Li Yufei looked at the small flame in her hand and excitedly hugged Yang Feilong. She kissed him and said, "I've successfully awakened my fire element ability, and I'm a cultivator now!"
Li Yufei was thrilled after awakening her ability.
She was unaware of the recent events that had occurred in the outside world because she had been solely focused on her cultivation. The formation she was in could block sound transmission, and with her complete dedication to training, she had no idea that Yang Feilong had killed three intruders while she was cultivating.
Seeing Li Yufei's excitement, Yang Feilong was also happy. At least she now had the ability to protect herself in the future.
Although he now had a girlfriend who needed spirit stones, the cost was not too high compared to his earning speed.
...
The next day, evening.
In Pakan Town, a restaurant, this entire establishment had been booked by the Black River Group.
A conference room.
"Still no contact with Stephen and the others?" James Bond, seated at the head of the table, frowned.
"No contact yet!"
"Could this guy have gone off to have fun with his two subordinates!" someone ventured.
"Even if he were having fun, he wouldn't forget about the meeting today, would he!" another person chimed in with a frown. "Why do I have a feeling something bad has happened to him?"
"That's right, I heard some news yesterday," someone said at this point.
"What news?"
The person then recounted the news they had heard.
"Stephen is lustful to the extreme. Could he have taken his two subordinates to trouble that Dragon Country person and something unexpected happened!"
"That Dragon Country person is very strong. He easily injured Stephen's two subordinates back then. That person is so young; he must have a powerful backer. If Stephen rashly went to cause trouble with his two subordinates, it's possible they'll never return!"
"Exactly!"
"Those ancient martial artists from Dragon Country are very strong, and Star Sun Group from Dragon Country has also sent many people! Could that young man be from Star Sun Group?"
"Star Sun Group? While not as powerful as our Black River Group, their leader is a Earth Martial Realm expert, equivalent to our sixth-tier ability users. If that young man belongs to Star Sun Group, Stephen and his two subordinates might indeed be in dire straits!"
Hearing the discussions from his subordinates below, James Bond frowned and then quickly said, "We'll hold the meeting first. After the meeting, we'll investigate Stephen's whereabouts!"
"Yes!" everyone replied.
James Bond looked at his assistant, Jarris Tin, and said, "Introduce the situation of the gem appraisal meeting the day after tomorrow to everyone."
"Yes!" Jarris Tin responded and then opened the prepared materials. "The gem appraisal meeting the day after tomorrow is the largest annual gem appraisal event in Myanmar, held at the Pakan Gem Appraisal House. It will feature one thousand numbered rough stones! All meticulously selected. In addition to the numbered rough stones, there will be ten King of Rough Stones and one hundred Secondary King of Rough Stones! A total of one thousand one hundred and twenty precious rough stones."
"These precious rough stones have been evaluated by experts from Myanmar. The jade contained within each rough stone has a spiritual stone value of no less than one million! Of course, the purchase price is also high, with the lowest not below five million!"
"More expensive ones, such as the ten Secondary King of Rough Stones, can even exceed ten million. As for the ten King of Rough Stones, there's no need to mention it; each has a selling price of over a hundred million!"
"In addition to these one thousand one hundred and twenty precious rough stones, there are also ten thousand ordinary rough stones. Of course, 'ordinary' here is relative to the other precious rough stones; on other days, they would be considered precious rough stones!"
"We have brought tens of billions in assets to purchase rough stones this time! We must try our best to secure the rough stones with the greatest value!"
"And our competitors come from dozens of countries and hundreds of intricate factions!"
"Of course, the main competitors are not many, only four. Ranked by threat level, the first is Star Sun Group from Dragon Country, the second is Golden English Sand Group from the European Union, the third is Night Ninja Group from Japan, and the fourth is Du Gu Group from Russia."
"Sir, for tomorrow's gem appraisal meeting, should we propose a wager with Dragon Country's Star Sun Group?" At this moment, a middle-aged man with a full beard grinned and said, "Let's make Star Sun Group return empty-handed!"
"This proposal can be considered!" James Bond nodded. "But we cannot be careless! Because Dragon Country is a mysterious country, if we are not careful and flip the boat, not only you, but I will also be punished!"
Wagering, such things are very common. If you win, you earn a lot; of course, if you lose, you can lose a lot!
Although he had many subordinates skilled in gem appraisal, Dragon Country also had many, even very skilled ones.
Moreover, gem appraisal carries risks. If you gamble and lose, you lose big. Although they can ensure most gambles win, what about the profit margin? If the profit margin is insufficient, it's also not good. Because the wagers between their groups are not small-scale affairs but involve billions at every turn!
