The Protector (The Return of God Of War)

Dean Winchester · Jun 26, 2024

Enouk said:
Master Skye...

Master Skye...

Enouk · Jun 26, 2024

Dean Winchester said:
Master Skye...

Master Skye...

bhargava.ysk · Jun 26, 2024

Gily said:
Dude which story are you talking about.
View attachment 3382
It's all in here, you just need to find from previous pages. Click on page number and enter number of previous pages to find exactly the part of story you need to follow

Got it bro thankyou

Prodigy · Thursday at 10:07 AM

I really love this piece,thank you Supreme Master Skye for these resources
It is well with us,this will truly elevate my cultivation

brits · Friday at 10:57 AM

We are all waiting for the kindness of master Skye. Looks like I have to send sr skilled members of my virgin sect to find out about what is happening with Master Skye, if he is under any spell or entangled with some unique cultivation.

brits · Friday at 10:58 AM

We are all waiting for the kindness of master Skye. Looks like I have to send sr skilled members of my virgin sect to find out about what is happening with Master Skye, if he is under any spell or entangled with some unique cultivation.

Prodigy · Friday at 12:38 PM

When is Levi and Zoey's wedding coming up
We are in expectation

skye · Friday at 1:48 PM

CHAPTER 2004

Azure Dragon and the others had gone through a lot just for today.

Their iron will to make it through the hurdle was inspiring as they practiced day in and day out.
Some of them even nearly died or were on the verge of madness throughout the practice just so they could finally fight alongside Levi again, just like they used to.

The day that they had been waiting for finally arrived.
“This is the time when I’m gathering forces. So, do expect heavy missions from hereon in. Please exercise caution in all your moves!”
“Don’t worry, we will complete all missions given to us!”
“We can finally fight alongside you!”
Azure Dragon and the others were beaming with delight.
Levi did not beat around the bush further as he hurriedly assigned missions for them in order to complete the next step of his plan.
Meanwhile, Levi was headed somewhere…
On the other side of things.
After welcoming Robed Slayer back to Erudia, Zoey and the others headed to another place.
They encountered a mysterious old man on their way.
Wynona was about to chase the man away when the old man proclaimed himself to be the Half Phantom on a mission to look for Zoey as assigned by Levi.
Wynona decided to listen to what the old man had to say.
She diverted Zoey’s attention while she queried the old man together with Mia.
“Mr. Garrison’s death is directly linked to this!” the old man said.
“Huh?”
Wynona and Mia were dumbstruck.
“I am a cursed man. People who seek my help will have to pay for what they seek on equal terms. I’ve asked if Mr. Garrison was willing to bear such a price and he said yes! I knew that death was what he sought when he said that, but there was nothing I could do. There’s nothing to do now but to let Mrs. Garrison return to normal.”
Then, the Half Phantom started to treat Zoey.
However, a group of people infiltrated the place right then.
They were sent by Bruce to capture Zoey and the others.
This time, Bruce sent over ten fighters to seize them, including The Annihilator!
Bruce was someone who exercised great caution in his moves. He was well aware of Zoey and her group’s capabilities and sent people who could match up to the group.
They hid around the area, observing every move of Zoey and the group intently, ready to pounce at any moment.
Zoey let out wails of pain when the Half Phantom was treating her.
She felt as if the Half Phantom was trying to pull something out of her brain forcefully.
How is the Half Phantom doing this when even the latest technology and treatment are futile against this?
Magical techniques do have their wonders. I guess some things just can’t be explained in scientific terms, at least not with our current understanding of it anyway.
The Half Phantom did not think Zoey’s case was exceptionally difficult to treat. He merely concluded that there was someone else living inside of her.
All he had to do was to extract that other person out of Zoey.
After an excruciatingly long time, Zoey finally returned to normal.
The Half Phantom looked as if he had aged by another decade by the end of it as cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Mia and Wynona steadied the crippled man and asked, “Zoey, how do you feel?”
Zoey massaged her temples and said, “I’m all right!”
“Levi…”
Wynona uttered the name with great caution.
“What’s the matter with Levi?” Zoey asked apprehensively in return.
“No, Levi’s…”
Right then, Zoey recalled everything.
Even though she regarded Levi as her enemy under Jared’s influence, now she remembered everything.
“What happened to me? Why did I kill Levi?”
Zoey became hysterical.
Wynona then recounted everything to Zoey.
“Jared’s consciousness was affecting me and turned me into a vengeful person? I…”
Zoey was stumped.
“There’s no point talking about it anymore because Levi is gone!” Wynona sighed.
“Is Levi really gone?” Zoey asked.
“The Half Phantom saw how he died with his very own eyes. He did not even manage to secure his body!”
“Ahh!”
Zoey let out an agonized scream that seemed to penetrate into the skies.
Right then, The Annihilator showed up with nine other fighters.
“Yes, Levi’s dead. I killed him with my very own hands and destroyed his body!”

CHAPTER 2005

The Annihilator was outrageous.

The fact that he killed Levis, disintegrated his body, and made it vanish into the thin air was nothing new.
As such, everyone in Zarain treated him like a hero.

The Annihilator was always filled with excitement when someone brought this topic up again.
He seemed to be reminiscing about what happened that day.
As for the other nine fighters, they shared the same expression of impudence and abusiveness too.
They felt proud of The Annihilator for the demise of Levi.
“It’s him! It’s him who killed Mr. Garrison. I saw it with my naked eyes,” the Half Phantom roared.
Both Wynona and Mia were shocked to see the appearance of the ten fighters in front of them.
They had no idea at all of what they wanted to do.
Worse still, they even called themselves the killer of Levi.
At the next instant, the atmosphere started to grow increasingly tense.
“Why are you here?” Wynona asked promptly as she was worried that something bad could happen to Zoey.
As for Mia, she was immediately on the alert seeing how the opponents came well-prepared.
The Annihilator sneered as he said, “Of course, we’re here to bring all of you back. Don’t you ever struggle! Otherwise, you would end up like Levi.”
“Yes! Whoever struggles will end up like Levi. We’ll make sure that your body vanishes into the air as well.”
They were getting so excited as they spoke that they did not notice the drastic change in Zoey’s expression at that instant.
The Annihilator snickered. “Levi who was at the top of the Gem List in Erudia was easily killed by us! Nobody in Erudia could ever stop us now. I advise the three of you to just follow us back obediently.”
Even if Robed Slayer had shown his formidable presence in Raysonia, The Annihilator and his gang were simply not taking that into consideration.
As such, during this trip to Erudia, they were utterly showing their brazen impudence.
“You don’t even know the excruciating pain that Levi underwent before his death, especially when I dissolved his body. Although he’s now dead, his soul is still crying in agony.”
The Annihilator was still reminiscing about the moments when Levi’s body was being dissolved.
At that instant, Wynona, Mia, and the Half Phantom were all stunned.
They fixated a glance of disbelief on Zoey who was beside them.
Undeniably, Zoey was boiling with rage.
It was as if a monster of destruction was being awakened.
Soon, The Annihilator and his gang had noticed the change in Zoey’s expression.
A look of utter disbelief and shock was sprawled respectively across their faces.
This was because they felt intimidated by the oppressive aura that Zoey was exuding.
“Ah!” Zoey roared abruptly.
A murderous glint flashed across Zoey’s bloodshot eyes.
“To hell you go!” she bellowed coldly.
Screech!
In the blink of an eye, Zoey split one of the men beside The Annihilator individually into two.
Blood splattered everywhere at that instant.
My goodness!
Everyone was utterly dumbfounded.
This was because the ten men that were dispatched by Bruce were all supreme fighters.
Even if the rest of the nine fighters were slightly weaker than The Annihilator, they were still considered strong fighters.
However, Zoey could easily tear one of them apart.
“Kill!”
Zoey was plunged into a state of insanity, intently starting a massacre of her opponents.
Although the others had quickly come to their senses, it was still too late before Zoey sent her fist forcefully to blow up their heads.
Despite looking sturdy, these men appeared to be as fragile as a watermelon when it came to withstanding the power of Zoey’s clout. She had easily torn them apart as their sweat and blood scattered all over the place.
Everyone was shocked, especially The Annihilator.
The Annihilator and his gang froze as they witnessed how two of their team members were killed brutally one after another.
They were outraged.
Is she really that powerful?
This is terrifying!
Although Bruce had done an assessment on the combat level of Zoey and the others beforehand, the result never came in so daunting.
Bruce had also identified all fighters who could match the opponent’s level before dispatching them on the mission to capture them.
Rightfully, The Annihilator and the other fighters could easily handle all of them.
However, ironically, it did not appear so now.
Indeed, Zoey was incredibly powerful.
Even her simple gesture could not hide her immense power.
The Annihilator instructed promptly, “Stop her and seize her now!”
The rest of the seven fighters quickly responded and joined forces to go against Zoey.
Amid the battle, Zoey seemed to have lost her sanity and charged forcefully at them.
Both parties were mercilessly killing one another. It was a bloodbath!
The Annihilator was awaiting the right time to join his team to defeat Zoey and take her life followingly.

CHAPTER 2006

During the days at The Cardinal Hall, Zoey was trained by a lot of capable grandmasters.

She could now master the immense power within her.
Unlike before, she needed a raging emotion as a supplement to reinforce the release of her inner power.

Although the power triggered by fury was still potent, it could not be fully utilized on the opponents, which usually ended up with the dispersion and wastage of such energy.
However, Zoey could now control her power and thus use it appropriately.
Focusing all of her power into a single channel, she released it all in one go.
Boom!
In her opponent’s team, there was also one who was familiar with the use of energy.
His power was so strong that it could capsize a sailing vessel easily.
As they fought, his fist was crashed against Zoey’s, seemingly reenacting the clash of the titans.
In a split of a second, veins were seen surfacing all over his arms to his shoulders before spreading to other parts of his body, which eventually blasted to smithereens.
Indeed, Zoey’s punch seemed to be a fatal one. He was dead!
Stunning! This is too shocking!
Even the Half Phantom was dumbfounded.
Zoey’s combat level is damn scary! She’s invincible! It’s too great to be true! She’s even more powerful than Robed Slayer!
Zoey continued her battle against other powerful fighters.
To Zoey’s opponents, the intimidating part was how agile she was. Put simply, her speed and ability to defend were formidable.
No matter how her opponents attacked her, she could defend herself like a piece of cake.
The Annihilator and his gang were losing their hope.
How are we going to beat her? All our strength was suppressed. Nor is our speed comparable to hers. We’re also not as agile as she is. And no matter how we attack her, she could easily dodge the blow. This is indeed a bully!
Pfft!
As time went on, the people standing beside The Annihilator were getting fewer.
Most of them had been shattered to pieces one after another by Zoey.
Boom!
Finally, The Annihilator and Zoey faced off in the raging battle.
Comparing the combat levels of both parties, The Annihilator was actually barely on par with Zoey. The former had to muster up all his super energy just to match the latter.
Screech!
Both The Annihilator’s arms were emitting a super ray of light.
This was exactly the energy that was used to dissolve Levi’s body.
Boom!
However, Zoey was not intimidated at all.
She not only resisted the super ray of light, but she responded by clouting heavily on him.
Boom!
Although The Annihilator had shielded himself from the blow, he was still being forced a few steps backward.
As he looked down, he noticed blood was scattered across the floor.
Out of the fighters who followed him to the battle, only a few were left standing.
The rest had all perished in the battle.
Undeniably, the mission had failed miserably.
The combat level assessment of Zoey and the others were obviously not in conformity with reality.
The Annihilator could no longer stay put.
If he did not choose to leave immediately, he was afraid he would not have the chance to leave anymore.
“Over! Over! Stay alert! Please send back up to us immediately. I need protection to leave this place.”
The Annihilator activated the flying mode, fleeing the scene promptly while calling for backup.
“It’s you who had killed Levi. I won’t let you get out of here alive!”
Zoey shifted into a bolt of lightning, following him behind instantly.
Never had Bruce expected that The Annihilator would request for immediate backup.
Did something just happen?
Bruce was well aware that The Annihilator would never show his weakness and bow down to anyone.
Once he did, the situation could have been much worse than how he sounded.
Feeling apprehensive, Bruce instantly instructed the authorities in the Lab of Gods in Erudia to back them up.
Swoosh…
The unmanned drones took the lead in heading to the scene, followed by the men with superpowers in Erudia.
The mode of The Annihilator was akin to that of superman.
His velocity and strength were of the uppermost standard.
However, he had never imagined that Zoey still managed to catch up with his speed, even to the extent of surpassing him.
Boom!
Nevertheless, at that very moment, the drones appeared one after another, launching their attacks at Zoey.
Amid the chaos, The Annihilator quickly fled.
It did not take long for Zoey to destroy all the drones.
As she wanted to continue chasing after The Annihilator, the men with superpowers appeared.
Although in Zoey’s eyes, they were easily tossed around as if they were mere figurines, it was sufficient to drag the time so that The Annihilator could escape.
As Zoey was busy handling those men, The Annihilator had fled to somewhere afar off.
“Trying to stop me from escaping? That’s impossible!” The Annihilator sneered.

CHAPTER 2007

Zoey looked for The Annihilator after she was done handling those cannon fodders but found no trace of him.

“I will definitely avenge you, Levi! I will destroy every single one of them!” Zoey roared angrily.
Wynona caught up with her at this time.

“Are you okay, Zoey? Calm down! You were so scary just now!”
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’m back to normal now,” Zoey said after calming down.
“That’s good, then. My condolences, but no one can come back to life after they died.”
Zoey seemed calm, but her mind was fiery, like a volcano that had just exploded.
From now on, she would inherit Levi’s will and walk on his path! She had the capabilities to do so now.
Moreover, she had to take revenge for Levi!
No matter how powerful the enemies were, she must annihilate them.
She had to reassure Wynona and the others first or they would definitely not let her go if they knew what she was planning.
Meanwhile, The Annihilator was forced to escape in the opposite direction by Zoey and he had no other choice but to go down south.
His speed was as quick as lightning as he charged through the mountains.
But another figure quickly approached when he arrived at a three-way intersection and caused them to almost crash into one another.
They both immediately halted and looked at each other.
The Annihilator felt that this man was a little familiar, even though he didn’t recognize who he was.
He seemed to have seen this face somewhere.
Levi was also in a daze while The Annihilator was pondering about this.
He immediately traveled southward to find Johannes on the Goldenport Island after he arranged some tasks for the Azure Dragon and the others.
He wanted to ask what Bruce and the others took when they were in Erudia.
But he unexpectedly met a super speed fighter here, which was quite a surprise to him.
He was even more bewildered when he stopped and looked at the other person.
It was actually The Annihilator!
The Annihilator who blasted him into smithereens!
This was really the typical case of enemies on a narrow road!
It was too much of a coincidence.
The corner of Levi’s lips curled up in a smile as he gradually became agitated.
There was no stairway to heaven, but the passage to hell was always there.
Did he come all the way to Erudia just to throw his life away?
The Annihilator was even more surprised.
Why did this stranger suddenly react like this after seeing me?
“The Annihilator, right?” Levi suddenly said.
This made The Annihilator even more confused.
How did this person recognize me? Who is he? The Annihilator wondered.
“Since you’ve come to Erudia, then just stay here forever!” Levi coldly said with murderous intent.
The Annihilator felt this intent and knew that this person was really going to kill him.
Boom!
Levi concentrated his power into one punch and attacked The Annihilator.
The Annihilator’s speed, power, and intellect were developed to a certain limit so he can judge the force, speed, and direction of Levi’s punch.
His super-intellect calculated everything, and he smiled contemptuously.
I can even stop Zoey’s manic punch, let alone yours?
The Annihilator’s expression was arrogant as he disregarded Levi completely.
Boom!
The punch looked so slow in his eyes and he could see where it would land.
Force, speed, angle…
Everything was in his calculation.
He didn’t hide, as the punch would be like a tickle to him and would not hurt at all.
He didn’t panic, even as the reflection of the punch grew bigger in his eyes.
It was not that he was conceited. But his intellect was very developed, and he was also extremely cautious.
This punch was really not a threat in his eyes.
Boom!
The punch landed squarely on The Annihilator and it was exactly as he calculated.
There was no lethality at all. Let alone lethality, it couldn’t even be constituted as a tickle!
Weak! Too weak! Is this all you got?
Then it’s just too funny.
Rumble…
A faint rumble came from within his body just as he thought that.
The Annihilator’s expression changed wildly.

CHAPTER 2008

Something’s wrong!

Levi’s punch was really harmless to The Annihilator.
But another terrifying power appeared after the punch connected to The Annihilator and wreak havoc in his body.

He didn’t expect that Levi’s weak punch concealed another attack, and it was affecting his body!
This is bad! The Annihilator frowned as he found that there was not only another punch.
It turned out that there was a third punch.
Boom!
Crack!
A cracking sound was heard from within The Annihilator’s body followed by his painful scream.
Although he was the only survivor from the Lab of Gods, he was still a human after all. Naturally, he could still feel pain.
Boom!
Crack!
No, there’s actually a fourth punch and it’s packed with a strong force!
The fourth punch exploded inside The Annihilator’s body and destroyed his organs and tissues wildly.
Bang bang bang…
The Annihilation Blast exploded inside his body, effectively puncturing bloody holes one after another.
The Annihilator was in a very miserable state!
“Argh!” The Annihilator screamed bitterly.
Levi perfected this Annihilation Blast when he was fighting on Goldenport Island.
Annihilation Blast was a move that enclosed several forces in one strike.
Levi compressed multiple forces of energy and molded them into this technique.
It was like an aerosol bomb, quite potent once activated.
Especially after entering the enemy’s body, the power would erupt gradually and by layers.
It was extremely lethal, as it caught people off guard.
These multiple layers of force were even capable of deceiving The Annihilator’s super-intellect and trapped him in these waves of assault.
“Argh!” The Annihilator screamed as he frantically healed and recovered his damaged body.
His constitution had already reached a certain limit, and it was different from ordinary people, so he recovered very quickly.
He could even heal his internal organs and this ability was more frightening than the healing of the Undead Warrior.
“You want to recover? Dream on!” Levi laughed as he took advantage of the situation and barraged The Annihilator with a few more punches.
Bang bang bang…
The Annihilation Blast continued to burst inside The Annihilator’s body.
“Argh!”
The Annihilator was completely enraged, and he frantically bombarded Levi with attacks that depleted his own energy.
Levi didn’t even attempt to hide, but struck out two punches instead.
His punches diffused The Annihilator’s energy continuously and snuffed out every single one of his light beams.
The Annihilator was dumbfounded.
What the heck is going on? I had just encountered Zoey who fought like a madman but the attacks were useless against her and now I meet another one? And this guy is as crazy as her!
Levi’s strength could be judged from the fact that even The Annihilator would lament about him.
Boom!
Boom!
Following this, Levi contended against The Annihilator’s power.
The Annihilator’s power had reached the utmost limit. He would surely die from this.
Levi’s pure strength was more powerful than The Annihilator’s and there was also his Annihilation Blast. His ability was disquieting.
Meanwhile, Bruce noticed that The Annihilator was fighting through the microchip installed in the latter’s body.
He hurriedly asked The Annihilator what was going on.
Didn’t we send someone to distract Zoey so that he could escape? So why is he still fighting? Did they not get rid of them all?
But The Annihilator was exhausted and extremely occupied so he didn’t have the spare time and energy to answer Bruce’s questions.
Boom!
Levi slammed a punch from an angle that The Annihilator could not predict.
The speed of this punch was beyond eight times the speed of sound!
This punch could not be calculated nor stopped, no matter how powerful The Annihilator’s intellect was.
And this punch also contained Annihilation Blast.
The Annihilator’s chest and shoulders were completely blown off this time.
Boom!
Another punch landed on his face.
Multiple forces exploded in consecutive, effectively damaging The Annihilator’s brain and destroying half his face.
The speed of his healing and recovery could not match Levi’s destruction.
Levi watched and wondered whether The Annihilator could recover faster than he was destroyed.

CHAPTER 2009

After receiving damage on both inner and outer, The Annihilator at that moment could no longer withstand Levi’s attack.

As a result, he was completely at his opponent’s mercy.
Boom! Boom! Boom!

One by one, Levi landed his punches on his opponent’s face mercilessly.
At that instant, all Levi could think of was to redeem himself.
Even though he was faking death at that time, he could still remember how The Annihilator punched him.
So, today, I’ll make him pay double for what he did to me!
Dong! Dong! Dong!
Levi’s punches rained down on him like the sustained rapid fire of a machine gun. In a flash, thousands of blows landed on his face.
Thereby, The Annihilator couldn’t heal fast enough to recover from such damages.
Instantly, his face turned into a mass of bleeding flesh, nearly shredded into pieces.
The power from the punch even spread to his body to form visible cracks.
That day, Levi had finally let him have a taste of his own medicine.
On the brink of death, The Annihilator looked at Levi weakly. With a trembling voice, he asked, “W-Who a-are you?”
“Who do you think I am?”
With that said, Levi revealed his face.
“What? You! You’re Levi Garrison!”
The Annihilator was shocked upon seeing Levi.
How could this be? I’m sure that I took his life and even destroyed his body before! Yet, why the hell is he still standing in front of me, alive?
“No! It’s impossible! I don’t believe it!”
Indeed, it was so mind-blowing that even his super brain was doubting it.
Unbelievable! There is no way Levi Garrison is still alive. I’ve destroyed his dead body!
However, regardless of how he denied it, that was the fact.
“Brat! I have a lot of tricks on my sleeve. You can act all cocky just because I let you be. Initially, I plan to let you be delighted for a little longer, yet you sign your own death warrant.”
Murderous intent flashed across Levi’s eyes.
The Annihilator’s heart dropped, knowing that he couldn’t escape death that day.
Only then did he finally realize that he was no match for Levi at all.
Levi then touched The Annihilator’s forehead with one of his fingers.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Following the loud noises, he fired the energy into The Annihilator again and again.
Crack! Crack!
To everyone’s surprise, the energy contained Annihilation Blast.
At once, hundreds of powerful forces exploded in The Annihilator’s body, attempting to crush him.
Boom! Boom!
In the end, The Annihilator got blown into pieces and vanished into the air. It was as if he hadn’t been on the scene at all.
After finishing all those, Levi let out a smile.
“I had never expected him to come and court his death.”
What are the odds of meeting him here? It’s such a coincidence that I come face to face with him.
Oblivious to what happened to The Annihilator before that, Levi continued heading to Goldenport Island.
Meanwhile, Bruce went into a panic. “What happened? Why do we lose contact with The Annihilator? Quick! Reach out to him. I want to know his latest condition.”
Even though he had become the leading figure of the Lab of Gods, The Annihilator was still his most capable man.
Thus, he didn’t want something to happen to The Annihilator.
He even absurdly thought of restarting the experiment thirty years ago to reconstruct The Annihilator.
“We can’t locate him.”
“He disappeared. We can’t contact him at all.”
“It’s the same here. We also fail to detect The Annihilator’s location and condition.”
At that, all Bruce’s subordinates started to panic as well.
No one can find him!
“No way! Is Zoey Lopez that strong? He’s The Annihilator who ended Levi Garrison’s life.”
Everyone couldn’t help but gasp in shock.
Bruce mulled over it for a while. “Perhaps I’ve underestimated her before. She might truly be that powerful.”
All of a sudden, someone interrupted, “There is news about The Annihilator…”

CHAPTER 2010

Bruce instantly remarked excitedly, “What? Is there news? Quick! Say it!”

At the same time, he felt relieved.
“It’s good! I thought something had happened to him.”

In the meantime, everyone on the scene also heaved a relieved sigh.
Finally, we receive news from The Annihilator!
“But…”
After hesitating for a moment, that person continued, “But it’s a piece of bad news. I checked his chip just now and found that he had no sign of life anymore, meaning that he’s dead.”
Almost everyone in Lab of Gods had a chip planted in their bodies.
It could determine whether that person was alive or dead, locate that person, detect dangers, and many more.
Now that there was no life fluctuation signal from the chip in The Annihilator, that could only mean one thing.
Boom!
Everyone was struck dumb at the revelation.
Died? The Annihilator is dead just like that?
“Are you sure?” Bruce asked in disbelief.
“The data from headquarter indicates the same thing. Yes, it’s confirmed that The Annihilator is dead.”
Upon hearing that, everyone froze in stun as silence befell the lab.
“Never could I expect that Zoey is strong enough to take down The Annihilator.”
“How powerful is she to be able to end the life of The Annihilator, the only survivor of the experiment thirty years ago?”
“It makes no sense. With how terrifying fast his healing rate is, how can he die?” Suddenly, someone voiced his doubt.
However, Bruce’s voice sounded right after. “No. The Annihilator is still human, not God. If his opponent is strong enough to destroy his body, how can he stay alive?”
Then, he sighed. “Seemingly, I’ve underestimated that experimental accident. Block all the information about his death. Don’t leak it. We’ll never let Erudia gain the upper hand!”
What Bruce was implying was simple. Levi’s death had indeed given Erudia a hard blow, yet at the same time, Robed Slayer was still actively demolishing all the forces in Raysonia currently.
If the news of Zoey taking down The Annihilator spread out now, the effect of Levi’s death would be gone completely.
Meanwhile, Zoey and the others still thought that The Annihilator had escaped.
No one knew about his death since Bruce instructed everyone to hide it from the public.
“Wynona, I want to visit Goldenport Island. I want to hear about Levi from that woman.”
The woman Zoey was referring to was none other than Sherrie Hilton.
Everyone knew that Levi was dead because of her.
However, Zoey didn’t blame her for it. She only wanted to know Levi’s last moment from Sherrie.
She had accepted the fact that Levi was dead during this period, so she had only one thought in her mind at present – to avenge him.
Forlevia was talented. With the protection from The Cardinal Hall, she could live a carefree life for sure.
Thus, Zoey had nothing else to worry about anymore and could seek revenge with all her might.
But before that, she wanted to visit the place where Levi huffed his last breath.
“All right. We’ll go with you.”
Wynona and Mia were worried about her safety, so, of course, they would follow her wherever she went.
With that, the three of them departed to Goldenport Island.
Not long after that, Levi arrived at Goldenport Island first.
The Hilton family had changed their manor previously.
Sherrie had sealed herself off from the outside world for quite some time already in a villa within the manor.
She had been lying on the bed, not getting up at all the entire time except for the one time when she reacted to the news of Robed Slayer crushing Raysonia all over.
“Ms. Sherrie, someone is asking for you.”
At that instant, one of her servants came reporting to her.
Unfortunately, there was no response from Sherrie.
The servant then said, “Ms. Sherrie, he said that he’s Mr. Garrison’s subordinate. He’s here to learn about the current situations from you. Moreover, he also said that he has something important to discuss with you.”
Only then did Sherrie react.
“Bring him in.”
Soon, the servant led Levi, who was currently in disguise, into the room.

CHAPTER 2011

Levi only wanted to continue his last conversation with Sherrie to know what Bruce and the Lab of Gods took from Erudia.

His disguise didn’t raise her suspicions at all.
After introducing himself as ‘Levi’s subordinate,’ he asked about their last discussion.

