Tie finally became reassured. If Grandma Teresa and those orphans had not left, Zhang Tie planned to take all of them away this time.
After leaving the orphanage, Zhang Tie walked on the tranquil street alone. He wanted to find an inn; however, Beverly's face appeared in Zhang Tie's mind at once, making his heart race.
"Perhaps, I can give her a surprise!"
With a wink, Zhang Tie revealed a smile as he sped up.
...
Half an hour later, Zhang Tie appeared outside a apartment in a lane near Red Maple Avenue in the north of Blackhot City.
Zhang Tie stood in front of the building and watched the lighted window while raising his head. He remembered that Beverly's family lived in the 6th floor, namely the top floor. Beverly's room was adjacent to the balcony facing this lane.
As he was going to try a new thing, he felt excited inside. After looking around and finding nobody was near him, he instantly sprung up from the ground onto the balcony of Beverly's apartment like an owl. In the air, he just pressed his one hand onto the windowsills on two floors before springing up once again. He then appeared in the balcony of Beverly's apartment silently.
It was very easy for a LV 8 powerhouse like Zhang Tie to do this.
The balcony directly led to Beverly's room. There was a glass door and a window between the balcony and Beverly's room. As it was winter, the window and the glass door were covered with deep, thick curtains. The glass door was also closed. After twisting the handle of the glass door, Zhang Tie opened the door, only causing a silent sound, "click". He then flashed inside the room at once before closing the door.
Using his dark vision, Zhang Tie could see clearly the dark-pitched room like how commoners saw things in the daytime.
It was a small, tidy room. It was only a bit more than 10 square meters. On the clothesline pole were hanging some woman's clothes, including two sets of nursing uniforms, some pairs of delicate underwear and sizable bras. The whole room was filled with a familiar smell of a young girl.
As this apartment was equipped with heating units, the room was not cold. In a night skirt, Beverly was sleeping on the bed in a sexy manner...
Chapter 508: A Surprise
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
After a year, Beverly looked more mature at 18.
Her blonde hair was scattering over the pillow. She was breathing evenly. In sleep, her beautiful and delicate face looked pretty tranquil.
Beverly, who was sleeping soundly didn't know that a man was standing in her room.
Beverly's bed was covered with some stuffed toys. Even though in sleep, Beverly was still hugging a huge stuffed toy dog.
Zhang Tie was attracted by the ruby on her right fourth finger, which was gifted by him.
Zhang Tie slowly drew closer to her bed. The moment he lowered his body and wanted to kiss her, he saw one thing beside her pillow. Being shocked for a second, he silently took that thing.
It was a small white linen bag which looked pretty ugly. Zhang Tie pinched it and realized it contained some black mulberries that he fetched from the wild. This small bag was sewed by the pieces of his shirt.
Zhang Tie had not imagined that Beverly treasured them so much that she put them beside her pillow instead of using them.
This ugly bag was a bit different than that before, as three words were sewed on it——I love you!
Beverly had not even said this to him even in the craziest period. However, she sewed those words on this bag.
Seeing that ring and that bag, Zhang Tie understood it right away. His eyes slightly turned wet.
He slightly put that bag in the original place and covered quilt for Beverly. After that, he silently moved back to the wall. He then sat on a chair and watched her sleeping soundly like watching a beautiful painting.
...
On the second morning, a shrill drifted from Beverly's room.
"Bennie, what's wrong?" Beverly's mom asked outside her room.
After being silent for two seconds, Beverly replied, " Nothing, mom. A big cockroach drilled in from the balcony last night!"
"Well, I'm making breakfast. What do you want to eat?"
"Mom, I don't feel good with my stomach; I want to sleep a bit longer. I won't eat breakfast!"
"Whatever, your hospital is in a vacation. Take a good rest at home!"
"Hmm!"
The talk between mom and daughter then came to an end.
...
Seeing Beverly's amazing look and hearing the talk between her and her mom, Zhang Tie revealed a smile.
Beverly sprung up from the bed. When Zhang Tie thought that she would throw herself into his embrace, his smile froze as Beverly rushed into the washroom.
"What a woman!" Zhang Tie smiled in a speechless way...
Three minutes later, after washing her face and tying up her hair, Beverly rushed out of the washroom in a night skirt. Supporting Zhang Tie's face with hands, she watched Zhang Tie with gleaming eyes. Without saying anything, she immediately lowered her body and bit Zhang Tie's neck ferociously.
"Ouch..." Zhang Tie uttered a muffled voice.
After lingering for a short while, they smiled at each other. Although they had not seen each other for over a year, after such a kiss, they felt having separated only for a few days. Zhang Tie didn't change, neither did Beverly.
"When did you come back?"
"I came back from Blapei to Blackhot City by train last night!"
"How did you come back? You're still wanted by the secret police!" Beverly said in a low voice while supporting on Zhang Tie's shoulder in case her mom heard it.
"Never mind. In the eyes of secret police, I'm invisible. As long as I don't run to the avenue and exclaim that I'm Zhang Tie who's wanted by the secret police, nobody will find me trouble..."
"Why are you back then?"
"To take you out of Blackhot City!"
"What? But why?"
"Because this is going to be a dangerous place very soon!"
"Is it because of war?"
"It's a long story..."
...
Zhang Tie stayed in Beverly's room for an entire morning. And when Beverly's mom went out to buy vegetables for lunch, Zhang Tie silently left Beverly's apartment.
After that, Zhang Tie called a carriage in the street outside the building and headed for Black Gold Hotel, the most one of its kind in Blackhot City. Using the special pass given by Lieutenant Colonel, he opened the most luxurious room which required 15 gold coins a day and waited there for the message.
Zhang Tie was not used to be that luxurious. However, this time, he had to be luxurious. Because in the eyes of the most commoners, the words of a person who could afford 15 gold coins a night was more authoritative than a person who could only afford 1.5 silver coins a night. Especially when people made major decisions, it was very important to guide and encourage them to make a decision by one's energy and Qi field.
This was not the battle field where things could be solved by fists. If it could be solved by fists, it would be much easier; however, if he wanted to persuade others, especially the family members of his friends, he needed high skills.
When Zhang Tie arrived at the Black Gold Hotel, Barley and Sharwin had already started to collect people, one family after another according to the name list given by Zhang Tie. Besides the family members of Hit-Plane Brotherhood, the name list also contained Zhang Tie's other friends in Blackhot City like Blues, Potter and those people of the God's Will Association.
Zhang Tie just let Barley tell them that he wanted to see them. As he was still being wanted by the secret police, those who didn't know the truth had to endanger a high risk if they came for him.
If those people dared to see him at such a high risk, Zhang Tie would tell them about the truth and let them make a choice. If they agreed to leave, Zhang Tie would give them a favor and take them away. It was a payment to the friendship and loyalty.
Of course, if those people didn't come, he would have no complaints about that. In this world, we cannot force people to change their mind. In Chinese opinion, if two people were doomed to not stay with each other, they could only separate from each other.
Beverly was also busy. Zhang Tie told her to find other girls of Rose Association. He wanted to see how many of those girls would like to see him at this moment. If they would like to come, Zhang Tie would indeed fulfill his responsibility as a "Guardian Knight"; otherwise, what they did before was just like a crazy wet dream.
After the CSIF (Coal, Steel and Iron Federation) faded away from commoners' vision, very few people could afford such a high-end consumption in Black Gold Hotel. Even in the prime period when the CSIF ruled this city, very less people afforded 10,000 gold coins a night in Black Gold Hotel like Zhang Tie.
Because of this, Zhang Tie was instantly served as the god of wealth. As long as Zhang Tie had a requirement, a great number of people would swarm up at once.
...
