Boom!
The sudden explosion startled the northeastern part of the city of Resurrection. A two-story building, usually a resting spot for members of the Black Fire Gang, was now billowing thick smoke.
Wang Jixuan, moving through the darkness, jumped onto the roof of a nearby building without making a sound, crouching in a corner. He tapped the edge of his helmet, and it automatically switched to long-range mode, turning his view a light green. He could see the movements of several gang members in the dim light.
At this moment, Wang Jixuan was over a thousand meters away from the explosion site. After taking out more than ten Black Fire Gang thugs inside that building, he had followed the method described in the landlord's old book, "Weapons that Scare Blade Beasts." Using a rope and two concentrated high-explosive grenades, he made a trap that would trigger as soon as someone entered.
To be honest, it was much more powerful than a low-level explosive talisman! However, the explosive talisman could be stacked infinitely and detonated simultaneously, so both had their advantages.
Wang Jixuan noted a few buildings where at least ten armed men rushed out at the same time and quickly turned to disappear into the night. Before the Black Fire Gang turned on their "full lighting" again, he needed to make the most of his time to launch a few more surprise attacks. He also had to be careful to avoid at least three energy users.
A few minutes later, a small dance hall filled with panting, moaning, swearing, and laughter awaited its fate in the dim light. A sign outside said it was not open to the public, and there was an alarm system at the entrance to capture strangers' images.
Unfortunately, Wang Jixuan wasn't planning to go through the front door. He was sitting on the edge of the roof of this three-story building, his feet swinging slightly in the air as he expanded his sensing range, detecting over thirty living presences.
He checked four magazines and inserted them into the sides of his tactical belt, holding two silenced handguns in his hands, practicing a few shooting stances. Since all the weapons and ammo were paid for by Young Master Zhou, and it was hard to get Blade Beast blood from his side, he thought, 'I must not waste a single talisman.'
He took a deep breath, stopped swinging his legs, and then Wang Jixuan fell freely from the roof!
As he dropped down a level, he hooked his left wrist on the edge of the roof and smoothly slipped into the open window of the third floor, kicking aside the curtain.
The four men and women who were cooking and doing some light exercises froze for a moment, looking up in shock at the smooth, shiny black helmet.
Pop!
Wang Jixuan raised his hand and shot a tattooed man in the head. Blood splattered across the wall.
"Ah—"
"What!"
Pop, pop, pop!
Three blood flowers erupted almost simultaneously, and the remaining three men didn't have time to find cover before holes appeared in their heads.
'So slow to react, and they still dare to be in the gang?' Wang Jixuan smirked slightly, aiming his gun at the screaming women. They immediately fell silent.
Following the rule of not killing women and children while cleaning up the evil cult, Wang Jixuan didn’t do anything more and quickly walked toward the bedroom door.
He noticed that one woman looked a bit too calm, and he could see she was secretly reaching for the gun on the nightstand.
Wang Jixuan wasn't in a hurry; he just waited.
The woman grabbed the gun, smoothly loaded it, and was about to raise it…
Pop!
She suddenly fell back, a blood hole appearing in her forehead, her wide eyes filled with unwillingness.
'Even if I can't sense your killing intent, can I not see the tattoos on you?'
Wang Jixuan quietly walked to the door, sensing a group of thugs rushing down the hallway. He pulled a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin, opened the door, and tossed it in, holding a nut in his left hand and a gun in his right, counting silently.
Three, two, one.
Boom!
The wall shook, sending a cloud of dust into the air, and the remaining three women inside screamed.
In the next instant after the explosion, Wang Jixuan charged through the doorway, his left hand flicking the nut he threw, which tore through the smoke and created holes, spraying blood behind him!
The muffled groans and not-so-intense gunfire followed.
The hallway was filled with the bodies of Black Fire Gang thugs.
Wang Jixuan jumped out the window, crashing into the first floor, firing both handguns to take out a few gunmen who were looking up the stairs, adding to the chaos in the smoke-filled dance floor.
