Chapter 397 This Abandoned Building Is Too Strange, It’s Probably a Trap

President Pan was finally learning just how difficult Shen Lu was to deal with.

This slip of a girl was impossible. She wouldn’t bend to threats, and she couldn’t be swayed by persuasion. There was just no getting through to her.

His original plan was to exploit the conflict between Shen Lu and Old Zhuang. After things escalated, he would step in, put her in his debt, and then have her lend him the vehicle as a matter of course.

But as it turned out, the delivery driver was a Superpower User who utterly thrashed Old Zhuang’s son and his men. Then the three-way meeting had ended the way it did. It was a classic case of trying to steal the chicken only to lose the rice for bait.

’He didn’t think he was making any unreasonable demands, so why on earth wouldn’t she agree?’

With the delivery deadline approaching day by day and no way to get the goods out, he was getting truly desperate.

It looked like he would have to resort to Sun Liang’s terrible idea after all: coercion by force.

President Pan specifically chose the Thunder Mercenary Corps. He’d heard that their vice-commander—Lei Ting’s daughter, Lei Li—was on bad terms with the Gale Mercenary Corps. With any luck, that meant she wouldn’t pull any punches.

Because the mission had to be carried out on a day with high winds, the price was double the usual rate.

Lei Li led the team herself, picking the best fighters in the corps.

She resented Xue Can.

That resentment and bitterness peaked when she learned that Xue Can had feelings for Shen Lu.

But Lei Li wasn’t some brainless bimbo. As much as she wanted to beat up Xue Can and Shen Lu, she had no legitimate reason to do so. Attacking them would be a blatant provocation.

It wasn’t that she was afraid of Xue Can. Rather, Lei Li had investigated Shen Lu and knew she had a fiancé: Fu Cheng, the former eldest son of the Fu Family, who was also the maternal grandson of the mysterious Yun Family.

The Yun Family was elusive and their whereabouts were unknown, but it was always wise to be cautious.

The Thunder Mercenary Corps wasn’t yet powerful enough to look down on everyone. If they provoked a true behemoth and got the entire corps wiped out, the loss would far outweigh any gain.

But accepting a mission related to her was a different story.

They were getting paid to do a job, which was perfectly justifiable. Even if the Yun Family came looking for someone to blame, they would go after the client who issued the mission, not her.

The wind would get stronger at night, making travel difficult, so Lei Li chose to set out immediately and get the job done before sunset.

"Sister Li, should we bring the laser cannon too?" someone asked.

"Bring the laser cannon. And the Miniature Hand-held Missiles, too."

"...The client didn’t say he wanted them dead, did he?"

"What’s there to be afraid of? It’s not like they don’t have Superpower Users. I never said I’d definitely use this stuff. It’s just better to be prepared."

Lei Li thought viciously, ’I won’t hurt anyone, but I’m definitely going to blow that damn store of Shen Lu’s to smithereens!’

She’d had someone check. Fu Cheng happened to be away from the store for the next few days. It was the perfect time to strike.

When she blew that derelict building to bits, Shen Lu would surely bawl her eyes out. And wouldn’t Xue Can’s heart just break for her?

The mere thought of that scene made Lei Li eager to get started.

Once preparations were complete, the group rode in a heavy-duty truck to Gold Street.

The derelict building at the end of the street stood a fair distance from the other houses. All by itself, it made a conspicuous target.

"The Miniature Hand-held Missile! Fire one for me!" Lei Li commanded excitedly.

"Sister Li, that’s a derelict building," someone reminded her. They were afraid a single missile would blow the whole thing away.

"Just do as I say."

Generally, in the corps, a superior’s order was absolute.

The man had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but he did as he was told anyway.

After the weapon was loaded and charged, with a BOOM, the small missile shot toward the derelict building, a white trail streaming behind it.

The moment the warhead touched the wall, the fuse triggered, kicking up a mushroom cloud.

Inside the store, people went about their business—some making dinner, others watching TV and chatting—completely oblivious.

Huo Qian ran in, flustered, and said they were under attack, but no one believed her.

"An attack?" Shen Lu pulled up the feed from the exterior security cameras. Sure enough, there was a heavy-duty truck parked about three hundred meters away, buffeted by the gale-force winds.

"They’ve already made their move. They just launched a miniature missile."

"Huh?"

The few people in the dining area gaped.

"A miniature missile? Really? How come I didn’t feel anything?" Sang Yue asked, unconvinced.

Deng Ying nodded. "Miniature missiles pack a pretty big punch. If one was really aimed at us, we should have felt something."

She was too embarrassed to say it, but ’this derelict building was a shoddy piece of work. Forget a miniature missile, a regular hand grenade could probably take out half of it.’

Huo Qian found it strange as well. She had been puzzled when the tornado passed through last time. The derelict building had been completely unscathed; even the greenhouse and the tin shed in the backyard were fine. Its sturdiness far surpassed her imagination.

"So just let them do whatever. How long until dinner’s ready?" Shen Lu asked.

Xiao Lang went PITTER-PATTER to the kitchen to ask, then PITTER-PATTER back. "Mommy says dinner will be ready in five minutes!"

"Alright, let’s clear the table then."

"Okay!" Xiao Lang responded enthusiastically.

Watching this scene, Huo Qian was struck by a strange sense of absurdity.

’How can Shen Lu be so calm?’

Feeling uneasy, Huo Qian kept watch with Wu Jun.

The two of them watched, wide-eyed, as one Miniature Hand-held Missile after another flew toward them. After seven or eight of those, the enemy switched to a laser cannon. After the laser cannon, they brought out a Grenade Launcher.

When the bombardment failed, a group of people tried to charge in through the backyard.

The first person to touch the fence was instantly electrocuted and knocked unconscious. The one behind him, apparently a skeptic, wrapped his hand in his superpower and tried to rip the fence down by force. He met the same fate, collapsing to the ground, foaming at the mouth.

"Sister Li, this place is seriously weird!"

Lei Li gritted her teeth. ’I’m not blind, of course I can see that. Do I need you to point it out?’

"Tie ropes on and jump over." If they couldn’t touch the fence, then they just wouldn’t touch it.

For Superpower Users like them, a mere two-meter-high fence was nothing.

It was just that jumping in such high winds risked being blown off course, which was why they had chosen a safer approach at first.

Someone quickly complied. He took a powerful leap, perfectly clearing the fence. But in the next second, something strange happened again. It was as if he had jumped onto an invisible trampoline; with a WHOOSH, he was flung back in the opposite direction.

It happened so fast that Lei Li and the others didn’t have time to react.

"What the hell is Old Dog playing at?" Lei Li frowned and sent another person to try. The result was the same; like Old Dog, he was sent flying back.

If the others holding the rope hadn’t been prepared, they would have been sent flying right along with him.

If they couldn’t breach the back, they’d go through the front. Just a direct assault, and it would be over.

Lei Li had just given the order when someone voiced their dissent.

"Sister Li, something’s not right. We should fall back for now. This derelict building is too bizarre. I’m afraid it’s a trap."

"Yeah, not even miniature missiles can scratch it. Only the core database of a military base would have defenses like these, right?"

"And that fence! What the hell was that, not being able to jump over it?"

As more people voiced their objections, Lei Li grew annoyed and shouted, "This is just a C-rank mission! If the Thunder Mercenary Corps can’t even complete a C-rank mission, how are we supposed to make it in the Imperial City? Anyone who won’t go can get the hell out and stop being a member of the Thunder Mercenary Corps!"