Tokyo Knights: The Odd Jobs X Files

The long-haired woman entered the house, which was in the center of the village. It was a wooden house that could accommodate a dozen or so people and was the only public facility in the village.

With a thud, the long-haired woman slammed the "Water of Life" onto the table, then reached into her military overcoat and pulled out one, two, three more bottles...

A total of ten bottles of "water of life" were laid out on the table.

After putting all the vodka away, the long-haired woman sighed and said, "Ugh, carrying so much liquor and walking such a long way is exhausting. If you hadn't let me in, I really couldn't have taken all this liquor back with me."

"It's alright, it's alright. We definitely won't let you take the wine back. We didn't mean anything by it, we just didn't want you to have to go through all that trouble."

Ivan stared intently at the "water of life," and Yuri shook his head, feeling ashamed of Ivan's pathetic behavior.

The small village had a new guest. Regardless of the long-haired woman's purpose in coming, she was, after all, the daughter of an old friend of these retired extraordinary experts, and they felt a natural affinity towards her. They wouldn't really turn her away.

Fueled by the alcohol, the atmosphere suddenly became very lively. A group of extraordinary experts raised their glasses and toasted endlessly, chatting, joking, and bragging. They showed no signs of being extraordinary experts and were no different from the drunkards that could be found in any Moscow tavern.

The long-haired woman also drank a few glasses; she drank the high-concentration vodka without changing her expression, as if it were water.

In Russia, women also have to know how to drink alcohol, and they have to be able to drink a lot.

After a few drinks, the long-haired woman was drawn to the unfamiliar faces of Li Xin and the young man lying on the ground like a dead dog inside the cabin. She asked Yuri, the only one in "Red Will" who didn't drink, "Uncle Yuri, who are those two...?"

"One is a young comrade from the Central Plains, here for experience; the other..."

Yuri looked at the young man with weak breathing: "The soldiers in the army heard about us from somewhere and came to ask us to become their disciples."

"Soldiers of the army..."

The long-haired woman lit another cigarette: "You guys still hate the military so much..."

She assumed that Yuri and his men treated the young man this way because of what happened in the army years ago, and that they were extending their hatred to the young man's family.

"That's not true."

Yuri shook his head: "He came here to gain the power to protect the country. We have always admired young people like him."

The long-haired woman rubbed her eyes, thinking she was seeing things. She stared at the young man for a while, and then realized she wasn't mistaken. This kid was practically alive except for one breath.

With a long sigh, the long-haired woman rubbed her forehead and said, "My God, life in this godforsaken place is just too hard. Even the most rational Uncle Yuri has lost his mind..."

“Sophia…I’m not crazy…”

Yuri said helplessly, "You think this kid is miserable now, but let me tell you, any one of us was a hundred or a thousand times worse off than him back then. That's how we got through it. If it were anyone else, we wouldn't bother treating him like this."

The long-haired woman couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean?"

Yuri frowned slightly. Even he didn't really want to recall the past, but the long-haired woman was not an outsider to him, so he reluctantly asked her, "Do you know how many extraordinary experts the Soviet Union had before World War II?"

The long-haired woman slowly shook her head. Although she came from a military family, the events before World War II were still too distant for her. Her father might know, but she certainly didn't.

"It's zero."

Yuri said to the long-haired woman, "The Soviet Union was newly established. We drove out the Church and established a godless country. The Church's clergy and magicians also left us. So when facing Prussia's tank army and the strange troops, we had no power to resist at all."

The long-haired woman was startled: "Then how did we win back then?"

Despite knowing that the Soviet Union had ultimately won the war against Prussia, she couldn't help but feel despair at such a vast disparity in strength.

"Buy it with your life."

Yuri's answer made the long-haired woman's heart skip a beat.

"Women, children, and even the elderly were all put into the factory to produce weapons."

"Men, whether adults or minors, as long as they can carry a gun, should go to the battlefield."

"In the army, we tried everything: martial arts from the Central Plains, witchcraft from the East, magic from the West... no matter what secret techniques or forbidden arts they were, as long as they could make people stronger."

"Once you've mastered any new techniques, send them to the battlefield immediately. If they die, they die; if they survive, come back and report back."

"More than 20 million lives were lost, and countless near-death experiences were survived. In the end, more than 20 extraordinary powerhouses with astonishing combat strength were born."

Yuri wiped his eyes. Whenever he recalled that era, which was red in every sense of the word, even someone as strong-willed as him couldn't help but shed tears.

It wasn't because of the suffering of the past, but rather...