Due to Levi’s intentional guidance, Sherrie quickly remembered it.
“At that final moment, he asked me about the item that Bruce and the Lab of Gods took away from Erudia. Just as I planned to spill it, they attacked us.” Sherrie recalled.
“What Bruce had taken away is what we are searching for…” Levi told her their plan.
Since it was what he had told her before, she believed him.
“Thus, I hope that Ms. Hilton can tell me all about it. It’s very crucial. It’ll not only affect our plan to seek revenge for our boss but also in defending Erudia.”
Upon receiving Levi’s sincere gaze, Sherrie relented.
“All right. I’ll tell you everything. It’s an energy source called sunstone, but I don’t know what it is in detail. According to the legend, it can provide the Labs of Gods with all kinds of energy. A stone as big as our fist is enough to release one-month worth of energy to the national power station. Thus, it’s their main energy source and the reason why the Labs of Gods has such a high status.”
After pausing briefly, she continued, “No one knows how long the Lab of Gods has existed. However, I heard that they had mined all available sunstones in Zarain and many other areas. Since it is rare, they went through the world to search for it to improve their technologies and strength over the years. Thus, no one can reach their technology level nowadays. Who knows what they manage to produce.”
Up until that point, realization dawned on Levi.
Seemingly, the Lab of Gods built labs at various spots across the globe to search mining spots for sunstones.
Sherrie concluded, “After that, they found a large number of sunstones in Erudia. It was the largest spot they ever found so far. By accident, my grandfather managed to get data which indicates that the sunstones in Erudia are enough to sustain the energy for the Lab of Gods for at least hundreds of years.”
Levi couldn’t help but gasp at that.
How terrifying! Hundreds of years of energy? That’s the Labs of Gods we are talking about now! With how sophisticated their technology is, their energy requirement is undoubtedly massive. How unimaginably enormous the number of sunstones is for it to be able to supply that much energy for that long?
Only then did Levi understand why Bruce and the others had an eye on Erudia.
From the formation of the Ruling Union to attack Erudia to the constant targeting afterward, the reason they did all those was most probably to acquire the sunstones.
When the forces in Raysonia messed with Erudia, they found their chance.
Yet, the fear toward The Cardinal Hall stopped them from taking too many sunstones at once.
In that case, they would find a way to continue stealing the sunstones from Erudia later.
Thieves, I’ll never allow you to snatch away what belongs to us! As for those you’ve taken away, I’ll make sure that you return them! I don’t care about the reason you want the sunstones. No matter what, I’ll stop you!
Upon glancing at Levi, Sherrie said, “I guess the upcoming collaboration between the Cryptic Stream Corporation and one of the corporations in Erudia has something to do with the sunstones mining as well. The reason Jefferson, the heir of the Cryptic Stream Corporation, engaged with me before was also to consolidate his position in Erudia.”

CHAPTER 2012

Sherrie said, “Everything they did was to snatch away the energy source that belonged to Erudia. They have made lots of preparations for that purpose. Yet, I only realize their intention now. Previously, I thought highly of the Lab of Gods. However, after going through the last incident, I finally understand that I’ve been wrong the entire time. Judging from how the lab is developing currently, I’m sure that a huge plan is going on in secret. They will be out of control at some point if they keep growing nonstop. At that time, disaster will befall Erudia and even the whole world! So, please, stop them!”

Sherrie had understood that the Lab of Gods chose to end Levi’s life because he was always in their way, preventing them from doing anything they planned.
Upon hearing that, Levi finally realized that faking his death was necessary.

Apparently, the Lab of Gods was even terrifying than what he had imagined before.
They were up to something huge and would undoubtedly be a threat to everyone in the future.
Now that he was dead in their eyes, he could investigate the Lab of Gods bit by bit without having to face them openly.
Otherwise, he would stand no chance against them.
Meanwhile, Sherrie kept begging earnestly, “Please! You’ve to stop them and avenge him! It’s all my fault that he’s dead. Without me as a burden, he would have long escaped.”
She was still in guilt as she recalled the incident.
Nonetheless, Levi smiled. “I believe that he will never blame you for that. After all, you didn’t do anything wrong. Moreover, it’s his responsibility to protect the people of Erudia. Even if he’s given another chance, he’ll still make the same choice without any grumbles.”
“Really?”
Ever since that incident, Sherrie had constantly beat herself to it.
Thus, when she heard his words, she couldn’t help but feel touched.
“Yes. I’m sure that he will want to see you pick yourself up!”
She nodded. “Okay. Got it. I’ll pull myself together.”
Levi then started to think of his next move.
First, stop the Lab of Gods from snatching away the sunstones from Erudia again. Then, keep an eye on the corporation that collaborates with the Cryptic Stream Corporation. It’ll be better if I can take it down. After that, investigate the Lab of Gods. Try to get rid of Bruce as soon as possible. Finally, eliminate the Lab of Gods.
When he saw Sherrie getting better, he smiled. “Do you believe that he’ll reappear in another form?”
“What?” Sherrie was taken aback for a moment before nodding instantly.
“I believe!”
“That’s good. Just wait patiently then.”
Just as he planned to leave, three people also arrived at the villa.
They were Zoey, Wynona, and Mia.
After they decided, they rushed to Goldenport Island at high speed. As a result, they managed to reach there behind Levi.
The servant came in and reported, “Ms. Sherrie, there is another group of people hoping to see you.”
“What?”
Both Levi and Sherrie were stunned.
Why are there more people visiting?
“Who are they?” Sherrie asked.
The servant replied, “It’s a woman. She said that she wanted to know about Mr. Garrison’s situation when he was alive.”
Levi was even curious.
A woman who wanted to know about my situation? Who could it be?
“In that case, I’ll take my leave first, Ms. Hilton.” Since he had achieved his goal, he planned to leave.
However, Sherrie glanced at him and said, “You don’t have to leave. It’s fine since both you and the new visitors wanted to know about his condition. Moreover, you can also discuss it together. Who knows, you might know each other. Bring them in.”
Levi couldn’t possibly leave now that she had said that.
Soon, the servant brought three people in.
As soon as they got in, they greeted her, “Ms. Hilton, good to see you. We’re here to get some information from you.”
Sherrie nodded.
“Nice to meet you. He came here for the same reason as well.”
Hearing that, all three of them turned around to look at Levi.
Levi, on the other hand, also looked at them concurrently.
Zoey! Wynona! Mia!
In the next second, his expression changed drastically.

CHAPTER 2013

I didn’t imagine seeing Zoey and the others here.

They’re actually here?
Feeling their stares, Levi felt nervous and uncomfortable.

Does she still feel hatred toward me and take me for her enemy?
The trio felt a sense of familiarity, looking at Levi.
I think I have seen him before.
But looking closely, I don’t know him.
“Who is this?” Zoey asked curiously.
Zoey’s gaze was fixed intently on Levi as though she could see right through him.
The other two were the same. Levi evoked a sense of familiarity within them.
“Have we met?”
Zoey stared at Levi puzzledly.
Levi wouldn’t feel anything if it was anyone else.
However, the one in front of him was Zoey.
He was so nervous that he started to stammer.
“I…”
The trio’s curiosity intensifies, awaiting Levi’s answer.
As Levi almost blew his cover, Sherrie interrupted. “He’s Mr. Garrison’s subordinate. He came all this way to understand Mr. Garrison’s mission when he was alive.”
“Levi’s mission when he was alive?” Zoey asked nervously, diverting her attention.
“Levi?” Levi and Sherrie parroted. They were baffled by Zoey.
Sherrie was surprised by the intimate way Zoey addressed Levi.
Levi was also shocked by the way Zoey addressed him. Didn’t Zoey consider me her enemy? So why is she addressing me like I’m someone dear?
Has she recovered?
Levi was surprised and elated at that thought.
If Zoey has recovered, then my wish has come true.
“I’m Levi’s wife, Zoey Lopez. I’m here to understand his situation in Goldenport Island.”
Levi knew Zoey had recovered then.
Even though Half Phantom hid at that crucial moment, I see he still has a conscience.
He took the time to save Zoey in addition to trying to save his body.
“I owe you one! I’ll repay you if I have the chance!” Levi chuckled to himself.
“I’ll be leaving now since I have a clear understanding now.”
Levi glanced at Zoey a few more times before he turned and left.
Sherrie began to explain Levi’s situation in Goldenport Island to the trio.
Levi hadn’t expected Sherrie to tell Zoey and her friends everything from the Lab of Gods to the sunstone.
“Stop the Lab of Gods! We can’t let them get their hand on the sunstone!”
Zoey’s eyes were shining bright with the determination to avenge Levi.
I want to inherit Levi’s will and finish what he can’t.
I have the capabilities now.
However, Zoey’s thoughts were bolder.
Levi had merely wanted to learn of the enemy’s capabilities, then slowly delve deeper and eliminate them one by one.
However, Zoey had a crazier plan. She wanted to destroy the Lab of Gods. Literally.
I knew my capabilities from the fight with The Annihilator. And I have the confidence to destroy the Lab of Gods.
But I need to make sufficient preparation before I depart.
I have to push my limits to the maximum and unleash all my potential.
“I’m envious of you having such a good husband.”
Sherrie looked at Zoey with admiration.
After saying their goodbyes to Sherrie, Zoey, Wynona, and Mia departed to the spot where Levi had battled with other fighters.
Levi looked at Zoey from afar.
Thinking he would be busy for a long time after, he wanted to look his fill of her.
As for Forlevia, Levi probably wouldn’t be able to see her if he hadn’t finished his mission.
But he was assured of her safety because there was no danger around her.
“The despicable Lab of Gods and Raysonian!” Zoey yelled furiously.
Levi continued to stare at her.
“Who’s there?” Zoey snapped all of a sudden.
She sensed Levi’s stare.

skye · Friday at 1:49 PM

CHAPTER 2014

“F*ck!”

Levi was dumbstruck.
How did she find out?

What level is she currently at?
How did she discover me despite me hiding so well?
Is she at such a high level already?
The fact was Zoey’s current body had reached a frightening state.
It was even stronger than The Annihilator.
Her senses were very much sharper now.
She could sense everything that happened surrounding her.
She could even sense the whereabouts of a mosquito flying around.
That was the reason Levi was exposed.
Boom!
Zoey chased after Levi in lightning form.
Levi turned tail at the drop of a hat.
However, he realized he couldn’t get rid of her.
She was right behind him every time he checked.
He knew his identity would be exposed if he met her face to face.
Who knows whether Bruce had Zoey followed, so it would be best if I could continue this farce.
Bam!
Levi threw a frighteningly strong punch, hoping to halt her pursuit.
An energy wave exuded from her, forming a shapeless barrier, shielding her from Levi’s punch.
His punch was dissipated easily.
Levi was thunderstruck.
When he fought with a raging Zoey before, she did possess frightening strength.
And that was all it was, brute strength.
But now, she could proficiently use her strength, change her speed, shield herself, and attack.
This is too scary!
The current Zoey is on another level entirely!
Boom!
Zoey shifted into a flash of lightning and appeared in front of Levi.
She had caught up to Levi.
“You can’t run away,” Zoey taunted.
“Shadow Clone!”
Levi intended to escape by deceiving Zoey.
Before giving a chance for Zoey to see clearly, he immediately unleashed his ultimate move, Shadow Clone.
In a split second, there were more than a dozen clones formed.
In actuality, he had merely increased his speed. It was a simple trick on the brain and sight.
“Success!”
Levi laughed, thinking he had managed to ditch Zoey.
However, his face darkened the next moment.
Zoey had ignored all the other clones and focused on his actual body.
That showed Zoey’s sight and brain had reached a terrifying level.
Even the Shadow Clone couldn’t deceive her.
She could differentiate Levi’s actual body from the rest of the clones in a short period.
“F*ck!” Levi exclaimed in amazement.
This is too damn scary!
This is the first time Shadow Clone is useless.
To my own wife at that!
Before Levi could think deeply, Zoey had again caught up to him.
“I…”
Levi was stunned speechless.
If this goes on, I’ll be exposed for sure.
Zoey shifted into a bolt of lightning and reappeared in front of Levi.
“Don’t even think about escaping!”
Levi felt an oncoming headache.
Things won’t be good if this goes on.
To make matters worse, Wynona had caught up to them as well.
“No way!”
Levi was stunned again.
Even Wynona had reached such a high level?
Isn’t this improvement a bit too much?
Levi’s attention was on Wynona. Her level was near to Zoey’s despite a slight gap.
Wynona approached from another direction, effectively blocking his exit.
“I knew there’s something suspicious about you since seeing you at the Hilton residence. Who are you?” Zoey interrogated.
Wynona gazed at Levi coldly. “He’s in disguise. That face he has on him is fake.”
Both Zoey’s and Wynona’s bodies had reached a terrifying level, especially their senses.
They could sense something was off about Levi’s face.
It didn’t align to his body.
Levi began sweating bullets.
Please stop talking.
Else, I’ll be exposed soon enough.
During that time frame, Mia had joined them as well.
The trio had Levi surrounded.
“Let’s attack him together! I want to see his real face.”

CHAPTER 2015

Levi’s head ached, realizing his situation was pretty much between a rock and a hard place.

Zoey and Wynona are too good!
I can’t escape!

They even see through my disguise.
What should I do?
The longer I’m with them, the higher the possibility I’m going to be exposed.
There could be more people around watching this entire scene from the shadows.
Once we start fighting, it will cause a commotion and attract the attention of others.
I’ll have to use that if left with no choice.
Levi decided as he saw the trio neared.
Bam!
Bam!
At that crucial moment, air currents were fired toward Zoey, Wynona, and Mia from the surroundings.
Zoey and the others blocked the attack instantly.
Recognizing the opportunity he had, Levi slipped away.
“Chase after him!”
The trio was about to give chase, but their attempt was stopped by subsequent air currents.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Despite the interruption having lasted only for a few seconds, Levi managed to utilize that narrow window of opportunity to escape.
After all, even a split-second mattered in the fights between strong fighters.
The trio had lost Levi when they wanted to resume their chase.
They were furious.
They hadn’t expected someone to help him in the dark.
Levi was surprised too.
I didn’t expect someone to help me.
Who could it be?
It definitely isn’t Azure Dragon.
I have sent everyone out on errands.
Then who could it be?
Who was the one who helped me?
Was it intentional or accidental?
It’s fine if it’s accidental.
If it’s intentional…
Could someone be aware that I’m alive?
A thin sheen of sweat had broken out on Levi’s skin at that thought.
That is too horrifying to even consider.
Someone’s aware that I’m alive despite me unleashing only half of the Forbidden Technique?
That’s terrifying!
Would that person be a friend or foe?
If it’s a friend, then there shouldn’t be a problem. However, if it’s an enemy, the situation will be bad.
Levi began analyzing calmly.
If it’s an enemy, then news about me being alive would’ve spread.
They wouldn’t have saved me then.
It’s not an enemy then!
But the question remains if it’s a friend?
There’s no definite answer.
They could have some hidden motive.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a friend or not. I’m at least sure it’s not a foe.
I can rest assure now.
After ditching the trio, Levi scanned his surroundings for the person who helped him but discovered nothing.
It showed the person was strong and had a quick reaction.
For that person to be involved in his battle with Zoey, he must be skilled.
Meanwhile, Zoey and her friends had returned from Goldenport Island.
Zoey decided to seclude herself, preparing to push her limits to the maximum in the shortest period. Then, she would head to Zarain to avenge Levi.
However, Mia and Wynona were unaware of her intention.
Within his mansion in Zarain, Bruce was arranging missions.
“Only less than a year’s stock was left of the sunstones in the Lab of Gods. We need to procure more from Erudia,” Bruce said.
“The Cryptic Stream Corporation is planning to enter Erudia. A collaboration with the Four Heirs of Erudia will guarantee more sunstones for us.”
Bruce touched his chin. “We need these Erudia’s puppets to procure more of the sunstone mining sites quickly. It will be legal mining with the involvement of Cryptic Stream Corporation. The Erudia’s institutions can’t charge us with any crime.”
“Excellent! The plan is to covertly mine and import the sunstone back. Your idea is brilliant! By purchasing the entire mining site, Erudia can only watch us as we mine.”
The others began to appraise Bruce for his idea.
“Hurry and instruct the Cryptic Stream Corporation to invade Erudia. It’s best to execute it as quickly as possible to avoid changes in our plan,” Bruce said somberly.

CHAPTER 2016

“Understood. We’ll arrange for the Cryptic Stream Corporation to arrive at Erudia tomorrow.”

Bruce continued. “There’s also the issue with Zoey. The Annihilator’s death can’t be in vain. We need to figure out her combat skills. She can’t be a threat to us.”
“Mr. Johnston, I suppose you want to use the pure energy beings to deal with Zoey?” someone chuckled.

Others followed. “On top of that, we need to use Henry and Logan.”
A wicked smile formed on their faces.
After working with Bruce for so long, they were well aware of his thoughts and execution methods.
“I supposed Mr. Johnston wanted Erudian to destroy Erudia.”
“Of course, they have to be modified into pure energy beings for our plan to work.”
Bruce merely smiled at their suggestions.
That is exactly what I’m planning to do, hence me paying attention to the Lopez and Black families.
I have started strengthening their bodies and brain since the beginning of the experiment.
It was to increase the success rate during the actual experiment.
The best-case scenario is all these people can be successfully modified into pure energy beings.
I can then use them to destroy Erudia.
“The third round of experiment is about to start. I estimate these people can be deployed during the fifth bout of the experiment. How exciting!”
Even Bruce couldn’t contain his excitement and showed it on his face.
“Byron, wait till I’m strong enough to go against The Cardinal Hall, then I’ll come and save you.”
A flash of anger passed through Bruce at the thought of his brother being imprisoned in Erudia.
The next day, Oakland City was in an uproar.
It was due to the early arrival of the Cryptic Stream Corporation by a fortnight.
The existence of the Cryptic Stream Corporation was unique in the world.
Their primary trade was high-tech weaponry. It was fair to say they possessed the leading high-tech weaponry in the entire world.
They supplied their weapons to those in power in many districts.
Many had compared their existence to God.
Their wealth could buy nations. Their technology was in the lead, and they had centuries-old history as their foundation.
No matter which period one was in, martial artists and those who possess superpowers would always emerge at the top.
The Cryptic Stream Corporation was the overlord of all time!
Especially during the times when martial artists had reigned, their status was even more terrifying.
Their superweapons derived from black technology came in handy at such times.
Regardless of their countries, every business conglomerate or family had wanted to collaborate with the Cryptic Stream Corporation.
It was an honor for them to collaborate with the Cryptic Stream Corporation.
In Erudia, there were the famed Four Heirs.
Firstly, there was Jacob Murphy. His grandfather was Oakland City’s chairman of the chamber of commerce.
Secondly, there was Roscoe Wells from Oakland City who dominated the real estate industry over Erudia.
Thirdly, Gabe Sears from Seahale. He was the owner of three of the six biggest supercars clubs. There was no information about his family, but his family was the leading business conglomerate in Erudia. He was jokingly called Poseidon by the netizens.
Lastly, Ian Reed from Tayhaven City. There was also no information about his family. Almost all marine products businesses belonged to his family. He could be called the overlord of the sea.
There was a reason the quartet was named Erudia’s Four Heir by the netizens.
In other words, they were also referred to as the Four Prodigal Sons.
The four of them were arrogant and spendthrift.
Roscoe was famous for his playboy ways. He changed girlfriends every so often. They were usually celebrities or influencers.
Ian was the same. He could spend millions as a gift for female influencers.
Meanwhile, Jacob was usually seen in nightclubs. He could spend millions there nightly.
Their fathers were aware of their extravagant spending habits and had given up.
However, no one in their wildest dreams would have thought that these four were associated with the Cryptic Stream Corporation.
The Cryptic Stream Corporation had never collaborated with anyone from Erudia.

CHAPTER 2017

When news of the Cryptic Stream Corporation searching for a collaborator had spread, excitement engulfed the entire Erudia.

Even the low-profile families and business conglomerates were interested in a collaboration with the Cryptic Stream Corporation.
No one could have imagined the notorious Four Prodigal Sons were collaborating with the Cryptic Stream Corporation.

The news had caused an uproar among Erudia’s high society.
Why the four of them?
Considering their family backgrounds, they were a popular bunch but simply an average Joe.
In terms of their capabilities, the Four Heirs were infamous for their incompetence.
All they knew were how to flirt and flaunt their wealth.
However, the Cryptic Stream Corporation had chosen to collaborate with them.
Soon the president of the Cryptic Stream Corporation would arrive at Erudia. The four of them would be the ones receiving him.
The rest could merely watch from the sidelines in envy.
This time, their families could finally hold their heads high.
Due to the notorious reputation the Four Heirs had, their fathers had been constantly disputed and taunted within their circle.
They had always walked with their heads hung low.
However, the collaboration with the Cryptic Stream Corporation had turned the tables for them.
The comments directed at them had shifted.
The collaboration with the Cryptic Stream Corporation could entitle the Four Heirs to their familial hall of fame.
Their fathers had nothing but praises for them.
They gave them full authority to act as the receiver and collaborator of the Cryptic Stream Corporation.
But why would the Cryptic Stream Corporation choose these four?
It was all a part of Bruce’s plan.
In his eyes, the plan was more feasible that way.
Since martial artists, man with superpowers, and superweapons were the main focuses of everyone.
On the contrary, wealth was easily overlooked.
Particularly the news about the sunstone was unknown to many.
Furthermore, all the troublemakers such as Levi had died.
So there won’t be anyone else who would pay attention to this matter.
They wouldn’t think about it too deeply.
But once they realized the truth, it would be too late.
By that time, the mines would’ve been in the Cryptic Stream Corporation’s grasp.
And all the others could merely watch on.
So why would they pick the four?
The reason was they were much easy to control compared to the rest, and they wouldn’t suspect the corporation’s motive.
Hence, their plan would be more feasible.
The next day, at the VIP corridor of Oakland City’s international airport.
Dozens of Rolls-Royce were standing-by.
Being the leader of the Four Heirs, Roscoe had come personally to receive representatives from Cryptic Stream Corporation.
They were the president, Ryker, and the young heir, Jefferson.
Jefferson had suffered a round of beatings by Levi, causing all of his teeth to fall. His current teeth were merely dentures. He now dared to set foot in Erudia when his health had recovered.
Since Levi was already dead, who else dared touch him?
That would simply mean death to them.
Though his body still felt the shadows of lingering pain at the thought of Levi.
He shuddered.
It was a fear that was ingrained into him.
Despite knowing Levi was dead, he was still terrified when he set foot into Erudia.
He felt as though Levi was watching him from the shadows and that his soul would never perish and would serve as Erudia’s guardian.
“F*ck! He’s already dead, so why am I still afraid of him?” Jefferson cursed.
Despite the thought, he still brought many fighters with him on this trip to Erudia.
He specifically requested the four strongest fighters from Lab of Gods to safeguard him.
He was traumatized by Levi’s beatings.
Despite Levi being dead, the lingering fear was still present in him.
Stepping off from the plane, Jefferson took a glance at his surroundings.
He didn’t know what he was searching for, probably Levi.
“Jefferson, stop being paranoid. Levi is already dead. What are you afraid of?” Ryker asked.

CHAPTER 2018

Jefferson stubbornly said, “I’m not afraid. Why will I be?”

“I’m not afraid even if Levi is really dead! The fact remains that I was unprepared the last time. Now, he will not get away with it.”
Robinson grinned. “That’s good to hear. I thought you are still living in fear of Levi!”

“You must know, it was I who has revealed Levi’s location in Goldenport Island to Mr. Johnston! Hence, I am the rightful one to claim credit for his demise!”
“Alright, alright. We all know about this!”
The crowd gathered before the VIP exit.
Outside, the Four Heirs were already waiting to welcome them.
“Welcome, Mr. Wilkins and Mr. Jefferson…”
Roscoe, Gabe and the others immediately greeted them.
“Let’s speak elsewhere!” Ryker replied.
Afterward, the convoy departed, sending off Robinson, Jefferson, and the others to the hotel.
It was the most luxurious hotel owned by Roscoe’s family.
For the next few days, the hotel was reserved exclusively to cater to the Cryptic Stream Corporation.
The arrival of the Cryptic Stream Corporation galvanized immense attention from the public.
In actual fact, they were deeply envious of the Four Heirs.
They themselves also dreamed of hosting the Cryptic Stream Corporation.
Once they arrive at the hotel, Ryker immediately gathered the crowd and arranged the affairs for this visit.
The order given by Bruce was to settle it as soon as possible.
There shall be no opportunity for anyone to ruin the plan.
“The Cryptic Group will collaborate with you in the future! We provide technical support but the materials including the factory’s production base will be left in your hands. It’s in the proposal! See for yourself!”
The Four Heirs each received a proposal.
Although they could not understand the content, they came prepared with their own expert to assist in the meeting.
Therefore, the proposals were perused and analyzed by the experts.
After some time, the experts nodded to indicate that the collaboration may proceed.
Besides, the terms and conditions proposed by the Cryptic Stream Corporation were beyond expectation.
Basically, the Cryptic Stream Corporation would only be retaining a very insignificant amount of profit.
But the experts were not amateurs. They knew very well that there will be additional conditions.
“However, we have additional conditions! The production base will be built by you, and the supplier must be from the Cryptic Stream Corporation! We can provide funds for the initial deposit!”
Ryker blurted out his condition.
The demand was really simple. In essence, the Cryptic Stream Corporation would provide technical support while the production base would also be owned by them.
Upon hearing such a statement, the Four Heirs smirked.
Now they’re talking!
If indeed Cryptic Stream Corporation is the one compromising, this will raise suspicion that there is an underlying ploy.
With this arrangement of them owning the new resources and bases, it sounded reasonable.
Nonetheless, the demands were negligible to the Four Heirs.
All they wanted was the collaboration with the Cryptic Steam Corporation. Profit was irrelevant. They would have done it even if it were to incur losses.
The most important thing was to establish a relationship with the Cryptic Stream Corporation.
Whatever it took to achieve that was deemed necessary.
But now, not only that the project was bringing in profits, it enriched the influence and power of the family.
It was perfect how things panned out.
“Mr. Wilkins, don’t worry about it! I’ve already made the necessary arrangements to cater to the demands of the Cryptic Steam Corporation! Give me another day and I will be able to acquire all of them under the corporation’s name!” Roscue assured.
Gabe followed suit. “That is correct. This is an effortless exercise! One day is more than enough!”
The Four Heirs were fully supported by their families. An enormous fund was at their disposal.
In fact, the funds to purchase the few properties were like peanuts to them.
Coincidentally, the Lab of Gods managed to detect the sunstone hidden in all the properties.

skye · Friday at 1:51 PM

CHAPTER 2019

Once the properties were bought and transferred under the name of the Cryptic Stream Corporation, it would be under its name forever.

Even The Cardinal Hall would not be able to circumvent that fact, until all the resources were fully exploited…
Even if the sunstone’s location was subsequently exposed, there would be nothing that could be done.

“Perfect. I like working with competent and efficient people!” Ryker grinned.
Jefferson smiled. “We look forward to our future collaborations!”
The Four Heirs sparkled with excitement.
They strived to be the ambassador of the Cryptic Stream Corporation in Erudia, or even the whole of Bayview.
Their spirits elated at the thought of it.
“Leave it to us, we have it covered!”
The Four Heirs sped into action.
They too wanted to settle the matter once and for all.
By then, the family’s status would be elevated dramatically.
Those who looked down on them would be envious of their success.
They were partners with the Cryptic Stream Corporation!
The news was spreading like wildfire in Erudia.
Of course, Levi would also be aware.
The Five Great Wars Regiment and Phoenix were sent to gather all sorts of information.
Now, Phoenix had already informed Levi of the collaboration between the Cryptic Stream Corporation and the Four Heirs.
“Boss, the Four Heirs are planning to purchase the six properties with the sunstone. It is expected that by tomorrow, the properties can then be transferred to Cryptic Stream Corporation!”
Phoenix anxiously said.
“Okay.” Levi nodded.
He smiled after looking at the data. “Such a coincidence. The six properties belong to Wynona’s family?”
“That is right. The Wilcox family has many laboratories and experimental fields! Coincidently the six properties belonged to them!”
“It is puzzling that the Wilcox family is unaware of the existence of the sunstone. Or else, the six properties will be off-limits!” Phoenix replied.
Levi sighed. “Perhaps the sunstone is not valuable in the eyes of many. But if developed, the sunstone will be the core energy source! This clearly evinces the formidable abilities of the Lab of Gods!”
“Boss, based on my estimation, we can act quickly and intercept the transaction before its finalization! The properties can be ours! Moreover, the Wilcox family will definitely prefer us over the Four Heirs!”
Phoenix was uneasy.
Levi smiled. “How much will it cost?”
Phoenix replied, “The Four Heirs prepared a hundred billion! With that offer, they should be able to secure the purchase!”
“Why should I then spend the money unnecessarily? A hundred billion can be utilized for so many other purposes!” Levi replied.
Phoenix was stupefied. “Boss, does this mean that we are laying our hands off? Are we really going to let them purchase the six properties?”
The rest of them were similarly concerned.
If the transaction were to be completed, the matter would be out of their hands.
They would not be able to do anything about it.
At the end of the day, reputation was at stake.
Especially Erudia’s!
By then, it would be quite impossible to stop them!
Levi stared at them and asked, “Why do we need to stop them?”
“What?”
All of them were dumbfounded.
This was not the Levi that they once knew.
He would have tried to stop it.
But this was not the case.
Why?
It doesn’t make sense.
Is Levi a changed man?
That’s impossible!
Some still tried to persuade him, “Boss, if the six properties were to fall on the hands of the Cryptic Stream Corporation, it will be a big threat to Erudia!”
Suddenly, Phoenix grinned at a thought.
“I understand what boss is thinking!”
“What? Phoenix, spill the beans!” The crowd looked eagerly at him.

