Chapter 316: Damn Fatty! [Part 1]
The man in the hologram was greatly surprised by the unexpected turn of events, but it made sense that an honorary scholar like Cillin would be protected by hidden bodyguards. He immediately contacted a new group of assassins. He also told the planetary government to turn a blind eye on Myriad Sea City’s movements.
Cillin didn’t stop him because Wheeze was monitoring the comms all this time. It was the perfect opening the gray cat needed to trace back to the source and find out the man’s identity.
The result turned out to be very surprising. The man in the hologram had a formidable background, one that gave him the gall to attack an honorary scholar and the confidence to get away. In fact, he would’ve succeeded if Cillin was someone else, and the traces were cleaned properly during the aftermath. Too bad Cillin wasn’t someone he could deal with however he liked.
“Gleason Varnett. A member of the Gleason Family? No wonder you’re this confident,” Cillin said with a smile.
Varnett stared at the honorary scholar who was even younger than he was for a moment. Why is he smiling so easily knowing that I belong to the Gleason Family? Or is he just faking it? The fact that Cillin was able to find out his identity meant that he had a clear line to someone in the RAS. That was a little troublesome. The Gleason Family was powerful, but even they couldn’t challenge the RAS directly. It would only hurt their profit.
Varnett thought for a moment before smiling sinisterly. He couldn’t clash against the RAS, sure, but what if he targeted someone else?
“You may be protected by Guan Feng, but those two citizens don’t belong to you, do they? I should also tell you that the Gleason Family has jurisdiction over this planet, so this is a legitimate cooperation between us and the planetary government. Not even Guan Feng has the power to interfere directly.”
Varnett’s meaning was simple. Cillin could leave whenever he wanted, but Shi Tang and Sha Rou must stay behind. He wanted to humiliate Cillin by thwarting his efforts.
Varnett had even prepped an entire argument in his mind where Cillin brought up the matter of ownership, and him presenting the necessary documents and shutting the honorary scholar through the law. But Cillin didn’t answer and ignored him completely.
His spaceplane was already flying over when he initiated a conversation with Varnett. While Sha Rou was feeding Shi Tang his medicine, Cillin also hinted at them to pack their stuff and get ready to leave immediately. So when the spaceplane finally descended to the ground, he led them up the transport and took off immediately. Varnett’s monologue was automatically filtered from his mind.
The assassins of Myriad Sea City were rushing to the scene, but they were stopped by an invisible energy barrier. There were also hidden attackers creating trouble for them and obstructing their way. The spaceplane had long since departed when they finally reached the short building.
The people who were supposed to intercept Cillin in space were met with failure as well. They couldn’t get a target lock on the spaceplane because their controls went haywire for no apparent reason. The planetary defense network that were supposed to block them also experienced a number of errors. By the time they finally restored everything, their target was already gone a long time ago.
Thump!
At the research base of a certain planet, Varnett was so angry that he smashed the display in front of him. The way Cillin looked at him right before he left made him feel like he was being mocked and looked down at.
“Boss.” A guard carrying the Gleason Family’s symbol on his clothes walked into the room.
“What is it?!” Varnett shouted without even looking back.
The infuriated noble was currently contacting some people to intercept Cillin and preferably destroy it without being found out. So what if he was the student of Guan Feng? Not even Guan Feng could fight the Gleason Family alone. The RAS would be angry, but even they wouldn’t pressure the Gleason Family excessively over one honorary scholar.
“The… the little young master is here.” The guard actually bit his tongue by accident when he said this. Varnett’s hand movements stopped when the words made it into his brain and blew away his anger like an ice storm. Their reaction was perfectly normal, however. The “little young master” was a person who struck fear in everyone’s heart.
Varnett hurriedly put away his communicator and straightened his lab attire as much as he could. After arranging his features and putting a smile to his face, he hurriedly walked out to welcome the “little young master”.
Despite Varnett’s best efforts, the sight of the little young master still caused his face to stiffen unnaturally. There was something in his eyes that made Varnett felt like he was thrown into an arctic region. Despite being clearly taller than the little young master, it did nothing to alleviate the feeling of inferiority.
