Chapter 58: The Luli Elimination Plan

Ishii and Zhao Erwu looked at the unfamiliar woman before them with varied expressions.

After a long while, Zhao Erwu stammered, "W-What on earth is going on here? Why is there only one person? Where is Zhao Jin?"

With a solemn expression, Ishii stared at the already shrunken head on the woman's arm and muttered, "I never expected you to actually resort to that item..."

Lin Qinyue opened her mouth, speaking in a voice that blended both male and female tones: "There was no choice. My physical body was destroyed, so I had no option but to use the 'Corrupted Essence'."

Zhao Erwu hurriedly pursued the question: "What happened? Did the Lu family make a move?!"

Matsumoto Wakainu's mouth twitched into a sneer: "No, it was just Lu Li and a woman holding a shield."

"The Lin family did show up to help, but their impact was negligible."

"In fact, we have the Lin family to thank for being able to escape this time."

"If it weren't for this foolish girl messing things up at the critical moment, Zhao Jin-san and I would have died at Lu Li's hands long ago."

As she spoke, Matsumoto Wakainu pointed a finger at herself.

Zhao Erwu was utterly astonished: "So, the two of you are now sharing this single body?"

Matsumoto Wakainu raised an eyebrow, replying with triumph: "Pretty much!"

"However, to cover my retreat, Zhao Jin-san lost a portion of his [Soul] during our escape."

"So right now, he can only help suppress Lin Qinyue. The control of the body remains primarily in my hands."

"Does that mean the two of you are going to share one body from now on?" Zhao Erwu asked with lingering worry. "Won't that make you some kind of freak..."

Matsumoto Wakainu frowned, showing impatience at Zhao Erwu's slow wits: "Isn't there the [Moduo Clay Statue]? With that item, couldn't we just find another body for Zhao Jin-san? You should know that thing does a lot more than just transfer [Talents]..."

Ishii nodded in agreement: "Indeed. The two of you are already subjects of the Holy Lord now, so your affinity with the [Moduo Clay Statue] will be even higher, and the resistance during the transfer will be much less."

"Wakainu-chan, I happen to have a young girl's body on hand with a rather impressive talent. Shall I arrange the transfer for you right away?"

"A girl? You didn't just toy with her yourself, did you?" Disgust flashed in Matsumoto Wakainu's eyes.

"How could that be? You know I only fancy little daisies under fourteen years old. That girl just turned seventeen, not quite to my taste."

Ishii wore a perverted smile, speaking as if he were discussing a piece of merchandise rather than a living human being: "It's worth mentioning that her father is one of the top forensic doctors in Yongcheng. His skill in slow-slicing 'human materials' is quite remarkable. She makes a fantastic 'charging tool'!"

Matsumoto Wakainu curled her lip: "Fine, keep her for now then. We'll talk about that after we deal with Lu Li."

Hearing that Matsumoto Wakainu still wanted to cause trouble for Lu Li, Zhao Erwu shrunk back timidly.

"That Lu Li is not someone to be trifled with. Perhaps we should just let it go..."

Zhao Erwu's attitude toward Lu Li had changed drastically, and it certainly wasn't out of caution. In his view, even Zhao Jin, who had made thorough preparations, was no match for Lu Li. These understaffed Sakura lords would probably stand no chance either.

"Let it go?" Lin Qinyue cast a sideways glance at Zhao Erwu, her eyes filled with utter contempt: "Can your Zhao family swallow this insult?"

Before Zhao Erwu could reply, Matsumoto Wakainu continued: "Even if your Zhao family are a bunch of cowards who can swallow this anger, I will not let Lu Li off!"

"His talent must be mine!"

Seeing the fierce ruthlessness on Matsumoto Wakainu's face, Ishii couldn't help asking out of curiosity: "Is this Lu Li's talent really that powerful?"

"Not only powerful, but bizarrely so!" Matsumoto Wakainu gritted her teeth and said: "Lu Li can turn the dead into summoned minions for his use."