CHAPTER 2020

Phoenix glanced at Levi and smiled. “I think what boss meant was to just let them acquire the six lands if they wanted them so badly.”

A wave of disagreement sparked amongst the crowd. “How can we let that happen? We can’t just give away Erudia’s property to those thieves!”
We will never allow this tragedy to happen!

“Please, calm down and listen to me. If we stop their plan right now, we might have a good chance of success. This, however, will alert the Cryptic Stream Corporation and the Lab of Gods, and they may do something terrible to stop us,” Phoenix calmly explained the situation to the crowd and continued, “Besides, we’ve only heard about sunstones; have any of us ever seen one in person to know what it looks like?”
Everyone shook their heads. Not even Levi had seen a sunstone up close to know its appearance.
As far as they knew, the Lab of Gods was probably the only organization in the world that could recognize a sunstone currently.
Phoenix continued to brief the audience on her analysis, “So, even if we successfully halt their activities this time, members of the Lab of Gods will undoubtedly steal the sunstones from us in the future. After all, they’re the only ones who have seen the minerals and understand how to mine them.”
Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement.
Phoenix had a solid point. A high level of skill and technology were required to mine minerals. The only way to retrieve the sunstones was probably through the Lab of Gods’ technology, anyway.
“So, what are boss’ thoughts on this?” The crowd stared at Phoenix in anticipation.
“Given that the sunstone is no longer a secret, it will be exploited eventually. I think the best way is to let Cryptic Stream Corporation mine them…” Phoenix paused, a sly grin appearing on her face.
“What comes next? Wouldn’t Cryptic Stream Corporation exploit all the sunstone and bring them back to Zarain?” The people were eager to learn how the plan would work out in their favor.
“The next step is simple. We’ll rob them halfway while the minerals are transported to Zarain. What is ours remains here. The sunstones may never leave the land of Erudia!” Phoenix grinned as she revealed the plan.
Phoenix’s words prompted Levi to correct her. “What do you mean by rob? We’re not robbing them. We’re simply taking back what is rightfully ours. I can take whatever I want that belongs to Erudia!”
“Pfft…” The crowd almost laughed out loud.
So that was Levi’s strategy all along!
What a peculiar plan! Levi allowed those people from Zarain to secure the land and even start mining the sunstones, as long as they could never leave Erudia with any of the minerals that belonged to the Erudians!
At the end of the day, the Lab of Gods’ primary focus was on the sunstones rather than the six plots of land, and Erudia’s forces were solely focused on preventing them from acquiring the sunstones.
Levi didn’t need to devise a backup plan because he could simply wait for them to mine the sunstones and loot them.
Subsequently, their goals would be achieved.
So that was why Levi stayed passive and waited for things to play out exactly the way he wanted.
“But this doesn’t seem to be right… They do have a legal permit allowing them to mine at the lands,” someone in the crowd mentioned worriedly.
Levi sneered. “Well, if they use that as their argument, we can say that I’m legally filed as a deceased man, too. Just blame it on a dead man! What are they going to do?”
The crowd was astonished by Levi’s statement. “Haha… You’re splendid, boss!”
“All right. For now, we only have to wait for them to mine the sunstones, then we’ll move on with our robbery!” Levi gave his orders promptly and continued, “However, I wouldn’t let them purchase those lands so easily. Phoenix, let them have a taste of misery!”
…
Meanwhile, Bruce worried careless mistakes would be made and desperately dialed Ryker’s phone number at least seven times.
Most of the people involved hadn’t slept in a day because they were anxious about the response from the Four Heirs.
If the plan worked, they would officially obtain a century’s supply of sunstone.
On the following afternoon, they finally received a message from the Four Heirs permitting them to use and mine the resources from the six lands.
However, the deadline for usage was limited to five years only. Also, the price of the lease doubled to two hundred billion.
As long as each party involved could achieve a mutual agreement on these two terms, they could use the lands freely.
Although the Four Heirs’ families were wealthy, contributing fifty billion each in such a short period was still a financial strain for each family.
In fact, Levi was the one behind the establishment of the new terms and conditions.
“Will Mr. Wilkins agree with these conditions?” Levi pondered.

CHAPTER 2021

Ryker contacted Bruce immediately after receiving news about the updated terms.

Money wasn’t a big deal to Cryptic Stream Corporation, so they weren’t concerned about the hundred billion upsurges in the cost of the lands.
What mattered to them was the change in the duration of their rights to use the lands. They struggled to conform from permanent rights to five-year rights.

Hence, Ryker had to discuss with Bruce regarding the reformed terms.
Bruce grinned and said, “They’re limiting our access to the lands to five years and doubling the price? That’s exactly what I’m expecting from those materialistic Erudians! I’ll be far more distressed if things go too smoothly. It appears more genuine if they request more in return!
“Although five years seems like a short period, our experts estimate we could mine all the sunstone in two years if our equipment is ready.
“These conditions are acceptable. Sign the contracts now. We’ll proceed with importing the equipment and technical staff to begin mining as soon as we get the rights to use the lands!”
Ryker nodded after receiving Bruce’s orders. “Got it!”
“Oh, Erudia. You dare hand over the rights to me for merely an increment of a hundred billion? You have no idea how much profit you’re losing! Soon, you’re going to regret your decision!” Bruce laughed.
…
Immediately after having Ryker’s agreement on the new terms and receiving an additional hundred billion from their families, the Four Heirs signed contracts with the Wilcox family and other related parties for the rights to use the lands.
Although the Wilcox family appeared perplexed by the sudden changes in the time limit and cost, they were more than willing to comply because there were many benefits to the agreement.
The Four Heirs hastily brought the signed contract back to Bruce, and everyone was ecstatic when they saw the agreements.
After informing the members of the Lab of Gods about the successful deal, Bruce represented Cryptic Stream Corporation in signing a collaboration contract with the Four Heirs.
The Four Heirs were appointed to become the ambassadors of Cryptic Stream Corporation in Erudia.
Although it was as clear as day that they were just puppets controlled by the corporation, they felt honored to be the fresh faces who represent the corporation in Erudia. Everyone who knew about the Four Heirs’ new role felt envious.
Right after settling the agreement, Ryker didn’t stop his hustle and instantly arranged for the importation of equipment and technical staff from Zarain, while the Four Heirs tried their best to accommodate the company’s demands.
Within eighteen hours, the essentials to mine the sunstones were in place.
The team wasted no time and began mining.
Their efficiency was astounding to the world as Bruce’s philosophy was to mine all sunstones in the shortest time possible.
During the mining processes, Bruce would always monitor the progress via surveillance cameras installed on the site, whereas Ryker and Jefferson would supervise the work in person to ensure no mistakes were made.
“Mr. Johnston, we’ll be wrapping up our first batch of sunstones in three days! We could get a lot more sunstones from these six major mining sites than you did from Erudia a while ago!” Ryker grinned.
“We used to have elaborated plans when we steal from Erudia, but look at us now, being able to mine sunstones openly without restrictions! We could exploit as many sunstones as we want in the future!” Bruce was pleased with the report, then instructed, “By the way, I’ve already sent out the escort team. Make sure to bring the sunstones back safely!”
“Don’t worry, Bruce. Not only does no one recognize our plans and our current activities, but even if they do, they couldn’t possibly act quick enough to stop us from exporting the minerals!” Ryker sneered.
Bruce nodded his head in agreement. “Hmm… You’re right. Erudia will never understand their huge mistake this time.”
…
Ryker and Jefferson were currently in one of the six major mining areas known as Westford.
The mining progress was ongoing in an orderly manner.
However, Jefferson felt chills down his spine as a random tingle of fear spread across his nervous system quickly. He couldn’t help but feel like someone was watching him in secret.

CHAPTER 2022

It wasn’t clear if Jefferson was just traumatized by Levi, or he was too afraid to be beaten up by the latter again.

He was paranoid and would feel a wave of fear consume him whenever he detected any movements around him.
It was as if he was delusional.

Now, Jefferson felt uneasy and cold when he looked around and saw only darkness surrounding him.
His anxious expression caught everyone’s attention. “What’s wrong?” they asked.
“I feel like someone’s watching us! Did you make sure all safety precautions were engaged properly?” Jefferson was frantic.
“Look at you. I knew you were traumatized by Levi. Now you are even afraid of the dark! Don’t worry, Jefferson. I’ll send our people to check around again.” Ryker reassured Jefferson and ordered the others to inspect the grounds.
They discovered nothing wrong around the site. “See? I told you it’s all right! You’re overthinking,” Ryker said, then instructed a few men to come to his side. “The few of you should protect him!”
Followed by Ryker’s order, the experts from the Lab of Gods kept their eyes on Jefferson and never left his side.
Jefferson could finally relax and let his guard down, even though the feeling of being watched hadn’t disappeared.
One with a sensitive mind had the most precise intuition.
In fact, Levi was indeed within the mining base to find out what sunstones really were.
Before coming to the area, Levi surveyed the place, but he never felt a dynamic wave of energy surrounding him in the zone.
Although there was energy emitted by other materials that were more sublime compared to the energy of sunstones, something still felt wrong to Levi.
Soon, he discovered a piece of equipment invented by the Lab of Gods that could isolate energy waves and prevent outsiders from detecting them.
This explains why they could mine the sunstones in peace, with no one noticing their activities.
Levi realized the equipment was used to manipulate the magnetic waves and block out unstable energy. Also, it could affect martial artists and men with superpowers if they tried to interrupt the mining process.
Levi felt his powers being suppressed as soon as he entered the field. He could never unleash his full potential under the effect of the equipment.
This is scary! Is the Lab of Gods already so advanced? Not to mention that the equipment is only used to isolate energy waves. If they create weapons using this technology, it will surely be the doom of us.
Levi was alarmed by the Lab of Gods’ horrifying advancement.
Looks like it’ll take quite a while for me to defeat the Lab of Gods. I must be patient and take one step at a time…
Levi had only gotten a glimpse of the Lab of Gods’ current power. If the latter were to reveal their full abilities, even Levi would be intimidated.
At this moment, Levi successfully infiltrated the mining site.
Boom!
He felt the intensity of the sunstones’ energy surrounding the whole site.
The sunstones are way too strong!
Levi also witnessed the appearance of the mineral. It was a transparent crystal infused with tremendous energy.
If one were to get closer to the sunstones without proper safety measures, one might be crushed into ashes by the powerful energy emitted by the stones. Thus, the personnel on-site were all fully covered in protective gear to avoid casualties.
Levi was utterly horrified after witnessing the rare strength of the sunstones. He understood how incomparable the energy was by other minerals.
But why were the sunstones undiscovered by anyone else in the entire world before?
The reason behind it was simple – the sunstones were hidden deep underground, and most countries couldn’t afford to drill that far down to look for resources because they didn’t have the equipment or skilled personnel to support the act.
Other than that, the sunstones were wrapped within a thick wall of another mineral, and their energy was attracted to and infused within the earth’s core to achieve balance. Hence, it was impossible to detect their energy on land.
That was the reason no one other than the Lab of Gods had ever discovered the sunstones.
“What is this?” Levi was once again stunned by Lab of Gods’ advancement in technology.

CHAPTER 2023

As soon as the sunstones were mined, their energy would slowly diminish.

If the skill of the miners or equipment weren’t matured enough, the loss of energy in the sunstone would be significant. Not to mention that the spread of energy might cause a disaster.
The equipment provided by the Lab of Gods, however, was able to reduce the level of energy loss nearly to zero.

It was astonishing, yet frightening.
The final equipment used to store the sunstones was the scariest of them all, as it could preserve the sunstones’ energy completely.
…
The Lab of Gods was frightening indeed!
After a night of observing the mining process, Levi had a clear vision of the procedures, including the repository and transportation of the sunstones.
Now, all they have to do was wait for the transportation to begin in three days.
On the other side, Zoey trained intensively and got stronger. In fact, she even gained the skill to unleash her hidden potentials.
“Cryptic Stream Corporation signed a contract with the Four Heirs. Looks like they’re planning something since everyone involved was some big shot in the company. They even got Jefferson to take part.”
“I remember Jefferson was the one who informed Lab of Gods about Levi’s existence at the Goldenport Island. He was also one of the murderers who ended Levi!”
“Yes, he is indeed!”
Wynona was discussing matters related to Cryptic Stream Corporation with Mia. Zoey, who just arrived, overheard their conversation.
“Levi’s murderer is here at Erudia?” Zoey asked.
Wynona nodded and said, “You could say that. After all, Cryptic Stream Corporation was responsible for what happened to Levi too.”
Wynona paused and realized something off. She quickly persuaded, “Zoey, you must stay calm. Now is not the best time to seek revenge!”
Zoey nodded. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”
Not only was she planning to take action against Cryptic Stream Corporation, but she also aimed to exterminate the Lab of Gods, too.
…
The past few days had been purely tormenting, especially to Bruce and his men.
Bruce couldn’t rest until he saw the sunstones in person. So, he put aside all his work to monitor the mining progress of the minerals for two days.
Within those two days, all forces in Erudia, including the Dragonites and The Cardinal Hall, were alerted by Cryptic Stream Corporation’s operations and commenced a survey on the matter.
On the other hand, the families of the Four Heirs fully understood the agenda of Cryptic Stream Corporation’s recent acquirement of the lands, which was to mine the newfound resources.
The organization had already begun mining the sunstones without having them participate in the activities. This was not at all what they had agreed on beforehand, but the families did not object.
Cryptic Stream Corporation was free to do whatever they wanted as long as the Four Heirs remained their ambassadors and could continue sharing the organization’s glory.
The Cardinal Hall, on the other hand, was the first to catch wind of Cryptic Stream Corporation’s plans. They eventually discovered that the corporation was mining resources on the six pieces of land.
Although they were unsure about the details, they were confident that the true purpose would be revealed soon, even if they couldn’t take any action against the company.
…
Soon, three days had gone by.
Throughout these three days, Bruce, Ryker, and the rest of the crew didn’t even have the time to sleep a wink.
The first batch of sunstones was mined.
Having been overly exerted, Jefferson and the Four Heirs stared blankly in different directions.
“Mr. Jefferson, let’s go celebrate our success after we transport the stones!” Roscoe suggested excitedly, to which Jefferson agreed joyfully.
They had been feeling on edge since they arrived at Erudia to supervise the mining procedure. They even sacrificed their entertainment just to monitor the progress of the mission.
Naturally, the crew needed to take a break after concluding their tasks.
Soon, the transportation team arrived at the six major mining sites. They loaded all the sunstones onto the transport ship and were fully prepared for the shipment to head back to Zarain.
The members of the transportation team gathered at the port. Although Bruce was sure that no one in Erudia would dare disrupt their progress, he still arranged for some of the most highly skilled people to escort the minerals.

skye · Friday at 1:53 PM

CHAPTER 2024

Bruce analyzed and estimated The Cardinal Hall would also send their men to escort their transportation process in secret.

After all, The Cardinal Hall would be embarrassed in front of the entire world if anything went wrong within the area under their governance.
Erudia’s reputation was important too.

Everything went according to Bruce’s interpretation of the situation.
The Cardinal Hall sent their men to watch over the transportation team to ensure their safety in Erudia.
The image of Erudia and The Cardinal Hall was of utmost importance.
The transportation team successfully moved the stones from the six major mining sites to the port.
Throughout their way to the port, no one interfered, and they didn’t encounter even a single hiccup. Everything was progressing smoothly, just as Bruce expected.
Ryker, Jefferson, and the others escorted the sunstones to the port and kept their eyes locked on the sunstones when they were being loaded onto the ship.
As soon as all the sunstones were transferred onto the ship, they let out sighs of relief.
They believe they would be safe everywhere else as long as they leave Erudia.
“Mr. Johnston, the mission had been accomplished. You just have to wait and receive the sunstones on your end!” Ryker reported the progress to Bruce through a call.
Bruce answered confidently, “Our primary concern lies within Erudia. As soon as we get out of Erudia, who would dare lay a hand on Lab of Gods’ properties?”
It wasn’t all talk. The influence of Zarain’s status as an overlord and the terrifying power the Lab of Gods withheld were alarming to the public, after all.
The Lab of Gods was an organization of great reputation and influence, so who would have the courage to go against them other than Levi and some stronger forces from Erudia?
That was the reason Bruce was confident of the transportation team’s safety as soon as they left Erudia’s compound and reached the international waters.
No one would dare touch their properties. Moreover, there were many skillful escorts in the escort team.
Everything would be secured.
“Mr. Wilkins, I’m going to celebrate the end of the mission with a few friends!” Jefferson said gladly.
He regained his confidence after accomplishing the mission, and the trauma caused by Levi disappeared gradually.
“No problem! The completion of the first batch of sunstone calls for a grand celebration after all!” Ryker laughed carefreely.
…
Honk!
Following an ear-piercing honk, the transport ship set sail and left the port, and eventually left Erudia.
“All right! Time to take action!” Just as everyone on the ship thought they were on their way steadily, a voice cut in.
Levi had never let his attention drift away from the sunstones, so how could he allow the minerals to be exported from Erudia so easily?
Since attacking the ship while it was still within Erudia’s borders would cause a massive dent in Erudia’s reputation, Levi simply planned to strike as soon as the ship left the border.
A few hours later, the ship had arrived at the international waters. At that point, the escort team had already let their guards down.
“Whoever dare lay hands on the sunstones will face grave consequences. The joined forces from Cryptic Stream Corporation, the Lab of Gods, and all of Zarain would be the enemy to those who dare disrupt our progress!”
Nobody dared to get their hands on the sunstones after the international announcement was established. Some people even help clear the obstacles they might face on the sea, such as eliminating pirates and other threats.
On the transport ship, the crew members had already begun celebrating their success. They were either drinking or dancing throughout the trip.
The atmosphere stayed joyful and peaceful.
This was probably the smoothest mission they had ever been assigned to.
Not only that, but they also remained high profile throughout the transportation, yet no one was courageous enough to raid them.
They were extremely relaxed, so much so that the captain, Marcus, and the commander of the escort team, Vanderson, were enjoying wine together in the cabin.
“I was quite concerned things would go wrong before stepping foot onto this ship. I guess my worry was unneeded.”
Marcus was traumatized by the robberies he had been through multiple times.
Vanderson smiled and reassured Marcus they would be fine. “Who would have such nerve to rob us? Unless they have a death wish, if not, no one would dare challenge us!”
Whoosh… Bam!
…
Right at this moment, a flare was shot into the sky and lit up every corner of the ship.

CHAPTER 2025

Marcus and Vanderson were struck dumb by the commotion they witnessed. “Goodness gracious! Do these people want to die?” they exclaimed.

Boom! Boom!
…

From below, a swarm of dark shadows leaped onto the ship, then the ship was surrounded by a small army of boats.
“Someone’s attacking us! We must protect the sunstones at all costs!” Vanderson gathered the aces to prepare for defense.
However, as soon as Vanderson stepped out of his cabin, he noticed a man standing on the ship’s stern. With his hands behind him, the man stood still overlooking the devastation he had caused on the ship as if he were a god.
“End them! No one shall take away anything that belonged to Erudia!”
At the end of Levi’s command, the massacre began.
…
The Lab of Gods was quite unperturbed by the escort of the sunstones since they had assumed no one would dare to go against them. Thus, only minimal settlements were arranged for the escort team.
Unfortunately, they just had to face Levi.
Levi’s enemies were quickly annihilated.
He even treated the battle like a training ground for Azure Dragon and his team.
“Make haste and move all the sunstones! Remember to relocate them to our designated location and leave no trails!”
The mission was completed in three minutes thanks to Levi’s precise commands and the efficiency of Azure Dragon and his team.
There were no survivors following the attack, and the sunstones were successfully retrieved.
Everything happened so expeditiously that the people on the ship couldn’t send out SOS signals. It was as if they had quietly vanished into thin air.
Levi didn’t arrange for the sunstones to be returned to Erudia because it might expose their motives when everyone’s gaze was already fixed on Erudia.
Levi remained at the highest point throughout the mission, watching everything fall into place.
“Bruce Johnston, I bet on my name that you can never bring even a single piece of sunstone back to Zarain from Erudia!” he snickered before disappearing into the darkness.
Meanwhile, Jefferson and the Four Heirs went to a nightclub to loosen up.
Ryker also spent his evening having dinner with two gorgeous ladies, completely forgetting about his worries.
They didn’t even bother to check on the transportation progress and only awaited compliments by Bruce.
Bruce himself was acting in the same relaxed manner. A few hours ago, he was still cautiously monitoring the transport ship’s whereabouts. Gradually, he let his guard down and paid little attention to it.
He was sure no one in the world would dare challenge their authority and lay hands on their ship.
Bearing that thought in mind, Bruce fell asleep soundly.
I believe the transport ship will arrive at its destination when I wake up.
…
After an extended span of investigation, the forces in Erudia, particularly The Cardinal Hall and Dragonites, have finally made a breakthrough regarding the sunstones.
Not only that, but they also had a clearer vision of Bruce and the Lab of Gods’ dirty schemes – they were targeting Erudia simply because of its abundant sunstone resources.
Previously, Bruce had summoned his men to transport the sunstones from Erudia after being tricked by Levi.
Ultimately, it was too late for Erudia’s forces to stop Cryptic Stream Corporation from mining the sunstones.
The six lands with the most sunstones to mine were now legally owned by Cryptic Stream Corporation, so no forces could stop them and could only watch their rival exploit the minerals freely.
The forces were overwhelmed with regret.
If only they had been more alert to the situation! Nonetheless, they were too focused on Levi’s actions to notice Cryptic Stream Corporation’s plans.
They were well aware that Levi had always been the sole leader in this field.
“If the Lab of Gods successfully exploited the sunstones, it would pose a serious threat not only to Erudia but also to the entire world!”
The Cardinal Hall were appalled.
…
The night went by quietly.
The next morning, Bruce woke up and after he freshened up, he asked his subordinate, “By the way, where is the transport ship currently? It should reach its destination in an hour’s time, according to the estimated arrival time.”
“Master, we are not in communication with the ship, but we are certain that it will land in an hour. Don’t worry!” the subordinate reassured him.
Bruce was unbothered and casually had his breakfast, thinking the ship would probably be there by the time he finished his meal.
An hour passed in a blink of an eye, yet the transport ship was still nowhere to be seen at its designated port.
“What’s going on?” Bruce’s face darkened as he swiftly instructed, “Get in contact with Marcus right now.”

CHAPTER 2026

Bruce appeared to be quite anxious for some reason.

“Understood!”
His subordinate immediately contacted Marcus but couldn’t get any reply because there was no signal.

What was more frightening was that the ship seemed to have vanished into thin air.
“Mr. Johnston, we have bad news!”
“The Golden Warship disappeared! We cannot get contact with anyone on the ship at all!”
Bruce and the others were shocked upon hearing the news.
“What? The Golden Warship has disappeared?”
“How can it be?”
Bruce’s face was full of disbelief.
Could anyone have dared to lay a finger on the sunstones?
“According to the information we gathered just now, we have lost track of The Golden Warship since last night. However, no one thought it was a big deal and the problem was left unattended!”
“Last night?”
Bruce was on the verge of blowing up.
Last night, he thought everything was proceeding perfectly according to his plan.
He certainly did not expect things to go wrong.
Bruce snapped, “Can you get in touch with The Golden Warship now? How about Marcus?”
His subordinate shook his head. “No, we can’t. We have already tried everything but there’s no use. The Golden Warship has disappeared!”
Bruce ordered again, “Trace the chips in Vanderson and the others’ bodies and let me know their location!”
“Yes, Sir! For that, we need to have your permission to access the information.”
“Here’s the latest news, Sir! Vanderson and the others in the escort team are dead. Their chips are deactivated.”
The escort team consisted of twenty fighters from the Lab of Gods.
Every one of them had a chip inserted in their bodies.
Now that the chips were deactivated, it could only mean that they were all dead.
Bruce felt as if he was struck by lightning.
He was completely dumbfounded by the fact that every elite member of the escort team had died.
It meant that The Golden Warship was completely wiped out.
The sunstones were most likely missing too.
“Who? Who dares to mess with the Lab of Gods?” Bruce yelled in rage.
Despite making it past the most dangerous area, Erudia, the ship was attacked at the area where Bruce thought was the safest.
Who? Who on Earth is it? How dare this person ignore our announcement and mess with the Lab of Gods’ stuff?
“Find The Golden Warship! Even if it’s wrecked, we have to find it!”
Bruce immediately sent out dozens of aircraft to join in the search for The Golden Warship.
An hour later, Bruce’s subordinates sent back word that they had found The Golden Warship in the middle of the sea.
The ship was badly wrecked and there were no survivors.
All of the sunstones were gone as well.
This was estimated to have happened seven hours ago.
Feeling the blood gushing into his brain, Bruce staggered backward and almost fainted.
Someone had the nerve to steal the sunstones! Not to mention the loss they had to bear because it was a large haul!
“Who? Who is it? Find out who is it!”
Bruce seemed to have gone mad.
“Mr. Johnston, do you think Erudia is behind this?” someone asked.
“If Levi is still alive then it must be Erudia, but now that Levi is dead, that is impossible! I’ve known them for too long to understand that they care too much for their reputation to do such things. If you find it hard to believe we can send someone to search for the sunstones in Erudia. I can guarantee that you will not find anything there,” Bruce replied confidently.
“Are we going to continue searching blindly?” others asked.
“Yes. Do anything that you can to find the sunstones!”
“Someone call Ryker for me!” Bruce ordered.
Ryker was lying on a bed with two women snuggled up on each side.
He was having a wonderful time when the phone rang.
Cursing the person who called, Ryker hoped that he could beat up whoever it was.
“Who is that? Are you nuts? It’s so early in the morning!”
The voice from the phone prompted Ryker to sit up straight.
“What? All of the sunstones are missing?”

CHAPTER 2027

Ryker almost passed out from the shock.

“How can this happen? Who has the nerve to do this?”
“We don’t know who’s behind this. Listen to me carefully, Ryker. You have to keep mining as fast as possible! Time is running out! Keep an eye on the miners and make sure that nothing goes wrong!” Bruce reminded Ryker repeatedly.

