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Chapter 976 Missing!

President Tu thought that Ling Lan was interested in the children when he saw her looking at them intently. He said, "The children here are all quite average. If you want to groom a good subordinate, you can wait for the auction at night. There will be better candidates then."

Speaking about this, President Tu sighed. "It's their luck to land in your hands. Leader Jiang, if you are interested, buy one. Save one while you can."

If his merchant team had the budget, he wanted to buy one of the children too. He wasn't planning to raise the child as his slave. He just wanted to accumulate some virtue for himself.

"They should be expensive." Ling Lan was in deep thought.

"Yes. But, it's worth it. The black market has the ability to make these people listen to you for life. They'll not betray you. That's why their business is so good. They have a good reputation," President Tu explained to her softly.

Ling Lan nodded. That cadet that died in her hands had the ability to hypnotize people. Hence, they might be someone with similar abilities in the black market. That was how they could brainwash the people and let them serve their master faithfully.

Ling Lan was attracted by the items in the black market, but Ye Shao and Dibi Luya were not interested in them. They seemed to pay more attention to the people that came to the black market. From this point, they appeared more professional than Ling Lan. They didn't forget to remain vigilant of their surroundings after entering the black market.

President Tu was satisfied with their performance. However, since Ling Lan was the youngest among them, he felt that it was understandable. Thus, he didn't blame Ling Lan for her unprofessionalism.

While Ling Lan and the other two leaders accompanied President Tu to the black market to get what he wanted, the people who remained at the warehouse were having lunch. Most of the time, the merchant team would send them their food on time. But, this time, there was no sign of anyone from the merchant team.

The other two mercenary teams had their own food so they just calmly opened their food supply and started eating. However, Shadow Cat didn't have their own food supply. The Little Four Mercenary Team that always gave them some food was out for their mission so they could only wait patiently for the merchant team to provide them their meals.

A moment later, an unfamiliar muscular man wearing the uniform of the merchant clan they were guarding walked over and shouted, "The logisticians informed us that they are busy with the loading of the goods so they don't have the time to send food over. Please send someone from your team to get your food."

Tao Ying jumped up immediately. "I'll go"

The muscular man looked at the other two teams. "Who is going from your team?"

Ma Yizhe scoffed and said, "Forget it. We won't die from hunger if we don't eat one meal. We don't want the food anymore."

Jiang Bizhi agreed and said coldly, "Do you really think that we need to rely on you for food? Hmph!"

The man's expression froze. He said to Tao Ying awkwardly, "Follow me."

Yuan Mulin wanted to reject arrogantly like the other two leaders but he looked at the hungry old people in his team and said, "Hurry up and go."

"I understand." Tao Ying nodded. He was thinking that since the other two teams didn't want their food, maybe he could get more servings for his members?

Tao Ying left with the muscular man. After a long time, he still hadn't come back. Yuan Mulin got worried. Finally, after waiting for an hour, he couldn't control his agitation and went to look for Tao Ying in the cafeteria.

When he reached the cafeteria, he was notified that the worker who was supposed to send the food over had left long ago. Yuan Mulin felt that something was amiss. He immediately searched through the place with the people from the merchant team. A while later, they told him that they found the corpse of the worker that went to send their food. It was predicted that he had died for more than two hours.

Yuan Mulin was shocked and furious. He knew that he got tricked. The muscular man that came to their warehouse wasn't from the merchant team. However, he didn't know why the person would sneak into the merchant's base and bring Little Tao away. There were no other casualties found and no goods were stolen. The person's target wasn't the product of the merchant. It seemed to be Little Tao.

However, they stayed beside their employer obediently all the time and never offended anyone. Yuan Mulin squatted on the ground and started crying furiously. He knew that the merchant wouldn't send people to look for Little Tao. Yet, with the six of them, they wouldn't have any chance of finding him in this chaotic region without any clues.

"My condolences. People who went missing in the Chaotic Lands were never found,��� Ma Yizhe pretended to console him.

