Saturday, December 3, 2011

Chapter 3: Airborn Tragedy

Book: Moon Demon
Author: Huang Yi
Chapter 3: Airborn Tragedy

The sound of splashing water came from the bathroom.

Ling Duyu put on a bathrobe while he waited for Zhuo Chu Yuan to finish showering. His head looked like it was covered in white dust, which was left over salt after the sea water dried. After coming ashore, he revealed his amazing heisting skills, spending little effort to jump a small car parked on the side of the street. The crafty rabbit took Zhuo Chu Yuan to another one of his lairs.

He made a long distance call to Chen Wupeng, what a pity that he had already departed. The apparent hurry to get back to the city had him lost in thought as he crossed his arms.

The bathroom door opened and Zhuo Chu Yuan walked out using a large towel to dry her luxuriant hair that was hanging down to one side. She was wearing a fancy blue japanese style night gown. The front of the robe had a deep opening revealing cleavage that only accentuated the exquisite volume of her chest, making Ling Duyu instinctively swallow.

As Zhuo Chu Yuan dried her hair to one side, at the same time she reached her hand out to grab the telephone.

Ling Duyu rushed over and slammed her hand back down.

Zhuo Chu Yuan coldly looked up saying, "Why did you do that?"

Both of them were standing nearly in the same place, Ling Duyu could feel the rush of her breath on his face. He was six feet tall, in comparison Zhuo Chu Yuan would have been petite for a model, but she was only three inches shorter than him. Standing together as a couple, they would make an extremely good match. Unfortunately, since both of them were on the verge of exploding there weren't any romantic thoughts at all.

Letting out a snort he firmly said, "If you make a call to the police, I guarantee that within one hour those commandos will be parachuting down here!"

Without yielding at all Zhuo Chu Yuan replied, "What kind of proof do you have to base that on?" She then removed her hand from underneath his.

He laughed in spite of trying not to, "Proof? Their timing in striking was flawless, they also made clever use of you by waiting for the search warrant. They were wearing your uniforms, as if they were allies. The way they finished you off so quickly, if they didn't have precise intelligence then what am I supposed to believe?"

His sarcastic way speaking only made Zhuo Chu Yuan more angry. Her face tightened and she said in a low voice, "I admit that what happened was not a coincidence, but that does not mean that the police was their information source."

Ling Duyu shrugged his broad shoulders, "This society values freedom, and as my guest you may think what you want, but you will never force me to change my mind."

She replied, "That is not an idea, it is called prejudice."

Ling Duyu respectfully replied, "That group of unwanted guests moved like thunder, and were well equipped even though they were heavily disguised. Anyone with a sharp eye could tell they were a unit sent by the government. The government is well known for their intelligence network, its possible that Interpol has a mole planted within." Narrowing his eyes while taking a look at her he said with a grin, "Maybe you are their mole and are now carrying out the clever ruse of a beautiful woman inflicting pain on herself to gain my trust."

With a frosty stare Zhuo Chu Yuan said, "Mr. Ling, please watch what you say. I have personally promised the Egyptian president that I will retrieve their priceless national treasure for them. Regardless of any tricks you try to pull I am not going to quit half-way." She took the phone without asking him and dialed a number.

The receiver transmitted the sound of a man's voice, "Zhong Yue Han."

"Superintendant Zhong, this is Zhuo Chu Yuan."

Zhong Yue Han cried out, "Director Zhuo, where are you, we sent everyone to look for you!"

Zhuo Chu Yuan wrinkled her two delicate eyebrows, she was apparently not happy with Zhong Yue Han's shouting at her, "Don't ask me that! What is the present situation?"

Suddenly comprehending he gently replied, "Ma Xiu Ming and seven plainclothes officers were hit with anaesthetic needles. Fortunately the dosage wasn't very strong. They are already awake, but we are keeping them at the hospital for observation."

"And the aggresors?"

Zhong Yue Han awkwardly sighed, "All of them were first class experts. Except for the two large holes they blew in the house, there is nothing left of them. Our demolitions expert said they used explosives that are common in the international market. There is almost no chance of tracing the original source. The investigation is still underway, but I doubt there will be any concrete results."

"Did you find anything after searching the house?"

He immediately responded to her angry voice, "Your organization sent an expert, Specialist Tan who performed as expected. He discovered a hidden compartment in Ling Duyu's study just like you said." He went on to recite a long list of firearm names.

Do not reveal my whereabouts, I will contact you again." As soon as she hung up the phone she turned around to look for Ling Duyu.

Ling Duyu noticed that she had a different glint in her eye, it seemed to him that things had taken a dark turn. He didn't know that she had just got a few helpful cards to play.

Zhuo Chu Yuan turned the tables. She took hold of the robe and pulled it up adjusting the chest, slowly and deliberately right in Ling Duyu's face as she gradually walked towards him.

He wanted to slap her, but he knew he couldn't do that.

When she stopped walking towards him, Zhuo Chu Yuan said with a charming smile, "Mr. Ling's house is luxuriously furnished, and you also have a world renowned reputation as an electronics specialist. That is why I specifically asked for an electronic specialist to come help us, and he made some huge finds. In Mr. Ling's study he discovered a hidden closet in the wall. Inside that closet he found a splendid signal interference and jamming device installed, that allowed it to evade metal detectors. It was a extremely admirable piece of work."

