Dragon Clan: They're all insane, and you still want me to slay dragons?

Page 124

That longing, however, was not present on John Wick's face.

"Aren't you the top leader of your team?"

Kazama Ruri could only see John Wick as a wage earner who didn't crave the rewards of completing the project; he just wanted to finish this job as soon as possible and move on to the next one.

"This has nothing to do with you."

John Wick neither admitted nor denied it; he knew that Kazama Ruri was a very observant woman. No matter how he answered, his micro-expressions and eyes would tell her his true feelings.

"I'm just curious, who could possibly command a humanoid dragon king?"

"Couldn't it be because I'm curious about the White King that I'm willing to give it a try and cooperate with you?"

"You're too much of a follower. You don't seem like the kind of person who follows the crowd."

"I'm not the kind of person who follows the crowd, so who is?"

“The prince of Northern Qi, namely Gao Kuijun, is the one who goes with the flow.”

Looking towards the Japanese mainland through the ship's window, Kazama Ruri said, "You know, everyone in this world has their own niche, which is also their personal position."

Once you find your niche, you'll discover that you have something you absolutely must do.

I've found my niche, and I believe you have too. We all have things we have to do, things we have to do no matter what.

But Gao Kuijun was different; this world had no niche for him.

"If he doesn't have a niche, why isn't it because he hasn't found his niche?"

“If a person cannot find their own niche, there will be no things they are determined to do. But Gao Kuijun is one. I have personally confirmed that he has things he is determined to do, but the things he is determined to do are unrelated to his niche.”

Therefore, I say that this world has no niche for him; he is someone who goes with the flow.

"You just said a very long thing."

John Wick scrutinized Kazama Ruri's features, as if he saw a thousand charms within them: "That conversation was more than all the words you've spoken to me in the past 12 hours, so you like him?"

Kazama Ruri suddenly tensed up, suppressing the spring-like passion in her eyes as she realized she had made a mistake. She had unknowingly steered a topic that had little to do with Gao Kui onto him.

Is this right or wrong?

Kazama Ruri had no idea; all she knew was that she was probably ill, and every scene she saw and every thought she had seemed to connect with Gao Kui.

This is probably what liking someone means.

“This is none of your business,” Kazama Ruri retorted coldly, echoing John Wick’s words.

John Wick shrugged, feeling like he'd won a round. After the other person read his true thoughts, he, in turn, read theirs.

The rare opportunity for communication between the two sides ended in discord.

John Wick lowered his head and continued wiping the alchemical weapons in his hands, sorting the seven swords and placing them back into their sheaths one by one. Kazama Ruri ran to the deck and reviewed the operation of the deep-sea submersible, torpedo launching system, and nuclear warhead delivery system with the technicians.

Half an hour later, the dark clouds lowered further, waves churned on the sea, and the cell phone on the table in the cabin suddenly began to vibrate.

That was a dedicated mobile phone used to contact Wang Jiang; the number was disguised, and information was relayed via a communications satellite owned by the boss personally.

John Wick picked up his phone; the screen displayed only a few English letters: Action. Because he was worried John Wick wouldn't understand Japanese, Wang Jiang had specifically sent him an English word that most people in the world could understand.

John Wick stepped out of the cabin onto the deck, tossed his phone to Kazama Ruri, clapped his hands, and loudly called out to the group of technicians.

"Ready for action!"

The already busy deck became even busier. Technicians methodically carried out the final adjustments and checks on the submersible, while the sailors and helmsmen stowed the anchor and started the propulsion system, heading at full speed toward Sumeru, where the Snake Clan was located.

This is a long job.

When they were only 50 kilometers away from the Snake Clan, the captain suddenly shouted that the Snake Clan members on the Sumeru Throne had noticed them through radar and warned them not to trespass into that area of ​​water.

"Ignore them, full speed ahead!"

John Wick, burdened with the seven deadly sins, ordered his crew to launch a speedboat. The speedboat's top speed was almost two to three times that of the large ship, allowing him to reach Mount Meru earlier than the research vessel, establish a battlefield far from the research vessel, and protect its safety.

The submersible and related equipment have been attached to the slings and can be deployed into the sea as soon as it reaches its destination.

Kazama Ruri stood at the door of the deep-sea submersible and turned to ask John Wick, "Do you need my help? There are probably dozens of hybrids on the Sumeru Throne of the Snake Clan, and it's also equipped with various defensive firearms."

"No need. You just need to dive down; I'll handle the rest."

Before jumping onto the speedboat, John Wick, wearing goggles, asked Kazama Ruri one last question: "Do you need me to go easy on you?"

The Demon Clan and the Snake Clan seem to share a common origin.

Ruri Kazama wanted to say no, but before she could speak, she thought of Gao Kui, frowned, and said, "Suit yourself."

It doesn't say that you can kill indiscriminately or that you can't kill. It means that you should kill as few people as possible while ensuring that the research vessel is not disturbed. Isn't that a kind of compassion?

John Wick nodded, jumped onto the speedboat, cut through the waves, and sailed away into the night.

Chapter 152 Surrender Without a Fight

The office was filled with smoke, and the ashtray in front of Yuan Zhisheng was overflowing with cigarette butts. He had already smoked three packs of cigarettes since last night.

Sleepiness returned, but Genjiro was not incapable of maintaining a high level of concentration for extended periods. During a previous mission, he had gone two days and three nights without sleep, chasing that demon over a thousand miles across mountains and valleys.

However, drowsiness and fatigue will not be affected by Genjiro's will.

Yuan Zhisheng rummaged through his pockets for cigarettes, and after a few moments, he realized that he had already finished all three packs.

Sakurai Nanami, who was sitting next to Genji, tossed the cigarette in front of her to Genji: "You can smoke mine if you don't mind."

