The Mauser pistol was in his hands. He could have taken Lin Qinghua's life with it when he was lying on the ground with mangled legs. However, he had hesitated and relented when he was about to pull the trigger.

It wasn't the retreat of his evil side nor the awakening of his good side which had made him lower the gun in his hand, but rather, it was his feelings. He still remembered that youth who begged him to become his master so that he could learn magical powers from him. In his evil mode, he killed mercilessly. He was able to kill a young and beautiful person like Audrey without hesitation, yet, he had relented when he had his gun pointed at Lin Qinghua. All for the sentimentality he still carried in his heart.

If he weren't sentimental, simply killing anyone regardless of who they were, then how different would he be from a cold-blooded animal?

“I hope this isn't actually your true nature. If it were… I will end you personally,” Ning Tao whispered. It sounded as if he were talking to himself, but, they could have also been directed at Lin Qinghua.

He kept his Mauser pistol, then jumped and disappeared into the night.

Hotel Iris.

“What happened to that guy? His phone is turned off. Could it be that he got into an accident?” Shalim Talman was somewhat irritated, and then threw her phone on the sofa.

“I don't think so,” Harley Poche's voice contained a sense of sarcasm. “Didn't he hook up with an Italian babe at the Florence Cathedral? I'm guessing he is busy doing something with that girl at this moment.”

Shalim Talman furrowed her brows, “Harley, he's not like that. He may be eccentric, or detestable even, but we have to admit that his medical skills are miraculous. He's also Professor Jade's only hope. I'm sure you don't need me to elaborate on how important Professor Jade is to us right?”

Harley Poche shrugged. “We can't possibly wait for him here right? Shalim, he didn't say what he was going to do or how long it would take. If he were going to stay here for a month, then, are we going to wait here for a month? If I were waiting for, then I could do so for the rest of my life. But just another minute waiting for that ill-bred brat makes me angry. Also, Professor Jade cannot wait any longer.”

Shalim Talman fell into silence.

Bam!

A heavy thud was heard from outside the door.

“Who?” Harley Poche asked in a serious tone.

Shalim Talman said, “Is Doctor Ning back?”

n.o.body responded.

“Shh.” Harley Poche gestured at Shalim Talman to hush, then pulled his gun from his waist.

Shalim Talman shut her lips. According to her impression, even though Harley Poche was sometimes unreasonable and detestable even, he was still very strong and trustworthy when it came to such matters.

Harley Poche raised his gun, avoiding the entrance, then moved closer to the door from the side. He was very careful as he moved slowly.

Whoos.h.!.+ The gla.s.s window shattered all of a sudden. A person smashed through the window.

They were being lured out of their base!

Harley Poche turned around swiftly. He raised his arm and aimed at the window. But he was still too late. The person who broke through the window had captured Shalim Talman.

Lin Qinghua had arrived.

The gun in his hand was already pressed against Shalim Talman's head.

“Put down the gun!” Harley Poche yelled angrily.

Yet Lin Qinghua didn't respond at all.

“b.a.s.t.a.r.d! I asked you to put your gun down!” Harley Poche pointed the gun at Lin Qinghua's head, but he didn't dare to shoot.

Lin Qinghua then lifted Shalim Talman and positioned her before himself.

Bam!

The door flew open.

Harley Poche turned around, fl.u.s.tered.

Four gunmen rushed in from the entrance.

Pow pow pow!

A few bullets flew out of different guns and shot Harley Poche's body.

Blood spurted. Harley Poche collapsed on the ground.

“No—!” Shalim Talman screamed voicelessly, tears filling her eyes.

Lin Qinghua emotionlessly tightened the grip locked around Shalim Talman's neck. She could no longer make any noises.

Those two dead commando bodyguards were also being dragged into the room, and the room door was shut once again.

Only then did Lin Qinghua release Shalim Talman. He sat down slowly on the sofa, and watched her with an icy glare. Not a trace of human emotion was in them, akin to the eyes of a beast.

“Who… who… are you people?” Shalim Talman's voice shook tremendously in fear.

Lin Qinghua's voice was cold. “Your curiosity will kill you. Are you sure you still want to ask questions?”

Shalim Talman took a deep breath, and said as she plucked up her courage, “I am Shalim Talman of Ruitian. I'm the princess of Ruitian. If you're aware of the consequences, then it's still not too late to stop what you're doing.”

Lin Qinghua said, “I know you're the princess of Ruitian. But our target this time is not you. It's someone else.”

“Who…?” Shalim Talman was shocked.

“Ning Tao. The doctor from the Hua Country,” Lin Qinghua said.

Shalim Talman was instantly stunned. She had a.s.sumed that they were kidnappers coming for her, but little did she expect that their target was Ning Tao. After a brief moment of shock, she said furiously, “Then you should go to him! Why did you come here and kill my people?”

“I believe that he'll come to save you. This is my reason for coming here,” Lin Qinghua said.

