Chapter 46: Gulu is Angry
Wange smiled as she looked at Su Xiao, showing no guilt for betraying Mr. J. Or rather, in this perilous Primordial World, betraying allies was a common occurrence, let alone when Mr. J was already from a hostile faction.
"Reinhardt."
Su Xiao broke the silence. As soon as he spoke, Reinhardt, wearing a high-collared priest robe, came up the stairs.
"Sir, I'm here."
"Kill her."
"As you command."
Reinhardt crouched down, pressing one hand against the floor.
Crackle~
Blue-white electric arcs spread, enveloping Wange. A strong current surged through her body, yet she remained standing still.
"So that means... it's a deal? Since that's the case, I'll throw in an extra piece of information for free. His name is Mr. J, the rest is unknown. Have fun scheming against each other, you two old schemers."
Wailing faces appeared around Wange as her figure gradually faded, and the electric current spread out.
Outside the abandoned apartment, Wange materialized out of thin air, the smile on her face slowly fading.
"So cautious. But he never made a move the whole time. Even if he's seriously injured, he wouldn't be so weak that he couldn't act. And he even met with the National Football Team. Hmm, no problem on this end. Next, I need to figure out how to deal with Mr. J's side."
Wange hummed a tune as she walked away. As for her earlier claim that all grievances were settled, even she probably didn't believe it. That was a test, to gauge how weakened Su Xiao was. If Su Xiao had directly agreed to the deal, Wange would have attacked the next moment. That was her style—bullying the weak. If the negotiating party was strong enough, she would talk calmly; if they were weaker than her, she would be ready to devour them.
Inside the abandoned apartment, Su Xiao watched the gradually dissipating virtual image in midair. He didn't trust the intelligence Wange had provided, but it could serve as an inaccurate reference, as long as he avoided being misled.
Reinhardt stood up, his hand twitching involuntarily. This was a side effect of releasing electric current. Most Awakeners' abilities came with significant drawbacks, like Gus's impulsiveness and irritability, or Old Hank's horrifying hobbies.
"Sir, should we pursue?"
"No, let her go. Issue a wanted notice through the combined Execution Agency and Seventh Unit."
"What should the wanted notice say?"
"Suspected destroyer of the Imperial Cemetery. Remember, it's 'suspected.' The bounty is to be determined."
"Yes."
Reinhardt didn't ask further and quickly left.
Su Xiao naturally wouldn't cooperate with Wange. In his view, since Wange had betrayed Mr. J, she could just as easily betray him. Moreover, she wasn't bluffing—if the viscous darkness inside her body were released, who knew what it would turn into.
That was how negotiations worked: you could never back down. When negotiating from a hostile position, even if you agreed to a deal, you couldn't accept it outright, because that would reveal weakness or vulnerability, and then the negotiation could turn into a life-or-death struggle.
Having the Execution Agency plus the Seventh Unit put a bounty on Wange would make things very difficult for her. That way, even if she had any schemes, they would be significantly hindered.
"Mr. J, Ghost Ring, Eye Chamber..."
Su Xiao muttered to himself as he stepped out of the apartment. He felt there was no need to waste more energy searching for Mr. J. From the current situation, that person was definitely connected to the Ghost Ring. He could just focus on targeting the Ghost Ring organization. He had already trampled the Ghost Ring into the dirt; now he just needed to keep hammering them. Eventually, Mr. J and Sin would likely jump out on their own.
...
Seven o'clock that evening, Black Cross Street, the westernmost part of Zuer City.
Black Cross Street was the most unique district in Zuer City. Its area was almost the size of a small town, making it a town within the city.
Although it was a cool summer night, the air on Black Cross Street carried a strange smell. The area housed two paper mills, five chemical plants, and three lead-zinc smelting workshops (lead-zinc: used for making high-strength cold weapons, the most mainstream method of cold weapon production for Awakeners).
With these factories around, the environment on Black Cross Street was only getting worse, but no one cared. Black Cross Street was essentially the slums of Zuer City. These heavily polluting factories provided a large number of jobs, preventing the poor here from starving to death, but their lifespans rarely exceeded 40 years.
Without an underground drainage system, the streets were inevitably filthy. More critically, there was no security force here. The security forces only stationed themselves on the outskirts of Black Cross Street, surrounding it. Aside from regular patrols and quarantine inspections, this place was essentially a cage. It was easy to get in, but getting out required approval from four departments, including the quarantine department and the security forces.
The absence of a security force didn't mean Black Cross Street was completely lawless. Two royal descendant families controlled the area. Although the residents here were poor, that didn't mean Black Cross Street had no output. Just the lead-zinc business alone was enough to make people envious.
Even so, the crime rate here was still alarmingly high. Harold had tried to clean it up but gave up after clearing only half of it. He couldn't possibly purge all the residents of Black Cross Street, and relocating them to other areas of Zuer City had caused crime rates to skyrocket in those districts.
