Chapter 25 - Captain Tom

 

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Pakkk!

 

The sound of car doors closing could be heard as three men got off the car parked nearby of the Celestial Teahouse.

 

'My ears are going to bleed! Sigh…'

 

Elvis inwardly complained as he had been forced to listen to the fanatical ravings of Mike as his saliva splattered everywhere while he was still driving.

 

Mike seemed to have forgotten his traumatic ordeal and converted into Li Qu's pious zealot.

 

The glass door opened as the trio stepped into the teahouse and looked towards the front to see Li Qu talking to Xia Qiu about her job scope in the middle of the dining area.

 

"That is all for now, customers have arrived, just serve the tea like how I instructed you to."

 

Li Qu ended the conversation with his waitress as he could see Mike running to him and his knees about to glide onto the wooden floor as he did a certain Ri Country's famous grovel slide.

 

"Young Master Li! I have brought business for you! I have reflected on my mistakes and deeply regret my attitude towards you. Please forgive me for my disrespect!"

 

The more Mike said, the more he himself believed in the words spouting out of his mouth. He was a true believer of Li Qu now.

 

"What are you doing Mike! Don't be unsightly and throw away the reputation of our Protector's Unit!"

 

Captain Tom was alarmed at the shameful actions of his nephew and said in a loud but firm voice, he grimaced at the thought of the other Shadow Bureau units seeing this scene.

 

"W-what's happening…?"

 

The gentle Elvis could not make head of what was happening, he seemed like a little boy that lost sight of his mother in a shopping mall.

 

"U-uncle Tom! Shhh, don't be so loud! Didn't I warn you already, oh my fu- shi- dam- arghhh!"

 

Mike's vocabulary seemed to only contain profanities as he could not find the appropriate words to replace whatever he tried to say, but he was scared of Li Qu.

 

"Throw away reputation by kneeling to me you say? Are you sure you mean that?"

 

Li Qu questioned Uncle Tom as he eyed the Captain of the Protector's Unit playfully.

 

"The Protector's Unit members are all considered powerhouses that protect Earth from evil! They are not people you can disrespect and play around with even if you're strong!"

 

Tom shouted with dignity and grew serious as he felt like he was in the right to defend their honor.

 

The Protector's Unit were assigned missions that were deemed impossible to handle by other units and sectors due to the target being too strong or other reasons.

 

But they had never failed to accomplish any missions so far and had a good track record amongst the governments throughout the world.

 

Although they were not well known amongst regular Evolvers and non-Evolvers as their missions were always considered top secret, they were well respected within the several forces on Earth.

 

"Did I ask him to kneel? Hmm? Why don't you come and try to make him stand up then?"

 

Li Qu was still an Immortal, they absolutely could not give a single sh*t about morals, the world they lived in only cared about benefits and perhaps a bit of entertainment.

 

It was like telling a seasoned war veteran that he needed to make peace with his invaders, it was simply ridiculous in Li Qu's eyes.

 

"I have no choice but to show you how I can. Forgive me for being unsightly beforehand."

 

Tom then rushed forward in a quick sprint but was surprised as to why the wooden floorboard did not snap from the sheer strength he had exerted.

 

He quickly threw it to the back of his mind as his hand curled up into a fist and aimed towards Li Qu's face.

 

A red glow burst out of Tom's fist as red colored lightning could be seen crackling around it.

 

He kicked Mike away from him as Mike collided with the chair nearby, but unsurprisingly, the chair was still intact.

 

Tom had reached his target as he noticed that Li Qu still had a big smile on his face.

 

Crraaack!

 

A sound of what seemed like bones cracking echoed out in the quiet teahouse.

 

Tom did not register the initial force of impact that he had predicted as he looked down at his now mangled fist, he then looked at Li Qu in shock as the man in front of him was still devilishly perfect without a single injury visible.

 

"I'm an Ascended! How is it possible to be this strong?! Ascension is already the limit of power on Earth!"

 

Tom jumped back to safety, he shouted with horror and held a sense of foreboding as he realized that he had underestimated his enemy.

 

When Tom had received reports of the crater initially from the main unite of the Shadow Bureau, he had just thought of it as an unregistered entity that just broke through, he himself was an Ascended and if worse comes to worst, he could just group up with the few other Ascended in his team.

 

Even when he had heard Mike reporting his findings and experiences, he just thought his nephew was exaggerating as Mike was just a Genelock 3rd Phase Evolver.

 

But now, Tom could clearly feel the gap in strength, he had used his full power in that punch where even an Ascended would not come out unscathed if they took a direct hit.

 

What about the case of the perfectly uninjured Li Qu before him? He could not think of any entities with that amount of power.

 

"This is it? You could not even break the barrier that I constructed using a single breath, what makes you think that you can defeat me? I will be nice and give you two more moves, use your best methods or trump cards before I destroy your hopes."

 

Li Qu was in a playful mood, the ant dancing in front of him brought him some form of entertainment and he did not want it to end that fast.

 

His teahouse would not be damaged in any case, since the hardness of the materials they were made out of were way above Tom's level.

 

Tom took a deep breath and regained his valor of a veteran Captain, his face was grave as he prepared the next big move.

 

The Captain straightened his back and put his hands in front of his left chest, as if he was accumulating some sort of power.

 

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