Shalim Talman was starting to lose her cool. “I've only known him for a day. How are you so sure he would come and save me?”

“Shut up!” Lin Qinghua stood up suddenly, and sent a slap across Shalim Talman's face.

With a loud noise, Shalim Talman's body of about 1.8 meters in height was sent flying off the ground, then landed heavily on the floor. Blood came out of the corner of her lips; half of her face swelled very quickly. The burning sensation of pain had made her considerably more well-behaved.

A black gunman walked over to the French window and pulled the curtains.

He made an “OK” sign with his left hand at the sniper on the rooftop a hundred meters away.

A middle-aged female gunman placed an aluminum briefcase on the coffee table. She opened it, turned it around, then pushed it to Lin Qinghua.

Inside the case was an old double-barreled shotgun. The gun barrel was covered in runes. The body of the gun was also abnormal. It wasn't made of wood, nor was it made of metal. Rather, it was made of a type of bone. What was even more creepy was the fact that there were still some animal furs and hardened flesh bits on the bone.

The metal case also contained two bullets. They were clear as crystal; the electronical components inside could be seen.

That was an old magical gun, but the bullets were the technological magic tools in the style of Nicholas Conway.

Lin Qinghua picked up the shotgun, then loaded it with the two bullets.

Two of the four gunmen had positioned themselves at the two sides of the French window; the other two went to the sides of the door.

The net had been cast, and they were waiting for Ning Tao to enter the trap.

At the same time, on the streets.

A Hua Country youth walked towards a girl who was looking for customers by the streets.

The girl had a heavy layer of makeup and a revealing dress. When she saw the Hua Country youth approaching, a smile instantly surfaced. She spoke in broken Mandarin, “Full set, 500 euros.”

It was only supposed to cost 200 euros, but seeing that it was a Chinese person, she would surely have to get some big bucks from him.

The Hua Country youth approached the girl and dug out a 100 euro note. With a smile, he said in English, “I'd like to change it for a dollar coin.”

The girl was stunned momentarily. She asked, “What for?”

The Hua Country youth said, “If you don't want to, then I'll look for someone else.”

“I'll do it.” The girl grabbed the euro from the hands of the Hua Country youth, then opened her purse and handed the youth a condom.

“Coin! Not a condom. How did you learn your English?”

The girl seemed to finally understand just then, and took out a few coins from her bag. There were some worth a dollar and some were five dollars.

The Hua Country youth took a one dollar coin from her hands, then walked towards the telephone booth situated by the roadside.

The girl looked at the back view of the Hua Country youth, and was stunned for a moment before saying, “Is that person stupid?”

That person was Ning Tao. The one outside of the net.

Ning Tao inserted the coin into the public telephone booth, then dialed a number. “h.e.l.lo? Is this the Florence police department? I would like to make a report…”

Who said pract.i.tioners couldn't call the police?

By which country's laws were pract.i.tioners forbidden from calling the police?

When he was on that rooftop watching Lin Qinghua run towards Hotel Iris, he already knew what Lin Qinghua was going to do. It wasn't in his character to simply leave and ignore Shalim Talman's well-being. He had thought about bringing Bai Jing, Qing Zhui, Yin Molan over and fighting a group match, wasting away the enemy's defenses. But he could not confirm whether Nicholas Conway was lurking in the vicinity and whether he could make a fatal attack. Thus, it wasn't wise to take his people to Florence for a group battle. It was even less wise for him to go save Shalim Talman alone.

The wisest choice was actually to make a police report.

The reason was simple. Shalim Talman was the princess of Sweden, a country of the European Union. The princess of an allied country being kidnapped within their borders would be something intolerable for Italy. With that police report, not just the Florence police force, but perhaps, even the counter-terrorism special forces would be mobilized.

Even though Lin Qinghua had lost his humanity, and was determined and daring enough to kill Shalim Talman, would Nicholas Conway, the representative of the Black Fire Company allow him to do so? If he did so, he would have to face the consequences of revenge from the country of Ruitian!

“Who are you?” The voice of an Italian police officer was heard on the phone.

“A young pioneer,” Ning Tao said, then hung up the phone.

After making the police report, Ning Tao headed towards the tall building opposite Hotel Iris. It was a condominium.

The lift stopped at the highest floor. Ning Tao walked out of the lift, then went to the stairway leading to the rooftop. He took down the fire extinguisher hanging on the wall when he was going up to the rooftop.

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The sniper was bent down on the edge of the rooftop. His left eye was focused on the gunsight; the right index finger was also put on the trigger of a Barrett sniper rifle. That was the state of a sniper who was prepared for battle. He had already been in that position for at least ten minutes.

Suddenly, there was a pat on his shoulder.

He turned his head around instantly to check what was going on.

A fire extinguisher was brutally smashed on his face. Even before he could see his attacker, he had blacked out completely.

Ning Tao took down the communicator from the sniper's shoulders, then turned to leave.

A young pioneer never asked for credit when it came to his good deeds.