Ling Duyu sighed and sat down on the sofa. The arms and ammunition from his hidden closet were no doubt in the hands of the police. Possession of firearms were illegal so he was facing heavy charges. Zhuo Chu Yuan was very fierce and went straight for his weak point.

Zhuo Chu Yuan walked behind the sofa and layed her hand down while she whispered into Ling Duyu's ear, "Mr. Ling never had the intention to cooperate with us, even though we did." Her voice was extremely pleasant to hear, but Ling Duyu was not in the mood to appreciate such things.

With a wry smile he responded, "I have always been a good citizen, and I am very happy to cooperate with the police. How can Miss Zhuo say these things?"

She lightly said, "I forgot to tell you that I have also been trained as a CSI forensic investigator. This afternoon as soon as I arrived at the airport, I rushed straight to the crime scene and made a detailed inspection. I found a bunch of strange tiny objects. Maybe, as such a cooperative citizen, you can help me find a firm answer."

Astounded Ling Duyu said, "You have my undivided attention."

"The five fingertips on the right hand of Professor Xie's corpse were blemished by little blue paper fibers. Using that and paying close attention to the shape of his hand, he should have died grasping a book. I am not sure if my theory is correct."

Ling Duyu smiled, "Director Zhuo is careful and astute. Is there anything that can be hid from you? There was a journal that I removed." He was defeated by the news. He could deal with the constant attacks by escaping immediately, but he would become a wanted criminal chased by a warrant soon afterwards.

Zhuo Chu Yuan's spirit was aroused, as she fixed her eyes on him. She patiently waited for Ling Duyu to make a confession.

"Suppose I hand the journal over to you, how will that benefit me?" They had both reached a point where they could bargain for what they wanted.

With a cunning smile she said, "If you can help us find the 'magic stone', I promise that you will not be prosecuted for possessing illegal arms."

Getting angry Ling Duyu retorted, "That nuisance of a "magic stone"! This is the first time I have said it with my own mouth, how can I possibly help you find it?"

The color in Zhuo Chu Yuan's face drained, "That is your problem, first hand over the journal."

Still indignant he said, "When we fled the house I activated a destruction device. That journal is now just a heap of ashes."

Zhuo Chu Yuan anxiously asked him, "Did you read the contents?"

Seeing her anxious appearance, his heart began to cool. He leisurely said, "I saw about half before your assault interrupted my reading. All so that you could talk about things that we both already knew."

Zhuo Chu Yuan couldn't hide her disappointment, "What were the contents of that half?"

Ling Duyu noticed she wasn't still trying to coerce him with the illegal weapons charge. Feeling more at ease he said, "I can tell you everything, but I am not sure it will be very useful to you. When I was flipping through the journal I noticed that the last two pages had been torn out."

"Was anyone there before you?"

"Right now the only clue came this afternoon from Chen Wupeng. He may know something."

Zhuo Chu Yuan looked at the clock on the wall. It was just after 9:00am, the start of office hours for the airlines. She opened up the telephone book and started calling different airlines. After the seventh call the female secretary immediately responded with, "Mr. Chen Wupeng will be arriving this afternoon at 3:00pm on flight number 708"

They both sat there in astonished silence.

Zhuo Chu Yuan finally said, "Miss, how were you able to tell us Mr. Peng's flight information without looking up the passenger list?"

"You were the fourth person to call asking for his information."

"I am a police officer, can you give me more information about the three previous callers"

The secretary mumbled, "Well..."

In an authoritative voice she said, "What language were the phone calls in?"

The secretary hesitated before saying, "Of the three phone calls, two were in English and the other one was in Japanese. They were all spoken fluently, but..."

"But what?"

With lingering fear in her voice she continued, "The first English phone call the speaker had a wierd tone, almost as if he wasn't all there upstairs. After I gave him Mr. Wupeng's flight time he just repeatedly mumbled, 'Thats very good! Thats very good!' over and over. After a while I got scared and hung up the phone."

With no expression she said, "What is your surname?"

"My surname is Ma."

Zhuo Chu Yuan thanked her and hung up the phone.

Ling Duyu looked at her, she didn't want anyone to think she cared about anything. He noticed a look of concern in her eye, but he didn't hear a word of what she said.                

Zhuo Chu Yuan picked up the telephone again, dialed Zhong's number, while she said, "Are you in the mood to take a trip to the airport?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2:45pm

The autumn sun peeked into the terminal from the west.

A light breezed danced through the deep blue sky. It was a beautiful day.

Through the large glass window of the airport arrival gate, Ling Duyu watched an airplane gracefully descend to a runway that reflected blinding rays of the sun back to his eyes.

Ling Duyu hid the fact that he was attentively looking around, but the enemy was concealed very well. He couldn't spot anyone suspicious. He only noticed a few plainclothes detectives watching him from distant locations. This was Zhuo Chu Yuan's so called "protection", but they were also using him as bait to make the enemy reveal themselves. They also forced him to wear a wire-tap on his body so they could listen to anything he said. It goes without saying that he was extremely irritated.