Ryker immediately put on his clothes and told Jefferson and the Four Heirs the news.
Although they were partying all night and hadn’t slept much, the news was scary enough to jolt them awake.
The Four Heirs knew what was being transported last night.
They were on the side of Cryptic Stream Corporation in terms of interests.
The news of the disappearance of the sunstones was alarming to them.
“Get moving and keep an eye on the miners!” Ryker ordered.
Having received Bruce’s orders, they went to supervise the mining process at once for they could not risk the second batch of sunstones getting lost again.
While Bruce was using every resource he had to investigate the disappearance of the sunstones, he also ordered his subordinates to keep the news from spreading.
They could not risk everyone knowing about the sunstones since it was the Lab of Gods’ top secret. Furthermore, there were only a few people who knew about the sunstones.
Unfortunately, someone shared the news on the dark web. A batch of sunstones mined by Cryptic Stream Corporation from the Lab of Gods was stolen by a mysterious organization…
The entire world fell into an uproar as soon as the information was leaked.
What are sunstones? What kind of mysterious organization dares to steal something from the Lab of Gods?
Soon, the netizens found out that sunstones are a type of energy material which were discovered by the Lab of Gods.
It was a material that contained the highest level of energy up to date.
The energy source of the Lab of Gods was the sunstones all those years.
This shocking revelation caused some people to spread rumors about the Lab of Gods being a sinister organization and how it was behind the death of Levi and a few other people.
Soon, everyone was celebrating the theft of the sunstones while admiring the audacity of the mysterious force.
Aside from Levi, this mysterious force was the only one who dared to go against the Lab of Gods.
They were playing with fire!
Everyone, including Bruce and the Lab of Gods, was wondering who was behind all of it.
Losing the sunstones meant that the Lab of Gods had lost their future.
How could anyone expect them to be calm?
The people in Erudia should be the happiest of all when they heard the news of the sunstones.
The Cardinal Hall and the Dragonites were previously regretting over the mining conducted by the Lab of Gods in Erudia and couldn’t do anything to stop it, but then there came the news of the sunstones’ disappearance.
They were over the moon.
After a long wait, Bruce’s subordinates still didn’t find any clue.
Whoever stole the sunstones didn’t leave any trail behind, making it impossible to search for their whereabouts.
Meanwhile, the sunstones couldn’t be tracked as well.
A large batch of sunstones would have an abnormally high level of energy which could be easily detected by energy wave detectors, but the sunstones were yet to be found!
There wasn’t even a tiny spike of energy fluctuation in Erudia.
Wondering who could it possibly be, Bruce was also getting angrier by the minute.
Even The Cardinal Hall were curious about the thief’s identity.
“What do we do now, Mr. Johnston?” Bruce’s subordinates asked.
Bruce murmured, “There’s only one option left…”

CHAPTER 2028

“What is it?”

Everyone turned to Bruce and stared at him.
Bruce had a serious look on his face. “Right now all we can do is to wait for them to attack again!”

“We don’t have any leads currently and we would only come to a dead-end if we continued searching. Whoever behind all this must be very powerful to leave no trail behind.”
“Of course! If they can steal the sunstones from right under our nose without alerting us, they must be very capable,” the others agreed.
Bruce continued, “Unless we search every corner in the world, which we don’t have the resources to do so, it is impossible to recover the sunstones!”
“All we can do right now is to wait for them to show themselves and pick up the trails that they leave behind.”
Pausing to clear his throat, Bruce then carried on, “I have arranged for Ryker to mine the next batch of sunstones. We will heavily guard the transportation a day later and set up traps along the way. Let’s see if they still have the audacity to steal from us!”
Everyone agreed with Bruce’s plan. “Excellent plan! Let’s see if they will steal from us again. When they expose themselves, we will destroy them!”
“Alright, everyone gets ready for tomorrow! Let’s see who this bastard is!”
Frowning, Bruce changed the topic. “However, there is a possibility that they only wanted to steal the sunstones once. After all, the total energy from the sunstones is enough for a lifetime for most people. In that case, we might not even catch them red-handed!”
Everyone fell silent at the thought of the possibility.
“We shall know whether they want to stop the sunstones from leaving Erudia or they want to steal the sunstones for themselves tomorrow.”
“I hope that it’s the first case…” Bruce smirked.
After thorough planning, Bruce made sure that he had a stronger escort team and better equipment.
He made sure that detectors were set up along the transportation route and utilized technologically-advanced drones.
Once a problem was detected, it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes for backup forces to arrive.
This time, Bruce ordered Ryker to only mine for one day because it was enough to bait the thief.
On that day, the entire world had their eyes on the Lab of Gods.
Everyone was laughing at them because they couldn’t figure out the mysterious force.
It was obvious that Bruce wanted to lure the mysterious force out by continuing to mine the sunstones.
Levi guessed Bruce’s plan as well.
Phoenix was fast and accurate as Levi’s intel.
“Boss, I’m sure Bruce’s second transportation is a trap! They must have already set up traps for us!”
“I suggest we give up this time. Since they only mined for a day, the amount of sunstones is negligible!” a few others chimed in.
Levi glanced at them. “Didn’t I swear that I will not let them transport a single sunstone out of Erudia?”
“Yes.” Levi’s subordinates nodded.
“Then we must go ahead with our plan. Even if it’s just half a piece of sunstone, I will take it from them!”
Everyone was astonished by Levi’s determination.
“Understood, boss! We’ll do as you say!”
Soon, a day passed.
After loading the sunstones, Ryker transported the goods from the six major mining sites to the port.
This time, the escort team was much stronger and there were more ships.
Bruce’s plan was to separate the sunstones and load them onto different ships.
“Honk!”
As the transportation team departed, everyone grew increasingly anxious.

skye · Friday at 2:03 PM

CHAPTER 2029

The whole world was watching to see if the mysterious force will strike again.

Everyone in Erudia hoped for the mysterious force to intercept the sunstones because they didn’t want their resources to be taken away by others, but Bruce was the one who yearned most for the appearance of the mysterious force so that he could catch them once and for all.
Bruce was indeed sly.

Instead of fully guarding the ships, he purposely ordered his men to leave a few spots out for the mysterious force to attack them.
If their defense was too strong, the mysterious force might not strike and the plan would have failed.
Once they tried to steal the sunstones, they could seize the chance and capture the thieves.
On the other hand, Levi received news that the transportation team had started their journey.
“Alright, let’s begin!” he ordered.
“I still don’t think it’s a good idea, boss. We’ll be ambushed if we strike.”
A few of Levi’s subordinates disagreed with Levi’s plan because they thought they would be caught.
Levi laughed. “Do you think I’ve never thought this through carefully? Once we started our mission, there’s no going back. It’s only going to get harder, and I’m ready for that.”
“Alright, we can rest assured.”
“This is when we show them what we are capable of!” Levi smiled confidently.
Meanwhile, the transportation team members were not drinking and having fun as usual.
Afraid that they might lose their lives, everyone had their guard up and waited for the mysterious force to strike.
Bruce was keeping in contact with the transportation team along the way.
Every second that passed felt painfully long to Bruce and his men.
An hour, two hours…
Seven hours had passed since, but nobody appeared.
Everybody started to panic and thought that the mysterious force decided not to show up.
Even Bruce started to waver.
“Are they not coming? Can it be that they just wanted the energy resources rather than stopping the sunstones from leaving Erudia?”
“Come on, you thieves! This is my only chance of finding you!”
Bruce started to panic.
Deep down, he hoped for the mysterious looters to attack them again.
“Go on, transportation team! Show yourself, thieves!” Bruce prayed.
Eight hours had passed, but nothing happened.
The monitoring stations set up by Bruce detected no abnormal activity along the shipping route.
People in Erudia, who didn’t want the sunstones to be taken by the Lab of Gods, started to lose hope because the mysterious looters had yet to show up.
They might not show up at all.
Furthermore, they would be foolish to attack when Bruce had set up so many traps.
The people in Erudia could only watch and do nothing as the sunstones were taken.
“Was it just a simple theft?” Bruce began to suspect.
“Even if they want to steal from us, I doubt they have the guts to do so, Mr. Johnston. Everyone knows you have set up traps. Unless their goal is to stop us from getting the sunstones, who will dare to attack under such conditions? I don’t think anyone in this world will do that.”
“Yes, you’re right. The most likely person behind this is someone from Erudia, but they will not dare attempt it!”
“In that case, we can only accept that we’ve lost the first batch of sunstones!”
Silence ensued.
It was not a big deal to lose a batch of sunstones.
The Lab of Gods should not be humiliated.
When Bruce finally gave up, someone suddenly yelled, “Oh no!”
Right then, bad news arrived…

CHAPTER 2030

The sudden news had everyone shocked.

Bruce, on the other hand, stood up abruptly.
“What happened?” Bruce demanded in a loud voice.

“Mr. Johnston, we just lost the signal from the No.18 monitoring station,” someone in the control room informed the news.
“What? Someone get back to me what’s happening!”
At that moment, Bruce instantly had a bad premonition.
“No! We lost signal from the No.19 monitoring station too!”
“No.20 monitoring station’s signal is gone!”
“We have just lost No.17 too!”
“No.16 is gone!”
“No.15 and No.14 are gone too!”
The next second, multiple alarms in the control room started blazing.
The signals from all thirty monitoring stations set up by Bruce disappeared one by one.
Wham!
The disappearance of the signals was like a series of bombs hitting Bruce and the others in the face, making them breathless.
Luckily everyone was mentally strong. If their minds were weak, there was no doubt that they would probably faint from the shock.
“No! Something’s wrong! The 78 drones we sent are all destroyed!”
“We have lost the signals from the underwater drones in the sea as well!”
“This is not good! All of our machines are acting strangely! Something is wrong with them! Raise the alarm! Raise the alarm!”
No one had ever thought that this was merely the beginning.
The failure of the machines wasn’t the only issue. Countless problems were coming at them one by one.
“Oh no! We have lost contact with the entire Team One of our ambush teams.”
“Team Two is gone too!”
“We lost contact with Team Three too!”
Bruce had arranged a total of eighteen Super Battle Squads around the coastal and the nearby small islands to ambush whoever tried to steal the sunstone, but now all the squads were gone.
“We didn’t just lose contact with them. We lost the signal from the chips inside of them too. It would only mean that they’re dead. None of them survive!”
Before anyone could digest the last piece of news, another bad news came hitting on their faces.
Does this mean that all of the ambush teams are dead? They are the core of our combat forces arranged by Bruce! How could they all perish? This piece of news is too much for us to digest! What kind of person is strong enough to eliminate them all? The squads are the best of their kind!
No one could wrap their heads around what had happened.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Suddenly, Bruce saw explosions flashed across the monitor screen.
The explosions originated from the seven islands that surrounded the shipping route.
Those islands contained the airports and training bases which were all arranged by Bruce as backups. The backup teams would be able to assist within minutes if attacks happened, as accordance to the arrangement.
However, all the seven islands were destroyed now.
“Mr. Johnston, our backup teams and the island training bases are gone! A few of the islands had sunk as well! Everything’s gone!”
Bruce grew quiet, as did everyone else in the control room.
All were dumbfounded by the bad news that kept coming one by one. None of them knew how to react accordingly.
“No! We’ve lost contact with Ship One!”
“Same for Ship Two!”
“Ship Three is gone too!”
Now, one by one, before anyone could even process what had happened previously, they lost contact with the transportation teams.
“We’ve lost the signal of the escort teams’ chips too! They are all dead!”
“I repeat! We lost contact with everyone! The entire escort team is gone!”
Until now, they had lost contact with the transportation teams that carried the sunstones, not to mention that the escort teams were dead, and the ambush teams and the monitoring stations were all gone too.
Everyone was caught off guard as none of them expected such a turn of events in the slightest.
“We’ve just got the latest news! The sunstones are missing! The GPS trackers on the sunstones are deactivated!”
Before transporting the sunstones, Bruce had placed GPS trackers on the sunstones as an extra precaution.
Unfortunately, the effort didn’t pay off. It seemed that the sunstones had been robbed, and they had destroyed the GPS trackers.
The news was shocking to everyone.
Bruce, on the other hand, was mortified.

CHAPTER 2031

As of now, Bruce had no idea what he should do next, and everyone else was stupefied by such a situation too.

Though they were the Lab of Gods, they could only freeze in place as they had never experienced such tremendous losses.
Bruce honestly thought that the arrangements he made were flawless. He had made sure that he didn’t give the perpetrator any chances to steal the stones.

He had arranged for escort teams, ambush teams, and even backup teams.
All necessary arrangements were in place to trap the perpetrators, yet everything Bruce had planned was destroyed in a blink of an eye. No one expected that.
It was horrifying for Bruce. He couldn’t understand how that perpetrator managed to find out about all the arrangements.
It was understandable that the person managed to wipe out the transportation teams and the monitoring stations along the way as they could be easily spotted.
However, Bruce was confused as to how that person managed to locate the eighteen Super Battle Squads, the underwater drones, and the seven islands which functioned as backups.
His second question was on how the attacks could happen simultaneously.
It was terrifying. After all, not many people were capable of organizing such big scale attacks.
Bruce and the Lab of Gods were truly devastated by the attacks.
Not only did they lose the sunstones, but the Lab of Gods had also lost its reputation as well, a second time at that!
There was no doubt that their dignities were seriously hurt after such incidents.
“Sent someone to the scene now! Have someone to investigate!” Bruce shouted with rage.
He was about to go crazy.
The Lab of Gods quickly sent out a few supersonic drones to check out the scenes.
From the drones, everything including the monitoring stations, the islands, and the transportation teams, was destroyed. Not even a strand of hair was left.
It was exactly the same as the first attack.
It seemed that the person had planned everything perfectly. There was no trail left behind at all.
In order to leave no traces behind, the best way was to destroy everything. By damaging the scene, there was no doubt that all evidence would sink into the sea together.
As for the sunstones, they were long gone and out of detection range.
Bruce’s plan ended in total failure.
Besides losing the sunstones, the Lab of Gods had suffered a tremendous loss, and their strength was weakened.
The seven islands and the monitoring stations had used up many of their resources.
With them being destroyed in the blink of an eye, it was truly devastating for the Lab of Gods. Not to mention that they had lost their fighters too.
Most importantly, the Lab of Gods had become a laughing stock.
This was way too humiliating for them.
Meanwhile, Erudia was cheering wildly.
They were happy with the fact that the Lab of Gods had failed to ship the sunstones away.
Sherrie, who was in Goldenport Island, was cheering too.
She was relieved that someone took over Levi’s mission and stopped the Labs of Gods.
Who could be the mastermind behind this? Levi’s subordinates? But I don’t think they have the ability to pull this off.
At the same time, The Cardinal Hall was discussing the possible suspects.
“Is it possible that someone from Erudia orchestrate the attacks?”
Such a speculation was not baseless.
In the first attack, no one believed that someone from Erudia was involved as it would merely make themselves explicit.
However, after the second strike, things were different.
Except for the people of Erudia, no one else would be so eager to stop the Lab of Gods from obtaining the sunstones. So, it would seem logical that someone from Erudia was involved.
“I think it’s the work of Robed Slayer.”
Everyone first thought of Robed Slayer.
After all, he was the one who inherited Levi’s mission. He even created a ruckus in Raysonia. Hence, he ranked first on the list of suspects.
Bruce and the Lab of Gods shared the same suspicion.
“Is it him? The possibility of him orchestrating the two attacks is quite high. After all, he does have the ability to do so,” said Bruce.
Suddenly, someone came looking for him. It was Cyrus’ man.
“Master asked me to inform you that Robed Slayer is not involved in the attacks. We have been keeping an eye on him. He had not left Erudia, so he’s not the mastermind behind all these.”
Instantly, Bruce struck Robed Slayer off his suspect list as he trusted Cyrus’.
Bruce was then confused. “Who would it be? Does Cyrus have any idea?”

CHAPTER 2032

“Master has no idea as well. But he did say that the mastermind might not necessarily be from Erudia,” the man informed Bruce.

“What?” Such a remark had surprised Bruce.
“Master said that there’s a lot of terrifying organizations out there, for example, the Sacred Organization or the Kings.”

“The Sacred Organization?” Bruce was alarmed.
He had heard of the mysterious organization before.
The Dark Emperor and the Eighteen Dark Angels under the organization were powerful and capable.
As for the Kings, not many people heard of them. Those who knew about the organization referred to them as the Lab of Gods’ rival.
Same as the Lab of Gods, the Kings’ primary focus was on technology. In Adrune, they were an organization most advanced in technology.
However, the Lab of Gods never viewed the Kings as a threat. For them, the Kings’ technology level was the same as that of Cryptic Stream Corporation. They had no ability to become the Lab of Gods’ rival.
Hence, the lab never considered them as the suspect of the attacks.
Now with the man’s reminder, Bruce realized that there was a possibility that the Kings was involved.
“Okay, I understand! Now we have a direction to direct our investigation to.”
Bruce’s face darkened as he continued, “That person has attacked us twice with such formidable strength. It would only mean that he won’t let us go easily. There will be a third attack!”
Cyrus’ man then pointed Bruce in another new direction. “By the way, Master asked me to inform you that you could start your investigation with the sunstones. Though that person’s attack was swift, he can’t ship all the sunstones far in such a short period.”
After hearing his words, Bruce’s eyes lit up.
“That’s right! The quantity of the sunstones is large! Even if that person managed to ship them out, he can’t ship them far. He must have hidden them nearby!” Bruce shouted excitedly.
“Find them! I want everyone to search for the sunstones!”
Bruce and his men finally relaxed their furrowed brows.
Now that they had a clue and a direction, even though the third attack was inevitable, they had a chance to win.
Despite that, the casualty this time around was too high. Bruce’s heart ached when he thought about it as it was his responsibility.
Bruce swore to set a flawless trap and make sure that person had no chance to steal the sunstones, or else, his reputation in the Lab of Gods would be discredited.
He must turn the tables in the third attack. If he failed again, he might lose his position as well.
“Quick! Start searching for the sunstones! We need to prepare for the next attack too!”
Cyrus’ advice gave Bruce, who was previously lost, a sense of direction and a possible plan instead of standing there with a helpless mind.
At that moment, he was impressed with Cyrus as he could monitor Robed Slayer in the dark, while others couldn’t.
However, the possibility of Levi being alive didn’t cross his mind.
Levi was the mastermind behind the attacks.
As of now, Levi was with Azure Dragon and Phoenix.
“Not bad. I’m impressed. It seems that the training does pay off,” Levi praised them with a smile.
Levi was undoubtfully a powerful man, but he couldn’t destroy everything that was spread across a vast area in one go.
Hence, it was a group mission.
Levi had also planned to use this mission to test Azure Dragon and the others’ ability early on, and the result was satisfying.
They had perfectly completed all instructions given by Levi.
“We have transported the sunstones to the designated place!”
Levi nodded in reply. “Good!”
“Let’s get ready for the third attack! I’m planning for something unexpected.” Levi smiled.
“By the way, did White Tiger and Kirin come back with their investigation?” Levi asked.
All this while, only Azure Dragon, Phoenix, and Black Tortoise were with Levi. The others had been sent to investigate the Lab of Gods.
As of now, there was no doubt that the Lab of Gods had their head buried into investigating the preparator and setting up a better defense. Hence, there would be a loophole.
“For them, everything is progressing smoothly. Their hands are now on the list of Lab of Gods’ ambassadors around the world,” someone replied.
Levi smiled upon hearing that. “Good. Have them continue with the investigation.”

CHAPTER 2033

“Where are the Dragon Warriors? Have them to see me now!” Levi ordered.

Soon later, the entire Dragon Warrior team gathered in front of Levi.
Having received Levi’s instructions, they all left to carry out their mission. However, except for them and Levi, no one knew the specifics of their missions.

Phoenix and the others were curious. He then asked Levi, “Boss, what mission have you given them?”
“You all will find out about it soon. For now, it’s a secret.” Levi smiled in reply.
“Boss, won’t it be harder for us to snatch the sunstone? Bruce would use everything he has to protect those stones.”
“That’s right! No one, including Bruce, would be willing to lose for the third time.”
“What should we do this time, boss?”
Everyone was worried.
Levi merely smiled after seeing their worries. “Don’t worry. Just wait and see!”
Ryker and Jefferson, who were in Erudia, were shocked upon receiving the news of Lab of Gods’ defeat. It was rare that someone would manage to defeat Lab of Gods twice. Not to mention that the second attack had caused the lab to suffer a significant loss.
Not only had the Lab of Gods suffered a loss, but even Jefferson and the others’ efforts in mining the sunstones were also in vain after the second attack.
The mining of the sunstone had cost them an astronomical figure, but now everything was gone.
“We will definitely ship the sunstones out next time!”
Jefferson refused to believe that the sunstones would be snatched successfully for the third time.
Jefferson did not have a good night’s sleep for the past few days, and whenever he managed to fall asleep, he would dream of Levi being alive, and he was the one behind the attacks.
“Mr. Wilkins, I think I have an idea who is behind the attacks. Maybe we should tell Mr. Johnston about this,” Jefferson informed.
Ryker was surprised to hear that. “What? Who?”
“I think Levi might be alive, and he is the person who orchestrated the attacks. I’ve been dreaming about him for the past two days, and in my dream, he was the one who snatched the sunstones!”
Jefferson’s voice was firm, and the dreadful feeling inside of him grew as he thought of such a possibility.
Pfft!
Ryker and the Four Heir nearly broke out into laughter after hearing Jefferson’s remark.
Is he for real?
Ryker was infuriated by what Jefferson said at the same time. “Jefferson, are you mad? You fear Levi too much. I can’t believe that a dead man would give you such a trauma!”
“No, I…” Jefferson still wanted to explain himself, but Ryker cut him short.
“Stop talking nonsense! Everyone in the world knows that Levi Garrison is dead! His body was dissolved too! You knew about this. How could you think that he’s alive?”
“I-”
At that moment, Jefferson could not find any words to refute him.
“But I have a strong hunch that Levi was alive! He always appeared in my dreams. I think…”
“Enough! No more about your hunch! I’m pretty sure you will be crazy if you continue to believe that he’s alive. If you don’t want to stay here, I’ll have someone send you home.”
Ryker was beyond furious.
“It’s okay. I’m fine. But, I really think we should tell Mr. Johnston about this.”
Ryker glared at Jefferson and yelled, “Enough! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Are you trying to embarrass yourself in front of Mr. Johnston?”
With that, Jefferson didn’t inform Bruce about his hunch.
However, if he did tell Bruce about it, there was a high possibility Bruce would investigate it due to his suspicious nature.
For now, Bruce had totally forgotten about Levi.
After all, no one would connect those attacks to a dead man.
“That’s enough! I want you to monitor the mining process. Mr. Johnston wanted us to mine continuously for five days. First of all, continuous mining over a stretch of five days would give us a considerably large yield. So, stealing them would be hard. Secondly, Mr. Johnston needs five days to set up a perfect trap. We can’t let the same thing happen again!” Ryker informed the others. He had received an order to continue the mining.
Bruce, on the other hand, eagerly wanted to see how the perpetrator managed to foil his plan that he had so meticulously set up over five days and steal the sunstones.
Five days then passed in a blink of an eye.

skye · Friday at 2:06 PM

CHAPTER 2034

For the five days, workers digging up sunstones from the six mining sites were buzzing like bees.

They never stopped extracting the precious stones from the ground since they got hold of the areas.
The mining went on and on…

Nine days of intense labor had definitely put a heavy toll on everyone’s body.
Even the warriors in charge of protecting the area were on the verge of collapsing mentally.
They were still doing fine corporeally but losing two batches of unearthed sunstones devastated them.
Everyone was going through immense psychological pressure, yet, none of them took a break. Sleeping wasn’t an option at this point in time.
Like the rest, Ryker and Jefferson kept their eyes wide open to make sure everything was in order.
The men at the sunstone mining sites were bone-weary, and some fainted amid their work.
It was a sight of utter debilitation at all sites.
Jefferson yawned, “Darn it! What’s gotten into me? I’m can barely hang on to my consciousness!”
“Right? I wonder why I’m feeling so drained. Something’s fishy somewhere.”
The Four Heirs felt the same.
“Indeed. Why does everyone look so enervated?” Gabe somehow felt that something was amiss.
It was an indescribable uncanniness as if something sinister was brewing.
“Come on! Do you think we can still bounce around chirpily after all this vigorous labor? It’s beyond our limits.”
“Precisely. We’ve been working our a*s off for nine days straight! It’s a miracle that we’re even alive. I can’t stand it anymore!”
Members of the gang bleated about their exhaustion, and Gabe listened on.
They were right.
Nine days of high-intensity labor was indeed too much.
It was the perfect formula for breakdowns.
“We need to fix this. The amount of work is simply incapacitating! I guess it’s time to use the strength enhancer from the lab!”
Ryker noticed the dire situation that they were in, and the only antidote to it was the special strength enhancer that could boost stamina and mental resilience.
He yawned as he signaled for the sunstones to be loaded onto the truck.
The men loading the stones onto the trucks were literally dragging their feet to get the job done, and they took triple the time to complete a task that would usually take up an hour.
Prostration was apparent.
After all the sunstones were loaded, off went the truck.
Bruce had had everything planned out, including transportation, delivery route, and just in case, a backup team.
Thanks to his previous experience, his planning this time was impeccable.
It took Bruce five days to perfect every single aspect of the groundwork. Compared to the previous planning, the number of warriors this time was multiplied by ten, and so was the amount spent on machinery and resources.
On top of that, he assigned the warriors from the Lab of Gods to look over their nautical route.
There is no way that they could rob us of the sunstones now! Bruce was confident.
Moreover, Fiery Demon and The Dark Sun promised to assist the operation.
They’d either fight off the looters or look for clues for Bruce.
Bruce was all set, and all he had to do now was wait for the mysterious looters to strike.
Not long after, the transportation team got the stones to the port.
Once they had their cargo loaded onto the ships, they departed for Zarain.
Everyone present was on their toes, and their hearts raced in anxiety.
Will that mysterious faction strike again for the third time?
If they did, will they succeed?
After all, they all knew was that Bruce had everything covered.
“Okay. Let’s get things rolling! Attention all teams! Be on high alert and stay contactable. Report to me every three minutes!”
Bruce fired up his plan, and the transportation team set sail.
An hour passed, and there were no signs of danger.
Two hours passed, and they were still safe.
It had been seven hours since they’d left the port, but nothing was amiss.
However, Bruce kept his eyes peeled as they were being mugged around this time previously.
“High alert mates! They’re going to strike soon!”
Time ticked on. Eight hours… nine hours… twelve hours, but there was still no ripple of malice.
“Hmm, something’s not right. Why haven’t they started their looting?”
Bruce grew suspicious as it was way past the expected time.

CHAPTER 2035

Why aren’t they here yet?

There wasn’t the slightest ruffle detected throughout the ship, which was unusual.
Their previous looting sprees started around seven to eight hours into the journey, as it was the golden hour for their scheme.

