Warriors of Steel

Night fell completely. Having found nothing, the border patrol officers were forced to return, their chests burning with rage. "The killers are most likely from Greenwood, trying to extract the whereabouts of the Fate Bone," Zhang Like said. "As the last witness, you might already be exposed. Stay on base for the next few days." "Understood." Feeling a creeping sense of urgency, Lu Zhao added, "Put in a request for me to carry a weapon off-duty." Zhang Like nodded. "A handgun shouldn't be an issue." The lead was passed to the traffic police, and within half an hour, law enforcement had pinpointed the suspect vehicle. Leaving the hunt to the police, Lu Zhao and the others returned to the border defense station. Lu Zhao had Liu Qiang take the demon beast carcasses to logistics first, while he returned to his dormitory for a quick shower. Demon beast blood was a raw material for life supplements, but in its unprocessed state, it was highly toxic. After rinsing off, Lu Zhao walked toward logistics. Before he even reached the door, he heard faint voices arguing inside. *That hothead Liu Qiang.* He didn't even have to guess—Liu Qiang had gotten into a dispute with someone. Mo Kun, the logistics section chief, was the fourth-ranking figure at the station. He always skimmed a cut off these payouts. It wasn't directed at anyone in particular, but rather his way of reminding everyone to stay on his good side. "The money will be credited to your pay next month." "Can't you pay it out on the spot?" "This month's quota is full." Section Chief Mo Kun crossed his legs and held up a newspaper, not even glancing at Liu Qiang. "How could it be full? Aside from Brother Lu, who else in this station can hunt demon beasts? Isn't every carcass brought in each month hunted by our reinforced platoon?" Flushed with frustration, Liu Qiang stepped forward to argue, his raised voice drawing glances from the room. Mo Kun lowered his newspaper and frowned. "If you're unhappy, file a complaint. Someone throw him out." "Who are you throwing out?" Lu Zhao's voice carried in from the hallway. He stepped into the logistics office and came to a stop before Mo Kun. Lu Zhao looked down at him, his lifeless eyes unsettling Mo Kun so much that the man hurriedly lowered his newspaper. His tone instantly shifted. "Just having a bit of fun with Platoon Leader Lu's men. I'll get the cash right away." Even though Mo Kun was a field officer, Lu Zhao held far greater prestige and a much higher level of life-force development. Mo Kun wasn't stupid enough to butt heads with him. Besides, he didn't have a leg to stand on. Moments later, a small stack of bills was placed into Lu Zhao's hand. He split it seventy-thirty with Liu Qiang, who deserved his share after hauling the carcasses the entire way. The payout totaled eight thousand yuan. Three thousand went to Lu Zhao's sister-in-law, and the remaining five thousand was used to buy ten bottles of life supplement, bringing his personal stockpile to twenty-five bottles. Just like that, his money was completely gone again, and he had exhausted his fifty-percent purchase quota. His regular salary and allowances wouldn't arrive until the middle of next month. Beaming with the three thousand yuan in hand, Liu Qiang asked, "Brother Lu, want to grab a drink? My treat." "No, I need to get some rest early tonight." Lu Zhao quickened his pace back to his dormitory, sat cross-legged on the bed, and entered meditation. There was no harm in practicing spirit refinement diligently. The progress was subtle, but steady accumulation was always worthwhile. He also needed to improve his offensive capabilities as soon as possible for self-defense. At present, his psychic white worm could only induce dizziness at best, and against superhumans, its effect would be even weaker. *** At ten that evening, there came a knock at the door. Lu Zhao answered it to find Zhang Like standing outside. "These meetings are pure torture. Dragged on until ten." Walking in casually, Zhang Like opened the refrigerator to grab a cold drink, remarking, "What are you hoarding so many life supplements for?" "I'm thinking of making a push," Lu Zhao answered. "Once I hit fifty points of life force, I can transfer to a local civilian post." Hearing that, Zhang Like wanted to dissuade him. Life-force development wasn't something achieved through mere effort; it required exorbitant sums of money. Life supplements were only the most basic expense; the rest demanded