Jiang Xia glanced almost imperceptibly at the two men.

Without breaking stride, she followed Sister Lan to the courtyard gate.

“Take this duck home and eat it. And here’s twenty yuan. Consider it an advance on your wages.”

Sister Lan placed the roast duck, wrapped in newspaper, and two ten-yuan notes into Jiang Xia’s hands.

“Look, it’s already getting late. I can’t very well let you walk all the way home alone. How about this? Skinny Monkey, take your bicycle and give Xiaofang a ride home.”

As she spoke, she beckoned over a rather thin, small-framed man with remarkably shrewd eyes.

The man pushed his bicycle over and grinned at Jiang Xia, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

Jiang Xia clenched her fists slightly.

What they claimed was a kind offer to escort her home was actually another way of confirming her address, eliminating any suspicions about her, and making it easier to control her movements in the future.

Fortunately, she hadn’t tried to bluff her way through this earlier. She had prepared thoroughly enough.

Jiang Xia remained silent for several seconds before reluctantly nodding.

She climbed onto the back seat of the bicycle and put on her hat, hiding most of her face. After giving him her home address, she directed him to turn right.

The bicycle gradually picked up speed. As they passed the first alley, Jiang Xia spotted a middle-aged man who collected rubbish, sitting in the corner to rest. A bright red Young Pioneers’ scarf was wrapped around the carrying pole he used to sort through the garbage.

One of ours!

They had followed her here and had been keeping watch outside the entire time!

Jiang Xia’s heart beat a little faster. Even though she knew she wasn’t fighting this battle alone, seeing her comrades with her own eyes was far more reassuring and encouraging than merely knowing they were somewhere out there.

Skinny Monkey dropped Jiang Xia off at her home—or rather, at Ren Xuefang’s home.

Jiang Xia knocked on the door. A boy of around ten quickly came to open it. Before he could react, Jiang Xia took the initiative and called out, “Third Brother, I’m home!”

“Big Sis!”

The boy quickly caught on. There was a hint of anxiety on his face as he asked, “Why are you only getting back now?”

“I found a job. I got off work late.”

Jiang Xia gave a vague answer, then handed him the roast duck wrapped in newspaper.

“I brought you something delicious. Come on, let’s go eat.”

Smelling the delicious aroma, the boy couldn’t help swallowing.

Still talking, Jiang Xia stepped inside.

Skinny Monkey hadn’t noticed anything unusual. After memorizing the address, he turned around and left.

Jiang Xia latched the door.

She gave the boy a gentle push, telling him to go eat.

Only after watching Skinny Monkey actually leave did Feng Zhengming poke his head out from the side room. He beckoned Jiang Xia inside.

“How did things go this time? Were you safe?”

“Not bad. Those people are trying to lure me into their business, but they’re not moving too quickly. I think they can wait a few more days. I’d like to let all those ‘big brothers’ see my face first.”

As she spoke, Jiang Xia walked farther into the room.

“Have you prepared the paper and pens? Today, I spotted seven gang leaders in the casino, along with nineteen associated members, more than ten pickpockets, and two middlemen.”

“Good grief! That’s quite a haul!”

Feng Zhengming’s eyes lit up as though two flames had been ignited in them. He clenched his right fist and gave a forceful pump in the air.

“Just the gang leaders alone must account for about a third of the total, right?”

“The paper and pens are here.”

Inside the room, Lu Yixing was holding Jiang Xia’s usual notebook and pencil. He handed them, along with an eraser, to her.

“I sharpened a few extra pencils, too. If yours gets blunt, just switch to another one.”

Jiang Xia looked up at him and immediately saw the unmistakable worry in his eyes.

“Oh, right. Let me light the oil lamp.”

Outside the window, only a faint streak of red remained in the western sky. Inside the house, it was even darker. Under these conditions, drawing was practically impossible, especially since there were no electric lights installed in Ren Xuefang’s home.

Fortunately, Feng Zhengming had visited the place yesterday and knew about the situation. He had specifically rummaged through the warehouse and brought along an old-fashioned kerosene lamp.

In just a few quick movements, he lit it and turned the flame up to its maximum. Its brightness was no less than that of an electric light.

Without another word, Jiang Xia sat down beside the kerosene lamp and began drawing.

After finishing each portrait, she referred to the information recorded in the Book of Life and Death and began explaining.

“This is Brother Scar. He’s the vegetable-market gang leader on that street along West Fourth Road. Apart from the lackeys who collect protection money, he has two other brothers working under him. One is called “Big Brother”, and the other is “Pockmark”.”

“This is Brother Wang. Judging from the conversation, he seems to be the gang leader controlling the vegetable stalls on Ping’an Road.”

“This is Brother Li. His influence is much greater. He oversees the gang leaders controlling several streets, including Fuxing Road, Xiangyang Road, and Guta Road. These are some of his associates…”

“This is Dalong…”

“Old Shi, the train pickpocket.”

“Baldy, the middleman responsible for disposing of stolen goods for the pickpockets…”

One clear half-body portrait after another appeared before Feng Zhengming. Each was accompanied by the person’s nickname, territory, and estimated number of gang members. Some even included an approximate residential area.

The information was so comprehensive that it was enough to make anyone shudder.

“No wonder Old Liang said you’d be suited for undercover work.”

Holding the thick stack of portraits, Feng Zhengming’s hands trembled slightly with excitement. He couldn’t help exclaiming, “We’ve been working on this for so long, and we haven’t even confirmed half as many core members as you’ve identified! If you go back for a few more days, you might be able to recognize every single one of them. We’d practically be able to arrest the whole lot in one go!”

After saying that, Feng Zhengming immediately realized that his words had been inappropriate. He hurriedly added:

“I was getting ahead of myself. Not all these gang leaders necessarily enjoy gambling, so even if you go back several times, you might not be able to recognize them all. Jiang Xia, your personal safety must come first. If the situation becomes dangerous, withdraw immediately. Don’t push yourself under any circumstances. After all, these vegetable-market bosses have to regularly visit their territories to keep an eye on things. We can catch them by staking out those places, too. At worst, we can arrest the middlemen first and interrogate them to identify the people in your portraits.”

“I understand. I’ll go for two more days at most, then pull out.”

Jiang Xia nodded.

“From what I heard the gang leaders discussing today, there’s someone called Brother Hu who commands a great deal of respect. He should be their ‘boss.’ I heard someone say he might come to the casino tomorrow or the day after. It would be great if I could run into him.”

“We’ll just do everything we can and leave the rest to fate.”

Feng Zhengming did his best not to put any pressure on Jiang Xia. Still, he couldn’t help asking another question.

“How about taking something else for self-defense?”

“I already have this.”

Jiang Xia took a pair of scissors out of her pocket.

They were small, only about fourteen centimeters long in total, with red handles. At first glance, they looked like an ordinary pair of women’s household scissors. The only difference was that their tips were exceptionally sharp and had been carefully sharpened.

These scissors were every bit as lethal as a dagger, yet they were far less conspicuous. Unlike a dagger, they wouldn’t immediately put people on their guard.

Even if someone searched her and realized Jiang Xia was carrying them for self-defense, they generally wouldn’t confiscate them.

After all, they were just a small pair of scissors. What could she possibly do with them? Kill someone?

Feng Zhengming was fooled as well. Looking at the scissors, which were smaller than his palm, he hesitated.

“Are you sure something this small will do the job?”

“They’ll do just fine.”

Seeing Jiang Xia take out the scissors, much of the worry in Lu Yixing’s heart immediately dissipated. He remarked in a rather deadpan tone,

“When we encountered robbers on the train, Jiang Xia used a pair of scissors just like these to stab the strongest one to death.”

As he spoke, Lu Yixing pointed at Feng Zhengming’s chest.

“One thrust, straight into the heart. He died on the spot.”

“Gasp—!”

Hearing the details of how Jiang Xia had dealt with the robbers, Feng Zhengming drew in a sharp breath. He felt as though the sight of those scissors had nearly flattened his brain.

Well, now he really had nothing to worry about.

…

The next day, Jiang Xia returned to the casino.

There were still very few people in the morning. Starting around noon, gamblers gradually began arriving, with a small number of unfamiliar faces mixed in among the regulars.

As usual, Jiang Xia busied herself with cleaning while keeping her ears open for their conversations.

“These cards are giving me terrible luck today!”

After throwing down his final card, Brother Ji turned to look at Jiang Xia.

“Xiaofang, come over here and sit beside me. Help your big brother draw a few cards.”

Jiang Xia stopped what she was doing.

She didn’t show too much fear. In situations like this, it was much like a cat playing with a mouse. The more frightened the mouse was, the more desperately it tried to flee, and the more excited the cat became.

So she refused in a perfectly ordinary tone.

“Big Brother, I don’t know how to play cards.”

“That’s all right.”

Brother Ji replied nonchalantly. “Just draw the cards. If you bring me good luck and we win, all the money we make is yours.”

The minimum bet at this table was still ten yuan. Winning a single round could earn her at least thirty yuan.

Xiaoli, who had been sitting beside him, immediately turned sour at those words. She leaned her upper body against Brother Ji and complained pitifully,

“Brother Ji, why don’t you ask me anymore? Have you gotten tired of me?”

Brother Ji shoved Xiaoli away.

“Spring’s already over. Stop acting like a slut.”

The blatant humiliation made Xiaoli’s expression stiffen. She didn’t dare look at the people around her. Instead, she shot Jiang Xia a vicious glare.

“Well, Xiaofang?”

Brother Ji pulled over a rattan chair, clearly certain that Jiang Xia would agree.

“Come on, sit down.”

It was becoming difficult to refuse.

Jiang Xia hesitated for a few seconds and was just about to agree when someone at the next table suddenly let out a furious roar. He grabbed a beer bottle and smashed it against the man sitting opposite him.

“Damn it! You actually dared to cheat?!”

CRASH!

The loud impact rang out. Blood immediately began pouring from the forehead of the gambler who had been caught cheating. The red blood mingled with the foaming beer as it streamed downward, gradually becoming lighter in color until it turned pink.

The sudden burst of violence made Xiaoyue, who was sitting opposite them, scream in terror.

“Ahhh!”

“Shut up!”

The man who had smashed the bottle cursed impatiently. Then he pulled a dagger from behind his waist.

“I’ve never seen anyone dare to cheat right under my nose! You’re leaving your hand here today!”

The cheating gambler immediately dropped to his knees.

“Big Brother! Big Brother, please spare me! I didn’t mean to do it!”

“You cheated to win my money, and you’re telling me you didn’t mean to? Who the hell do you think you’re fooling?!”

At first, everyone glared angrily at the cheating gambler. But the moment they saw the man pull out a dagger, their expressions changed instantly. Someone immediately demanded,

“Da Mengzi, why did you bring a knife with you?!”

“Put the knife down!”

“Damn it, who the hell do you think you are? You think you can tell me what to do? All of you shut the hell up!”

“Da Mengzi, don’t you know the rules?”

“My word is the rules!”

“Oh? Looks like you could use a lesson!”

This was about to turn into a fight!

Seeing that the situation was taking a turn for the worse, Jiang Xia hurriedly retreated toward the corner of the wall, keeping everyone between herself and the trouble.

A middle-aged pickpocket noticed that everyone’s attention was elsewhere. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he swiftly snatched some money from the nearby tables, stuffed it into his pocket, and moved over to stand beside Jiang Xia.

“Nobody’s ever dared talk to me like that!”

Someone grabbed a beer bottle and shouted, “Teach him a lesson! Show him what the rules are!”

A full-blown brawl was about to erupt.

Just as the fighting was about to begin, a deep voice suddenly rang out from outside.

“Everyone, stop!”

The moment those words were spoken, every head turned toward the entrance.

A tall, broad-shouldered man who looked to be around thirty walked inside.

He had a fierce, intimidating presence. There was an unmistakable viciousness in his eyes, as though he might ask whether a watermelon was ripe enough to eat and expect someone to answer correctly—or else.

“Brother Hu?”

“Brother Hu, what brings you here?”

“Brother Hu, this guy has absolutely no respect for the rules!”

…

So this is Brother Hu?

Jiang Xia immediately looked up, carefully memorizing his appearance as well as the people accompanying him.

Excellent! Today’s trip had definitely been worthwhile!

Seeing the fellow pickpocket standing beside her, Jiang Xia immediately pretended not to know anything and asked, “Who’s that guy? Why is everyone so afraid of him?”

“Brother Hu! You don’t even know that?”

The middle-aged pickpocket immediately explained, “The big vegetable markets on Dengfeng Road, Old Street, People’s Hospital Road, and Hongxing Middle School Road are all his territory. He’s got thirty or forty men working under him. Who would dare mess with him?”

“Oh. So all those people following him are his underlings?”

“No, they’re his own brothers and friends he’s known since childhood.”

The middle-aged pickpocket watched the commotion with amusement. As he explained who everyone was, he added gleefully, “Da Mengzi is going to get beaten up. Everyone agreed beforehand that nobody was allowed to bring weapons, but he actually dared to sneak that thing in! Still, the one who’s really going to suffer is the guy who cheated. Doesn’t he know how much everyone hates cheaters? He’s going to lose at least one finger today!”

“They’re really going to chop off his finger?”

Jiang Xia carefully committed everything the man said to memory. Looking over at the other side, where the cheating gambler had already been pinned down, she saw him covering his face with his hands in terror.

“I… I don’t dare stay here anymore!”

Pretending to be frightened, Jiang Xia hurriedly slipped out of the main room.

Brother Hu was currently at odds with the municipal public security bureau. Heaven knew whether any of his men might recognize her. It was better to keep her distance.

She already had enough leads. Time to make herself scarce. There was no point staying any longer. She needed to find a way to get out.

Xiaoli, who had retreated toward the back, noticed her leaving.

Her eyes shifted as a sudden idea occurred to her. She followed Jiang Xia outside.

Jiang Xia ducked into the west room, and Xiaoli followed close behind.

Seeing Jiang Xia looking somewhat flustered, Xiaoli snorted.

“Hey, newcomer. What are you so scared of? They beat people up like that all the time.”

Hmm?

Jiang Xia’s heart stirred. She turned to look at Xiaoli, her lips trembling slightly.

“What do you mean, beat people up? They’re actually going to cut off his finger!”

“Of course they are! They stab people to death outside, too. Did you think they’d suddenly stop beating people up just because they’re here?”

Xiaoli approached Jiang Xia with exaggerated, threatening gestures.

“That’s nothing compared to what they’ve done before. Once, they got drunk and went on a rampage. They beat people up even worse. There was blood all over the floor!”

“Oh, did you think they wouldn’t hit women? Think again. They’ll beat women just the same.”

Xiaoli first put on an expression of sudden realization, then let out a mocking laugh and raised her arm to show Jiang Xia the scars left by cigarette burns.

“They did all this.”

“And these, too. They beat me.”

As she spoke, Xiaoli lifted her skirt, showing Jiang Xia the bruises scattered across her waist, abdomen, and legs.

Jiang Xia fell silent for a few seconds.

She knew perfectly well that Xiaoli’s thinking had become twisted. She hadn’t approached her out of kindness, either. She was simply trying to frighten Jiang Xia into leaving, eliminating a rival and preserving her own position. Still, seeing the injuries covering the other woman’s body left Jiang Xia feeling rather heavy-hearted.

‘Well, whatever. I suppose I should thank you for handing me such a perfect excuse.’

‘I’m out of here. Do whatever you like!’

Pretending to be terrified, Jiang Xia took another two steps backward.

“I-I don’t want to stay here anymore!”

With that, she turned and ran straight for the door.

Watching Jiang Xia flee in such a panic, Xiaoli planted her hands on her hips, looking as pleased with herself as if she’d just won a battle.

She’d finally gotten rid of that woman who’d been stealing her business!

More than half an hour later, Sister Lan came over after finishing up all the mess left behind by the earlier commotion.

She looked around in confusion. Spotting Xiaoli in the room, she asked outright, “Where’s Xiaofang? Where did she go?”

Xiaoli toyed with her fingers. “How should I know?”

“Hm?”

Sister Lan immediately sensed something was wrong. Her brows drew together as she demanded, “Did you say something to her?”

“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Da Pang!”

Sister Lan shouted toward the entrance. “Did you see where Xiaofang went?”

“Sister Lan, I saw Xiaofang leave just now.”

Da Pang, who was guarding the door, hurried over. He was still holding twenty yuan in his hand.

“She said you had something for her to do outside. She also gave me this twenty yuan and said it was for you.”

“She left?”

Sister Lan’s expression instantly darkened. She turned toward Xiaoli and grabbed her.

“I saw you go into the west room! What exactly did you say to her?!”

“I told her they could beat her to death!”

Xiaoli dropped the pretense, too, and clawed at Sister Lan.

“Isn’t it enough that Xiaoyue and I bring in customers for you? You still want to recruit more girls? Dream on!”

“You dare mess with my business? You’re asking for trouble!”

“You’ve taken so much of my money and still want to bring in more girls? You’re the one asking for trouble!”

The two women quickly devolved into a full-blown scuffle, clawing and shouting insults at each other.

Hearing the commotion, Brother Hu glanced toward the door and asked, “What’s going on?”

“Looks like all that commotion just now scared off the new girl.”

Brother Snake, the casino owner, wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I’ll go over and make them shut up.”

“Oh.”

After hearing the explanation, Brother Hu didn’t give the matter another thought. He waved a hand, turned around, and settled back down at the table where a finger had just been chopped off, bloodstains still visible on its surface.

“Enough of this unpleasantness. Let’s keep playing.”

Someone brought over a rag and quickly wiped away the blood. The playing cards were gathered up again, and soon the room was lively with gambling once more.

Meanwhile, in a small alley not far outside the casino, Jiang Xia crouched beside Chen Dong and slowly let out a breath of relief.