"Thank you."

Genjiro pulled out a women's cigarette, protected Sakurai Nanami's hand, lit the cigarette, took a deep drag and exhaled a cloud of stale air, and asked Yabuki Sakura, "How is the situation?"

"That depends on what your expectations are, young master."

Sakura Yabuki, who was listening to the liaison department's updates in real time, replied: "If your expectation is to stabilize the current situation, then my answer is very good. After the initial fierce attack, the various clubs under our main family have recovered from the chaos."

Except for a few weak gangs that were wiped out by the Demon Clan, most gangs have established relatively strong defenses and entered a stalemate with the enemy.

The Ganryu Research Center, the prisons holding people of high-risk bloodlines, and the various branches were not in immediate danger of being breached. The political and public opinion pressure was also not great, and the politicians and media who were on good terms with us had a lot of room to maneuver for us...

Overall, everything is going well so far.

win!

Genjiro is capable, and the heads of each family and the elders of the strategic department are not incompetent. A group of mixed-race elites worked together to coordinate and have pulled the Snake-Headed Eight Families out of the brink of death.

Genji flicked his cigarette ash: "If my goal is to end this turmoil quickly and completely wipe out the Oni Clan, at least I should launch a strong counterattack to severely damage them, right?"

"Then I can only say it's not entirely satisfactory."

The pretty girl swung her ponytail and replied expressionlessly, "We've only just stabilized the situation. Relying solely on our subordinates, the organization, and the branches, we see no sign of this turmoil ending anytime soon."

Whether the stalemate continues or a desperate counterattack is launched, there will only be one outcome.

Sakura Yabuki didn't say what her fate would be, but everyone present knew what the final outcome would be: mutual destruction.

Unbeknownst to them, the Demon Clan and its subordinate forces, under the management of the King, had grown to a power comparable to the Snake Clan.

Certainly, this is partly because the elite of the Snake Clan were stationed in various locations such as the Genji Heavy Industries and the Ganryu Research Institute, while the Demon Clan was able to devote all their efforts to this area.

The fact that the Oni Clan, which was nearly wiped out more than a decade ago, has managed to develop to its current state is undoubtedly a disgrace to the Snake-Headed Eight Families.

So, whose responsibility is it really?

"What about the headquarters of the Demon Clan, or their strongholds where they amass a large force? Have you found any clues?" Genji asked again, his brows furrowed.

The Snake-Headed Eight Families have been feeling quite aggrieved by this battle. Those with nothing to lose are fearless, and the Snake-Headed Eight Families, being the barefoot party and the one who was ambushed, naturally have many concerns.

Mobilizing elite troops from headquarters or the Ganryu Research Institute to support the various branches risks falling into the enemy's trap of besieging the strongholds and luring out reinforcements. Doing nothing, on the other hand, would result in a lose-lose situation.

Ultimately, it was the responsibility of the patriarch, Tachibana Masamune. Not only did he allow the Oni Clan to grow powerful, but he also blinded the Hebi-Hachi family, leaving them completely unaware of the enemy's movements.

Yabuki Sakura shook her head.

"Even if Princess Kaguya uses big data analysis, she can't find a single clue about the Demon Clan?" Genji pressed.

"At least not at the moment."

Sakura Yabuki said meaningfully, "Loca's Law tells us that everything leaves a trace, and physical evidence will not disappear or be false. However, in Princess Kaguya's data, there is very little data related to the Oni Clan."

A detective or police officer needs "clues" to solve a case or unravel a mystery. As a computationally powerful artificial intelligence, Princess Kaguya can notice subtle "clues" that ordinary people would miss. She then uses the most basic but effective method to piece together all the clues and suspicious points, ultimately arriving at a highly accurate answer.

However, there were no particularly useful clues in Princess Kaguya's database, so Princess Kaguya's role was negligible.

How could it not be?

Genjiro understood the implication in Yabuki Sakura's words: "You mean, Princess Kaguya was breached and had a backdoor implanted by the Oni Clan without our knowledge?"

As soon as this statement came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

How could that be? Kaguya is one of the most advanced artificial intelligences in the world. Not only is her algorithm outstanding, but her computing power is also among the best in the world. The Snake Clan spent a huge amount of money to build Kaguya's computing center.

A computing center of this caliber could not possibly be breached and have a backdoor implanted by an enemy without their knowledge.

However, apart from that, no one could find a reason why Princess Kaguya's database didn't contain much information about the Oni.

It's normal for Tachibana Masamune to sit idly by and watch the Demon Clan grow stronger. Tachibana Masamune is human, not a god. As a human, he is capable of making mistakes and being deceived. It's not surprising that he didn't notice the Demon Clan's underhanded actions.

Princess Kaguya is a supercomputer, an artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence, at least in its information gathering, doesn't make mistakes; the database contains exactly the amount of data it's supposed to contain.

Aside from Kaguya-hime having a problem, what other reason could there be?

Actually, there is a possibility: that Tachibana Masamune betrayed them or was bribed. If this hypothesis comes true, then the rise of the Oni Clan and the Kaguya-hime database issues will have a reasonable explanation.

But how is this possible?

Tachibana Masamune is the head of the Snake-Headed Eight Families; he can't possibly rebel against himself.

No one considered this possibility.

Sakura Yabuki offered another speculation: "If Kaguya-hime wasn't implanted with a backdoor, then Kaguya-hime's algorithm has some problems, causing her to have shortcomings in the ability to collect clues."

"It has shortcomings, meaning it's not unusable and can still be used to deduce the headquarters of the Demon Clan?"

"That's right, it just needs more time."

"how long?"

"If the unrest continues, it may take up to a week."

"What if the unrest stops?"

“That could take several years,” Sakura Yabuki shrugged.