Chapter 45
Chapter 45: Trouble? Got it.
Yan Hengbo started weeping. “We’ve made a mistake. I’ve been a hero my entire life, but at the end, all our success will come crashing down. Why on Earth did I have such a troublesome son like you?! Tell me, why didn’t you tell me about this when something so important happened?!”
Yan Zhennan had been covered in injuries when he came, and now, his skin broke because of the caning. He was in so much pain that his eyelids twitched, but he did not dare to move.
“I thought that you were in isolated training…” he whispered.
“Isolated, my foot! After that Demonically Modified Ripple Force came out, how on Earth would I have the dignity to even publish Ripple Force v2?!”
Yan Hengbo kicked Yan Zhennan so hard that he fell on the floor. He gritted his teeth and said, “Bastard! The Yan family is going to perish, and it’s going to be destroyed by your hands!”
Yan Feirou simply could not keep watching. She could only brace herself and go up to protect her father.
“Grandpa, what happened?” she asked sweetly. “Why are you so angry? Dad has just returned from the fog, and I heard that he was heavily injured. Yet you are…”
“Hmph!”
Even his favorite granddaughter could not make Yan Hengbo calm down in the slightest from his rage. He said coldly, “Why don’t you ask your useless father just what he did?!”
“Dad?”
Ripple Force Princess was absolutely stunned now. She listened to her father speak in fragments for a long while until she got the gist of it.
“The Demonically Modified Ripple Force isn’t some carelessly made martial art. It’s the real deal. While Dad was at the verge of death, he used the Demonically Modified Ripple Force to support his entire force execution system.
“Not only did his fighting strength instantly increase, when he attacked, his moves were also smoother and more discreet. With every move he made, he hit the mutated superbeast’s weakness, and he managed to completely suppress the unidentified mutated beast which had evolved at the end of its life. Is that correct?”
As Yan Feirou listened to it, she was dumbfounded and even stuttered. “N-No way. Last time, Dad practiced it seriously for three hours. Why didn’t he notice it at that time?”
“Nonsense. This Demonically Modified Ripple Force is profound and contains a lot of secrets. Even I wasn’t able to completely understand it within a short amount of time. The more I think about it, the more interesting it is. Your father might have grand ambitions, but he’s incompetent. Forget about three hours, even if he practiced it for three days and three nights, he might not understand the matchless profound secrets within it!”
Yan Hengbo let out a cold huff. “Fortunately, your dad’s foundation is pretty solid. He might not have understood many of the profound secrets, but at least he managed to memorize the technique. When he was near death, those memories exploded forth, and they managed to save his life!”
Yan Feirou thought about it carefully and shuddered. “If the Demonically Modified Ripple Force is real, just how powerful must the martial artist who created it be? An expert like this was kind enough to provide guidance to me, but not only did I not appreciate his kindness, I even went online to publicly denounce him! That expert must be furious right now!”
“Feirou, do you understand how grave the situation is right now?” Yan Hengbo asked with a dark face. “Modern martial arts aren’t all the nonsense in Wuxia novels. It’s impossible for experts to be able to come up with great martial arts just by entering isolated training in some mountain cave for a year and a half. Real martial arts require deep knowledge of every aspect such as genomics, cytology, ergonomics, exercise physiology, and even spirit energy physics.
“You have to build up a large database, and through the fights of countless martial artists gather a huge amount of data. Then, with it, you use the most modern super biochemical-brain to make calculations repeatedly. After that, you use it in real fights to continuously test it. Just how much manpower, resources, money, and wisdom do you think is required for that?
“I’ve led a research team formed by more than ten experts, and I used many years to finally upgrade Ripple Force to version two. But based on my judgment, this Demonically Modified Ripple Force is at least at version five. Think, just what sort of terrifying force of power the person who created this possesses?”
Yan Feirou gulped. She did not dare to think about this any further.
“What is even more terrifying is that this martial art has a vision that surpasses the current era. It’s as if this was designed for new monsters who are continuously getting stronger. This can only mean one thing.”