She’d finally made it out of that den of horrors!

<< _ >>

The post Criminal Master System Ch.72.2 first appeared on A Wandering Potato.

Her position as the acting Heavenly Dao was clearly having some influence on her. Although she had no intention of staying on Fallen Heaven Star for long, the planet’s native inhabitants had nevertheless begun to occupy a small place in Cheng Qisheng’s heart.

Roughly equivalent to one-thousandth of an Old Eighth, perhaps.

And when she considered that if the Heavenly Demon succeeded, the mission to reconstruct the Heavenly Dao would fail, rendering all the hard work Old Eighth had put in completely meaningless, she became even more annoyed.

Not only would she fail to obtain the rewards for completing the world mission, but with everyone dead, there would also be no faith power left to gather. That meant she wouldn’t be able to obtain much of a divine kingdom, either.

The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to give that Heavenly Demon a thorough beating.

If they couldn’t find the Heavenly Demon itself, beating up its subordinates would do just as well. Perhaps they could follow the trail and track it down that way.

Cheng Qisheng took another sip of fruit juice and turned her attention to Fallen Heaven Star.

The Blue Sea residents were busy going around “collecting trash.”

Yes, that meant the corpses of demonic beasts that had been controlled by the demons.

The discovery that the giant sea turtle had actually contained a soul inside its body had greatly excited the people of Blue Sea.

Considering that practically everyone was currently working three jobs at Luofeng Youdu Office, these demon beast souls, which came with cultivation bases of their own, practically had a huge stamp on their foreheads that read: HELP WANTED.

They planned to collect all the demon beast corpses and bring them back to Youdu, to see whether they could extract even more souls from them.

The ten-thousand-year-old Mystic Tortoise’s soul floated nearby, not daring to utter a single word.

It wasn’t until a deity flew over and addressed it:

“You have suffered such a terrible calamity through no fault of your own. How pitiful. Come, let me take you to Youdu. I’ll find you an official position there, so that all those years of cultivation won’t have gone to waste.”

The speaker was none other than Qian Heng. In fact, she had only just learned from the demons that this enormous sea turtle was actually a Mystic Tortoise.

But since it had grown so incredibly large, it must have spent many years cultivating. There was certainly no harm in first persuading it to come along.

Upon hearing these words, the Mystic Tortoise immediately shed several enormous tears, each as large as a washbasin, proving through firsthand demonstration that souls really could cry.

Its voice was practically choked with gratitude.

“Thank you, Divine Lord! You saved me from the demons. From this day forward, I, your humble little tortoise, shall follow your every command!”

—In truth, it had simply assessed the difference in strength between them and concluded that it had absolutely no chance of winning a fight.

If it still had its physical body, it might have been able to escape. But now that only its soul remained, the Mystic Tortoise had lost its greatest advantage.

These deities clearly had the power to kill it, yet they hadn’t done so. Instead, they were offering it a position. Naturally, the sensible thing to do was to accept their invitation and go along with it.

With so many deities gathered here, there was undoubtedly a powerful organization backing them.

Even if it ended up serving as someone’s mount or personal servant, that wouldn’t be such a bad deal.

Out on the sea, the ship belonging to the human cultivators was still drifting along with the sea breeze.

The people of Blue Sea were rather tempted to recruit all of them and put them to work.

These cultivators could withstand fierce winds and towering waves, with spiritual energy surging all around them, while a whole group of people stood steadily on the deck, writing and drawing who knew what. At a glance, they looked like a bunch of people who would make excellent workers.

However, inside the [Mind Domain], the actual commander ultimately decided against approaching them.

At present, the only organization under the Blue Sea Great Luo Heavenly Court was Luofeng Youdu Office. Recruiting deceased cultivators to work for them was still perfectly reasonable. But directly recruiting the living would make the Heavenly Court seem rather lacking in dignity.

No matter. They could hold off for now.

After all, as long as someone was alive, there would always come a day when they died.

Although they had no intention of recruiting the cultivators directly, one Blue Sea resident still flew forward and announced:

“The Heavenly Court is conducting an investigation! All unauthorized personnel, stand back!”

The main purpose of this statement wasn’t actually to make the ship retreat. It was to introduce themselves.

Did you hear that? We’re the Heavenly Court!

The Hu Xuan Sect cultivators naturally had no idea what the Heavenly Court was. However, when at least a hundred million deities had just beaten up numerous powerful demons right before their eyes and even wrested control of a ten-thousand-year-old Black Tortoise from them, it was probably best to retreat to a safe distance when those deities told them to keep away.

As they steered their ship around and retreated, the cultivators also carefully recorded the two words “Heavenly Court,” repeatedly sending messages back toward their headquarters.

Once all the demon beast corpses floating on the sea had been collected, the numerous deities turned and departed. Above the horizon, dazzling, multicolored lights began to bloom once more, like shooting stars streaking across the sky.

The deities’ excellent eyesight allowed the Blue Sea residents to see the Hu Xuan Sect cultivators staring at them in a daze, their eyes filled with shock and longing.

The Blue Sea residents immediately felt rather pleased with themselves. They channeled their divine power faster and flew away with even greater speed and flair.

The Mystic Tortoise, which had only recently become a ghost cultivator and still wasn’t accustomed to its new, weightless form, could only do its utmost to keep up with them.

As it followed behind, it couldn’t help thinking that, judging by their behavior, perhaps they really did intend to make it some kind of divine official rather than use it as a mount.

After all, just think about it. What deity would choose a demon beast that flew even slower than itself as a mount?

…

Lu Song tilted his head back, watching as the countless deities flew back the way they had come.

How long had it been? Not even half a day, right? And they were already done?

With work efficiency like that, they were definitely Blue Sea residents.

Lu Song could only watch helplessly as their numbers continued to grow, while they flew farther and farther into the distance.

Eventually, he couldn’t even make out a single “shooting star” anymore.

Nobody noticed that, in a mountain below, a certain “Mountain God” was watching them leave with an utterly longing expression.

“Ah!”

‘My God! Why am I so incredibly unlucky?!!’

Lu Song sat down on the ground in frustration. At this point, he was even beginning to miss his days working as a kindergarten teacher in Blue Sea.

At least the little children, chattering noisily and crawling around everywhere, had made things quite lively.

Loneliness crept into his heart, reminding Lu Song of those days when he had lived entirely on his own for more than two hundred days in his original world, Velvet Star.

He had spent so long in Blue Sea that he had almost forgotten just how lonely he used to be.

Instinctively, Lu Song wanted to touch his crystal ball for comfort. But physical objects couldn’t be brought into Fallen Heaven Star, and the crystal ball he normally carried around to measure faith power was nowhere to be found.

Fortunately, he had carved numerous wooden statues of the great Blue Sea Creator God himself to comfort himself.

Now, holding one of the wooden carvings, with rows upon rows of Blue Sea Creator God statues of various sizes and exquisite craftsmanship arranged before him, Lu Song gradually calmed down and began to pray.

This was an effective way for him to settle his emotions. Whenever he prayed and thought about how, according to the prophecy, he would one day become a believer of Our God, just like Qi Yi and Qi Er, he always felt much better.

“Most holy, most exalted, most glorious—”

“Like light, like wind, like clouds—”

“Great Lord of the Star Sea—”

“Supreme Creator God—”

“Your majesty overwhelms Blue Sea—”

“Your mercy saves all creation—”

“Your compassion illuminates the ages—”

When he had recited the prayer for the tenth-odd time, Lu Song suddenly opened his eyes.

He could sense that the ginseng doll, which had gone down the mountain to help him find crop seeds, had just entered this mountain range.

This was actually rather good news. Although he was trapped on this mountain and couldn’t go anywhere else, perhaps because he was its Mountain God, Lu Song could see what was happening anywhere within the mountain simply by willing it.

At that moment, he could clearly see the little ginseng doll running cheerfully into the mountain on tiptoe. Sure enough, it was dragging a burlap sack even taller than itself.

Today, it wasn’t just wearing its little red bellyband. It had also somehow acquired a tattered old jacket and put it on. At first glance, it looked just like a human child.

It still wasn’t wearing any shoes, though. It ran incredibly fast, much faster than when it usually wandered around the mountain. Its little feet, made from intertwined roots, were rather short, so at this speed, they were practically reduced to afterimages.

Although it didn’t have any facial features, it was still quite adorable. And seeing it run so fast reminded Lu Song of the children he used to look after in Blue Sea.

He couldn’t remember how many times he had chased those little ones around the kindergarten, running after them lap after lap. Just like this ginseng doll, they hated wearing shoes and loved running around barefoot.

‘Oh, my God. Those really were wonderful memories.’

A faint smile crept onto Lu Song’s lips. He could almost picture how well this little fellow would get along with the children of Blue Sea once he brought it back.

Although the ginseng doll was already five hundred years old, it was still very much a little kid.

Come to think of it, Blue Sea also had a child from a long-tendril race. The ginseng doll had whiskers, too. Perhaps the two of them would have plenty to talk about.

He might even be able to adopt the little ginseng doll. When it had first entered the mountain, it hadn’t seemed nearly this brave or lively.

Just look at it now. It was even capable of racing against itself!

Lu Song was so absorbed in his pleasant daydreams that he almost couldn’t pull himself away.

But then he suddenly noticed that an unfamiliar person had entered the mountain.

More precisely, this stranger was chasing after the ginseng doll.

The person was running so hard that he was panting heavily. Gritting his teeth, he shouted at the top of his lungs as he ran:

“You little thief!! Stop right there!! Give me back my family’s grain!!”

“Stop!! I said STOP!!!!”

The little ginseng doll ran incredibly fast, weaving between trees and bushes. Even while running, it didn’t forget to turn around and throw a taunt at its pursuer:

“Bleh! I’m not stopping! These are for the wise and mighty Lord Mountain God! Keep chasing me, and I’ll have Lord Mountain God throw you out of here!!!”

Lu Song, who had been immersed in the thought that the little child he’d been looking after had become so lively, and it was making him feel wonderfully comforted, fell silent.

The Mountain God, who had been spending all his time alone with the ginseng doll, finally realized that there was something seriously wrong with his parenting.

You don’t even have a tongue! What the hell are you sticking out and going “bleh” with?!

And another thing! I told you to gather some grain. You could have sneaked into the fields in the middle of the night and stolen a stalk or two! I never told you to rob someone in broad daylight!!!

Also, could you please stop dragging me into this and praising me at times like these?!

Lu Song: “…”

The good news: A stranger had entered the mountain. He could finally reveal himself to another person and gain some faith power.

The bad news: This person had come chasing after the ginseng doll he’d been raising because the little rascal had stolen his belongings. Lu Song hadn’t even made his debut as a deity yet, and his reputation was already ruined.

Lu Song fell into deep contemplation. He was beginning to miss Blue Sea’s online forums.

If he could still connect to the internet, he would definitely make a post:

“Given the situation above, how can I make a suitably dignified entrance so that the other person understands I’m not some bandit Mountain God? And how can I turn this person into one of my believers despite such a disastrous first impression?

Waiting for answers online. It’s rather urgent.”

<< _ >>

The post Safe City Ch.223.2 first appeared on A Wandering Potato.

Cheng Qisheng was drinking fruit juice in the plantation.

With the arrival of summer, Blue Star had once again begun experiencing scorching heat. Every household had turned on its air conditioning to combat the sweltering temperatures, but the more people relied on air conditioning, the greater the strain on the electricity supply.

As a result, the district where she lived had unfortunately suffered a power outage.

Now a Tier 7 Transcendent, Cheng Qisheng wasn’t as sensitive to heat as she used to be. However, in weather this hot, she would still sweat if she didn’t have air conditioning at all.

And so, the great Creator God of Blue Sea had simply retreated to the planting zone to escape the heat.

Fortunately, she had already expended quite a bit of her mental power. That was the only reason she could now slowly make her way to the planting zone on her own. If she had been in her previous condition, it probably would have taken her an entire day and night just to get inside.

At the moment, Cheng Qisheng was reclining on a beach lounge chair, holding a glass of fruit juice and pretending she was on vacation by the seaside.

The only difference was that this particular “seaside” was actually located at the entrance to the planting zone. This arrangement allowed her to enjoy the pleasant climate inside the planting zone, which was just as comfortable as that of Blue Sea Safe City. At the same time, whenever she wanted to go online, all she had to do was extend her hand outside, and she could browse all kinds of information about Blue Star.

Nowadays, fewer and fewer people on Blue Star were complaining about the extreme weather. After all, humans were remarkably good at adapting to their circumstances.

Previously, people had complained because the weather had suddenly shifted from normal to extreme. But now, as extreme weather gradually became part of everyday life, people had realized that complaining wouldn’t change anything. As a result, posts about how terrible the weather was had become less common online.

People were now more concerned with questions like how to stay warm through increasingly bitter winters, how to keep cool during scorching summers, and how to maintain proper nutrition when fresh vegetables and meat were no longer available.

As extreme weather events became increasingly frequent, people in a particular region might even find themselves cut off from the outside world for an extended period following a single natural disaster.

Under such circumstances, people were no longer willing to put their trust in the market. Instead, they were beginning to stockpile more food and pursue self-sufficiency by growing crops or raising livestock at home.

It was rather strange. They were still living in a civilized society, with an abundance of advanced technology at their disposal. They could even venture a little way into outer space beyond Blue Star. And yet, whenever natural disasters became frequent, the people of Blue Star seemed to be thrown straight back into an agricultural society.

The prices of vegetables and livestock had been climbing steadily.

Even the equipment and facilities needed for growing crops and raising animals at home had become expensive.

When the weather first began showing signs of abnormality, vegetable prices and the cost of fresh meat had only just started to rise. At that point, whether out of a desire to save money or a sense of precaution, households that had started growing their own food and raising small livestock were already living relatively comfortably.

The Anle Residential Community, where Cheng Qisheng lived, was one of the better-managed communities in almost every respect when it came to adapting to the new normal of natural disasters.

Back when Blue Star’s weather had only just begun to turn abnormal, some residents had already started sharing their gardening and animal-raising experiences in the community chat group. During the early days, when fresh produce became difficult to find, the property management office had also gone out of its way to locate suppliers.

A few resourceful homeowners had even started small businesses of their own. Among them was a businessman who drove around collecting meat from various places and delivering it to customers. From time to time, he would share information about developments in different regions that most residents weren’t aware of, while encouraging everyone to make more preparations at home.

As a result, the atmosphere in Anle Residential Community was still one of mutual assistance and cooperation.

Cheng Qisheng could see exactly what they were trying to do.

The situation on Blue Star was deteriorating by the day. Natural disasters were becoming increasingly frequent, people were struggling to get enough to eat, countless companies were shutting down, and more and more people were losing their jobs. All kinds of violent incidents were on the rise.

Yet, under these very conditions, when the police received emergency calls, it was becoming increasingly difficult for them to arrive as promptly as they used to.

Blue Star had returned to an era where a distant relative could never be as helpful as a nearby neighbor.

In times like these, the best way to ensure everyone’s safety and bring together the greatest possible strength was to unite the residents of the community.

Of course, there might be cases like those in post-apocalyptic novels, where the end of the world arrived and natural disasters struck, yet the residents were still fighting viciously in their homeowners’ chat groups, practically tearing each other apart.

But such cases would surely be the exception rather than the rule.

Most people were perfectly sensible. When faced with a crisis, their instinct was to band together, ensuring that they wouldn’t be left without help if danger ever came knocking.

Many residents of Anle Residential Community were doing exactly that. The property management office clearly wanted everyone to become even more united. Whenever news reports appeared about incidents such as “More Than a Dozen People Break Into a Residential Community, Robbing and Killing Residents in Several Homes,” they would share them in the community chat group.

Under the pressure of these external threats, the conversations in the group became more harmonious by the day. Everyone was counting on their neighbors to lend a helping hand if their own household ever became the unlucky target of an attack.

What they didn’t know was that as long as Cheng Qisheng was around, the whole notion of “something goes wrong, and the neighbors come to help” would never have a chance to become reality.

In a dimension invisible to ordinary people, vast amounts of mental power poured outward, enveloping the entire Anle Residential Community like an ancient colossal beast guarding its territory.

She had the Heavenly Dao of Fallen Heaven Star to thank for that.

Now, Cheng Qisheng had an abundance of mental power. She could easily spare some to cover the entire Anle Residential Community.

Although the coverage wasn’t nearly as fine-grained as it had been in Blue Sea Safe City, at the very least, the entire community—including its surroundings and the airspace above it—was blanketed in a layer of mental power.

This was something Cheng Qisheng had wanted to do for a long time.

Just as she had always felt the need to maintain control over her own home, once her strength reached a certain level, that desire for control naturally extended to the residential community where she lived.

After spending billions of years of her existence as a god, she had grown accustomed to keeping everything under her control.

And it wasn’t just the community itself that fell within her domain. Cheng Qisheng naturally considered every resident living there to be under her protection as well.

At this very moment, even if a mosquito flew into Anle Residential Community, Cheng Qisheng would be able to sense it.

Other mental-type ability users clearly couldn’t accomplish something like this. At the very least, the mental-type ability users living in Blue Sea Safe City couldn’t.

Cheng Qisheng was gradually beginning to realize that her ability was most likely that mysterious power known as [Rules].

After all, she could devour genuine [Rules] and use her mental power to carve out an independent domain for herself. If her ability wasn’t [Rules], then what else could it possibly be?

Having thought of this, Cheng Qisheng decided to ask the Truth Stone directly.

“Are there any Rule-related pieces of information I can buy at a really cheap price?”

The Truth Stone was currently enjoying its retirement in Blue Sea Safe City. The people who visited it most frequently were members of the Science and Technology Institute.