Within the large concourse camera flashes mixed with joyous laughter. Moving around excitedly several Japanese tourist from a travel group were taking pictures of each other. If someone told him that the entire group were made up of Japanese Bunya Okono members he wouldn't be surprised. The Bunya Okono easily had that kind of power.

It was near Zhuo Chu Yuan where he first noticed three people by the telephones. One had to be a governmental spy, one had to be a Bunya Okono family member, and the third certainly had to be "M".

Ling Duyu laughed to himself, who is going to guard him, they didn't assign enough people for that, it looked like Zhuo Chu Yuan was going to be defeated by him. At this moment she was waiting on the tarmac. As soon as the plane landed Director Zhuo arranged a special deboarding so they could retrieve Chen Wupeng who would be accompanied by several special police. An elaborate escape plan had already been set up. A bullet proof car used for dignitaries, followed by two police cars and an escort of six motorcycles. In addition the honor guard was commissioned to protect Chen Wupeng as he deboarded. Even heads of state didn't receive such a welcome.

Flight 708 drew a beautiful arc in the sky as it slowly approached the airport. It turned toward the runway and began its slow descent. It was like watching a slow motion sequence in a movie.

Ling Duyu still felt at ease when suddenly his facial color made a drastic change.

He suddenly felt a dangerous premonition. This was the second time in the day. The first happened at 2:00 am while he was meditating in his office, and the second had just occurred.

He felt that a major crisis was approaching, but he didn't know what it was.

The quiet runway under the gentle sun extended out, the airplane's landing gear was lowered, like a large bird extending its wings the airplane descended toward the tarmac.

All was normal.

But Ling Duyu's hands and feet were ice cold, a shiver ran up his spine.

He knew that a horrendously terrible event was about to happen.

By now Zhuo Chu Yuan and several heavily armed airport special security officers were standing to one side of the runway near the airport terminal, they were all staring at the other end watching the jumbo 747 make its descent. On that airplane was their distinguished guest, Chen Wupeng who they were waiting for respectfully, he was possibly the only clue left in the world for this investigation.

She was holding a radio tuned to the pilot and air traffic controller's frequency.

The pilot said, "Everything is smooth, the landing gear is down, start decelerating and initiate the landing procedure, please report the runway conditions. Over."

"Runways is open, you are cleared for landing. Over"

Following the transmission there were 34 seconds of silence.

The airplane descended straight to the runway.

Zhuo Chu Yuan held her breath, the investigation was about to move on to a new stage.

So far everything had gone smoothly, but suddenly the nose of the airplane dropped from a 45 degree angle to a 75 degree angle, straight towards the runway.

Zhuo Chu Yuan's heart gave a jump as her face turned a grayish white. The people around her all began to rush to the other end of the runway.

The radio control tower shouted a trasmission, "708, what happened?!"

A sorrowful voice responded, it still sounded like the pilot but was strangely different, "Nobody can destroy me, when I have enough strength I will certainly be back." The transmission continued with wild laughter that covered up the shouting from the control tower. Then the sound of struggling mixed with a loud alarm could be heard from the airplane transmission.

The nearly vertical airplane hit the runway.

In the concourse of the airport, Ling Duyu could not believe what was happening before his eyes.

He saw the airplane hit the runway.

"BOOM", a ball of flame instantaneously spread out onto the runway, it looked like a series of continuous detonations.

Ling Duyu jumped up quickly, wildly shouting, "NO!"

The entire frame of the Jumbo 747 passenger jet disintegrated in the flames, dense clouds of smoke shot up miles into the sky. Debris was scattered all around the runway from the staggering impact.

There was another explosion and more fire.

In front of Ling Duyu the concourse windows all shattered. The force of the explosion was so strong that the glass couldn't withstand the shockwave.

The airport seemed to calm down before another explosion rocked the foundation of the building.

Following it was a deafening wave of sound. There were some people who fell down, some people were scrambling towards the exits, suddenly thousands of people were thrown into chaos.

Ling Duyu's eyes smoldered, he never thought this would be possible, but it really did happen.

What was this "Magic Stone"?

What power caused the destruction of the entire airplane?                        

The sound of fire engines surrounded the airport. Now what? Under these circumstances it would be a miracle if they could even find a complete corpse.

Murder! A despicable murder.

It took Ling Duyu a brief moment to calm down. His many years of meditation along with repeated life threatening situations allowed him to be able to quickly steel his nerves and, with an iron will, confront situations calmly. He had been the first person at Professor Xie's crime scene and now Chen Wupeng was dead, in the rush to find the 'magic stone' Ling Duyu was going to be the primary focus.

He had to go.

Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed that there were people close by all around him.

Ling Duyu shouted out loudly, borrowing some of the inner anger he had built up. He used this opportunity to melt in to the rushing human tide.

The chaos in the concourse was astonishing, ten seconds before the airplane exploded the world had never seen anything like this. Men, women, and children were all shouting frantically, it happened at the airport's busiest time, while thousands of people were crowded together. When the impact of the blast wave shattered the glass walls it caused an instant panic, fear rapidly spread to hearts of the people. There was an indiscriminate stampede as a result and a mad rush to reach the exits.

The sound of four fire engines approaching only increased the crowd's fear.

This gave Ling Duyu the perfect opportunity to escape.

Thousands of people continually rushed forward, the movement of the human tide made it even more difficult for enemies to reach him.

