Chapter 172 - 171: The Rebel Species Owes Me 500,000
Jinshui District, in a certain underground bar.
The term "underground bar" was really just used to create a "secretive atmosphere." It wasn’t necessarily an unlicensed, illegal establishment.
But bars like this usually offered more... complicated services, and the atmosphere was more... suggestive. They were very popular among young people.
On the noisy second floor of the bar, four or five people sat in the only booth. They looked like they were the picture of cool, but in reality, they were tense and anxious.
They were one of the Rebel Species’ cells in Jinshui District.
As an organization specializing in conspiracies and schemes, the Rebel Species recruited many marginalized individuals who were dissatisfied with society.
Some had been wounded by society, while others were the ones inflicting the wounds.
These shadowy figures were like cockroaches, always appearing in swarms. They were enthusiastic about dragging people they knew down with them, which is why their base was structured into individual "cells."
There was only vertical contact, no horizontal communication.
Liu Yuankui had been just like that.
Three months ago, the Rebel Species began suffering continuous losses in Jinshui District. In the midst of it all, a "Tattooed Guest" who hunted their members had even appeared.
This person died, that person died, they lost assets and lost face, and they were even raided by the authorities multiple times.
Core members were lost one after another. At first, these low-level minions thought their chance for promotion had arrived. They imagined it wouldn’t be long before they’d get promoted with a raise, become junior executives, fool around with gorgeous, wealthy women, and reach the pinnacle of life.
But they discovered that all who were promoted just vanished into thin air!
The Jianghuai Sub-temple was becoming unstable, and as a result, the funding for even low-level members like them was dwindling. Morale was low.
A woman with a full sleeve of tattoos crossed her legs, her black stockings exceptionally alluring in the dim light:
"Shit... Last month’s stipend is late again. If this keeps up, I might as well go get a real job."
’What kind of cult are you running with no money?!’
"Oh? Hua’s thinking of going back to her old line of work? The boys and I would definitely support your business!"
A blond-haired young man grinned. "Can we get a group discount? I’ll bring ten of my buddies over to give you some business. To be honest, I’ve been really pent-up lately~!"
The woman with the tattoo sleeve sneered. "Fine. I still have one Mind-Bending Gu. I’ll make it a real bargain for you."
The blond-haired young man gave a fearful, dry laugh.
He thought the woman was bluffing. Even within the Rebel Species, "Witchcraft" was an extremely precious resource. Only those who had made great contributions to the organization were occasionally rewarded with it.
After all, Witchcraft and Gu Dao were perfectly suited for insidious purposes. They might not be effective against a Martial Arts Powerhouse, but they could plunge an ordinary person into a living hell, unable to live or die, even brainwashing and enslaving them.
This was also the reason for the high loyalty among the lower-ranking members.
Once one experienced the convenience brought by Gu Insects, it was addictive.
From the back of the booth, a sturdy man raised his hand. "Everyone settle down. Our handler told us to assemble here, so they probably have instructions for us. Given the current situation... I’m afraid it’s going to be dangerous..."
The few of them fell silent.
"At least that ’Tattooed Guest’ has been quiet, right? I haven’t heard about anyone dying for the past two weeks..."
Just as he spoke, a figure abruptly dropped down from the complex steel frame on the bar’s ceiling.
It scared them so much they almost jumped up; someone even drew a knife.
The person wore a hood and a strange mask, but they could vaguely make out that it was a young woman.
The sturdy man asked uncertainly, "Are you... Lady Long Jiu?"
"My Lady, you’ve changed your attire? I almost didn’t recognize you."
He was no stranger to Long Jiu. She was the Jianghuai Altar Master’s messenger. Since the Altar Master himself never showed his face, Long Jiu essentially represented the highest authority of the Jianghuai Sub-temple.
Whenever Long Jiu had appeared in the past, she never showed her true face. He was just making a guess. After all, they had gathered here on secret orders from their superiors. The person who found them so precisely was, nine times out of ten, one of their own.
Long Jiu said nothing, not answering any questions. She just observed the situation.
The sturdy man was the owner of this place, so he had closed off the second floor for the day, not even allowing waiters to come up.
Long Jiu approached step by step and, under their surprised gazes, stood on the booth’s table, looking down on them.
No one understood... ’Is she about to give some important speech? Getting up on a stage?’
The next moment, two objects slid from Long Jiu’s sleeves. With the click and whir of a metal mechanism, they instantly transformed into terrifying weapons.
The sharp sickles, without warning, formed a deadly circle that flashed once in the dim light and was gone.
Five heads were severed. Five fountains of blood erupted, spraying several meters high onto the ceiling and walls before raining back down.
The commotion was drowned out by the loud music and energetic dancing downstairs.
The sheer difference in their level of power, combined with the unpreparedness of the Rebel Species members... created this bloody feast.
And not a single drop of this blood landed on Long Jiu.
Without a word, Long Jiu flicked her sickles clean and began to search the bodies.
A moment later, she pulled a box from the headless corpse of the woman with the tattoo sleeve.
She opened it to find two rice-grain-sized insect eggs inside. Without another moment of hesitation, Long Jiu leaped lightly back onto the complex steel frame of the ceiling and, like a nimble cat in the night, vanished.
A few minutes later, a sexy woman dancing wildly below, sweat flying, suddenly felt something drip onto her head.
She wiped it away, confused.
"AHHHH!!!! BLOOD!! SO MUCH BLOOD!!"
——————
Several hundred meters away, a strange man in a pitch-black helmet stood waiting on an unfamiliar rooftop.
Yang Shen finally understood why so many Martial Artists could be seen dashing across rooftops and scaling walls in Jianghuai City at night.