Jiang Bizhi sneered and said, "This is the result of overestimating yourself. Don't come to this area again. It's not suitable for you."

"Leader, we can't leave without Little Tao. We watch him grow up," the old mercenary from Shadow Cat said in agony. If it wasn't for them, Little Tao could have joined a better mercenary team. He wouldn't have to come to this place and everything wouldn't have happened.

"I will. Even if I die, I will bring him back." Yuan Mulin's eyes were bloodshot but his gaze was firm. He wouldn't return to the Federation unless he found Little Tao.

Yuan Mulin calmed down after crying. He made friends with Luo Yi from the Little Four mercenary team as their age was similar. They exchanged their numbers too so he immediately contacted Luo Yi and told him that Little Tao was missing.

Yuan Mulin didn't know what to do so he could only plead the Little Four Mercenary Team to help him. Yuan Mulin decided that no matter what the results were, as long as the Little Four Mercenary Team were willing to help them, he was willing to do the toughest and most dangerous job for them. This was the only way he could think of repaying them.

Luo Yi was guarding the goods outside. He hung up the call with a serious face.

"What happened?" Liu Furong was startled. Ever since they left Planet Muyang, this was the first time he saw such a serious expression on Luo Yi's face.

"The leader of Shadow Cat called just now and told me that Tao Ying is missing," Luo Yi replied.

"Isn't Tao Ying always in the warehouse? How did he disappear?" Liu Furong was shocked.

Luo Yi briefly told him how Tao Ying disappeared. Liu Furong frowned. "It seemed like the person's target was Tao Ying from the start. But, why do they have to sneak in to take him away?"

Yuan Mulin had too little information on his hand. The two people thought for a long time but no conclusion was reached.

"We need to find our regiment commander." Liu Furong was helpless so he could only look for the most powerful person he knew.

Chapter 977 Heavily Injured!

Liu Furong contacted Ling Lan but she told him that it was inconvenient for her to talk now and asked him to leave a message. Hence, Liu Furong texted what happened to Tao Ying to her and waited for her reply patiently.

In the black market, Ling Lan raised her arm to look at her communicator. Ye Shao noticed Ling Lan's actions and smiled. "There are interference systems in place so our communicators can't be used. Even if we are just standing in front of each other, we can't communicate through our communicators."

Ling Lan smiled in reply. "No wonder there is no reaction. I asked my team members to report their situation to me every hour."

Ling Lan settled Ye Shao and read through the message Liu Furong sent her in her mind. She started pondering over it.

Little Tao was a normal person but he had a strong point. The first time she saw him, she discovered that he had awakened his innate talent at a young age too. She remembered all the children she saw in the black market and arrived at a conclusion.

Those human traffickers must have noticed Little Tao's strength accidentally. They also knew that he was from a weak mercenary team so there would be no consequences involved if they kidnapped him. Since there was nothing to lose, they had no reason to give up on this piece of meat.

Ling Lan told Liu Furong her guess. Liu Furong was enlightened. No wonder Little Tao was taken away. He told Luo Yi what Ling Lan told him. As he was speaking, he suddenly remembered that his precious daughter had awakened her innate talent too. He got frightened. He told Luo Yi, "Luo Yi, stay here. I'll go and find my daughter."

ren

Then, he disappeared.

Damn it, his Little Aihua followed Wang Qi, Han Xuya, and some other people to the market. He hoped that nothing happened to them.

Wang Qi and Liu Aihua liked to walk around freely so they cooperated and managed to leave their little burden, Liu Aijun, behind. Without Liu Aijun following them, Aunt Liu wouldn't nag at them. However, since they were just kids, Han Xuya was worried about letting them walked around alone so she split up with Luo Chao. She would follow Wang Qi and Liu Aihua while Luo Chao would follow Aunt Liu and Liu Aijun.

Besides the two of them, Luo Lang and Qi Long came to protect them too. Luo Lang followed his sister so Qi Long followed Han Xuya. Just like how Han Xuya was worried about Wang Qi and Liu Aihua, Qi Long was worried about Han Xuya too.

