Chapter 47: The Five Tigers of China

Hanging up the phone, Ye Yang sat in a daze for a long time without saying a word, until Qi Fang angrily forced him to tidy up the apartment, prompting him to slowly stand up. Humanity was actually being farmed like pigs and dogs by those bastards? How could anyone accept such a thing? Ha! The supreme overlords of Earth, humans, actually farmed as livestock? That was simply too ridiculous!

Yet Ye Yang had to admit that every word Yao Jun spoke made a great deal of sense. These matters were likely known to Wang Feng and Lin Tian as well; they simply chose not to speak of them.

Ye Yang began to understand what Wang Feng meant whenever he said they did not have much time left. It was just like keeping livestock or poultry—with the Lunar New Year fast approaching, time was running out for those animals.

"Damn it!" Ye Yang slammed his fist against the wall, sending countless powdery fragments drifting down. Driven mad by rage, he found the world reduced to this state just as he finally awakened. How could he possibly be reconciled to this?

Staring at his right hand, Ye Yang gazed forward with eyes burning like blood. "This gamble... I suppose I have no choice but to see it through to the end!"

"Gambling my foot! Hurry up and clean the place! Are you trying to drive me crazy?!" A shrill shriek pierced the air as Qi Fang stormed in looking like a fierce and menacing demon. Ye Yang shrank his neck and nodded with a helpless expression; even if the world were ending, he first had to help this young lady tidy up her apartment.

Looking around the small room, his overwhelmingly oppressive mood finally improved a fraction. After all, this meant he had a home of sorts. Though it was only rented, well... having a girl to cohabit with wasn't too bad either.

"Bodyguard Number One, come here quickly! Ha, my bed is so comfortable, come and try it out! Hmm... but you're only allowed to try it out, mind you! You can only sleep on the small cot in the next room!"

"..." Ye Yang rolled his eyes and walked away. In truth, cohabiting with such a girl wasn't necessarily a blessing.

That evening, Ye Yang called Yao Jun again. He wanted to ask about his data test results. During the day, he had gone to Wang Feng to be tested once more; his demonic power value had increased yet again, and by quite a margin, but his other scores remained pitifully low, and he still possessed no supernatural abilities.

"No abilities? Low scores? That's normal. I reckon you were never implanted with evolutionary cells. Your demonic power comes from that spore organism in your hand, so your evolutionary process is naturally different from that of a normal person."

"Besides, I recall that type of spore organism seemingly conflicting with supernatural abilities. The evolutionary cells we are implanted with have undergone various processing treatments, so you can forget about having any special powers. As for your various attributes, they will strengthen once your demonic power reaches a certain threshold. However, just like that idiot Wang Feng said, those stats don't really matter—they merely indicate which aspect you are better suited to train in."

Such was Yao Jun's reply. Although there were many things Ye Yang still could not comprehend, he had no choice but to accept the reality that his body was now entirely unlike that of a human; instead, it resembled that of a fiend.

The night passed quietly. Before daybreak, Wang Feng's call came through.

"Feeling very idle lately?"

"Not at all. Aren't we on a break?"

"Even during a break, you shouldn't abandon all your training. You understand the principle of how someone on a diet who suddenly starts binge-eating will experience a rebound in their physique, right?"

"Mm... I know. I was just about to go out for a run." Ye Yang nodded, having indeed dressed and prepared to step outside.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. Perhaps Wang Feng had not expected Ye Yang to be so self-disciplined, let alone refrain from talking back. After a moment, Wang Feng continued, "Actually, training methods don't necessarily have to be physical. Any aspect will do, as long as it forces out your potential demonic power value!"

"Oh? For example?" Interest piqued, Ye Yang figured that avoiding a run was naturally for the best; finding a more relaxed training method would be ideal. However, Wang Feng's subsequent suggestion left him...

"In short, what you need to do is push yourself to the limit. No matter what you do, force your strength to absolute exhaustion and compel your demonic power to activate!"

"For instance, you could go out and drink. Drink desperately, drink like your life depends on it, until you're on the verge of death. Then your demonic power might automatically erupt and help repair your body. Of course... that's only a possibility."

"…Is there any other option?" Ye Yang wiped away his sweat. That particular possibility carried a very real risk of killing him.

"Staying up late works too. Don't young people love staying up late to play? Go four or five days without sleeping! When you're so drowsy you're nearly dead, your demonic power might also help repair your body."

"…Give me another option!"

"Hmm... Why don't you go find a few women? Find a few of them, bring them home or get a hotel room, whatever you prefer, and make passionate love day and night. Doing that might also... Don't worry, expenses can be reimbursed through Lin Tian."

"Damn it! Get lost!" Ye Yang fiercely hung up the phone. Was this guy really the commander-in-chief of the military? He actually had the nerve to tell him to go find girls for sex? And multiple ones at that? And even offer public expense reimbursement? Utterly shameless!

The hour was still early, and Qi Fang had yet to wake up, so Ye Yang strolled over to Lin Tian's place for breakfast. In truth, he deeply missed Zhou悦's culinary skills; she could make even an ordinary breakfast look like a full Manchu-Han imperial feast.

"Brother Ye..." As soon as he stepped through the door, the little darling threw herself into his arms. Ye Yang affectionately scooped her up in a single fluid motion. He had to admit that Lin Tian's daughter was truly adorable—though come to think of it, she might not actually be his biological child... That guy simply didn't possess such superior genetics.

"Little Yang is here? Come on in and sit down. Why didn't you call first so I could have prepared a few dishes?" Zhou Yang didn't mind in the slightest that Ye Yang had dropped in uninvited at the crack of dawn; instead, she felt apologetic for the rushed hospitality. She was the absolute epitome of a virtuous wife and loving mother!

