67 The embodiment of possession, Greed

Ling Yao went down into the second floor, in his hand, a clump of a black shirt being pulled. He ambled his way from the elevator, dragging a body of henchman in disguise. He soon approached the two guards, they stood straight with both rifles on their hands.

"Boss!" They spoke in a respectful manner.

"Boys, open the door, we have another guest here," he curled his lips.

"Sorry boss!" They startled and pushed the double leaf door open, "please, go in..."

Ling Yao waved his hand, he continued dragging the body inside. The crowd of combined staffs and guests zipped tight their mouth same like before he left them alone in the hall. He did hear a mumbo-jumbo of whisper somewhere among the population but he pretty much shrugged them off. Liu Ruyan overlooked his appearance from the stage, her beautiful figure resembled a haughty concubine blowing an enchanting vapor from her ravishing lips and flashing her long eyelashes toward her suitors.

She wrinkled her eyebrows at the scene of Ling Yao dragged his henchman toward the stage, the people's eyes also grew frightened, they had seen this lunatic killed two of his men right on the stage, so it's possible they thought he's going to do it again.

Ling Yao stomped on the surface of the stage, threw the man across, letting his body skidded to the center of the red silky layer.

"Did you guys now?" Ling Yao curled his lips, his light tanned hand swirled around, "there was this kid, back when I used to be an all-bone-child, he's kinda a bit of bully... Scratch that, he's a big bully."

"He liked to borrow other children's toys, played with them until he bored then returned the toys... Most toys came back to their rightful owner in... less than a better state, the rest not even longer in their original form."

He strolled forward, fished out his Glock, checked out for the ammo before putting it back inside, "one day, I got irritated by his behavior, so I took my father's gun, brought it outside and gave it to him by saying it's a toy and totally safe to fire yourself. Of course, you guys might think whose going to fall for such a stupid bluff, yeah no one, he's not either, but here's the fun part, he's not fell for the suicidal suggestion but still fooled by the lies that the gun was a toy, so he took the gun and..."

"Ugh..." The 'henchman' let out a groan as he lifted his head.

*Bang!*

Ling Yao kicked his head, forcing the man to turn over and laid on his back, he grasped the person by his bullet-vest and dragged him toward the stage's cliff.

"The bully aimed the gun toward my head and his finger pulled the trigger..."

His military boots pressed on the person's chest, he swung down his Glock, and glued the line of fire toward the person's head, "I guess that's when you should quote, 'shit happen'." His purple iris stared at the pair of cerulean eyes his enemy possesses.

"Stop!"

Liu Ruyan on the side strode closer and halted several inches from Ling Yao, her pale face enriched with a worried expression, "please don't kill him, he just wants to make sure the hostage's safety..."

"Ah, ah, let me clarify this for you," Ling Yao sneered, his gun stayed on its path, "this person killed my men and tried to sabotage my operation, that's no longer just 'want to make sure', besides, they safe and sound anyway, why would he be worried?"

"There is no harm in trying to be sure, right?" She bit her lips.

"Go away, bask in your lights of fame!" He curled his lips, then glanced back at the person, "I have a dirt to wipe."

"No!" Her voice raised in tone, "he did what he does because he and I made a deal!"

A commotion exploded the moment she finished her sentence, audience's soft voices filled the space, creating a small buzz department among the entire place. Ling Yao turned his head, he wrinkled his eyebrows, "what deal?"

"If..." She glanced downward, "if he helps me prevent you from doing any harm toward my company, I pay him a large sum of money."

His expression delayed before a small snort sound brisked from his mouth then he let out a big sound of laughter. His oral made a big gap, exposing not so neat and bright teeth toward the environment.

"it seems you not so benevolent like we think you are... prioritize your company interest above these people's comfort... huh, this is interesting!"

His mock and insulting voice smashed many ears, wrecked their hearing drum with annoyance.

"Did you guys hear this crap? Instead of just follow with the flow and obey with the rule, she hopes to keep her company in check while dare to jeopardize every folk's life in this room, very brave indeed."