Now it was past that period, and from how fast the ship was cruising, it’d be only a few hours before they’d arrive at the agreed location that was within Zarain’s territory.
In other words, the sunstones would be safe.
“Mr. Johnston, do you think that our opponents are scared? I mean, look at the size of our troops. Anyone would quiver in fear!”
“He’s right! I bet they’ve calculated the risks and concluded that it’s not worth it this time. Maybe that’s why they gave up?”
“That’s very probable. If they were in to rob us, they would’ve struck hours ago!”
Bruce’s men started giving their two cents, and he did share the same sentiments.
“Regardless, we still aren’t out of the woods yet as long as we haven’t set foot in Zarain. Do not let your guards down!” again, he reminded them.
A few seconds later, Fiery Demon reported his situation—there was nothing out of the ordinary.
Meanwhile, Levi was with Phoenix and her men somewhere outside Erudia.
He was chilling and sipping his tea, a behavior that stirred disbelief among his subordinates.
“Boss, are you sure that we stay put? In a few hours, the sunstones will be in Zarain. Are we not going to act now?”
“Precisely, boss. Let’s strike before it’s too late! We’re only left with a four-hour window!”
“We can’t just give up, boss!”
Levi’s men thought that he would come up with some unrivaled plan and didn’t expect him to put his feet up at this very moment.
The sunstones were almost reaching Zarain, and Levi was still bathing in a languor.
What is he waiting for?
His men were like cats on a hot tin roof, and some even started sweating out of distress.
Levi looked up at them and blurted, “Don’t you dare move a finger without my order!”
“But boss—”
“Silence! Obey to boss’s command!” Azure Dragon and Black Tortoise bellowed.
Phoenix added, “Bruce had already set up an impenetrable fortification. Who among you would be able to slip past his defense?”
Silence ensued.
On the other hand, Bruce and his troops were on the qui vive, and no one dared to blink.
Still, no sight of the mysterious looters.
Even Bruce, at one point, felt powerless.
As time trickled away slowly, the sun rose.
Not a single soul of the intruders was seen.
Another six hours passed, and the stones were still sitting securely in the cargo.
The transportation team successfully entered Zarain’s territorial waters and met Bruce and his team of warriors.
Bruce was still trying to shake himself out of disbelief when he saw the unharmed transportation team.
Is this real or am I dreaming?
The sunstones got here without a scratch?
He wasn’t the only person doubting the smooth delivery. Dubiousness loomed over his men too.
This is strange!
It’s like a f*cking reverie!
Those b*stards didn’t spring into action?
No one could wrap their head around what had just happened or lack thereof.
They were expecting a massive war.
Erudia was counting on the mysterious faction to stop the Lab of Gods once again, but to its disappointment, they didn’t turn up.
The Lab of Gods managed to ship the sunstones away.
“It seemed like the Lab of Gods does have what it takes to suppress the mysterious faction!”
“Cowards! They chickened out last minute! The Lab of Gods is indeed powerful! Those cowards gave up the moment they saw what it’s really made of!”
Somehow, Bruce was crestfallen.
He was hoping that they’d attacked so that things would be more interesting.
“Never mind. Take all the sunstones to the training base!” he shouted a command unenthusiastically.
After all the planning and those crooks got cold feet?

CHAPTER 2036

They made this too easy for me! How could they back out last minute? They should’ve kept their plans rolling!

Bruce wanted to capture the mysterious faction, once and for all!
He was actually looking forward to clashing head-on with them.

What a shame. They didn’t dare to show themselves in the end. Bruce shook his head in disgruntlement.
“Come on. Let’s have a look at the sunstones.” He went to check the stones that had arrived safe and sound.
“Yes, Mr. Johnston!”
The rest followed.
The load from five days of mining was enormous.
Every corner of the training base was filled with trunks of sunstones.
“Open it up! Don’t forget to put on your protective equipment!” Bruce reminded his men.
All the men present had their protective gear on whereas Bruce wore a uniquely-made armor to protect themselves from possible harm by the sunstones’ energy.
One of the trunks was unlatched and everyone took a few steps back out of caution.
“Hmm?”
Confusion filled the room as none of the men felt blood-curdling energy waves emanating from the container.
The smallest shard of sunstone would release vigorous radiation, and now with a truckload of it, they expected to see people flying and tumbling.
Yet, they didn’t feel a tinge of energy wave.
Something was off.
“What’s going on?”
Bruce went up to the trunk to have a closer look at it.
When he saw what was inside it, rage permeated him wholly, and his face could be seen turning red.
“W-What is this!”
He was on the verge of losing his sanity because what he saw weren’t sunstones at all.
The stones in the trunk were just regular stones!
“Grrrr…”
Bruce’s blood pressure rose in lightning speed, and he almost blacked out from wrath.
Those who saw what went on, too, nearly jumped out of their skins.
“No way…”
The crowd sensed that something ruinous was happening, something apocalyptic.
“Open the other trunks! All the trunks! Check every single one of it!” Bruce howled like a mad dog.
All his men got straight into it, and one by one, the trunks were unlatched.
Rumble!
Rumble!
Stones that tumbled out of their carriage were all regular stones.
All of them!
There was no sight of sunstones in the room!
“It’s not in here!”
“This one? No!”
“Not here either!”
All they could find were non-radiative, energy-vacant regular stones.
Where are the sunstones?
Where did they go?
With every sound of latches released and the dribbling of the stones, hearts sank deeper and deeper.
There was no sunstone.
None!
Where are the sunstones!
“This can’t be happening. Maybe they’re all sunstones!” someone commented.
Crush!
One of the men picked up a stone and easily crushed it in his fist. There was no trace of energy.
Crush! He picked up another one, and the result was identical.
Nope. They weren’t.
“Perhaps we had the trunks mixed up? Or maybe all the energy in the sunstones dissipated during transportation?”
People tried making sense out of the situation they were facing.
“Enough! Stop guessing! It’s them!” Bruce bawled as he shook in rage.
He could go ballistic anytime.
“D*mn it! They stole the sunstones! How could they! They stole the sunstones!”
Bruce wailed and wailed so violently that it looked like he’d lost his mind.
Everyone was stupefied by what they saw.
The mysterious faction didn’t chicken out.
They struck before anyone knew it and had already stealthily pilfered those precious stones before they were even loaded onto the ships.
They succeeded at deceiving the Lab of Gods and the whole world!
Just when the whole world thought that they’d backed out, they had long had the sunstones in their possession.
Everyone was waiting for them to strike, and the Lab of Gods was all set to capture those troublemakers.
Who knew that the sunstones were swapped?
How did that happen?

CHAPTER 2037

It was impossible to make a swap in the middle of the trip.

Not only was Bruce meticulous, but he was keeping a close eye on them.
There was no way any loopholes would present itself.

Moreover, the amount after five days of mining was a large one; swapping was simply impossible.
Therefore, the only time possible was when the things were getting loaded at the port…
That was not right either.
Bruce had already assigned a capable transportation team to watch over the items, so nothing could have gone wrong.
How could so many sunstones be swapped in the blink of an eye?
There was only one way left—it was swapped at the mining site.
That meant that the sunstones were not the ones packaged at all; they had always been ordinary stones all along.
As the devices used by the transportation team ensured the isolation of energy fluctuations, no one would know whether they were transporting sunstones or ordinary stones.
Levi had assigned the Dragon Warriors to carry out the task.
Levi had learned everything he could about the six major mining sites.
It was to the point he even knew each and every employee’s sleeping habits.
The Dragon Warriors had long snuck into the area.
After nine days of intense working, the miners were all exhausted.
That was why the Dragon Warriors had successfully snuck in.
That was not all; the Dragon Warriors even tampered with things when they were in there.
Levi almost learned everything from Venom Fiend.
Therefore, it was no trouble for him to come up with a kind of drug that could induce hallucinations and alter others’ state of consciousness.
When the Dragon Warriors were at the six major mining sites, they had used that drug in the form of gas.
Almost immediately, everyone had become more tired, and they began hallucinating.
The drug that Levi created left no traces behind.
Gabe Sears had been right all along; things were unusual.
Everyone was tired, but they thought it was because of the intense work from the past nine days.
Thus, they had taken three hours when loading the sunstones into the transport devices when it should only have been an hour’s job.
Still, they thought it was normal.
Even Ryker and Jefferson thought the same.
Bruce heard nothing about it, so he did not suspect anything at all.
During those three hours, the Dragon Warriors quietly swapped out all of the sunstones.
Then, they destroyed all evidence of them ever being there.
That was why no one knew about it.
That was why Levi did not make any move.
They had never transported the sunstone out from the start.
At that moment, the Dragon Warriors returned. “Boss, we’ve completed the task! We’ve kept the sunstones at a safe place.”
Levi nodded calmly before sipping on his drink.
On the other hand, Phoenix and the rest were dumbfounded.
What’s going on?
The task is completed?
When Levi noticed the confusion on their faces, he chuckled and said, “That’s right. The task is completed. We now have the sunstones at our hands.”
“What? H-How can this be? We haven’t done anything yet!”
The people were losing their minds.
“Let him explain things to you,” Levi replied with a smile.
Soon, Phoenix and the others found out what was going on.
It was then they realized why Levi had been so calm.
He had resolved the issue from the start.
Soon, news of how the third batch of sunstones mined by the Lab of Gods had been stolen again spread across the globe.
People around the world were shocked.
After all, it was the third time.
Furthermore, everything had happened without raising any alarms at all.
Not even Bruce had realized it.
Thus, the incident was dubbed as the greatest humiliation of the Lab of Gods.
On the other hand, the forces in Erudia were overjoyed.
Not a single sunstone had been taken away by the Lab of Gods.
“It looks like this mysterious force is trying to stop the Lab of Gods! We can finally stop worrying about it. In fact, we might even be able to lend a helping hand or two.”
The people of The Cardinal Hall began expressing their delight.
They were glad that someone was doing something about it.
Moreover, it was not like the Lab of Gods could blame Erudia for their misfortunate incident.
The news continued spreading across the world.
The Lab of Gods was humiliated, and Bruce took the brunt of the humiliation.
At that moment, Bruce wondered if it was better for him to jump off a cliff.
“Mr. Johnston, Cyrus is looking for you.”
“Quick, answer the call!”

CHAPTER 2038

A hoarse voice came from the other end. “It’s very likely that this batch of sunstone is still in Erudia. It hasn’t been transported out at all. My men are watching The Cardinal Hall and Erudia, but there isn’t anything going on there. That means that the sunstones are still in Erudia. They’ve never been transported at all. You can also do an investigation of your own in Erudia to look for their whereabouts.”

“Huh?”
The moment Bruce heard it, he froze. However, he was quick to come back to his senses.

The entire time, he had been contemplating when the sunstones had been swapped out.
Yet, he never thought that they would have been swapped out when they were in Erudia.
Subconsciously, he had thought of that place as the safest place; he had thought that nothing would go wrong at Erudia.
Moreover, Cyrus suggested that the Sacred Organization could be behind it.
Hence, Bruce began focusing his search on the various forces excluding Erudia’s.
He never once suspected Erudia.
Cyrus’ latest news made him come to his senses right away.
Erudia was definitely the place where the sunstones had been swapped, which meant that the sunstones were surely still in Erudia.
It was impossible for the sunstones to be far from Erudia.
After all, The Cardinal Hall in Erudia was keeping an eye on it.
Once they found out about the sunstones, they would surely make a move to get them.
Nevertheless, Cyrus, who had his men watching The Cardinal hall, had not noticed them making any moves.
In other words, the sunstones were definitely in Erudia.
“All right, I got it. This is the first time we’ve ever officially talked. I hope to be able to meet you more in the future.”
After Bruce ended the call, he instantly assigned Ryker and the others to work on it.
He told them to use everything they could to look for the sunstones in Erudia.
At the same time, he sent some technicians to enter Erudia with their equipment.
What he dared not do was send fighters in, for those men would certainly be noticed and watched by The Cardinal Hall.
In fact, The Cardinal Hall might even drive them out of the place, for they had no reason to be at Erudia.
Despite the frustration he felt about the incident, Bruce was glad that he had Cyrus as a partner.
Cyrus always appeared whenever he needed help, and he helped fill in the gaps that he could not; Cyrus was the perfect support.
“Boss, we’ve just received news that Bruce has sent his men to look for the sunstones in Erudia. I heard from the Dragon Warriors that the third batch of the sunstones are still hidden within Erudia; they haven’t had a chance to transport them out of the country,” Phoenix worriedly said to Levi.
To his surprise, Levi grinned and said, “Leave them be. Let them look for the sunstones.”
“Huh?” Phoenix wondered out loud. “Boss, what if they really find it?”
“So what if they do? Do you really think that they’ll be able to take them out of Erudia? Would I let them do that?” Levi questioned.
“Oh. I see.”
Phoenix finally understood what he meant.
It did not matter where the sunstones were hidden at as long as they were still in Erudia.
Like the unmined sunstones in the six major mining sites, no one could transport the sunstones out of Erudia even if they had found them.
The sunstones would forever belong to Erudia.
That was a fact.
Even if someone found the sunstones, it did not mean that they would be able to take them back to their land and claim them as theirs.
It was simply impossible.
Therefore, the Lab of Gods was only wasting their time and effort.
Instead of looking for the sunstones, it would have been better for them to mine for more instead.
Plus, their effort in searching for the sunstones might be in vain.
After receiving the orders from Bruce, Ryker and the rest began their maniacal search for the stolen sunstones.
They spent tons of both money and time searching for it.
Yet, Levi ignored them.
Instead, he was making plans for his next move.
In the meantime, Bruce dared not mine for more sunstones.
He continued searching for the missing third batch of sunstones while looking out for the mysterious organization.
His efforts were for naught.
He was only wasting his time.
Nevertheless, Bruce did not know that, and he was about to have a mental breakdown.
Luckily, Cyrus had given him some clues to the sunstones’ whereabouts.
It had been such a depressing moment that Bruce even lost the mood to work on his research.
It had been a long while since Bruce had even taken a glance at his experiments.
“Mr. Johnston, good news! Great news! We’ve found the third batch of sunstones!”

skye · Friday at 2:08 PM

CHAPTER 2039

Right then, more news traveled into his ears.

The missing third batch of the sunstones had been found in Erudia.
The moment they heard about it, Bruce and the others leaped in joy.

“Where did you find it?” Bruce asked, his eyes bright with delight.
After a moment of hesitation, the man who came bearing good news said, “As it turns out, the sunstones were not transported out at all. They’re still at the mining sites!”
Boom!
The reply was like a bolt from the blue for Bruce.
He had been searching everywhere like a madman, but it turned out that the sunstones never left the mining sites from the start.
Bruce finally understood what it meant by the most dangerous place was the safest.
The mysterious force had only wanted to stop the sunstones from leaving Erudia; they never robbed them at all.
They had swapped out the sunstones with ordinary stones at the mining sites, so what they had transported had been normal stones.
They had been fooled.
Realizing that, Bruce’s eyes turned red as his expression turned as dark as night.
After all those efforts in searching for the sunstones, they turned out to be at the mining site all along. They were never lost; they had always been in the hands of his own men.
They had truly played the entire Lab of Gods like a fiddle.
How humiliating.
It was the greatest humiliation he had ever suffered.
Bruce would rather hit his head against a wall and end his life than convey the message he just heard to the Lab of Gods.
It was the third time, but still, they were fooled.
It would have been better if they had stolen the sunstones away from him, but that was not what happened.
They had merely been tricked.
Smack!
Crack!
In his fury, Bruce threw everything he could lay his hands on.
A subordinate beside him tried to calm him down. “Mr. Johnston, please don’t be mad. Although we’ve been tricked, we’ve still found the sunstones. They’re still with us. Our efforts haven’t gone to waste.”
The others quickly chimed in. “Yes, he’s right. What’s most important is that we still have the sunstones!”
All of a sudden, Bruce snapped his head in their direction and glared at them. “Are you all idiots?”
“Huh?”
They were taken aback by his words.
“The sunstones are with us? How are they with us? Aren’t they still in Erudia? Do you think you can transport them here?”
His bombardment of questions made the others blink in shock.
“If we could, I would have been able to get the sunstones that are at least a hundred years old. Don’t you know that the six major mining sites are in Erudia? Do you think that we can take a single sunstone back? It’s an impossible feat!” Bruce roared.
It was only then they understood what he meant.
Technically, the sunstones were theirs, but whether or not they would physically own the stones was another matter.
With the mysterious force around, they could never take any sunstone out of Erudia.
Although they had found where the missing third batch of the sunstones were, no one could put on a smile on their faces.
Everything was back at square one.
They still could not bring the sunstones back to the Lab of Gods.
Furthermore, even though they had found the sunstones, they could not find any clue about the mysterious force.
Not even Cyrus had found a hint about them.
Now, Bruce only had two options—to transport the third batch he had found or to continue mining for more.
It was a tough question.
Bruce was afraid, and he did not have much courage to transport the sunstones again.
He was scared that the fourth batch would go missing as well.
Indeed, Bruce was terrified.
After all, he knew nothing about the mysterious organization behind the missing sunstones.
Fear was a normal reaction when faced with the unknown.
Thus, Bruce gathered his men to discuss what they should do for their next move.
“Mr. Johnston, why don’t we keep trying? Let’s try to transport the sunstones back again. We’ll do it the same way as we did before, but we’ll increase our security even in Erudia. I refuse to believe that we still can’t take it back this time,” someone suggested.
“That’s right. What happened the last time was because they managed to find a loophole in our transportation process. Now that we’ve found out what we’ve made a mistake on, I’d like to see what other tricks they can pull out of their hat!”
“Hear, hear. As long as we keep tight security all the way, there isn’t anything they can do about us taking the sunstones out of Erudia.”
Everyone made the same suggestion, which was to take the sunstones out of Erudia first.
At that, Bruce sighed and agreed, “All right. We’ll give it a go.”
Just then, someone yelled, “Bad news! Something happened again!”

CHAPTER 2040

Bruce and the others stiffened.

“Something else happened?”
We just decided on transporting the sunstones out of Erudia!

We haven’t even done anything yet!
Why are there more troubles now?
Everyone at the meeting turned to look at the one who had yelled a second ago.
“This is horrible news. We’ve just received word that the sunstone mining sites at Adrune, Salinsburgh, and the thirteen islands at Beshya Sea have been looted. All of the sites have been destroyed!”
Boom!
It was shocking news to hear, and when Bruce and the others did, their eyes grew impossibly wide.
He and the Lab of Gods were all too focused on Erudia’s mining sites and the mysterious force, so they had been neglecting everything else.
Bruce had even put Jared’s experiment aside to focus on the missing sunstones.
To their shock, someone had made a move on the other sunstone mining sites while they were preoccupied with the search for the missing sunstones.
In the past few years, the Lab of Gods had been building labs at various spots across the globe.
One of the labs had the goal of researching the use of sunstone’s energy.
Soon, that lab found out that there were many other places in the world that had sunstones.
Thus, they began mining in those places, albeit in secret.
in fact, it was a top-class secret in the Lab of Gods.
No outsiders would have caught wind of it.
What is going on?
Bruce’s heart thumped so loudly that it nearly escaped his body.
Salinsburgh and the other areas were important mining sites for the Lab of Gods.
That was where they got the majority of their sunstones.
Yet, those areas had been so easily destroyed.
How did they find those places?
Thud!
Bruce passed out.
Even the others felt the world around them spinning.
Isn’t this mysterious force too powerful?
Not only did they intervene in the mining of sunstones in Erudia, but they’re also intervening in the mining of sunstones outside of Erudia.
In the beginning, everyone was speculating whether one of the organizations in Erudia was the one to stop the sunstones from leaving Erudia.
Now, it seemed like their aim was not to keep the sunstones in Erudia but to go up against the Lab of Gods.
Before the Lab of Gods could do anything about the destroyed sites, more news traveled into their ears.
“One of the sunstone mining sites at Baykeep has been destroyed!
“The sunstone mining site at Nuthana has been destroyed!”
“The sunstone mining site near an inactive volcano at Raysonia has been destroyed!”
In total, the Lab of Gods had over three hundred sunstone mining sites.
Yet, over thirty of those sites had been destroyed.
They were not concentrated in an area; the affected sites were spread across various continents.
That meant the mysterious force was all over the world.
Their attacks on the sites had been simultaneous.
It had been mind-blowing.
The entire world was astounded, and countless began speculating about how powerful the mysterious force was.
Previously, they thought that while the mysterious force was mighty, they were only capable of pulling small tricks on the Lab of Gods.
No one had expected them to carry out a full-blown attack on the Lab of Gods so abruptly.
To be able to carry out the attacks simultaneously in over thirty sites across the globe meant that the one behind the attacks was an overpowering force.
In other words, they were a threat to the Lab of Gods.
Some were gleeful to hear that, but some were not.
The ones in Erudia were certainly elated, for they now knew someone was capable of stopping Erudia’s sunstones from getting mined and limiting the Lab of Gods’ actions in Erudia.
To Erudia, it was great news.
That was a sentiment shared by the ones who were enemies of the Lab of Gods and the ones who were not associated with Zarain.
On the other hand, the ones who were associated with Zarain and the Lab of Gods were going mad.
It was none other than a disaster to them.
Naturally, Levi was the one behind everything.
He had sent out his old subordinates to carry out the tasks.
in fact, Kirin and the others were on an even more important task.
“I can’t kill you in one go, but I can certainly toy with you until you die,” Levi said with a sneer.
Right then, Phoenix entered with a document in her hands. “Boss, here are the things you wanted to look into.”

CHAPTER 2041

“They are?”

Levi’s eyes lit up before he promptly took the document from her and started reading it.
The Lab of Gods had labs in almost every region in the world.

All of them were focused on researches regarding energy.
Those labs were the heart of the Lab of Gods.
What Levi wanted to do was to destroy all of those secret labs.
Of course, they had labs in Erudia as well. Otherwise, where could they have possibly found the sites where sunstones were at?
Therefore, one of the tasks that Levi had assigned his men to was to find out the location of the Lab of Gods in Erudia.
Those labs were of utmost importance to the Lab of Gods
Thus, they were built in remote and secretive areas. It would be difficult to find out where they were at.
Although Cryptic Stream Corporation had not kept a low profile when entering Erudia, no one had heard anything about the secret lab in Erudia.
Therefore, searching for the lab was a difficult task for Phoenix and the others.
It was only now then did they find it.
The lab was still running; it was still searching for more energy sources around the area of Carigrey Mountain.
Phoenix and the others had found its location.
“They have more than one base in Erudia! They have six!” Levi could not help but exclaim after he saw the list.
Phoenix replied, “It’s minimal for the Lab of Gods’ standards. If they had their way, they would have established dozens of labs. They would have found more sunstone mining sites too.”
Levi nodded in agreement. “I have to say that the Lab of Gods is a terrifying force. It’s all over the world. Who else but them could have made it this big? I wonder how stunning the core of the Lab of Gods would be. We never really knew how advanced their technology and skills were.”
Hearing that, similar grave looks crept upon everyone’s faces.
Although the Lab of Gods had suffered a devastating attack, they had not actually seen the heart of the Lab of Gods, let alone lay a finger on it.
“Boss, what do we do with these secret labs?” Phoenix asked.
“We have to gain control over them. Sunstone mining is the future. The entire world will be set on mining for the sunstones. We have limited technology and skills, so we won’t be able to search for them, not to mention mine them. Therefore, we have to gain control over them and make them work for us instead. We have to use look into the functions of sunstones and find out ways to mine them!”
“Understood! I’ll see to it right away!”
In just a day, Levi had managed to send his men to take over the secret labs.
While Levi and the others were delighted by their progress, Bruce and the Lab of Gods were all overwhelmed by frustration and anxiety.
They were trying to fix everything that Levi and the others destroyed.
Bruce only managed to heave a sigh of relief when morning came.
Just as he was about to rest, more news came.
“Mr. Johnston, bad news again!”
“What is it?”
At that point, Bruce was already numb to everything.
The bad news came like continuous tidal waves.
“We’ve lost contact with our six secret labs in Erudia! All the pieces of equipment are turned off too! I’m afraid that the mysterious force has already destroyed them!”
At that, the colors drained from Bruce’s face.
“They found it? They never even appeared when we started mining in Erudia! Erudia is where most of the sunstones are. How did they find us?”
Bruce was stunned.
“Fortunately, our most important base is still around.”
As it turned out, they had more than six labs; they had seven.
Bruce shot him a glare. “Tell them to keep a low profile and go under the radar for now. Make sure they aren’t found out by that organization!”
“Ryker has asked if we should continue mining or if we should start transporting.”
Bruce shook his head. “I don’t know. I can’t think of anything right now. Who is it? Who’s the one going up against us?”
Bruce was on the verge of insanity.
Anger was coursing through his veins.
Their enemy was slowly taking them down bit by bit, but they had not even found out who they were.
“Mr. Johnston, I have an idea. Would you like to hear about it?”

CHAPTER 2042

“You?” Bruce whispered in shock as he looked at the servant.

That man was Peter, and he was from Keerea.
He was a technological expert, but he had given up his luxurious life and began working as a servant instead.

All he did was odd jobs, such as making coffee for Bruce.
What he wanted to do was to get into the Lab of Gods.
“That’s right. I have an idea!”
However, Bruce did not expect much from him as he nodded dismissively. “Yes, sure. Go ahead.”
Nevertheless, it did not hurt to hear what he had to say anyway.
“We’re looking for a needle in a haystack with what we’re doing now. The other party is targeting us, so there’s no way they’re going to leave behind any clues for us to find. However, this is a large-scale operation they’re carrying out. They’re no specters nor demons; how could they really not leave any traces behind?”
At that, Bruce’s eyes lit up as if he had thought of something.
“You’re right. As long as they make a move, they’re bound to leave traces of their footprints behind. The only reason we can’t find it is because we’re approaching it at the wrong angle. Go on, continue!”
Peter smiled and said, “Since we’re approaching it at the wrong angle, we should approach it with a different angle.”
Bruce raised his brows and leaned forward, interested to hear more.
“My plan is simple—we’ll put out a bounty. We’ll get more people to help us look for this mysterious force. As long as we have a lucrative reward, we’ll be able to attract more people to take up the bounty. When that happens, the mysterious force would have considerable trouble making any moves. We would not be their only opponents. Allow me to exaggerate. The entire world would be their opponent. Everyone would know about every move they make,” Peter explained.
Instantly, Bruce smacked his thigh.
“That’s right. We’re powerful, but we’re not all! We still need the help of others. If the others would lend us our strength, then we’ll be able to track down this mysterious force because they’d have nowhere to hide.”
Bruce yelled, “Men, put up a bounty under the name of the Lab of Gods and Cryptic Stream Corporation!”
The reward of the bounty was a promising one.
Even a minor clue would earn the individual an extravagant prize, including advanced equipment.
The Lab of Gods and Cryptic Stream Corporation could almost give anything that was requested.
The moment the bounty was put up, the rest of the world shrieked in excitement.
They all wanted to help the Lab of Gods find out the mysterious force.
Moreover, even the various forces on the mysterious dark web had taken up the bounty.
Those underworld forces across the globe were beings that even the Lab of Gods had to be wary of.
It was because some had been around for hundreds and thousands of years.
Many of them, even now, was keeping a low profile.
However, the reward was too tempting for them not to take up the bounty.
Once the bounty was posted, almost the entire world was searching for Levi and the others.
The bounty worked better than Bruce thought it would have.
There were more people joining them than expected.
Bruce was delighted to see the continuously incoming clues.
In the past, they did not have any clues, so whether or not the clues were useful did not really matter to Bruce; it was better than none.
Most importantly, those clues he received were actually useful after filtering through them.
Those clues included figures of people’s back profiles and traces of their activities at certain places.
The more clues they had, the closer they were to the truth.
Thrilled, Bruce yelled at Peter, “I’m going to promote you to one of my assistants. If we really find the mysterious force this time, I’ll definitely credit you for this!”
“Thank you, Mr. Johnston!”
Peter beamed.
“Mr. Johnston, I have another idea…” he trailed off hesitantly.
“Hm? You have another idea?”
Bruce was surprised.
“I think we can transport the sunstones back now. First of all, the entire world is looking for them right now. They would expose themselves if they acted. Secondly, we can request Erudia to escort us.”

CHAPTER 2043

Staring at Bruce, Peter continued, “Let me tell you the reasons. Even now, I think that this mysterious force has something to do with Erudia. After all, this only happened when we mined the sunstones in Erudia. That’s why I think we should get The Cardinal Hall or the Dragonites to escort us. If we do that, we’ll be able to find out if they’re associated with Erudia.

It’ll be the best-case scenario if the mysterious force appears. We’ll figure out who they are right away. If they don’t, we’ll still be able to transport the sunstones back. Regardless of everything, we won’t lose out on this. Moreover, from then on, we’ll be able to mine for sunstones in Erudia. We won’t have anyone stopping us anymore.”
Peter was confident with his plan.