Hearing its master summon it after such a long absence, it became rather excited and immediately sent out an emoji:

“Yes, yes, there are!! Watch me work my magic!!”

Numbers soon appeared on its beautiful ruby-red surface.

30,000 Nuclear Crystals

This was an acceptable price. It wasn’t particularly expensive. The information was probably something that would automatically be added to the Central AI’s database once a Safe City reached a certain level.

Cheng Qisheng considered it for a second before deciding that it would be better to find out now.

She had previously developed along the path of mental-type abilities. But since there was now an eighty-percent chance that she was actually a Rule-type Transcendent, she might as well prepare in advance.

“Buy it. How quickly can I get an answer?”

The Truth Stone indicated that answers at this price could be delivered instantly.

Sure enough, it soon returned with the information.

[Rule-type Transcendents can create a new world.]

[Rule-type Transcendents can be manipulated by other, more powerful Rule-type Transcendents (extremely difficult).]

When she read the first statement, Cheng Qisheng had wondered whether developing Dark Star counted as creating a new world.

But when she saw the second statement, all her alarm bells immediately started ringing.

What the hell?

Rule-type Transcendents could manipulate one another?

On the one hand, Cheng Qisheng was relieved. Apparently, no Rule-type Transcendents had ever appeared before—although she herself was probably one.

On the other hand, she couldn’t help but become wary. If she ever encountered someone who might be a Rule-type Transcendent in the future, she would make absolutely sure to flee as far away as possible, taking Blue Sea with her.

“How difficult is ‘extremely difficult,’ exactly? Little Stone, help me check something. If I wanted to ask a more detailed question about the method of controlling other Rule-type Transcendents, approximately how many nuclear crystals would that cost?”

The Truth Stone immediately set to work with great enthusiasm.

Once again, a familiar sight appeared across its ruby-red surface.

Rows upon rows of densely packed zeros appeared, almost covering the entire surface of the Truth Stone.

Cheng Qisheng: “…”

“Forget it.”

Looking on the bright side, if she couldn’t afford to buy the method, then even if there really was a second Rule-type Transcendent somewhere in the vast universe, that person probably couldn’t afford it either.

—Her mind needed to be protected with all due diligence, and naturally, her body deserved proper care as well.

At this very moment, if any modern-day robbers tried to break into Anle Residential Community, Cheng Qisheng’s mental power would immediately crush their brains.

She had even thought of where to dump their bodies: the river in the park outside the residential community. Before making her move, she could also use her mental power to interfere with the nearby surveillance cameras.

It seemed that people’s courage really did grow along with their strength. In the past, she had even gone so far as to fabricate a medical history just to avoid attracting attention. But now, she could calmly sit at home and think about how to kill someone right outside her own residential community.

Cheng Qisheng: I’m really cut out to be an assassin.

But there was no denying that ever since she had confirmed that Anle Residential Community was completely under her control, and that she could stay at home while using her mental power to handle the entire process of killing and disposing of the evidence, she had been sleeping much more soundly.

She didn’t need the residents of the community to know that there was a “god” watching over them from behind the scenes. All she needed was to make sure that everyone within the territory she had claimed remained alive and well.

And so, when she learned that there was still a Heavenly Demon on Fallen Heaven Star, even her fruit juice suddenly didn’t taste quite as good.

<< _ >>

The post Safe City Ch.223.1 first appeared on A Wandering Potato.

This underground casino wasn’t particularly large. Even Sister Lan, who was practically a co-owner, couldn’t simply sit back and count money. She still had to come over and attend to the gamblers herself.

After arranging work for Jiang Xia, Sister Lan returned to her role as a dealer, distributing cards to the gamblers.

Every now and then, she would look up and glance at the newcomer.

Jiang Xia was diligently—perhaps a little too diligently—doing odd jobs.

Taking her time, she slowly swept the floor, carefully gathering up every bit of dirt. Then she moved on to cleaning the tables, emptying the cigarette butts from the ashtrays, scrubbing them clean, and bringing them back. After that, she repeatedly wiped down the tables with a rag, polishing everything from the tabletops to the legs until they gleamed. She even wiped down the rattan chairs, behaving as though she really were a cleaning lady.

As Sister Lan watched, her wariness gradually faded, replaced by the confidence that she could easily manipulate this girl.

Just as she thought. She was a newcomer, and they were all the same. At first, they worked so diligently, as though doing so could convince themselves that they were earning money through honest labor, doing legitimate work, and were still respectable, innocent people.

Heh.

A trace of mockery appeared in Sister Lan’s eyes.

Had the girl even stopped to think about where she was working? Where else could you earn forty yuan just for doing a little cleaning these days?

How long would it take to drag her into the muck?

Half a month? That was far too long. They needed to speed things up. A week at most. Several of the big brothers had already grown tired of the two girls working under her. They needed to give those men something fresh.

With that thought, Sister Lan casually flicked another card across the table.

…

Meanwhile, Jiang Xia carried the basin outside.

She poured the dirty water into the drainage ditch nearby, observing the courtyard as she did so and thinking over the situation.

A gathering place like a casino was bound to attract plenty of people. Given enough time, she could become acquainted with not only Brother Hu but also quite a few other criminals.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t afford to stay here for long.

After all, whether it was pickpockets, local thugs, or underground casinos, violence played an enormous role in all these criminal activities. There was no reason to believe things would be any different when it came to prostitution. On the contrary, their control over the prostitutes’ personal freedom and their use of violence and coercion would only be even more severe.

They hadn’t resorted to that yet. It was simply because she had only just arrived and seemed like someone who could be easily led astray. They could take things slowly, gently coaxing her in and eventually squeezing every last bit of use out of her.

But if she stayed much longer, these people would quickly employ all sorts of methods to lower her boundaries. Groping and taking liberties would be the least of her worries. If she encountered someone who tried to force himself on her, getting out of that situation would be very difficult.

After all, she couldn’t exactly stab another person to death, could she?

She was undercover, here to investigate the situation, not to become some big sister in the criminal underworld.

Three days.

Jiang Xia estimated that three days would be a relatively safe period.

She would prepare for both possibilities. Ideally, Brother Hu and his subordinates would show up. If they didn’t, she would still do her best to find out the location of Brother Hu’s territory and his approximate age. That way, she could search for him in the relevant area later.

Hmm… She also needed to think of a way to get out of here.

Getting in was easy enough. Leaving, however, wouldn’t be so simple.

After washing the basin, Jiang Xia drew another basin of water from the well. Just as she was about to wipe down the rattan chairs again, a young woman emerged from the side room.

The woman didn’t look much older than her, probably in her twenties. She seemed to have just woken up and was wearing nothing but a camisole and knee-length shorts. Her permed hair hung loosely and messily around her shoulders. Her eyes were half-closed, and traces of lipstick remained on her lips.

When she spotted Jiang Xia, who had suddenly appeared in the courtyard, the woman froze for a moment. Her expression gradually darkened, and she shot Jiang Xia a vicious glare before shuffling off toward the toilet in her slippers.

Hmm? That was some pretty obvious hostility.

Watching the woman’s retreating figure, Jiang Xia fell into thought.

She had a feeling this woman might come in handy later.

Inside the house, Sister Lan suddenly called out, “Xiaofang! Come over and pour Brother Wang some liquor!”

“Coming!”

Jiang Xia answered and carried the basin into the main room.

Following instructions, she went to the west room to fetch some beer, popped the cap off a bottle, and refilled Brother Wang’s empty glass.

The gamblers continued eating, drinking, and playing cards.

There was no clock in the main room, so Jiang Xia could only estimate the time by watching the shadows outside through the main entrance. It seemed that people had started arriving at the casino one after another around noon.

Among these people were not just gang leaders. Jiang Xia could tell at a glance that some were fellow pickpockets. There were also middlemen, high-end scalpers, black-market traders, and the like. Although they had different occupations, they all shared some very obvious characteristics.

First, they were all involved in illegal or criminal activities. Second, they were all quite wealthy. Even the poorest among them could casually pull a hundred yuan or more out of their pockets without giving it a second thought.

Quite a few people were betting at least ten yuan per round at the tables. A single bet was equivalent to more than ten days of Jiang Xia’s salary.

She had to admit, the sight was genuinely shocking.

Money here hardly seemed like money anymore. It was casually piled up on the tables in thick stacks, so tempting that even Jiang Xia couldn’t help entertaining thoughts of transferring some of that wealth elsewhere.

This environment really did have a way of distorting people’s values.

Suppressing those stray thoughts, Jiang Xia continued doing odd jobs while pricking up her ears to listen to their conversations.

She opened the Book of Life and Death in her system and began searching for useful information to record amid the calls of bets, the rattling of dice, and the gamblers’ idle chatter.

“Brother Zhao, you’ve made another fortune, haven’t you? Sold quite a few tickets, I bet?”

“Can’t complain. Just making a little money off the hard work of standing in line.”

This one’s a scalper who resells movie tickets. It’s a gray-market business, but not illegal. I’ll make a note of him, but put him at the very bottom of the list for now. I can deal with him later.

“Baldy, I heard you’ve got another batch of good stuff coming in. Got any gold? I’ll pay a high price for it.”

“Brother Li, if you’re asking, of course I’ve got some! I’ve got gold jewelry and small gold bars. Which would you like? Oh, right, I’ve also managed to get my hands on two brand-new radios from down south. Interested?”

“I’ll take everything. Have them delivered to my house tomorrow.”

“As expected of Brother Li! Generous as always!”

This one’s a market gang leader, and the other is a middleman. Looks like he’s also handling the disposal of stolen goods. Both need to be moved higher up the list. I’ll have them arrested together when the time comes.

“Old Shi, why haven’t you been pickpocketing on the big ships these past few days? Why have you been coming here to play cards instead?”

“Don’t even get me started. You guys have no idea! A while back, the railway police somehow developed the Third Eye of Erlang Shen. They rounded up every pickpocket on the train, from the small-time ones to the big shots! If I hadn’t been quick enough to hide, and happened to get off as soon as the train reached the station, I’d have ended up in the police station too! I’d better take a few more days off and see how things go before heading back.”

Uh, this is one of the pickpockets she encountered on the train.

Obviously, Jiang Xia remembered him, but he had absolutely no idea she even existed.

I’ll make a note of him too. That way, I can send this escaped fish to the police station for a nice cup of tea.

“Dalong, weren’t you supposed to be watching over your territory yesterday? Why didn’t you go today? Why are you here playing cards?”

“I finished watching over it this morning. Staying at home is too boring. Playing cards here is much more fun. Come on, it’s my treat! Freshly fried crispy chicken!”

“Now that’s what I call a generous brother! Looks like I’m in for a treat!”

This one’s probably a gang leader who controls a vegetable market. I’ll put him right at the top of the list. I need to listen more closely to his conversations with his friends.

Captain Feng’s investigation over the past few days hadn’t been fruitless. He and his team had mapped out the number and locations of street-side vegetable stalls across the city, identified most of the lower-ranking gang members, and gathered information on some of the more prominent gang leaders, including their appearances, approximate ages, and nicknames.

Jiang Xia had stayed up late the previous night memorizing all that information. Now, as she listened to these people chatting casually, she was quickly able to identify them based on the street names and nicknames they mentioned. Even those who hadn’t shown up were now at least familiar names to her.

Looking at the steadily growing list in her Book of Life and Death, Jiang Xia was quite pleased.

There were forty-one street-side vegetable markets of various sizes in the city. Considering that some gangs might control more than one street market, the total number of gangs was probably somewhere between twenty and thirty, perhaps even fewer.

Yet in just a few hours here, she had already encountered four gang leaders and more than ten core members. She had also confirmed the nicknames of the leaders of seven different gangs. That meant she had gathered information on roughly a quarter of them in one go, not to mention all the additional discoveries.

This trip had definitely been worthwhile!

If she stayed here a little longer, she was bound to find even more!

Jiang Xia threw herself into her cleaning duties with even greater enthusiasm.

As time passed, more and more people arrived at the casino.

Quite a few of them noticed Jiang Xia hard at work as soon as they walked in.

“Well, well! Is that a new girl? She’s quite pretty.”

“Yep, she’s new. Goes by Xiaofang.”

Sister Lan looked up. “Behave yourself. Don’t go scaring her off.”

“I know, Sister Lan. Do you really think I don’t understand the rules?”

The big brothers hadn’t even picked anyone yet. What made them think it was their turn?

But once their turn came… Heh heh.

The man stared at Jiang Xia with a leering smile. After watching her for quite a while, he finally ordered, “Xiaofang, go get me a bottle of beer.”

Suppressing the urge to crack the bottle over the man’s head, Jiang Xia went to the cabinet in the west room and brought back two bottles of beer.

The young woman Jiang Xia had spotted earlier near the entrance to the east room now walked inside.

In the meantime, she had already freshened up and dressed herself. Her long hair, red lips, and bright red dress gave her the look of a Hong Kong or Taiwanese celebrity.

As soon as she entered, she instinctively covered her nose.

“Good grief, the cigarette smoke is so thick in here, and it’s so hot! Sister Lan, why haven’t you turned on the fans?”

“Can’t you see I’m busy?”

Sister Lan replied irritably. “You’ve got hands of your own. Turn them on yourself!”

“Hmph.”

The young woman snorted in displeasure and walked over to the wall, switching on the two large ceiling fans.

“Xiaoli, you’re finally here!”

The moment he saw the young woman, one of the big brothers immediately called out, “Come sit over here with your big brother! I’ve been waiting for your lucky hands.”

“Oh, Brother Chen! Who could possibly have better luck than you?”

Xiaoli swayed her hips as she spoke in a sugary voice, then walked over and leaned against him.

Before long, another young woman entered the room.

Jiang Xia went to fetch more drinks. By the time she returned, the woman was already there. She heard the others call her Xiaoyue. Dressed much like Xiaoli, she took a seat at another table when someone called her over and began shuffling the cards.

When Jiang Xia went over to pour the drinks, she clearly saw the man sitting beside her place his hand directly on her thigh. Yet the woman didn’t seem to mind at all.

After another while of playing cards, a middle-aged man arrived in the courtyard, carrying a food container in his hand. Standing at the doorway, he called into the room.

“A’Lan, I’ve brought you some food. Come out and eat first. I’ll take over here.”

“All right.”

Sister Lan replied. She got up from the table, still wearing a smile, but the exhaustion between her brows was impossible to hide. The moment she reached the doorway, she couldn’t help letting out a yawn.

Taking the food container from her lover, Sister Lan turned around and called to Jiang Xia.

“Xiaofang, take a break from work for now. Come outside and have something to eat with me.”

“Okay, Sister Lan!”

As soon as the woman called her, Jiang Xia immediately pretended to look a little overwhelmed by the environment and hurried outside.

Sister Lan led Jiang Xia into the west room.

Even before the food container was opened, the aroma of roast duck was already escaping through the gaps.

Once the lid was lifted, neatly sliced pieces of duck were revealed, laid out across a plate. The skin was golden, crispy, and glistening with oil. Beside it were thin pancakes, shredded scallions, and a small dish of dipping sauce.

This roast duck looked pretty well made. It must have been prepared by a professional chef.

Jiang Xia sniffed the air. Remembering the character she was supposed to be playing, she stared at the slices of roast duck and swallowed involuntarily.

Seeing how she looked as though she rarely got to eat anything good, Sister Lan’s smile grew even wider.

She picked up two pairs of chopsticks and placed one directly in front of Jiang Xia.

“You’ve been working all this time. You must be exhausted. Come, have some with me.”

Jiang Xia stared longingly at the duck but verbally declined. “Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”

“What’s inappropriate about it?”

Sister Lan simply pushed the chopsticks into Jiang Xia’s hand.

“I’m already sick of eating this duck. I can’t finish it all, and it’ll spoil if we leave it overnight. Just think of it as helping me avoid wasting food.”

“Oh…”

Jiang Xia hesitantly picked up a piece of duck. Without dipping it in the sauce, she carefully took a small bite from the edge to taste it.

Good. No strange taste. It was safe to eat.

Reassured, she stuffed the entire piece into her mouth and swallowed it in one go, like Zhu Bajie eating the ginseng fruit.

“Slow down. There’s no need to rush.”

Sister Lan also picked up a piece of duck, but when she saw its greasy, fatty skin, a trace of distaste involuntarily appeared in her eyes. She took just half a bite of the lean meat, then glanced at Jiang Xia, who was wolfing down her food. Her voice was gentle, but her words carried an unmistakable hint.

“This duck isn’t even expensive. It only costs 3.7 yuan. If you accompany one of the big brothers at the table for a round of cards, the tip he gives you might be enough to buy several of these.”

Jiang Xia’s movements paused for a moment. She didn’t answer, but the speed at which she ate visibly slowed.

Seeing her reaction, Sister Lan knew not to push any further.

There was still time. No need to rush.

“I’ve lost my appetite. You go ahead and eat.”

It was hot, and Sister Lan genuinely had no desire to eat something as greasy as roast duck. She put down her chopsticks and stood up.

“I’m going to take a nap. Come wake me up in two hours.”

As soon as she left, Jiang Xia immediately stopped eating too.

This roast duck was far too greasy. Someone who hadn’t eaten meat in a long time might love it, but Jiang Xia certainly wasn’t short of meat. The first bite had been an explosion of flavor, the second was still pretty good, but by the third, she was already sick of it. And yet, despite being unable to stomach any more, she still had to pretend to enjoy it and force herself to eat. It was truly torturous.

She chewed on a few scallions to get rid of the greasy aftertaste, rested for a while, then returned to the main room to diligently clean while keeping her ears open for useful information.

As time slowly passed, the later it got, the more people arrived. There clearly weren’t enough tables and chairs in the room anymore. Sister Lan’s lover—the casino owner himself—came out and dragged another table over from beside the wall. Once he set out some chairs, they had room for several more tables.