Docile sparrow morphed into a menacing eagle, adore awe shifted to angry glare, but Liu Ruyan couldn't be more care about pairs of eyes belong to someone's else.

"But I don't blame you, I get it, having an enterprise is like having a baby, you nurture, carry, and groom them with so much expectation, hoping you can receive a great deal of harvest by the time they reach maturation."

Ling Yao nodded, he grinned fiendishly, "thank you for the truth, and now, the execution."

"Wait, wait, let him go please, I won't do it again, I promise, I'll be obedient," she held her hand and rubbed them together.

"Now, now, don't get all chummy with me, I'm an idiot but I'm not a second chance type-kinda man, you can ask that bully who currently have a dinner with Satan," he chuckled, his finger ready to pull the trigger.

"Fine!" Liu Ruyan gritted her teeth, she twisted in her feet while her eyes swept the entire henchmen in the spacious area, "I know that part of you are mercenary, so I make you an offer, I am willing to pay anyone a large sum of money to stop and kill this man right now!"

She pointed her finger at Ling Yao, the highlighted man fixed his posture then crossed his arms, his Glock stuck on his forearm.

A silent smashed every corner in the place as none of the henchmen even move a muscle in their fixed spot.

"500,000 dollars for a single individual!" Her voice mandated them, still no response though.

"Six hundred grand!" She glanced at her right.

"Seven hundred grand!" Her hands trashed around, the visualization of horror in her face started emerging for real. The desperate in her tone gripped any individuals guts who saw it.

"It's fine Ms. Liu..."

The disguised henchman finally spoke, his face turned sideways, the pair of cerulean eyes gently gazed at her, "I'm sorry for failing you, I hope... the next person you made a deal, could keep up his end of the bargain."

Liu Ruyan bitterly accepted his statement, she declined her head to avoid his gaze, grasping her left elbow which shivered in a light wave.

"Aw, that's sweet..." Ling Yao wiped his eyes, "now, time to die."

He swayed the gun downward and about to unleash a death sickle in a form of a bullet.

"Stop," his ears caught a male voice from the left side of the room.

"What the fuck..." He rolled his eyes and tilted his head.

One of his henchmen strolled from his position and raised the rifle at his Boss, the firm and serious tone he bore clear his intention of interrupting this charade.

"Drop your gun and stay away from the man."

Gasp chirped in the room, eyes widened and awkward behavior played their tune. Another henchman abruptly strode and pointed his rifle at the man, "you crazy! You dare to betray your customer just because a bitch offered you more money?!"

The man didn't move away from his fire, he said without moving his face, "I have enough with the shit he put up, we thought we going to get the charity money but he turned out just re-focusing their money! Who cares with some orphans shit quarantine zone, beside the woman offered a larger wage, far from this shit head."

"Put down your gun..." He pushed his rifle closer, his voice choked full of ice cone, "get back into your position, now."

"Or what? You're going to kill me?"

"Unless you make me..."

"You do realize that the rest of men in here not from your faction right?" The man sneered, "how many from your gang that you bring here, eight? Ten?"

"Don't push me," his finger was steady.

"Sure, kill me, I want to see how you and this shit head Boss of you can escape from my colleagues' bullet onslaught," his rifle remained true to their path.

The man's skin flushed with anger under his getup, red veins made a root on the surface of his eyes. His finger was ready to be trigger-happy and created a hole, many... many holes on the man's body in front.

*Bang!*

They startled and turned both heads toward the stage. Ling Yao Raised his gun over his head, pointing it toward the ceiling.

"Mercenary, how predictable..." He shook his head, then curled his lips, "from the era of the chieftain to the current supreme leader, their loyalty always easily alluded with a mountain of golds, no wonder they never have any development within this millenia of years."

"Make fun of us anytime you want, but you retreat first and let the lady speak her money," the man snorted.