After hearing Peter’s words, Bruce found himself more and more interested in the young man.
He’s got quite a lot of good ideas.
He has solved half of our problems so swiftly!
Bruce nodded. “I was thinking of transporting the sunstones back to pressure the mysterious force into making a move too. However, I never thought of getting Erudian forces to escort them. This is truly a magnificent move! We would really be able to figure out if Erudia was involved or not.”
He then instructed his subordinates, “Men, make preparations right away! We’ll be transporting sunstones back the next day! Set up everything and inform Ryker about this! Contact the Erudian forces and let them send their men to escort us!”
Bruce was quick in giving out instructions.
Soon, everyone in the Lab of Gods was at their station.
The ones who had taken up the bounty were all at their stations too.
As long as they put in a little effort in helping the Lab of Gods, they would be able to get a fantastic reward.
Almost the entire world was watching, wondering if Levi and the others would appear.
The Cardinal Hall and the Dragonites had no choice but to say yes to the Lab of Gods’ request.
After all, everyone had eyes on them.
“We have no choice. We’ll have to send our men to escort them because we can’t reject them. Also, we can’t let the sunstones go missing in Erudia, not even at the mining sites.”
Both The Cardinal Hall and the Dragonites were forced to send their men out to escort the sunstones’ transportation.
After all, they could not let Erudia’s reputation suffer.
The transportation was the most smooth-sailing experience that the Lab of Gods had ever had.
Now, all that was left was for them to wait for Levi and the others to appear.
Ryker and the rest were extra cautious this time.
They had to ensure that nothing went wrong in each and every part of the transportation.
After making sure that they were indeed transporting sunstones, they then loaded them into the transportation devices.
They even asked the Erudian escort team to check them again.
Once they were sure that everything was fine, they began the transportation while the rest of the world watched on keenly.
“Boss, they’re obviously targeting us this time! We won’t be able to do anything in the shadows anymore!”
“Right? They’re keeping such a close eye on us that we can’t even do anything!”
Phoenix and the others panicked, and they quickly turned to Levi.
The Lab of Gods was leaving them no opportunity to intercept the sunstones at all.
Moreover, almost the entire world was helping them. If Levi and the others did anything, the world would immediately find out that they were the ones behind the previous stolen sunstones.
Furthermore, they had intentionally made the Erudian forces escort them.
How vicious!
“Boss, what do we do? Everyone is asking for your advice!”
They were all looking at Levi with anxious faces, but Levi did not have any expressions on his.
How could he not know how meticulous Bruce was this time?
He had anticipated that interception would become much harder after the third batch of missing sunstones.
“Boss, do you have any plans?”
The others had none, and their blank minds only made them all the more panicky.
Clearly, they could see how Levi was stumped too.
Usually, he would have a plan ready, but this time, he did not.
They realized it because every single team was seeking his opinion, so it was apparent that he had not made any preparations to counter this move from the Lab of Gods.
Frustrated, Levi yelled, “What can we do?”

CHAPTER 2034

For the five days, workers digging up sunstones from the six mining sites were buzzing like bees.

They never stopped extracting the precious stones from the ground since they got hold of the areas.
The mining went on and on…

Nine days of intense labor had definitely put a heavy toll on everyone’s body.
Even the warriors in charge of protecting the area were on the verge of collapsing mentally.
They were still doing fine corporeally but losing two batches of unearthed sunstones devastated them.
Everyone was going through immense psychological pressure, yet, none of them took a break. Sleeping wasn’t an option at this point in time.
Like the rest, Ryker and Jefferson kept their eyes wide open to make sure everything was in order.
The men at the sunstone mining sites were bone-weary, and some fainted amid their work.
It was a sight of utter debilitation at all sites.
Jefferson yawned, “Darn it! What’s gotten into me? I’m can barely hang on to my consciousness!”
“Right? I wonder why I’m feeling so drained. Something’s fishy somewhere.”
The Four Heirs felt the same.
“Indeed. Why does everyone look so enervated?” Gabe somehow felt that something was amiss.
It was an indescribable uncanniness as if something sinister was brewing.
“Come on! Do you think we can still bounce around chirpily after all this vigorous labor? It’s beyond our limits.”
“Precisely. We’ve been working our a*s off for nine days straight! It’s a miracle that we’re even alive. I can’t stand it anymore!”
Members of the gang bleated about their exhaustion, and Gabe listened on.
They were right.
Nine days of high-intensity labor was indeed too much.
It was the perfect formula for breakdowns.
“We need to fix this. The amount of work is simply incapacitating! I guess it’s time to use the strength enhancer from the lab!”
Ryker noticed the dire situation that they were in, and the only antidote to it was the special strength enhancer that could boost stamina and mental resilience.
He yawned as he signaled for the sunstones to be loaded onto the truck.
The men loading the stones onto the trucks were literally dragging their feet to get the job done, and they took triple the time to complete a task that would usually take up an hour.
Prostration was apparent.
After all the sunstones were loaded, off went the truck.
Bruce had had everything planned out, including transportation, delivery route, and just in case, a backup team.
Thanks to his previous experience, his planning this time was impeccable.
It took Bruce five days to perfect every single aspect of the groundwork. Compared to the previous planning, the number of warriors this time was multiplied by ten, and so was the amount spent on machinery and resources.
On top of that, he assigned the warriors from the Lab of Gods to look over their nautical route.
There is no way that they could rob us of the sunstones now! Bruce was confident.
Moreover, Fiery Demon and The Dark Sun promised to assist the operation.
They’d either fight off the looters or look for clues for Bruce.
Bruce was all set, and all he had to do now was wait for the mysterious looters to strike.
Not long after, the transportation team got the stones to the port.
Once they had their cargo loaded onto the ships, they departed for Zarain.
Everyone present was on their toes, and their hearts raced in anxiety.
Will that mysterious faction strike again for the third time?
If they did, will they succeed?
After all, they all knew was that Bruce had everything covered.
“Okay. Let’s get things rolling! Attention all teams! Be on high alert and stay contactable. Report to me every three minutes!”
Bruce fired up his plan, and the transportation team set sail.
An hour passed, and there were no signs of danger.
Two hours passed, and they were still safe.
It had been seven hours since they’d left the port, but nothing was amiss.
However, Bruce kept his eyes peeled as they were being mugged around this time previously.
“High alert mates! They’re going to strike soon!”
Time ticked on. Eight hours… nine hours… twelve hours, but there was still no ripple of malice.
“Hmm, something’s not right. Why haven’t they started their looting?”
Bruce grew suspicious as it was way past the expected time.

CHAPTER 2035

Why aren’t they here yet?

There wasn’t the slightest ruffle detected throughout the ship, which was unusual.
Their previous looting sprees started around seven to eight hours into the journey, as it was the golden hour for their scheme.

Now it was past that period, and from how fast the ship was cruising, it’d be only a few hours before they’d arrive at the agreed location that was within Zarain’s territory.
In other words, the sunstones would be safe.
“Mr. Johnston, do you think that our opponents are scared? I mean, look at the size of our troops. Anyone would quiver in fear!”
“He’s right! I bet they’ve calculated the risks and concluded that it’s not worth it this time. Maybe that’s why they gave up?”
“That’s very probable. If they were in to rob us, they would’ve struck hours ago!”
Bruce’s men started giving their two cents, and he did share the same sentiments.
“Regardless, we still aren’t out of the woods yet as long as we haven’t set foot in Zarain. Do not let your guards down!” again, he reminded them.
A few seconds later, Fiery Demon reported his situation—there was nothing out of the ordinary.
Meanwhile, Levi was with Phoenix and her men somewhere outside Erudia.
He was chilling and sipping his tea, a behavior that stirred disbelief among his subordinates.
“Boss, are you sure that we stay put? In a few hours, the sunstones will be in Zarain. Are we not going to act now?”
“Precisely, boss. Let’s strike before it’s too late! We’re only left with a four-hour window!”
“We can’t just give up, boss!”
Levi’s men thought that he would come up with some unrivaled plan and didn’t expect him to put his feet up at this very moment.
The sunstones were almost reaching Zarain, and Levi was still bathing in a languor.
What is he waiting for?
His men were like cats on a hot tin roof, and some even started sweating out of distress.
Levi looked up at them and blurted, “Don’t you dare move a finger without my order!”
“But boss—”
“Silence! Obey to boss’s command!” Azure Dragon and Black Tortoise bellowed.
Phoenix added, “Bruce had already set up an impenetrable fortification. Who among you would be able to slip past his defense?”
Silence ensued.
On the other hand, Bruce and his troops were on the qui vive, and no one dared to blink.
Still, no sight of the mysterious looters.
Even Bruce, at one point, felt powerless.
As time trickled away slowly, the sun rose.
Not a single soul of the intruders was seen.
Another six hours passed, and the stones were still sitting securely in the cargo.
The transportation team successfully entered Zarain’s territorial waters and met Bruce and his team of warriors.
Bruce was still trying to shake himself out of disbelief when he saw the unharmed transportation team.
Is this real or am I dreaming?
The sunstones got here without a scratch?
He wasn’t the only person doubting the smooth delivery. Dubiousness loomed over his men too.
This is strange!
It’s like a f*cking reverie!
Those b*stards didn’t spring into action?
No one could wrap their head around what had just happened or lack thereof.
They were expecting a massive war.
Erudia was counting on the mysterious faction to stop the Lab of Gods once again, but to its disappointment, they didn’t turn up.
The Lab of Gods managed to ship the sunstones away.
“It seemed like the Lab of Gods does have what it takes to suppress the mysterious faction!”
“Cowards! They chickened out last minute! The Lab of Gods is indeed powerful! Those cowards gave up the moment they saw what it’s really made of!”
Somehow, Bruce was crestfallen.
He was hoping that they’d attacked so that things would be more interesting.
“Never mind. Take all the sunstones to the training base!” he shouted a command unenthusiastically.
After all the planning and those crooks got cold feet?

CHAPTER 2036

They made this too easy for me! How could they back out last minute? They should’ve kept their plans rolling!

Bruce wanted to capture the mysterious faction, once and for all!
He was actually looking forward to clashing head-on with them.

What a shame. They didn’t dare to show themselves in the end. Bruce shook his head in disgruntlement.
“Come on. Let’s have a look at the sunstones.” He went to check the stones that had arrived safe and sound.
“Yes, Mr. Johnston!”
The rest followed.
The load from five days of mining was enormous.
Every corner of the training base was filled with trunks of sunstones.
“Open it up! Don’t forget to put on your protective equipment!” Bruce reminded his men.
All the men present had their protective gear on whereas Bruce wore a uniquely-made armor to protect themselves from possible harm by the sunstones’ energy.
One of the trunks was unlatched and everyone took a few steps back out of caution.
“Hmm?”
Confusion filled the room as none of the men felt blood-curdling energy waves emanating from the container.
The smallest shard of sunstone would release vigorous radiation, and now with a truckload of it, they expected to see people flying and tumbling.
Yet, they didn’t feel a tinge of energy wave.
Something was off.
“What’s going on?”
Bruce went up to the trunk to have a closer look at it.
When he saw what was inside it, rage permeated him wholly, and his face could be seen turning red.
“W-What is this!”
He was on the verge of losing his sanity because what he saw weren’t sunstones at all.
The stones in the trunk were just regular stones!
“Grrrr…”
Bruce’s blood pressure rose in lightning speed, and he almost blacked out from wrath.
Those who saw what went on, too, nearly jumped out of their skins.
“No way…”
The crowd sensed that something ruinous was happening, something apocalyptic.
“Open the other trunks! All the trunks! Check every single one of it!” Bruce howled like a mad dog.
All his men got straight into it, and one by one, the trunks were unlatched.
Rumble!
Rumble!
Stones that tumbled out of their carriage were all regular stones.
All of them!
There was no sight of sunstones in the room!
“It’s not in here!”
“This one? No!”
“Not here either!”
All they could find were non-radiative, energy-vacant regular stones.
Where are the sunstones?
Where did they go?
With every sound of latches released and the dribbling of the stones, hearts sank deeper and deeper.
There was no sunstone.
None!
Where are the sunstones!
“This can’t be happening. Maybe they’re all sunstones!” someone commented.
Crush!
One of the men picked up a stone and easily crushed it in his fist. There was no trace of energy.
Crush! He picked up another one, and the result was identical.
Nope. They weren’t.
“Perhaps we had the trunks mixed up? Or maybe all the energy in the sunstones dissipated during transportation?”
People tried making sense out of the situation they were facing.
“Enough! Stop guessing! It’s them!” Bruce bawled as he shook in rage.
He could go ballistic anytime.
“D*mn it! They stole the sunstones! How could they! They stole the sunstones!”
Bruce wailed and wailed so violently that it looked like he’d lost his mind.
Everyone was stupefied by what they saw.
The mysterious faction didn’t chicken out.
They struck before anyone knew it and had already stealthily pilfered those precious stones before they were even loaded onto the ships.
They succeeded at deceiving the Lab of Gods and the whole world!
Just when the whole world thought that they’d backed out, they had long had the sunstones in their possession.
Everyone was waiting for them to strike, and the Lab of Gods was all set to capture those troublemakers.
Who knew that the sunstones were swapped?
How did that happen?

CHAPTER 2037

It was impossible to make a swap in the middle of the trip.

Not only was Bruce meticulous, but he was keeping a close eye on them.
There was no way any loopholes would present itself.

Moreover, the amount after five days of mining was a large one; swapping was simply impossible.
Therefore, the only time possible was when the things were getting loaded at the port…
That was not right either.
Bruce had already assigned a capable transportation team to watch over the items, so nothing could have gone wrong.
How could so many sunstones be swapped in the blink of an eye?
There was only one way left—it was swapped at the mining site.
That meant that the sunstones were not the ones packaged at all; they had always been ordinary stones all along.
As the devices used by the transportation team ensured the isolation of energy fluctuations, no one would know whether they were transporting sunstones or ordinary stones.
Levi had assigned the Dragon Warriors to carry out the task.
Levi had learned everything he could about the six major mining sites.
It was to the point he even knew each and every employee’s sleeping habits.
The Dragon Warriors had long snuck into the area.
After nine days of intense working, the miners were all exhausted.
That was why the Dragon Warriors had successfully snuck in.
That was not all; the Dragon Warriors even tampered with things when they were in there.
Levi almost learned everything from Venom Fiend.
Therefore, it was no trouble for him to come up with a kind of drug that could induce hallucinations and alter others’ state of consciousness.
When the Dragon Warriors were at the six major mining sites, they had used that drug in the form of gas.
Almost immediately, everyone had become more tired, and they began hallucinating.
The drug that Levi created left no traces behind.
Gabe Sears had been right all along; things were unusual.
Everyone was tired, but they thought it was because of the intense work from the past nine days.
Thus, they had taken three hours when loading the sunstones into the transport devices when it should only have been an hour’s job.
Still, they thought it was normal.
Even Ryker and Jefferson thought the same.
Bruce heard nothing about it, so he did not suspect anything at all.
During those three hours, the Dragon Warriors quietly swapped out all of the sunstones.
Then, they destroyed all evidence of them ever being there.
That was why no one knew about it.
That was why Levi did not make any move.
They had never transported the sunstone out from the start.
At that moment, the Dragon Warriors returned. “Boss, we’ve completed the task! We’ve kept the sunstones at a safe place.”
Levi nodded calmly before sipping on his drink.
On the other hand, Phoenix and the rest were dumbfounded.
What’s going on?
The task is completed?
When Levi noticed the confusion on their faces, he chuckled and said, “That’s right. The task is completed. We now have the sunstones at our hands.”
“What? H-How can this be? We haven’t done anything yet!”
The people were losing their minds.
“Let him explain things to you,” Levi replied with a smile.
Soon, Phoenix and the others found out what was going on.
It was then they realized why Levi had been so calm.
He had resolved the issue from the start.
Soon, news of how the third batch of sunstones mined by the Lab of Gods had been stolen again spread across the globe.
People around the world were shocked.
After all, it was the third time.
Furthermore, everything had happened without raising any alarms at all.
Not even Bruce had realized it.
Thus, the incident was dubbed as the greatest humiliation of the Lab of Gods.
On the other hand, the forces in Erudia were overjoyed.
Not a single sunstone had been taken away by the Lab of Gods.
“It looks like this mysterious force is trying to stop the Lab of Gods! We can finally stop worrying about it. In fact, we might even be able to lend a helping hand or two.”
The people of The Cardinal Hall began expressing their delight.
They were glad that someone was doing something about it.
Moreover, it was not like the Lab of Gods could blame Erudia for their misfortunate incident.
The news continued spreading across the world.
The Lab of Gods was humiliated, and Bruce took the brunt of the humiliation.
At that moment, Bruce wondered if it was better for him to jump off a cliff.
“Mr. Johnston, Cyrus is looking for you.”
“Quick, answer the call!”

CHAPTER 2038

A hoarse voice came from the other end. “It’s very likely that this batch of sunstone is still in Erudia. It hasn’t been transported out at all. My men are watching The Cardinal Hall and Erudia, but there isn’t anything going on there. That means that the sunstones are still in Erudia. They’ve never been transported at all. You can also do an investigation of your own in Erudia to look for their whereabouts.”

“Huh?”
The moment Bruce heard it, he froze. However, he was quick to come back to his senses.

The entire time, he had been contemplating when the sunstones had been swapped out.
Yet, he never thought that they would have been swapped out when they were in Erudia.
Subconsciously, he had thought of that place as the safest place; he had thought that nothing would go wrong at Erudia.
Moreover, Cyrus suggested that the Sacred Organization could be behind it.
Hence, Bruce began focusing his search on the various forces excluding Erudia’s.
He never once suspected Erudia.
Cyrus’ latest news made him come to his senses right away.
Erudia was definitely the place where the sunstones had been swapped, which meant that the sunstones were surely still in Erudia.
It was impossible for the sunstones to be far from Erudia.
After all, The Cardinal Hall in Erudia was keeping an eye on it.
Once they found out about the sunstones, they would surely make a move to get them.
Nevertheless, Cyrus, who had his men watching The Cardinal hall, had not noticed them making any moves.
In other words, the sunstones were definitely in Erudia.
“All right, I got it. This is the first time we’ve ever officially talked. I hope to be able to meet you more in the future.”
After Bruce ended the call, he instantly assigned Ryker and the others to work on it.
He told them to use everything they could to look for the sunstones in Erudia.
At the same time, he sent some technicians to enter Erudia with their equipment.
What he dared not do was send fighters in, for those men would certainly be noticed and watched by The Cardinal Hall.
In fact, The Cardinal Hall might even drive them out of the place, for they had no reason to be at Erudia.
Despite the frustration he felt about the incident, Bruce was glad that he had Cyrus as a partner.
Cyrus always appeared whenever he needed help, and he helped fill in the gaps that he could not; Cyrus was the perfect support.
“Boss, we’ve just received news that Bruce has sent his men to look for the sunstones in Erudia. I heard from the Dragon Warriors that the third batch of the sunstones are still hidden within Erudia; they haven’t had a chance to transport them out of the country,” Phoenix worriedly said to Levi.
To his surprise, Levi grinned and said, “Leave them be. Let them look for the sunstones.”
“Huh?” Phoenix wondered out loud. “Boss, what if they really find it?”
“So what if they do? Do you really think that they’ll be able to take them out of Erudia? Would I let them do that?” Levi questioned.
“Oh. I see.”
Phoenix finally understood what

skye · Friday at 2:09 PM

CHAPTER 2039

Right then, more news traveled into his ears.

The missing third batch of the sunstones had been found in Erudia.
The moment they heard about it, Bruce and the others leaped in joy.

“Where did you find it?” Bruce asked, his eyes bright with delight.
After a moment of hesitation, the man who came bearing good news said, “As it turns out, the sunstones were not transported out at all. They’re still at the mining sites!”
Boom!
The reply was like a bolt from the blue for Bruce.
He had been searching everywhere like a madman, but it turned out that the sunstones never left the mining sites from the start.
Bruce finally understood what it meant by the most dangerous place was the safest.
The mysterious force had only wanted to stop the sunstones from leaving Erudia; they never robbed them at all.
They had swapped out the sunstones with ordinary stones at the mining sites, so what they had transported had been normal stones.
They had been fooled.
Realizing that, Bruce’s eyes turned red as his expression turned as dark as night.
After all those efforts in searching for the sunstones, they turned out to be at the mining site all along. They were never lost; they had always been in the hands of his own men.
They had truly played the entire Lab of Gods like a fiddle.
How humiliating.
It was the greatest humiliation he had ever suffered.
Bruce would rather hit his head against a wall and end his life than convey the message he just heard to the Lab of Gods.
It was the third time, but still, they were fooled.
It would have been better if they had stolen the sunstones away from him, but that was not what happened.
They had merely been tricked.
Smack!
Crack!
In his fury, Bruce threw everything he could lay his hands on.
A subordinate beside him tried to calm him down. “Mr. Johnston, please don’t be mad. Although we’ve been tricked, we’ve still found the sunstones. They’re still with us. Our efforts haven’t gone to waste.”
The others quickly chimed in. “Yes, he’s right. What’s most important is that we still have the sunstones!”
All of a sudden, Bruce snapped his head in their direction and glared at them. “Are you all idiots?”
“Huh?”
They were taken aback by his words.
“The sunstones are with us? How are they with us? Aren’t they still in Erudia? Do you think you can transport them here?”
His bombardment of questions made the others blink in shock.
“If we could, I would have been able to get the sunstones that are at least a hundred years old. Don’t you know that the six major mining sites are in Erudia? Do you think that we can take a single sunstone back? It’s an impossible feat!” Bruce roared.
It was only then they understood what he meant.
Technically, the sunstones were theirs, but whether or not they would physically own the stones was another matter.
With the mysterious force around, they could never take any sunstone out of Erudia.
Although they had found where the missing third batch of the sunstones were, no one could put on a smile on their faces.
Everything was back at square one.
They still could not bring the sunstones back to the Lab of Gods.
Furthermore, even though they had found the sunstones, they could not find any clue about the mysterious force.
Not even Cyrus had found a hint about them.
Now, Bruce only had two options—to transport the third batch he had found or to continue mining for more.
It was a tough question.
Bruce was afraid, and he did not have much courage to transport the sunstones again.
He was scared that the fourth batch would go missing as well.
Indeed, Bruce was terrified.
After all, he knew nothing about the mysterious organization behind the missing sunstones.
Fear was a normal reaction when faced with the unknown.
Thus, Bruce gathered his men to discuss what they should do for their next move.
“Mr. Johnston, why don’t we keep trying? Let’s try to transport the sunstones back again. We’ll do it the same way as we did before, but we’ll increase our security even in Erudia. I refuse to believe that we still can’t take it back this time,” someone suggested.
“That’s right. What happened the last time was because they managed to find a loophole in our transportation process. Now that we’ve found out what we’ve made a mistake on, I’d like to see what other tricks they can pull out of their hat!”
“Hear, hear. As long as we keep tight security all the way, there isn’t anything they can do about us taking the sunstones out of Erudia.”
Everyone made the same suggestion, which was to take the sunstones out of Erudia first.
At that, Bruce sighed and agreed, “All right. We’ll give it a go.”
Just then, someone yelled, “Bad news! Something happened again!”

CHAPTER 2040

Bruce and the others stiffened.

“Something else happened?”
We just decided on transporting the sunstones out of Erudia!

We haven’t even done anything yet!
Why are there more troubles now?
Everyone at the meeting turned to look at the one who had yelled a second ago.
“This is horrible news. We’ve just received word that the sunstone mining sites at Adrune, Salinsburgh, and the thirteen islands at Beshya Sea have been looted. All of the sites have been destroyed!”
Boom!
It was shocking news to hear, and when Bruce and the others did, their eyes grew impossibly wide.
He and the Lab of Gods were all too focused on Erudia’s mining sites and the mysterious force, so they had been neglecting everything else.
Bruce had even put Jared’s experiment aside to focus on the missing sunstones.
To their shock, someone had made a move on the other sunstone mining sites while they were preoccupied with the search for the missing sunstones.
In the past few years, the Lab of Gods had been building labs at various spots across the globe.
One of the labs had the goal of researching the use of sunstone’s energy.
Soon, that lab found out that there were many other places in the world that had sunstones.
Thus, they began mining in those places, albeit in secret.
in fact, it was a top-class secret in the Lab of Gods.
No outsiders would have caught wind of it.
What is going on?
Bruce’s heart thumped so loudly that it nearly escaped his body.
Salinsburgh and the other areas were important mining sites for the Lab of Gods.
That was where they got the majority of their sunstones.
Yet, those areas had been so easily destroyed.
How did they find those places?
Thud!
Bruce passed out.
Even the others felt the world around them spinning.
Isn’t this mysterious force too powerful?
Not only did they intervene in the mining of sunstones in Erudia, but they’re also intervening in the mining of sunstones outside of Erudia.
In the beginning, everyone was speculating whether one of the organizations in Erudia was the one to stop the sunstones from leaving Erudia.
Now, it seemed like their aim was not to keep the sunstones in Erudia but to go up against the Lab of Gods.
Before the Lab of Gods could do anything about the destroyed sites, more news traveled into their ears.
“One of the sunstone mining sites at Baykeep has been destroyed!
“The sunstone mining site at Nuthana has been destroyed!”
“The sunstone mining site near an inactive volcano at Raysonia has been destroyed!”
In total, the Lab of Gods had over three hundred sunstone mining sites.
Yet, over thirty of those sites had been destroyed.
They were not concentrated in an area; the affected sites were spread across various continents.
That meant the mysterious force was all over the world.
Their attacks on the sites had been simultaneous.
It had been mind-blowing.
The entire world was astounded, and countless began speculating about how powerful the mysterious force was.
Previously, they thought that while the mysterious force was mighty, they were only capable of pulling small tricks on the Lab of Gods.
No one had expected them to carry out a full-blown attack on the Lab of Gods so abruptly.
To be able to carry out the attacks simultaneously in over thirty sites across the globe meant that the one behind the attacks was an overpowering force.
In other words, they were a threat to the Lab of Gods.
Some were gleeful to hear that, but some were not.
The ones in Erudia were certainly elated, for they now knew someone was capable of stopping Erudia’s sunstones from getting mined and limiting the Lab of Gods’ actions in Erudia.
To Erudia, it was great news.
That was a sentiment shared by the ones who were enemies of the Lab of Gods and the ones who were not associated with Zarain.
On the other hand, the ones who were associated with Zarain and the Lab of Gods were going mad.
It was none other than a disaster to them.
Naturally, Levi was the one behind everything.
He had sent out his old subordinates to carry out the tasks.
in fact, Kirin and the others were on an even more important task.
“I can’t kill you in one go, but I can certainly toy with you until you die,” Levi said with a sneer.
Right then, Phoenix entered with a document in her hands. “Boss, here are the things you wanted to look into.”

CHAPTER 2041

“They are?”

Levi’s eyes lit up before he promptly took the document from her and started reading it.
The Lab of Gods had labs in almost every region in the world.