Ling Duyu's physical conditioning was much better than the average person, keeping his body low he drilled into the human tide and worked his way to a side door he spotted earlier.

Ten yards away from the side door an enemy appeared, a tall well built solid looking man. He was moving toward him against the rushing tide. Ling Duyu immediately noticed a glistening black pistol clutched in his hand.

Ling Duyu called out an apology while at the same time using his shoulder to hit a stranger in front of him. He knocked him forward causing him to stumble and fall towards the armed man.

The man lifted his hand up to shove the falling stranger out of his way while his other hand lifted up the pistol. He was just about to shoot, but how could have known that Ling Duyu didn't retreat. Instead he followed right behind the falling stranger.

The armed man's view was blocked, he didn't see Ling Duyu rushing forward until he finally shoved the falling man out of his way. Amazingly, Ling Duyu magically appeared and he was only three feet away.

He immediately lowered the raised pistol and took careful aim, but it was already too late.

Even though the armed foreigner was expertly trained in weapons and hand to hand combat, something already unexpected had happened. On top of that he was also dealing with Ling Duyu who was a world-class master.

He was just about to pull the trigger when Ling Duyu shot his hands out and clamped on to the right hand holding the gun. The man made a miserable sound as the pistol fell from his hand, his abdomen was immediately in severe pain because he received a simultaneous knee strike from Ling Duyu. His body bent over in pain and he was struck by a second blow to the side of his neck. Everything went black as he crumbled to the ground.

Ling Duyu defeated the opponent, but he didn't dare to delay anymore. He quickly rushed through the side door. The river of people around him continued to move at a furious pace and he moved along with them towards the concourse exit.

He squeezed himself to the right side of the passage. His goal was to quickly leave the airport, he originally wanted to take a car from the parking lot, but it was too dangerous.

The sirens from the fire trucks could be heard all around, it continually reminded the people of the terrible tragedy that just took place.

While Ling Duyu was walking he pulled off his yellow jacket, he reversed it and put it back on now a blue color. He then took out a fake beard with adhesive and put it on his face. He added a pair of thick glasses that made him look like he had a severe case myopia (near-sightedness). The new additions immediately changed him into a scholarly looking professor. The magnitude of this crucial situation forced him to use all the means at his disposal.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Chapter 2: The Moonlight Fugitive

Book: Moon Demon
Author: Huang Yi
Chapter 2: The Moonlight Fugitive

Next to the front door was a closed circuit television that displayed an automatic camera. A man and a woman were standing outside the garden gate. Behind them were two police vehicles.


Ling Duyu sighed heavily. He had just come back from the police station two hours ago. Police generally made a house call when they were suspicious and wanted to keep an eye on someone.


He furnished his house with multiple antiques for a unique style; large Persian rugs, Taiwanese rosewood, colorful Victorian Furniture, Chinese calligraphy and painting. Underneath this deceptive exterior was a very modern system made up of many electronic devices, because he was top notch at electronics. This computer and weapons expert designed and installed the entire system himself.


Ling Duyu moved his hand to his waist opening a leather bag hanging on his belt. Inside was a delicate remote control the size of a box of matches. He skillfully pushed a sequence of numbers and the loudspeaker close to the gate began to transmit a raspy noise.


Ling Duyu turned toward the intercom saying, "Officers, is there a matter so urgent that it cannot wait until tomorrow morning to be discussed?


The young officer, MaXiu Ming, loudly replied in the direction of the intercom saying, "Mr. Ling, we are sorry to disturb you tonight, but there have been significant developments in this matter that we find very strange. To my side is Director Zhuo Chu Yuan, who is in charge of Interpol's special operations group. She just flew in from Taiwan to lend a hand in the investigation, and was hoping that she could see you immediately."


Ling Duyu stretched his hand out with the remote pressing a button. Outside the iron garden gate opened slowly while Director MaXiu Ming and Interpol's Director Zhou walked towards the house. After they were in the yard the gate slowly closed behind them. Beyond the gate the light shifted the shadows of at least six to seven other police officers located at different points around the house. Ling Duyu muttered to himself, "Are the police afraid I am going to flee?"


Ling Duyu pressed the remote control again and the big wooden door of the house opened. MaXiu entered first taking the lead and walked over to Ling Duyu giving him a customary handshake.


Facing this young officer, Ling Duyu had a favorable impression of him. They exchanged a few pleasantries before MaXiu Ming moved aside to make the introduction, "This is the Director of Interpol's Special Operations Group, Zhuo Chu Yuan."


Ever since he entered the room MaXiu obstructed Ling Duyu's line of sight and he could not see the person following behind. When he stepped aside the female behind was revealed. When Ling Duyu finally saw her he almost whistled involuntarily.


Zhuo Chu Yuan was informally wearing blue colored civilian clothes. The mini-skirt displayed her wonderful waist, hips, and legs in such a perfect way that it would make any man feel that she is at the height of youthful arrogance and vigor.


Like a floating cloud, her hair was tied in a small bun. Her skin was bronze and glossy, with a delicate stiff nose, corners and edges forming a small distinct mouth, all serving to contrast a charming, moving evil little deity. What goddess descended like a meteor to stand here?