Ling Yao sighed as his foot left the person's body and he moved backward several steps away. The mercenary guy laughed, he shifted his attention toward the seductive lady, his eyes flames with desires at her figure but he crushed his delusion. You could have women as many as you want so long you bathed in the glory of wealth.

"Raise your bid, lady, you might get yourself an employment," he let out a chuckle.

Liu Ruyan crossed her arm, "eight hundred fifty grand."

"Close," he snide in remarks, she rubbed her temple, "nine hundred grand."

"How about we sum it to one million?" The price made her eyebrows wrinkled, "how many are you?"

"This operation brings out thirty personnel, ten from their own and twenty are mine, and if that person in the stage killed so many already, from the twelve people left in this room, nine of them are mine," he nodded. Liu Ruyan slid her underlips, she bit of dazed for quite some time then she looked at the man again, "nine hundred fifty grand, that's my last offer, take it or not?"

He rubbed his chin, glancing toward his men, they exchanged glances before he faced her back, "fine, 950,000 dollars, for each of us."

"Deal."

The mercenary guy pointed his rifle toward Ling Yao, the rest of his men sieged Ling Yao's people and roared them into the stage, they gathered in the stage, the person rose up and stood beside Liu Ruyan. Ling Yao never once showed dispirited expression, he went on with the mercenary instruction with curled lips, even willing to bow his head and put his knees on the stage. People might think when someone's like Ling Yao cornered, he will fight back or at least rebel a little, but the way he behaved make the situation seems surreal, it's akin to watch a lion doing a circus willingly without being trained first.

"You guys can go to hell!"

"Betrayal is punishable by death!"

The mercenary set them on the side by side with Ling Yao in the middle, their hands tied and placed behind their back, two slap of the rifle on their head shut the men's trap. The leader of the mercenary nodded his head and circled them before strolling toward Liu Ruyan, "I'm assuming that you agree to put all the blame onto them, right?"

"Yeah, but isn't this a bit too easy don't you think?" She wrinkled her eyebrows, the mercenary shrugged, he snickered, "don't worry, he's no longer in charge here, out numbers in both men and firearm, that's why he surrendered easily..."

She hugged her body and gave Ling Yao a glance, her eyes stared at him with complicated light, something tells her that the veil is not all yet uncovered, the mysterious bearing he had was too strange to let it go unnoticed.

"Lady, shouldn't you be ready to give us money?"

"Yes, wait a moment," she minced forward and halted in front of the narrowed eyes man, she curled her lips, "so much for an operation right?"

"Eh, I predict it things like this would happen..." He shrugged and clicked his tongue, "I never trust mercenaries before and never trust them now..."

Her eyebrows raised, "Why you bring so many if you didn't trust a single of them?"

His purple eyes glinted in a cold reflection, his lips slanted quite steep, "what more easy to get rid, 10 brother-in-arms or 10 expendable soldiers?"

Her eyes jumped in surprise, "you plan to... kill them all in the first place?"

He opened wide his mouth and eerie laugh breezed out, "hire them then kill them, effective and efficient!"

"How are you going to do that?" A shiver tickled her senses.

"..." He revealed his untidy teeth, he chortled like a dying woodpecker bird, "kaboom..."

She took a step back, an earthquake shook the entire land of her body, her eyes expelled a terrified color, "You're joking, right?!"

"Oh, baby, when it comes to an explosion..." His tune clattering then meandered around the room, "I never joke."

The mercenary leader also heard Ling Yao's talk, his face twisted in an ugly manner, the heavy trod on his footsteps cause the large dull noise, "you try to blow us up?!"

"I'm not trying, I'm sure," he closed his eyes.

"Where did you plant the bomb?!" He placed the rifle's barrel on his forehead.

"You think?" Ling Yao's giggled, "how much you will put up on a stake to make me tell you, where I put the bomb?"

"How about we just kill you and get the fuck out of here as fast as we could?!"

"Aw, sorry, I don't think that's possible, you see, I can still activate the bomb, even when my body takes a deep root in a dry and black soil!"