No cameras, no disturbing ordinary people, no getting stuck in traffic.
You don’t even have to pay for parking!
’It really is the most convenient option...’
The buildings in Jianghuai City were packed especially close together, making it even more convenient than Jinshui.
He was just about to sit cross-legged for a bit to do his daily Immortal Cultivation when Long Jiu leaped back to his side.
Yang Shen was stunned. "It’s done?"
Long Jiu nodded.
Yang Shen looked at his phone. "It’s only been ten minutes?!"
Long Jiu gave no reaction.
Yang Shen sized up Long Jiu. There wasn’t even any blood on her...
"How did you handle it?"
"Killed."
"And then?"
Long Jiu seemed to lag for a moment before adding, "Killed... all."
Yang Shen raised an eyebrow. ’Is that even an answer?’
"Didn’t I tell you to scout them out and act as you saw fit?"
Long Jiu: "Killing... was easiest..."
As the former "messenger" of the Jianghuai Sub-temple, Long Jiu’s little head held quite a bit of top-secret information.
She knew most of the fixed strongholds in Jianghuai City and had mastered the Rebel Species’ special contact methods, such as having them all gather in one place to await orders.
Yang Shen had Long Jiu recount the entire process. She did so haltingly, spitting out one or two words at a time.
’Trying to understand her was like trying to pass a college entrance exam reading comprehension test...’
Finally, he placed his hand on Long Jiu’s pale neck and injected more Spiritual Power, checking to see if there were any changes after her contact with the Rebel Species members.
After all, this was the first time since he had acquired her.
The feedback he received was "no change whatsoever."
Long Jiu took out the box. "Mind-Bending Gu. For you."
"What’s this? Huh? You even knew to search the body?"
’Did you grow a brain?’
Yang Shen took it and opened it. Inside were only two insect eggs, emitting an extremely faint Spiritual Energy Fluctuation... It was almost undetectable.
"What’s it for?"
"Pre-made... flesh and blood... implant..."
Long Jiu started speaking in choppy fragments again.
Yang Shen sighed and listened patiently.
’Damn. It only took ten minutes to wipe out a Rebel Species stronghold, but the debriefing took half an hour! It’s like I spent all the skill points for my life-sized action figure on her stats and looks. Okay, her physique is maxed out, too. But I didn’t add a single point to intelligence!’
After a long while, Yang Shen finally understood what the "Mind-Bending Gu" was.
A classic Gu Insect from the Witchcraft and Gu Dao.
Low-level members couldn’t possibly know how to perform Refining Witchcraft; instead, they were given these semi-finished, pre-made Gu as precious rewards.
The two eggs, one male and one female, are fed a person’s blood separately and then implanted into a human body.
After hatching inside the body, the female Gu crawls into the victim’s brain, while the male Gu takes root in their throat.
The person infected with the male Gu can sense the other’s state and exert mental influence through speech.
It starts with inducing a sense of closeness, which gradually turns into obsessive thoughts, day and night. In the end, the victim is completely at the user’s mercy...
This was one of the Rebel Species’ most common rewards. It was ineffective against Martial Artists at the Marrow Refining realm or higher, as they would detect the abnormality in their bodies and have it diagnosed at a hospital.
But against ordinary people, it was infallible.
In fact, even if a victim was toyed with until they died, as long as the body wasn’t in too ghastly a state, the average family wouldn’t request an autopsy.
The Rebel Species often used this method to control ordinary people—exploiting, humiliating, and manipulating them. Once they got tired of their plaything, they would find a plausible reason to kill them off.
The hair on Yang Shen’s arms stood on end as he listened.
His past encounters with the Rebel Species had all been direct confrontations—life-and-death battles between Martial Artists. He hadn’t had a concrete concept of just how insidious their methods could be.
’Today was a real eye-opener...’
According to Long Jiu, the Rebel Species would occasionally sell these to low-ranking members who didn’t have enough merits. A pair was worth at least 500,000, and that was the internal price...
On the open market, it was priceless and unobtainable.
Yang Shen looked at the dormant insect eggs in the box, took a deep breath, and was momentarily conflicted.
Long Jiu’s gaze remained empty, as if it had nothing to do with her.
The next moment, the "Rising Sun Flame" flared up in Yang Shen’s palm.
He purified the vile little creatures.
He disdained to use such a thing. If he had an enemy, he would just kill them on the spot.
But he couldn’t sell it either. No matter who he sold it to, it would just mean creating another victim.
Even though he killed, committed arson, robbed tombs, and played with his life-sized doll...
But Yang Shen knew he was still that innocent young man, a good person... an A-plus... no, A-plus-plus model student raised by the Yanhua education system.
It was just... this heart-wrenchingly painful feeling...
"That was 500,000!"
The strange man in the peculiar helmet looked up at the sky, speechless. His heart was bleeding.
So he turned his grief into strength.
"...From now on, the Rebel Species owes me 500,000."
Yang Shen watched the insect eggs turn to ash, then raised his gaze. He looked forward, his eyes growing colder and colder.
"Long Jiu, from now on, after you finish a job, check for any cash or other valuables. The Rebel Species owes me."
"There are still four strongholds in Jinshui District, and over a dozen more in Jianghuai City. I have to work hard to collect this debt... Otherwise, the Rebel Species won’t be in any hurry to pay me back!"
Yang Shen stood on the edge of the rooftop, observing the route, planning to take Long Jiu to the second location.
But he didn’t notice that as he burned the Mind-Bending Gu, a flicker of emotion had finally stirred in Long Jiu’s large, vacant eyes behind him.
The way she looked at his back was now a little different.
——