Even with her Rubik's Cube Space nearly full, Jing Shu still cleared a small, cramped spot for the robot. As long as there was a clue, she wasn't afraid of losing track of Job Sibus.
At the same time, she couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation. The Rhine Manor was stuffed with luxury goods—silk wall coverings, gold-leafed frames, and rare vintages—so extravagant that even in her past life she couldn't have imagined owning them. Yet to that rich bastard, they were nothing more than trinkets he couldn't take with him. When she found him again, she wanted to see what kind of treasures he would still be hiding in his real sanctuary.
No one knew what she was really planning. The teams stationed outside, upon hearing the rescue helicopter's rhythmic thrumming, quickly withdrew into the shadows. Meanwhile, the priest who had just entered the area led the nuns into a final sweep. Jing Shu saw everything clearly from her vantage point.
From a distance, Priest spoke in his usual tone of tragic compassion, his voice carrying over the rising wind. "I shall pass over you and smite the Egyptian idol. The plague shall not touch you, nor destroy you. The Lord says, fear not. Go forth, my brave children. Redeem them!"
The helicopter dropped its rope ladder, the metal rungs clattering against the fuselage. Yang Yang climbed up first, his boots searching for purchase. Jing Shu tied the half-crippled Monkey and the unconscious Hao Yunlai together, securing them to the rope with thick nylon cord. The two of them dangled in midair like a pair of hanging corpses, their limbs swinging limp.
Then came the first explosion.
Boom! Boom!
The blast erupted from the center of Rhine Manor, a violent geyser of orange flame. Mushroom clouds of black smoke billowed into the sky, and a scorching wave of heat washed over everything. A split second later, shockwaves ripped through the underwater section, shattering reinforced glass that turned into deadly shrapnel. It sliced through the water and air, hitting anything in its path.
The initial explosion acted like a fuse, igniting every hidden charge in a visible chain reaction. The ground quaked violently while mushroom clouds kept bursting one after another across the estate. The deafening roar made it impossible for anyone to hear a word.
Jing Shu had already packed everything from the eighth-floor vault. When the others weren't looking, she crammed even more supplies into her space—heavy metal cases and vacuum-sealed containers. She didn't even know what half of it was, but it all looked expensive, so she would sort it out later.
She bundled seven or eight sacks of goods together and strapped them to her back, the straps digging into her coat. After placing the ID chip back onto the corpse in the debris, she leapt upward and grabbed hold of Yang Yang.
There was a sickening, wet crack.
Yang Yang's arms broke under the sudden force of her weight. Jing Shu and those bags easily totaled a few hundred kilos, and yet he still didn't let go. His fingers were white-knuckled as he gripped the ladder. Pure willpower kept him hanging on.
Sweat dipped from his pale face, but he didn't make a sound despite the agony.
Jing Shu swung herself up to grab the last rung of the rope ladder, her muscles straining. "That was close. Hold on. I will fix you up once we're safe."
Yang Yang could only stare at her, his jaw set.
Rumble!
The explosions were getting closer. In less than ten seconds, the chain reaction spread outward to the perimeter. The pilot, seeing the last person onboard, pushed the helicopter to its limits. The engines screamed as it climbed several dozen meters higher. But then the aircraft stopped rising—it was too heavy!
The overloaded helicopter shuddered violently, the blades laboring against the heavy air. The sacks tied beneath them flapped like a string of kites, lifted several meters by the shockwave of the ground-level blasts.
Another explosion rocked the earth.
Boom!
The self-destruct charge at the base of the tower detonated. A wall of heat surged upward, and Jing Shu's face and legs burned as if they had caught fire. A massive mushroom cloud blossomed right beneath their feet. The helicopter veered away at full speed, but the lowest bag still caught the edge of the blast.
One sack snapped off, the rope fraying and popping as it plummeted into the inferno below. Jing Shu winced, her chest tightening as she watched the bundle vanish into the smoke. She had no idea what was inside, but losing it hurt.
She held the ladder in a death grip as the helicopter wobbled dangerously. The thing wasn't ever meant to carry this much weight. It was supposed to rescue a few people, not haul several tons of loot. The aircraft's balance was completely off, tilting to the side.
The rumbling went on endlessly. No one knew how many explosives Job Sibus had buried in the place, but the result was terrifying. The multi-billion-dollar underwater world was obliterated, taking the surrounding structures down with it.
From above, Jing Shu could see what used to be the majestic Rhine Manor. Now, it was just a field of smoking ruins and twisted steel, black ash rolling across the sea in waves.
"Cough, cough…"
The helicopter turned toward the canal, the air finally clearing. After several minutes of flight, they finally escaped the blast zone and regrouped with Tank's team. More helicopters appeared overhead, and armored vehicles rolled out from the Zhuangyan Temple area. The situation was clearly much bigger than they had imagined.
Just as she expected, the robot had sent out a signal. Dozens of units were on-site now, though no one could tell whether they were from the government or some private force.
Once Jing Shu's group was dropped off, the helicopter immediately pulled away. They boarded the cargo ship No. 808 waiting for them in the dark and slipped away amidst the chaos.
It wouldn't be long before the news of Job Sibus's 'death' dominated America's headlines. The priest and the few surviving nuns stayed behind to clean up what was left of the ruins. In New York, that priest still had considerable influence, no matter how mysterious he was.
Tank looked back at the devastated shore, his face twisted with fury. "Should we expose him? Job Sibus isn't dead. This whole thing was a staged death!"
Zhen Nantian frowned, pulling out his phone and handing it to Jing Shu. With Yang Yang's arms broken and Monkey and Hao Yunlai unconscious, she was the only one still capable of acting.
Zhen Nantian said, "You have been listed as wanted fugitives in America. Your faces are all over social media." He pointed to grainy footage of their silhouettes. "Every major group is going to be after you now, especially since you have got those formulas. Honestly…"
He gave a bitter smile. "It would almost be better if you had died in that explosion."
"In other words," he continued, "we can't expose anything. Anyone tied to this will be implicated."
Snake Spirit frowned, looking at the dark water. "They saw the helicopter. Even if they didn't have time to follow us, once they investigate and find no bodies in the tower ruins, they will start suspecting something."
Ling Ling calmly wiped her gun with a dry cloth. "That's fine. As long as we get back to China before the trail gets cold, they won't be able to touch us."
Jing Shu stood, flexing her hands. "Of course we can't let anyone find out that rich bastard is still alive. I have got the robot's chip. If we can track him down later, his entire fortune will be ours."