Liu Ruyan couldn't believe what's happening, this man prepared to blow up the entire hotel?! What kind of madman doing this crap? Also, what he means by can denotating it even if he's dead? Are the trigger strapped into his heart?

Ling Yao glanced at her and saw her reaction, he jerked his lips, "I know what are you thinking, no, no, it's not that complicated, besides heartbeat sensor was too expensive to implant so..."

Black lines stripped her forehead, her lips held tight all together while her eyes squinted, Ling Yao shrugged at her frustrated countenance, "I just give the trigger to my trusted man in surveillance, told him to trig the bomb if the situation here has been compromised."

"Huh?" She startled before daze took a hold of her expression, the person beside her let out a chuckle, his voice attracted Ling Yao's attention, his purple iris widened between the narrowed gap of his eyes, "ooh, that's not a good sign..."

"Yeah, I'm sorry if I have to break it with you, but the person is your surveillance already dead, the one that had been your... 'eyes' this whole time is somebody else, well, somebody not from your league," the man curled his lips.

"Darn it!" Ling Yao drew his eyebrows together, "no wonder this place still standing..."

"Haha, I'm sorry, Mr. Ling," Liu Ruyan giggled, her melodious tune joyously danced in the hall. Ling Yao rolled his eyes, the mercenary leader snickered, he strolled toward Ling Yao's front while another two mercenaries followed his steps, they aimed their rifles in tandem toward Ling Yao and his henchman.

"Wait," Liu Ruyan said with urged tone, "we release these people first, they don't need to see another blood spilled for today..."

"Sure, whatever makes you comfortable, just don't forget our payment," the mercenary leader shrugged. She nodded and about turned her body around, then... at this moment... another eerie laughter ghastly froze the temperature in the room, it's like hearing a crispy yet obnoxious ambiance that castrated any cozy emotion within a human's guts.

"You think this is over?"

She along with the mercenary and other people in the surrounding, focusing their attention toward the source of the dread.

"Let's play a little while longer..."

Ling Yao's head tilted upward and his mouth occasionally breached out a terrifying sense.

"1 limb... 2 limbs... a head rolls down the hill~

A crow hovers in a shrill~

Seeking the truth for eternal thrill~"

His body shrouded with black colored energy, it's like observing thousand of bats flew around swarming him. The surrounding lights slowly lost their luster and the purity of air in the vicinity area degenerated into something that painful for anyone to breath, red pinkies hearts pounded so hard that the individual's ears beside could overhear their rhythm. A population of hairs in the village of skins turned stiff.

Liu Ruyan usual charming eyes widened with inexplicable horror, Mr. Liu, even more, stimulated based on gloominess on his previously energetic expression, the other people in the stage took their distance from Ling Yao, the mercenary leader's body shivered, he raised the rifle, "stop whatever you are doing!"

"Oh, boy..." The energy intensified, his both hands rose to the air, "I hope you like a full blast of ice caramel..."

His narrowed eyes stared at the mercenary leader in a relaxed manner, "because this will just taste the same..."

The loli inside the crowd observed the situation on the stage with an aghast countenance, 'this is dangerous! The formation I set wouldn't be able to hold against the power he would unleash!'

Ling Yao curled his lips, the glaring blackness of aura that flaring around him about to lash, "One darkness holds them all, join merrily 7 desires, wake your power in the midst of hell, shake the world with your true colors..."

He declined his head, "come forth! The embodiment of possession... Greed!"

*Bang!*

The collective of black energy combusted in the instant, its shockwave spread out, about to coating every personnel in the hall, 'Liu Ruyan' face changed in the instant, without thinking much further, she jumped from the stage, stopped in front of the crowd, her hands made a various hand seals, "Wind Release: Multi-Layer Defensive Wall!"

In front of 'her', a rectangle in a form of wind stretched from the center to its respective left and right direction, touching both walls side, it filled the entire space in a multiple green colored thin sheets and positioned in a row arrangement.