Yan Hengbo’s voice fell a few octaves. “It’s creator managed to travel much deeper into the fog than your dad and even me and has fought against countless unparalleled monsters we have never seen before!”
Yan Feirou cried out in shock. “There are monsters who are even more powerful?”
“Of course there are. Dragon City tore through the sky and descended in this place. It suppressed Monster Mountain Range and caused a drastic change in the geography of the area, so many of the monster nests hidden deep in the mountain range will slowly appear.
“In the past, Dragon City hid in a corner and did not come into a lot of contact with the unparalleled monsters. But as Earthlings’ civilization continues to spread outward, sooner or later, we will clash against those creatures.
“This is something normal citizens and even mid-tier and low-tier superhumans know nothing about. But the higher-ups are actively preparing for war. Even the old monsters who stand at the top of Dragon City have long since entered the depths of the fog and set up sentry stations.
“They’re gathering more specimens and information to enlarge their monster picture encyclopedia and increase their databank. They are constantly thinking about how to upgrade the current martial arts available to us based on the characteristics of the unidentified monsters.”
Yan Feirou’s eyes went wide. “Grandpa, are you saying that the Demonically Modified Ripple Force was created by those old monsters?”
“Who else could do it? Did you think that some random Tom, Dick, or Harry could upgrade our Yan Family Ripple Force to such perfection?” Yan Hengbo asked.
“Feirou, you should know that the old monsters have been fighting fiercely from the moment Dragon City transmigrated to this place. They’re the first group of peerless fighters who woke up to supernatural powers when they were fortunate enough not to turn into zombies after they were infected with the zombie virus. Instead, the shackles of their genes were removed. They went through all sorts of trials and tribulations, and they are the great pillars which have protected Dragon City for half a century!
“But when we just transmigrated to this place, our knowledge of genomics, spirit energy, and life science was very crude, and we made a lot of mistakes. The pioneers stumbled about in their paths as superhumans, and they developed paths that no one had ever taken before. Because of it, they also paid devastating prices.
“Many of the pioneers suffered brain damage. Their minds were corroded by the mysterious power of the Other World, and they have become people who stand on both the side of good and evil. Sometimes, they even descend into madness. They might lose control at any moment.
“When they’re in a good mood, they can casually give you guidance so that you can improve by leaps and bounds in your path to become a superhuman.
“But if you offend them and they descend into a rampage, they can destroy the Yan family in a single breath. Why else do you think they’re known as old monsters?”
“Then, what should we do?” Ripple Force Princess was so anxious that she started pacing. “We’ve definitely offended this old mons—this senior! Will he destroy the Yan family when he flies into a rage?”
“Don’t worry. If he wanted to destroy us, he would have done so a long time ago. It’s impossible for him to not have taken action even now.”
Yan Hengbo thought about it. “I can sense the old senior’s love and desire to protect the Yan family through his Demonically Modified Ripple Force. If he didn’t have strong feelings for the Yan Family Ripple Force, it would have been impossible for him to have upgraded it to such perfection.
“Perhaps this old senior was once connected to the Yan family through fate. Is he a teacher of mine when I was going through my journey to become a superhuman? If that weren’t the case, why would he have taught you?
“Third, there’s nothing for you to do here. Go and heal your wounds. Once you’re done, you don’t have to bother managing the organization anymore. Just concentrate on becoming a monster hunter.”
Yan Zhennan was silent. The old man’s words destroyed his future in the Yan family.
But he had offended an old, mysterious, and unfathomable monster. The punishment he received was already the lightest possible.
“Understood, Father,” Yan Zhennan said in a dejected manner.
“Feirou, this matter started with you. I feel like the mysterious senior still likes you quite a lot. Why don’t you take action again and release a public apology? Try to be as sincere as possible and act pitiful. We’ll see if the old senior is willing to forgive the Yan family.”