In the big steaming bath pool which was over 200 square meters, after waving his hand to tell some waiters to leave, Zhang Tie took off his bathrobe and slid into the warm and comfortable pool. He was thinking about a very tricky thing in a completely quiet and relaxed state.
"What about Miss Daina?"
"Who am I? How would I make Miss Daina believe in my words and leave Blackhot City together with me? In the final analysis, I'm just an average student of her. She might have already forgotten about my name. I'm not qualified to influence her choice on such an important thing."
Zhang Tie thought about this question for one hour in the bath pool. He even thought about abducting her out of there. Finally, he realized that it wouldn't work.
...
When Zhang Tie came out of the bath pool in bathrobe, over 30 waiters and female servants were waiting for him in the dressing room with his outfits. They were waiting for Zhang Tie's choice. All of the outfits were the top-class ones in Blackhot City...
Chapter 509: A Visit to the Headquarters of the No. 39 Division
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
After staying in Black Gold Hotel, on the following afternoon Zhang Tie left the deluxe presidential suite in wholly new clothes and sat in a black deluxe car which was arranged by the hotel. He then came to the Headquarters of the No. 39 Division of Blackhot City.
The migration certificates of Norman Empire were managed by the military, which must be issued by the local army. Therefore, he could not take away his friends and his friends' family members from Blackhot City without the consent of No. 39 Division.
Zhang Tie estimated that he would take away 8-10 people this time, some of them were even serving the No. 39 Division, which made it more difficult. Therefore, he decided to visit Colonel Leibniz, the supreme officer of the No. 39 Division.
Colonel Leibniz was also the supreme military officer of Norman Empire in Blackhot City. As long as he nodded, everything could be managed in Blackhot City. Although it was tricky, Zhang Tie believed that it would not be difficult than how those big clans silently transferred their whole clans. To the final analysis, almost all the problems in this world could be managed by money. As long as you had money, you could almost drive everything.
"I would give the same thing that those clans of CSIF had promised to Leibniz and the No. 39 Division." Zhang Tie was not brave enough to say this half a year ago; however, at this moment, even though he didn't use his influence in Ice and Snow Wilderness, he was still confident about making money by his all-purpose medicament.
After leaving Hidden Dragon Island for some months, Zhang Tie estimated that he had already made at least 1.2 million gold coins through the cooperation of Long Wind Business Group as the all-purpose medicament became gradually improved and the completion of Jinwu Castle. Besides, he also made hundreds of thousands of gold coins through his elder brother's channels. Zhang Tie could never imagine such an amount of money one year ago. No matter where he put it, he could do a lot of things with such an amount of money.
The Iron Blood Camp of the No. 39 Division had been dispatched to other places for special training. Such an elite troop would rarely stay in the camp for too long. The Scouts Camp was not in Blackhot City at this moment, either. Having no chance to see those brothers and friends in Iron Blood Camp and Scouts Camp, Zhang Tie felt a bit regretful.
After coming out of the Black Gold Hotel, Zhang Tie was thinking about Miss Daina on the way. Until then did he realize that he rarely know her.
When he was a student, he just fell in love with her secretly like an idiot. After school each day, he would hide behind the bus station to enjoy her beautiful back. Besides knowing her name, her vocation as a biology teacher of 'No. 7 National Male Middle School' in Blackhot City and from where she would get on the bus after school, Zhang Tie knew nothing more about her.
What a tragedy!
When Zhang Tie was waving his head in the car for the former tragedy, he arrived at the headquarters of the No. 39 Division. His car was stopped by the guard outside the headquarters.
The driver in deep blue uniform wearing a sea-captain's hat looked around Zhang Tie, "Your excellency, you need to present your certificate!"
Zhang Tie took out his special pass of Iron Horn Corps and passed it to the guard. After glancing at it, the guardian gave it back to Zhang Tie with two hands; additionally, he gave a salute, allowing Zhang Tie to enter the yard of the headquarters.
After parking the car, the driver quickly got off the car and helped Zhang Tie opened the door. After that, Zhang Tie stepped his shiny black shoes out of the car.
Watching this place, Zhang Tie recalled when he came here last time. He really felt like having been here for three decades.
"Wait for me here!"
"As you wish!"
Zhang Tie got off the car and walked towards the headquarters. He still remembered the location of Colonel Leibniz's office. On the way there, all the military officers and soldiers who passed by Zhang Tie glanced at him for a few seconds silently as they muttered, "Is this a big figure from Nordingburg?"
At this time, after putting on a set of outfit that could not be afforded by his dad even after 10 years of work, Zhang Tie looked very excellent from both inside to outside. The outstanding personality that Zhang Tie formed on the battle field was utterly different from those toyboys who only knew how to coax women. If those toyboys were brass, Zhang Tie was gold.
When he entered the building, he encountered another man coming out.
After seeing each other, they were both shocked.
"First Lieutenant Vessie, long time no see!" Zhang Tie greeted him with a smile. Although it was only a bit longer than one year, this second lieutenant adviser of Leibniz had one more star on his rank. If such a low-rank military officer who was far away from the frontier wanted to be promoted, he had to gain the appreciation from his superior. Given it, first lieutenant Vessie must have gained the appreciation of Colonel Leibniz.
At the sight of Zhang Tie, Vessie almost could not connect this Zhang Tie with the boy who was escorted into the headquarters from the prison of Blackhot City. After Zhang Tie greeted him, the First Lieutenant Vessie changed his face at once.
"Zhang...you're back?" realizing the sensitiveness of Zhang Tie's status, First Lieutenant Vessie swallowed back Zhang Tie's name with a dumbfounded look.
"I came back a couple of days ago. I've already met those brothers of the Ministry of Supervision in Blapei, there's no problem!" Zhang Tie briefed, "Is Colonel Leibniz inside?"
"Colonel?"
"Yes, I need his help. If he's not there, can you help me reserve it?" Zhang Tie didn't think that he could see the supreme military officer of Blackhot City the moment he came here. Influential figures like Leibniz could not be easily seen in Blackhot City without reservation. Whereas, Zhang Tie also guessed that the Ministry of Supervision of the Corps had already told Colonel Leibniz about his arrival. Therefore, Colonel Leibniz should not be too surprised about his arrival.
"What a coincidence! Colonel has just come back after an inspection of the troop. If you come here half an hour later, I'm afraid that the Colonel would have left. Follow me, I will notice it for you!" Knowing that Zhang Tie was special, First Lieutenant Vessie directly led Zhang Tie into the building of the headquarters and towards the office of Colonel Leibniz.
"How did you do in Jinyun Country in the past year?" First Lieutenant Vessie asked out of curiosity on the way.
"Hmm, not bad. After arriving at the rewarded prefecture of Huaiyuan Palace, I was sent to the Hidden Dragon Island and stayed there for a period!" Zhang Tie revealed some information about his experience in Huaiyuan Palace.
If First Lieutenant Vessie understood the clan systems of these big clans, he should know the position of Hidden Dragon Island in Zhang Clan of Huaiyuan Palace.
Zhang Tie knew it clearly that he had to display his energy to a certain degree, instead of always being low-key, even though he just disguised as a powerful one with the banner of Huaiyuan Palace in case of being scorned by others. This would also be helpful to what he was going to do.
Humans were all realistic animals. If he was a dead dog, nobody would like to glance at him or kick him. Additionally, most of people would be pleasant to help a guy who might become the pillar of Huaiyuan Palace instead of a penniless guy.
As Zhang Tie had expected, after hearing the words "rewarded prefecture", "Huaiyuan Palace" and "Hidden Dragon Island", First Lieutenant Vessie revealed a bigger smile. In the following chat, he gradually improved the relationship between him and Zhang Tie after praising Zhang Tie's military exploits in Blackhot city.