Soon, the black energy clashed against the outer barrier, it managed to stop the progression but only for a few seconds before the wall broke into thousands of wind residue then black energy crept again, damaging the green barrier more and more before it scattered them.

'Liu Ruyan' clenched her teeth, in her mind, 'she' shouted, 'create another clone and make holy based barrier!'

'Boss, are you sure? Your mind would be burdened quite heavy!' The loli in the middle glanced around.

'It doesn't matter! Make all the crowd retreat into the furthest wall! I buy you sometimes'

'Boss...'

'Just do it!'

The loli clenched her hand, she raised her finger and summoned three blonde men, she dashed among the density of population and reached for the Liu family elder, "Mr. Liu!"

"Um?" Mr. Liu, who witnessed the scene with a dazed expression, glanced to his right and startled at the loli who approached him, "yes?"

'Oh, crap I'm still using transformation' The loli shook her head, in a second, her body coated with smokes and her short also cute form disappeared, replaced by a man with blonde hair, "Mr. Liu it's me! Look, I need your help me to mobilize the staffs and the guests here to the furthest side of the wall!"

"Mr. Naruto?!" The elder eyes jumped in surprise, but then he quickly recovered, "OK, I'll help, but first, did Young Miss in a safe place?"

"Don't worry, my... other-self are carrying them away from here!"

In the corridor, a man in black bullet-vest ran with high speed while a black hazard energy chased him from behind, in his arm, a seductive woman being hugged while his back carried a Japanese girl, soon, they reached the limit of the wall, he glanced at the woman who had worried expression all over, "hold tight, this is gonna be a rough!"

"Oni-san!" The girl screamed into his ear, he twitched his eyes at the close proximity of sudden burst of noise, "sorry pup, just close your eyes, don't look!"

"Un!" She nodded cleverly and shut tight her eyes.

"How far this strange thing will expand?!" The charming woman stared the black energy with terrified color, "are the other save inside the hall?!"

"Boss and the other will make sure their safety, now tighten your arm around my neck!" He smiled comfortingly.

"Ok..." She did what she told to do.

The man increased his speed while green colored energy wildly emerged from his body, it quickly covered their figure before they smashed against the wall.

*Bang!*

They collided against the concrete and solid construction, but it only broke the chunk of the wall, revealing a shredded stone of green marble inside.

"Son of a..." The man cursed, but before he finished, his word's cut by a slap on his cheek, "there is a girl here!"

"Oh, sorry- Wait! There's no time for that, what the hell did you put inside this wall?!"

"Special kind of stone, it has strong durability yet easy to reform!"

"Well, this stupid special stone just ruin your chance of escaping!"

"Don't blame me on this, what's wrong with demanding extra protection?!"

"Yeah?! This extra protection now will endanger your life!"

"Oni-san, onee-san, stop fighting! The scary thingy is coming!"

"Sorry pup!" They both said at the same time.

The man put down the woman, he glanced at his back and noticed the black energy only half a minute about reaching them, 'don't have time to wait!'

He raised his hand, a huge whirlpool of spiritual energy emerged from it and built a pale blue energy in a spherical form. Next, a surge of waters covered the spherical energy, they blended and altered the transparent spherical into a miniature tidal wave, raging with powerful streams. The spherical water floated above his palm, he took a step backward while urging the woman and girl to copy his moves.

He stretched his hand and aimed the raging water to the shredded wall, "Water Release: Pulverize Rasengan."

*Bang!*

The power launched forward, like a rocket pierced through the sky, it hit the green marble wall and smashed it open, teared up and scattered every bit piece of stone, trashing them to either side of corridor, like a blasted explosion, it quickly smashed a hole as a new path toward another part of hotel had opened. The woman and the girl stared at the gap with dumbed expression, if not for the ghastly and grim aura shivered their body, maybe they still stared at the new path until root grew on their feet.

"Wah, Oni-san is powerful!" The girl cheered. The man shook his head, "keep tight the compliment for now pup, we need to run, now!" He picked the ladies and tapped his feet, he sprung toward the hole.