"Aunt Zhou, please don't go to any trouble. I just came to ask Uncle Lin about something," Ye Yang quickly offered polite pleasantries. Indeed, there were matters he wished to ask Lin Tian about—things neither Wang Feng nor Yao Jun were willing to tell him.

However, Lin Tian's household had an unwritten rule: no discussing work at home, and no talking during meals. Thus, Ye Yang had no choice but to wait until they were on the road.

"You're heading to the academy? Aren't you on leave?" Lin Tian asked in astonishment along the way, noting that Ye Yang still had several days left of his vacation.

"I couldn't stay still. Besides, that little troublemaker at home is really noisy," Ye Yang said with a wry smile. Lin Tian immediately understood. Qi Fang could indeed be terribly noisy at times, testing even his own patience, though she was undeniably adorable most of the time.

Yet Ye Yang had left out one reason. Qi Fang was only part of it; the greater issue was that he no longer wished to rest. Ever since his conversation with Yao Jun, he had resolved to gamble thoroughly with his own destiny, to see just how far this so-called evolution could reach.

Both Yao Jun and Wang Feng had stated that even with immense potential demonic power, Ye Yang would find it difficult to manifest without desperate, grueling training. Furthermore, unaware of how much time he had left, Ye Yang was deeply haunted by the reality of humans being farmed as livestock; he constantly felt like meat resting on a chopping block, liable to be minced and thrown into a pot at any moment.

"By the way, let me ask you something," Ye Yang said abruptly. "What's the story with the Five Tigers of the China Alliance? Why did they disband?"

This was a subject of grave concern to him. Yao Jun had mentioned that the Five Tigers possessed formidable strength; had they remained, humanity might not have feared even a massive invasion by the fiends. Yet currently, only Wang Feng and Ling Fengyan remained stationed in Northern Beijing.

"The Five Tigers?" Lin Tian's expression froze. Ye Yang quickly added, "Can't Uncle Lin trust me? I just find it strange why they broke up and was only asking out of curiosity. I certainly won't go spreading it around."

"Sigh..." Lin Tian heaved a deep sigh and shook his head. "It's not that I won't tell you; this is internal classified information. However... I suppose I can give you a general introduction to those five fellows."

"Oh? Great, great!" Ye Yang nodded immediately. In truth, this was what he cared about most. He wanted to measure the gap between himself and those powerhouses; having a goal made striving worthwhile.

Actually, Ye Yang still lacked a full appreciation of the strength possessed by true powerhouses. He had not witnessed Wang Feng's battles against the fiends, and his only exposure to Ling Fengyan had been watching him casually bully a few zombies, which could hardly be considered real combat.

Tilting his head in thought, Lin Tian sighed. "The peak era of the China Alliance could be described as the strongest hunter base on the entire planet. After all, the experiments for the first generation of hunters led by your father took place near Beijing. But now, it has declined. We might not even be as strong as the Capital of Flame and Yellow anymore."

"The so-called Five Tigers of the China Alliance refer to the five strongest elite hunters. Even the weakest among them is at Level 4, and their demonic power values all exceed 1,500 at minimum! Those five fellows have lost count of how many fiends they've teamed up to annihilate—the number easily reaches the hundreds!"

"Hiss..." Ye Yang broke out in a cold sweat. Wiping out hundreds of monsters like the Fiend-Devourers? What a terrifying combat record!

"Level 5 Thunder Emperor Wang Feng: a first-generation hunter, who participated in your father's experiments at the same time I did. He is also one of the famous super hunters on Earth, as well as the commander-in-chief of the China Alliance. You already know all this, but... hehe, what you probably don't know is that because of his personality, the other four often call him an idiot."

"Pfft!" Ye Yang choked. No wonder Yao Jun kept hurling the word 'idiot' at Wang Feng over the phone; it wasn't due to personal enmity, but rather a long-standing history.

"Level 4 Yao Jun: he could be considered a late bloomer who caught up, and the last of the Five Tigers, though he has already left. His supernatural ability was truly too difficult to accept, forcing him to wander alone. The other four all refer to him as the Perverted Yao Jun."

"Level 4 Feng Lang: you haven't met him, and you likely won't have the chance to in the future. He... sigh, his story is hard to put into words. In any case, the other four call him a madman, and the fellow is indeed a total, unadulterated lunatic."

"Level 4 Lian Shangruoshui: an extraordinary individual, and the only hunter Wang Feng found extremely difficult to deal with. He was actually a very good person, but he is no longer here either. There are many internal stories behind that... sigh, it's such a pity. To be honest, I quite liked him; he was someone who valued emotional bonds above all else. Yet the others called him a moron."

"And then there is Ling Fengyan. You're very familiar with him—a total pushover, though his combat strength isn't much to speak of. Naturally, that's relative to the other four. So... hehe, they call this fellow a fraud."

"An idiot? A pervert? A madman? A moron? A fraud? These are the Five Tigers of China?" Ye Yang felt like he was coughing up liters of blood and still couldn't stop. What kind of bizarre, eccentric group of individuals was this?

Yet he was far more concerned with the reasons behind their departures. While he knew Yao Jun's story, the fates of Lian Shangruoshui and Feng Lang remained unclear. Regrettably, these were details Lin Tian could not disclose, as they constituted secrets within secrets.

"The era of the Five Tigers is a thing of the past. As for the present, everything depends on newcomers like you. Work hard, Little Yang—Uncle Lin has high hopes for you!" Tossing a cigarette his way, Lin Tian turned and headed toward the military department. As he walked away, Ye Yang noticed a glimmer of emotional melancholy in his gaze, perhaps sensing that the dispersal of the Five Tigers was a profound tragedy indeed.