After coming to a quiet reception room outside the office area of Colonel Leibniz, First Lieutenant Vessie asked Zhang Tie to take a rest on the sofa as Colonel Leibniz was holding a meeting. He then waited in the office area to notice Colonel Leibniz after meeting.
First Lieutenant Vessie was very enthusiastic.
Zhang Tie nodded, "Fine, you go first. I will wait here!"
After saying sorry to Zhang Tie, Vessie left.
There was only one snowwhite female secretary with the rank of first lieutenant in the military uniform typing words in the room. She was very beautiful in short black hair. Zhang Tie was rightly facing that female secretary.
After exchanging glances with that female secretary, Zhang Tie smiled, so did the female. After that, she changed her sitting posture and started to type words seriously once again...
Chapter 510: A Strategic Material
Translator: WQL Editor: KLKL
The elegant female first lieutenant sat straight and continued typing words. However, Zhang Tie had already sensed her restless aura.
In Donder's words, their invisible life magnetic fields were colliding with each other. The so-called 'love at first sight' was actually due to the dialogue between two life magnetic fields.
Zhang Tie liked such a woman, who was like a Faerie Dragon T9 roadster that was burning alcohol. She could be easily lit without a warm-up. As long as it was started up, it could soon bring its driver a perfect experience and a strong sense of manipulation, as if the car and the driver were combined in one.
Sitting on the sofa, Zhang Tie appreciated the woman carefully while she typed words.
One minute passed, and after feeling Zhang Tie's appreciative look the female first lieutenant raised her head once again and revealed a smile towards Zhang Tie which seemed to imply something that could not be easily identified. Her look even contained encouragement.
Zhang Tie then strode forward and stopped in front of her. After that, he put it straightforwardly, "Beautiful First Lieutenant, are you married?"
The female first Lieutenant became stunned for a short while as she blinked her eyes towards Zhang Tie in a cute way. It seemed that she had not imagined that Zhang Tie would ask this question, "Not yet!"
Zhang Tie smiled as he picked up a pen from her desk and wrote down his room number in Black Gold Hotel on a piece of white paper. After that, he moved back to his seat.
The female first lieutenant revealed an enchanting smile towards Zhang Tie. After that, she put that piece of paper into her drawer.
...
First Lieutenant came back in a few minutes.
"I'm sorry to make you wait so long. The Colonel says I can take you to his office!" First Lieutenant Vessie told Zhang Tie.
"No problem, can we leave now?"
"Yes, please follow me!"
...
It had been more than one year since Zhang Tie had seen Colonel Leibniz again in his office. Compared to one year ago, Colonel Leibniz's appearance remained unchanged.
Colonel Leibniz watched Zhang Tie while an amazed look flashed in his eyes. He could still remember how Zhang Tie looked one year ago. Comparing it to Zhang Tie's current image, Leibniz became more admiring of Huaiyuan Palace. In his eyes, only Huaiyuan Palace could make Zhang Tie look so noble after just one year. Huaiyuan Palace had displayed its rich clan background through Zhang Tie once again.
Perhaps Zhang Tie was a descendant of a big figure in Huaiyuan Palace. Therefore, Huaiyuan Palace spent so much effort in taking care of him. After such a whim flashed across his mind, Colonel Leibniz smiled inside.
"Please take a seat, First Lieutenant Zhang Tie!" Colonel Leibniz summoned Zhang Tie to sit on the opposite side of his desk. "It's my great pleasure to see you again. I have to say, you always bring me some surprise each time I see you!"
"Hopefully, I could also satisfy you this time, colonel!" Zhang Tie smiled as he replied with a pun in a very generous way.
"I already know your purpose for coming here from the Ministry of Supervision of the Corps. Privately, I feel very proud to be your friend. However, from another perspective your request is very tricky!"
"I know. I'm here to have a good talk about it with you. We can manage this in a moderate manner!"
Colonel Leibniz then nodded. Silently he took out a document from the desk and passed it to Zhang Tie.
Zhang Tie stood up to take it over. At the sight of the Class-C Confidentiality mark on the cover, Zhang Tie became slightly stunned as he glanced at Colonel Leibniz.
"No problem!"
Zhang Tie flipped open the document, the contents of which made him slightly dumbfounded. It was a military analysis report of Norman Empire, the topic of which was his all-purpose medicament.
Zhang Tie skimmed the full text. Finally, his eyes focused on the end of the report, which read, "From today on, all-purpose medicament will become the LV 1 strategic material of the military of Norman Empire. Besides being delivered by the Logistics General Assembly Department of Norman Empire, each corps can purchase all-purpose medicament themselves for storage according to their demands!"
Zhang Tie then raised his head and looked at Colonel Leibniz, who was also staring at him with gleaming eyes. After that, Colonel Leibniz took out a vial of all-purpose medicament which was marked as Manjusaka from his drawer.
"This is the all-purpose medicament pushed by Huaiyuan Palace. The military of the Norman Empire received 100,000 vials of all-purpose medicament because of the relationship between them and Huaiyuan Palace. After a comprehensive appraisal, the military of Norman Empire ranked this medicament as a Class-A strategic material. Before this, the military of Norman Empire only had one strategic material——alchemist's bomb. Now, they have one more strategic material!"
Zhang Tie was shocked inside, 'Does this mean that the news that I can make all-purpose medicament has been spread in the public? That's impossible. After the murder, Huaiyuan Palace had adopted many means to cover the fact that I am the inventor of all-purpose medicament. The Long Wind Business Group even made some fake production bases of all-purpose medicament. Therefore, only a few people could know that I'm the very producer of all-purpose medicament.'
Although he was shocked inside, Zhang Tie's expression remained unchanged.
Colonel Leibniz let out a sigh as he looked at that vial of all-purpose medicament in his hand like gazing at his mistress. At the same time, he stroked it slightly. "This kind of medicament really has a wide range of purposes. It could almost be applied in all aspects except for killing people. It can respond to many emergencies in place of most other inferior medicament and grants soldiers with a new life by curing wounds and diseases, improving their fighting ability and recovering ability, and also greatly simplify the overall logistics supply system of troops at critical moments. According to my rough estimation of the Norman Empire military, if this medicament could be used among troops, as long as each soldier could have one, the fighting strength of the whole troop could increase by at least 40%. The survival rate of soldiers in the wild could rise by 61%. Casualties in war could reduce by 55%. Comprehensive logistics expenditure on troops could reduce by 31%. Field hospital expenses could decrease by half. What's more, this kind of medicament could be made with mass production. Do you know what this means?"
Zhang Tie didn't speak as he knew that Colonel Leibniz didn't really expect an answer. Zhang Tie was just a bit shocked. He knew the great effects of his all-purpose medicament. However, he had never imagined that it could be widely accepted in the army.
"All-purpose medicament helps average soldiers most. If each soldier of the corps could be given one, the overall fighting strength of Iron Horn Corps would increase by one whole level, upgrading it from a black iron corps to a bronze corps!"
"This item is not bad..." Zhang Tie replied meticulously in case he revealed some information.
Colonel Leibniz let out a sigh, "It's more than that, this item is marvellous and admirable. Besides its many applications in battle fields, it's also very effective in keeping women young. Additionally, it could make men more robust in bed. Moreover, it could cure many diseases without any side effects. Therefore, the military of Norman Empire spent a lot buying 100,000 vials of all-purpose medicament from Huaiyuan Palace. However, after it was shared by some bigwigs and noblewomen in the capital of Norman Empire and Nordinburg, the troops on the frontlines could only receive a small portion of the order. According to regulations, Iron Horn Corps should have gained 5000 vials in the first batch. But actually, they only got a little more than 2000 vials. Finally, only 70 vials were dispatched to me under the supervision of the military affairs chancellor. If not for that, these vials would have long been cleared in the capital. None of them could flow in Nordinburg, not to mention Iron Horn Corps and Division No. 39!"