The Chaotic Lands were dangerous and unsafe but the items sold here were good. The price was much cheaper than their own planet too. Some were shockingly cheap. Wang Qi and Liu Aihua managed to buy some knick-knacks after a while.

As Wang Qi and Liu Aihua stood in front of a stall and looked through the pile of goods, Han Xuya had some free time to take a look at the wide array of goods beside her too. A spherical ball with mist coming out of it caught her attention. She walked over and held the ball. A cold feeling flowed up her hand. This was a frost pearl.

"Miss, this is the frost pearl special to Planet Aoliduo. It's very precious." The stall owner smiled happily when he saw a customer.

"The frost river produced millions of frost pearls every year. It isn't as precious as you say, "Han Xuya replied calmly. She liked the frost pearl because she felt that it was compatible with her Boss. She wasn't a stupid person who didn't know how to bargain. She wouldn't be fooled by a few words.

The stall owner's lie got exposed so he laughed awkwardly and said, "You are a knowledgeable person. I can't fool you. How about this, if you like it, you can take it at this price." The stall owner knew that he couldn't get more money from this beautiful lady so he gave up this thought decisively and named his price.

Han Xuya looked at the frost pearl carefully. Then, she offered half the price the stall owner gave her.

The stall owner gave a forced smile. "Miss, I came all the way here to set up my stall. Let me earn some money. I really can't earn much at this price. I can't sell it to you."

Han Xuya put down the frost pearl indifferently. "Forget it. I hope that you can get a better buyer." She looked as though she wanted to stand up.

The stall owner saw her action and shouted, "Wait, miss, do you want to buy more things? If you buy more, I'll sell it to you at your

price."

"This frost pearl can only be used as an accessory. There is no use for it. The price I'm offering you is high enough. You'll not be able to find a better buyer. Plus, there is only one pearl. I can't even make a bracelet with it." Han Xuya pretended to be nonchalant. "If you are willing to sell it, I can buy it for fun. If not, I don't have to get it too."

The owner thought for a moment and asked, "You want more frost pearls?"

Han Xuya raised one of her eyebrows. "You have more?"

"How many do you need? If you buy more, I'll offer it to you at the price." That which is rare is dear. The stall owner didn't bring out all his stock first.

"How many do you have?" Han Xuya didn't answer him.

The stall owner show '10' with his fingers.

"I want all of them. However, I want them at this price." Han Xuya signaled another price with her fingers. The stall owner's expression seemed even more forced. "Miss, this is not how you should bargain."

"You should know that once there is a huge supply of something, the price will become cheaper." Han Xuya smiled like a sly little fox.

"You're impressive." The stall owner couldn't do anything. He agreed with the price. It was a third of his original price but at least he managed to sell all his frost pearls. He had gotten back most of his cost for this trip.

Han Xuya happily took the camphor wood box containing the ten frost pearls. As she was getting up, she saw Wang Qi and Liu Aihua running into the crowd. She got up hurriedly and chased after them. Two big-sized men suddenly blocked her path.

Han Xuya tilted her body and wanted to evade them. Suddenly, a hand appeared in front of her chest. One of the men was trying to molest

her.

"What are you trying to do?" Qi Long appeared instantly and grabbed the hand. He was furious.

Han Xuya looked at Qi Long.

Qi Long nodded to show that he would take care of this matter. Han Xuya moved to the side and left. She wanted to catch up with the two children among the crowd. She still remembered that she needed to take care of them.

She took a few steps when suddenly, she couldn't move anymore. Wang Qi, who was in front of her, was gone.

Han Xuya vomited a mouthful of blood.

The force that was gripping her body disappeared. The heavily injured Han Xuya leaned back and fell towards the ground. A warm and strong arm caught her tightly. "Xuya!" Qi Long shouted anxiously.

