Super Soldier in the City

"So?" Li Yifei saw that Babua had fallen silent.

Babua suddenly seemed a bit bewildered, then shook his head vigorously and said, "When I woke up, I found myself outdoors and already outside the core of the headquarters. I was shot in the chest, but it wasn’t fatal. My body was weak and powerless; I lay there for over an hour before I could get up. It seemed like I was poisoned."

Li Yifei interrupted him, "You said you woke up outdoors? Don’t tell me someone helped you escape."

"I didn’t want to believe it either, but I indeed woke up outdoors. Judging by the distance, I should have been two or three kilometers away from the core area at the time. After running for a while, I saw this car, so I thought of stealing it to escape..."

"Elder Babua, that’s a terrible excuse. I haven’t been to your headquarters, but I know the security should be very tight. Not even a bird could easily escape, let alone a person, yet you managed to get here..."

"Golden Eagle, I have no reason to lie. If you are convinced that I sent people to assassinate you, you might as well kill me now. So what good would lying to you do? I admit I sometimes target the Holy Maiden, and there’s no need to explain why, but this time, it wasn’t me. It just wasn’t me!" Babua became more agitated as he spoke, and in the end, he even wanted to stand up, only to feel a hand pressing on his shoulder. Li Yifei said calmly, "So, are you sure you didn’t escape on your own?"

"No, I was unconscious and knew nothing after that!" Babua firmly stated.

"Assuming what you say is true, and it’s not you who tried to assassinate us, then... there’s someone else behind it. Who do you think is more suspicious?" Li Yifei’s playful disdain disappeared from his face, replaced by a look of seriousness.

Babua nodded, appearing somewhat weak, "I know it wasn’t me, so the other nine elders are all suspects. The most suspicious... I think besides Elder Andisto, there are a few other elders who are suspicious... But if you ask me who I suspect, I have no one to point the finger at. Every elder is suspect, yet none of them should have done it."

Li Yifei didn’t completely believe Babua, but he wasn’t entirely suspicious either. He asked, "If you had to choose one elder who is most likely to frame you, who would it be?"

"Elder Mus, or... Andisto, the Grand Elder. Although my relationship with the Grand Elder is passable, he also has suspicions. As for Elder Mus, I have a hard time commenting on him, but on a daily basis, we don’t get along the most. However, his relationship with the Holy Maiden is acceptable; it has been the same in some previous matters as well."

"Already the Grand Elder, and he still wants the Holy Maiden’s position, do you think he would do that?"

"I don’t know. Golden Eagle, actually what I want to say is that whether it’s the Grand Elder, Mus, or anyone else, this matter can only be handled internally by the Holy Church. Outsiders shouldn’t interfere. You’ve already escaped once; it’s best to keep a low profile."

"Hahaha." Li Yifei laughed. He suddenly found this Elder Babua quite interesting. In this situation, he could still try to dissuade him. This actually shows his loyalty to the Holy Church, or the Holy War Organization. Would such a person really do something as reckless as trying to assassinate the Holy Maiden?

While laughing, a chill suddenly ran through Li Yifei’s heart, a bad feeling emerging. Babua didn’t escape on his own, so either someone helped him in secret, or...

"Do you have any close friends in the Holy War Organization? Those with enough power to rescue you!"

"No..." Babua shook his head succinctly and continued, "Both my disciples betrayed me like this, not to mention others. Now it’s basically confirmed that I tried to assassinate you, and people are eager to distance themselves from me, so how could they rescue me!"

"So... there’s only one other possibility!" Li Yifei’s face became extremely serious. Babua looked up at him upon hearing this. Li Yifei said, "The one hidden behind the scenes, he’s planning... to harm the Holy Maiden!"

As Li Yifei spoke, he finally realized what had been nagging at him. Babua’s eyes were slightly dazed, but after Li Yifei’s reminder, he too came to this realization, so he quickly said, "It’s possible, but would the Holy Maiden have precautions?"

Li Yifei turned and walked to the bedside, picked up his phone, and saw no messages from the Holy Maiden, so he quickly edited a message and sent it. However, at this time, the Holy Maiden should normally be resting. Li Yifei waited for two minutes, then called directly, but the call wasn’t answered.

"Damn it!" Li Yifei cursed, appearing a bit anxious. He was just worried about the ’what ifs’. He didn’t fully trust Babua’s words; people like him were crafty and hard to believe. But Li Yifei was more concerned about the safety of the Holy Maiden, worried she might be harmed. If the real culprit was someone else, the effort they spent on releasing Babua would likely be aimed at targeting the Holy Maiden.