"You mean..."
Colonel Leibniz looked at Zhang Tie with a serious look. "First Lieutenant Zhang Tie, I don't want to bring you trouble, but I have to do something for the benefit of Division No. 39. Now that you're from Huaiyuan Palace, I believe you can get hold of such things from Huaiyuan Palace much easier than us. Therefore, in one word, I know you want to take people away from Blackhot City, but you have to pay 30 vials of all-purpose medicament for one migration certificate. As long as you can bring me all-purpose medicament, I don't care how many people you take away, even if you take the whole population of Blackhot City. As to your friends who have joined the army, as long as they want to go, I will let them go. How about that?"
Zhang Tie blinked his eyes as he asked in a weird tone, "30 vials of all-purpose medicament for one person?"
Colonel Leibniz twisted his body on the chair, embarrassed. "Hmm, I know...it's a bit too much. If that's not possible, how about 25 vials per person?"
"25 vials?" Zhang Tie pretended to consider it on purpose. After thinking for a while, he slowly nodded.
Colonel Leibniz became very excited. He had not imagined that Zhang Tie wouldn't even bargain over the price. He moved in front of Zhang Tie from behind the desk before putting his big hands onto Zhang Tie's shoulders. "First Lieutenant Zhang Tie, you're truly a man of Division No. 39. I've not backed the wrong horse!"
...
After leaving No. 39 Division's headquarters, Zhang Tie let out a deep sigh. He had not imagined that he could make such a difficult thing so easily. What was more unexpected was that his all-purpose medicament aroused such great attention.
After glancing at his watch, Zhang Tie told the driver to drive the car to the rendezvous between him and Barley——close to the gate of the No. 7 National Male Middle School.
Zhang Tie arrived there almost 15 minutes in advance. However, he had not expected Barley and Sharwin to be standing there already. Therefore, Zhang Tie had the driver park on their side.
At the sight of Zhang Tie's familiar face through the window, Sharwin became very thrilled. The moment Zhang Tie opened the door, Sharwin had already come inside. Closely after that, he punched Zhang Tie's chest fiercely. Zhang Tie returned the punch. They then burst out in laughter in unison. Barley then also came in.
The car started once again while the separator between the front and back seats rose automatically. After that, the space for the back seats was isolated.
...
"How's going?" Zhang Tie asked them.
"I have no problems!" Sharwin became excited. "But five people in my family will leave. Is there a problem with the migration certificates?"
"No problem, has your mom agreed to leave?"
"Since Sharwin started to make money, he became the boss of the family!" Barley added. "I told Sharwin not to tell his asshole stepfather about that in case our plan was exposed. We will just take him when we leave!"
Zhang Tie nodded. 'Barley is indeed considerable,' he thought to himself. "What about you?" Zhang Tie asked Barley.
Barley scratched is head slightly in an embarrassed manner, "I want to do business outside. However, my dad said he wanted to see you before making his decision!"
Zhang Tie understood at once, 'Barley's dad wants to see whether I am believable and have the ability and energy to do that.'
Zhang Tie didn't care about it. Compared to the fate and destiny of his brother's family, this was nothing serious. If they truly needed his help, Zhang Tie would even carry their family members to Black Gold Hotel one after another. "I'm living in the Presidential Suite room number 6 of Black Gold Hotel. When does your father have time? I will invite him to eat in Black Gold Hotel. Set up a time by yourself, I will have a car pick you up!"
Barley also understood Zhang Tie's words, which made Barley feel warm inside. 'That's my brother.'
After that, Barley told Zhang Tie what he'd experienced in finding the God Bless Association.
Some of the God Bless Association had not passed the physical examination of Norman Empire like Barley and Sharwin. Therefore, after graduation they started to work hard. However, as Zhang Tie had predicted, among the remaining members of God Bless Association, except for Potter, all the others changed their attitudes instantly the moment they heard about Zhang Tie in case being involved with him brought trouble. Someone had even clarified the distance between them and Zhang Tie by swearing Zhang Tie was a liar in front of Barley.
Hearing this, Zhang Tie sighed inside. He didn't blame them as they were all small figures and commoners. Because of the great pressures of life, they chose to keep themselves away from trouble. Few commoners knew why he'd left Blackhot City. Additionally, he appreciated them for not immediately revealing him to the secret police of Norman Empire.
After graduation, many people had realized that his disguise as a damn father underground was just a joke. Few people would believe in it now.
This was the reality!
"How's Potter?"
"He's still digging the mines. Before digging, he would always kneel down and pray. At the beginning, he was mocked by many people in the mines. Now, they have become used to it. After he was told that you're coming back, Potter was very happy. He wished to see you. However, as his vacation starts tomorrow he could not leave the mining area today!"
Thinking of that emaciated youth, Zhang Tie had mixed feelings. "Who else is in Potter's family?"
"No one else. He was always living with his relative's family and was poorly treated. After work, he mailed some money to the relative a few times and didn't return there anymore. He lives in the mining area and has a meal with us occasionally!"
"What about Bagdad and the other people?"
"Their vacation starts January 2nd. Many people of God Bless Association are also in troops, who could be hardly contacted!"
...
After making a round of the Blackhot City in the car and talking with Zhang Tie for a while, Barley and Sharwin got off the car in a side street.
After that, Zhang Tie had the driver drive to the Golden Roc Bank of Blackhot City, where he had the personnel in Golden Roc Bank send a message to his elder brother written in the secret language that could only be understood by Zhang Tie and his elder brother.
When Zhang Tie left Huaiyuan Palace, Zhang Yang had already become a VIP guest of Golden Roc Bank. Therefore, Zhang Tie could contact Zhang Yang in an easier and safer way.
After finishing these things it was already dark. Therefore, Zhang Tie left Golden Roc Bank and returned to the Black Gold Hotel.
The moment he opened the door of his presidential suite, Zhang Tie heard the cheers of Beverly in the huge, luxurious bath pool. When he left Beverly's home this morning, Zhang Tie had already told her to come here and wait for him.
Zhang Tie handed a slip of paper to the steward of his presidential suite, which contained the name and the work place of Miss Daina.
"Find the best private detective in Blackhot City and figure out all of their information for me. be careful not to influence and disturb their personal life. After that, prepare a romantic candlelit supper for me."
After delivering his orders, Zhang Tie started to undo his tie as he walked towards the bath pool.
The steward waved his hand, ordering all the others servants to leave the room...
Chapter 511: Gifts
Translator: WQL Editor: Aleem
On December 31st, the last day of the 890th year of Black Iron Calendar, the festive atmosphere in Blackhot City reached its climax. On this day, many businessmen earned most in the year around. After this day, many stores would close their doors and take rest for three days at the beginning of the near year. Therefore, numerous people had to go out for a big purchase on that day even though they rarely did shopping before.
For many people, on this day family members would unite with each other. Zhang Tie was also free today. Many things had to wait until next year to be dealt with. Therefore, Zhang Tie spent today with Beverly.
Barley's dad had not determined to leave Blackhot City yet. However, Zhang Tie had to persuade Beverly's parents today. Beverly had already mentioned it to her parents yesterday. Her parents were also worried about leaving Blackhot City for a strange yet remote place.
Beverly's mom was a typical housewife while her dad was an accountant. If her parents didn't want to leave, Beverly wouldn't go with Zhang Tie either.
Beverly was very happy today. Since this morning, she had been staying with Zhang Tie. After breakfast in the room of the hotel, Zhang Tie took her out of the hotel and selected gifts for her and her parents. After that, Zhang Tie paid an official visit to Beverly's home with these gifts and made an official communication with her parents.