So Harold gave up, treating this place like a garbage dump. Heavily polluting factories, repeat offenders just released from prison—all were dumped here, keeping the danger within a controllable range.
Zuer City needed Black Cross Street, and the poor needed Black Cross Street, so it had survived to this day. For ordinary civilians, this place was a forbidden zone. Walking through Black Cross Street at night could get you robbed or shot for a bit of pocket change.
Now, a large number of Awakeners were flooding into Black Cross Street. This was the most likely place for the Ghost to hide, and also the most likely place for the Ghost Ring organization to appear.
As night deepened, in front of a bar called "Mad Dog," a bald, burly man in a brown vest, reeking of sweat, stood at the door.
Muffled sounds of cursing and brawling came from inside the bar, but the bald man didn't care. He pulled a bright red crystal from his pocket and tossed it into his mouth.
Soon, the bald man leaned against the wall, a dazed smile on his face. That bright red crystal was none other than Red Ore. Red Ore had flowed into Black Cross Street, a consequence of the assassination of two councilors.
Just as the bald man was squinting, enjoying the hallucinogenic effects of the Red Ore, a little girl in a red dress with fair skin walked over. Her eyes were bright, like two black gemstones.
"Get lost, go home and drink your milk."
The bald man let out a foolish laugh, but the little girl had already reached him.
"I told you to..."
Pfft!
Drops of blood splattered. The little girl in the red dress continued forward, blood dripping from her fingernails. The bald man clutched his throat with both hands, blood spurting from between his fingers. The blood-soaked Red Ore slipped from his mouth. Even in death, he was still smiling.
Pushing open the bar door, the smell of tobacco, alcohol, and sweat inside made the little girl cover her nose and mouth. She tried to squeeze through the crowd, but the reveling customers were clearly too high. If it were just Red Ore, it wouldn't have this effect. Red Ore was a sedative, not a stimulant.
The day after Red Ore flowed into Black Cross Street, a new method of use was discovered. Crushing Red Ore and mixing it with sea salt to inhale would cause extreme euphoria for a period of time—not hallucinations, but euphoria.
The little girl who entered the bar was Gulu. She was covering her nose and mouth with one hand, frowning.
"Move!!"
Gulu shouted, but...
"Hahaha."
"I see the sun! The sun!"
Incoherent shouts came one after another. Gulu jumped up, grabbed a young girl by the hair, and pulled her face close.
"What did they take? Their nervous systems are all messed up. If they repeat this twice more, they'll definitely become brain-dead. And... there's some kind of energy affecting these people. Forget it, I'm angry."
Gulu shoved the young girl away. A red gleam flashed in her eyes. The long dagger strapped to her thigh floated up, splitting into four thinner, lighter blades without handles.
Whoosh!
The four finger-wide long daggers flew into the crowd. The light blades sliced in all directions, and the next moment, severed limbs and blood splattered everywhere.
Twenty seconds later, Gulu lifted her skirt with her small hand and tiptoed over the scattered limbs and flesh on the ground.
Thump, thump, thump.
Gulu knocked on the bar counter. Immediately, sobbing came from behind it.
"I have two kids. Please, please don't kill me. I'll do anything. Wuwu, I don't know where those red stones came from. The money's all here, take it all."
The bartender's tearful voice came through. Gulu jumped a few times—the counter was too high.
"Get out here! Or I'll chop you up in three seconds."
Zing~
The four slender daggers floated above Gulu's head, a faint blood-red energy flickering on their edges.
Trembling, the bartender stood up, hands raised high.
"I'm asking you, did Augustus Garfield Pat... Pat something... what a ridiculous name."
Gulu pulled out a note, glanced at it, and continued, "Did Patster come here tonight?"
"He did, he came at noon today."
"And then?"
Gulu flicked her finger, and one of the thin daggers pressed against the bartender's neck, the tip touching his skin. This was a new ability Gulu had recently mastered, or rather, the ultimate ability of her profession had awakened. Although it was only 3% awakened, it was exceptionally powerful.
"What's that strange smell?"
Gulu turned her head to look at the wall behind the bar, where there was a hidden door. At that moment, the fear on the bartender's face gradually faded, and his body began to swell, transforming in an instant into a Ten-Eyed Ghost.
"I didn't expect you to be a little boss. Not bad acting."
As Gulu spoke, the three thin daggers above her turned into blurs, pinning the Ten-Eyed Ghost to the wall. All three daggers pierced through its head. The distance was too close; Gulu had killed the Ten-Eyed Ghost instantly.
With a crack, wood splinters flew. Gulu stood in front of the doorway, receiving a notification from Reincarnation Paradise.
[Contractor has found Eye Chamber (2).]
[Contractor has found Eye Chamber (6).]
Seeing the notification from Reincarnation Paradise, Gulu's lips curled upward. "Whoa~, haha."