Once MaXiu finished introducing her, Zhuo Chu Yuan smiled, revealing a row of neat snow white teeth. Taking the initiative she hurried forward to shake Ling Duyu's hand.


Ling Duyu secretly pondered this beautiful woman with super model looks. Failing to become a celebrity would be almost impossible. Why did she join Interpol, and not only that, how could she climb up to such a high position.


However when he shook Zhuo Chu Yuan's hand he changed his impression immediately. Her delicate hands were slender and powerful. Ling Duyu himself was a highly trained first-class fighter. He knew that this beautiful woman had been strictly trained in martial arts.


Zhuo Chu Yuan said, "Mr. Ling, How are you?!". Her voice was somber and graceful, with a pleasant sex appeal.


Greeting them both Ling Duyu led them to a reception room with a row of sofas to sit down on.


Ling Duyu sat on one side. MaXiu Meng and Zhuo Chu Yuan sat on the other side.


Both people fixed their four eyes on Ling Duyu with an intense gaze. It gave him the feeling that two armies were about to square off in an epic battle.


Ling Duyu spoke first, "Miss Zhuo just arrived and immediately rushed over. Your hard working attitude is much appreciated."


Zhuo Chu Yuan did not appear to appreciate Ling Duyu's speech. She wrinkled her elegant eyebrows and coldly replied, "Mr. Ling, on the airplane I read through your international profile. I know that Mr. Ling possesses the unique skill set to handle matters such as this one, but the death of Professor Xie has wide implications. As a representative of Interpol I would like to ask you, Mr. Ling, for your full cooperation with us." Her concise and orderly speech was very persuasive.


Ling Duyu was impressed by Zhuo Chu Yuan coming so quickly to the point, but he would not be persuaded so easily. Although he was only 33 years old, he had more experiences than the sum of several people would have in their entire lives. There weren't many storms he hadn’t already weathered. With a slight shrug he replied, "Is there still something I haven't cooperated in?


Zhuo Chu Yuan's ice cold expression remained unchanged, "Mr. Ling, if you are so cooperative then please hand over the 'magic stone' immediately."


This time it was Ling Duyu's turn to frown as he mumbled, "Magic Stone? What exactly is that?"


Instead of getting angry Zhuo Chu Yuan smiled and leisurely said, "Ling Duyu, before 20 years of age your background is unclear. At 13 years of age you obtained a degree in Electrical Engineering from MIT. The following year you received a Master's degree from Harvard University with a thesis paper titled, 'The Relationship Between Egyptian Pyramids and Astronomy.' At 25 years of age you received a doctorate, the submitted paper was 'Black Holes and the Age of the Universe'. This established a reputation of being one of the finest young minds of our generation. After that you travelled the world working as a self-proclaimed computer programming expert."


While she spoke, MaXiu's eyes continued to open wider as if it is the first time he has heard about Ling Duyu's prestigious accomplishments.


Ling Duyu sat comfortably on the sofa, unruffled, but displayed a disrespectful attitude.


Zhuo Chu Yuan continued, "This is what the average person knows about Ling Duyu, but according to reliable intelligence Mr. Ling is involved in many national movements across the world. It highly likely that he is a top ranking member of the secret global organization known as 'Alliance to Resist Violence'. Although this organization is involved in arms smuggling, hiring mercenaries, assassination, and other illegal activities, its goal is to assist the soldiers of all democracies in avoiding confrontations of power. This is why the intelligence agencies of all the great democracies have only observed and have not interfered with Mr. Ling's activities. This is the current situation."


Zhuo Chu Yuan's expressions could change swiftly and fiercely. She used both persuasion and threats. Ling Duyu was getting in touch with the fiery side of this beautiful woman.


Zhuo Chu Yuan revealed a trace of a smile that was unexpectedly moving. She continued on in a careless tone, "Mr. Ling's skills don't end there. For example in the knowledge of weapons and unarmed combat he could probably be ranked as one of the world's top masters. Mr. Ling is also a master hypnotist. My goodness! I almost forgot that Mr. Ling enjoys picking and defeating locks." The color from his face drained as she spoke, "With a person like this, when he found the old man in the room, after a possible accident, would he be at a loss? Would he just helplessly wait for the police to arrive?"


Zhuo Chu Yuan's refined speech put things in perspective making it difficult to refute anything.


Ling Duyu shot a strong look refusing to yield any ground while Zhuo Chu Yuan stared directly back. MaXiu had become a temporary bystander.


After a long period of time Ling Duyu concisely said, "Earlier today I already told the local police every detail where it should already be on file. Only in court will I make another statement, otherwise you will have to forgive me I will not repeat myself again."


Zho Chu Yuan sighed angrily, she appeared to regret Ling Duyu's uncooperative attitude, "Mr. Ling, perhaps you do not understand the gravity of the situation. Including the professor more than ten people have already traded their lives for the 'magic stone'. Interpol formally accepted the Egyptian president's request last year to investigate. The first group identified seven people to investigate and track down, but they all died before they could be reached and the group was forced to disband. I am in charge of the second group that has taken over. Regarding Mr. Ling's earlier propensity for justice, this is already a precious Egyptian cultural relic. From Mr. Ling's earlier response this item should be returned to the original owner, it would only be the right thing to do."