"He can also summon a massive army of minions in a single instant."

"His talent exhibits multiple developmental paths, and he even possesses healing effects."

"Most importantly, my [Magic Crystal Pendant] failed to nullify his talent!"

With every sentence Matsumoto Wakainu uttered, the astonishment on the faces of Ishii's three canine personas grew a notch deeper.

"No wonder Wakainu-chan was defeated and forced to use your life-saving trump card..."

Zhao Erwu hastily chimed in: "Lu Li's strength is simply too formidable. Provoking him blindly might even draw the attention of the Lu family. This is a disaster in the making! We really should just let it go..."

He had expected Ishii to agree with his perspective.

However, Ishii's tone suddenly shifted, his look of astonishment rapidly transforming into greed: "... No! The emergence of Lu Li is precisely a blessing bestowed upon us by the Holy Lord!"

Zhao Erwu was dumbfounded. He felt utterly incapable of keeping up with Ishii's train of thought.

"Tell me, aside from us who possess the [Moduo Clay Statue], who else could possibly plunder Lu Li's talent?!"

Ishii's eyes burned with fanaticism, as though he had already grasped Lu Li in the palm of his hand.

"So it turns out they're just lusting after the guy's talent..." Zhao Erwu muttered inwardly.

Realizing he couldn't persuade these two Sakura people, Zhao Erwu simply went along with them: "Listening to your lordship puts me in a state of sudden enlightenment."

"Still, Lu Li is no pushover. If we want to take him down, our manpower is simply insufficient..."

"You stupid dog, who said anything about a frontal assault?" Matsumoto Wakainu dropped all pretense, looking at him with disdain: "Isn't there an idiom in your Huaxia called 'all's fair in war'?"

"We can use strategy to ambush Lu Li!"

Zhao Erwu's mouth twitched. These little Japanese devils sure use idioms smoothly!

"I wonder what brilliant strategy Ms. Matsumoto has in mind?" Zhao Erwu feigned ignorance of the insult and asked with affected curiosity.

"This very body is the best strategy!" Matsumoto Wakainu rolled her eyes, making no attempt to hide her plan: "From what I understand, Lin Qinyue is the Lin family's most doted-upon youngest daughter. If she is taken hostage, do you think the Lin family will send people to rescue her?"

Zhao Erwu shrugged. "Naturally they will, but what does that have to do with Lu Li?"

"The Lin family and Lu Li have deep ties, and Lin Qinyue was abducted because of him. Do you think Lu Li will just stand by and watch?"

"Oh? So, Ms. Matsumoto intends to wait by the stump for the hare?"

"Exactly!"

While acting respectful on the surface, Zhao Erwu's tone carried a hint of mockery: "Yet, even Zhao Jin, with all his thorough preparations, failed to take Lu Li down."

"How does Ms. Matsumoto figure that with just our meager numbers, we're guaranteed to catch this cunning 'hare'?"

"Even if we don't catch him, it doesn't matter!" Matsumoto Wakainu waved a hand with absolute confidence: "Because I have a backup plan!"

"I won't leave this body for now; I'll disguise myself as Lin Qinyue while being imprisoned by you."

"If we truly prove no match for Lu Li when the time comes, you can simply let him rescue Lin Qinyue."

"A Trojan horse that has passed right through the city gates—if we want to kill Lu Li then, it will be as easy as taking candy from a baby!"

Dawning comprehension struck Zhao Erwu. No wonder this female Japanese ghost kept talking about military stratagems. She was planning to stab Lu Li in the back!

However, unwilling to lose face completely, Zhao Erwu muttered under his breath: "The disguise is fine, but with your voice right now, won't you give yourself away immediately?"

"Stupid dog!" Matsumoto Wakainu cursed furiously: "The reason my voice sounds like this right now is because Zhao Jin-san is still inside this body! We just need to use the [Moduo Clay Statue] to separate him out!"