Chapter 138
Chapter 138
“Black Cow Village?”
The Illuminati immediately searched for it, only to find tens of thousands of villages with similar names. Some even had residents named Liu Ye, but none of their photographs matched him.
“Strange. Why can’t we find it?”
“Obviously, that brat is no pushover. His family must be under his Protection. They were never going to be easy to locate.”
One member snorted and addressed another screen.
“Wang Xu, don’t you have a tracker? Let us borrow it.”
Wang Xu stopped stroking the cat in his arms.
“My apologies. I have no desire to involve myself in this.”
He was not truly a member of the Illuminati and did not have to obey them. More importantly, he wanted nothing to do with Liu Ye. Something about that man felt profoundly wrong.
The moment the others proposed targeting Liu Ye’s family, a chill sharper than anything he had felt while being tormented by his former abusers swept through him. He decided immediately that he would not join the operation.
“Didn’t he ruin several of your plans too? Don’t you want revenge?”
“Forget it. He’s a coward. Liu Ye could squat on his face, and he’d smile while cleaning up afterward. The Illuminati has more pride than that. Liu Ye has ruined too many of our operations. We will not let him go.
“Wang Xu, you don’t need to participate. Just give us the tracker. We’ll handle everything else.”
“Very well.”
Wang Xu stroked the cat so rapidly that it began to cry in pain.
“I’ll have someone mail the device to you. I wish you every success.”
He disconnected. At the press of a button, a beautiful woman entered, threw the cat’s corpse into a trash bin, wiped Wang Xu’s hands with a handkerchief, and left.
“Are you angry?” the shadow beside him asked.
“Not at all. In fact, I’m delighted.”
Wang Xu picked up the phone. He ordered a subordinate to deliver the device, then issued instructions for several personnel transfers.
“Do you know something? We’re about to acquire several new businesses.”
…
One day later, Wang Xu’s machine arrived at the Illuminati base. The tracker was nothing sophisticated. It resembled a crude shack made from sheet metal, furnished with battered old furniture.
Yet it had cost the Illuminati at least thirty billion.
[Fiendish Item: Traveler’s Cabin]
[Type: Support]
[Quality: Malignant Ghost]
[Effect: Place a piece of the target’s body at the cabin entrance to travel instantly to any location the target has visited.]
[Note: A wondrous cabin, though users may lose a body part during transit.]
That was their so-called tracker. As for a piece of Liu Ye’s body, they had recovered a tissue he had used to blow his nose from a garbage bin.
Afraid that Liu Ye might have left traps around his home, the Illuminati selected only its highest-ranking operatives for the mission.
All were products of its experiments. They had fused with Fiends, gaining their powers while retaining their sanity. They could even destroy other Fiends.
To be safe, the Illuminati deployed every successful test subject-two hundred people in total.
“You have three targets: Liu Ye’s mother, his father, and a man named Guiwa. Bring back at least one.”
“Yes!”
“Good. Everyone enter the cabin. Departure is in thirty minutes.”
All two hundred operatives crowded into the sheet-metal room.
“Whew…”
A delicate-looking young man removed his helmet and exhaled. His name was Hu Lai. He had once been an ordinary student, but entering the Fiendish World changed his life forever.
For unknown reasons, the Fiend in Hu Lai’s first mission had willingly fused with his body, turning him into a half-Fiend. Their compatibility was perfect, allowing him to use its abilities freely.
Hu Lai decided this made him heaven’s chosen one and used his powers recklessly in the real world. The Illuminati soon found him, forcibly recruited him, and put him to work.
Over time, he grew accustomed to the life. He even found it exciting.
“What’s wrong? Nervous?”
A voluptuous woman approached. Her name was Anna, and she came from Meilijia. She was normally close to Hu Xiu, while Hu Lai had always regarded her as his goddess.
“Of course. That’s Liu Ye we’re talking about. Who wouldn’t be nervous?” Hu Lai smiled bitterly.
Ordinary people might not know Liu Ye, but among players-especially those in the Illuminati-his name was infamous. He had climbed to prominence by trampling their organization beneath his feet.
They would not be confronting Liu Ye directly this time, but no one knew what safeguards he had placed around his parents.
“Hmph. If you would only accept my power, this Liu Ye would be nothing,” a voice said from inside Hu Lai’s body.
“Stop. I will never accept you,” he shouted inwardly.
“Is eating people truly so unacceptable? This world devours people every moment of every day; only the method differs. You kill people already. Why not do it another way? Wouldn’t it be better to turn them into your strength?”
“Shut up!”
Hu Lai shouted aloud before realizing it. No one around him paid any attention. They continued chatting among themselves.
“After this mission, I’m getting married.”
“Me too. I’m applying for retirement when we get back.”
“Look, this is my daughter.”
“Allen, we’ll be brothers forever!”
Another man approached. He was a German named Leonard, the overall commander of the operation.
“Is that thing trying to consume you again?”
“I’m fine. I can endure it. Excuse me-I need to rest over there.”
Hu Lai moved away from the crowd and sat alone. A faint fragrance continually teased his senses.
He feared that one day he would give in and cross the final line. After that, he could no longer call himself human.
“Time. All personnel prepare for transport!”
The announcement over the loudspeaker brought everyone to immediate alertness.
A thunderous crash followed, then a scream. Half a corpse appeared before them.
“What a bad omen,” someone muttered.
The Traveler’s Cabin carried a small risk of leaving body parts behind during transport. This unfortunate operative had suffered its side effect.
No one showed much emotion. Death was commonplace to them. As long as it happened to someone else, it did not matter.
“Move out!” Leonard ordered.
The operatives rushed through the door. The instant they crossed the threshold, the same notification rang in every ear.
[Ding-dong! Mission triggered: Black Cow Village!]
[Mission: Black Cow Village]
[Reward One: Every item in the shop becomes free.]
[Reward Two: Maximum-Level Card.]
[Reward Three: One Terror-grade Fiendish Item of your choice.]
[Objective: Survive for ten minutes.]