Jiang Xia happily added every one of the newcomers to her list.

Don’t worry. Not a single one of you is getting away!

As the afternoon wore on, the crowd grew larger and larger.

Clearly, nighttime was when people really gathered. If she stayed longer, she might even spot a few bigger fish. But Jiang Xia knew that if she stayed, she wouldn’t be able to leave.

She couldn’t afford to get greedy. The most important thing now was to get the information she had gathered into the hands of the police.

Seeing that the sun was already sinking toward the west, Jiang Xia walked into the main room and found Sister Lan.

“Sister Lan, it’s already past seven. I need to head home.”

“You’re leaving just when I’m short-handed… Ah, forget it. I’ll walk this young lady out first.”

Sister Lan temporarily put down the cards in her hand and explained the situation to the few gamblers at the table. Then she stood up and headed outside.

“Come with me.”

Jiang Xia followed her out. At the card table nearby, two men who were clearly members of a vegetable-market gang were still chatting.

“Pair of sevens. Old Ghost, what has Brother Hu been busy with lately? We haven’t seen him for several days. The brothers are all waiting for him to come out and have some fun.”

“Pair of tens. What else? The cops are investigating. But things should be more or less settled soon. Brother Hu will probably have time to come over tomorrow or the day after.”

<< _ >>

The post Criminal Master System Ch.72.1 first appeared on A Wandering Potato.

The demon continued explaining.

“Lord Heavenly Demon said that now that the Heavenly Dao has fallen, the world that sustains us is on the verge of collapse. Our only way to survive is to create an entirely new world.”

“All living things in this world possess power of their own. Even the smallest mortal has a trace of power within them. In the past, when all living things died, that power would return to the heavens and reenter the cycle of reincarnation. But now, Lord Heavenly Demon has given us a magical artifact that can collect all that power… Naturally, that power can only be released once you’ve killed them.”

The Black Dragon stared blankly, its eyes wide.

“What is it talking about?”

The White Dragon replied solemnly, “I didn’t understand either.”

Cheng Qisheng glanced at the two dragons and realized that the two newly recruited Rain Gods of the Heavenly Court seemed to be rather poorly educated.

Then again, considering they were wild dragons, that was understandable.

Still, understandable or not, the Great Luo Blue Sea Heavenly Court was an official institution. Once the two Rain Gods formally took up their posts, she would have to arrange some literacy classes for them.

Just look at the Blue Sea residents! Having received an education, learned to read and write, and personally witnessed the world (in fact, several different worlds), they had no trouble understanding what the demons were saying.

“So, your Heavenly Demon wants to create a new world, but doesn’t have enough power. That’s why it has ordered you to kill powerful races and collect the power within them to create that new world?”

What an ambitious undertaking! And one that could only be accomplished under the rules of Fallen Heaven Star’s force-field conversion system.

The demon added:

“It’s not just powerful races. Demons, ghosts, gods, and even ordinary mortals can all be killed. Different demons have been assigned different missions. We were specifically sent to take the power of the Dragon Clan.”

A Blue Sea resident narrowed his eyes slightly.

“So, all those wars that have been breaking out with increasing frequency ever since the Heavenly Dao fell…”

Blue Sea had already felt that something was wrong.

It was true that demons, monsters, ghosts, and other supernatural creatures were now running rampant across Fallen Heaven Star. Under normal circumstances, however, when a country was going through a difficult period, it would try its best to preserve its own strength rather than launch military campaigns against others.

Yet on Fallen Heaven Star, countries everywhere were gradually becoming embroiled in warfare.

Even if the world was coming to an end, this was still far too unreasonable.

The demon hesitated for a moment, seemingly wondering whether revealing this secret would get it killed by the Heavenly Demon.

But then it realized that even if it kept quiet, it would still die here. So it decided to speak.

“It’s true. Some demons have been assigned to incite wars. After all, although ordinary mortals are easy to kill, they’re scattered everywhere. Going from one city-state to another and slaughtering them one by one would take far too much effort for us demons. But war can gather large numbers of mortals in one place.”

It even sounded rather wistful, its tone carrying the envy of someone thinking, ‘That’s such an easy job! Why wasn’t I assigned to do that instead?’

“Sometimes, the demons don’t even need to do anything. The mortals can kill off huge numbers of their own people.”

The Blue Sea resident asked, “If demons are operating in the imperial capital, wouldn’t the City God notice you?”

The demon glanced somewhat guiltily at the gods standing before it.

“They would notice, certainly. But we… No, I mean, those demons would get the emperor to tear down the City God temples. That way, the City God naturally wouldn’t be able to get in their way.”

This was getting ridiculous.

Why would an emperor choose to listen to demons rather than an orthodox City God?

The guilt on the demon’s face was becoming increasingly obvious.

“Lord Heavenly Demon said that people wouldn’t believe demons, so… so…”

Qian Heng, who had specifically come all this way to participate in the battle, already understood what it was about to say.

She finished its sentence for it.

“So you told the emperors that you were gods.”

That was the only way to make the emperors trust the demons and turn against the very City Gods they had personally appointed and formally enshrined.

Clearly, demons knew how to dress themselves up in a respectable image, too.

It was much like how, if the sinister giant eyes above the Blue Sea residents’ heads were visible to everyone, people would probably regard them as heretical demons wherever they went.

The demon knew perfectly well that such behavior would infuriate every god present, so it kept sneaking glances at their expressions.

But it soon discovered, to its surprise, that these gods, whose combat strength was practically beyond reason, showed no signs of anger or disgust.

The expressions on every god’s face were utterly calm.

This put the demon somewhat at ease. Otherwise, it had genuinely been afraid that one of the enraged gods might suddenly wipe it out on the spot while it was still talking.

“Gods and demons are nothing more than names given to us by mortals. Lord Heavenly Demon says that, once we reach the new world, we will become the new gods.”

“Lord Heavenly Demon also has a Divine Capital under its command. Any demons, ghosts, or monsters that have rendered outstanding service can go to the Divine Capital. When Lord Heavenly Demon eventually establishes the new world, all the demons and monsters residing in the Divine Capital will be able to enter that new world and become gods.”

By then, there would no longer be any demons in the world. They themselves would be gods. Wouldn’t that mean they could eat as many humans as they pleased?

That was what the demon was thinking, but it didn’t dare say it aloud. It wasn’t stupid. It knew that gods were generally righteous beings. If they heard that, it would probably be dead on the spot.

Ah, the Divine Capital.

Cheng Qisheng recalled the first time she had descended upon Fallen Heaven Star. Back then, she had personally become an Earth God and fought alongside the residents against a wolf demon.

That wolf demon had indeed mentioned the words “Divine Capital.”

Judging by this, its sudden appearance and murderous rampage had probably been an attempt to join the Divine Capital and become a member of the “new world.”

This situation was far more complicated than they had originally anticipated.

The current state of Fallen Heaven Star was somewhat like that of a large corporation that had suddenly suffered a devastating blow and was on the verge of bankruptcy.

The company had two major bosses. One of them had died on the spot, while the other was still trying to turn things around by injecting fresh capital (getting the Safe Cities to provide assistance) in an attempt to save the company.

Meanwhile, an unknown employee within the company was doing everything possible to seize or steal the company’s money and other employees (by going around killing people), hoping to kick out the old company and establish a new one of their own.

In other words, Blue Sea, which had accepted the world’s mission, now had to do more than just build the Heavenly Court and reestablish the Heavenly Dao.

They also had to guard against this so-called Heavenly Demon, which was leading the demons in an attempt to slaughter every last living being on Fallen Heaven Star.

A god’s power came from faith. If all the mortals were slaughtered, the gods would be no better than lambs waiting to be slaughtered themselves.

And to slaughter ordinary mortals, they didn’t actually need to get their own hands dirty. All they had to do was manipulate the emperors who ruled over them.

Back when the Heavenly Dao still existed, dynasties possessed the protection of national fortune, while government officials carried official energy. Demons and monsters could hardly approach the imperial capitals.

But now that the Heavenly Dao was gone, these demons could indeed act with far fewer restrictions.

Wars between mortals were commonplace. Cultivators and gods wouldn’t think much of them either. Only those who got close enough could notice something was wrong. But the City Gods who were capable of detecting the problem had already been killed.

The newly appointed City Gods in these imperial capitals were probably demons in disguise, too.

This Heavenly Demon was actually quite the schemer.

But Blue Sea had always operated on the principle that if something could be settled with force, there was no need to waste words.

At Cheng Qisheng’s instruction, one of the Blue Sea residents asked:

“Do you know how many dynasties have been infiltrated by demons?”

The demon let out an awkward laugh.

“How could I possibly know that? I’m not working together with all of them.”

“Are you really sure you don’t know?”

“I really don’t! Even if you kill me, I still won’t know!”

As it spoke, it even seemed to offer its neck for execution, looking one hundred percent sincere.

The Blue Sea resident leading the interrogation raised an eyebrow. Then, with a casual lift of his hand, he sent a throwing knife completely coated in divine power flying outward.

It struck a tiny wisp of black mist far away in the ocean, which was struggling to move forward.

The moment divine power collided with demonic energy, a blue flame erupted above the sea and instantly devoured it.

“AAAAAH!!!!”

The Blue Sea resident withdrew his hand, and the throwing knife automatically flew back into his palm.

“I knew it. You’re being so cooperative because you’re just trying to buy time.”

This demon had probably separated a tiny wisp of demonic energy and sent it escaping while it was still inside the Black Tortoise.

That way, even if the gods killed its main body on the spot, that tiny wisp of demonic energy would allow it to survive, albeit at the cost of a severe loss of strength.

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”

Seeing that its escape route had been cut off, and that the gods were clearly preparing to take action, the demon hurriedly shouted:

“Don’t kill me! All I know is that once a dynasty recognizes demons as gods or appoints them as officials, the dynasty’s national fortune will help conceal their presence. That’s why the Divine Path can’t detect them, and cultivators can’t divine their whereabouts. Even if you go there yourselves, you won’t be able to tell who’s who!”

“But you can keep me alive! I’m a demon, so I can help you draw them out! Don’t kill me! I don’t want to die! I—AAAAAAH—”

Golden flames surged into the air. The dozen or so Blue Sea residents who had attacked withdrew their hands.

“Go tell that to the Dragon Clan members you killed.”

The Old Eighths had a certain degree of psychological cleanliness to maintain.

They could tolerate getting physically dirty for a while. That was fine. They could simply wash themselves clean afterward.

But working together with demons like these? Ugh… That was just too disgusting. They couldn’t stomach it.

Cheng Qisheng respected whatever decision the Old Eighths made.

“Demons disguising themselves as gods and stirring up trouble within mortal dynasties?”

The great Creator God of Blue Sea couldn’t help noticing that Fallen Heaven Star’s development was beginning to resemble the Investiture of the Gods from Blue Star more and more.

However, this incident had indeed given Cheng Qisheng an idea.

The wars among mortals couldn’t be allowed to continue. Blue Sea had to intervene.

So what if the demons were disguising themselves as gods? The Old Eighths could do that, too.

Come on, then! Let the fakes face off!

Furthermore, as everyone knew, when a dynasty was declining and descending into chaos, it was the easiest time to distinguish good officials from corrupt ones.

There were plenty of vacant divine positions now, but she couldn’t just appoint any random person to fill them.

She could also imitate certain parts of the plot of Investiture of the Gods and select reliable officials from these dynasties to confer divine titles upon them.

It didn’t matter even if they had been framed and killed. As long as they were capable of doing the job, they could become gods.

Cheng Qisheng: Well, this really has turned into an Investiture of the Gods.

Ever since arriving on Fallen Heaven Star, the great Creator God had focused all her attention on the divine path while overlooking the mortal dynasties. Now, she silently turned on the television.

She decided to do two things at once: follow the perspectives of believers scattered across the various dynasties to investigate which ones might already be under demonic control, while rewatching the old version of Investiture of the Gods to look for inspiration.

“Come on, Aether. Let’s watch some TV.”

Aether, which was in the middle of working, knew perfectly well that it was currently working hours. But… the City Lord had invited it…

The jellyfish-shaped AI quickly floated over and settled beside the City Lord’s shoulder.

“City Lord, Aether is ready.”

——

Fallen Heaven Star.

Inside the Black Tortoise’s shell, freed from the restraints of the demonic energy, the soul of the Black Tortoise could finally leave its long-dead physical body. It felt as though every inch of its being had been cleansed!

Hahahahahahahaha!!!

It could finally get out!!

A ten-thousand-year-old Black Tortoise possessed considerable cultivation, even as a mere soul.

Previously, it had been controlled by some strange technique, forced to watch helplessly as its cultivation was gradually worn away.

But now, it could finally leave this physical body!

The Black Tortoise might have a mild temperament, but anyone who had been killed, only to have their corpse controlled and their soul imprisoned, would surely get angry.

It was going to kill all those demons!

It was going to bite their heads off!

It was going to drain every last trace of demonic energy from their bodies!

The Black Tortoise’s soul burst out of its body, brimming with murderous fury.

And wouldn’t you know it? The very first thing it saw was the last remaining demon, which was currently screaming as the final trace of demonic energy was forcibly dispersed from its body.

Over a hundred million gods had surrounded the entire area in layer upon layer of formation. Every one of them bore at least a few wounds, along with bloodstains from the demon-controlled beasts they had fought. Their collective killing intent was positively overwhelming.

In the distance, countless beast carcasses floated on the surface of the sea.

The gods had clearly finished dealing with the demons and immediately noticed the enormous soul that had suddenly emerged. Every single one of them turned to look at it in unison.

The Black Tortoise, which had lived for a very long time but was, after all, still a demon beast: “…”

Would it still have time to slip back into its body?

——

Hu Xuan Sect —

The Deputy Sect Master was handling official affairs.

At the Hu Xuan Sect, if you were an ordinary cultivator, you would have the opportunity to leave the mountain and randomly travel somewhere to undergo training.

If you were an elder, however, you could cultivate in your own cave dwelling every day, only occasionally being summoned to help out when the sect had something that needed doing.

If you were the Sect Master, however, life would be wonderful—in the worst possible way. You would have countless unfinished tasks to deal with. You had to look after the cultivators below you while keeping the elders above you happy. Stuck in the middle, you would be buried under all sorts of official business every single day, unable to extricate yourself.

For this reason, at the Hu Xuan Sect, the two Sect Masters took turns serving as the head of the sect, with the position rotating among the middle- and upper-ranking cultivators.

They switched every year, and as for who became the Head Sect Master and who became the Deputy Sect Master, that was decided entirely by drawing lots.

Whoever drew the unlucky lot became the Head Sect Master. The arrangement was roughly equivalent to how, in middle and high schools on Blue Star, whoever was unlucky enough would end up becoming the homeroom teacher.

This was also one of the reasons why the current Head Sect Master had personally led people out to seek revenge against the demons.

It was a rotating responsibility.

This time, the Head Sect Master went out.

Next time, it would be the Deputy Sect Master’s turn.

At that moment, the Deputy Sect Master was busy writing away at her desk.

Suddenly, she sensed something. She abruptly raised her head and reached out, catching a letter that had flown in from outside.

After opening it, she read through the descriptions and examined the illustrations inside. The contents looked practically like something written in the language of heaven.

Countless demons wreaking havoc in the Myriad Stars Sea, while over a hundred million gods gathered to encircle and exterminate them?

It sounded completely made up.

Even if the letter had claimed there were a thousand gods, that would have been more believable!

A hundred million… The entire population of the country they lived in, including every single mortal, probably didn’t even amount to that many.

But this really was a letter from the Head Sect Master.

He might take advantage of official duties to drag out his stay and avoid coming home, but he would never send back false information.

This was a major matter—and a piece of very good news.

At the very least, the righteous side had suddenly gained an enormous new force. More people needed to know about this, and the matter had to be discussed.

The Deputy Sect Master took a deep breath.

“Someone! Come here!”

“Make copies of this letter and send them to the Daoist sects throughout the land!”

<< _ >>

The post Safe City Ch.222.2 first appeared on A Wandering Potato.

“Whoa!”

Cheng Qisheng, who had been watching the battle all along, slowly stood up when she saw the enormous turtle.

This creature looked like a sea turtle, and just the surface area of its shell alone was probably a full square kilometer.

Blue Sea Safe City was certainly enormous too, with a total area of over a hundred thousand square kilometers. But there was a fundamental difference between a large city and a living creature of such immense size. The feeling they inspired was completely different.

Only now did Cheng Qisheng finally begin to feel that Blue Sea really had entered the set of some mythological production.

This Black Tortoise’s cultivation level was approximately at the Mountain-Suppressing Realm, equivalent to Rank 6 in the Fallen Heaven system and ability user Tier 8.

The Blue Sea residents soared into the air, unleashing all kinds of attacks against the enormous turtle. Yet not a single attack had the slightest effect on it.

On the other hand, the giant turtle merely opened its mouth and exhaled a freezing mist that stretched for a thousand li. Large numbers of Blue Sea residents had no choice but to retreat in a hurry, because the moment they came into contact with the mist, the divine power within their bodies began disappearing at an astonishing rate.

—And all that divine power had been painstakingly pooled together from the contributions of other residents!

Divine power was extremely important if they wanted to complete the mission their God had entrusted to them in this world. The Blue Sea residents naturally treasured every bit of the divine power they possessed.

The giant turtle under the demons’ control showed no intention of pursuing them and continuing the attack. Judging by its shell, which remained completely unaffected no matter what kind of weapon struck it, its role was clearly that of a defensive unit.

The giant turtle hovered in midair. Its enormous eyes, just as terrifyingly large as the rest of its body, were milky white, indicating that it had been dead for many days. Yet its shell remained as sturdy as ever.

