Yin Wushe was already waiting in front of his monitor when they returned to the starship.
“Congratulations. You win this time,” Yin Wushe started. He sounded so casual it was like he was praising a kid for getting 2+2 right.
Wheeze was crouching on Cillin’s shoulder and glaring at the old man with hostility. The longer it looked at him, the more he resembled a sly fox.
“Do you have a problem with me, lil’ fatty?” Wheeze’s glare was so obvious that Yin Wushe had to put down his ice cream and ask the question.
Wheeze raised its chin and dropped a bomb. “I know you’re lusting after my body!” A pause later, it dropped another one. “How depraved are you that you’ll even put your hands on a cat?!”
Yin Wushe: “…”
The eyes of the little fellow watching from a table out of view of the camera widened like saucers as well. Is this cat really alright in the head?!
Cillin flicked one of Wheeze’s ear and chided it, “Those lines should never be said in situations like this. How many times have I told you to stop watching Moon’s porn? Your brain is going to rot if you keep this up.”
Wheeze flicked its tail unhappily and hmphed.
“Are you done with the comedy skit? Let’s get back to business then. I told you I’ll give you a useful intel if you win, so I’ll fulfill that promise now.” Yin Wushe straightened his expression before continuing, “Someone is planning to assassinate the higher-ups of Vanguard, and at least ten people have been put on the kill list. I have no idea if Ji Feng is on it though.”
Someone wants to assassinate the higher-ups of Vanguard?
“Is it Mist?” That was the only other killer organization that was on the same level as Merciless. No one else had the strength, courage or stupidity to commit to something so obviously beyond their ability.
“Yep!”
“Why didn’t you just inform Admiral Ji Feng about it?”
“Why should I?” Yin Wushe retorted casually.
He knew Cillin would definitely inform Ji Feng about this though, and he was fine with it.
Cillin thought for a moment before asking, “I will inform the admiral about this. Do you have anything else you’d like to share with me?”
“Nope. Oh, I suppose there is one thing I should clarify right now. I admit I’m very interested in the cat on your shoulder right now, but you have nothing to worry from me. Not only do I mean it no harm, you and I are, in a sense, on the same side.”
Yin Wushe cut off the call after that. The spaceplane took off and vanished into the distance in no time.
On the same side? What does he mean by that?
Cillin did not understand what Yin Wushe mean at this time. By the time he did, a certain duo were already tearing into one another.
In Yin Wushe’s spaceplane, the little fellow who just finished another large cup of ice cream was leaning against Yin Wushe’s chest with its eyes closed and its long, furry tail wrapped around its body. It looked incredibly full and comfortable right now.
Yin Wushe ran his fingers across its snow white fur before asking, “So? What are your impressions?”
Despite how it looked, he wasn’t speaking to the dozing creature on his chest. Taipan Nahan and the other killer who dueled Cillin and Wheeze were standing a short distance away from him.
“He hid his strength,” The guy next to Taipan Nahan and Cillin’s opponent said. Although neither party had brought their true strength into the duel or fought seriously, that didn’t mean he didn’t notice some things.
“Is it?”
“I’m certain. There were three times I was sure he could’ve killed me in a single hit, but he hadn’t done so. I’m not sure if it was because this was just a spar or other reasons, but he’s definitely hiding his strength.”
“Well, you’re right.” Yin Wushe said slowly, “To date, no one knows how strong Cillin truly is. Also, did you notice that he always avoids using violence unless necessary? Remember the virus he released at the Miracle base and the causes of death of the Skull King and his subordinates from a couple of years ago. Almost all of the damage and destruction he’d caused are done through other methods. Just the same, he was able to kill Oskulos probably not because he was stronger, but because of other reasons.
“Of course, everyone here knows that martial strength isn’t the be-all and end-all, or even a particularly great threat. The most dangerous people we’ve ever encountered are those who can kill a ton of people without resorting to violence. It’s because it’s impossible to estimate their threat level accurately, not to mention that that kid possesses the ability to kill with or without violence.
“One more thing. I may not know what kind of deal he has struck with Jiada, but Jiada is the type of person who would treat you as if you don’t exist if he believes that your strength is beneath his notice. Since the boy was able to speak and even enter a deal with him, it proves that Jiada values him a lot.
“Finally, there were people who wished to hire Grim Reaper to assassinate Cillin, but they were all rejected. Most people believe that Jiada’s the one who put a stop to it, but I think Si Huang was the one who made the decision.”
Yin Wushe said all this for the benefit of his subordinates. He rarely spoke so long at a time, so everyone in the spaceplane took it as seriously as they could.
Cillin had no idea how highly Yin Wushe and his people were rating him. Once the time was right, he contacted Ji Feng and told him about his conversation with Yin Wushe.
It seemed that Ji Feng was already prepared for such an incident, however. “I thought it’s about time they made a move,” he said.
There were many internal issues regarding Vanguard that Cillin weren’t privy to. Considering what Vanguard did last time during the general meeting, Ji Feng might have noticed something even before Songba Leruo was stabbed in the back.
Ji Feng warned Cillin to be careful and stated that he would speak with Yin Wushe. He also told Cillin to prepare himself. There was no way Yin Wushe had sought him out for a simple scouting. He was certain that Cillin would meet the head of Merciless again in the near future.
Cillin agreed with Ji Feng’s assessment not just because Ji Feng must know Yin Wushe far better than him, but also because he had the feeling that the admiral had hidden some things for him. More importantly, those things were related to him and Wheeze.
“What’s next, Cillin?” Eudy asked.
Besides the troubling intel Yin Wushe gave him, Ji Feng had also sent him some important information regarding the other hunter regiments. The long story short was that the other three of the Great Four were also acting strange and seemingly plotting something. As Ji Feng said, a massive change that would affect all Hunters might be upon them very soon.
The A Squad was going to be busy, and the Hunter world was going to witness a massive change very soon. If a huge war were to break out, then no one would be spared from it. A single, small-sized squadron like them wouldn’t have much of an advantage in a chaotic situation like this, so their best course of action was to meet up with the other B Squadrons and discuss countermeasures with them.
“We’ll return to our base at Sector Z and prepare ourselves,” Cillin said.
“Got it.”
One should not fight a war without preparation. Since they knew this was coming, there was no reason not to arm themselves to the teeth before the inevitable happened. For example, the top grade energy ores they excavated recently could be used to enhance many weapons. They needed to work quickly too. No one knows exactly when this massive change would occur.
While Cillin was sorting out the information he received, Moon suddenly poked his head through the entrance to the bridge. He waited until his discussion with Eudy was over before flying in.
“What’s wrong?” Cillin asked.
“Are you busy right now?” Moon twirled his fingers while looking unnaturally nervous.
“I’m going to be busy for the foreseeable future, but you should tell me what’s troubling you anyway,” Cillin said.
“H-how about we make a deal? We’ll handle some of your workload for you. In exchange, we’d like you to spare us a bit of your time.” Moon continued to twirl his fingers.
“What do you need? If it’s that urgent, then sure, I can help you first.”
“Thank you!” The Origin robot abruptly grabbed Cillin’s arm and pulled him toward the exit.
“What’s the hurry? You still haven’t told me what this business of yours is,” Cillin said while running alongside Moon.
“We need you to save a pair of lives!”