290: Chapter 290 Mak Chun-hung's Conditions

Earth, an island in the South Seas.

A middle-aged man reached the end of a long corridor, and after undergoing another body search, he pushed the door open to enter a hospital room.

There was only one hospital bed in the room. The old man on it wore an oxygen mask, with various tubes connected to his body. Monitoring equipment nearby showed his blood pressure was only 40/70.

Seeing the man enter, the old man's fingers twitched slightly, and his heart rate accelerated.

The man walked to the chair by the bed, sat down, and sighed.

"Dragon King Mai Zhenxiong, I have been hunting you for nineteen years. I have imagined countless scenarios of our meeting, but I never expected it to be in this environment."

"Looking at your state, I have no interest in arresting you anymore."

"But I am quite curious: what is your purpose in inviting me to meet?"

"However, before we talk, I must remind you, Mr. Mai: at this moment, the Dragon Empire aircraft carrier, the Xinyu, is one hundred kilometers away from this island, and four carrier-based aircraft are already patrolling the skies."

"If you do anything rash, this little nest of yours will sink into the ocean within a minute."

Mai Zhenxiong tremblingly pressed a button by the bed, and a dazzling red liquid was immediately injected from the medicine tube above. After the red liquid entered his veins, color quickly returned to the old man's face, and only then did he shakily remove his oxygen mask.

"Hong Kong Special Committee, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Li Jiaying, a pleasure. Did you bring cigarettes? Give me one."

Li Jiaying smiled with some surprise. "Are you sure?"

At Mai Zhenxiong's insistence, Li Jiaying lit a cigarette for him and handed it over.

Mai Zhenxiong only took half a drag before he began to cough violently.

But after coughing for a while, his breathing strangely became much smoother.

"Mr. Li, how old are you this year?"

"Fifty-four."

"How many children do you have?"

"Haven't you investigated? One son and one daughter."

"I probably have. It's just that I've been unconscious more than I've been awake, and my mind isn't as clear as it used to be. Do you have a good relationship with your daughter?"

Li Jiaying gave a wry smile. "Kids these days are harder to deal with than you old thieves."

Mai Zhenxiong sighed. "I also have a daughter, named Mai Dong, English name Vivian, twenty-five years old."

Li Jiaying nodded. "I know. She graduated from the Sunset Empire Institute of Technology, a double postdoctoral fellow in medicine and chemistry. She currently serves at the Interpol European Headquarters; she is quite a Genius."

Mai Zhenxiong coughed lightly again. "Then, do you know about her ex-boyfriend?"

Li Jiaying raised an eyebrow. "Old man, you didn't just invite me here today to chat about family, did you?"

Mai Zhenxiong took a puff of his cigarette, then picked up the remote control by his side and pressed a button.

The whiteboard on the wall behind him slowly rose, revealing a person floating in another room behind the glass.

"Tang Long, codename Candle Dragon, ancestral home in Jinbei, Dragon Empire. He has ranked first on the Dark Walker list for seven consecutive years; he is an intelligence broker, an assassin, and a master thief. I believe your files on him are much thicker than mine."

At this point, Li Jiaying had stood up involuntarily, walked to the glass wall, and carefully observed Tang Long's face.

"The face is right, but the scars on his body don't match."

Mai Zhenxiong let out a long breath. "Sir Li, do you think there are gods in this world?"

Li Jiaying turned back and looked at him with surprise. "I am a civil servant; I am an atheist."

"I originally thought so too." Mai Zhenxiong smiled with effort, then called out to the microphone on his chest.

"A-Wei, demonstrate."

A fully armed man immediately walked into the next room, drew his pistol, aimed at the floating Tang Long, and opened fire directly.

Li Jiaying was stunned, because he saw that when the bullets from the gunfire touched Tang Long's body, his physique instantly turned golden, shimmering with textures resembling feathers and scales.

Then, after the bullets grazed these textures and sparked, they ricocheted and embedded themselves in the ceiling, yet the golden patterns on Tang Long's body faded, and he remained completely unharmed.

Li Jiaying pointed at Tang Long, looking at Mai Zhenxiong with an eager expression, momentarily not knowing what to ask.

But Mai Zhenxiong had already spoken. "I kidnapped him from Star City; he was unconscious at the time."

"This brat deceived my daughter's feelings and caused a rift between us."

"So for the past few days, I have tried hundreds of times to execute him, but no method has worked."

"Do not doubt my resolve. I have basically used every method you can imagine. There is a nuclear bomb under this small island right now."

Li Jiaying's eyes sharpened.

He knew Mai Zhenxiong wasn't lying. As the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of special criminal cases, the reason he accepted the invitation to meet with a thief was precisely because of this.

That is why he had a strong military backing for this trip.