It continued exhaling freezing mist as it tried to break through the gods’ encirclement and fly into the distance.

Clearly, no matter how terrifying this giant turtle looked, being surrounded by over a hundred million gods was even more frightening.

The demons controlling it had intended from the very beginning to hide beneath its sturdy shell and use it to escape, rather than deploy it for combat.

Cheng Qisheng had no intention of letting them get away.

From the moment that demon had started making threats, she had already decided that she needed to capture at least one of them alive and question it.

However, if they wanted to capture someone alive for questioning, they still had to be selective about their target.

If they were going to interrogate someone, they should interrogate a high-ranking figure.

And high-ranking figures traditionally appeared last. Otherwise, if the commander suddenly got taken out while the foot soldiers were still fighting on the front lines, wouldn’t that just be handing the enemy a free kill?

Even in Blue Sea, where everyone loved fighting, the three top leaders might be itching to head out and fight personally, but in most cases, they would still restrain that impulse and conscientiously remain at headquarters to oversee the situation.

Clearly, the demons on Fallen Heaven Star had the same idea.

To that end, they had even managed to obtain this giant turtle, whose defensive capabilities were maxed out, from who knew where. It was specifically meant to ensure that they could make a leisurely escape no matter what happened.

However, the demons of Fallen Heaven Star, who were living in an ancient world, had probably never imagined that one day, aliens would arrive on their planet.

Cheng Qisheng mobilized her mental power, diverting almost a third of it and pouring all of it into the evil-looking giant eye above Song Xi’s head.

Remember Song Xi’s supernatural ability?

Gu Insects. As long as the target was sufficiently powerful, she could control any non-intelligent life form.

Clearly, this giant turtle had already died and was now being controlled. In a world where even creatures of this size were generally expected to possess intelligence, it could no longer be considered an intelligent life form.

And Fallen Heaven Star was a world exceptionally friendly toward Cheng Qisheng. It had practically already acknowledged her as the one acting in place of the Heavenly Dao. As long as she wished, it could continuously help her believers increase their strength.

—The Hu Xuan Sect’s sea vessel had arrived at the scene.

“Divine Lord! Honored Divine Lords… The Black Tortoise’s weakness is very likely…”

The Hu Xuan Sect cultivators, who had already prepared themselves to die, couldn’t fly. All they could do was shout toward the sky from the surface of the sea.

But before they could finish, they saw a deity emerge into the air and confront the Black Tortoise alone.

The deity gently raised a hand, and a gigantic palm made of divine power appeared in the sky.

The entire palm radiated golden divine power as it descended directly toward the Black Tortoise’s shell.

The few demons hiding inside the shell let out a disdainful chuckle, assuming this was simply some kind of attack.

“Kill her!”

“No, don’t provoke them. They may not be able to do anything to us, but if we kill one of their people, having them hound us relentlessly afterward would be a real nuisance.”

“Where exactly did all these gods come from? Are there really this many gods in the world?”

One of the demons, which had abandoned its physical body and transformed into a mass of black mist, burst out laughing within the fog.

“Isn’t this a good thing?”

“If there are this many gods, that means there’s an enormous amount of power waiting for us to absorb.”

The only troublesome part was that these gods weren’t fighting individually. They had actually gathered together.

Swallowing them would probably be much more difficult than devouring the scattered, solitary gods elsewhere.

“No rush. We’ll take our time. We may not be able to defeat them today, but once we’ve absorbed enough power, we can simply come back.”

Song Xi had no idea that the demons inside the turtle’s shell were cheerfully discussing their future plans.

She concentrated her attention. Large numbers of plump, white Gu insects began hopping onto the turtle’s shell like fleas. They crawled along its wayward surface and slipped inside through its milky-white pupils.

Normally, controlling an empty body that had lost its consciousness should have been very easy for her.

However, Song Xi soon sensed resistance through her Gu insects. Within the sea turtle’s body, a force was struggling furiously against her.

Strictly speaking, what it was resisting was the demonic energy controlling the turtle. Song Xi’s Gu insects were merely caught in the crossfire.

Song Xi closed her eyes and carefully tried to sense what exactly was happening.

“Get out!!! Get OUT!!!”

A scene suddenly seemed to flash before her eyes. A gigantic turtle, baring its claws and teeth, was trapped in a mass of black demonic mist, roaring furiously.

It seemed to have suddenly sensed the presence of the Gu insects. It abruptly wheeled around with a thunderous movement and roared at them:

“You get out too!!!”

The roar struck directly at her soul. Caught completely off guard, Song Xi suddenly began coughing violently.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

She spat out a mouthful of blood, and more than half of the hundred-plus Gu insects she had sent out perished.

The moment her body sustained damage, Song Xi’s mind immediately snapped to attention.

Even though her current body was a divine body, it didn’t affect her ability to go through the entire sequence of getting injured → encountering a powerful enemy → getting excited → concentrating every fiber of her being → I’m going to beat the crap out of this thing!

The more than thirty surviving Gu insects seemed to have suddenly gained an extra burst of motivation. They worked even harder, busily burrowing into the giant turtle’s brain.

Although most of its brain had already been devoured by demonic energy, that didn’t matter. The Gu insects could serve as its brain instead!

Amid the hazy black mist, the giant turtle also discovered that it could actually eliminate these “new things.” Although, for some reason, they seemed to become more determined the more setbacks they encountered, that didn’t stop it from immediately preparing to roar at the Gu insects again.

It was just about to open its mouth when it suddenly froze in place.

Above the dozens of Gu insects, a gigantic eye was quietly gazing down at it.

To Song Xi, this meant that her God was watching over her. She felt a sense of warmth and reassurance.

But to the soul trapped inside the Black Tortoise’s body, it was as if it were facing the collapse of heaven and earth, as though an entire world were pressing down upon it.

Although it was already dead, it had a premonition that if it continued destroying more of those insects, it would die all over again.

The Black Tortoise silently turned around, ignoring the white Gu insects behind it as they continued digging through its already empty brain. It resumed roaring at the black mist swirling around it.

“GET OUT!!!!”

Normally, this trick wasn’t particularly effective. Although demonic energy could be dispersed, it would soon regenerate endlessly, disturbing its soul and keeping it trapped within.

But for some reason, after this particular roar, the demonic energy that had been driven away failed to return.

This left the Black Tortoise’s soul stunned. Tentatively, it roared at the demonic energy on the other side.

“Get out?”

After that patch of demonic energy retreated, it also failed to return.

The Black Tortoise was about to try again when it suddenly realized that its thoughts, which had been muddled and hazy all this time, were gradually becoming clear.

Moreover, the demonic energy that had surrounded it in every direction, seemingly endless and inexhaustible, was now rapidly retreating.

It was as though some terrifying overlord had established dominion over this entire region.

Outside, Song Xi opened her eyes and wiped the divine blood from the corner of her mouth. A smile appeared on her face.

“I’m grateful for Your divine grace, my God! I did it!”

In the sky, the Black Tortoise’s body, which had been trying to break through the encirclement and escape, suddenly came to a halt.

Its body shuddered violently, forcibly shaking the several demons inside out of its shell.

The demons had only just sensed that something was wrong when, the very next moment, they were abruptly expelled from the turtle’s shell.

They had barely managed to steady themselves in midair using their demonic energy when they looked up and found themselves facing over a hundred million gods.

The gods had surrounded the entire stretch of sky, inside and out, layer upon layer, forming a towering formation with their own bodies.

All of them grinned at the demons in unison, then raised their hands and brandished all kinds of weapons shimmering with divine light.

The demons: “…”

The Hu Xuan Sect cultivators below: “…”

From their perspective, only one deity had stepped forward. Yet in the span of just a few breaths, that deity had seized control of the Black Tortoise’s body.

“Gods above!”

The Hu Xuan Sect cultivators could rack their brains all they wanted, but they could never have imagined that a deity possessing such boundless power existed in this world.

And this deity was merely one among all the gods present.

Just how enormous was this divine pantheon?

Why had they never revealed themselves before?

Could it be that the world had fallen into chaos and demons were running rampant, prompting all those gods in the sky to finally make themselves known to mortals?

Cheng Qisheng also noticed the cultivators below. However, after roughly assessing their combat strength and confirming that they posed no threat to the Old Eighths, she simply stopped paying attention to them.

The great Creator God of Blue Sea delivered a divine revelation exclusively to her own believers:

“Leave one alive. Question them about what that demon said earlier. What did it mean?”

When it came to combat, the residents of Blue Sea had never disappointed their God.

In barely any time at all, the demons were bound with divine power and suspended in midair, dangling like kites on strings.

The reason demons were called demons was that they were formed from the negative emotions of all living beings in the world. Naturally, these negative emotions included the fear of death.

The demons hardly hesitated before spilling the truth.

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk! We’re subordinates of the Heavenly Demon! It was the Heavenly Demon who ordered us to do this!”

The divine official in charge of the interrogation carefully searched through the memories in his mind.

“What is the Heavenly Demon?”

“We don’t know either. We only know that it’s incredibly powerful. It can crush us to death as easily as snapping its fingers. It has countless demons under its command, and we wouldn’t dare disobey its orders.”

The Blue Sea residents listened, inwardly clicking their tongues in amazement.

These few demons were all at Fallen Heaven Tier 5. On Fallen Heaven Star, they were already considered major demonic figures. And yet, they were merely carrying out someone else’s orders.

The demon answering their questions kept trying to distance itself from the whole affair.

“The Black Tortoise had nothing to do with us! It was Lord Heavenly Demon… No, that old Heavenly Demon bastard who controlled it and handed it over to us, ordering us to take the lives of the Dragon Clan!”

The two dragons, Black and White, had watched the entire affair unfold. Their attitude had gone from ‘There’s no way out of this, so if the gods are inviting us, we might as well join them to Oh, Heavenly Dao! They’re so powerful! We’ve truly found ourselves a mighty backer this time!’

After seeing the battle come to an end, they had also soared into the sky to watch.

Hearing those words, however, made both of them furious.

“What did we ever do to you?! Why are you trying to take the lives of our Dragon Clan?!!”

The White Dragon was equally indignant and added:

“Exactly! Why?!”

The demon glanced at the dragons.

“Because you possess such powerful strength. What else would you expect?”

The Black and White Dragons were utterly bewildered by this logic.

Shouldn’t possessing great power make other people less likely to provoke them, rather than more likely?

<< _ >>

The post Safe City Ch.222.1 first appeared on A Wandering Potato.

Bighead had always been the sort of man who only needed to feed himself and didn’t have an entire family weighing him down. Seeing Jiang Xia struggling to support a whole household on her own, he immediately felt a great deal of sympathy for her. His earlier hesitation vanished, and he spoke frankly.

“Your big brother here isn’t exactly a good person either, but I feel sorry for you, so I’ll point you toward a way out. There’s a place over there that’s looking for people to serve tea and water.”

He paused, then spoke bluntly.

“I’m not going to hide anything from you. It’s a gambling den. The people who go there are all the big shots from the vegetable market. If you take good care of them, they’ll definitely give you plenty of tips. But there’ll also be no shortage of people trying to take advantage of you and get handsy…”

He hesitated briefly before continuing.

“And to put it bluntly, in a place like that, sooner or later you’ll get dragged into their mess. Once you go in, there’s an eighty percent chance you won’t be able to get out again. Think it over carefully. Do you want to go? If you do, I’ll take you there.”

‘Oh my goodness! What a benefactor!’

‘A place with everything I need? Of course I’m going!’

Jiang Xia had been worrying that tracking down each gang individually would be too difficult. She’d never expected a place like this to exist, or that Bighead could actually take her there.

This was simply wonderful!

It felt as though she could take down the entire gang network in one fell swoop.

Suppressing her excitement, Jiang Xia lowered her head and nervously kneaded the hem of her clothes between her fingers. After a long while, she finally replied:

“Well… Big brother, could you give me a little more time to think about it? I really can’t make up my mind right now.”

“All right.”

Bighead didn’t suspect a thing. After all, what young woman could make up her mind so quickly about doing something like that?

He nodded and said, “Then wait here for me a little longer. I’ll come back once I’m done and they’ve finished packing up their stalls.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Xia acknowledged him.

She leaned against the wall and continued waiting. When she saw Captain Liang looking over, she made a discreet hand signal to indicate that she had information to pass on.

After confirming her signal, Liang Jihua walked over with a bag full of vegetables and sat directly on the curb in front of Jiang Xia. Taking out a towel, he wiped the sweat from his face, looking just like someone who had come over to take a short break.

Jiang Xia waited a little longer. Seeing that nobody nearby was paying attention, she also walked over and sat down on the curb, as though she were tired from standing.

Lowering her voice, she quickly explained:

“That pickpocket just told me there’s a major gambling den around here. The leaders and members of the various gangs in the surrounding area all go there to gamble. He’s planning to take me there to work as a waitress. I’ve decided to accept.”

“What?!”

Before she’d even finished speaking, Liang Jihua’s eyes widened in shock.

It had only been a few minutes! Jiang Xia had already managed to extract such an important lead from a pickpocket?

She really was born to work undercover!

He wanted to poach her for his own team.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t compete for her. What a pity.

Suppressing that little pang of regret, Liang Jihua said, “This is extremely dangerous. Our people might not be able to follow you in. Are you sure?”

“If I don’t see the place with my own eyes, I won’t be able to draw a map of it.”

Jiang Xia replied, “This is too good an opportunity to pass up. I have to go. I’ll leave little star-shaped markers along the way. Do your best to follow me.”

“All right.”

After confirming her decision once more, Liang Jihua didn’t waste any time.

“I’ll go make the necessary arrangements right away.”

With that, he wiped his face once more with the towel, then stood up as though he’d rested enough. Carrying his large bag of vegetables, he headed toward the alley.

Jiang Xia remained where she was, waiting.

As time passed, the number of people coming to buy vegetables on the street rapidly dwindled. It was as though, in the blink of an eye, the crowded street had transformed into a scene where there were more vegetable vendors than customers.

Quite a few vendors had already begun loudly shouting out clearance prices.

“Tomatoes! Forty cents a jin! Cheap!”

“Eggplants! Twenty-three cents!”

“Chives! Ten cents a jin!”

…

“Sanitation fees, stall rental fees, fire prevention fees, security fees… Pay them all up!”

The four street thugs Captain Liang had mentioned also began going from stall to stall, forcibly collecting money under a whole assortment of pretexts. They could easily take half of a vendor’s earnings in one go.

Bighead had also hurried over to Brother Deng’s side. Only after handing over his share of the money did he wander back.

“Well, miss? Have you made up your mind?”

“I… I think I’d like to go and take a look first.”

Jiang Xia still wasn’t ready to agree outright. She looked somewhat tempted, but also hesitant.

“If it doesn’t seem suitable, I’ll just leave…”

“All right.”

Bighead agreed verbally, but he wasn’t particularly confident.

The people at that place might act quite friendly before luring respectable young women into their business, but how many gambling den operators were actually easy to deal with? If they really decided to keep her there against her will, there wasn’t much he could do.

Still… he’d at least given her a way to survive, hadn’t he?

Bighead quickly convinced himself of that and said with a smile, “If one of the big shots takes a liking to you, you’ll be set for life. Just don’t forget your big brother here when that happens.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Xia gave a barely perceptible response.

‘Don’t worry. I definitely won’t forget you. In a few days, I’ll even invite you over for a cup of tea.’

And I’ll throw in a pair of bracelets as a bonus. Silver-colored, of course. If you don’t like those, we’ve also got the latest rose-gold models!

Humming a little tune to herself, Jiang Xia asked, “Shall we head over now, then?”

“No rush. Those people aren’t even up yet at this hour.”

Bighead replied, “Let’s grab something to eat first. We’ll go around noon.”

I hate unexpected changes like this!

If they went to eat first, it would make things considerably harder for the plainclothes team to follow them.

Jiang Xia tried to refuse.

“But that would be too much trouble for you, big brother. Why don’t we just skip the meal?”

“What’s the big deal about buying one meal? I haven’t eaten anything since early this morning! I’m treating you, so just come along.”

Bighead waved his hand dismissively, then grumbled, “Everyone gets up so damn early. They make me get up at the crack of dawn like a chicken, too. I must have been cursed in a past life to end up doing this kind of work. I can’t even sleep in!”

There was no way to refuse now.

Jiang Xia could only agree. “Well… all right, then.”

Bighead turned around and beckoned to her. “Come on. I know a little breakfast place on this street where you don’t need ration coupons. You just pay cash.”

Jiang Xia stood up and followed him.

When they reached the middle of the street, a plainclothes police officer who was standing nearby taking a break gave her a slight nod. He then followed behind them at an unhurried pace.

Jiang Xia felt a little more at ease.

After eating breakfast at a small, modest restaurant and chatting for a while, they managed to kill time until a little past ten. Bighead finally led Jiang Xia toward the gambling den.

Gambling dens were a major target of police crackdowns. Everyone was afraid of leading a tail straight to the place, so Bighead had become even more vigilant. After turning into an alley, he repeatedly glanced over his shoulder to check whether anyone was following them.

The plainclothes officer who had been tailing them earlier had no choice but to turn into another alley.

Seeing him leave, Jiang Xia didn’t panic. She quietly dropped two five-pointed stars folded from plastic tubing as markers, then continued following Bighead as though nothing had happened.

After making seven or eight turns and taking several unnecessary detours, Bighead finally led Jiang Xia to a fairly large residential property.

It was an impressive traditional courtyard house, with spacious buildings. Faint shouts and excited voices could be heard coming from inside. The neighboring houses had their gates firmly shut, while two men stood guard at the entrance.

One of them clearly knew Bighead and immediately greeted him.

“Well, well, Bighead! Where have you been making your fortune? And who’s this girl you’ve brought along?”

