# 652
Chapter 653: Kurusu
"The Blade Master is trapped in the Mirror World. If we clash with the Oracle Envoy at this time, we will inevitably be at a disadvantage…"
Upon hearing these words, the Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy stopped in his tracks, turning back to look at that empty stretch of wasteland, his eyes narrowing slightly.
The small gold figure standing nervously by the window watching him changed color.
"While I was walking down this road just now, you used the streetlights to hypnotize me…" The Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy glanced at the streetlamp overhead, an expression of understanding appearing in his eyes. He coldly sneered, "Unfortunately… you can confuse my sight and hearing, but you cannot confuse my spiritual perception."
With that, the Yellow-Robed Oracle Envoy took a step forward, a faint yellow glow appearing around his right fist as he smashed it heavily into the empty wasteland before him!
BOOM—!!!
…
On the streets of the night, dozens of cars were racing forward.
Shen Qingzhu sat in the lead vehicle, quietly gazing at the falling rain outside, as if lost in thought.
Beside him, the gray-templed Asakura Ken couldn't help but watch Shen Qingzhu through the rearview mirror, his eyes filled with adoration and admiration. After all these years navigating the underworld, he had never seen such a commanding leader.
Leading the team personally from Kyoto to Osaka, limiting their investigation of the Kanzawa family's arrangements to just two days, obtaining the deployment map, then decisively striking out—and personally joining the battle, killing the legendary young heir of the Kanzawa family with two shots.
With the young heir dead, the Kanzawa family in Tokyo was essentially half-destroyed. The current elderly family head was seriously ill and couldn't possibly turn the tide. Now that the Black Assassin Group was advancing into the Kanto region, they would surely sweep all before them!
In just one short year, he had transformed the Black Assassin Group from a local snake in Osaka into a black market juggernaut capable of intimidating all of Japan. Sitting beside him was a legend of the underworld!
Shen Qingzhu noticed Asakura Ken's gaze but didn't pay it any attention. Right now, he was frantically reviewing in his mind all the Japanese that Lin Qiye had taught him, afraid he might forget it all in a moment.
SCRRRREECH—!!
A sharp braking sound cut through the air. Propelled by inertia, everyone in the car was jerked violently forward.
Asakura Ken, who had nearly struck the seat in front of him, cursed loudly: "You混蛋! How do you drive?! Can't you be more steady?!"
In the driver's seat, the driver swallowed hard, pointing a trembling finger at the street ahead: "B-but… the Oracle Envoy is ahead!!"
Asakura Ken froze. He turned to look forward and saw that the previously flowing traffic had come to a complete standstill. Cars had stopped mid-journey everywhere, and all the drivers and passengers had gotten out of their vehicles, kneeling beside them to respectfully welcome the robed man approaching from the other end of the road.
It wasn't just this car—all the Black Assassin Group's vehicles were stuck here, clogging the streets completely.
"God… Oracle Envoy……"
The moment he saw the robed man in red, Asakura Ken's furious expression vanished, replaced by unprecedented panic. He grabbed the walkie-talkie and shouted: "Everyone out! All of you, get out and welcome the Oracle Envoy!!"
In truth, most of the Black Assassin Group members had already scrambled out of their vehicles without needing his command, respectfully kneeling on the ground toward the direction from which the robed man was approaching.
Asakura Ken stepped out into the heavy rain, his gaze toward the Red-Robed Oracle Envoy filled with fear. This veteran who had dominated Osaka's underworld for decades, this senior cadre of the Black Assassin Group, knelt before the Oracle Envoy without the slightest hesitation.
His forehead pressed tightly against the ground.
Just moments ago, the Black Assassin Group had won against the Kanzawa family, killed Kanzawa Tsukasa, and was planning to dominate all of Japan's underworld. Now, like a tide receding, they respectfully knelt on the ground, all their ferocity and arrogance gone. In this moment, they were no longer猛虎 but a flock of docile sheep.
Simply because the one they knelt before represented the divine.
They were indeed part of the underworld. They did indeed represent evil. But they were also believers in the divine—the only difference was that the gods they worshipped were not as gentle as the God of Fortune…
The Red-Robed Oracle Envoy's gaze swept lightly over these kneeling figures, his eyes utterly devoid of emotion. In his view, these kneeling gangsters and the ordinary passersby were no different.
As long as they hadn't reached the level of 【猛鬼】, they wouldn't significantly impact the world's order. The affairs of ants were best left for the ants to handle themselves.
The Red-Robed Oracle Envoy's gaze swept across the surroundings, fixing on a certain vehicle. His brow furrowed slightly.
At that moment, Asakura Ken also finally realized something. He glanced sideways at his surroundings, staring blankly for a long while before confusion and shock appeared in his eyes:
Where was the Big Boss?!
Squeak, squeak—
Rain poured onto the car window only to be swept away by the rapidly moving wipers. Through the foggy, water-beaded windshield, Shen Qingzhu sat alone in the car, watching the Black Assassin Group members kneeling all around him, his brow creasing.
He opened the car door and stepped out slowly.
His black leather shoes splashed into the puddle beside the car, sending out ripples. Shen Qingzhu draped in the flowing cloud haori that symbolized his position as Big Boss, stood quietly in the rain, staring at the robed man in red whom everyone else knelt before.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Big Boss! Kneel quickly! That person is the Oracle Envoy!" Asakura Ken knelt beside Shen Qingzhu, lowering his voice.
Shen Qingzhu simply stood there, as if he hadn't heard Asakura Ken's warning. In the silent street, only Shen Qingzhu in his flowing cloud haori and the Red-Robed Oracle Envoy stood facing each other.
"Why… do you not kneel?" The Red-Robed Oracle Envoy gazed at Shen Qingzhu, speaking calmly.
Shen Qingzhu stared at him coldly, seemingly having no intention of answering. His narrowed eyes gleamed sharply.
The Red-Robed Oracle Envoy's brow furrowed. A red ring of light appeared in his left eye, instantly locking onto Shen Qingzhu standing in the rain, as if verifying his identity.
"Facial recognition in progress… retrieving identity code… Retrieval failed. No matching record found."
The electronic voice echoed in the Red-Robed Oracle Envoy's mind. He paused, as if realizing something, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Are you an intruder?"
Since he couldn't be found in 【Pure Land】, it meant the other party wasn't Japanese. Combined with the "tradition" of intruders not kneeling to the Oracle Envoy, the Red-Robed Oracle Envoy instantly deduced Shen Qingzhu's identity.
Shen Qingzhu still didn't answer.
He shifted his gaze away from the Red-Robed Oracle Envoy, looking instead at the Black Assassin Group subordinates kneeling reverently like ants on the ground. His expression grew somber, and fury flickered in his eyes.
In the rain,
He looked at the Oracle Envoy, slowly raising his hand. With the tip of his thumb, he gently traced a line across his own throat. His gaze ice-cold, he made a throat-cutting gesture…
"Kurusu." (Kill)