After arriving at the Avenue Bright by the very car of Black Gold Hotel, the two people had started to select items there.
This day was the most boisterous day of the year in Avenue Bright for sure. The population of the visitors in the avenue surged by several times than usual.
As he didn't know what Beverly's parents liked and what was the most appropriate gift for them, Zhang Tie let Beverly choose the proper gifts for her parents while he was only responsible for the payment. Zhang Tie enjoyed paying for his own woman. However, sending gifts was a knowledge and not only a matter of money. As it was his first time to visit her parents, the gifts should neither be too casual nor too expensive; otherwise, it would lack sincerity or become too domineering. Beverly also knew it. Therefore, she didn't choose expensive ones like jewelry.
After wandering for awhile, Zhang Tie bought a very expensive pen for Beverly's dad which was worth about 4 gold coins and a female mink coat which was worth a bit more than 3 gold coins.
After that, they returned to the car. Beverly was so happy that she wanted Zhang Tie to go home together with her.
"You've chosen your parents' gifts, but what about yours?" Zhang Tie kissed Beverly's face.
"Ah? I also have a gift?"
"Of course!"
"What is it?"
"I will not tell you. You will know about it after a short while!" after saying that, Zhang Tie told the driver to drive to Golden Roc Bank.
In a VIP hall that especially served Chinese, a director received Zhang Tie and Beverly.
"Mr. Zhang. This is the reply of your message yesterday. Please write you name on the receipt!" the director directly handed a sealed letter to Zhang Tie politely at the sight of him.
Seeing Zhang Tie opening it, the director even hurriedly moved two steps back, "Do you need a single room?"
"No need!" Zhang Tie smiled as he skimmed the message on the letter. This letter was also written in secret words by his elder brother. Although the secret words were not senior, commoners could not easily understand them.
The message was——30000 big thorny cucumber has been sent out, which will arrive at K city in 7 days and wait there for your order.
Its meaning was as follows: A huge airship had already set out from Huaiyuan Prefecture, which carried 30,000 vials of all-purpose medicament according to your order. This airship will arrive at Kalur City in 7 days and wait for your order over there.
After reading this letter, Zhang Tie let out a sigh.
"Mr. Zhang Tie, do you have another other requirements?" the director of Golden Roc Bank asked very politely.
"Hmm, I want to make a lifetime annuity deposit financing plan for this young lady!" Zhang Tie told the director with a smile after glancing at Beverly on his side.
After hearing Zhang Tie's words, Beverly uttered a voice 'Argh' as she looked at Zhang Tie with an amazed look.
"Okay, fine, wait a second please, I will arrange a special personnel to deal with it for you!" the director left politely after glancing at Beverly.
Zhang Tie then patted Beverly's hand, "Don't be so surprised, that's my new year gift for you!"
"This...this would cost you too much!" Beverly became hesitated, "You'd better not do that. Having you back was my gift already. I've already been satisfied with the candlelight supper last night. No need to do that for me. I heard only rich people and big clans in Blackhot City could make annuity deposit financing plan...I don't need them..."
Saying this, Beverly stood up from the sofa and wanted to pull Zhang Tie away. With a slight draw, Zhang Tie forced her to sit back. He then pulled the hand with ruby in front of him and kissed it. Closely after that, he watched Beverly with a serious look, "I've told you that as long as I can do it, I will definitely try my best to give you more!"
"But...it's really unnecessary!"
"No, it's necessary; Bennie, it's a chaotic world. It would be worse in the future. No one knows what will happen tomorrow. If I die or may not be by your side, I will not be able to protect you and look after you anymore. I hope you can live a happy life wherever you go. I hope you can live in a dignified and guaranteed way. I hope you don't have to worry about money. In many people's eyes, this might be very vulgar; however, this is indeed the best gift that I want to give to you!"
Beverly watched Zhang Tie while her beautiful eyes were filled with tears at once. That was her favorite men, who was frank, enthusiastic, straightforward and never hypocritical. No matter what, he could always give her the best thing; even at the risk of his life, he would have pushed her away without any hesitation.
"Don't cry anymore. Give me a smile, that would bring me a sense of achievement!" Zhang Tie wiped off her tears using his finger before making a joke, "What if I give you a smile?"
Saying that, Zhang Tie rolled his eyes and blew his cheeks towards Beverly, making her laugh at once.
Seeing someone entering the room, Beverly hurriedly lowered her head while wiping off her tears.
...
"Hello, sir, I'm the financial commissioner of Golden Roc Bank. It's my great pleasure to serve you. I was told that you need us to make a lifetime annuity deposit financing plan for this young lady?"
"Yes!"
"Can you tell me about your requests and the details about this young lady. I will make a proper plan for her. You can choose a proper deposit financing plan according to my suggestions!"
"I want to know about the average per capita income of cities in Eastern Continent."
"Eastern Continent is very prosperous. It could not be matched by Blackson Humans Corridor. Based on our statistics, the average per capita annual income of a commoner in Blackhot City is 10 gold coins and 76 silver coins, the per capita annual income of people in some developed countries of Blackson Humans Corridor can reach above 30 gold coins. However, in Eastern Continent, residents in most of cities could earn more than 40 gold coins a year. Amazingly, residents in some very developed and prosperous regions could earn more than 200 gold coins! Of course, the figure would decline in some relatively under-developed regions and relatively enclosed rural areas."
"Okay, please calculate how much do I need to deposit in your bank if I want to get 2000 gold coins a year from you?"
"Is it a lifetime annuity?"
"Yup!"
"Will you deposit it at once or by installment?"
"At once!"
"Will it take effect right now or in the future?"
"Tomorrow. It'd better take effect from January 1st of the 891st year of Black Iron Calendar!"
After hearing Zhang Tie's words, the financing commissioner started to calculate rapidly on a piece of paper. Meanwhile, he looked up data from the forms of a document and gave Zhang Tie an answer very soon.
"If so, you need to pay 34,482 gold coins for this lifetime annuity financing plan. From tomorrow, this young lady could get 500 gold coins from each branch of Golden Roc Bank at the first day of each season. We will open a special annuity account for this young lady. All of her annuity would be transferred in this special account. The interest of the capital in this account will be calculated according to current deposit. The annuity of 34,482 gold coins could be inherited by one or several people appointed by this young lady. She could also withdraw all of them when this lifetime annuity plan is on due!"
After hearing his explanation, Zhang Tie directly drew out of 4 gold checks from the gold check folder in his coat, each of them was worth 10,000 gold coins, "I will choose this plan with 40,000 gold coins!"
"If you input 40,000 gold coins at once, this young lady will gain 2320 gold coins a year, 580 gold coins per season."
Zhang Tie nodded.
After that, he dealt with the procedures for Beverly. The financial commissioner of Golden Roc Bank brought an inkpad. After checking Beverly's palm, he asked Beverly to press her fingers onto it.
"Each person's ten fingerprints are distinctive. After collecting this young lady's fingerprints, we will extract the features of her fingerprints and convert them into digital code. This will be her exclusive identification code in our bank. We will preserve this code in the large-scale steaming computer data center of the headquarters of Golden Roc Bank. After that, this young lady could easily withdraw her annuity through her hands and the annuity withdrawal code that she had set!"
After making the model for her fingerprints, the financing commissioner of Golden Roc Bank directly passed out that model through a small window on the side door of the room. Someone took it away. After that, the financing commissioner brought a metal box and taught Zhang Tie and Beverly how to set code. He then left. After Beverly set the code, someone took the metal box away. After that, the financing commissioner reappeared with a document and asked Beverly to sign on it. Here it came to an end.