'This is the first time you called me Xuya!' Han Xuya wanted to tell him this but she couldn't speak. Blood kept flowing out of her mouth, staining her clothes.

Chapter 978 Saving People!

Liu Furong arrived at this moment. He quickly felt an unfamiliar domain energy taking Little Aihua away at a very fast speed. He hurried over but he stopped halfway.

"Damn it, I'm a step too late." Liu Furong couldn't find any traces of the domain realm master. He was worried about Han Xuya so he went back.

Luo Chao was already giving Han Xuya some emergency agents. However, this agent was only able to keep her alive. Han Xuya got injured by a domain realm master. If Qi Long didn't save her in time, she might have died on the spot.

Liu Furong immediately reported their situation to Ling Lan. At first, Ling Lan didn���t like the selling of humans in the black market but she didn't want to interfere in anything troublesome. But now, the actions of these people had infuriated her.

'How dare they touch her comrades! They must go to hell!'

Killing intent appeared in Ling Lan's eyes. She ordered Little Four to find the base of these human traffickers no matter what it takes.

At this moment, the domain realm master who caught Little Aihua had arrived at his secret base. He threw the unconscious Little Aihua into a cage that was prepared beforehand. His face was filled with anger.

"Damn it. Why didn't you all tell me that there are domain realm masters protecting this little girl?" If he didn't run away fast enough, he would have been caught by the domain realm master chasing him. He wasn't afraid but in order to have domain realm masters protecting her, this little girl's identity must be special. He didn't want to create any huge trouble for his organization.

The business they did was illegal but they wouldn't choose people with a background. Yet, the little girl he just caught was obviously from a powerful background.

"Based on what our scouts told us, the other party was rich but they aren't powerful." His subordinate heard him and hurriedly replied.

"Not powerful? Where did the domain realm master come from then? There is not one, but two domain realm masters." The person who broke through his domain must be a domain realm master too. When his force of presence was broken, he felt something amiss so he ran away immediately with his prey. This allowed him to escape that domain realm master who was chasing him just in time.

"Maybe they made a mistake." His subordinate wiped the cold sweat off his forehead as he explained. Then, he pointed at Little Aihua and asked, "What do we do with her?"

"What do we do? Since we took her, we can't make a loss, right?" The domain realm master frowned. "We must act quickly. Make arrangements to have this troublesome girl sold at the auction tonight. Also, tell the people below to hide for this period of time. Don't go out and source for prey. If they get caught, the organization will not save them."

Two domain realm masters couldn't create a fuss in the Chaotic Lands, and the organization behind them would be able to subdue them easily if they really found their base. However, their organization was afraid of trouble. If there was a background behind the two domain realm masters, a background like a powerful elite family, their organization would quickly abandon them.

"But that would mean that we don't have the time to assess her." Normally, they had to do a thorough assessment of all their goods so that they could provide clear information to their buyers to make them feel at ease.

"Write special type. Some people like to try their luck, right?" The domain realm master answered nonchalantly. No matter how bad the goods was, once it entered the auction, it would be able to fetch a high price. He was not worried that he would make a loss.

"I understand." The subordinate had been doing this kind of business for a long time so he knew the minds of the buyers too.

Inside a house they rented temporary, ten people sat quietly in the living room.

Li Lanfeng touched Little White's back slowly. Little White felt comfortable but the tense atmosphere in the living room caused him to keep quiet.

The door suddenly opened. Li Shiyu and Luo Chao walked out fully dressed in their medics uniform.

Li Shiyu took off his mask and said calmly, "She's out of danger."

This was the first time he experienced the power of domain. Han Xuya's body kept being hurt by the residual domain energy. If Ling Lan didn't leave a bottle of Nuwa agent for emergency purposes, Han Xuya situation might have gone for the worse.

This made Li Shiyu understand that he needed to source the main ingredient for his Nuwa agent immediately. If not, he wouldn't be able to save his comrades for the next time they get in trouble.

Everyone relaxed a little when they heard this.