"Can you find a way to sneak in?" Li Yifei put down his phone and stared at Babua, asking.

Babua’s body had somewhat recovered by now, but he knew he couldn’t beat Li Yifei. Seeing the question, Babua shook his head and said, "I don’t know what the situation at the headquarters is like now, whether they’ve discovered my escape..."

Li Yifei knitted his brows; he really wanted to go to the Holy War Organization headquarters now. He had a nagging feeling that the person hiding behind the scenes would attack the Holy Maiden. But... should he go? He knew nothing about the inside, but Babua did. However, would Babua be willing to return?

"If... your analysis is correct, then if the real culprit appears, it would also clear my name. I can take you inside, but... I’m in pretty bad shape right now. Not only am I injured by a gunshot, but I also feel like I was poisoned, so it might be slow."

"Babua, I never had a good impression of you to begin with. After all, it was your people who kidnapped my son. Due to the strength of the Holy War Organization, I didn’t cause you trouble. This time, I’ll choose to believe you once more. If there are any other mistakes, I assure you that, even if I can’t destroy the Holy War Organization now, I will when I become powerful enough!"

"Golden Eagle, some things can be done, some cannot. Kidnapping your child, I can apologize for that, and I admit it. But to kill the Holy Maiden? As a Holy Church elder, I couldn’t do such a thing, even if my relationship with the Holy Maiden is not great!" Babua said seriously.

"Fine, I’ll take you, and you guide us!" Li Yifei said.

Without further ado, Li Yifei only drove a short way, then he and Babua got out of the car. Since Babua’s movement was slow, Li Yifei, feeling anxious, decided to carry him, an action that greatly astonished Babua.

Li Yifei deftly moved through the forest, making swift progress. Under Babua’s guidance, he quickly reached a small hill. This place was also densely wooded, and below the hill was the core area of the Holy War Organization’s headquarters. Just as they were about to go down, Li Yifei’s phone rang. He put Babua down and saw that the caller was the Holy Maiden. He quickly answered, speaking softly, "Yanzi, what’s going on over there?"

"I’m... alright!" The Holy Maiden’s voice was a bit off, low, and seemed somewhat fatigued...

Li Yifei immediately felt that something was wrong and quickly asked, "Did something happen?"

"I... I was just attacked, but the person has already fled!" The Holy Maiden said.

"No way, you’re hurt?" Li Yifei quickly pressed, while Babua next to him instantly sensed a strong sense of killing intent emanating from Li Yifei, forcing him to step back a few paces.

On the other end, the Holy Maiden’s breathing was somewhat rapid; after a few seconds, she replied, "Yes, a little injured, but I’m fine!"

"Wait, how long until we get there?" Li Yifei turned to ask Babua, who replied, five minutes. The Holy Maiden heard this voice and immediately noticed something was wrong, asking from her side, "Yifei, who are you with?"

"I caught Babua and had him guide me to sneak in!" Li Yifei said.

"No way!" The Holy Maiden was indeed injured, a cut on her right arm. Though it had been bandaged, blood was still oozing. Hearing Li Yifei’s answer, she immediately sat up straight, her eyes slightly surprised, and then she said, "Yifei, the one who just attacked me was Babua. How could you catch him?"

"What?" Li Yifei was also shocked upon hearing this, then said, "Babua attacked you?"

Saying this, Li Yifei turned to glare at Babua, eyes filled with killing intent. Babua instinctively retreated, shaking his head, "It wasn’t me, I didn’t attack the Holy Maiden."

"Yifei, the person who just came to assassinate me was clearly Babua. He was the one who slashed my right arm; there’s no mistake!" The Holy Maiden emphasized from the other side.

"Wait, did you say just now? How long ago did it happen?"

"About... half an hour ago!" The Holy Maiden said. "I was sleeping, and someone entered my room, waking me up. Then Babua charged at me and slashed me. I pulled out the gun from under my pillow and fired back at him, probably hitting him in the chest. He escaped through the window, and I couldn’t catch up!"

After the Holy Maiden finished speaking, Li Yifei’s eyes were full of confusion. He subconsciously looked at Babua’s chest, where there were still wounds, a bullet still embedded. It had only been temporarily sealed to prevent the wound from worsening.

Babua’s chest did get shot, but half an hour ago, he was already near the car, so... who actually tried to assassinate the Holy Maiden?

"Yifei, what’s going on there? Where did you catch Babua? Was he shot?"

"He was shot, but... the timing doesn’t add up!" Hearing that the Holy Maiden only had a cut on her arm, Li Yifei slightly relaxed, his mind rapidly processing the entire situation.