All of them were focused on researches regarding energy.
Those labs were the heart of the Lab of Gods.
What Levi wanted to do was to destroy all of those secret labs.
Of course, they had labs in Erudia as well. Otherwise, where could they have possibly found the sites where sunstones were at?
Therefore, one of the tasks that Levi had assigned his men to was to find out the location of the Lab of Gods in Erudia.
Those labs were of utmost importance to the Lab of Gods
Thus, they were built in remote and secretive areas. It would be difficult to find out where they were at.
Although Cryptic Stream Corporation had not kept a low profile when entering Erudia, no one had heard anything about the secret lab in Erudia.
Therefore, searching for the lab was a difficult task for Phoenix and the others.
It was only now then did they find it.
The lab was still running; it was still searching for more energy sources around the area of Carigrey Mountain.
Phoenix and the others had found its location.
“They have more than one base in Erudia! They have six!” Levi could not help but exclaim after he saw the list.
Phoenix replied, “It’s minimal for the Lab of Gods’ standards. If they had their way, they would have established dozens of labs. They would have found more sunstone mining sites too.”
Levi nodded in agreement. “I have to say that the Lab of Gods is a terrifying force. It’s all over the world. Who else but them could have made it this big? I wonder how stunning the core of the Lab of Gods would be. We never really knew how advanced their technology and skills were.”
Hearing that, similar grave looks crept upon everyone’s faces.
Although the Lab of Gods had suffered a devastating attack, they had not actually seen the heart of the Lab of Gods, let alone lay a finger on it.
“Boss, what do we do with these secret labs?” Phoenix asked.
“We have to gain control over them. Sunstone mining is the future. The entire world will be set on mining for the sunstones. We have limited technology and skills, so we won’t be able to search for them, not to mention mine them. Therefore, we have to gain control over them and make them work for us instead. We have to use look into the functions of sunstones and find out ways to mine them!”
“Understood! I’ll see to it right away!”
In just a day, Levi had managed to send his men to take over the secret labs.
While Levi and the others were delighted by their progress, Bruce and the Lab of Gods were all overwhelmed by frustration and anxiety.
They were trying to fix everything that Levi and the others destroyed.
Bruce only managed to heave a sigh of relief when morning came.
Just as he was about to rest, more news came.
“Mr. Johnston, bad news again!”
“What is it?”
At that point, Bruce was already numb to everything.
The bad news came like continuous tidal waves.
“We’ve lost contact with our six secret labs in Erudia! All the pieces of equipment are turned off too! I’m afraid that the mysterious force has already destroyed them!”
At that, the colors drained from Bruce’s face.
“They found it? They never even appeared when we started mining in Erudia! Erudia is where most of the sunstones are. How did they find us?”
Bruce was stunned.
“Fortunately, our most important base is still around.”
As it turned out, they had more than six labs; they had seven.
Bruce shot him a glare. “Tell them to keep a low profile and go under the radar for now. Make sure they aren’t found out by that organization!”
“Ryker has asked if we should continue mining or if we should start transporting.”
Bruce shook his head. “I don’t know. I can’t think of anything right now. Who is it? Who’s the one going up against us?”
Bruce was on the verge of insanity.
Anger was coursing through his veins.
Their enemy was slowly taking them down bit by bit, but they had not even found out who they were.
“Mr. Johnston, I have an idea. Would you like to hear about it?”

CHAPTER 2042

“You?” Bruce whispered in shock as he looked at the servant.

That man was Peter, and he was from Keerea.
He was a technological expert, but he had given up his luxurious life and began working as a servant instead.

All he did was odd jobs, such as making coffee for Bruce.
What he wanted to do was to get into the Lab of Gods.
“That’s right. I have an idea!”
However, Bruce did not expect much from him as he nodded dismissively. “Yes, sure. Go ahead.”
Nevertheless, it did not hurt to hear what he had to say anyway.
“We’re looking for a needle in a haystack with what we’re doing now. The other party is targeting us, so there’s no way they’re going to leave behind any clues for us to find. However, this is a large-scale operation they’re carrying out. They’re no specters nor demons; how could they really not leave any traces behind?”
At that, Bruce’s eyes lit up as if he had thought of something.
“You’re right. As long as they make a move, they’re bound to leave traces of their footprints behind. The only reason we can’t find it is because we’re approaching it at the wrong angle. Go on, continue!”
Peter smiled and said, “Since we’re approaching it at the wrong angle, we should approach it with a different angle.”
Bruce raised his brows and leaned forward, interested to hear more.
“My plan is simple—we’ll put out a bounty. We’ll get more people to help us look for this mysterious force. As long as we have a lucrative reward, we’ll be able to attract more people to take up the bounty. When that happens, the mysterious force would have considerable trouble making any moves. We would not be their only opponents. Allow me to exaggerate. The entire world would be their opponent. Everyone would know about every move they make,” Peter explained.
Instantly, Bruce smacked his thigh.
“That’s right. We’re powerful, but we’re not all! We still need the help of others. If the others would lend us our strength, then we’ll be able to track down this mysterious force because they’d have nowhere to hide.”
Bruce yelled, “Men, put up a bounty under the name of the Lab of Gods and Cryptic Stream Corporation!”
The reward of the bounty was a promising one.
Even a minor clue would earn the individual an extravagant prize, including advanced equipment.
The Lab of Gods and Cryptic Stream Corporation could almost give anything that was requested.
The moment the bounty was put up, the rest of the world shrieked in excitement.
They all wanted to help the Lab of Gods find out the mysterious force.
Moreover, even the various forces on the mysterious dark web had taken up the bounty.
Those underworld forces across the globe were beings that even the Lab of Gods had to be wary of.
It was because some had been around for hundreds and thousands of years.
Many of them, even now, was keeping a low profile.
However, the reward was too tempting for them not to take up the bounty.
Once the bounty was posted, almost the entire world was searching for Levi and the others.
The bounty worked better than Bruce thought it would have.
There were more people joining them than expected.
Bruce was delighted to see the continuously incoming clues.
In the past, they did not have any clues, so whether or not the clues were useful did not really matter to Bruce; it was better than none.
Most importantly, those clues he received were actually useful after filtering through them.
Those clues included figures of people’s back profiles and traces of their activities at certain places.
The more clues they had, the closer they were to the truth.
Thrilled, Bruce yelled at Peter, “I’m going to promote you to one of my assistants. If we really find the mysterious force this time, I’ll definitely credit you for this!”
“Thank you, Mr. Johnston!”
Peter beamed.
“Mr. Johnston, I have another idea…” he trailed off hesitantly.
“Hm? You have another idea?”
Bruce was surprised.
“I think we can transport the sunstones back now. First of all, the entire world is looking for them right now. They would expose themselves if they acted. Secondly, we can request Erudia to escort us.”

CHAPTER 2043

Staring at Bruce, Peter continued, “Let me tell you the reasons. Even now, I think that this mysterious force has something to do with Erudia. After all, this only happened when we mined the sunstones in Erudia. That’s why I think we should get The Cardinal Hall or the Dragonites to escort us. If we do that, we’ll be able to find out if they’re associated with Erudia.

It’ll be the best-case scenario if the mysterious force appears. We’ll figure out who they are right away. If they don’t, we’ll still be able to transport the sunstones back. Regardless of everything, we won’t lose out on this. Moreover, from then on, we’ll be able to mine for sunstones in Erudia. We won’t have anyone stopping us anymore.”
Peter was confident with his plan.

After hearing Peter’s words, Bruce found himself more and more interested in the young man.
He’s got quite a lot of good ideas.
He has solved half of our problems so swiftly!
Bruce nodded. “I was thinking of transporting the sunstones back to pressure the mysterious force into making a move too. However, I never thought of getting Erudian forces to escort them. This is truly a magnificent move! We would really be able to figure out if Erudia was involved or not.”
He then instructed his subordinates, “Men, make preparations right away! We’ll be transporting sunstones back the next day! Set up everything and inform Ryker about this! Contact the Erudian forces and let them send their men to escort us!”
Bruce was quick in giving out instructions.
Soon, everyone in the Lab of Gods was at their station.
The ones who had taken up the bounty were all at their stations too.
As long as they put in a little effort in helping the Lab of Gods, they would be able to get a fantastic reward.
Almost the entire world was watching, wondering if Levi and the others would appear.
The Cardinal Hall and the Dragonites had no choice but to say yes to the Lab of Gods’ request.
After all, everyone had eyes on them.
“We have no choice. We’ll have to send our men to escort them because we can’t reject them. Also, we can’t let the sunstones go missing in Erudia, not even at the mining sites.”
Both The Cardinal Hall and the Dragonites were forced to send their men out to escort the sunstones’ transportation.
After all, they could not let Erudia’s reputation suffer.
The transportation was the most smooth-sailing experience that the Lab of Gods had ever had.
Now, all that was left was for them to wait for Levi and the others to appear.
Ryker and the rest were extra cautious this time.
They had to ensure that nothing went wrong in each and every part of the transportation.
After making sure that they were indeed transporting sunstones, they then loaded them into the transportation devices.
They even asked the Erudian escort team to check them again.
Once they were sure that everything was fine, they began the transportation while the rest of the world watched on keenly.
“Boss, they’re obviously targeting us this time! We won’t be able to do anything in the shadows anymore!”
“Right? They’re keeping such a close eye on us that we can’t even do anything!”
Phoenix and the others panicked, and they quickly turned to Levi.
The Lab of Gods was leaving them no opportunity to intercept the sunstones at all.
Moreover, almost the entire world was helping them. If Levi and the others did anything, the world would immediately find out that they were the ones behind the previous stolen sunstones.
Furthermore, they had intentionally made the Erudian forces escort them.
How vicious!
“Boss, what do we do? Everyone is asking for your advice!”
They were all looking at Levi with anxious faces, but Levi did not have any expressions on his.
How could he not know how meticulous Bruce was this time?
He had anticipated that interception would become much harder after the third batch of missing sunstones.
“Boss, do you have any plans?”
The others had none, and their blank minds only made them all the more panicky.
Clearly, they could see how Levi was stumped too.
Usually, he would have a plan ready, but this time, he did not.
They realized it because every single team was seeking his opinion, so it was apparent that he had not made any preparations to counter this move from the Lab of Gods.
Frustrated, Levi yelled, “What can we do?”

skye · Friday at 2:12 PM

CHAPTER 2044

Everyone was stunned.

Is he giving up, or is he going to risk it all?
But this is too risky!

It’s very likely that we’ll fail.
We can’t let Zarain get their hands on the sunstones!
“Boss, please be honest with us. Do you have some kind of ace up your sleeve? Are you actually prepared for this scenario?”
Everyone was panicking, and they were hoping that Levi actually had an ace up his sleeve.
However, Levi looked at them and shook his head. “No.”
“Listen up. No one is allowed to do anything without my permission! Anyone who goes against this order shall be dealt with!” Levi warned.
The transportation team left with a strong escort team.
Every half an hour, they would do routine checks.
After making sure that everything was fine, they would then carry on.
That was what they did until they safely reached the port.
Bruce had assigned his trusted subordinates to wait at the port. Once the sunstones arrived, they began checking them.
“All’s fine!”
“Loading now!”
The Cardinal Hall was done with the escorting.
Nothing had happened to the sunstones while they were still in Erudia.
The Cardinal Hall and the others sighed in relief.
They were afraid that the mysterious force would strike while the sunstones were in Erudia.
If that happened, everyone in the world would assume that Erudia was one of the culprits or even the mastermind behind the past few incidents.
Bruce’s side had been watching the sunstones during their transportation.
When they saw the sunstones arriving at the port, he sighed in relief. “Does Erudia really have nothing to do with the stolen sunstones?”
“Mr. Johnston, let’s keep a closer eye on the next part of the journey,” Peter suggested.
The transportation of the sunstones continued, and the team was still on their guards.
They still did their routine checks to make sure that the sunstones were still with them.
An hour went by, and everything was fine.
Two hours went by, and everything was fine.
Over ten hours had gone by, and everything was still fine.
Nevertheless, they remained vigilant.
After all, the last few times had frightened them to their cores.
They were afraid of getting tricked again.
Time ticked away, and they were getting closer and closer to their destination.
Phoenix and the others were on the brink of tears.
Previously, Levi had instructed them to swap out the sunstones, but that was not the same this time.
Everyone remained in their positions; none were sent on any mission.
They could only watch and do nothing as the sunstones left Erudia.
“It seems like we’re still too weak to stop the sunstones from getting mined. We have to get Erudia to stop them instead.”
“That’s right. We’re limited by too many things. We can only stop them a few times. This isn’t a long-term plan!”
“We really can’t do anything about this. If we make a move, we’ll expose ourselves, and it might doom us all.”
Bruce and Peter were analyzing the situation.
“We’ve been too meticulous. We’re not giving them any chances to strike, so they’ve decided on taking no action!” Bruce said with a smile.
Peter nodded. “If I were them, I wouldn’t take any actions too. I can’t possibly risk exposing myself, because I’ll be annihilated.”
“Still, we have to be on our guards. What if they strike before the sunstones reach us? We’ve been quite relaxed with our security. Perhaps this is part of their plan,” Bruce pointed out.
Thus, they continued to stay vigilant throughout the transportation of the sunstones.
Soon, the sunstones safely arrived at the first base of the Lab of Gods.
Reaching that base meant that the sunstones had reached the Lab of Gods’ territory, for that was their destination.
The sunstones were safe.
Bruce and the others swiftly crowd around it. He still could not believe it. He had to see the sunstones with his own two eyes.
“Men! Open them up!” Bruce ordered.
In seconds, the sunstones were for all to see.
They really had gotten the sunstones back.
Every single sunstone was there.
Overwhelmed by joy, Bruce began crying.

CHAPTER 2045

He had been stressed out for days.

The never ending failure was lowering his position in the Lab of Gods.
If he were to fail another time, he was certain that he would be reprimanded harshly.

Thus, he endured the most stress among the people in the Lab of Gods.
He had been holding back his frustration and anxiety.
He had to get the sunstones back.
Now, he had succeeded.
Clenching his fists, Bruce continued sobbing from joy.
Everyone was excited, and they were cheering loudly.
It was a lively scene.
“Quick, send out the message to the rest of the world! We’ve succeeded in bringing the sunstones back!” Bruce exclaimed.
He then instructed Peter and the others to take photos and videos of the sunstones.
Soon, news about the safe arrival of the sunstones from Erudia reached the ears of others.
The mysterious force had turned out to be cowardly, for they dared not do anything during the transportation of the sunstones. They could only hand the sunstones over to the Lab of Gods.
To the majority of the people, it was relatively sad news.
They were all hoping that the mysterious force would show itself so that they could get some clues to ask for a reward from the Lab of Gods.
Thus, they were melancholic about how the mysterious force had not appeared.
Nevertheless, the one who was most upset about the incident was Erudia.
They were powerless as they watched the sunstones being transported out of Erudia.
Those sunstones are from Erudia.
The Lab of Gods is most likely going to use those sunstones to fight against Erudia in the future.
“We can’t keep those sunstones safe anymore, not unless we enter a full-on war! What do we do?”
“I wish they had come out to stop them, but I know that they’re under tremendous pressure.”
There were varying reactions across the world.
Some were happy, and some were not.
Still, they all thought that the mysterious force must have chickened out.
After all, the moment they make any move, the whole world would notice it.
Then, they would be exposed.
No one could go up against the Lab of Gods.
From now on, no one would be able to stop the Lab of Gods from mining sunstones in Erudia.
When Phoenix and the rest heard about the news, they nearly flew into a rage.
Levi really had no aces up his sleeve this time.
He had let the Lab of Gods take the sunstones away from Erudia.
Despite their fury, there was nothing they could do.
Why can’t we be any stronger?
If we were stronger, then we could’ve easily stopped them.
In fact, we don’t even need to sneak around if we were powerful enough.
But that’s not what we can do now.
We can only watch.
As they balled their fists, they swore that they had to grow stronger as quickly as possible.
“Where’s the boss? Where did he go?” Phoenix asked when she noticed his absence.
“I’d say he must be much more frustrated than anyone here.”
“That’s right. He’s the one who’s feeling most stressed out. Now that the Lab of Gods has successfully attained the sunstones, he must be miserable.”
“That’s how life is. You’ll always be powerless at certain times.”
“Let’s give him some space.”
On the other side, Bruce was still leaping in joy.
“Tell Ryker to continue mining. And hand out rewards to everyone!” Bruce yelled.
Just a moment ago, the council members in the Lab of Gods had praised Bruce and granted him some rights to more advanced technology.
Bruce was getting closer and closer to becoming one of the council members.
“Men, count these sunstones before loading them into the system!” Bruce ordered.
Now that they had the sunstones, they were going to use them right away.
After making all the arrangements, Bruce beamed and left with Peter.
The others who were left behind began counting the number of sunstones.
Was that the end?
The answer was no.
Rumble…
Boom!
Boom!
Bruce had only taken a few steps out when the sounds of explosions shook the ground of the entire base.
Everyone fell to the ground.
The fire shot up toward the sky.
That was only the beginning.

CHAPTER 2046

Boom!

Boom!
Boom!

The base, which was made up of eight islands, exploded.
Wave after wave of explosions made the entire place lit up as if it was the day.
Boom!
The base was one of the energy supply stations of the Lab of Gods, so there were more resources kept there other than the sunstones.
Not only would the energy resources be destroyed in the event of an explosion, but the explosions would also be so major that they would be a threat to the base.
Thus, the explosion earlier had only been the start. The moment one explosion went off, another was soon to follow, every explosion more devastating than the last.
Boom!
At the start, the explosion was on one island. Soon, it was three.
Then, it was four.
Five.
In the end, eight islands and their connecting regions all suffered from explosions.
Even the surrounding sea was affected.
Tidal waves formed from the shockwave of the explosion, and a whirlpool appeared.
“Protect Mr. Johnston! Escort him out of this place!” the crowd shouted.
At that, countless fighters ran over to protect Bruce.
At the same time, the flying vehicles of the Lab of Gods were activated so that the council members and vital employees could leave immediately.
“Stop it! Stop the explosions!”
The first thought Bruce had was not escaping but stopping the disaster.
“We won’t make it in time, Mr. Johnston! This is too sudden for us to react in time! Plenty of our equipment has been destroyed, and the energy is leaking from. This is too massive for us to stop!”
No one could do anything to stop the explosions. The least they could do was minimize the lives lost in the explosions.
“Oh no!” Bruce had abruptly recalled something. “The sunstones! The sunstones are still in there!”
It was then the others recalled about the sunstones, which had yet to be loaded into the system.
The consequences were unimaginable if the explosions reached the sunstones.
“Hurry up and get the—”
Before Bruce could even finish his sentence, he saw the explosions reaching the area where the sunstones were stored.
“We have to leave now!”
Just as Bruce yelled his thought out loud, silence enveloped the area.
All their voices had been overlapped by a singular noise.
The mushroom cloud that rose into the air blocked out the sun.
Boom!
The sunstones exploded.
The terrifying energy seeped everywhere and destroyed everything it came into contact with.
In a second, all buildings on the island were gone.
All humans on the island disappeared, leaving no blood nor flesh behind.
It was a frightening sight.
It was too petrifying for anyone to witness.
The moment he saw the explosions reaching the sunstone area, Bruce had activated the armor and let it wrap him up in it.
He could only watch as the people around him disappeared one by one.
The land of the islands cracked, and the buildings of the base were decimated.
It was a scene of the end of the world.
He had many times seen the Lab of Gods’ simulation of doomsday, but now, the real scene appeared right in front of his eyes.
What sent chills down his spine was that it was only the beginning.
When the sunstones exploded, their energy radiated outward.
Boom!
Bruce watched as the entire island split in half and sunk under the waters.
The other seven islands either cracked apart or sunk along with the first.
More sunstones exploded, and the greater the force of the explosion became.
It was hell on earth.
“Ugh!”
Bruce could feel a pressure in his body, threatening to make him implode.
Even his armor was starting to crack.
It was the latest armor created by the Lab of Gods, and yet, it could barely withstand the frightful power of sunstones.
Beside him, the armors of Peter and the rest were beginning to crack as well.
None of their armors were able to withstand the explosions of multiple sunstones.
Nothing could.
Oh no!
We’re doomed!
Bruce paled drastically.

CHAPTER 2047

Their cracked armors could not hold for long.

In seconds, they were going to die.
“Save me!”

Bruce hastily pressed the help button.
Thirty seconds later, eight men with superpowers landed in front of Bruce from the sky.
Glowing shields instantly appeared in front of them to stop the sunstones’ energy from reaching them.
Whoosh!
Right then, Bruce found himself pulled away by his subordinates.
Even Peter and some others were rescued.
That was one of the rights Bruce had as the core member of the Lab of Gods.
At the time of danger, he could press the help button to receive help.
No one else in the base other than people like him had a button like that.
If Bruce were anyone else, he could only wait for death.
The only reason the rescue had come so quickly was because the team was close.
If they had been far, they might not have made it in time.
When Bruce looked down at the doomsday-like disaster, he saw the flames spreading across the lands.
The explosions could still go on forever, and the mushroom cloud was still rising.
Bruce’s mind was blank, his eyes filled with nothing but despair.
The base is so huge! How can eight islands be wiped out as quickly as this?
That was not all.
There were only around five hundred survivors.
They were either the quick ones or the powerful ones who managed to survive the explosions.
If Bruce did not have the help button, he would have been dead with the rest of them.
All of their resources were gone.
The sunstones that could have powered them for half a year and the sunstones that they had just gotten were all gone.
Although the Lab of Gods had suffered losses in the past, they had been minor incidents.
It was different this time.
The loss was too great.
It was something they could not afford to have.
After all, this base was one of the largest energy supply stations.
It would be equivalent to losing a quarter of the Lab of Gods.
They had never suffered a loss as immense as this.
Everyone in the Lab of Gods was stunned by the explosions.
For a long while, there was only silence.
They thought they had succeeded; they thought they could begin mining for more sunstones after getting them from Erudia.
That batch could have powered them for a hundred years.
Yet, in a blink of an eye, they were gone.
The sunstones were gone, and with it went everything else.
The eight islands were gone, too.
Their base was decimated.
The unexpected turn of events had shaken up everyone, and they could barely believe that the explosions had happened.
In the fire was a pair of eyes that were watching them.
The eyes belonged to Levi.
Once he made sure that everything had been destroyed, he turned and left.
Indeed, everything was done by Levi.
After all, he had said that he would not let them get their hands on any of the sunstones.
Since he could not steal the sunstones away, he destroyed them.
No way am I going to let the Lab of Gods use them.
That was why Levi had never thought of stopping them.
From the very start, he had planned to destroy everything.
While the Lab of Gods was looking for Levi, Levi had been looking for them too.
The Lab of Gods had always been mysterious in many ways. Their headquarters and their core bases were places that could not be easily found.
Levi had been sending his men to search for them, but it was a fruitless search.
They could barely find any clues as to where the headquarters and the core bases were.
Bruce never thought that the transportation of the sunstones had exposed the location of their supple station.
They were too secretive with their locations.
It was really near impossible to find them, let alone come close to their bases.
However, transporting the sunstones had exposed their location.

CHAPTER 2048

The sunstones needed to be transported to a specific location.

The Lab of Gods had been publicizing the transportation journey and even invited various major global forces to keep a close eye for any signs of the mysterious force.
In other words, they had told the rest of the world where their base was.

No one realized that.
Everyone was putting themselves in the shoes of the Lab of Gods; they were all thinking about how they should figure out the identity of the mysterious force.
They never thought they would expose themselves first.
They never thought that the mysterious force was looking for their base as well.
Thus, with the transportation team, Levi finally found the Lab of Gods’ base.
It was a fruitful day for Levi.
Not only did he stop the Lab of Gods from getting Erudia’s sunstones, he even destroyed one of their important supply stations.
Levi had dealt a dreadful blow to the Lab of Gods.
It was the most vicious counterattack that he had dealt toward the Lab of Gods as well.
It had truly shaken their foundations.
Despite the fact that every powerful being in the world was watching the incident, Levi left without anyone realizing he was ever there.
After all, they were all focusing on the transportation route instead of the base.
Moreover, Levi was acting alone, which made it even tougher to spot him.
Bruce and the others were brought to Zarain after their rescue.
Thud!
Upon reaching, they all collapsed to the ground.
Bruce was like a living corpse—he was no longer conscious of his surroundings; he did not even blink.
It was the same for the others, including Peter.
They lay on the ground, unmoving, as if they were dead.
The destructive explosions had destroyed their spirits.
It was too big of a blow.
Bruce had withdrawn into himself.
“Men, get the medics to check on their conditions! When that’s done, start looking into the cause of the explosions! Find out if it’s possible to salvage the situation!”
The Lab of Gods was in chaos.
While everyone was still reeling from the shock of hearing how the sunstones were brought to the Lab of Gods safely, the dark web abruptly put up a piece of news.
It was a video, and none other than the video of the Lab of Gods’ supply station’s explosion.
The video had captured the destruction of the eight islands.
Those who tuned into the dark web were baffled.
What happened?
This is ghastly!
Where is this place?
It’s one of the Lab of Gods’ bases. That’s where the sunstones from Erudia were transported to, someone replied.
What?
How could that happen? The explosions are massive! Won’t it travel thousands of kilometers?
The ones on the dark web continued to ask.
The explosion is so massive because the sunstones and the other resources were caught up in it. Not only did the sunstones that the Lab of Gods had just brought back were destroyed, but the sunstones and the other energy material that were already at the base were destroyed as well. Nothing was left!
I’m sure that this is the worst event they had ever gone through. These explosions have struck their core!
That’s right. Although the Lab of Gods’ secret labs across the globe were wrecked previously, it still wasn’t as bad as this one. This is their vital base!
News of it spread across the dark web before reaching the rest of the world.
While Lab of Gods had managed to transport the sunstones from Erudia back to their base, their base was destroyed before they could even use them.
Moreover, the entire base was wiped out.
Nothing was left behind.
There were even rumors that a council member of the Lab of Gods was injured in the explosions.
The entire world was shocked.
The mysterious force struck again!

brits · Saturday at 7:39 AM

Thanks a lot master Skye. Really grateful for the resources and appreciate it very much. We are all like dry parched land waiting for rainy drops, and so we absorb the resources quickly even before it reaches the ground.

Enouk · Saturday at 12:23 PM

skye said:
CHAPTER 2044

Everyone was stunned.

Is he giving up, or is he going to risk it all?
But this is too risky!

It’s very likely that we’ll fail.
We can’t let Zarain get their hands on the sunstones!
“Boss, please be honest with us. Do you have some kind of ace up your sleeve? Are you actually prepared for this scenario?”
Everyone was panicking, and they were hoping that Levi actually had an ace up his sleeve.
However, Levi looked at them and shook his head. “No.”
“Listen up. No one is allowed to do anything without my permission! Anyone who goes against this order shall be dealt with!” Levi warned.
The transportation team left with a strong escort team.
Every half an hour, they would do routine checks.
After making sure that everything was fine, they would then carry on.
That was what they did until they safely reached the port.
Bruce had assigned his trusted subordinates to wait at the port. Once the sunstones arrived, they began checking them.
“All’s fine!”
“Loading now!”
The Cardinal Hall was done with the escorting.
Nothing had happened to the sunstones while they were still in Erudia.
The Cardinal Hall and the others sighed in relief.
They were afraid that the mysterious force would strike while the sunstones were in Erudia.
If that happened, everyone in the world would assume that Erudia was one of the culprits or even the mastermind behind the past few incidents.
Bruce’s side had been watching the sunstones during their transportation.
When they saw the sunstones arriving at the port, he sighed in relief. “Does Erudia really have nothing to do with the stolen sunstones?”
“Mr. Johnston, let’s keep a closer eye on the next part of the journey,” Peter suggested.
The transportation of the sunstones continued, and the team was still on their guards.
They still did their routine checks to make sure that the sunstones were still with them.
An hour went by, and everything was fine.
Two hours went by, and everything was fine.
Over ten hours had gone by, and everything was still fine.
Nevertheless, they remained vigilant.
After all, the last few times had frightened them to their cores.
They were afraid of getting tricked again.
Time ticked away, and they were getting closer and closer to their destination.
Phoenix and the others were on the brink of tears.
Previously, Levi had instructed them to swap out the sunstones, but that was not the same this time.
Everyone remained in their positions; none were sent on any mission.
They could only watch and do nothing as the sunstones left Erudia.
“It seems like we’re still too weak to stop the sunstones from getting mined. We have to get Erudia to stop them instead.”
“That’s right. We’re limited by too many things. We can only stop them a few times. This isn’t a long-term plan!”
“We really can’t do anything about this. If we make a move, we’ll expose ourselves, and it might doom us all.”
Bruce and Peter were analyzing the situation.
“We’ve been too meticulous. We’re not giving them any chances to strike, so they’ve decided on taking no action!” Bruce said with a smile.
Peter nodded. “If I were them, I wouldn’t take any actions too. I can’t possibly risk exposing myself, because I’ll be annihilated.”
“Still, we have to be on our guards. What if they strike before the sunstones reach us? We’ve been quite relaxed with our security. Perhaps this is part of their plan,” Bruce pointed out.
Thus, they continued to stay vigilant throughout the transportation of the sunstones.
Soon, the sunstones safely arrived at the first base of the Lab of Gods.
Reaching that base meant that the sunstones had reached the Lab of Gods’ territory, for that was their destination.
The sunstones were safe.
Bruce and the others swiftly crowd around it. He still could not believe it. He had to see the sunstones with his own two eyes.
“Men! Open them up!” Bruce ordered.
In seconds, the sunstones were for all to see.
They really had gotten the sunstones back.
Every single sunstone was there.
Overwhelmed by joy, Bruce began crying.