The moment this process was finished, Zhang Tie had a strong sense of satisfaction and happiness. Like how he felt when he conquered Beverly on bed, such a feeling made Zhang Tie puzzled. He didn't know why he was so satisfied with such a pure payment. Until he held Beverly's hand while walking out of the gate of Golden Roc Bank and watching her happy look did he realize it right away.
——Whether on bed or not, whether to conquer or pay, men actually wanted to tell women that they were capable of love. A man who was able to love a woman was happy and satisfied; perhaps, men were trying to do the same thing in their whole life.
After leaving Golden Roc Bank, Zhang Tie and Beverly went to her home and met her parents.
Beverly's parents were commoners in Blackhot City. They had sophisticated moods for their daughter bringing home such a big boy. Since last year, they had heard many stories about Zhang Tie from their daughter. However, it was the first time for them to see Zhang Tie.
Beverly's mom was gentle after knowing her daughter's love affair; however, her dad became solemn at the sight of Zhang Tie as if he had saw a thief who was stealing a treasure from his house...
Chapter 512: A Sacred Contract
Translator: WQL Editor: KLKL
Perhaps every father feels uncomfortable when they see their daughter coming back home with a man. Zhang Tie could feel that Beverly's father disliked him. Although he controlled himself, he finally couldn't stand it after supper.
After supper, Beverly and her mom cleaned the bowls and plates in the kitchen, leaving Zhang Tie and her dad in the parlor. Before entering the kitchen, Beverly even glanced at Zhang Tie with a worried look. Zhang Tie replied to her with a reassuring smile.
"Bennie always talks about you at home. I know she likes you!" Beverly's dad sized up Zhang Tie's expensive costume with a fastidious and complex gaze through a pair of thick, crystal glasses, like he was reviewing a nice balance sheet. As accountants were always censorious, they usually paid more attention to the internal key logical connections instead of the surface. "I know how rich men live. I might not be able to afford your clothes for many years. I also know the attitudes of those rich people toward women. You only need to answer me this: Will marry my daughter in the future?"
Soon after this question came a clanging sound from the kitchen. A metal plate fell on the ground.
Beverly's house was less than 100 square meters, only three bedrooms with one parlor. Beverly's father didn't lower his voice. He didn't ask this question at the table in front of Beverly and her mom because he might not have wanted to make Beverly embarrassed. However, if he asked Zhang Tie at this moment, Beverly would not feel embarrassed anymore. Additionally, Beverly could also find out Zhang Tie's opinion.
Zhang Tie had not been prepared for her dad to ask such a sharp question at the beginning of their talk. He understood the hidden meaning clearly——why would a father believe in the nonsense of a man who had not even shown responsibility for the future of his daughter and left Blackhot City?
Zhang Tie became silent for a while. The sounds in the kitchen returned to normal. However, Zhang Tie knew that Beverly must've been very tense in the kitchen.
"Mr. Joan, perhaps you don't believe in my words. However, I don't care how much my clothes are worth at all. This is meaningless for me. It's not because I have enough money, but because I only care about whether I can survive!"
The moment Zhang Tie opened his mouth Beverly's dad was stunned. The movements in kitchen also slowed down.
"Before coming to Blackhot City over 2 months ago, I almost died. I was hunted by a LV 10 strong fighter. Perhaps Mr. Joan doesn't understand the concept of LV 10 strong fighters. According to my knowledge, before Blackhot City was merged into the territory of the Norman Empire, there were less than 5 strong fighters across Blackhot City. I couldn't beat him. Therefore, I was struck off a peak of a mountain, which was thousands of meters high. Fortunately, I didn't die. In the process of rolling down, thanks to the twigs and vines in the valley, I finally fell into a pond and survived by myself..."
"After that, two strong fighters hunted me as my head was to be rewarded with 5000 gold coins. I almost died!"
"I joined Iron Blood Camp, Division No. 39 and stayed for over one year, during which period, I almost died many other times. I was shot by bolts covered with blue frost and almost died. In Kalur theater, Iron Blood Camp Division No. 39 was surrounded and outnumbered by Black Feathers Corps of the Sun Dynasty. Although we finally broke out of the encirclement, I almost died there too. That time, I suffered 186 wounds and 47 bone fractures all over my body. Finally, I was struck by the sky battle qi of a LV 8 military officer from Black Feathers Corps. As a result, my guts were severely wounded. My brothers of Iron Blood Camp sent me to a field hospital. When one doctor caught sight of how much fresh blood and wounds were over me, he told my brothers that I was already dead. My brothers of Iron Blood Camp even put blades to the doctors' necks and forced them to rescue me! Finally, I survived. I thought I was lucky. After that, I found out that a respectable officer of Iron Blood Camp sacrificed himself in order to save me!"
"When I returned to Jinyun Country, I almost died twice too. One time, I was betrayed by a person and was hunted by many killers in Dragon Cave. I was almost thrown into the magma. Thankfully, my master saved me. Another time was the event in Heavens Cold City. You might have heard about this event. As one who participated in and experienced this event, I know how it felt when the troop was surrounded by millions of demonized puppets. You would never know how risky it was when a person was surrounded by tens of thousands of demonized puppets that were not afraid of pain or death like machines. The demonized puppets left 137 wounds on me. These ones have just recovered in the last few days!"
Zhang Tie was very calm, as if talking about other people's affairs.
"I'm not showing off. I'm just telling you what I've experienced and the risks that I've faced in my life. To be honest, although I'm sitting here and talking with you, I'm not sure if I'll still be alive and talking with you and Bennie in half a year, because I don't know what the next danger is. I'm not sure whether I can survive each and every danger. Therefore, I really don't know how to answer you, as I don't know whether I'll still be alive by then."
"I don't want my family members to live in fear and concern every day. Wives are worried about losing their husbands. Kids are worried that their dad will not come back after going out! The biggest responsibility of a man, a husband, is to keep his family free from fear, instead of bringing fear to them. Pitifully, I cannot make it so!"
"As long as I'm alive, as long as I am with Bennie, I will exert my full effort to protect her, treasure her and love her. As long as I'm with her, she will never be bullied by others. I will let her be happy and treat her happiness and smile as my pride and achievement. I can promise you that if I am alive in the future, when I feel I'm qualified to be a husband, I will marry her if Bennie would still like to marry me at that moment. I will be happy to have Bennie as my wife."
When Zhang Tie left, Beverly sent Zhang Tie downstairs with red eyes. She hugged him tightly as she pressed her face on Zhang Tie's chest for a long time before letting him go.
If Zhang Tie slept in Bennie's home today, he would make her parents embarrassed. It was also improper if Bennie directly left with Zhang Tie. Beverly lied to her parents that she was playing with her friends last night. As she was already grown up, her parents would not keep her under their strict control. However, if Beverly didn't come back tonight with the same excuse, she must have underestimated her parents' intelligence quotient.
...
After leaving Beverly's home, Zhang Tie sat in the car alone and watched the gradually depopulating Blackhot City. He had to pass this New Year's Eve alone in the luxurious presidential suite in Black Gold Hotel.
The moment he returned to Black Gold Hotel, Zhang Tie caught sight of a familiar shadow getting out of the carriage outside the hotel. Given her black, short hair, beautiful face and the alluring, mellow shanks, Zhang Tie instantly recognized her.
When Zhang Tie got off the car, the beautiful female first lieutenant also caught sight of Zhang Tie. After that, they smiled at each other. Without saying anything, Zhang Tie offered his arm when the female came over, reached out and linked her arm with Zhang Tie's.
"First Lieutenant Zhang Tie, you're too audacious. How can you dare to stay in Blackhot City at this moment?" the female asked.
Hearing her question, Zhang Tie finally knew why she didn't come to him yesterday. She must have discovered his background. She must be a meticulous person.
...