Unfortunately, there were still a few men and women filled with killing intent in the basement.
Wang Jixuan wasn’t ready to use earth escape and didn’t want to recklessly enter a structure with only one exit. He simply tossed in two grenades and quickly left.
Creak!
The flash of light lit up the window across the street.
Wang Jixuan raised his hand and fired a shot, but at a certain distance, the accuracy of the handgun dropped. The bullet grazed the forehead of a gang member behind the window, making him duck in fear.
Wang Jixuan didn’t linger, ducking low and leaping up, his energy flowing into his legs as he landed steadily on a rooftop over ten meters high, disappearing from sight.
Following his planned attack route, Wang Jixuan waited quietly at the edge of the Black Fire Gang's territory.
After two gunfights, the entire Black Fire Gang was in chaos.
Dozens of pickup trucks equipped with heavy machine guns were searching back and forth with a group of "elite squads."
But Wang Jixuan quickly noticed that the Black Fire Gang still had no intention of turning on their lights.
—The power supply for those cold storage and nutrient warehouses was more important.
'Since it’s like this…'
Wang Jixuan took out a crumpled talisman from his pocket, and with his right hand, he traced a complex pattern in the air.
The remnant soul he had preserved with his energy appeared again, staring blankly at the large helmet in front of him, and after a while, his eyes lit up.
This remnant soul was on the verge of natural dissipation.
"God, God, I really, really have no savings left. Can’t you let me live?"
Wang Jixuan’s voice came from behind the helmet: "I haven't found a suitable body for you yet, so there's no rush. This is the last question I’m going to ask you."
"W-What question?"
Gu Wenqing complained dejectedly:
"Once I answer, you’re going to get rid of me, right? I know it! Because I’ve done this before, giving some hope as bait, playing with them, and then destroying that hope step by step while enjoying their reactions..."
Wang Jixuan's voice was a bit cold: "What I say, I will do. Now, answer my last question!"
Gu Wenqing's remnant soul trembled, his throat bobbing.
What other secrets could he have? He had already given everything he had!
Wang Jixuan pondered for a moment.
Gu Wenqing's expression grew inexplicably tense.
Wang Jixuan suddenly asked, "Where did you hide that tea?"
Gu Wenqing's remnant soul nearly slipped and fell to his knees.
No way, this powerful guy is still after his tea?
His tea… ah, no, the cold storage!
This mysterious energy user was going to attack the Black Fire Gang's largest cold storage!
…
Just three hours after falling asleep, Zhou Zhengde was jolted awake by vibrations and ringing. He barely opened his eyes and pressed the answer button on the simple projection device on his bedside table.
Several beams of light crisscrossed, and a simple half-body image appeared.
It was Ban Wenying, dressed in a gray suit.
"Zhengde, I’m sorry to disturb your rest, but you must immediately answer the question posed by the minister."
"Huh? What?"
Zhou Zhengde rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up, while using the blanket to cover his chest.
Ban Wenying held up a tablet and quickly said:
"Half an hour ago, we received multiple reports from the forty-ninth floor that the Black Fire Gang was attacked. A mysterious energy user ambushed their territory, resulting in at least one hundred twenty deaths and destroying the Black Fire Gang's largest underground facility.
"According to our intelligence feedback, there were thirteen material warehouses and thirty-six thousand blood products prepared for the Joint Defense Army in that underground facility.
"There were also some… unspeakable black products maintained by life support equipment.
"Due to the simultaneous destruction of three power supply systems by this energy user and the explosion paralyzing the access routes to the cold storage, these black products will soon become ineffective or die.
"Additionally, on the wall of the cold storage hall, there were these words left behind."
Ban Wenying turned the tablet toward the camera, leaning in closer.
Zhou Zhengde carefully stared at the eight flamboyant characters.
"Better to keep full lighting throughout the territory."
"He made such a big move?" Zhou Zhengde exclaimed in admiration.