At this moment, Mai Zhenxiong suddenly laughed.

"Do you know why I didn't detonate it?"

"You should be able to see that I don't have two days left to live; how I die doesn't make much difference to me."

"But I was still afraid."

"I was afraid that even a nuclear explosion wouldn't kill him, and then I would die in great agony."

"Besides, I am, after all, a citizen of the Dragon Empire. Detonating a nuclear bomb at my own doorstep—I know what consequences that would cause, so I want to change my method."

Li Jiaying knew that although Mai Zhenxiong was a thief, he still retained the old-school Dragon Empire underworld style—his word was his bond, and he kept his promises—so he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"What are your conditions?"

"I can hand him over to you, but only while I am still alive. After I die, shoot him into space with me on a rocket."

Li Jiaying's face couldn't help but twitch.

"I don't have the authority to decide on this matter; I need to consult the higher-ups of the court."

"If everything is as you say, the research value of this Tang Long is likely immeasurable, and the authorities may not necessarily agree to your request."

"Besides, is there such deep hatred between you?"

Mai Zhenxiong smiled rarely. "Hatred isn't quite the right word; it's more about unwillingness."

"I have been at the Peak for most of my life in this trade."

"If one day someone suddenly appears, not only suppressing you but also taking your daughter away, would you be willing to accept it?"

"Vivian is a police officer, and he is a thief. I certainly don't want them to end up together in the future, so I must take him away."

"Your rank is indeed a bit low. I originally wanted to contact the Dragon Team directly. But those people are too unscrupulous, and I no longer have the energy to deal with them."

"You and I have dealt with each other for many years; I trust you."

"Whether it's consulting or researching, hurry up. I don't have much time left."

————

Stepping out of the vortex light gate, a boundless world of ice and snow stretched out before his eyes.

Stepping onto the broken ice, Tang Long immediately felt that something was different.

His ice resistance was already high enough that walking in the deep sea at two or three hundred meters felt like a stroll in a garden.

But this did not mean he couldn't feel the cold; it just meant his tolerance range had been greatly expanded.

But now, standing naked in the ice and snow, he still felt warm.

Under the light of the low sun in the distance, the faint light of his Qi core, which had already extinguished, was actually flickering and shining from time to time. Although it couldn't generate powerful might, it could prevent the cold from invading his body.

"Sun Spirit Energy... it truly has its unique aspects. But what exactly is the situation with the missing Law?"

These questions can be set aside for now.

The biggest trouble now is where he has arrived.

Is it the Jiyu Snow Country in the North Pole, or the Soul Forbidden Zone in the South Pole?

And at this moment, he suddenly heard the sound of wind whistling from afar.

Tang Long's face twitched, and he hurriedly took out a set of equipment to put on.

After all, during the trial just now, his clothes had been burned away, and even his hair and eyebrows hadn't been spared.

The Early Stage Mystic equipment had very little fabric, looking somewhat like an Indian style; it really looked very strange, and Tang Long didn't like wearing it.

But in this situation, having something is better than being naked.

Three figures rushed over quickly, landed around him, and surrounded him in a triangular formation.

Tang Long couldn't help but gasp.

Because the three people in front of him all had white hair, pointed ears, blue eyes, and tails behind them; they were clearly of the same Blue Blood Clan as the Howling Queen, Lyria.

And the place where the Blue Blood Clan gathered and lived was in the icy wind region of the heavenly change, which was the Domain of the White God.

Damn it.

Ending up in a place like this, how is this old man supposed to return to Dongyu?

While Tang Long was feeling melancholy, the surrounding Blue Blood people had already spoken.

A woman in front, wearing a white veil and holding a sapphire staff, asked, "Which tribe are you from, and why have you invaded our Blue Blood Clan territory?"

The relatively tall and sturdy Blue Blood person on the right shouted angrily, "Your Highness! Why waste words with him! Kill him directly and hang his head on the ice tree!"

The one on the left appeared to be an old man, likewise with a gloomy gaze.

"Moria, this enemy is not weak. Remember your duty: protect Your Highness."

Tang Long waved his hands hurriedly. "Wait, who told you I am an enemy? I am a friend of Queen Lyria, and therefore a friend of the Blue Blood Clan."

"Look, this item is a treasure given to me by Her Highness the Queen."

"What should I call you all?"

Tang Long spoke to them while taking out the now-useless heavenly legacy key.

But when they saw what it was, they became even more furious.

"Lyria, that traitor who brought shame to the clan! A thief!"

"She actually stole the clan's supreme treasure and gave it to an outsider!"

"Kill him!"

Seeing all three of them rush over and strike out with blue Battle Qi from the air, Tang Long felt very awkward.

He had no choice but to immediately summon four Tyrant Iron-Eating Beasts to fight.