Sundering Nature

TL: ZhaoEditing: Krisaia

“Is that going to work?” The president had considered the possibility, but decided to remain silent as it would require a person to go on a one-way trip. 

“On the off-chance that you even do manage to make your way there with our help… Let’s ask Li Huaibei here if a sage can be killed by a nuclear bomb.” Bai Ze sank back into her chair, unimpressed by the idea.

“If it detonates in close range, then maybe I’ll be hurt. But if you give me some time, then it won’t be very hard to escape,” Li Huaibei answered.

‘What? Seriously?’ The president was dumbfounded, finally understanding what guardians were capable of. It then dawned upon him what a terrifying threat the gates must be for a group of supernatural beings to be scratching their heads about what to do. 

“What should we do then? Sit here and do nothing?” Pan Junwei smashed the table — he could not stand feeling so powerless.

“Mr. president, I think that we should first figure out their motive. Surely they haven’t come out of the gates for a leisure trip around our world. What could they be after…” Bai Ze jumped off her seat as walked to the giant screen.

“They have a specific destination in mind. Look at this,” Bai Ze said as she picked up a laser pointer. 

“This is the point of convergence of the gates. You’ll notice that the ghosts aren’t uniformly dispersed. There’s noticeably less of them on the seaside and more around the coast.”

“Yes. They’re headed for where it’s most densely populated. These creatures feed on the spirits of living beings, after all,” Qian Mian said.

“It’s not just any city though. Look here, and here. If they really wanted to get to the coast as quickly as possible, then why are they so out of place?” Bai Ze pointed out.

“This… Shangbei!?” Pan Junwei immediately noticed that the unusual path of the ghosts suggested that they were headed for Shangbei.

“I don’t know if that’s their final destination, but they’re headed there, that’s for sure.” Using the laser marker, Bai Ze traced a line going from the gate to Shangbei.

“What could they possibly want?” The president asked. 

“I don’t know.” Bai Ze shrugged her shoulders and sat down. Unlike the others, she was not so eager about sealing the gates, since her idiot master was still inside, and she did not want to cut his path of retreat off.

* * *

While Bai Ze busied herself with her calculations, Li Yiming lit up a cigarette for himself inside his car.

He had just killed an elderly man who was trying to scam him. Li Yiming was driving his vehicle at a slow pace until the old man rushed toward the front of his car and dove to the ground, moaning in pain. Without a second thought, Li Yiming decided to press on the gas pedal, and gruesome sounds of bones cracking as the tires rolled over the body ensued. As he peeked at the bloody scene in his rear-view mirror, his fingers briefly trembled again. 

“Can I get an ad thrown out?” Li Yiming stopped his car at a TV station and walked into the advertising department.

“How may I help you, sir?” The manager greeted him with a smile. 

“I need an ad to find someone.”

“I’m sorry sir, while we’d love to help you…” Contempt flashed in the manager’s eyes, as he thought of Li Yiming as another desperate fool who was naive enough to think that an advertisement would prove to be helpful in finding a loved one. ‘Do you know how much it costs to throw one ad? Idiot…’ 

“This is prepayment. I’ll give you the rest once you find her. I’ll pay for the advertisement fee separately.” Li Yiming threw an unlocked briefcase onto the table, which spilled open as it landed, revealing multiple packs of banknotes. 

“This…” The manager was astounded, and he instinctively glanced at the other briefcase Li Yiming was holding.

“Please wait for a moment.” The manager stood up immediately. He understood that this money was for him alone, and that the advertisement fee would be duly paid later.

“Where would you like to put your notice? We have TV, internet, radio…”

“Everywhere you possibly can.”

“Of course. We’re going to make preparations. It might take some time…”

“I need to see my ad right now.”

“Uh… we…”

“I’ll pay for your troubles, of course.” 

“OK, we’ll work on it right away. May I ask who you’re looking for?” 

“Her.” Li Yiming said as he presented his cell phone to the manager, which contained Liu Meng’s information.

“She’s beautiful.” The manager complimented. “However, based on my experience, you may also want to put a reward for the person who finds her or delivers some kind of useful clue. That would be very useful in soliciting interest from the general public.” 

“Sure.”

“And may I ask how much you’re thinking about…?”

“One million for anyone who provides useful information. One hundred million for anyone who finds her.”

“What?” The manager thought he heard the first number wrong, but the second number confirmed it.

“I’ll give it to you if you can find her.” Li Yiming said and left.

“Are you serious?” The manager stared at Li Yiming’s back, and then he looked at the other suitcase Li Yiming left behind.

“Quick! I want the entire team here as soon as possible!” The manager yelled out. Although there was no contract, he knew that Li Yiming was not going to go back on his words. After all, who would offer a few million without a promise of return?

Walking out of the skyscraper, Li Yiming noticed his ad already showing up on the giant flatscreen above the entrance. 

“She may change your life! One hundred million yuan reward!”

A slogan in giant red font underlined Liu Meng’s picture.

Li Yiming nodded in satisfaction. His goal was not to gather more people to find Liu Meng, but rather, for Liu Meng to see the message herself. 

While waiting for news regarding Liu Meng, Li Yiming walked into a restaurant. As he sat down, a patrol car stopped in the parking lot and two officers rushed toward his car.

After peeking into the car’s windows, the officers took a few pictures and hurriedly left the scene. Li Yiming smiled in satisfaction. ‘Killing the entire police station should keep them busy for a while...’ 

“What would you like to order, sir?” A young waiter arrived with a smile. 

“Steak. Also, give me a bottle of wine.” Li Yiming threw five bills onto the table.

“Right away.” The waiter, who had been well-trained in satisfying various customers, did not even bother asking for the steak’s doneness or the type of wine and left hurriedly with the tip. He could see that Li Yiming was not short on money at all, and so he could bring all of the expensive items on the menu and offer the choice later. 

The steak arrived very quickly, and Li Yiming poured peppercorn sauce on it without even looking. To the waiter’s surprise, Li Yiming even called for three more bottles of wine. 

“Hey! Look at this! Who do you think that ‘Liu Meng’ is?” A woman who was scrolling her cell phone suddenly cried out. 

“One hundred million? What the heck? Who is she?” 

“You’ve only noticed now? It’s everywhere outside!” A well-dressed man who sat with her showed a calm demeanor, but was only trying to hide his own disbelief. 

“Wow! Really! All of the billboards outside too! I wonder who she is…” The girl said enviously — she was impressed that someone was ready to pay such an astronomical sum to find a certain person. 

“Probably some kind of high-end prostitute.” 

“What? Who would spend that much money on her then?” Another girl asked. 

“What do you think? Who else would look for her that way?”  

“Yes, but one hundred million? Really?” 

“Well, there are only two possibilities. One, that girl took something from one of her clients that’s worth even more than one hundred million. Second, she saw or heard something she shouldn’t have, and the money is really there just to bait her out.” The man sneered and picked up his wine glass.

“That’s true. I wouldn’t have guessed otherwise,” The other young man in the group added. 

“What if it’s true love?” One of the two girls asked, still refusing to give up on her romantic fantasy. 

“Yeah right. Someone like her? One hundred million? You could probably get to sleep with her for ten thousand a night!” The man said as he glanced at the poster of Liu Meng. ‘Shit… What a nice body though…’

Li Yiming stayed silent as he eavesdropped on the conversation, only looking at his watch from time to time, and then at the street. He noticed the small ruckus caused as many stopped to look at the advertisement board, and then at their cell phone. 

‘I have time for one more bottle…’