CHAPTER 2045

He had been stressed out for days.

The never ending failure was lowering his position in the Lab of Gods.
If he were to fail another time, he was certain that he would be reprimanded harshly.

Thus, he endured the most stress among the people in the Lab of Gods.
He had been holding back his frustration and anxiety.
He had to get the sunstones back.
Now, he had succeeded.
Clenching his fists, Bruce continued sobbing from joy.
Everyone was excited, and they were cheering loudly.
It was a lively scene.
“Quick, send out the message to the rest of the world! We’ve succeeded in bringing the sunstones back!” Bruce exclaimed.
He then instructed Peter and the others to take photos and videos of the sunstones.
Soon, news about the safe arrival of the sunstones from Erudia reached the ears of others.
The mysterious force had turned out to be cowardly, for they dared not do anything during the transportation of the sunstones. They could only hand the sunstones over to the Lab of Gods.
To the majority of the people, it was relatively sad news.
They were all hoping that the mysterious force would show itself so that they could get some clues to ask for a reward from the Lab of Gods.
Thus, they were melancholic about how the mysterious force had not appeared.
Nevertheless, the one who was most upset about the incident was Erudia.
They were powerless as they watched the sunstones being transported out of Erudia.
Those sunstones are from Erudia.
The Lab of Gods is most likely going to use those sunstones to fight against Erudia in the future.
“We can’t keep those sunstones safe anymore, not unless we enter a full-on war! What do we do?”
“I wish they had come out to stop them, but I know that they’re under tremendous pressure.”
There were varying reactions across the world.
Some were happy, and some were not.
Still, they all thought that the mysterious force must have chickened out.
After all, the moment they make any move, the whole world would notice it.
Then, they would be exposed.
No one could go up against the Lab of Gods.
From now on, no one would be able to stop the Lab of Gods from mining sunstones in Erudia.
When Phoenix and the rest heard about the news, they nearly flew into a rage.
Levi really had no aces up his sleeve this time.
He had let the Lab of Gods take the sunstones away from Erudia.
Despite their fury, there was nothing they could do.
Why can’t we be any stronger?
If we were stronger, then we could’ve easily stopped them.
In fact, we don’t even need to sneak around if we were powerful enough.
But that’s not what we can do now.
We can only watch.
As they balled their fists, they swore that they had to grow stronger as quickly as possible.
“Where’s the boss? Where did he go?” Phoenix asked when she noticed his absence.
“I’d say he must be much more frustrated than anyone here.”
“That’s right. He’s the one who’s feeling most stressed out. Now that the Lab of Gods has successfully attained the sunstones, he must be miserable.”
“That’s how life is. You’ll always be powerless at certain times.”
“Let’s give him some space.”
On the other side, Bruce was still leaping in joy.
“Tell Ryker to continue mining. And hand out rewards to everyone!” Bruce yelled.
Just a moment ago, the council members in the Lab of Gods had praised Bruce and granted him some rights to more advanced technology.
Bruce was getting closer and closer to becoming one of the council members.
“Men, count these sunstones before loading them into the system!” Bruce ordered.
Now that they had the sunstones, they were going to use them right away.
After making all the arrangements, Bruce beamed and left with Peter.
The others who were left behind began counting the number of sunstones.
Was that the end?
The answer was no.
Rumble…
Boom!
Boom!
Bruce had only taken a few steps out when the sounds of explosions shook the ground of the entire base.
Everyone fell to the ground.
The fire shot up toward the sky.
That was only the beginning.

CHAPTER 2046

Boom!

Boom!
Boom!

The base, which was made up of eight islands, exploded.
Wave after wave of explosions made the entire place lit up as if it was the day.
Boom!
The base was one of the energy supply stations of the Lab of Gods, so there were more resources kept there other than the sunstones.
Not only would the energy resources be destroyed in the event of an explosion, but the explosions would also be so major that they would be a threat to the base.
Thus, the explosion earlier had only been the start. The moment one explosion went off, another was soon to follow, every explosion more devastating than the last.
Boom!
At the start, the explosion was on one island. Soon, it was three.
Then, it was four.
Five.
In the end, eight islands and their connecting regions all suffered from explosions.
Even the surrounding sea was affected.
Tidal waves formed from the shockwave of the explosion, and a whirlpool appeared.
“Protect Mr. Johnston! Escort him out of this place!” the crowd shouted.
At that, countless fighters ran over to protect Bruce.
At the same time, the flying vehicles of the Lab of Gods were activated so that the council members and vital employees could leave immediately.
“Stop it! Stop the explosions!”
The first thought Bruce had was not escaping but stopping the disaster.
“We won’t make it in time, Mr. Johnston! This is too sudden for us to react in time! Plenty of our equipment has been destroyed, and the energy is leaking from. This is too massive for us to stop!”
No one could do anything to stop the explosions. The least they could do was minimize the lives lost in the explosions.
“Oh no!” Bruce had abruptly recalled something. “The sunstones! The sunstones are still in there!”
It was then the others recalled about the sunstones, which had yet to be loaded into the system.
The consequences were unimaginable if the explosions reached the sunstones.
“Hurry up and get the—”
Before Bruce could even finish his sentence, he saw the explosions reaching the area where the sunstones were stored.
“We have to leave now!”
Just as Bruce yelled his thought out loud, silence enveloped the area.
All their voices had been overlapped by a singular noise.
The mushroom cloud that rose into the air blocked out the sun.
Boom!
The sunstones exploded.
The terrifying energy seeped everywhere and destroyed everything it came into contact with.
In a second, all buildings on the island were gone.
All humans on the island disappeared, leaving no blood nor flesh behind.
It was a frightening sight.
It was too petrifying for anyone to witness.
The moment he saw the explosions reaching the sunstone area, Bruce had activated the armor and let it wrap him up in it.
He could only watch as the people around him disappeared one by one.
The land of the islands cracked, and the buildings of the base were decimated.
It was a scene of the end of the world.
He had many times seen the Lab of Gods’ simulation of doomsday, but now, the real scene appeared right in front of his eyes.
What sent chills down his spine was that it was only the beginning.
When the sunstones exploded, their energy radiated outward.
Boom!
Bruce watched as the entire island split in half and sunk under the waters.
The other seven islands either cracked apart or sunk along with the first.
More sunstones exploded, and the greater the force of the explosion became.
It was hell on earth.
“Ugh!”
Bruce could feel a pressure in his body, threatening to make him implode.
Even his armor was starting to crack.
It was the latest armor created by the Lab of Gods, and yet, it could barely withstand the frightful power of sunstones.
Beside him, the armors of Peter and the rest were beginning to crack as well.
None of their armors were able to withstand the explosions of multiple sunstones.
Nothing could.
Oh no!
We’re doomed!
Bruce paled drastically.

CHAPTER 2047

Their cracked armors could not hold for long.

In seconds, they were going to die.
“Save me!”

Bruce hastily pressed the help button.
Thirty seconds later, eight men with superpowers landed in front of Bruce from the sky.
Glowing shields instantly appeared in front of them to stop the sunstones’ energy from reaching them.
Whoosh!
Right then, Bruce found himself pulled away by his subordinates.
Even Peter and some others were rescued.
That was one of the rights Bruce had as the core member of the Lab of Gods.
At the time of danger, he could press the help button to receive help.
No one else in the base other than people like him had a button like that.
If Bruce were anyone else, he could only wait for death.
The only reason the rescue had come so quickly was because the team was close.
If they had been far, they might not have made it in time.
When Bruce looked down at the doomsday-like disaster, he saw the flames spreading across the lands.
The explosions could still go on forever, and the mushroom cloud was still rising.
Bruce’s mind was blank, his eyes filled with nothing but despair.
The base is so huge! How can eight islands be wiped out as quickly as this?
That was not all.
There were only around five hundred survivors.
They were either the quick ones or the powerful ones who managed to survive the explosions.
If Bruce did not have the help button, he would have been dead with the rest of them.
All of their resources were gone.
The sunstones that could have powered them for half a year and the sunstones that they had just gotten were all gone.
Although the Lab of Gods had suffered losses in the past, they had been minor incidents.
It was different this time.
The loss was too great.
It was something they could not afford to have.
After all, this base was one of the largest energy supply stations.
It would be equivalent to losing a quarter of the Lab of Gods.
They had never suffered a loss as immense as this.
Everyone in the Lab of Gods was stunned by the explosions.
For a long while, there was only silence.
They thought they had succeeded; they thought they could begin mining for more sunstones after getting them from Erudia.
That batch could have powered them for a hundred years.
Yet, in a blink of an eye, they were gone.
The sunstones were gone, and with it went everything else.
The eight islands were gone, too.
Their base was decimated.
The unexpected turn of events had shaken up everyone, and they could barely believe that the explosions had happened.
In the fire was a pair of eyes that were watching them.
The eyes belonged to Levi.
Once he made sure that everything had been destroyed, he turned and left.
Indeed, everything was done by Levi.
After all, he had said that he would not let them get their hands on any of the sunstones.
Since he could not steal the sunstones away, he destroyed them.
No way am I going to let the Lab of Gods use them.
That was why Levi had never thought of stopping them.
From the very start, he had planned to destroy everything.
While the Lab of Gods was looking for Levi, Levi had been looking for them too.
The Lab of Gods had always been mysterious in many ways. Their headquarters and their core bases were places that could not be easily found.
Levi had been sending his men to search for them, but it was a fruitless search.
They could barely find any clues as to where the headquarters and the core bases were.
Bruce never thought that the transportation of the sunstones had exposed the location of their supple station.
They were too secretive with their locations.
It was really near impossible to find them, let alone come close to their bases.
However, transporting the sunstones had exposed their location.

CHAPTER 2048

The sunstones needed to be transported to a specific location.

The Lab of Gods had been publicizing the transportation journey and even invited various major global forces to keep a close eye for any signs of the mysterious force.
In other words, they had told the rest of the world where their base was.

No one realized that.
Everyone was putting themselves in the shoes of the Lab of Gods; they were all thinking about how they should figure out the identity of the mysterious force.
They never thought they would expose themselves first.
They never thought that the mysterious force was looking for their base as well.
Thus, with the transportation team, Levi finally found the Lab of Gods’ base.
It was a fruitful day for Levi.
Not only did he stop the Lab of Gods from getting Erudia’s sunstones, he even destroyed one of their important supply stations.
Levi had dealt a dreadful blow to the Lab of Gods.
It was the most vicious counterattack that he had dealt toward the Lab of Gods as well.
It had truly shaken their foundations.
Despite the fact that every powerful being in the world was watching the incident, Levi left without anyone realizing he was ever there.
After all, they were all focusing on the transportation route instead of the base.
Moreover, Levi was acting alone, which made it even tougher to spot him.
Bruce and the others were brought to Zarain after their rescue.
Thud!
Upon reaching, they all collapsed to the ground.
Bruce was like a living corpse—he was no longer conscious of his surroundings; he did not even blink.
It was the same for the others, including Peter.
They lay on the ground, unmoving, as if they were dead.
The destructive explosions had destroyed their spirits.
It was too big of a blow.
Bruce had withdrawn into himself.
“Men, get the medics to check on their conditions! When that’s done, start looking into the cause of the explosions! Find out if it’s possible to salvage the situation!”
The Lab of Gods was in chaos.
While everyone was still reeling from the shock of hearing how the sunstones were brought to the Lab of Gods safely, the dark web abruptly put up a piece of news.
It was a video, and none other than the video of the Lab of Gods’ supply station’s explosion.
The video had captured the destruction of the eight islands.
Those who tuned into the dark web were baffled.
What happened?
This is ghastly!
Where is this place?
It’s one of the Lab of Gods’ bases. That’s where the sunstones from Erudia were transported to, someone replied.
What?
How could that happen? The explosions are massive! Won’t it travel thousands of kilometers?
The ones on the dark web continued to ask.
The explosion is so massive because the sunstones and the other resources were caught up in it. Not only did the sunstones that the Lab of Gods had just brought back were destroyed, but the sunstones and the other energy material that were already at the base were destroyed as well. Nothing was left!
I’m sure that this is the worst event they had ever gone through. These explosions have struck their core!
That’s right. Although the Lab of Gods’ secret labs across the globe were wrecked previously, it still wasn’t as bad as this one. This is their vital base!
News of it spread across the dark web before reaching the rest of the world.
While Lab of Gods had managed to transport the sunstones from Erudia back to their base, their base was destroyed before they could even use them.
Moreover, the entire base was wiped out.
Nothing was left behind.
There were even rumors that a council member of the Lab of Gods was injured in the explosions.
The entire world was shocked.
The mysterious force struck again!

Thank you supreme grandmaster Skye

Prodigy · Sunday at 12:05 AM

I really fee for Emma for going through these sufferings just to save her.it goes with the saying
" There is no deity like a mother"
What a blissful reunion

skye · Sunday at 8:14 AM

Thanks man, I really appreciate it

Prodigy · Monday at 11:06 AM

indra said:
Chapter 1044
Zoey gazed at Levi expectantly.

The day had finally come for her to marry the love of her life.

Bursting with joy for her son, Emma was easily the happiest person in the crowd.

She never imagined that she would be able to attend her son’s wedding.

“Huh? Not only are you attending the wedding, but you also have to give a speech?” asked Meredith after checking the itinerary.

“That’s right.”

Emma nodded.

“We can’t have you doing that! What will people think of Zoey when they see you? Do you know how many will be watching you tomorrow? Many are trying to dig for dirt on Zoey.”

“Do you know how much trouble it will cause if people find out that Levi has a mother like you?”

“You don’t want to cause problems for Zoey, do you?”

Meredith, Robert, and the others all ganged up on Emma.

“I… I don’t, so what should I do?”

Naturally, Emma would not want anything bad to happen to Zoey.

“It’ll be better for you to forego the wedding tomorrow,” advised Meredith.

“What?”

Emma hesitated because she really wanted to be a part of her son’s wedding.

“If you insist on going, then your son will never marry Zoey!” threatened Meredith.

“I won’t go then.”

Emma had no choice but to listen to Meredith.

“Good! We have an agreement then. You can’t appear at the wedding, and you can’t tell Levi or Zoey about this.”

“I understand.”

Emma was aggrieved but she did not want to ruin her son’s wedding.

“Phew! Can you imagine how humiliating it would’ve been if Levi’s filthy mother were to show up at the wedding?” The Blacks cackled.

That night, Levi went to the airport with Azure Dragon and the others to pick his friends up personally.

Logan and Jennie were also there to pick up their big-shot relatives, who only decided to attend Zoey’s wedding when they heard of Zoey’s net worth.

Before long, the Blacks appeared out of the arrival gate, and every one of them was well-dressed.

Logan then glanced at Levi. “Take a good look, Levi. Notice how all the Lopezes and Blacks are all big shots? What about your family and friends? Anyone worth mentioning?”

Compared to the Lopezes and Blacks, Azure Dragon and others were dressed quite casually.

“I’m guessing that the friends whom you’re waiting for will fare no better than the ones beside you now,” mocked Jennie.

“Boss!” cried Ezra and others excitedly when they appeared out of the arrival gate.

“Weren’t these people on the same flight as us? They were in the economy class,” ridiculed one of Logan’s relatives.

“Hahaha!”

Logan and Jennie joined in on the laughter.

It’s evident that we’re on a different level from Levi’s friends.

We were in first class while they were stuck in economy class.

Without their uniforms, Ezra and the others were no different from ordinary people.

They had even bought economy class tickets, so it was only natural that people would misunderstand.

Little did Logan, Jennie, and the others know that they were standing before the renowned Commanders-In-Chief of the Nine Warzones and the Four Guardians of Erudia.

These men were the ones who shaped Erudia’s destiny and they were revered both locally and abroad

Awaiting what will unfold later on

Prodigy · Monday at 2:36 PM

indra said:
Chapter 1051

The troop which had just exited the villa paused in their march upon hearing the man’s voice.

“What’s going on?”

Levi had already sensed the imminent danger.

White Tiger carefully assessed their surroundings.

He gasped softly and reported, “Fighters! The whole place has been surrounded by elite fighters!”

“Mm, you’re right. There are at least a thousand of them and their numbers are still increasing,” Ezra added.

These killing machines from the battlefield had already sensed the presence of Damien’s men.

“Phoenix, what’s the situation at the front?” Levi asked.

“Jonah Garrison addressed him as Mr. Damien. So it’s probably Damien Garrison,” Phoenix answered.

“Alright, understood,” said Levi.

“Should we get into battle right away?” Ezra queried.

“No. Let’s change back into our previous attire. For the time being, I don’t want to expose my identity to Damien. I’ll only reveal my identity after I’ve brought down his family! It’s not appropriate to do it right now.”

Ezra’s eyes widened in surprise. “What? Boss! I know that you don’t want the Garrison family to know your identity, but you’ve already promised to give your wife a surprise. Are you going to keep hiding it from her?”

The others also stared at Levi with doubt.

He sighed in response and said, “I don’t have a choice. I guess I’ll have to tell Zoey some other time.”

“Besides, Damien isn’t here to genuinely congratulate me on my wedding!” Levi sighed.

“Alright. Let’s all change back into our previous attire!”

Soon, everyone was back in their original clothes.

On the stage.

“While waiting for the groom, allow me to introduce myself!”

“My name is Damien Garrison, and I’m from the Garrison clan of Oakland City!”

Hearing this, everyone only noted that Levi and Damien had the same surnames, and did not think much about it.

After all, no one present was privy to the details of the Garrison clan from Oakland City.

Even Xabian Goel did not have a deep understanding of that clan.

Only Emma, Zoey and a handful of people were terrified by this.

Damien’s lips curled upwards upon seeing the clueless looks of the audience.

As expected, they’re a bunch of oblivious commoners.

They are so ignorant.

They don’t even know what the Garrison clan is?

It’s no wonder Levi is completely full of himself to the point of disrespecting the Garrison clan. It’s all because he grew up in an environment like this.

Pathetic.

A bunch of ignorant idiots.

Damien sneered. “Perhaps all of you don’t fully understand the workings of the Garrison clan. Allow me to enlighten you. A servant from my family by the name of Caleb had ruled over the entire South Hampton for almost thirty years.”

Everyone gasped when they heard this and looked towards the families from South Hampton for confirmation.

Xabian Goel and the other relevant families nodded, confirming that what he said was indeed true.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

This particular Garrison family must be immensely powerful!

“The Garrison clan from Oakland City is also known as the most powerful ancient family in the country, the Head of Erudia!” Damien announced.

The crowd gasped once again.

After getting the clearer picture of things, everyone was shell-shocked.

Aaron and his family gradually regained their senses.

Levi shares the same surname as them.

Could he be related to the Garrison clan from Oakland City?

Could this be the final surprise Levi prepared for us?

“Could Levi be a member of the Garrison clan from Oakland City?”

Aaron’s face brightened with excitement.

Everyone glanced expectantly at Damien.

Damien scoffed. “No. He isn’t qualified to be a member of our clan.”

These people are indeed hoi polloi.

They’re thinking of riding on Levi Garrison’s coattails?

In their dreams!

A lowly beggar like him doesn’t hold a candle to me.

“Huh?”

Disappointment was written across the faces of Aaron and the others.

Right at that moment, Levi led his men back to the wedding.

“You’ve got some guts coming to my wedding, Damien. Where did you even pluck the courage from?” Levi growled.

Oh my gosh
This Damien fuck things up

brits · 2024-07-02T11:26:57+0300

Patiently waiting for master Skye's kindness....

bhargava.ysk · 2024-07-02T20:23:03+0300

Why

indra said:
Chapter 1302

“It’s either you work with us, or your daughter will never have a last name on any of her identity documents”

Though it sounded ridiculous on the spot, Zoey knew what they were capable of.

They would do anything they could to coerce her to give up Morris Group.

Likewise, her family knew her soft spot. That was why they used her daughter as their bargaining chip.

“How could you guys do this to me!”

Zoey was exasperated under the pressure.

“Hey, don’t make it sound like we’re bullying you. There’s no way we’re letting a crippled man be in charge of the company.”

“Mommy, I want to take Daddy’s last name.” The girl in Zoey’s arms finally spoke.

She knew they were trying to intimidate her mother, and she would never allow that.

Meredith laughed after hearing the girl’s childish request. “You want to be a Garrison? Sure! You just dug your own grave. Let’s see what the family will do to you.”

Everyone smiled nastily as Meredith spoke.

“They won’t do anything to us. They are afraid of Daddy. He’s the God of War!”

Forlevia knew that Dragonites would move at Levi’s command. To them, he was still the God of War.

Not only that, but she could also foresee what was in store for Tyrone and the Garrison clan.

If the Garrison clan was afraid of Levi, there was nothing else left to stop her from becoming one of the family.

What Forlevia said sounded like a joke to Meredith and the rest, but it was the truth.

“Ha! What did your dad tell you, eh? That he’s the God of War? He’s disabled! This is the most brazen thing I’ve ever heard. The whole Erudia would be ashamed if he were. Winsor’s the only God of War here! Who do you think your dad is?” Meredith taunted as she turned to look at everyone, “I can’t believe Levi taught his child to lie.”

A boisterous wave of laughter rang among the family members.

Zoey’s face hardened when Meredith started criticizing Levi’s parenting.

Despite seething in anger at Meredith’s rebuke, Zoey was still dissatisfied with Levi.

Why did he even tell Evie that he’s the God of War?

He’s not anymore!

Evie is still young, so she will really take this for the truth.

Does he even know what he’s doing?

The kid might end up in trouble!

“Mommy, I really want to be a Garrison. I insist!”

Forlevia’s voice shook Zoey back to reality.

She had to make a decision right at this moment.

“Come on, Zoey, we don’t have all day. You have to think about your kid too. Besides, it’s not like it’s a bad thing to have Morris Group as part of the three families’ plan to consolidate our influence. You will still benefit from it. Forlevia will be treated like a little princess in all the families too, so it’s a win-win situation.”

Zoey was swayed as Meredith and the others started persuading her.

After all, she did not want Forlevia to not have any family name.

She just could not bring herself to do it.

“I’ll think about it,” Zoey finally caved.

There was nothing she could do in the face of this cold-hearted lot.

They took advantage of Levi’s misfortune and forced him to donate one of his kidneys.

Now they were even extending their claws to Morris Group.

Zoey could not believe they were actually the family members she grew up with.

She had forgotten that family ties were nothing to these prominent families when they wanted to pursue their own interests.

if she were given a choice, she would rather be born in a usual family.

“You have one day to decide, or we’ll talk to the authorities and get her name changed.”

After that, Zoey brought Forlevia and left without another word.

When she arrived home, Levi could tell with just one glance that something was wrong.

“What’s the matter?”

Zoey sighed and recounted everything that happened.

Levi was incensed when he heard what happened, but he quickly calmed down and thought it was not entirely a bad thing.

“Fine, she can just take my last name.”

bhargava.ysk · 2024-07-02T20:28:07+0300

indra said:
Chapter 1302

“It’s either you work with us, or your daughter will never have a last name on any of her identity documents”

Though it sounded ridiculous on the spot, Zoey knew what they were capable of.

They would do anything they could to coerce her to give up Morris Group.

Likewise, her family knew her soft spot. That was why they used her daughter as their bargaining chip.

“How could you guys do this to me!”

Zoey was exasperated under the pressure.

“Hey, don’t make it sound like we’re bullying you. There’s no way we’re letting a crippled man be in charge of the company.”

“Mommy, I want to take Daddy’s last name.” The girl in Zoey’s arms finally spoke.

She knew they were trying to intimidate her mother, and she would never allow that.

Meredith laughed after hearing the girl’s childish request. “You want to be a Garrison? Sure! You just dug your own grave. Let’s see what the family will do to you.”

Everyone smiled nastily as Meredith spoke.

“They won’t do anything to us. They are afraid of Daddy. He’s the God of War!”

Forlevia knew that Dragonites would move at Levi’s command. To them, he was still the God of War.

Not only that, but she could also foresee what was in store for Tyrone and the Garrison clan.

If the Garrison clan was afraid of Levi, there was nothing else left to stop her from becoming one of the family.

What Forlevia said sounded like a joke to Meredith and the rest, but it was the truth.

“Ha! What did your dad tell you, eh? That he’s the God of War? He’s disabled! This is the most brazen thing I’ve ever heard. The whole Erudia would be ashamed if he were. Winsor’s the only God of War here! Who do you think your dad is?” Meredith taunted as she turned to look at everyone, “I can’t believe Levi taught his child to lie.”

A boisterous wave of laughter rang among the family members.

Zoey’s face hardened when Meredith started criticizing Levi’s parenting.

Despite seething in anger at Meredith’s rebuke, Zoey was still dissatisfied with Levi.

Why did he even tell Evie that he’s the God of War?

He’s not anymore!

Evie is still young, so she will really take this for the truth.

Does he even know what he’s doing?

The kid might end up in trouble!

“Mommy, I really want to be a Garrison. I insist!”

Forlevia’s voice shook Zoey back to reality.

She had to make a decision right at this moment.

“Come on, Zoey, we don’t have all day. You have to think about your kid too. Besides, it’s not like it’s a bad thing to have Morris Group as part of the three families’ plan to consolidate our influence. You will still benefit from it. Forlevia will be treated like a little princess in all the families too, so it’s a win-win situation.”

Zoey was swayed as Meredith and the others started persuading her.

After all, she did not want Forlevia to not have any family name.

She just could not bring herself to do it.

“I’ll think about it,” Zoey finally caved.

There was nothing she could do in the face of this cold-hearted lot.

They took advantage of Levi’s misfortune and forced him to donate one of his kidneys.

Now they were even extending their claws to Morris Group.

Zoey could not believe they were actually the family members she grew up with.

She had forgotten that family ties were nothing to these prominent families when they wanted to pursue their own interests.

if she were given a choice, she would rather be born in a usual family.

“You have one day to decide, or we’ll talk to the authorities and get her name changed.”

After that, Zoey brought Forlevia and left without another word.

When she arrived home, Levi could tell with just one glance that something was wrong.

“What’s the matter?”

Zoey sighed and recounted everything that happened.

Levi was incensed when he heard what happened, but he quickly calmed down and thought it was not entirely a bad thing.

“Fine, she can just take my last name.”

.

Why the hell zoye listen and again and again her so called family members in the surface when they are not really good and attand meetings of theirs and when will she learn lessin and when she will believe her husband levi and why every tine he is dissatisfied with levis doing after knowing he is capable and will jot get angry when her so called famiky member scheming everytime and tried harm them somany times. When she will learn lesson and start beliving in Levi

bhargava.ysk · 2024-07-02T20:29:50+0300

Very disapp

bhargava.ysk said:
Why the hell zoye listen and again and again her so called family members in the surface when they are not really good and attand meetings of theirs and when will she learn lessin and when she will believe her husband levi and why every tine he is dissatisfied with levis doing after knowing he is capable and will jot get angry when her so called famiky member scheming everytime and tried harm them somany times. When she will learn lesson and start beliving in Levi

very disappointed in zoyes doings. She and emma will think very one are powerful and capable than levi even street dogs because they can attack and bark when they will trust themsemves and levi and when they will believe themselves

The Protector (The Return of God Of War)

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Chapter 1302

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