They paid the price of more than 20 million lives and made countless sacrifices to hold onto that flag with great difficulty, but after forty years... less than fifty years, that flag fell on its own. Who can understand such pain?

The long-haired woman looked at the "Red Will" members inside the wooden house who were slowly putting down their wine glasses, their faces filled with sorrow.

Of the more than twenty extraordinary experts who once existed, only ten remain today. The others did not go their separate ways, but rather their souls have returned to their homelands.

Years of fighting have left their bodies riddled with wounds and broken, but they are holding on by sheer willpower. They cannot fall in order to resist the threat from NATO.

But when the red flag fell from the Kremlin, their inner pillar collapsed, and they fell with it. Half of their comrades who had fought alongside them through World War II were gone in an instant.

In recent years, several members of "Red Will" have left one after another, leaving only ten people. However, even among these ten remaining members, some are in poor health and may not live for many more years.

"So, Uncle Yuri, you're treating him like this because you want to replicate your past path?"

The long-haired woman couldn't help but look more closely at the young man on the ground.

"Yes."

Yuri nodded: "We don't actually have any sophisticated training methods. We rely on the strength we've gained from surviving countless battles and charging through life and death. He wants to become our disciple, but we don't know how to teach him. We can only let him walk the path we've walked."

The long-haired woman murmured, "Could it be that the rumors are true..."

"What rumor?"

Yuri asked.

The long-haired woman said, "In the last few years after the alliance disbanded, many elite soldiers from the army were transferred out for hellish training. Many died, and even those who survived often became permanently disabled. Almost none of them escaped unscathed."

"Some say they offended their superiors and were treated maliciously, while others say it was the Alliance's 'Super Warrior' program proposed to counter NATO's growing number of superhuman warriors."

"If what you said, Uncle Yuri, is true, then the army must have wanted to replicate your success back then."

"Nonsense!"

Yuri roared, "We had no choice back then. This kid brought it on himself. How can the army do that? Isn't that murder?!"

The deaths of over 20 million people resulted in the emergence of more than 20 extraordinary powerhouses—a ratio of one to one million. Aside from talent, luck played a crucial role.

Among the soldiers of the same era who went through life and death with Yuri and his men, there were many who were smarter, stronger, and more persevering than them. But in the end, it was Yuri who survived. It wasn't that they were more outstanding, but rather that they were luckier.

Gathering elite troops to repeat their past experience, sending 10,000 men, might result in none succeeding. It would be a pure waste with no gain whatsoever.

Such behavior cannot even be described as foolish.

The long-haired woman sighed and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. Back then, NATO had more than two hundred extraordinary experts, while we haven't had any new extraordinary experts since the war, so the higher-ups got a little anxious."

It wasn't just the extraordinary strongmen; at that time, the Soviet Union lagged behind the West in many things, and suffered repeated defeats in foreign wars. After these setbacks, it began to become impatient for quick success and instant benefits, which is why it engaged in so many absurd and foolish behaviors.

"That can't be done like that..."

Yuri said with heartache.

Because of his limited abilities, he was ousted from the army early on and knew little about what was happening within it. If he had known, he would have stopped it from happening no matter what, but now it's too late...

The long-haired woman then said to Yuri, "Uncle Yuri, please come and help me. I really need your help. My group consists of veterans who have retired from the army, and they need your support!"

"Help you? Join a gang?"

Yuri shook his head: "I've said it many times, even if we leave the army, we will not get involved with the mafia. If you still value our relationship, then don't say things like that anymore."

This wasn't the first time the long-haired woman had come to them. Starting four years ago, she would come every now and then to invite them to join her gang.

Ha, only she would have such an idea—an extraordinary powerhouse joining a gang—but that's just the kind of woman who doesn't follow the rules.

In her youth, in order to clear her father's name after he was wronged, she joined the army to practice archery, hoping to win a championship at the Olympics and restore her family's glory.

During the war, she disobeyed orders and rescued children in a refugee camp on the battlefield, for which she was stripped of her military status.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, she led her subordinates, driven to desperation by poverty and discrimination, to join the mafia...

It's no wonder that a woman like that would do anything.

The long-haired woman felt a pang of sadness. She wanted to persuade him again, but since Yuri had already said so, she had no chance this time and could only wait for the next opportunity.

"If you really need someone to help you..."

Yuri moved his hand, and the young man lying on the ground floated up into the air. After a series of cracking sounds, the young man felt that all the broken bones in his body had been restored. Although his body still ached as if he had been trampled by an elephant, he was no longer unable to move at all, unlike before.