Yan Hengbo sighed. “If that doesn’t work, we’ll have no other way out. I will have to cast aside my dignity and beg the senior for forgiveness.”
That night, when Meng Chao was attending self-study period, a major disturbance rose in the classroom.
“Look! Ripple Force Princess is currently reading a public apology letter on the broadcasting platform!”
“My God! The princess looks so delicate and pitiful! She looks like she’s about to start crying!”
“Is there a mistake? With the Yan family’s strength, who can force Ripple Force Princess to apologize in such a manner? Has the Yan family cast aside their pride?”
The students were in a ruckus, for all the boys were indignant.
Meng Chao was stunned. He turned on his phone and saw that what they said was true, the eldest daughter of the Yan family had switched to another image today. It was different compared to her gentle look during the public classes and her unyielding mannerisms when she made the public statement. Today, she looked frail and delicate as well as very timid.
“A few days ago, due to my ignorance and immaturity, I was rash, and offended an old senior who has a high and noble status in our city. I started incredibly bad rumors online…”
Yan Feirou might not have thrown herself at Meng Chao’s feet, but he could already smell her tears.
The boys were burning with rage as they watched.
Chu Feixiong even started growling beside Meng Chao. “Who is it? Who scared my Goddess to this extent? I’m going to kill that guy!”
In-video comments and comments were turned off for this video.
But many netizens stood up together against their common enemy in the gossip forums online.
Everyone was trying to figure out who the old senior Ripple Force Princess mentioned was. Who could receive such great respect that the Yan family would show such weakness and apologize publicly?
Meng Chao touched his face.
He did not think that he deserved so much respect.
He could not understand it. Why did Yan Feirou switch from arrogance to humility so suddenly? She was like two different people.
However, he was a kind person.
After he finished watching the video, Yan Feirou sent him a really long private letter which was full of apology and sincerity. Meng Chao sighed and decided to spare the Yan family.
[Okay.]
He sent a one word reply to show that he understood.
Yan Feirou was beside herself with joy and soon sent another long text to thank him for showing mercy. She also asked whether there was anything he needed.
[We know that with your abilities, even if we give you money or cultivation resources, it would only be humiliating to you. I wonder if there is anything that you might require that the Yan family could help you with. We will definitely risk our lives for you and will never decline your request!]
The letter left Meng Chao stunned for a long time.
He really wanted to reply with [It’s fine. I’m really good at withstanding pressure, and I can withstand all sorts of humiliation. You don’t have to hold back. Just use money and cultivation resources to humiliate me as much as you want!]
He was frustrated with himself. Why did he have to put on the image of a mysterious and aloof senior? Now, he found it embarrassing to ask for compensation from others.
He scratched his head for a long time. At some point, he looked up, and he was just in time to see Zuo Haoran staring at him with a gloomy expression.
Meng Chao thought about it and replied, [In three days, help me check Great Waves Corporation.]
Great Waves Corporation was Zuo Haoran’s family’s company.
Meng Chao knew that Zuo Haoran was a sinister person. He did not have to worry about the conflict between him and Zuo Haoran becoming worse while he was in school, but what if Zuo Haoran used his family and did something to his parents?
His father had just started out with his small company. He only had one small dingey, and it could not withstand any storms. It was only natural then that Meng Chao should investigate all of the uncertain elements before doing anything else.
Yan Feirou hesitated. [Who is Great Waves Corporation?]
Meng Chao was a little embarrassed.
The future Ripple Force was created by Yan Feirou. He was using various tricks to deceive her, and it seemed like he had terrified her quite a lot. Now, he was even asking for her help, which he felt was rather unacceptable. He was, in fact, being rather shameless, wasn’t he?
[It’s a little troublesome,] Meng Chao replied.
To retain his image as an aloof senior, he did not go into too much detail.
What he meant was that it was rather troublesome to search for the details of a company within a short amount of time. If she could not handle it, it was fine. It was nothing major anyway.
Yan Feirou was silent for a while before she replied. [Trouble? Got it.]