“I’m so broke I can barely survive. What fortune are you talking about?”

Bighead shrugged and pulled out the cheap cigarettes he smoked from his pocket. He handed one to each of the two guards, then pointed at Jiang Xia.

“This is a new little sister of mine. She’s broke too, and she’s looking to find a way to earn enough to get by.”

“Ohhh…”

The lookout gave him a suggestive wink.

“She’s quite a pretty one. Sister Lan will definitely like her!”

“Yeah. No more chatting. I’m going to see Sister Lan.”

Bighead led Jiang Xia into the courtyard without encountering any resistance.

Sister Lan was a woman in her thirties who held considerable status in this gambling den.

She had previously worked as a prostitute operating outside the law and was now the mistress of Snake, the gambling den’s owner. Her main responsibilities were overseeing the establishment and using her old connections to procure women for the men there. This was how she made money while maintaining her own usefulness and position.

With the police cracking down so heavily on gambling dens, Sister Lan was extremely cautious. When she saw Bighead bringing a pretty young woman to her door, she didn’t let the excitement of having a promising new recruit cloud her judgment. Instead, she frowned and asked:

“Who’s this girl?”

“Ren Xuefang. She’s from Tongluo Alley on Changfu Street.”

Bighead explained Jiang Xia’s family circumstances, then added, “She’s really short of money. I’d appreciate it if you could find her some work, Sister Lan.”

Now that she had both the girl’s name and home address, Sister Lan felt considerably more reassured.

She carefully examined Jiang Xia, who stood awkwardly, nervously tugging at the hem of her clothes. A faint smile appeared at the corners of Sister Lan’s mouth. Then her gaze shifted to Bighead, whom she had barely paid any attention to until now.

“Well, I really have to thank you for this, brother.”

Sister Lan immediately took a ten-yuan banknote from her pocket. She took Bighead’s hand and placed the money in his palm, lightly brushing her thumb and index finger against him as she did so.

“This is just a little something from your big sister. Buy yourself a drink later.”

The flirtatious touch made Bighead’s heart itch, while the sight of the money practically dazzled him. He hurriedly pocketed it.

The little bit of conscience he had left prompted him to emphasize once more, “This girl doesn’t know anything at all, Sister Lan. Please go easy on her and teach her properly. If she really can’t manage it, just let her leave.”

“You don’t need to tell me that. I know what I’m doing.”

Anyone could say nice things, but once a girl came through the door, how could she possibly leave so easily?

Sister Lan had only taken in the first part of what Bighead said. Looking at Jiang Xia, the smile on her lips grew wider.

A respectable, innocent girl was exactly what she wanted. Such girls could be sold for a much higher price. There was no need to resort to force, either. That would be far too ugly. The big shots here had plenty of money, and a poor girl like this might never have even seen several hundred yuan in her entire life. Once she stepped inside and saw how things worked, she’d be hooked before she knew it.

“Xuefang, is that right?”

She gazed at Jiang Xia with a beaming smile, as though looking at a hen that could lay golden eggs.

“The work here isn’t difficult. You just serve the big brothers tea and water, shuffle and deal the cards, and keep them company while they play. We don’t have many other requirements. There’s just one rule: don’t make the big brothers angry.”

“Since you’re new, I won’t give you any difficult work at first. You’ll just serve tea and water and help with the cleaning. But you’ll need to work from twelve noon until ten at night. There’s a bed here, so you can rest right here after work. You’ll get one day off a week, and I’ll pay you sixty yuan a month. That’s twice what an ordinary worker earns. Not a bad deal, right?”

“Not bad.”

Jiang Xia lowered her head, clutching the hem of her clothes as though trying hard to conceal her uneasiness.

“But, Sister Lan, could I avoid working so late at first? I still have a lot of chores to take care of at home.”

“Hey, you… Forget it.”

Sister Lan frowned, looking somewhat displeased. But she quickly concealed it, putting on the appearance of someone who was quite reasonable.

“I’m softhearted, so I’ll let you leave at seven instead. But in that case, your salary will only be forty yuan.”

Jiang Xia visibly relaxed.

“That’s fine.”

“All right, then. Come with me.”

Sister Lan waved her hand and led Jiang Xia toward the main hall.

The main hall was extremely spacious, measuring roughly forty square meters or so. It contained eight tables and rattan chairs with backrests. The tables were covered with tablecloths, the walls had been painted, and no fewer than three incandescent bulbs had been installed overhead. The place was quite luxuriously furnished.

Perhaps the gamblers had played too late into the previous night. There weren’t many people here at the moment. Only two tables were occupied by people playing cards, with several others gathered around watching.

Platters of fruit had been placed on the tables, beer filled the glasses beside the players, and some people were even eating pork knuckles. When they saw Sister Lan leading a young woman inside, one of them immediately asked curiously:

“Well, well, Sister Lan! Who’s this new girl you’ve brought in?”

“That’s right.”

Sister Lan introduced her. “Her name is Xiaofang. She’s new here and doesn’t know how to do anything yet, so I’ll have her start with some cleaning.”

As she spoke, Sister Lan pointed at the sunflower seed shells scattered across the floor.

“Go sweep that up.”

Jiang Xia obediently replied, “All right, Sister Lan.”

She glanced around, found a broom and dustpan, and picked them up. Starting from the innermost part of the room, she slowly swept toward the entrance, all the while observing the people around her.

The gamblers at the two tables weren’t particularly old. Most appeared to be in their twenties or thirties. They all had rather fierce expressions and looked like tough characters. They were also gambling quite aggressively. Every player had a large pile of cash in front of them, with the smallest denominations being one-yuan notes. There was so much money that they couldn’t even hold it all in one hand.

They had access to this much cash and were gambling with it so casually. There was an eighty or ninety percent chance that these were the leaders of the various gangs.

However, although she’d memorized their faces, she still didn’t know which gangs they belonged to or what their names were.

But people playing cards never went without chatting. If she swept slowly and stayed nearby to listen for a while, she’d surely learn something.

With that in mind, Jiang Xia deliberately slowed down her cleaning.

Seeing Jiang Xia’s eyes unconsciously drifting toward the gambling tables, the smile at the corners of Sister Lan’s mouth deepened.

Jiang Xia continued sweeping at a leisurely pace, keeping her ears open to the gamblers’ conversation.

The people at both tables seemed completely absorbed in their games. For the time being, they weren’t interested in women. Even after hearing that a newcomer had arrived, they merely glanced up at her before returning to their cards and conversation.

“Straight flush! That’s a bomb! Pay up, pay up!”

“Big Cannon, your luck is incredible today! You’re going to make a fortune!”

“How could I compare with you, Brother Scar? You’ve got an entire gambling den under your control. Money practically pours in every single day…”

“You’re just flattering me. Sure, I’ve got a gambling den, but I’ve also got plenty of brothers there to look after it. Once the money’s divided up, there’s not much left for me.”

“Oh? Since when did Brother Scar start complaining about being poor?”

“Isn’t it because some idiots still don’t know their place and dare to fight back? They injured one of my men, and I ended up spending quite a bit on medical expenses.”

“Honestly! Why can’t those people ever learn their lesson?”

“Exactly! They’re just too greedy. Brother Tiger already laid down the rules, and everyone else has accepted them. Yet that Mad Dog over in the western part of the city still dared to launch a sneak attack behind our backs.”

“That’s right. Good thing Brother Tiger brought his men and crippled him…”

…

As Jiang Xia listened to their casual conversation, her movements suddenly slowed to a stop for a brief moment.

Brother Tiger? Laid down the rules?

There was a good chance this person was the ringleader of the vegetable racketeering gangs.

The threats against Captain Feng and the attack on her master were probably connected to him as well. He was the worst offender among them all. She absolutely had to bring him in.

But right now, all she knew was his nickname. She had no idea what he looked like.

Would he come to this gambling den?

If he didn’t… she’d have to find someone to ask about him.

<< _ >>

The post Criminal Master System Ch.71.2 first appeared on A Wandering Potato.

“Woohoo!”

Song Xi emerged from the seabed, holding the head of a demon in her hand.

The sight looked rather gruesome, as though she had just done something utterly inhumane to some demon. However, the owner of the head was still alive.

Her opponent had three heads and was absurdly powerful, making it quite difficult to deal with.

Song Xi had therefore found the fight incredibly satisfying.

That was exactly what she wanted: a difficult opponent. If every enemy she encountered in battle could be casually wiped out, her combat instincts would gradually deteriorate.

She looked up at Wang Moning, who was sitting cross-legged in midair, and called out invitingly:

“Ningning, quite a few of these demons are at the Cloud-Controlling Realm and even the Mountain-Suppressing Realm. It’s been ages since I’ve had such a satisfying fight. Want me to save half of one for you?”

Wang Moning was currently relying on her [Perception] ability to investigate the giant web formed from divine power, looking for any spots that had grown weak under the demons’ attacks. She then used Commander Cheng Anjing’s [Mind Domain] ability to announce those weak points to everyone, effectively making them visible to the entire server.

Hearing Song Xi’s invitation, Wang Moning, whose brain had gradually evolved into something resembling a Blue Sea native’s, hadn’t bothered to memorize the names of the various cultivation realms in Fallen Heaven. For a moment, she couldn’t quite follow.

“What?”

Song Xi immediately understood and rephrased:

“I mean Fallen Heaven Fourth Rank and Fallen Heaven Fifth Rank!”

Wang Moning was indeed somewhat tempted.

Strictly speaking, Fallen Heaven Star’s cultivation ranks were considerably higher than the ability user rank system.

Fallen Heaven First Rank was equivalent to Tier 3 ability user.

Fallen Heaven Fourth and Fifth Ranks were roughly equivalent to Tier 6 and 7 ability user.

Blue Sea Safe City had advanced through its ranks so quickly that, although the Safe City itself had already reached the Tier 7, the highest-ranked ability user currently residing within it was the Pope, who had only just barely reached the Tier 6.

Under normal circumstances, even with the enormous population of Blue Sea, there should still be a considerable gap in strength due to the difference in ranks.

But who could blame Fallen Heaven Star for being such a peculiar world? Here, divine power itself was a form of strength. And as for Youdu, their God had bestowed upon it the rule that divine power could be used for transactions.

In other words, although fewer than 200 million residents appeared to be present at the scene, the divine power surging across the battlefield had actually been contributed collectively by all 400 million Blue Sea residents.

The grand stage of Fallen Heaven was open to everyone. Even those fighting opponents several ranks above their own could take part.

And precisely because they were fighting across rank differences, with danger and opportunity existing side by side, this was the best kind of situation for improving their combat skills.

What Blue Sea resident could possibly resist the temptation of, while still at the Tier 5, going up against Sixth- and Seventh-Rank demons and enjoying a thoroughly satisfying fight?

Wang Moning, who was at the Tier 5, was deeply touched that even at such a fun moment, her good friend was still thinking of her.

“Hmm… Just save a third for me. I’ve already used up quite a lot of divine power today, so I probably can’t handle half of one.”

“Okay! I’m off!”

Song Xi agreed and tossed the head into the enormous web of divine power hanging in the sky. The demon’s head, still carrying traces of demonic energy, stuck firmly to the web.

It wasn’t that Song Xi insisted on protecting the natural environment while fighting, making sure not to litter.

It was simply that these demons had some truly outrageous characteristics.

If their severed limbs weren’t properly secured, even their decapitated heads could continue swimming around underwater before reattaching themselves to their bodies.

This gave Song Xi a rather unfriendly idea.

—If these demons could be brought back to the Blue Sea Temple, wouldn’t they make perfect sparring partners that could repair themselves endlessly?

“Rumble—!”

Just as Song Xi’s imagination was running wild, a dragon measuring several hundred meters in length burst out of the water, lunging to tear apart the dozen or so gods flying through the air above it.

Its eyes were pitch-black, rotting chunks of flesh were falling from its body, and most of its scales were already gone. It had clearly been dead for quite some time. Yet, under the demons’ control, it still demonstrated exactly why the dragon race had been able to dominate the oceans for so long.

The Blue Sea residents above had been waiting for precisely this moment.

Immediately, another ten thousand or so people swooped down, their weapons gleaming with golden light. Attacking swiftly from every direction, they surrounded the enormous dragon. Some used divine power, while others relied on their weapons. Groups of more than a dozen people worked together to restrain each of its claws, firmly pinning the giant dragon in midair.

The gigantic dead dragon struggled, trying to open its jaws and tear into its captors. But the more it struggled, the more firmly it was restrained. Working together, the divine-power net and tens of thousands of gods gradually dragged it completely out of the sea, slowly hauling it higher and higher into the air.

And once a dragon race creature, so adept at fighting underwater, had been forcibly dragged into the sky, the outcome of the battle became fairly obvious.

“Sect Leader, this… this is…?”

The cultivators of Hu Xuan Sect were so shaken by the successive scenes unfolding before their eyes that they could barely speak without stammering.

The cultivators of Fallen Heaven Star, at least ordinary cultivators, had never really considered themselves insignificant.

Yes, they knew that gods, demons, and demon beasts existed in this world. But before the celestial phenomena fell into chaos, these things had actually been quite distant from the daily lives of cultivators and ordinary mortals.

Demon beasts lived in remote wildernesses. Demons and ghosts appeared from time to time, but they were usually solitary creatures, and their strength was within the cultivators’ ability to handle. As for the gods, they generally did not reveal themselves to mortals except when absolutely necessary.

But now, as the cultivators of Hu Xuan Sect gazed at the figures in the sky battling a gigantic dragon hundreds of meters long, the layers upon layers of people forming a human tower to turn the entire Myriad Stars Sea upside down, and the Myriad Stars Sea itself, so saturated with demonic energy that it looked like a pot of black soup being boiled, they felt, for the first time, just how insignificant they truly were.

If the demons lurking beneath the sea were the ones who had capsized the Hu Xuan Sect’s ship, then without these gods—so numerous that their very existence made one wonder whether this was all a dream—the people aboard their vessel would probably have perished in the Myriad Stars Sea today.

“ROOOOAR!!!!”

Another demon, several dozen meters tall and at the Mountain-Suppressing Realm, was forcibly dragged out of the sea.

If this creature had been on land, it could have trampled an entire prefecture flat without the slightest difficulty.

It struggled incessantly, its demonic energy transforming into one shape after another as it desperately tried to smash its way out of the divine-power net restraining it.

A large number of gods stood suspended in midair before it. At the same time, they threw the long sabers in their hands, each one still glowing with golden light.

The sabers collided with one another. Under the gods’ control, the blades continuously stacked upward, one after another, while also expanding outward on both sides.

In the end, in no more than a few breaths, the countless sabers, each originally of ordinary size, had combined into a gigantic blade suspended halfway in the air. It radiated an intense golden light and stood more than seventy meters tall.

The gods brought the index and middle fingers of one hand together, holding their hands like blades. Countless streams of divine power flowed like water, guiding the enormous saber.

They all swung their hands downward at the same time.

In midair, the gigantic saber slowly descended as well.

“ROOOAR—”

The restrained demon struggled even more desperately. It seemed that even demons felt fear when confronted with death.

As the saber drew closer and closer, its divine power had already begun scorching the demon’s outer skin. Finally, the demon began speaking in human language:

“You gods—ROAR—don’t understand anything! The Heavenly Dao has perished! This world is finished! Everyone! Including the gods! Will die! We’re the ones who are right!! We’re the ones trying to save ourselves—”

…

On Blue Star, Cheng Qisheng, who was watching the battle, raised her eyebrows slightly.

The demons of Fallen Heaven Star generally caused trouble simply for the sake of causing trouble, without any other particular motive. After all, they survived on the negative energy in the world. The more resentment there was, the stronger the demons became.

But this batch of demons that had come to the Myriad Stars Sea was different. They were carrying out some sort of mission with a specific objective.

The demon continued shouting threats:

“You’re nothing but a bunch of frogs in a well who arrogantly call yourselves gods! The great calamity is coming! No one will escape! Hahahahaha—AAARGH!!”

Meanwhile, the Old Eighths, who were concentrating on setting up a group chat within their [Mind Domain], hadn’t actually heard what the demon was shouting.

This was their first time using this technique, and all their attention was focused on coordinating with one another.

[Down, down, down—toward the middle! Move toward the middle!]

[You’re off! You’re off! Too far to the left! Put a little more force to the right!]

[Good, good, that’s enough! That’s the right angle! Keep going down, lower it!]

[Hey, hey, hey! A little too fast! Those at the top, pull it back a bit! Wait for me! It’s too close to see clearly. I’ll fly farther away so I can direct you!]

From Cheng Qisheng’s perspective, the Old Eighths working together to assemble the giant saber were clearly in a state of utter fluster, yet at the same time brimming with excitement and exhilaration.

That’s right. This technique had been invented on the spur of the moment in the middle of the battle by a Blue Sea resident.

He had casually mentioned an idea in the [Mind Domain], and immediately, countless residents responded, saying they were more than willing to participate.

And so, this squad of more than ten thousand people had gathered in this patch of airspace.

What could Cheng Qisheng possibly say?

The Old Eighths might be fairly conventional in other areas, but when it came to anything related to combat, their creativity and inspiration seemed endless.

It was quite common for someone to suddenly announce, in the middle of a fight, “Hey! I’ve got an idea!” only for a whole crowd of people to immediately jump on board and help refine that idea while still fighting.

All the great Blue Sea Creator God could do was bestow wave after wave of group blessings upon them, granting them even more power so they could better control the gigantic saber.

The residents who received their God’s blessings immediately became even more excited.

The already bustling group chat in the [Mind Domain] grew even livelier.

[We are grateful for Our God’s blessings!]

[Our God must think our idea is pretty good too!]

[We’re about to make contact! We’re almost there! Everyone, pay attention!]

