The hallâs structure reminded Han Xiao of the ancient kingdoms described in books. It was s.p.a.cious with rows of chairs on both sides, and at the end was the master seat covered in the hide of a white bear. Lining the walls were guards on high alert.
The hall was filled with high ranked officials of Alumera. They turned to look at Han Xiao almost simultaneously, with coldness and hostility in their eyes.
Many of these people thought that Han Xiao had vicious intentions by coming here all of a sudden, so the majority of them disagreed with meeting the legendary killer who was possibly an enemy. They had heard of the things that Black Phantom did, and they knew that Han Xiao was elusive, so they had no idea what he would do. However, Xiao Jin said that since Han Xiao was a killer, it would be safer to meet him face to face.
There were guards in the halls as well, all of whom were ready to pull the trigger any time. Superhumans also hid in the dark, which gave the high ranked officials of Alumera some sense of security.
âBlack Phantom.â Darryl, who sat in the master seat, waved his hands casually. âGive him a seat.â
A guard pulled a chair over and placed it in the middle of the hall like it was for an integration. Han Xiao knew that they were trying to plant fear in him. He had come alone, and Alumera definitely wanted to stand their ground.
Han Xiao did not care. He placed the enormous single shoulder backpack on the floor and sat down steadily. âDonât you want to introduce yourselves?â
âStop acting,â Darryl said coldly. âYouâve definitely already gone through our data in the Dark Net.â
Han Xiao scanned the Alumera members in the hall and noticed something quite interesting. These high ranked officials were seated separately. The ones belonging to the Home Faction sat around Darryl, while Xiao Jin, Sen Qi, and the North Faction all sat separately. This detail showed that there was some strong conflict within Alumera.
There were also a few very strong hidden presences around. Han Xiao was guessing that if the meeting went bad, he would be attacked in a split second⊠which of course would not be a problem for him.
Most of Han Xiaoâs attention was on Xiao Jin and the members of his factionâhe was scanning through them discreetly.
These were the family of his original body, and they had almost killed him.
Bang!
Suddenly, Darryl slammed the chair handle and yelled, âIn Green Valley Ville, you attacked our territory and killed our men. Whatâs your explanation for thatâœâ
The atmosphere tensed up immediately. Those strong presences started to tense up as well, and the other factions were acting indifferent. Only the home faction was full of hostility.
Han Xiao remembered that he had killed one of Xiao Jinâs foster sons, but Xiao Jin had a poker face. Han Xiao could not figure out what he was thinking.
âSo what if I killed them? If youâre not happy about that, fight me.â Han Xiaoâs expression resembled a smile but not a smile.
Darryl could not believe that Han Xiao was so arrogant in his territory. He was almost shocked for one second, then it turned into rage. âYouââ
Before he finished his sentence, Han Xiao suddenly said, âYou worked with the Germinal Organization. I wonât be the only one that comes looking for trouble with youâthe Six Nations will, too.â
The crowd was stunned.
Working with the Germinal Organization? Since when?
Darryl forced the shouting down his throat and suppressed his anger as much as he could. âWhat are you talking about? We have never worked with the Germinal Organization.â
âZero, whom the Germinal Organization is offering an enormous sum for, was a member of your family,â Han Xiao replied. âHow do you explain that?â
Darryl suddenly realized why Black Phantom attacked them for no reasonâit was because he had mistaken them for having a connection with the Germinal Organization. The team that was searching for Han Xiao might have been discovered by Black Phantom when they pa.s.sed by the Green Valley Ville.
Having heard that the Germinal Organization was Black Phantomâs enemy, Darryl realized that he had found the cause of the questions he was searching for. He shook his head and said, âYouâre wrong. The wanted Zero is vice leader Xiao Jinâs second son, Han Xiao.â
Han Xiao frowned. He looked at Darryl discreetly with eyes that were filled with unspoken meanings.
Darryl continued speaking. âBut Han Xiao is already not related to us. Furthermore, the Germinal Organization putting a reward for Han Xiao means heâs their enemy; there are more reasons for us not to be working with the Germinal Organization.â
It seemed like Alumera wanted to cut their ties. Han Xiaoâs eyes twinkled as he slowly lured words out of their mouth. He purposely acted as if he was speaking in a very serious manner and said, âI believe, with the intelligence of the Germinal Organization, they definitely knew Han Xiao belonged to you. You are the best clue they have. Why wouldnât the Germinal Organization contact you?â
Darrylâs face was stunned. âThey really didnât contact us.â
âYou think Iâll believe that? Do you think the Six Nationsâ intelligence organizations will believe that?â Han Xiao said coldly. âThere are too many suspicious parts to the story. I can only a.s.sume that you are helping the Germinal Organization find the wanted man, and thereâs even a possibility that that wanted man was sent by you to do things for the Germinal Organization.â
Darryl frowned and said, âThatâs is completely not true. Thereâs more to this.â
âI would like to hear what more there is then.â
Han Xiao had no fear. His att.i.tude made Darryl clench his teeth. For the familyâs sake, they had to cut ties with the Germinal Organization very clearly. The war between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization was about to break out, so if they were misunderstood, Alumera would be in a dire situation.
Although Han Xiao had come alone, Darryl did not dare do anything to him. After all, he was Black Phantom; with his ident.i.ty and strength, the fact that he was there might even have been an order from the Dark Net. If they killed him, the Dark Net would become their enemy, and it would prove the fact that they were working with the Germinal Organization.
Most importantly, Black Phantom was unfathomable. The people in the headquarters had no confidence in killing him, and finding out if they could was not worth the risk.
Therefore, at this point of time, Darryl could only endure the arrogance of Han Xiao. He stared at Xiao Jin with a fierce look; he felt this was all caused by Xiao Jin. Therefore, he spun his eyes and said loudly, âOkay, Leader Xiao, you shall tell him the details.â
Xiao Jin looked at Darryl faintly. He turned his head and said, âXiao Hai, tell him.â
A handsome young man walked out from behind Xiao Jin, his expression rather vicious.
Xiao Hai, the first and best son of Xiao Jin, partly in charge of the Xiao Faction.
He was someone with actual political power, and Xiao Jin had raised him to take his place.
âOne year ago, I was guarding a convoy of supplies and was attacked midway. Han Xiao went missing. I have no clue what happened to him afterward,â Xiao Hai said coldly.
This time, a leader from the Northern Faction said, âMore details, please. Our guest doesnât seem to believe it.â
Xiao Hai let out a grunt and said, âThe attackers came for me. Han Xiao is my brother, so I made him look like me and divided their attention as baitâonly then I could escape successfully. I went back searching with more troops afterward, but we werenât able to find him.â
Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. âSo, you let your little brother die for you. Was he willing to?â
âWhat do you think?â Xiao Hai was already annoyed.
The crowd chatted among themselves, eyes with all kinds of different emotions fixed upon Xiao Hai.
âThat is what happened,â Darryl said. âWe can show you more evidence, and whether you believe it or not, we have no relations.h.i.+p with the Germinal Organization.â
Han Xiao nodded. He had already received the information he neededâwhat happened to the original owner of this body and the att.i.tude of his family toward him.
When he mentioned the original owner of this body, the people in the Xiao faction treated it like it was a stranger. This was especially so for Xiao Hai, who did not show even a shred of remorse toward killing his own little brother, and Xiao Jin had no problem with that.
In conclusion, the original owner of the body was not loved by anyone; everyone treated him like nothing.
You had a pretty hard life, Han Xiao thought.
The people in the hall suddenly realized something.
What happened to controlling the situation?
When did it become Black Phantom interrogating us?