all kinds of advanced medical equipment. Lu Zhao's family wasn't well-off, and his mother suffered from heart disease, requiring regular financial support from him. Yet the words caught in Zhang Like's throat. Tell him to accept his fate and give up? If not for an act of petty vindictiveness by those in power, Lu Zhao would at least be on par with Lin Zhiyan right now—a member of the special investigation team, someone the entire border defense station would have to treat with utmost deference. Put in his shoes, Zhang Like knew he wouldn't accept such a fate either. Pushing aside his stray thoughts, Zhang Like changed the subject. "Based on the lead you gave, the traffic police located the suspects, and a firefight broke out. These bandits aren't simple; they were armed with rifles." "Did they catch them?" Lu Zhao wasn't surprised. Once a license plate was provided, surveillance cameras could easily track the target even without the Sky Net system. "They got away." Zhang Like took a sip of his drink and continued, "The plan was to wait for the special investigation team to execute the arrest, but somewhere along the chain something went wrong, and the bandits caught wind of the perimeter and tried to break through. The traffic police had no choice but to block off the road. The bandits abandoned the vehicle and fled into the alleys. The city dispatched the Special Rapid Response Detachment. One was killed, three escaped. Just as you predicted, there was one metal-affinity and one earth-affinity superhuman." "They're asking around about you." Zhang Like looked at Lu Zhao's handsome face, searching for any sign of panic, but found none. It seemed the rumors from higher up claiming Lu Zhao had embezzled the Fate Bone were untrue after all. Though Lu Zhao was currently pinned down at this border defense station, it wasn't the Buddha's Five Elements Mountain—he could walk away whenever he wanted. Furthermore, from the perspective of life-force development, Lu Zhao's Fate Bone was only moderate grade, and of the psychic type. Why would he want a Fate Bone of unknown origin? It made no sense logically or practically. If it did, Lü Jinshan would have jumped at the chance to pin the blame on him instead of keeping silent. Investigating someone without evidence was a recipe for trouble, especially when Lu Zhao was no ordinary civilian. "You don't seem flustered in the slightest," Zhang Like remarked. "Why would I be? They're just rats in the gutter. So, what does the organization need me to do next? Act as bait?" Lu Zhao showed no fear; if anything, he looked eager to act. He needed more merits to earn a larger quota for life supplements. "You haven't been exposed," Zhang Like said, shaking his head. In response to Lu Zhao's puzzled look, he took out his phone and played a video. The phones of this era were comparable to those of the early 2000s. They could record video, but the resolution was only 352 by 288. The footage was grainy, murky, and shaky. "This was recovered from the phone of the dead bandit. Greenwood loves recording executions like this to circulate them and build their so-called underworld prestige." On the screen, two comrades in border patrol uniforms—officer numbers 458955 and 458933—were forced to their knees, gleaming blades pressed against their necks. *"I'll ask you one more time. Who killed Pojiao Qi?"* *"Jiao Zhi, your grandfather!"* A blade slit his throat. Officer 458955 clutched his neck, writhing on the ground, before the bloodied blade turned to the next man. *"Your turn."* *"..."* Officer 458933 raised his head and answered only with silence. In the end, his throat was cut as well. Zhang Like put his phone away, his voice edged with suppressed rage. "The word from above is clear: dead or alive, those two bandits must be brought in." At that moment, the calm on Lu Zhao's face faded entirely. His features tightened, and his lifeless eyes grew as dark as a void. Neither officer had given away a single piece of information. Something that Lu Zhao had assumed was bound to come to light eventually had been guarded by men who gave their lives to keep it secret—even though they had barely been on nodding terms with him. Lu Zhao took back his earlier impression of the Ant Ridge Border Defense Station. The officers might have been lax in their daily routines, they might have slacked off, and they might not have looked much like soldiers. Yet when standing before the enemy, they were, without question, warriors of steel.