Chapter 253: Chapter 253: Meeting

The night bus continued its unhurried journey along the interstate highway; the only ones likely still awake inside were Chen Ke and the driver.

The temperature might have dropped suddenly during the night, making it slightly colder. Sleery squeezed into Chen Ke’s arms, tightened her jacket, and rested her head on Chen Ke’s chest, mumbling in her sleep.

Chen Ke remained stiff in his seat, adjusting her slightly, when he felt a vibration coming from Sleery’s body.

“Hmm? Why is this girl vibrating?” Chen Ke was startled, feeling the rhythmic vibration coming from the right side of Sleery’s body.

It was a phone.

Chen Ke’s right hand reached over Sleery’s head, embracing her while he fished into the right pocket of her jacket and pulled out Sleery’s iPhone.

The caller ID on the screen displayed “Dad.”

Chen Ke raised an eyebrow, holding the phone and unsure whether to answer it; he thought about waking Sleery to take the call but decided to answer it himself.

“Beep…”

“Hey, kiddo… where are you?” Pankia’s voice came through from the other side.

Chen Ke was very familiar with his voice–even through just two phone calls, Chen Ke could never forget it.

“Mr. Lan Mei,” Chen Ke responded.

There was a silence on the other end; Chen Ke could feel the nearly uncontrollable emotion through the phone.

“Lin Mo… what have you done to her…?” Pankia trembled.

“I haven’t done anything to her… You’re talking about Sleery, right…?” Chen Ke replied.

“Lin Mo, I don’t know how you found her… but I swear, if you dare touch her… I definitely will…” Pankia roared over the phone.

Chen Ke turned the phone’s volume down by half.

“You can’t do anything now, Pankia, the consortium has already abandoned you,” Chen Ke said with a laugh.

“I…” Pankia was at a loss for words.

“I’m sorry your end will be like this,” Chen Ke said.

“How is Sleery now… Lin Mo, tell me, she’s safe,” Pankia urged.

“I am surprised you care so much about her,” Chen Ke said sarcastically.

“Are you questioning my feelings for my daughter? You’re a heartless assassin; what do you know!?” Pankia retorted angrily.

“If it really is as you say, your daughter wouldn’t be targeted by assassins. Aren’t you always leaking her whereabouts to distract the assassins?” Chen Ke interrogated.

“I don’t know who told you that, but I swear I haven’t. Tell me, Lin Mo, has the assassin done anything to her? Is she hurt?” Pankia asked.

“She is safe. You better worry about yourself,” Chen Ke replied.

“Lin Mo, let’s put our grievances aside… bring her to me… I will take her out of this country, and we will never see each other again…” Pankia’s voice carried a plea.

“I can’t trust you, Pankia. You have too much blood on your hands… I have no reason to help you,” Chen Ke flatly refused.

“Lin Mo… do me this favor, and I will tell you everything you want to know…” Pankia said.

Chen Ke hesitated.

“I know you have many questions, and I deeply believe I have the answers… I used to be the chairman of Si’s consortium… you understand…” Pankia said.

Chen Ke pursed his lips, furrowing his brows. All his doubts were finally about to be answered…

“Convince me, make me believe you. Quick!” Chen Ke said coldly.

“You’re not Lin Mo, are you? There aren’t just one of you who’ve crossed over,” Pankia said ominously.

A bead of sweat slid down Chen Ke’s forehead.

The night bus pulled over at the curb, and Chen Ke stuffed his gun into its holster before he and Sleery followed him off the bus, once more standing in the breezy, chilly streets.

Everyone was clueless as to why Chen Ke had suddenly decided to get off the bus, and Sleery was even more puzzled as to why he was holding her cell phone.

Chen Ke didn’t bother to explain. Pankia had told him over the phone where he was. He was still in Opportunity City, hidden in an apartment in the Gun Tie District.

After some complications, Chen Ke and the others had managed to hitch a ride back to Opportunity City and had finally made their way to Pankia’s hiding spot.

Fortunately, the consortium’s assassins hadn’t shown up again. They were lucky all the way, and in order to avoid unnecessary dangers and to guard against any traps the opposition might have set, Chen Ke let Louis and Rama take Sleery to a 24-hour coffee shop to wait temporarily.

He wanted to meet Pankia alone.

After Sleery knew that her father had called, she was somewhat resentful toward Chen Ke for not waking her up but taking the call himself. She also insisted on going with Chen Ke to meet Pankia.

But Chen Ke still refused her.

On one hand, he feared that Pankia might have set a trap; he didn’t want to fight while having to protect Sleery at the same time.

On the other hand, if he handed Sleery over to Pankia first, whether Pankia would answer his questions or tell the truth would become an issue.

Chen Ke assured Sleery that if the situation was normal, he would call Sleery to come over, which finally convinced her to stay.

The apartment building was dilapidated, with only five floors, and the dark, damp, and dirty hallways were covered in graffiti–it was hard to imagine a chairman of a large consortium hiding here.

Chen Ke arrived at the third floor and knocked on a door, then paused to wait.

Under his spiritual vision, no humanoid creature could hide; it seemed Pankia wasn’t playing any tricks.

Footsteps came from inside, and Chen Ke suddenly felt nervous. This was his first meeting with Pankia–what would he do?

The door cracked open, and a man in his fifties peered out at Chen Ke.

In Chen Ke’s view, the man’s silhouette hiding behind the door was clearly visible, his right hand holding a sawed-off shotgun.

“Pankia?” Chen Ke said, though he had actually never seen Pankia’s real face.

“Where is she?” Pankia asked.

“Nearby.” Chen Ke replied.

Pankia, knowing the assassin’s style, didn’t waste more words and opened the door, letting Chen Ke in.

Once Chen Ke entered, Pankia immediately locked the door and then pointed the gun at him.

“+3 minutes”

“+3 minutes”

“+3 minutes”

“+3 minutes”

…

Chen Ke sighed. It appeared that Pankia wasn’t a Spiritual Ability User nor did he have any assassin skills; otherwise, the threat level wouldn’t be this low.

“If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t have waited for you to open the door,” Chen Ke said with a smile, pulling a chair from the side to sit down.

Pankia also sighed and slowly set his shotgun down.

He was dressed in a wrinkled suit and looked as if he hadn’t cleaned up for days. Chen Ke didn’t know how Pankia had fallen from his high position in the consortium, but he suspected it wasn’t so simple.

“So, what do you call yourself now?” Pankia sat down opposite Chen Ke, placing the shotgun on the table.

“Call me Chen Ke,” Chen Ke replied.

“Very well… Chen Ke, what year are you from?” Pankia bluntly asked.

Chen Ke was silent for a few seconds, wondering how this disheveled man before him had managed to delve into such deep matters…?