Qi Long remembered Han Xuya's weak appearance when she laid in his arms just now. His heart ached. He slammed his hand on the handle beside him and breaking it in the process.

"I want to kill that fellow!" Qi Long's eyes were bloodshot. Malicious intent could be seen inside them. He looked like a devil from hell.

Liu Furong's expression relaxed when he heard that Han Xuya was alright. However, when he thought about his missing daughter, his face turned dark again.

Beep beep beep! His communicator started vibrating. He instantly turned on his communicator and a map appeared on the virtual screen.

It had to be said that when Little Four decided to be serious, he was extremely efficient. Within two hours from the time Liu Furong reported their situation to Ling Lan, Little Four managed to find the base of the human traffickers.

"There are three suspicious locations. They are…" Ling Lan's voice was heard along with the appearance of the map. "All of you will split into four groups. One group will stay at our base while each of the other three groups will go to one of the locations. Please remember that our aim is to save our people and not to take revenge."

Ling Lan was afraid that her comrades would be controlled by their emotions and forget the purpose of their mission. Before Little Aihua was saved, she didn't want anyone to discover her comrades. She was afraid that the other party would kill Little Aihua to cover up their traces.

"I understand." Liu Furong felt touched. If Ling Lan didn't say this, Qi Long might be overwhelmed by his anger and want to take revenge. If that happened, he couldn't stop him.

The killing intent in Qi Long's eyes subsided after he heard what Ling Lan said. He resumed his composure and the people around him heaved a sigh of relief.

They acted quickly and split themselves into four teams.

Qi Long was tasked to remain behind to protect the people who weren't participating in this mission. A portion of the people was worried that he would act rashly because of his emotions, but the main reason he would stay behind was that he was one of the most powerful people among them. Those that stayed back were mostly weak and injured people. Hence, Qi Long was given the important task of protecting them.

Liu Furong and Zhao Jun were in one team, Luo Lang and Xie Yi were in one team, and Li Lanfeng and Little White were in the last team.

Out of the three teams, the team with Liu Furong and Zhao Jun was the weakest. Zhao Jun wasn't a domain realm master yet but he was just half a step away from it. He just needed an opportunity to breakthrough. He was more powerful than all the other Qi-Jin masters and even if he met a domain realm master, he could fight evenly with them for a while.

As for Little White, everyone knew what it actually was. In 250 Ace Mecha Clan, it was the most powerful 'person' after their Boss. Hence, Li Lanfeng and Little White would go to the most dangerous location Ling Lan mentioned.

Chapter 979 Transfer!

Li Lanfeng hugged Little White and went to his designated destination. He looked like a tourist with Little White in his arms.

His destination was an old village. It was remote and the houses in the village were dilapidated. If the interior of the houses were the same as their outer appearance, they were definitely classified as hazardous based on the Federation's building standard.

Li Lanfeng stood at the entrance of a small alley. He looked at the lively children running around with smiles on their faces. He smiled gently as if influenced by their smiles.

Many old men and women sat outside their houses and bathed in the rare sunlight. At the same time, they were watching over their grandsons too. When they saw a stranger entering their village, they looked at him vigilantly. As a local of the Chaotic Lands, this was the normal look they would give to a stranger.

If Ling Lan didn't tell him, Li Lanfeng wouldn't have suspected this place. Li Lanfeng commended his opponents in his heart. From this mission, he had learned a lesson from them. Sometimes, you don't have to hide your base and guard it heavily. You can display your base blatantly in front of anyone. Most would think that this was just a rundown village and would never expect it to be a base of human traffickers.

Even if they suspect anything, they would think that there were only a few criminals. They might enter the base alone and get caught by the traffickers.

Li Lanfeng slowly walked to the center of the village.

There were no blind spots here. No matter where he went, there were always people looking at him. These people hid so well that even Qi-Jin masters might not notice these people. Unfortunately for them, they were hiding from a domain realm master.

Li Lanfeng smiled, as it was time for the act to start. He scratched Little White's tiny body.