[Hey, your technique works pretty well! Are you accepting more people?]

[Ptooey, ptooey! Don’t bite the demons! Don’t bite the demons! They taste awful! It’s like eating a meal of rotten sea monster meat with gravel sprinkled inside!]

[I knew it! I saw someone just lose their weapon and immediately duck down to take a bite. I couldn’t even stop them! Haven’t you read Basic Knowledge of Fallen Heaven Star? Gods and demons are natural enemies. Their respective powers are mutually incompatible. Biting one of them is pretty much like biting garbage.]

[Who stepped on my foot?!]

[Sorry, sorry! That was me. I wasn’t paying attention while passing by. Hehe! May Our God bless you~]

[It’s here! It’s here! The blade edges are starting to make contact! It really works!]

The noisy, chaotic chatter in the [Mind Domain] channel was naturally inaudible to the people of Hu Xuan Sect.

All they could see was the enormous saber beneath the tower of divine power formed by layer upon layer of gods. Radiating golden divine power, it descended slowly, looking as though it could cleave heaven and earth in two.

“AAAAAAAHHHHH—!”

The demon’s agonized screams rang out so clearly that even the people aboard the ship, who had yet to enter the territory of the Myriad Stars Sea, could hear them perfectly.

Demons were incredibly difficult to kill. They were born from the evil thoughts of people, and human malice would never disappear completely.

Even if one was captured, as long as it managed to escape with even the tiniest fragment of its remaining power, it could rise again from the ashes.

In the past, when Daoist sects dealt with a Mountain-Suppressing Realm demon like this one, even if they joined forces to hunt it down, they could only have all their high-ranking cultivators work together to gradually wear away its demonic energy.

The process could take anywhere from several months to several years. That was why major Daoist sects all had their own Demon-Suppressing Towers, specifically built to contain demons that could not be killed immediately.

But now, this demon’s body was being cleaved apart bit by bit, while the divine power imbued in the giant saber rapidly dissipated the demonic energy within its body.

Finally, once its demonic energy had completely vanished, the demon’s enormous body quickly disintegrated as well.

The giant web of divine power was withdrawn, and the demon was nowhere to be seen in the sky.

—It had been killed completely, in the blink of an eye.

The enormous saber then broke apart once more. Countless ordinary-sized sabers, still glowing with golden light, scattered in all directions and flew back into the hands of the individual gods.

Everything had happened so effortlessly, as though killing a Mountain-Suppressing Realm demon had been nothing more than a casual task for them.

The people of Hu Xuan Sect were left utterly speechless.

Hu Xuan Sect was a medium-to-large Daoist sect. Once their cultivators reached a certain age, they would leave the sect gates and travel freely to various places to cultivate.

If they encountered injustice, they would intervene. If they came across demons, monsters, or ghosts, they would fight them as well, then return to the sect and report what they had witnessed.

Not every Hu Xuan Sect cultivator would eventually return to the sect. Some might settle down and start families somewhere, choosing to live ordinary lives. Others might establish homes in places where they were needed to guard against certain demons, spending their entire lives there without ever returning to their sect.

However, most cultivators were still able to send letters back. In this way, vast amounts of information from all corners of the world gradually found their way into Hu Xuan Sect.

As a result, Hu Xuan Sect could be considered the best-informed among all the Daoist sects. Generation after generation, its members had painstakingly collected all kinds of information and compiled the Compendium of Ten Thousand Demons, the Compendium of Ten Thousand Fiends, and the Compendium of Ten Thousand Ghosts. These books documented all sorts of supernatural creatures and mysterious entities in their various forms, along with methods for dealing with them.

Hu Xuan Sect’s library was the largest among all the Daoist sects, and it was also the place most frequently visited by fellow cultivators from other sects.

They had always felt a quiet sense of pride about this.

Hu Xuan Sect might not be the strongest Daoist sect, but it was undoubtedly the best-informed.

Yet now, these Hu Xuan Sect cultivators were beginning to realize that perhaps their understanding of the world was far less comprehensive than they had imagined.

As expected of a sect leader, he was the first among all the cultivators staring blankly at the astonishing scene before them to recover his composure.

“Write it down!! Hurry, hurry! Record everything!!”

He turned to instruct the other cultivators:

“Vast numbers of high-ranking demons are entrenched in the Myriad Stars Sea. Hundreds of millions of unknown gods have arrived to suppress them… No, to exterminate them.”

The cultivators behind him immediately took out the paper, brushes, and ink they carried with them. They sat down cross-legged and began recording everything on the spot.

Some were even skilled enough to paint the battle between gods and demons unfolding before their eyes. With just a few swift strokes, they managed to capture the immense, oppressive presence of the countless gods in the sky.

The sect leader kept his eyes fixed on the scene ahead, carefully choosing his words:

“The divine forms of the gods obscure the heavens. The demonic dragon’s enormous body stretches approximately a hundred zhang. With but a surge of its waves, it could destroy islands and wreak havoc upon the land. Yet the gods employed their divine arts to forcibly lift it out of the Myriad Stars Sea—”

The cultivators beside him diligently recorded every word. While the battle ahead filled the sky with dazzling starlight, they remained completely unaffected in the rear, their brushes flying furiously across the paper.

“…The gods slaughter demons as easily as slicing through melons and severing vines. Wherever their divine blades sweep, the Mountain-Suppressing Realm demons are shattered in an instant, and the countless fiends are cut down one after another—”

Out on the sea ahead, an enormous creature emerged from the water. It was at least a thousand meters long. The moment it appeared, everyone knew that this was the largest demon of them all.

Demonic energy poured from its entire body. Yet the Hu Xuan Sect Master recognized what it was at a single glance.

He exclaimed in astonishment, “The Black Tortoise…”

The Black Tortoise was a unique demon beast. There was only one in the entire world. It had a gentle temperament, measured a thousand meters in length, and lived in the Northern Luo Sea. Whenever it surfaced, people often mistook it for a gigantic island.

The Black Tortoise was unquestionably powerful. Although it lived in the sea, it was perfectly capable of flying through the air. It simply preferred drifting along with the waves, which was why it was rarely seen in the sky.

It never actively attacked others. Sometimes, it would sleep for several hundred years at a stretch. It was an exceptionally rare demon beast that almost never had any impact on the lives of ordinary mortals.

The dragon race was one thing. They were naturally combative, loved testing their strength, and had hot tempers. It wasn’t particularly surprising that they had fallen under the demons’ control.

But the Black Tortoise, which had a lifespan of at least ten thousand years, had actually been controlled by demons as well?

No wonder! No wonder these demons had appeared in the sea. Given the Black Tortoise’s enormous size, the ocean really was the only place where it wouldn’t attract quite so much attention.

What exactly were these demons trying to accomplish?!

Between the demons overflowing with demonic energy and the gods shining with golden light, there was no need to think twice about which side to choose.

The Hu Xuan Sect Master grew solemn.

“The demons have been hiding here. They must be harboring some sinister scheme. If they win today, all the people of this world will surely face a terrible catastrophe. Move forward! We’ll go help them!”

Hu Xuan Sect had records of events from all over the world, so of course they knew what the Black Tortoise’s weakness was. However, this information came only from legends. No one in Hu Xuan Sect had ever actually tested it.

The Sect Master formed a hand seal. He imbued the written records and illustrations that the cultivators had rapidly produced with spiritual light. One by one, the sheets of paper seemed to come alive, flying off toward Hu Xuan Sect as though they had grown wings.

Watching the sheets of paper disappear into the distance, the Sect Master and the other cultivators all breathed a sigh of relief.

It was somewhat like sending home all the savings one had accumulated over a lifetime before going off to face certain death. Now that they had taken care of this, the cultivators of Hu Xuan Sect had nothing left to fear.

“Even if we perish here today, what we’ve witnessed will still make its way back to the sect.”

Only after the sheets of paper had completely vanished from sight did the Hu Xuan Sect Master turn around again and look toward the battlefield ahead.

“Everyone, follow me!”

<< _ >>

The post Safe City Ch.221 first appeared on A Wandering Potato.

“Hmph. Looks like those demons and monsters have really gotten themselves into trouble this time~”

Fallen Heaven Star, Myriad Stars Sea—

A black dragon a hundred meters long, its body covered in numerous wounds, bobbed in the turbulent seawater. Most of its body remained submerged as it stared intently at the growing number of divine streaks of light overhead.

At present, there were at least several hundred deities gathered above Myriad Stars Sea.

Beside it was a white dragon of roughly the same size. It was in much the same condition, with wounds covering its entire body. However, because of its white scales, it couldn’t hide easily in the seawater. Thus, the black dragon was helping it by keeping most of its body concealed beneath the surface.

The white dragon slowly raised its head, its long whiskers drifting through the water.

“Our trip to deliver the news to the Hu Xuan Sect wasn’t in vain. Who would’ve thought this mortal Daoist sect would be so capable? They actually managed to summon the deities!”

The black dragon affectionately rubbed its neck against the white dragon’s.

“You’re still the clever one. We can’t deal with those demons that have no physical bodies, but once the deities kill those damned things, we’ll finally be able to go home.”

Myriad Stars Sea wasn’t the largest sea among all the oceans, but the black and white dragons had always lived quite comfortably there.

As dragons, they were naturally powerful. They had no opponents in the ocean and only needed to spend their days eating and drinking.

The seawater itself was their domain. Even if they couldn’t win a fight on the surface, once they reached the ocean depths, their innate ability to control water meant that the dragon race was practically invincible.

They had the home-field advantage, so no deity or demon would ever venture into the ocean.

Thus, the black and white dragons had originally enjoyed a pretty good life. The only creatures in the ocean that could pose a threat to them were other dragons.

But the two of them were very powerful, and they were mates who could fight together with perfect coordination. Other dragons living alone couldn’t defeat them, making their lives even more comfortable.

That was until a group of demons appeared in Myriad Stars Sea.

These damned demons were different from the ones that simply caused havoc among mortals based on their instincts. These ones seemed highly organized, and there were a great many of them.

They went around proclaiming that the Heavenly Dao had perished, and that if they wanted to survive, they had to draw upon the world’s last reserves of power and use that energy to create a new world.

The two dragons had never attended school and weren’t particularly well-educated. But if the world really was going to be destroyed and they could move on to a new world, they would be quite happy to do so.

The problem was that, in the eyes of these demons, the so-called last reserves of power referred to the lives and souls of every living creature in the world.

And, naturally, dragons were included in the category of living creatures.

In other words, those demons believed they should create a new world, and the black and white dragons were supposed to serve as the bricks used to build it.

In fact, because dragons were naturally powerful and the strongest among demonic beasts, killing them would yield even more energy. In the demons’ eyes, dragons weren’t just ordinary bricks.

They were the bricks among bricks.

The dragons of Myriad Stars Sea had only one thing to say to these demons:

‘You lunatics, get the hell out of our ocean!’

Unfortunately, although these lunatics clearly weren’t right in the head, their strength was bizarrely formidable. They also possessed all sorts of strange magical artifacts and could even control the corpses of dead dragons.

Despite the ocean being the dragons’ home turf, they were beaten back again and again. And because dragons, aside from mated pairs, weren’t accustomed to living together in groups, the demons had enjoyed an overwhelming advantage right from the beginning.

The black and white dragons only realized something was wrong in Myriad Stars Sea after the demons had killed more than a dozen dragons and begun using their dead bodies to attack them.

The two dragons were among the strongest in Myriad Stars Sea, but even they couldn’t stand against more than a dozen dragons at once. Their opponents couldn’t kill them for the time being, but they could pursue them relentlessly.

The two had no choice but to abandon their underwater home and flee from place to place, hiding wherever they could.

At first, they had even considered gritting their teeth, abandoning their homeland, and moving to another sea.

However, dragons were territorial by nature, and the various oceans didn’t welcome dragons from elsewhere. If they went to another sea, it would mean having to fight every dragon living there. That was a good way to get themselves killed, too.

The two dragons found themselves caught in a dilemma. They couldn’t decide whether to stay or leave.

Until they discovered one particular trait of the demons: As long as something was a living creature, the demons would kill it the moment they saw it, extracting what they called its power.

When a seagoing vessel passed through the area, the demons slaughtered everyone aboard.

And among the wreckage of that ship was the insignia of the Hu Xuan Sect.

It wasn’t difficult for the two dragons to figure out that the demons were killing everyone who passed through the sea. In the past, whenever they felt like eating something different, they would occasionally seek out a random seagoing vessel. The people aboard would naturally toss down plenty of food that could normally only be found on land.

But ever since the demons appeared, the two dragons hadn’t seen a single ship.

They had spent a long time searching the ocean before finally finding a piece of the ship’s hull bearing the Hu Xuan Sect’s insignia.

The white dragon immediately decided to go to the Hu Xuan Sect and report what had happened. Its reasoning was particularly simple: whenever deities and Daoist sects encountered demons, the two sides would inevitably fight tooth and nail.

The dragon race was a third party and had little experience fighting demons. That was why they had ended up at such a disadvantage.

—For example, even now, the two dragons still couldn’t understand why the corpses of their dead kin could continue moving, let alone attack them.

But the Daoist sects would surely know. They would certainly have plenty of ways to deal with demons.

Looking at the ever-growing number of deities gathering in the sky, the white dragon was extremely pleased with itself.

“This is what they call: When two tigers fight, the fox profits!”

A slightly childish voice came from inside the black dragon’s mouth, repeating the phrase:

“We profit~”

The smug expression on the white dragon’s face immediately turned affectionate.

“Is my little one awake?”

The black dragon opened its mouth wide. A little black-and-white dragon poked its head out. Its body was divided right down the middle, with the left half black and the right half white.

It wanted to swim out, but the black dragon’s teeth were positioned at just the right angle, leaving only enough room for it to stick its head out.

The little black-and-white dragon still couldn’t speak very well, so it could only express itself by repeating what others said.

“Awake~”

The white dragon leaned closer and gently rubbed its enormous head against the little one’s.

“Stay nicely inside your father’s mouth and don’t be naughty. Otherwise, when they start fighting in a moment, the waves might sweep you away, and then you’ll never see your mommy and daddy again.”

The little black-and-white dragon only half understood. It was itching to get out and play.

“Naughty~”

The white dragon spoke gently. “You can’t.”

The little black-and-white dragon replied, “Can~”

The white dragon remained gentle. “No.”

The little black-and-white dragon insisted, “Yes~”

The white dragon continued speaking gently.

“Don’t make me beat you up.”

This time, the little black-and-white dragon understood.

It immediately settled down. It stopped mimicking its parents and obediently tucked itself farther inside the black dragon’s mouth.

—The little one was actually the biggest reason the two dragons had been so reluctant to move away.

The dragon race had no such concept as respecting the elderly or protecting the young. Dragons had enormous appetites, so there could only be a few dozen dragons at most in any given sea. If their numbers grew too large, the food in the ocean would be consumed too quickly, potentially leaving everyone with nothing to eat.

Adult dragons also found it very difficult to kill one another. The most likely outcome of a fight was that both sides would inflict serious injuries on each other.

And then another dragon would benefit from their misfortune.

As a result, adult dragons generally tried to avoid fighting other adult dragons.

However, whenever they encountered a young dragon that wasn’t related to them, most would choose to go over and kill it.

Mortals might call this b*llying the weak and fearing the strong, but the demonic beasts themselves saw absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Therefore, dragons with offspring had to be extremely careful.

Raising a young dragon to adulthood in familiar waters was already difficult enough.

If they moved to an unfamiliar sea, their child’s chances of survival would become terribly, terribly low.

Fortunately, they’d found an excellent solution that would allow them to preserve their strength while also driving away those demons.

Once the deities killed the demons, more than a dozen dragons would also be dead in the ocean, leaving plenty more room for raising their child.

The more the two dragons thought about it, the happier they became. Their bodies pressed tightly together, their little one tucked safely inside the black dragon’s mouth. They secretly watched the sky above while eagerly anticipating the great battle that was about to begin.

It probably wouldn’t be long before the fighting started.

They waited for a while.

Then they waited a little longer.

Gradually, the black dragon began to sense that something wasn’t quite right.

“Are there… a little too many deities up there?”

It was now morning, and the two dragons could clearly see that the sky above was already packed with deities.

And this so-called packed sky was continuing to expand outward.

By now, from their perspective, practically the entire sky was filled with deities.

The white dragon was also dumbfounded.

“Does the Hu Xuan Sect really have such an extensive divine lineage?”

“How would I know?”

When the sky was filled with ten thousand deities, the two dragons had rejoiced, convinced that the deities would definitely win against the demons.

When the sky was filled with hundreds of thousands of deities, the two dragons gradually began to feel a little overwhelmed.

Were those demons really that difficult to deal with?

But if so many deities had gathered here for something other than fighting demons, what else could they possibly be here for?

When the sky was packed with a million, then even ten million deities, the two dragons began thinking about making a run for it.

Fine, they’d move to another sea! At worst, they’d just have to risk getting injured to kill off the few dragons already living there.

However, as they submerged themselves and swam rapidly toward the open sea, they soon discovered that the seabed ahead had somehow become covered in enormous, glittering golden nets forged from divine power.

And when the two dragons were blocked by the nets, unable to leave Myriad Stars Sea, and had no choice but to surface and investigate, they finally realized something:

Why were there even more deities gathering overhead?!

“Greetings, fellow Daoists.”

A voice suddenly rang out without warning, nearly making the scales of both dragons stand on end.

Several hundred robust-looking divine figures suddenly appeared all around them, their bodies looking just as powerful underwater as they did above.

Every single one of them had arms that looked strong enough to tear a shark apart with their bare hands.

Under the two dragons’ horrified gazes, the deities extended an invitation.