Twenty minutes later, the female first lieutenant blushed after drinking some wine whilst inclining against the sofa in the bar of the luxurious presidential suite, which made her seem like she was waiting for Zhang Tie to violate her. Embracing her with one arm, Zhang Tie held a glass while rocking the liquid around in the bottom.
Mellow wine and beauties. Zhang Tie didn't know how long he could enjoy such a nice life. He looked a bit vacant. All the words that he'd said in Beverly's home were true. After experiencing so many dangers and partings between dead people and living ones, Zhang Tie really didn't know whether he'd still be alive in this world in half a year or one year. As the producer of all-purpose medicament, Zhang Tie was not sure whether a knight would suddenly flash in front of him and punched him to ashes.
At this moment, Zhang Tie finally understood the thoughts and mentalities of those military officers who were always spending their time on women and alcohol whenever they were free.
It was because they didn't know how long they could survive. As long as they were alive, they would enjoy and make full use of their lives.
"What...did you mean by asking me that in the reception room?"
"That what?" Zhang Tie guzzled down the wine before throwing it onto the carpet.
"You asked...whether I've gotten married or not?" The female first lieutenant turned around and watched Zhang Tie with fascinating eyes. "You men always like to play jokes. I thought...I thought you were kidding me...actually...actually I've already gotten married..."
After saying this, the female first lieutenant lay face down the sofa and kept her eyes closed, waiting for Zhang Tie to violate her.
She waited for one minute and received no reply. After another half a minute, she found that Zhang Tie had already helped her gather her clothes and kept his hands away from her.
She then turned around and found Zhang Tie had already sat down on the next sofa and was panting heavily. He opened a new bottle of liquor and poured half of it into his mouth.
"What's wrong?" the woman became dumbfounded as she didn't understand why Zhang Tie would stop at the most critical moment.
"It's too late. You'd better go back home." Zhang Tie raised his head and finished the remaining half of the bottle of liquor.
"Argh! But why?"
"You won't understand!" Zhang Tie shook his head as he didn't want to explain it. He then pulled the bell rope beside him. Soon after that, the steward appeared outside the door of the bar.
After seeing this, the woman could only turn around and sit up. As she tidied her clothes, she watched Zhang Tie with a confused look.
"Your excellency, what can I do for you?"
"Send this woman back home in my car!"
"Please, lady..." the steward made a gesture politely. After glancing at Zhang Tie with an embarrassed expression, the female turned around and picked up her overcoat before walking away in high heeled shoes, while rocking her buttocks.
After only one minute, the steward reappeared in front of Zhang Tie. "Your excellency, I've had the lady sent away. Do you have any other demands?"
Zhang Tie waved his hand, then the steward left silently. Sitting in the room alone, Zhang Tie forced a bitter smile. He knew that if what he did tonight was exposed, someone would swear at him as an idiot for sure. Perhaps other men would never have stopped in that situation. However, he had already crossed the line in his books.
In this age, many people had not treated their wedding banquets seriously. Neither did they treat others' marriages seriously. However, Zhang Tie regarded weddings as the most sacred contract to exist between humans. In his opinion, a wedding was the most sacred, inviolable contract between two partners.
Zhang Tie's opinion about weddings originated from his parents. His parents established a family through marriage. Although his dad and mom always lived calmly in Blackhot City, sometimes they even quarrelled with each other and didn't speak to each other for a few days. All this didn't influence Zhang Tie's views about marriage from his parents and his respect about the sacred marriage between man and woman.
Zhang Tie could not imagine how his family would be if one of his parents had betrayed their marriage during the past dozens of years. As the old Chinese proverb went——don't impose on others what you don't desire. Similarly, what he didn't want his own family to face should not be imposed on other families.
In Zhang Tie's eyes, the contract of marriage between a man and a woman was more sacred and solemn than any other laws. He preferred to violate the laws and regulations of the Norman Empire than to destroy the sacredness and solemnity of a contract of marriage.
Therefore, no matter how much he liked a married woman, he would not touch her. Because Zhang Tie thought these women were protected by their sacred contract of marriage. Even if this contract became trivial in the eyes of the ones who'd established it, Zhang Tie still considered it inviolable.
Additionally, even though Zhang Tie had not met the female's husband, regardless of the man's looks, job, experience and talents, Zhang Tie felt men should at least respect each other, even if they didn't know each other or were enemies. With this respect, one man would not steal another man's object. No matter what, men should have some common values.
Zhang Tie didn't think he was noble. From the beginning, he still felt that he was a man and had his morals. Therefore, he stopped at the most critical moment. There were so many women in the world, but Zhang Tie was not a love king. He would not touch those women who had gotten married. If a thing was pleasant, it should not hurt others.
This was a respect given to both others and himself.
In many people's eyes, this moral standard was hilarious. However, Zhang Tie didn't care. He wanted to satisfy himself.
Zhang Tie immersed himself in the icy bath pool for one hour before recovering his composure.
Zhang Tie cultivated himself silently over the long and deserted New Year's Eve in the empty room of the luxurious presidential suite of Black Gold Hotel.
...
When Zhang Tie and his brothers of the Hit-Plane Brotherhood reunited with each other after New Year's Eve, everything started to run rapidly.
After meeting Zhang Tie, Barley's father was the first one who determined to leave Blackhot City. The family members of Doug, Hista and Leit also agreed to leave the city after Zhang Tie's visit. Although some of them were still a bit hesitant to leave, they were finally moved when Zhang Tie told them to just take it as a vacation to the seaside if they didn't like the idea of leaving Blackhot City, and that they could come back in three months if they wanted. Even Beverly's parents agreed to take a look in Jinyun Country. If they were not used to that place, they could come back in three months.
Everything was panning out well. After the best private detective in Blackhot City told Zhang Tie about Miss Daina's recent situation, Zhang Tie started to make a clear plan.
It wasn't until then that Zhang Tie discovered Miss Daina had grown up in a single parent family. After her father died, the only family she had left was a paralyzed elder brother who lay on a bed for many years. Because of her elder brother, Miss Daina didn't get married for many years. She just made money to cure her elder brother's disease.
It would cost her a lot to cure her elder brother and employ two people to look after him. Therefore, even on vacations, Miss Daina still worked two part-time jobs.
In one job she was hired as a private teacher by a rich lady. Another job was as the instructor of the No. 4 Female Middle School in Blackhot City on holidays.
With the two part-time jobs, Miss Daina could gain another two gold coins and 74 silver coins. With her income from No. 7 National Male Middle School as a teacher, she could make over 40 gold coins a year. However, she had to spend over 30 gold coins on her elder brother.
Although Miss Daina looked as brilliant as a goddess, she didn't live well in her daily life. She had to bear a great amount of pressure from the cost of living. However, she didn't expose her stress to others or complain about it. Instead, she just bore it silently. She buried all her troubles in fascinating smiles. She looked elegant whenever Zhang Tie saw her in or out of the camp.
After knowing this about her, Zhang Tie thought Miss Daina was respectable. Besides being beautiful and independent, Miss Daina was strong-willed and kind.
On January 5th, the atmosphere of the New Year gradually faded away. On the same day, Zhang Tie met Susan and Fiona of the Rose Association.
When they saw Zhang Tie again, the two girls didn't smile. Instead, they just put many rings on Zhang Tie's hand.
——To my beloved baby Angel——Zhang Tie
——To my beloved baby Sharapova——Zhang Tie
——To my beloved baby Hiltina——Zhang Tie
——To my beloved baby Nya——Zhang Tie
——To my beloved baby Mia——Zhang Tie
Reading those words on the insides of the rings, Zhang Tie felt that something bad had happened. "What's wrong?"
"They're dead!" Susan and Fiona cried at once. "Before death, Angel told us to hand these items to you. She said you understood it!"
