Chapter 140

Chapter 140

Before the two survivors could hesitate, their bodies moved against their will. Grief twisted their faces as they joined the end of the funeral procession and began to wail.

Guiwa approached from outside. His mouth twitched at the sight.

“Seriously? Things have already reached this point. Do we really have to follow every step of the ceremony?”

At the head of the procession, a mourning Fiend held a stone against his chest. He raised a placard that read: THESE ARE THE RULES.

Guiwa stared at him.

“I understand the one carrying the portrait, the one scattering funeral money, and the one playing the suona. But why are those fellows carrying a tree?”

“It’s the coffin,” the mourning Fiend’s placard replied. “Pig-Head will shape it later.”

Guiwa had no words.

Elsewhere, Hu Lai and Anna fled for their lives.

They soon reached a small village.

“Keep going! Only three minutes left!” Anna encouraged him.

Every other member of their team was dead. Of the two hundred who entered, only they remained.

Hu Lai pleaded with the entity inside him. “I’ll accept any condition. Just save Anna and me. Please!”

The normally arrogant Fiend remained silent.

“I can’t.”

Hu Lai could hear its voice trembling.

“None of them can be overcome…”

Slash!

Blood sprayed across Hu Lai’s face. He turned in shock. A massive butcher’s knife had pierced Anna’s neck, and Pig-Head stood beside them without anyone noticing his arrival.

“Run…”

Anna managed one word before her head spun from her shoulders and struck the ground. Her eyes remained fixed on Hu Lai.

“Aaaah!”

He clutched his head and screamed. Anna’s death shattered something inside him. Yin energy surged from his body, his eyes turned crimson, and he attacked Pig-Head in a frenzy.

Crack!

Silver light flashed. Hu Lai split cleanly in two.

“Watched too much television? You thought rage would give you a power-up? Pathetic.”

Pig-Head snorted and dragged both corpses toward his house.

[Ding! Mission failed. I must admit, you people were incredibly brave. Have a thumbs-up!]

“Wait!” Guiwa called.

Pig-Head turned. “What do you want? Haven’t you eaten enough? These are the only two I managed to catch.”

“It seems Little Ye attracted these people.” Guiwa showed them Liu Ye’s photograph.

The other Fiends gathered around. Clearly, they were delighted with this delivery.

“So what?”

“It proves Little Ye has enemies outside. Send one person back so they keep causing trouble for him. The busier he is, the less likely he is to come home!” Guiwa smiled deviously.

Naturally, they would have to alter the survivor first. They could not allow him to reveal what existed here. They feared nothing-except the possibility that Liu Ye might return.

“Of course!”

The Fiends gazed at Guiwa with admiration. These enemies could never kill Liu Ye, but they might at least inconvenience him.

“No wonder you never grew taller,” Father Liu said admiringly. “All that cunning weighed you down.”

Guiwa stared at him.

If Father Liu did not know how to compliment someone, he could simply remain silent.

Several minutes later, space rippled inside one of the Illuminati’s bases. Hu Lai fell out, covered in wounds and barely alive.

“Why is he alone? Where are the others?”
The people inside the base rushed over in alarm. Hardly an inch of unbroken skin remained on Hu Lai’s body.

Someone immediately injected him with a syringe of pink liquid.

Hu Lai coughed up blood and opened his eyes.

“What happened?” the person in charge demanded.

Hu Lai gazed blankly at him.

“We… encountered Liu Ye’s subordinates. We wiped them all out, but… we also…”

He vomited another mouthful of blood and fell unconscious.

The base commander was delighted. Their losses might have been severe, but that did not matter. They possessed plenty of money and time and could manufacture another batch whenever they wished. Their backers lacked nothing if not money.

Liu Ye’s side, on the other hand, had supposedly suffered catastrophic losses. The commander hurried away to share the good news with his superiors.

At Rose Apartment, the Driver was using his newly purchased phone to call a friend.

“Brother, I can’t thank you enough. Yes, yes. Of course. I’ll bring him over right away!”

He ended the call, expertly removed the SIM card, smashed the phone with a hammer, and swallowed the card.

“Done!”

The Driver made an okay sign, then carefully put away a telephone directory as thick as a dictionary.

The assembled Fiends stared at him.

He was utterly shameless.

“Why are you all looking at me? This job is different. In the past, we always tried to find Liu Ye a permanent solution. I think that was our mistake.”

“What mistake?”

“Why insist on permanent employment? Temporary work is fine! I found him a construction job carrying bricks. Two hundred a day, with lunch included. Doesn’t that sound perfect? Even if his bad luck kills another employer, it’ll only be the subcontractor. We can always switch to a different crew. He just needs to last a few days. Hahahaha!”

The Fiends fell silent again.

What a despicable bastard.

The next morning, the Driver took Liu Ye to register at the construction site.

“You don’t need to worry about anything else,” the foreman said. “Just carry bricks.”

“Great! I’m good at this. I’m very strong.” Liu Ye nodded enthusiastically.

“Then get to work.”

After the foreman left, the Driver gave Liu Ye one final warning.

“Remember, nothing else concerns you. Even if bombs fall from the sky, ignore them and keep carrying bricks. Understand?”

Liu Ye solemnly promised not to cause trouble.

The Driver nodded and returned to the apartment. He dared not remain outside for long, lest someone find him.

And so Liu Ye began his delightful brick-carrying career. He worked with astonishing effort, hauling enormous loads at remarkable speed. The foreman could not praise him enough.

The other workers quickly grew resentful.

“What is that brat trying to prove? I hate people like him,” one complained.

“What should we do? Teach him a lesson?” another asked with a grin.

The group nodded. One man approached Liu Ye.

“New guy, stop carrying bricks. The foreman wants you to use the jackhammer over there.”

“But I don’t know how. And I promised my big brother I’d only carry bricks.” Liu Ye scratched his head.

“Do what you’re told. Why so many questions? I’m in charge here. You have to listen to me.”

“Oh.”

Since the man put it that way, Liu Ye could only obey.

It did not take long for something to go wrong.