“Why have you come—”
Varnett stumbled back a step in shock when the little young master slapped him across his face. Before he could steady himself, the second and third slap knocked him to the ground and sent his teeth flying across the floor. Half of his face was swollen, and blood dripped profusely from his mouth. The little young master looked down on the struggling man like he was watching at a pile of garbage.
“You sent someone to attack Cillin?”
Varnett was still dazed when he struggled to his feet. When he finally regained his wits, he looked at Gleason Dodge’s eyes and realized that it was filled with iciness and anger. Varnett couldn’t help but shiver visibly. Why on earth was Dodge so angry?
Technically speaking, Varnett was Dodge’s older patrilineal cousin, but their actual relationship was the complete opposite of what you might expect. Every in the Gleason Family knew that Dodge was special despite his incredibly youthful appearance. The boy had entered the family’s center of power since a very young age, and he was raised by the older patriarch himself, one of the three great generals of the empire when he was still in service. As a result, his ruthlessness and ability outstripped his peers by leaps and bounds.
An elder with the blood of the Gleason Family running through their veins would’ve had to ruminate their words carefully when speaking with Dodge, much less an unofficial family member like Varnett. It was why Varnett didn’t make a peep despite taking two painful slaps to the face.
Varnett panicked when Dodge narrowed his eyes with killing intent. It was clearly directed at him and not at Cillin, but why?
“Guan Feng is Cillin’s only backer, and he only got into the RAS by sheer luck. Why should the Gleason Family be afraid of him?” Varnett defended himself vehemently. The Gleason Family had never been one to back down from a fight even when they were the inferior, and in this world their only superiors were the three kings and the emperor himself. So what if Cillin had the RAS’ backing? The institute didn’t belong to Guan Feng alone, not to mention that there were plenty of people in the RAS who disliked him.
Dodge grabbed Varnett’s neck with one hand. It was a tiny hand, but Varnett just couldn’t break free from the little young master’s vice-like grip no matter how hard he tried.
“If you weren’t still useful, I would remove your head from your shoulders right now. This is the first and last time I’m telling you this. Do not provoke Cillin, and do not even think to pull your little tricks. Ignore my warning, and I will delete you and your men from this world.”
Dodge’s voice was very soft, but the sheer menace of his words caused everyone’s legs to shiver uncontrollably on their own.
Dodge tossed Varnett to the side and left with his men just like that. Everyone in the research base bowed their heads as deeply as they could, worried that the little young master might vent their anger on them.
“Go there and take care of this. It would incredibly troublesome if Cillin decides to pursue this,” Dodge said to the person next to him.
“Yes sir. But Cillin…”
“I’ll speak to him myself,” Dodge replied while rubbing his forehead. Every time he recalled Varnett’s action, he could feel his anger rising in a straight line. “That idiot!”
Guan Feng and the Gen Family—although the latter’s relationship wasn’t publicized yet—weren’t the only ones who were supporting Cillin. The Mist Bodhisattva Emperor himself had tacitly permitted the third power behind him to butcher any undesirable element they deemed necessary just recently! Only a complete retard would provoke Cillin as he was now!
Dodge knew some of the empire’s secrets because he was raised by the old general himself, and he knew full well the implications, consequences and what was about to come the moment Cillin caused that epic storm in the academic world.
Cillin wasn’t really surprised when he received communication request from Gleason Dodge. He accepted the boy’s explanation and apology, but he wasn’t worried even if Dodge hadn’t acted, and Varnett had continued to pursue him. When he left the planet with Shi Tang and Sha Rou, every relevant record and data had already been wiped out. He wouldn’t lose even if this had devolved into a legal battle of sorts.
Of course, since Gleason Dodge had personally shown up to settle this matter, Cillin found no reason not to disappoint him. The boy’s age didn’t reflect his ability and maturity at all, and he had no lack of ruthlessness. He was confident that the Gleason Family would prosper or even climb to greater heights in the hands of Gleason Dodge.
Cillin sent his robot to deliver Sha Rou and Shi Tang to a space fortress Xi Kai had told him about. There, Shi Tang could enjoy the best treatment and the lab necessary to conduct his research.