Max Level Return—I'll Protect That Fragile One

After disembarking, Zheng Qin followed step by step behind Huo Wen’an, analyzing, ”We agreed on 180,000, but he only took 120,000. He didn’t take any money from the Pilot at all. That captain must be very familiar with the Old Helmsman.”

Zheng Qin found the twist of fate indescribable; arriving in the Divine Martial Realm and taking a random black ship, he still ran into an old friend of the Old Helmsman.

”I forgot to ask,” Zheng Qin inquired of Huo Wen’an, ”What did the Old Helmsman do in the Divine Martial Realm before? He must have been a famous powerhouse given how formidable he is.”

”Ha.” Huo Wen’an glanced at Zheng Qin with a cryptic smile, ”Him? A notorious pirate listed as a great thief on the Eastern Alliance’s kill list.”

Zheng Qin’s smile froze.

Ying Ziyao was also taken aback, ”Mr. Huo was a pirate in the Divine Martial Realm?” If this were spread around, who would believe it?

Huo Wen’an, without the distasteful pleasure of revealing his father’s secrets in front of others, didn’t respond.

Now Zheng Qin understood the captain’s instructions for Huo Wen’an to hide his face; he feared that the criminals on Bai Ze Island would kill the Pilot to claim the bounty from the Eastern Alliance.

”Pilot,” Zheng Qin sincerely suggested, ”do you want a disguise? I can help you.” Zheng Qin had learned the Disguise Technique. Although his skills hadn’t reached a masterful level, he could still simply alter Huo Wen’an’s features and expressions.

At least enough to prevent others from easily recognizing his real appearance.

Huo Wen’an: ”Maybe an old acquaintance.”

Huo Wen’an looked toward Bai Ze Island, just across a bridge, and gave a charming smile. ”No need.”

Zheng Qin frowned, about to warn him not to be careless, when he heard Huo Wen’an say, ”Kill whoever needs to be killed, saves a lot of trouble.”

”...”

Zheng Qin’s blood boiled, rubbing his fists and wiping his palms, eager to follow Huo Wen’an to make a bold move and dominate Bai Ze Island.

Ying Ziyao was the only one who showed a horrified expression upon hearing their conversation.

He had practiced medicine all his life, not exactly a saint, but neither was he a ruthless person.

Hearing Huo Wen’an talk about killing people in such a casual tone gave him chills.

Zheng Qin noticed Ying Ziyao’s unease and slowed his pace, turning his head to give a cheeky grin, ”Hehe, Doctor Ying.”

Zheng Qin wrapped an arm around Ying Ziyao’s shoulder, smiling warmly, ”Once we’re on the island, we’ll need you as our most steadfast logistic supporter.”

This was essentially roping Ying Ziyao into their scheme.

Suddenly, Ying Ziyao longed for Xu Xingguang.

Being with these two perverts scared him; Xingguang was better.

Xingguang was so kind, even sweetly called him Uncle Master.

*

The so-called Bai Ze Island wasn’t a tiny island but a sprawling range of towering mountains, covering an area of two thousand square kilometers, about the size of a medium-sized county in the Mortal World.

Bai Ze Island was a lawless zone, with no legal systems, forming its own entity.

In a place without laws, everything relied on power.

After landing on the island, Huo Wen’an led them around a dagger-shaped coastal boardwalk. Upon crossing the knife-like boardwalk, their view opened up immensely.

Opposite their small island was a sprawling range of mountains, with towns clustered on the flatter areas.

A sea-crossing bridge connected their desolate island to Bai Ze Island.

At the end of the sea-crossing bridge was a small peak, and a stone staircase made of marble blocks lay nestled in the middle of the peak. On both sides of the staircase were 18 symmetric traditional-style towers.

From their perspective, the towers looked as though split in half by a silver blade.

The island wasn’t fully illuminated yet; in the gray, misty dawn, mist wreathed the peaks, and the white-walled, black-tiled towers exuded a mysterious, eerie, and oppressive feeling.

”These buildings make people feel uncomfortable,” Zheng Qin remarked bluntly with a frown, ”they look like funeral homes.”

With white walls, black tiles, hidden in sea mist, ghostly and chilling, they did resemble funeral homes.

”Bai Ze Island used to be the end of sea burials. At that time, all the boats of those buried at sea were blown by the sea winds to Bai Ze Island.”

”This place was originally a desolate island for burning the dead. It wasn’t until 800 years ago that the first batch of fugitive criminals settled on the island, turning it into what we see today.”

Pointing to the silver stairway at the bridge’s end, Huo Wen’an told the two, ”That staircase is called the Path to Heaven.”

Zheng Qin shivered, staring at the white-walled, black-tiled buildings, frowning, ”Those buildings wouldn’t be called the Eighteen Levels of Hell, would they?”

Eighteen buildings, fitting perfectly with the Eighteen Levels of Hell.

”Wrong,” Huo Wen’an took the lead onto the sea-crossing bridge, with Zheng Qin and Ying Ziyao hurrying to follow, hearing Huo Wen’an say, ”It’s called Jile Hall.”

Zheng Qin curled his lip, ”Such morbid humor.”

The moment Huo Wen’an and the others set foot on Bai Ze Island, a surveillance camera hidden on a high peak caught their figures and transmitted the images back to Bai Ze Island’s management office.

Every day there were people landing on Bai Ze Island.

