The Almighty Ring

“The third batch will take some time. We may have already produced the powerful Androids but we have not made a breakthrough in creating the perfect artificial soul that we can control. It’s disheartening to see the artificial soul project yet to reach that level,” Han Yao sighed, pressing his index finger and his thumb against his forehead.

“It doesn’t matter, sir. With the second batch of Androids, we would have armed ourselves properly. There is still time until the third batch is completed. After all, we have yet to denounced the martial artists,” said Qin Tian, curving his lips, mimicking that of a smile.

“I’ll leave that matter in your hands. You have full control and authority,” said Han Yao, picking up a file before continuing, “the Androids will arrive in about three days later.”

…

Jiang Fei and Ariel were in the room, but Jiang Fei’s heart was not. After they had revealed that there would be a second and third batch of Androids, Jiang Fei began to drift away in his thoughts.

From what he understood, the military had made a breakthrough in Androids production a long time ago. That explained how they were able to mass-produce so many Androids. The third batch of Androids would be stronger than the previous batches, perhaps even strong enough to stand toe-to-toe with the Mutants. There was a chance that the third batch of Androids had reached Level 5.

Currently, they had yet to make a Level 5 Android but Jiang Fei feared that time was not on his side. Perhaps, they were in progress of making a breakthrough. That would explain why they would want to go against the martial artists.

‘Thank god I’ve decided to make a trip back here. If I hadn’t, we might have suffered a great loss,’ Jiang Fei thought.

The meeting went on for a while longer. After an hour after the meeting started, the room was vacant, leaving Jiang Fei and Ariel alone.

“What are we going to do now?” Ariel asked.

“We need to find Han Tianyu. Even though we’ve got a rough understanding of the situation, I want to hear Han Tianyu’s opinion,” said Jiang Fei.

Jiang Fei’s face was pale. His lips were dry and pasty. He had been out for too long and had taken in too much information. He did not want to go against the military. Not because of his affiliation with the martial artists but because of his loyalty to the country. It was how he was brought up.

Unlike Jiang Fei, the country did not care about Jiang Fei’s loyalty. All they knew was that Jiang Fei was a martial artist. Unless he made that clear with the government, his name would forever be on the hit list.

Take away the ring, the armor, and everything that 0541 had made and given him, Jiang Fei would only be a normal human being with normal needs. He had temptations like any other men. Give a man power and he might be corrupted. Ever since he had obtained the means to obtain more power for himself, Jiang Fei was no longer the young, naive little boy from school. He would never complain about getting benefits from others but not when he needed to provide for others.

Jiang Fei had changed. Ever since he had power and money, he treated wealth as renewable resources that could simply replenish over time. A hundred million dollars was just the same as 50 cents in the corner of the room. However, it would be different if he was forced to share the benefits of the ring, or the secrets of Braveheart to others. Not even his own country.

To him, Braveheart was the core of 0541’s power. Without Braveheart, he would be nothing. That was why he could never surrender it. With that thought in mind, and the thought of betraying his country, it made Jiang Fei feel convoluted.

“0541, isolate this entire room, make sure that nothing goes in or out. Sound even!” said Jiang Fei.

“Yes, captain!”

Jiang Fei than took out the communicator and tried to call Han Tianyu. It was a desperate attempt to locate Han Tianyu once more. It was his original plan before he encountered Qin Tian’s assistant. The reason behind this call was simple. The communicator that Jiang Fei had given to Han Tianyu should be out of his hands and if Jiang Fei called Han Tianyu out of the blue, Qin Tian would need to take Han Tianyu out of his isolated prison in order to hide the fact that he was imprisoned. Once Han Tianyu was out of the isolated prison, 0541 could track him down easily.

“Why are you calling me in the middle of the night?” said Han Tianyu, pretending to be aggravated.

“Oh. Nothing much. You never get angry when I call you in the middle of the night before. Anyhow, I’m calling to tell you that I’m leaving for Japan tomorrow morning. Please remind someone to send reinforcements as soon as possible,” said Jiang Fei, making a random excuse to buy some time for 0541 to track Han Tianyu.

“Is that all? Is there anything else or do you want to call me again when I’m sound asleep?” Han Tianyu grunted, annoyed.

“Captain, Han Tianyu’s position located!”

0541 waited for the moment to tell Jiang Fei. The truth was that 0541 had already discovered Han Tianyu’s location the second he left the isolation prison.

“Thanks, have a good night’s sleep,” said Jiang Fei before ending the call.

…

“Something is not right,” Qin Tian murmured after he had confiscated the communicator from Han Tianyu.

“Can I go back into my cage now?” Han Tianyu blurred out, weakly.

“Hmph. Wipe that arrogant look in your face and count your days as a martial artist!” Qin Tian snickered. Two Androids came in and escorted Han Tianyu back into his cell, underground.

“If I were you, I’d regret the day I would even go against martial artists!” Han Tianyu uttered under his breath before turning away into the dark cell.

“Why would Jiang Fei said something so… meaningless to Han Tianyu? Did he suspected anything?” Qin Tian said to himself, irritated about it.

While Qin Tian was dwelling in his thoughts, Jiang Fei and Ariel had already made their way around the building and reach Han Tianyu’s cell.

“Are you sure he is in there?” Jiang Fei asked.

“100%. This is the exact position where Han Tianyu was last seen,” 0541 replied. The cell that was keeping Han Tianyu in was equipped with a powerful interference system that would block out any electrical signal from coming in and out.

“Alright,” said Jiang Fei, observing the entire structure which looked nothing out of the ordinary.

The cell that was holding Han Tianyu was a special cell that was made to hold on important individuals. There were four guards standing outside the cell. According to 0541’s report, they were all emitting Advanced Level 4 energy readings.

Even though they read as such, that did not mean they had Advanced Level 4 combat abilities. However, that only proved that the Androids were stronger than the ones he had met before.

“How do we go in?” Jiang Fei asked. There were four Androids guarding the cell and if he decided to attack them, it would blow his cover. Leaving them alone would not solve the problem either.

“I think we should leave first,” said Ariel telepathically.

“Leave?” said Jiang Fei, in astonishment and disbelief. He was there to talk to Han Tianyu, not leave him be.

“I can teleport you in from outside the premise,” Ariel explained.

“Captain, Ariel’s plan seems valid,” 0541 chimed in.

“Wouldn’t that give us away to the military?” said Jiang Fei, reminding himself about how it was possible to detect energy pulses given out when Metahumans used their powers.

“Captain, the cell has a strong interference generating system. Not even my proximity radar would work there. Even if Ariel released a strong energy signal, no one outside the cell could detect it,” 0541 explained.