...
Time flew by, and another day passed.
The same hotel.
The same conference room.
"Officer James, according to our investigation, because Yang Feilong has two women by his side, one of whom is of unparalleled beauty, and the other is also unidentifiable. Given Stephen's character, Stephen and his two subordinates must have gone to seek revenge on that Dragon Country's Yang Feilong! Their disappearance suggests they likely died at the hands of that Yang Feilong!" a middle-aged man stated.
"Have Yang Feilong's background been investigated? Is he from Star Sun Group?" the officer in the main seat, James Bond, asked, tapping his fingers on the table.
"It has been investigated. He has no connection to Star Sun Group; he is a lone wolf!" the middle-aged man replied.
"A lone wolf? Interesting!" A playful smile touched James Bond's lips. "Without any backing, he dares to kill our Black River Group's people. Truly foolish! Has his strength been assessed?"
"It has been assessed. He is very young, under thirty. To be able to kill Stephen, he should be at least a Spiritual Martial Realm expert from Dragon Country, but it's hard to say; he might have used special means, given his extreme youth!"
"Derek!" James Bond called out.
"Your subordinate is here!" A middle-aged man immediately stood up to respond.
"Take your subordinates and deal with that Yang Feilong tonight!" James Bond commanded.
"Yes!" the middle-aged man, Derek, replied.
Derek was one of the eight fifth-tier ability users under James Bond, equivalent to the Yuan Martial Realm experts in China!
Furthermore, although Derek was not the strongest among the eight fifth-tier ability users under his command, he ranked third in strength, being a late-stage fifth-tier ability user.
"Rix!" James Bond mused.
"Officer!" another middle-aged man responded.
"To ensure no mistakes, you two go together. One of you has water element abilities, and the other has fire element abilities. Their combined strength can even contend with an early-stage Earth Martial Realm cultivator from Dragon Country!" James Bond stated solemnly.
"Officer, I can handle it with my subordinates; Rix's help is not needed," Derek said helplessly.
Wasn't this a lack of trust in him?
"I do not wish for any accidents! Nor do I wish for any further casualties!" James Bond said.
"Your subordinate understands!" Derek replied with a wry smile.
He and Rix's combined abilities could indeed achieve an effect greater than the sum of their parts, but he disliked Rix. Why? Because they had a conflict.
Rix had taken the woman he fancied. Although he didn't care about the woman, he was still displeased.
Moreover, one had water element abilities and the other fire element abilities; neither of them thought highly of the other!
But now that James Bond had given the order, he had no choice but to comply, even if he was dissatisfied.
Rix pouted. He also didn't want to execute the order with Derek, but the officer had commanded it, so he had to obey.
"I hope you can set aside your past grievances when carrying out the mission!" James Bond instructed, worried that if Yang Feilong wasn't killed, they might even have an internal conflict.
"Yes!" Derek and Rix both responded.
Derek, and each of their subordinates, had two fourth-tier ability users and four third-tier ability users.
Combined, they formed a team of fourteen. Derek was a fire element ability user, and Rix was a water element ability user, both late-stage fifth-tier. Their combat power ranked third and fourth, respectively, under James Bond. Together, they were even stronger than the top-ranked fifth-tier peak ability user under James Bond. It was just that the two former good brothers had fallen out because of a woman.
They didn't have to die without contact, but they both found each other unpleasant!
Derek believed Rix had stolen his woman, while Rix believed his woman had previously been involved with Derek. Both were unhappy with the other!
...
Night fell.
"Rix, after a while, I'll lead my subordinates and be enough to kill Yang Feilong. You just stand by and watch! Don't let that Yang Feilong escape!" Derek said with a cold smile on the road.
"If you can handle it, I'm happy to be at ease! I'm just afraid you'll accidentally capsize," Rix sneered.
"Capsize? Such a situation doesn't exist in my dictionary, Derek!" the latter scoffed.
"Oh really?" Rix said with a playful smirk.
"You..." Derek looked at Rix's playful smile and was about to explode with anger, as he remembered the incident where the woman he liked was snatched away.
Although they had agreed to cooperate temporarily in front of Officer James Bond, they were already bickering on the way to execute the mission.
If Officer James Bond knew they were like this again, he would likely wonder what to think. The reason he had sent them together was not only because their combined strength was formidable but also because he hoped that through this collaboration, they might change their current life-or-death antagonistic relationship. It was just one woman, what was the big deal!
After an exchange of rather impolite words, the group of sixteen arrived outside Yang Feilong's courtyard under the cover of night!