Zhuo Chu Yuan's military strategy was not lacking either, with good communication and quick, flexible changes.


Ling Duyu wondered how he could find the correct words to persuade her, "Miss Zhuo you are wasting your time, I really do not know anything. This is the first time I have heard about the 'magic stone'."


Zhuo Chu Yuan lowered her beautiful face, "I hope that Mr. Ling will not regret this decision in the future. No one can escape our watchful eye."


In a soft voice Ling Duyu said, "Please feel free to search the house when you have a warrant."


Zhuo Chu Yuan looked at MaXiu expectantly who looked a little embarrassed. He awkwardly said, "The search warrant should arrive at any time."


Ling Duyu was disappointed that as soon as Zhuo Chu Yuan arrived she wanted to search his house. However to execute a quick search, a warrant must be obtained which requires certain legal procedures and time. As a result the rest of the officers cannot legally perform a search of the property. Outside the gate there was definitely a large group respectfully waiting for the warrant to arrive so they could begin an organized search.


Ling Duyu shrugged his shoulders, as he turned over many ideas in his mind that would allow him to reduce the journal in the desk cabinet into a pile of ashes. Among his equipment the remote on his waist was the single most important tool. All he had to do was push a sequence of passwords and the system would trigger a small fire. There would be no guarantee that the source of the fire could be determined afterwards.


The three people temporarily sat in silence.


The sound of cars floated into the house. Ling Duyu estimated it to be at least three approaching vehicles.


Why were there so many people?


MaXiu Meng seemed to have the same sense of doubt as he pulled a radio out of his pocket, "Police Head 0137, Who is approaching? Over."


A voice transmitted in response, "They have ministry credentials, and brought the search warrant. Over."


Scowling MaXiu Meng replied, "Only permit one of them to enter with the search warrant. Over."


He was also extremely cautious, as the other side gave an acknowledgement.


MaXiu Meng turned to Ling Duyu saying, "Mr. Ling, please open the gate."


Ling Duyu did not use the remote control hidden within the leather pouch on his belt. In front of the sofa was a small tea table. On top of the table was a control box with a row of switches. Ling Duyu pressed the right-most switch and the outside gate automatically began to open slowly.


Standing up MaXiu said, "Mr. Ling's accommodations are refreshing..."


He did not finish what he was saying as he left the room, moving towards the front door.


Ling Duyu suddenly felt alarmed. His keen hearing told him that a total of three people were entering into the house. MaXiu clearly ordered only one person to enter a moment ago, what happened?


Startled into awareness he jerked his head up. At the same time he began typing into the remote control on his waist.


At that exact moment a long needle entered MaXiu's left cheek. His body slugglishly dropped to the floor. It was an anaesthetic injection!


Three foreigners entered the room, each of them holding a small shiny black pistol.


Ling Duyu fought many battles and he had a %100 sensitive response. As soon as he pressed the remote control the entire house fell into darkness. He immediatly twisted his body and threw himself behind the sofa.


Several sounds rang out. Ling Duyu knew that the sofa shielding his body had already been hit by no less than four needles. This was an extremely formidable enemy.


The slightest noise couldn't be heard from outside. It appeared that the waiting police officers had already quietly fallen to the enemy. As he switched the lights off in the house, he thought he saw Zhou Chu Yuan spring into action at the same time. He wondered if she had enough time to avoid the needle attack.


Another button was pushed and a rumbling sound began to come from the glass wall. On the outside hatches began to close sealing the house even further, blocking out the glimmering moonlight. Now, even if you held your hand in front of your face you wouldn't be able to see your five fingers.


Complete Silence.


No one dared to make the slightest sound, for fear of becoming the target of many needles.


Outside the front door and the big garden, the giant gate closed


Ling Duyu was fully aware that the situation was most advantageous for him. Nobody was more familiar with the house than him.


The only distressing thing, was that all his weapons were stored in the wall of the study within this dark house.


Ling Duyu gradually began to crawl backward over a rug, which cancelled out any noise he made, allowing him to noiselessly escape. He must take advantage of the unsteady enemy position to escape to the second floor. Judging by the facial expressions and by what the three men were wearing it was higly likely they came from a government commando force. If his estimation was correct, Ling Duyu thought that if he used his boldness and skill to somehow escape and live another day, it would already be something to brag about. Fortunately coming from outside the house they did not know that the total number of people including Zhuo Chu Yuan was only two. In order to deal with the current situation of modernized equipment they would have also needed the strictest military training for raids. Their attack effectively became futile.


Halfway up the stairs to the second floor Ling Duyu stopped all movement.


A light delicate fragrance floated to his nose. It was Zhuo Chu Yuan's perfume. She must be nearby. Ling Duyu was willing to bet she had a pistol in her hand. It would be difficult to distinguish between the enemies and himself. If he allowed himself to get shot now everything would be in vain.


Immediately he had an idea. He pressed the remote control and a tremendously loud noise began to shake the room. Ling Duyu heard someone closeby gasp in alarm. First Ling Duyu used the remote control to angle the speakers and turn the volume all the way up on his stereo. He then pushed the "power on" switch which caused the stereo to start playing at full volume.


It was pitch black inside with a deafening noise


Everything was thrown into chaos


The enemies were stumbling into objects. They were in total disarray.