'Dead?' Zhang Tie became stunned for a second before he burst out into tears.
"How did they die? Tell me what happened!" Zhang Tie uttered in a terrifying voice as tears flew down his face.
"Soon after you left Blackhot City, Master Abyan's manor recruited some assistants. After hearing about the good treatment over here, they came given that their conditions were satisfied..." Fiona wept as what happened gradually became clear to Zhang Tie...
Chapter 513: Withering Roses
Translator: WQL Editor: KLKL
There was a graveyard on the hill over 30 kilometers away to the north outside of Blackhot City. After hearing that Angel and the other girls of Rose Association were buried here, Zhang Tie walked out of the north gate of Blackhot City on the dawn of January 7th, facing the withering, chilly wind.
Knowing that these girls had been good sisters at school, their family members decided to bury them together in the same place in case they were lonely.
The accumulated snow outside the city was thick. After each step, he would sink to his knees in the snow. Zhang Tie arrived there in two hours, one step after another, wearing an overcoat.
The five new graves were very eye-catching. Zhang Tie soon came to the front of them, which had been covered with white snow. After pulling off his gloves, Zhang Tie swept off the snow from the graves, revealing their black and white photos.
Facing the black and white photos, Angel's blonde hair, Sharapova's beautiful face, Nya's shiny eyes, Hiltina's entangled hair and Mia's lovable dimples reappeared in front of Zhang Tie.
The time when he'd indulged with these girls seemingly happened yesterday. However, they already lay icily underground.
This was a so called parting between dead people and living ones.
Hot liquid flew out of Zhang Tie's eyes and dripped onto the icy graves.
When no more tears flowed out, Zhang Tie lowered his body and kissed each of their graves before turning around and leaving.
After leaving the graves, Zhang Tie returned to Blackhot City one step after another. At the sight of the city gate of Blackhot City, Zhang Tie didn't enter the city. Instead, he continued around towards the south of Blackhot City.
...
The animal trading market in the south of Blackhot City also became sluggish on such a cold day. Almost nobody could be seen over there. However, the manor of Master Abyan's castle outside the city looked more magnificent and beautiful than it had over one year ago, because the former castle could not match the current status of Master Abyan anymore.
Last year, Master Abyan was promoted from red robe pharmacist to orange robe pharmacist. As a result, he reached the 6th brilliant stage of pharmacists world and became the most influential figure across Blackhot City.
At this moment, Master Abyan had already joined Norman Empire and became one of the vice chairmen of the Pharmacists Association of Brunswick Province of Norman Empire. His reputation had even spread to Nordinburg, the capital along the north border of the Norman Empire. Recently, Master Abyan went to visit Nordinburg at the invitation of the Pharmacists Association of Nordinburg. It was said that he would come back in a few days.
In a strictly hierarchical country, like Norman Empire, Master Abyan could be the noblest officer in Blackhot City by becoming an orange robe pharmacist of Norman Empire. He had a great influence in many aspects. He was even more influential than Colonel Leibniz in some aspects. At least, Colonel Leibniz could not casually access Nordinburg like him. Compared to a colonel, an orange robe pharmacist was undoubtedly more favored by some big figures.
Therefore, under the great influence of Master Abyan, the deaths of Angel and the other girls of Rose Association were covered. It was just caused by an accident. As the assistants of an orange robe pharmacist, some young girls had touched some fatal things in a warehouse full of poisonous substances and fierce beasts, and they were killed. That was too "normal". This case came to an end after paying some gold coins to each family.
In the eyes of Master Abyan they were just common girls in Blackhot City, and their deaths were nothing serious at all.
Of course, they didn't die from an accident. In fact, they were murdered.
Susan and Fiona saw many weird wounds over their bodies, which were not caused by wild beasts but humans. Additionally, their blood had seemingly been drawn out. Angel's right hand was holding something tightly. Susan and Fiona spent some time trying to open her fingers, while tears dropped from their faces before taking the ring out of her hand.
According to the secret, popular "regulations" followed among girls of Rose Association, after a girl took off the jewellery gifted by a man, if she threw it away, it meant she was saying good bye to the man forever. If she still held it, it meant that she wanted to give it back to the man.
'If Angel had suffered an accident, she would have thought about saving herself instead of thinking about returning that ring back to me, as I was not present at all. It was also unnecessary to do that. Therefore, Angel's action meant that she wanted other girls of Rose Association to return the ring to me. Angel wanted to tell me that she was still awake when she took off her ring. However, she knew that she could not see me any more while she was alive, because she had predicted her own fate.
This was what Angel wanted to tell me. If it was an accident, Angel would never do that. She was doing this to tell me how she was killed.
Angel was intelligent and proud. While the other girls didn't think about it or had been unable to do this, she did it by tightly holding her ring, leaving a key message to me.
Who tortured them to death?
The answer was clear. Nobody else could have besides Master Abyan.
If Master Abyan was an idiot, he might have lost his control about his castle or perhaps someone dared him to kill his female assistants in his castle. However, the problem was that he was not an idiot. A young, energetic and powerful vice chairman of Pharmacists Association of Brunkswick Province of Norman Empire could never lose his control about his nestle. In Blackhot City, Master Abyan was known as a strict person. Therefore, nobody would be the murderer except him. If it was done by others, Master Abyan would never manage it using his own influence.
Standing on the hill, Zhang Tie watched the manor of the magnificent castle where Master Abyan lived with icy and dead eyes.
After remembering all the details about the manor, Zhang Tie took a deep breath and closed his eyes. After half a minute, he opened his eyes. Meanwhile, he grabbed a handful of snow and rubbed it on his face. After that, he turned around and left.
...
After twenty minutes, Zhang Tie got into his exclusive car matched by Black Gold Hotel in a street of Blackhot City and shut the door, causing a "bang" sound. He tried to recover his composure and figure out his next move.
"Go to Avenue Gregory!" After determining what to do today, Zhang Tie had the driver start the car.
...
Avenue Gregory was named after the surname of the Gregory Clan, which was one of the most influential clans of CSIF in Blackhot City. In the legend of Blackhot City, over half of the houses and shops in this avenue had belonged to the Gregory Clan.
Of course, Zhang Tie's arrival had nothing to do with the Gregory Clan. He was here for a more important thing.
The car was parked outside a post office in Avenue Gregory. Zhang Tie stared at the broad plate "Bionne Clinic" through the window for a short while. After that, he got out of the car and walked across the road towards that clinic.
The gate of the clinic was under the broad plate. Because it was cold and the New Year festival had just passed, there were few people in the clinic. A young nurse was sitting behind the reception desk. It wasn't until Zhang Tie came to the front of the reception desk when the nurse realized someone had come in. She hurriedly raised her head as she hid the snacks.
"Argh, mister, are you sick?" asked the nurse with a round face as she looked at Zhang Tie.
"I'm not sick. I'm looking for Doctor Bionne!"
"Have you reserved an appointment with Doctor Bionne?"
"I don't need a reservation!" Zhang Tie smiled as he presented the special pass delivered from the Ministry of Supervision of Iron Horn Corps to the nurse.
The special pass from the Ministry of Supervision of Iron Horn Corps was also the identification certificate for a military officer of the Ministry of Supervision in execution of a mission. In regions like Blackhot City, where it had just been conquered by Norman Empire by force, a certificate from a powerful military department posed a great threat to commoners. At the sight of Zhang Tie's certificate, the nurse changed her facial expression at once.
"Argh...please follow me." The nurse hurriedly walked out of the reception desk and led Zhang Tie in.
This clinic only covered a bit more than 200 square meters. After passing by the reception desk, a drug storage room and a diagnosis room, the nurse led him in front of another room before knocking at the door.
"Please come in..." a voice drifted from inside.