“We are divine officials serving under the Great Luo Heavenly Court of Blue Sea. We have come here today because the four seasons’ rain and dew require officials to oversee them.”

“We have heard that dragons are skilled at controlling rainwater. Therefore, we have specifically come to invite you, fellow Daoists, to take up the position of Rain Official, overseeing rainfall across the land and protecting the common people.”

The two dragons: “…”

Huh?

Divine officials? Them?!

The deity speaking smiled politely and raised the head of a demon in his hand.

“While searching for you, fellow Daoists, we encountered this creature. Only then did we learn that the dragons have been suffering from the harassment of demons. Today, on behalf of the Heavenly Court, I can promise you this: If you join our Heavenly Court, then from this day onward, should you ever encounter danger, every divine official in the Heavenly Court will spare no effort to come to your aid.”

Spare no effort to come to their aid…

With countless deities gathered overhead and the head of a demon held out before them, the white dragon felt as though its entire world had gone slightly hazy.

So, did that mean that from now on, whoever attacked them would have to face every deity who had come to Myriad Stars Sea today?

The black dragon was just as stunned. It was so overwhelmed by the shock that it even forgot to keep its jaws tightly shut.

A little black-and-white dragon head cautiously poked out from inside its father’s mouth, secretly peeking at the imposing deities before them.

The deity at the head of the group noticed it and smiled warmly.

“Little Dragon Lord is adorable. Once you join the Heavenly Court, when you grow a little bigger, you can become a Rain Official too.”

The smile meant that he liked it. The little black-and-white dragon, which had been somewhat timid just moments ago, immediately grew bolder.

It eagerly mimicked him.

“Divine official~”

The white dragon and black dragon exchanged a glance.

That was right. The two adult dragons could manage just fine no matter what happened to them.

But their little one desperately needed a powerful backer.

The two dragons quickly reached a decision.

“All right. We accept.”

The white dragon was still somewhat cautious. It lowered its voice and tentatively added:

“But we have one condition. We want to continue living in Myriad Stars Sea in the future. Also, would you be willing to help us get rid of the demons here?”

A ball of flame appeared out of nowhere in the leading deity’s hand. In just a few seconds, the demon’s head was burned to ashes.

He simply washed his hands in the seawater, then broke into a smile.

Immediately afterward, he somehow produced a long, golden-glowing staff.

The other deities followed suit, each taking out an identical staff.

The golden divine power radiating from the staffs made the bulging muscles in these deities’ arms look even more imposing.

“Of course.”

He smiled confidently as he gave his assurance. Yet, strangely enough, there was also a hint of anticipation in that smile.

“The Venerable Emperor has issued an order: Anyone who harms an official of the Heavenly Court, regardless of rank, is committing an offense against the Heavenly Court and must be punished according to the Heavenly Laws. Since these creatures have harmed our Rain Officials…”

“Not a single demon in this place will be spared.”

…

Above Myriad Stars Sea.

A massive seagoing vessel was sailing forward.

“Master, we’re almost at Myriad Stars Sea.”

The sect master, who had been meditating inside his cabin, slowly opened his eyes.

“Is everything ready?”

“Everything is ready.”

The sect master nodded and stood up, his expression stern.

He walked onto the deck and formed a Wind-Controlling Seal with his hands, urging the ship to travel even faster.

“Those demons dared to slaughter the cultivators of my Hu Xuan Sect. Today, Hu Xuan Sect will make them pay!”

With the Wind-Controlling Art boosting its speed, the ship sailed rapidly forward for a while before finally entering the waters of Myriad Stars Sea.

On the large vessel, the cultivators had already equipped themselves with their magical artifacts and prepared for battle. But when they saw the scene ahead, every single one of them froze in place.

This included the sect master of Hu Xuan Sect.

His eyes widened as he stared at the sky above Myriad Stars Sea.

At least a hundred million deities were hovering in the air.

An enormous net forged from divine power had enveloped the entire sea.

The deities stood in layer upon layer in the sky, looking down from above like a gigantic tower.

Amid the demons’ screams, they gazed down upon all of Myriad Stars Sea.

<< _ >>

The post Safe City Ch.220.2 first appeared on A Wandering Potato.

Liang Jihua felt as though he barely recognized the world anymore.

In the past, when they went undercover in plain clothes to strike up conversations with people, no matter how convincingly they disguised themselves as ordinary passersby, they would still arouse suspicion before they even got close. But Jiang Xia was something else. She had dressed herself up to look so thoroughly unsavory, yet the pickpocket had actually taken the initiative to approach her!

What was this supposed to be?

Birds of a feather flock together?

Well, now that he thought about it, it actually made sense.

It was much like committing a minor crime as a token of allegiance. Once someone knew the other person had a criminal record and was one of their own, they would naturally feel more at ease than they would with a complete stranger who approached them out of nowhere.

Having quickly come up with a reasonable explanation, Liang Jihua cautiously resumed observing the two people talking, paying particular attention to Jiang Xia’s behavior.

He was still a little worried.

Pretending to be someone else during a demonstration at the station was one thing; conducting an actual undercover investigation was quite another.

During the former, they could call a halt at any time, and the questions had already been prepared in advance. Deep down, they also knew that even if the performance went badly, it wouldn’t matter. Their minds were therefore completely at ease.

A real investigation, however, was different. There was only one chance. They had to stay in character the entire time. They couldn’t call a halt, and there was no script to follow. Everything depended on their ability to improvise. The slightest slip could expose them, ruining all their previous efforts and potentially putting them in danger.

Under such circumstances, an undercover officer’s psychological pressure would increase dramatically. Maintaining the act for an extended period would be extremely difficult.

And Jiang Xia had hardly ever conducted undercover investigations involving disguises before. That made Liang Jihua all the more worried.

Please, don’t let her slip up!

While Liang Jihua was still worrying, the vegetable vendor in front of him noticed that he was merely picking up vegetables and looking at them without asking the price. The vendor hurriedly called out:

“Hey, comrade! You’ve picked out so many. Are you buying them or not?”

Liang Jihua snapped back to his senses.

“Buying, of course I’m buying! How much are your loofahs per jin?”

“Fifty-seven cents per jin.”

“My goodness! Prices have gone up again? Why don’t you just rob people instead?”

“I’d rather not get robbed myself!” the vegetable vendor retorted irritably. “These are already the cheapest you’ll find. Take them or leave them!”

Liang Jihua: “…”

Were even vegetable vendors getting this bad-tempered these days?

He began bargaining in a perfectly ordinary tone. “I’ll take one jin. Fifty-five cents. If you won’t sell it at that price, I’ll just leave.”

“All right, all right! Fifty-five cents it is.”

The vendor picked out several large loofahs and put them into a cloth bag. He then hooked the bag onto a steelyard and adjusted the sliding weight. Once the two sides balanced, he subtly lowered the scale a little, letting the customer see where the weight’s cord was positioned.

“One jin and half a liang. I’ll charge you fifty-eight cents. Pay up.”

Liang Jihua didn’t have any coins on him. He pulled a thin stack of banknotes from his pocket, counted out six ten-cent notes, and handed them over.

The vendor took the money and lifted the fertilizer sack lining the bottom of his vegetable basket. After checking that nobody nearby was paying attention, he slipped the banknotes directly into a hidden compartment in the sack. Only then did he take two one-cent coins out of a box underneath and hand them over together with the vegetables.

“Here you go. Your change and your loofahs.”

Liang Jihua had noticed the man’s little trick of hiding the money, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he pretended not to have seen it, took out the cloth bag he’d brought from home, and packed the loofahs inside.

He glanced at Jiang Xia again, careful not to stare for too long. Seeing that she was still chatting with the pickpocket, he turned his attention to the other vegetable stalls.

Just like the vendor in front of him, they all kept their money in containers out in the open.

This was a rule forcibly imposed by those criminal gangs. All the money earned from selling vegetables had to be left where they could see it and take it whenever they pleased. The vendors had no choice but to secretly hide some of their earnings if they wanted to bring a little more money home.

Those gangs really were ruthless. Just look at what they’d driven these poor people to!

Shaking his head, Liang Jihua finished stuffing all the loofahs into his cloth bag and stood up, preparing to leave.

Just then, a middle-aged woman carrying a vegetable basket walked over. She glanced at the loofahs and asked, “Will you sell them for forty cents a jin?”

The vendor waved his hands vigorously, firmly refusing.

“No, no! That’s way too cheap.”

“Forty-two cents a jin. If you won’t take it, I’ll leave.”

As she spoke, the woman turned around as if to walk away.

The vendor panicked.

“Forty-five—forty-three! Don’t go! I’ll sell them to you for forty-three!”

The middle-aged woman stopped, satisfied, turned around, and squatted down to pick out some loofahs.

Standing nearby with his cloth bag in hand, Liang Jihua watched the entire scene in a daze. He was completely dumbfounded.

You vegetable vendors sure have some complicated tricks up your sleeves!

Taking the lesson to heart, he immediately did what any ordinary person who’d been cheated would do: he started arguing with the vendor.

“What do you mean by this? Didn’t you say that was your lowest price? Why did you charge me fifty-five cents but sell them to her for forty-three? Give me my money back!”

“I’ve already sold them to you. The transaction is complete. No refunds.”

“No way! How can you rip people off like this? You’re giving me my money back!”

Using the argument as an excuse, Liang Jihua remained where he was, occasionally keeping an eye on Jiang Xia.

“Hey, miss.”

By the wall in the corner, the pickpocket continued questioning Jiang Xia.

“Where are you from?”

“Changfu Street, in Tongluo Alley. My name’s Ren Xuefang.”

This time, Jiang Xia wasn’t making up an identity on the spot.

Although they weren’t particularly optimistic about Jiang Xia’s chances of successfully infiltrating the gang, the criminal investigation detachment had still made thorough preparations. They were worried these people might investigate her background, so to avoid blowing their cover, they’d specifically found a real person to cooperate with them.

The girl had been discovered by Captain Feng’s team while they were investigating the criminal gang. Her age, height, and build were all similar to Jiang Xia’s. She also didn’t have a job. Normally, she earned a little money through hard work by going with her younger brother to the countryside to buy vegetables and resell them.

Unfortunately, while they were selling vegetables, someone had harassed her. When her younger brother stood up to defend her, he’d been beaten up as well. The whole family was furious and worried. So when the criminal police came knocking and asked to borrow her identity, she agreed immediately.

On top of that, the girl’s family circumstances were rather unfortunate. She had managed to collect the full set: a gambling-addicted father, a seriously ill mother, and two young brothers. Her motive for committing crimes practically wrote itself. Anyone hearing her story would find it entirely believable.

Ren Xuefang was currently staying somewhere else under police arrangements, while her gambling-addicted father was busy chatting with the police.

As long as nobody dragged Jiang Xia back to the girl’s home and asked the neighbors to identify her, there was absolutely no chance of her cover being blown.

“By the way, big brother, I haven’t asked your name yet. What should I call you?”

“Me? They call me Bighead.”

Bighead thoroughly enjoyed being flattered, especially when the person flattering him was a young, pretty woman. He took another satisfied puff of his cigarette. Watching the smoke slowly drift away, he not only had no suspicions about her identity but also began lecturing her from his lofty position as a seasoned veteran.

“See? This is what happens when nobody shows you the ropes. You can’t go around answering one question and immediately spilling your entire background like you just did. If someone gets arrested later, they’ll sell you out in a heartbeat to get their own sentence reduced!”

“Oh, so there are rules like that too?”

Looking at the pickpocket’s head, which was noticeably larger than an ordinary person’s, Jiang Xia didn’t even need to act. She immediately understood.

She clasped her hands together as though paying respects to a Buddha and said gratefully, “Thank you so much for telling me that, Brother Bighead! I’m really completely clueless right now. I don’t know anything about how things work.”

“That’s normal. Everyone starts out that way.”

Putting on the air of a senior, Bighead advised her, “From now on, give yourself a nickname. Don’t go around telling everyone your real name and where you live.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Jiang Xia nodded earnestly before pressing further.

“Big brother, are there any other rules around here? I heard that people in our line of work have to pay their respects to the local boss and establish connections. Who should I go to?”

“Now that’s a good question. Of course you have to pay your respects to the local boss.”

Bighead pointed toward a middle-aged man sitting under a tree in the distance, enjoying the shade.

“See that guy in the white undershirt, sitting under the tree? That’s Brother Deng. He’s the one who runs things around here. Whatever you steal, you have to give him half.”

“Half?!”

Jiang Xia sounded genuinely shocked. Her voice shot up, but then she realized she’d spoken too loudly and quickly lowered it again.

“Isn’t that way too much? We work so hard to steal all that stuff, and he just takes half of it! Can’t we give him a little less?”

Hearing Jiang Xia ask that, Bighead suddenly felt that the cigarette in his hand wasn’t quite so enjoyable anymore.

After all, he’d originally become a pickpocket because he wanted to be a mover of wealth. He’d hoped to get rich in one fell swoop, cut out the middleman, and take the money straight into his own hands so he could lounge around at home without a care in the world.

Who could have imagined the reality would be so different? After putting in so much hard work and effort, he could only keep half the money!

The more Bighead thought about it, the more miserable he felt. He let out a sorrowful sigh and said helplessly,

“There’s nothing we can do about it. All the crowded places are already occupied by Big Willow and his men. They absolutely won’t allow anyone else to encroach on their territory. For small-time operators like us, having to pay tribute and still getting to keep the other half is already considered pretty good. In some places, they don’t allow anyone else to steal at all. If you dare operate there without permission, just watch! You might make a score in the morning, but by the afternoon, someone will have you pinned down. Either you’ll get a good beating, or they’ll send you straight to the police station, making sure you can never do this kind of work again.”

As Jiang Xia listened to him complain, she wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

With China’s enormous population, competition was fierce in every line of work. Even pickpockets formed gangs, banded together, fought over territory, and exploited those below them. The competitive pressure was no less intense than that exerted by the vegetable racketeering gangs.

“Is it really that difficult?”

She frowned sympathetically, then tried to steer the conversation toward the criminal gangs.

“Sounds like this line of work is even worse than going to the villages to buy vegetables and resell them. If those people hadn’t been so aggressive, leaving me absolutely no way to make a living, I wouldn’t have thought of getting into this business. Sigh… Those people really don’t leave ordinary folks like us any room to survive.”

“Tell me about it!”

Bighead nodded indignantly.

“They gang up together to exploit poor people like us, while they live like kings, eating and drinking their fill! You have no idea. Those people eat meat and drink alcohol at every meal, and they’re even bigger gamblers. They can lose several thousand yuan in a single day!”

Gang up together? Gambling?

Jiang Xia immediately picked up on those key details.

It looked like the pickpocket boss and the leader of the vegetable racketeering gang were closely associated. They even had a habit of gambling together.

Gambling required a crowd too. With too few people, it was generally impossible to play for such large sums. Besides, Bighead was only a low-level pickpocket. If the gambling stakes weren’t substantial, or the operation wasn’t large enough, he wouldn’t even have heard about it.

Jiang Xia had a feeling there was a major gambling den somewhere, a place big enough to accommodate these people as they indulged themselves.

If she could just find a way to get inside…

An idea struck her. Her eyes filled with longing as she exclaimed in admiration, “They’re really that rich?”

“Of course they are!” Bighead pointed at the more than a hundred vegetable stalls along the street. “The vegetable racketeering boss collects protection money from all of them. That’s six or seven hundred yuan in income every single day. You tell me, are they rich or not?”

After saying that, Bighead suddenly felt he’d made those people sound a little too impressive, so he hurriedly added:

“But don’t think having all that money is such a good thing. Those people are literally risking their lives for it. In my opinion, sooner or later, that bunch will either end up dead in the streets or get arrested by the cops. They’re nothing like skilled professionals like us. Sure, our work is a little tiring, but even if we get caught, we’ll be back out in just a few days.”

As he spoke, Bighead looked at Jiang Xia and sighed regretfully.

“It’s just that your skills are really too poor. You’d need to practice for several months before you could make a living at this… Do you still have any food left at home?”

Jiang Xia’s lips twitched. She forced a bitter smile.

“No. There’s only enough food at home to last another ten days.”

“Well…”

Looking at Jiang Xia, Bighead felt a little conflicted.

He quite liked this girl and genuinely wanted to help her. But a small favor was one thing; spending a large amount of money and effort was another. He certainly wasn’t willing to support a grown woman for several months without getting anything in return.

Still, she was a woman. Even without any particular skills, there were easier ways for her to make money. She could simply use her looks.

An appropriate place immediately came to mind. Bighead wanted to tell her outright, but then he thought that if she really went there, it would ruin her life. She might as well remain a pickpocket.

After hesitating for quite a while, Bighead finally tried to persuade her, while also sounding her out.

“Our line of work is illegal. It’s not exactly a respectable way to make a living. You’re not that young anymore, either. Why don’t you find a man and get married? Once you’re married, you’ll have a place to live and food to eat. You wouldn’t need to do this kind of work anymore.”

Jiang Xia blinked.

She immediately realized what the other party was getting at.

Because of biological differences, when a woman was driven into a desperate situation, there was one last, ruinous way she could turn to for money: selling her body. Bighead had obviously thought of this and was hesitating over whether to act as her pimp.

Having figured it out, Jiang Xia wasn’t angry.

When she’d come here, she’d already considered using the advantages of her gender. She just needed to find out first who exactly Bighead intended to introduce her to.

With that in mind, Jiang Xia lowered her eyelids, turned her face away, and spoke sadly.

“My dad’s a gambling addict. He’s lost everything our family owns. My mom is sick, and I still have two younger brothers to support. What decent family would be willing to marry someone like me?”

“Your life really is tough.”

<< _ >>

The post Criminal Master System Ch.71.1 first appeared on A Wandering Potato.