Ling Duyu shouted to clear the way, "Its me, Ling Duyu!"


He heard Zhuo Chu Yuan three feet to his left let out an "Oh!" of surprised recognition.


As soon as he heard her, Ling Duyu approached rapidly with his hand out searching. He bumped into Zhuo Chu Yuan's shoulder and took the opportunity to follow her arm down and grab on to her smooth white hands


Zhuo Chu Yuan was subconsciously relieved when he grabbed her hand. She didn't know until then, that only Ling Duyu could lead her out of that dark place. This was the first time she had encountered such a sudden change.


Ling Duyu led her to the steps of the staircase. She fell down several times, but with the deafening sound of the music, who would be able to hear such an insignificant bump compared to the singing?


The two of them continued to tiptoe up the stairs towards the second floor. The deafening music didn't seem to diminish at all as they moved up. Ling Duyu feeling troubled in his heart, pulled Zhuo Chu Yuan forward with all his strength. Strangely Zhuo Chu Yuan displayed extraordinary agility and was able to follow him closely. She quickly figured out the curve and angle of the winding staircase.


A brilliant explosion of white light came from the room below, flashing into their eyes. The sudden change from complete darkness to a brilliant light left them temporarily blind.


Flares!


* Note: For those of you who don't know a flare is basically a chemical burning torch. Generally the police use them during night accidents to help direct traffic.


If Ling Duyu had any suspicions before, they were gone now. The enemy were definitely a military commando unit.


Why?


There was no precious antique in existence that should make a group like this strike in such a manner.


Just as their eyes began to adjust to the bright light, they both reached the second floor.


Ling Duyu keyed in on the remote again. A solid iron portal slid shut at their feet closing off the stair entrance to the second floor. This equipment that took a thousand days to plan and install was used all in one day. The iron portal would repel the soldiers pursuing on the staircase below. There was finally calm on the second floor, but probably not for long.


Ling Duyu turned the lights on. The indistinct music playing downstairs suddenly stopped.


Shaking his head he said, "Those military types don't appreciate good music."


Under the light, Zhuo Chu Yuan's face was a little pale. The enemy's unexpected attack caught her completely off guard. When she heard Ling Duyu's joke she gave him a withering stare. That was before she realized she was still grasping his hand.


Forcibly she shook off his hand.


Ling Duyu said cheekily, "Miss! Don't burn your bridges so quickly, everything is just getting started." Planting his feet firmly on the ground he continued, "They can come up from here." He was not being sarcastic, since the house was not made of iron and steel so how could it defend against a well-prepared army?


The conversation had not ended before the noise of an explosion rang out, the entire second floor shook violently. A blast of wind rushed in as both of them lost their footing, they fell to the floor together.


Dust and the pungent odor of explosives filled the entire floor. The sound of windows shattering could be heard from every corner of the house. Ling Duyu's peaceful retreat turned into a battlefield.


His earlier speech turned into a fulfilled prophecy.


This time Zhuo Chu Yuan responded quickest, she shoved Ling Duyu who was lying on top of her firm but delicate chest. The scene looked like a scared cat shooting upwards.


There was a metal impact.


Ling Duyu jumped up, with a faltering voice said, "Grappling Hook!". It was an essential tool that is used in mountain climbing.


He could not take on the enemies now, because they could be anywhere after exploding a big hole. Dragging Zhuo Chu Yuan behind him they dashed wildly towards the roof. Everything they saw was littered with dust, and jumbled in confusion.


Ling Duyu keyed in a password on the remote control, activating the automatic destruction device in his desk.


After 100 seconds everything in the desk would be incinerated in a ball of flame.


There was no other choice.


Finally fresh air, as soon as they breathed it they felt as if their spirits were renewed.


The sky was bright with the moonlight of the crescent moon. It was ten days until the mid autumn festival.


It had been two years since the completion of the house, at that time he had a blue hang glider installed on the roof. As a professional weapons expert this hang glider quickly became part of his plan to escape from the mysterious soldiers. He never had to use it until this day.


Ling Duyu helped Zhuo Chu Yuan into the glider and strapped her securely in.


Zhuo Chu Yuan urgently said, "What are you going to do?" She was filled with concern. The glider was outfitted to carry one person, but both of them needed to escape.


With the moonlight strangely reflected in Ling Duyu's eyes he said, "So, you are actually very concerned for me."


Zhuo Chu Yuan angrily shut her mouth tightly, turning her head to the side. That son of a bitch was about to die, and he still treated her with disrespect.


Attached to the base, on the frame of the hang glider, were three wheels situated on top of three long rods. The rods hung down and extended from the roof at a 30 degree angle making a runway for the glider. It was an ingenious design.


That night the winds were blowing strong.


The distant city and harbor sparkled magnificently under the moonlight. It carried an alien beauty.


Unfortunately this wasn't the time to be admiring the moon.


Tight steel pins tightly held the glider to the steel rods. Previously Ling Duyu often worried that there wouldn't be enough steel rings for the glider to take off, but with the tremendous winds there might be too many steel rings, causing the glider to be ripped away from line before reaching the end.


The glider was straining to be free.


Soon the glider would start to roll down from its high perch and slowly accelerate until it would dive from the roof into the night sky.