"Zhengde."
Ban Wenying frowned:
"There are no secrets between the upper cities. Your energy user supplying equipment isn’t a secret either.
"The minister needs your answer… Are you sure you want to make this so absolute?
"These are the minister's exact words. Her tone was calm; after all, you are the future of the Zhou family, and she doesn’t want to create any unpleasantness over these small matters.
"But we can also treat these black products as spoils of war."
Zhou Zhengde rubbed his cheeks: "Sister Ying, you know, Mu Liang isn’t my energy user; he’s more like my friend and comrade. We get along very well."
Ban Wenying replied: "However, you have yet to provide a source report for him."
"You can't force him to do anything," Zhou Zhengde raised his voice, "and what do you mean by that, Sister Ban? You want to take this opportunity to build power and take over the Black Fire Gang's business, right?"
Ban Wenying said: "This is just the minister's question for you."
"Yes, it’s to be done so absolutely. I can give a definite answer."
Zhou Zhengde quickly said:
"I’m sorry about the blood products becoming ineffective, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with attacking the Black Fire Gang this way!
"If the minister wants to ask, just say this is my choice. Let a few people in the fortress keep their overly long lives through organ transplants is an unjust act I firmly oppose."
"Okay, I will clearly respond to the minister."
Ban Wenying reminded:
"Can you restrain your energy user? Don’t let him destroy large facilities anymore; those things consume a lot of resources to rebuild."
"That really depends on Mu Liang's mood."
Zhou Zhengde smiled in response.
He didn’t plan to persuade Mu Liang much.
…
Meanwhile.
On the forty-ninth floor, in a corner of the Wanlijin Gang's territory.
In a quiet and energy-rich little wooden house, Wang Jixuan sat bare-chested on the floor under the bed, embracing the essence and entering a shallow meditation.
Invisible points of light gathered toward him, his breathing rate slowing down, and a shimmering glow appeared beneath his skin.
Behind him, it seemed a huge curtain appeared, showing blocks of squares with not-so-intense and mostly repetitive battle scenes, along with some…
Experiences that greatly impacted his Dao heart.
Like a cold storage in a pig slaughterhouse, hundreds of white corpses hung up;
Lying in nutrient tanks, 'materials' pierced by tubes, their souls nearly dissipated;
'Patients' sent to the operating table, being dissected by doctors with prosthetic limbs…
These squares multiplied, and the curtain gradually became too full.
Wang Jixuan sat still, like a rock, like a clay statue.
The world is like a floating tower, my Dao is like a rock.
Knock, knock, knock!
A cheerful knocking sound broke the images.
Wang Jixuan opened his eyes and glanced at the simple electronic clock on the wall.
"Brother Tian, it’s time to eat!"
Yezi's crisp voice called from outside the door, and then she ran off to knock on the doors of other sleepy children.
Wang Jixuan jumped up, landing almost silently on his toes, quickly putting on a brown linen shirt.
When he came down, the long table was already filled with people, and two three-year-old children were seated in wooden chairs, all holding hands in unison.
This was the rule of the wooden house, set by Grandma Kong.
Wang Jixuan sat at the end of the dining table, taking the hands of the two boys on either side, listening to Grandma Kong speaking in a solemn and serious tone:
"As long as we help each other and support each other, we can light the fire of civilization step by step in the darkness."
The children repeated this phrase.
"Alright, enjoy your food," Grandma Kong said earnestly.
The children immediately began to dig in, the sounds of spoons clinking against plastic bowls filling the air.
Wang Jixuan lowered his head to drink porridge when his senses tingled slightly.
Today’s porridge… huh? Is there sleeping powder again?
This was the third time since he arrived, unlike the first two times which were on fixed weekend nights; this time it was only two days after the last.
Could the Black Fire Gang be holding a meeting early?
Because of his attack tonight?
Wang Jixuan gulped down the delicious rice porridge.
(End of Chapter)