"You heard what I just said, didn't you?"

Yuri asked the young man.

The young man nodded.

Yuri continued, "You already know that we're not deliberately making things difficult for you, and you know we won't really let you die, so if you stay here, you won't get any real training."

The young man's eyes flickered.

Yuri pointed to the long-haired woman: "Go to her. You should be able to get more training from her."

The young man, having learned from the conversation that the long-haired woman was a member of the mafia, couldn't help but ask, "Are you Balalaika?"

The long-haired woman couldn't help but laugh: "You've heard of my current name?"

Although Yuri calls her Sofia, she hasn't used that name in a long time. Her current name is Balalaika, and she is the branch leader of the "Moscow Hotel," the largest gang in Russia.

The young man said, "I've heard from senior soldiers that you're a very capable person, especially in shooting. If you were to participate in the Olympics, the gold medal would definitely be yours."

Upon hearing the words "Olympics" and "gold medal," Balalaika's eyes dimmed for a moment, but she quickly recovered: "Are you saying these things to try and curry favor with me?"

"I guess so. I'd like to ask you for a favor."

"That's what the young man said."

"what's up?"

"Balalaika asked."

"What's the most dangerous position in your gang? Transfer me there."

"That's what the young man replied."

Now that he knows the secret to becoming stronger, his next step is to implement it thoroughly.

The young man's answer made Balalaika smile, and she couldn't help but ask, "What's your name?"

The young man replied, “Alexandria, Alexandria Keda.”

Chapter 744 Legend of Tianshan

After spending some time with the "Red Will," borrowing some clothes from them, and finding out their location, Li Xin bid farewell to this group of very down-to-earth extraordinary experts.

Honestly, this group of people were definitely the least like extraordinary powerhouses Li Xin had ever encountered. Putting aside their earth-shattering power, they were no different from the drunkards that could be found anywhere in Moscow, except for Yuri.

After asking around, Li Xin learned that Yuri was originally a political commissar in the army, and was considered a true intellectual among this group of roughnecks, completely different from some roughneck who thought he was an intellectual after receiving a little red flower in elementary school.

At the same time, after Balalaika and Alexandra left, Li Xin asked Yuri why they had chosen to live in seclusion there.

Although Yuri and his companions appeared disheartened, Li Xin didn't believe that those who shed tears upon hearing "comrade-in-arms" had truly forgotten their red ideals.

Their self-proclaimed "Red Will" further demonstrates that they have never forgotten it.

Although Yuri repeatedly denied it when facing Balalaika, he was frank with Li Xin, his "comrade," saying, "We don't really want to go into seclusion, but given the current situation, we have no choice but to."

Extraordinary experts possess great power, but the disintegration of the Su Alliance was not due to its weakness.

Power can be used for destruction, but Yuri and his allies want to build a nation, and their power makes them a destabilizing factor in the eyes of others.

With NATO pressing closer from the outside and Russia facing numerous internal crises, NATO will not feel at ease if they do not leave, the European countries will not feel at ease, and the oligarchs in Russia will be even more uneasy.

Instead, they left, and NATO no longer sees Russia as a real threat. Instead, it leaves behind this half-dead enemy in order to maintain the cohesion of the alliance.

With their major threat gone, the oligarchs of Russia would be more willing to make concessions to the government, giving the country, which had just recovered from a serious illness, a chance to catch its breath.

"Su Meng does have many problems, but those are all things that can be changed. She shouldn't have collapsed like this, she shouldn't have!"

"I believe that our motherland will definitely rise again, even if she changes her appearance, even if she becomes unfamiliar, she will definitely rise again and remember her former self, we believe..."

Yuri concluded by saying to Li Xin, "Comrade Li Xin, may your country never lose that touch of red!"

Li Xin nodded emphatically.

With the blessings of Yuri and the others, Li Xin set off towards his predetermined goal, the Tianshan Mountains.

After a week of enduring wind and rain, Li Xin traveled thousands of kilometers and finally arrived at the Tianshan Mountains that Zhen Yuanzhai had mentioned.

The Tian Shan is not a single mountain, but a giant mountain range spanning Central Asia, and is one of the world's seven major mountain systems.

It's April now, and the snow and ice on some parts of the Tianshan Mountains are melting, making climbing actually more dangerous.

Of course, there was no danger for Li Xin. To be honest, climbing the Tianshan Mountains was not difficult for Li Xin at all. With Li Xin's physical abilities, even if he did not use any tools, climbing from any route would not pose any challenge.