A second explosion rang out. The iron door to the roof, which was tightly shut, flew out hitting the railing with a noise so loud that it would be enough to rob anyone of their courage.


Ling Duyu shouted wildly as he pushed with all his strength. The glider suddenly sped up, grinding loudly as it slid to the end of the rods. Right then Ling Duyu showed his uncanny skill, as soon as he reached the edge of the roof he jumped with both feet. He looked like a pouncing leopard. With both hands he reached out and tightly grabbed on to the base of the glider.


Two people glided off into the night sky.


Facing the roof, Ling Duyu saw figures moving.


Another explosion came from the office. The auto destruct device had completed its task. Now there was no trace of Professor Xie's journal.


In the blink of an eye the house changed from the size of a box to a small black dot.


Since the day he was born, he had never lived in a house for more than two years. He lived here for 18 months in relative peace, but in the end he couldn't maintain it.


Using his strong waist Ling Duyu moved his feet up into the hang glider's frame support, reducing the workload on his arms. He was now facing Zhuo Chu Yuan underneath, she was on top. There wasn't much room in the frame, so their bodies fit snugly together. They were so close they could feel each the other's breath on their face.


A blast of wind scattered Zhuo Chu Yuan's hair, sending it into Ling Duyu's face. The contact made his face itch, unfortunately he didn't have a hand free to scratch it.


Zhuo Chu Yuan could not withstand the close intimacy, she shut her beautiful eyes tightly, nature had slowly taken its course.


The glider moved at an incredible speed as it swooped down towards the broad harbor.


Ling Duyu impulsively wanted to offend this arrogant and beautiful woman. He wanted to evoke such a response that she would open her apricot eyes, but he finally gave up this attractive idea muttering, "I guess we were lucky. Those madmen forgot to bring missiles."


Zhuo Chu Yuan seemed to be indifferent, her fate had been delivered into his hands.


The glider, the life saving bird, banked steeply. Ling Duyu was constantly correcting the angle of the wings in order to avoid flying into the surrounding skyscrapers. Most likely they would die on impact.


The glider was specifically designed for one person, overloaded with two people of course it wasn't as easy to control.


His goal was at the foot of mountain on the harbor. He was very grateful that at one time he had been fanatical about this sport.


They flew straight down the coast next to the buildings until the harbor slanted 30 degrees.


The glider welcomed the sea breeze as it filled both wings, a graceful arc was drawn through the empty sky before it slowly slid into the mighty, silver waves.


Zhuo Chu Yuan smelled the sea water, but couldn't bear to open her eyes. A faint smile played across Ling Duyu's face, he looked like he had just eaten a satisfying meal. At that moment Ling Duyu let out a miserable cry. His back made contact with the water, at such speed it was quite painful.


The glider's speed gradually reduced while sliding over the water. After it travelled about 100 yards it slowly came to a halt.


The water was ice cold, it was a mid-autumn night, and just a moment ago they were suffering by being blown about by the cold upper air currents. Neither of them were wearing clothes suitable for the water, they both groaned at the same time.


Ling Duyu got out of the frame and began to loosen the straps holding in Zhuo Chu Yuan. Were his hands so frozen by the cold seawater that he was unusually clumsy, or perhaps Zhuo Chu Yuan's exquisite floating body of health caused an extreme attraction, to always be bumping into places that few should touch.


Zhuo Chu Yuan felt rising panic, as she grabbed on to him trying to get free. Her lung capacity would soon be exhuasted.


Two people broke the surface of the water.


As soon as Ling Duyu looked at how far away the shore was he felt lucky, it was only about 200 yards away. A moment ago he climbed out from under the glider frame, he nearly exhausted the rest of his strength in the process. He felt like he didn't have much left to make the swim.


Zho Chu Yuan kicked off her shoes and jacket while treading water and gasping for air.


Ling Duyu also took off his shoes trying to stay afloat, "Young lady, please forgive little brother for not preparing a bathing suit for you."


Zhuo Chu Yuan stared at him with her beautiful eyes before giving a snort full of contempt "HMPH!" Then she turned around and swam for the shore.


Ling Duyu shook his head, the ice cold water caused him to smile bitterly, if he could be at home now reading a book that would really be nice. As he fantasized uselessly he forced himself to move through the water, he overexerted himself enormously already. If not for his life long strict training and discipline it would have given out on him long ago.


Under the moonlit night the sea water appeared to be a 10 million color glittering snake that was pulsating. Using the freestyle Zhuo Chu Yuan rapidly swam towards the shore, the graceful movement was pleasing to the eye.


Ling Duyu secretly admired the beautiful mermaid. A moment ago while they were both riding the glider he let an opportunity to kiss that vain woman go.


Ling Duyu sighed again, then forced himself to pursue the beautiful mermaid who was far away towards the shore.


Both of them successfully reached land, it was the dead of night and completely quiet. They were in a parking lot, but nobody was around.


Looking at Zhuo Chu Yuan, Ling Duyu praised her, "I originally didn't notice Miss Zhuo's beautiful figure!"


He then shrugged and said, "Good Night!" as he turned into the night and walked down a dark street.

Zhuo Chu Yuan hesitated for a moment, clenched her teeth, then hurriedly followed after him.