Mutated Tao

Li Huowang glanced at the scenery outside the window. From the plane, the houses looked as small as matchboxes.

He slowly brought his left hand up to his mouth, revealing a black-and-white die—the same one he had just picked up.

However, Li Huowang knew it wasn’t just a coincidence. It was Shai Zi.

He admired the view as he whispered to the tiny die in his hand. “You secretly followed me. What exactly do you want?

“Don’t answer. Even if you say something now, I can’t hear it. No matter how powerful you used to be, you’re just a tiny, immobile trinket in my hand right now.

“Shai Zi, I don’t know if you helped last time or not, but I’m a Siming now. There’s no going back for me, yet I can still influence things over there.

“We’ve had enough interactions by now. We’re practically acquaintances. Why not stick to what you’re good at?”

Li Huowang lowered his gaze, staring at the die in his palm. “You can’t help me here, but over there, you can. Don’t tell me that you can’t even manage this as the leader of the Sitting Oblivion Dao.”

“If you do it right, I’ll give you some benefits. However, don’t blame me for destroying you if you fail or try anything sneaky. Right now, you’re nothing to me! I could crush you easily.”

His expression contorted as he gently pressed his teeth, causing the die to deform. It appeared that the die would break under any additional pressure.

He spat it back out and glared at the saliva-covered die with teeth marks. “Got it?”

At that moment, an air stewardess walked down the aisle. Li Huowang quickly clenched his fist, nodding and flashing her a polite smile.

Once she was gone, Li Huowang opened his palm again and whispered, “I don’t plan for you to do anything too difficult. Just ensure you take care of the people I care about over there.”

He paused for a moment before he added, “And Li Sui. Don’t play dumb. You know who and what I care about.”

Li Huowang sensed someone watching him. He quickly turned and noticed that Zhao Lei was staring at him. His mouth was slightly open, and he held his phone in shock.

Li Huowang whispered one last time to the die, “I know you’ve made plenty of enemies. Neither side likes you, so it’s settled. If you can handle this, I’ll protect you. From now on, you’ll be my Twisted One.”

He stuffed the die into his pocket and glared at Zhao Lei. “What are you looking at?”

Zhao Lei’s lips quivered slightly, but he said nothing and turned back to his phone.

Outside, the landscape was drawing closer, which meant they were nearing their destination.

“Alright, that’s enough. You’ll take this plane back to our elephant when we land. This mess isn’t something you can handle.” Li Huowang flicked the die, letting it roll beneath the seat in front of him.

Li Huowang had no idea where they were after getting off the plane, as he couldn’t understand the local language. Still, the place was undeniably hot, like a tropical region.

Zhao Shuangdian had changed into a short-sleeved shirt and proceeded to walk ahead. She quickly dialed a number to contact someone.

Qing Wanglai approached Li Huowang. “We were supposed to have another ally, but unfortunately, she couldn’t make it. If she had, our chances would’ve been better.”

“Who? Why didn’t she come?”

“You didn’t let her. You sent her back to her hometown and had her parents closely monitor her, ensuring she couldn’t leave.”

“Yang Na?!” Li Huowang’s expression darkened. He jabbed a finger into Qing Wanglai’s chest. “Don’t drag her into this. I’ll kill you if you involve her in any way.”

“Li Huowang, let’s be reasonable. Why do you always make decisions for others? Shouldn’t this be her choice to make?

Li Huowang clenched his teeth, and his expression twisted with rage. “She’s ill! Her thoughts aren’t even her own right now! I’ll say it one last time: keep her out of this.”

“Fine, I get it. No need to repeat yourself. You made it very clear when you took her away.”

Despite Qing Wanglai’s attitude, Li Huowang didn’t want to stir up trouble at the moment. He yanked the rubber mask off his head and revealed his actual face.

The sound of car horns filled the air as a number of SUVs driven by foreigners appeared ahead of them.

“Let’s go.” Zhao Shuangdian nodded toward the vehicles and walked toward them.

After leaving the airport, Li Huowang realized the place was even more desolate than he had imagined. Airports were typically situated in big cities, but this one only had a small town nearby, visible in its entirety with just a single glance.

A few minutes later, the SUVs left the town and drove off the asphalt road into a desert.

Li Huowang instinctively reached behind him and gripped the familiar handles of his knives.

“Are they supposed to be here? How can anyone even live in a place like this?” Li Huowang asked Zhao Shuangdian, who was sitting in the front passenger seat.

“Who says they’re even human?” Zhao Shuangdian said, crossing her arms. She opened a hidden compartment, took out a pair of dark red sunglasses, and put them on.

Time passed, and the sky grew darker. The SUV’s headlights lit the way until they reached a low-lying area in the desert and came to a halt.

”Get out and grab your gear,” Zhao Shuangdian said. Everyone immediately disembarked and opened the trunk.

The group remained serious and focused despite traveling all day with little rest.

Li Huowang saw Zhao Shuangdian assembling a black sniper rifle. He frowned and drew his two knives. “Hold on, you get that while I’m stuck with these?”

“Want to trade? Can you even use this?” Zhao Shuangdian offered him the rifle, but Li Huowang didn’t take it.

He had never used one before, and an unfamiliar weapon wouldn’t be more effective.

“Li Huowang, over here, “a voice called out. Li Huowang turned towards the voice and spotted Wu Qi and Chen Hongyu, who were unloading a bulky suit and helmet from the trunk of their SUV.

Li Huowang recognized it immediately. It was his old bulletproof suit.