"Rawr!"

'What do you want me to do?' Little White rubbed its tentacles. It could finally show off its true capabilities. Rawr!

Lately, Little White was frustrated. It had to pretend to be an obedient pet in front of Little Aijun and Little Aihua. If its master didn't tell it that it couldn't harm anyone, it would have eaten those people that dared to touch its master's friends.

Li Lanfeng smiled at flicked its forehead. "Wow, you are really expressive today, aren't

you?"

"Rawr!"

'Even master had never flick my perfect forehead before. How dare you flick it? Ah! You're dead…'

"Stop." Li Lanfeng scratched Little White's round body. "You know Liu Aihua. Our aim is to find her. Of course, I don't mind if you eat their treasures along the way."

Little White's eyes lit up. 'I can eat? Well, since this bastard allowed me to eat, I will forgive you for that finger flick. I am not that narrow-minded.'

"Go!" Under Li Lanfeng's command, Little White suddenly struggled and jumped off Li Lanfeng's arms. It landed on the ground and started running towards another alley.

"Ah, Little White, don't run…" Li Lanfeng followed behind Little White with an agitated expression as he tried to catch up with Little White.

However, Little White was very fast. Li Lanfeng pretended that he couldn't catch up with it because of his weak body. After some time, Little White disappeared from Li Lanfeng's eyes.

Li Lanfeng stopped running and panted heavily. He pretended to appear worried as he looked around him cluelessly. He seemingly chose a random alley and ran inside it. When he met people, he would ask them anxiously if they saw his pet. His acting was oscar-winning

"This person should be clean," one of the people who was watching over Li Lanfeng said. Li Lanfeng had been searching through the village for half an hour and he didn't notice anything amiss with him.

"It's better to be careful. Our superior said that someone provided the wrong information so we caught someone with a powerful background. He is afraid that those people might come and look for the person," another person replied.

"Even if they came, we'll kill them." The person who spoke first sneered. "They'll just be our prey." Unless an imperial stage domain expert came, no one would be able to get out of here alive.

"That's true. Actually, we used this method to catch many good products before." The other person started smiling confidently.

Li Lanfeng couldn't find Little White after more than an hour of searching and asking around so he left the village dejectedly.

After Li Lanfeng left, the people watching over him looked away.

Li Lanfeng walked for some distance. When he noticed that the people watching him were gone, a sinister smile appeared on his face. "I wish you all good luck. Rabbit is not someone you should offend." His body started sparkling. After a while, he turned into tiny particles and dissipated into the air.

Li Lanfeng had walked around the entire village and found a few suspicious locations. He needed to visit those places now.

Half an hour later, the particles congregated and Li Lanfeng appeared. His face was stern. The results of his investigation weren't good. Inside the secret rooms under the village, he saw many young children kept in cages. However, there was no sign of Liu Aihua.

After some time, a white light flashed passed. Li Lanfeng raised his arms and Little White laid on them comfortably. He even burped in satisfaction.

"How is it?" Li Lanfeng rubbed Little White's round stomach and asked.

"Rawr!" This is so comfortable.' Little White said lazily, "I didn't find Little Aihua." It had searched all the corners of the village and made sure that Little Aihua was not here. Although it didn't find Little Aihua, Little White didn't waste its effort too. It ate many things in the place.

When it had the chance, it should find its master for a compliment. It had many things in its stomach now. Its master would definitely be able to find something likable.

"I don't know what is the situation in the other two locations." Li Lanfeng frowned. He could only hope that the other two teams had some good news.

However, the other two teams came back with bad news. They didn't find Liu Aihua too. But, Luo Lang and Xie Yi found Tao Ying. It was an unexpected finding. Just like what their boss thought, he was caught by the human traffickers.

Tao Ying told them that before they came, a batch of children had been transported to the black market for the auction tonight.

Ling Lan's gaze turned cold when she received this piece of news.

Obviously, the organization was afraid of causing trouble so they decided to move Little Aihua away quickly.