Some people came and went, while others never returned.

The management office would assign a number to everyone who came to Bai Ze Island.

Flipping through the number register, the manager of the management office gave numbers to Huo Wen’an and the others: 22999, 23000, and 23001.

This also signified that there were currently 23,001 people alive on Bai Ze Island today.

It’s unknown how many numbers would be wiped clean by midnight.

The three stepped onto the path to the heavens, arriving at the 16th palace on the left side of the steps.

The palace doors were open, with peonies in bud outside and morning dew on the leaves. Huo Wen’an stared at the most luxurious peony for a moment before turning to enter.

The first-floor hall was an office area. No one was behind the desks, but someone was lazily lying on the lounge sofa in the hall.

It was a girl with dyed pink hair and heavy makeup, hiding her real appearance.

Hearing footsteps, the girl got up from the sofa.

She was quite tall, about 1.75 meters, wearing a leather bustier and a mini skirt, with a delicate navel ring waist chain around her slender waist.

Huo Wen’an’s gaze swept over the girl’s navel ring, conjuring up an image of Xu Xingguang wearing such an accessory, a thought that stirred his mind.

”Yo.” The girl’s gaze quickly scanned their faces, lingering a moment longer on Huo Wen’an, and she whistled, ”Good morning, handsome guys.”

Zheng Qin’s gaze lingered on the girl’s waist for a few seconds before complimenting, ”Nice waist, miss.”

The girl grabbed at the air with her right hand, and a large lollipop-shaped iron hammer appeared in her hand, looking like it weighed at least a hundred pounds.

She lifted the heavy hammer with one hand, placing it in front of her, and raised an eyebrow at Zheng Qin, ”I also have a big hammer. Do you like it?”

Zheng Qin: ”...”

Ying Ziyao sneered at Zheng Qin.

What a scoundrel, still acting like he’s on Divine Concealment Island, daring to flirt with any girl.

Huo Wen’an wasn’t surprised at all. He took a can of tin mints from his cylindrical bag, pouring a few into his palm.

Huo Wen’an ate two himself, then tossed the rest towards the girl across from him.

The girl raised her hand to catch the mints, sniffed them to confirm they weren’t poisoned, and then put them in her mouth. Instantly, a chilling sensation made her skull tingle.

Seeing this, Huo Wen’an smirked and said, ”Xiao Qiao, get me a car.”

Hearing her name from this handsome stranger’s mouth, a look of surprise flashed in the girl’s eyes. Only a few people knew she was called Xiao Qiao, and she was sure this was her first time meeting Huo Wen’an.

How did he know her name?

Xiao Qiao looked at him like she’d seen a ghost and asked warily, ”Did you investigate me?”

Huo Wen’an didn’t directly answer her question but instead said, ”I want an X9 model new tank off-road vehicle, fully equipped with ammo. No renting, just buying.”

The X9 model new tank off-road vehicle had arrived half a month ago and hadn’t started leasing yet, and he knew about it?

Xiao Qiao’s hair stood on end, staring at Huo Wen’an without speaking.

This person was really something mysterious.

Huo Wen’an chuckled softly, raised his right hand, and knocked gently on Xiao Qiao’s head, ”Silly boy, what are you spacing out for? Hurry up!”

Silly boy!

Turns out, she’s a boy?

Zheng Qin’s eyes widened, and even Ying Ziyao couldn’t maintain his gentlemanly demeanor, his eyes uncontrollably drifting to Xiao Qiao’s slightly protruding chest and that waist thinner than a girl’s.

She’s a boy?

This is too much.

Xiao Qiao also looked like she’d seen a ghost, staring wide-eyed at Huo Wen’an, asking several questions breathlessly, ”Who exactly are you? How do you know about me?”

Oh my god, only three people counting on fingers knew she was a boy. One was her short-lived mom, one was her current boss, and the other was...

As Xiao Qiao thought of something, she studied Huo Wen’an’s face carefully.

The man in front of her was tall, even in a simple black leather jacket, he exuded an aura like wearing a black robe, full of presence.

This feeling reminded Xiao Qiao of many years ago, even when kept in the Toy Pool, wearing a tattered coat that looked like it was chewed by a dog, the 099 still exuded a noble and handsome demeanor.

That Evil God.

”You are...” Xiao Qiao tilted her head, her eyes clearly saying ’unbelievable,’ ”Number 099?”

Number 099.

Huo Wen’an nodded, ”Long time no see, Xiao Qiao.”

Xiao Qiao licked her lips, lazily leaning against the office cabinet behind her, ”You bastard, after finally leaving the Toy Pool, what are you doing back again?”

”Do you know, many players bet on you back then, waiting for you to make them a big profit, but you suddenly escaped from the Toy Pool.”

Recalling those times, the chill in her eyes couldn’t be hidden by her makeup, ”Thanks to you, we suffered quite a bit.”

Zheng Qin finally realized that this Xiao Qiao girl... oh no, this boy didn’t seem to be a good friend of the Pilot.

He even held resentment towards the Pilot.

Why?

Zheng Qin’s gaze lingered on Xiao Qiao’s pink hair and slender waist for two more seconds, thinking: Could it be that the Pilot and this cross-dressing guy had a past? Upon discovering the other was a boy, unceremoniously dumped him?

If Madam found out about this...

Now that would be interesting.