A night breeze drifted by, carrying with it the faint scent of blood.

The concrete wall of the narrow alley was slightly dented, spiderwebbed with several fine, half-meter-long cracks that exposed the red brick underneath.

The masked man lay half-slumped on the ground, his neck snapped. His grotesquely twisted head rested against the dented wall, surrounded by a splash of crimson blood.

He had stopped breathing, clearly devoid of any signs of life.

"HUFF!"

"HUFF! HUFF!!"

His taut nerves finally allowed him to relax a fraction. Lu Chao bent over as if drained of all strength, his hands on his knees. His chest heaved violently as he gasped for air.

He stood at the mouth of the alley, half his body swallowed by the surrounding gloom.

His heart was still pounding like a drum, refusing to quiet down.

The toll of his high-intensity outburst was immense. His clothes were visibly soaked in sweat, and wisps of white steam rose from his skin, evaporating into the air.

’That was close...’

He followed the breathing techniques of his Fighting Skill, managing to calm his breathing and recover some of his strength.

Lu Chao stared at the body of the masked man on the ground, a storm of emotions flashing in his eyes.

He felt a mix of lingering fear and relief. He had killed someone.

It wasn’t as hard to accept as he’d imagined. He knew that if he hadn’t fought back, his own fate would have been far more gruesome.

That much was clear from the way his opponent had apparently been staking him out, had recognized his breakthrough to the Fighting Level at a glance, and from the methods he had employed.

But.

’Who on earth was this guy?’

Frowning, Lu Chao knew just how dangerous that fight had been.

If he hadn’t made a breakthrough in the past couple of days, and if his willpower wasn’t so strong...

...coupled with the fact that [Plunder and Grow] had revealed his opponent’s background, allowing him to stay vigilant the entire time... he might have really been done for.

Besides that...

’Rooh?’

Lu Chao frowned, recalling the strange syllable his opponent had uttered. The twisted, arcane pronunciation, the bizarre technique that had nearly frozen his mind...

He’d never heard of such a technique.

He looked at the panel again, his intuition picking up more information—’Faith in a High-Dimensional Demon God... Suspected of possessing one ten-thousandth of the bloodline power of an Elemental Demon...’

It was all so foreign, leaving Lu Chao both confused and troubled.

’Could it be that this world is hiding some other kind of bizarre power?’

’Are there other Superpower Paths besides Martial Arts, cybernetic augmentation, and transcendent powers?’

Puzzled and curious, he finally stepped forward and removed the dead man’s mask.

It was an unremarkable face with short hair, belonging to a man of about thirty. He had some stubble, but there was nothing special about him.

And yet, this was the man who had almost killed him.

’What should I do now?’

The danger had passed, but Lu Chao was faced with a tricky problem.

The blood at the scene and the body in front of him wouldn’t be easy to dispose of.

As he pondered, the sound of cheerful laughter and clinking glasses drifted from the street behind him.

The aroma of barbecue wafted from the distance, and the pink neon sign of a hair salon continued to glow.

Lu Chao narrowed his eyes, his muscles suddenly tensing.

’He remembered that this man was supposed to have an accomplice.’

...

...

「At the same time.」

Inside a sealed room in the Iron Ring District.

Dampness and mold...

The stench of sweat, urine, and other filth mingled, creating a nauseatingly foul atmosphere.

Faint moonlight filtered through the bars of an iron-barred window, casting a sliver of light into the room.

Over a dozen figures, men and women, were bound on the floor. They huddled in the shadows with numb expressions, like lambs to the slaughter, cowering as they watched the entrance.

CLICK... CREAK!

With a sound that set one’s teeth on edge, the heavy metal door slowly creaked open, and several figures walked in.

The man in the lead wore a black-robed cloak and a jet-black mask.

He glanced around at the dozen-plus bound figures, his eyes filled with disgust. He raised a handkerchief to cover his nose and mouth, clearly repulsed by the stench.

"This batch of ’goods’ is of rather poor quality."

His voice was somewhat aged. Behind him stood two figures.

One was a remarkably burly man in a jacket and black mask who remained as silent as a statue. The other was a middle-aged man in common work clothes.

"Boss, the Patrol Department has been cracking down hard lately."

The middle-aged man explained, "Plus, some vicious crew showed up in the city out of nowhere. They’re ruthless and have been clashing with the Patrol Department, making everyone panic."

"The Political Affairs Department has also raised the city’s defense level. Just managing to round up this many people was already..."

Before he could finish, the black-robed man tilted his head slightly, and his visible eyes fixed on him.

Cold and deathly still.

The middle-aged man’s face stiffened. It was as if an invisible force had seized him by the throat, and his words died in his mouth.

"I... I understand, Boss."

He swallowed hard and quickly bowed his head, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "I’ll get right on it. I’ll round up the ’goods’ as soon as possible."

The black-robed man shot him another cold glance before finally looking away.

He then turned and strode out of the room.

The man in the black mask followed close behind. The middle-aged man wiped the cold sweat from his brow, quickly waving for the men at the door to follow.

And soon.

THUMP!

The black-robed man’s steps came to a halt. He stopped in his tracks without warning.

He tilted his head, his gaze directed down the corridor toward the night sky and the high moon outside.

A flicker of confusion and surprise crossed his eyes.

’Liu Heng... is dead?’

...

「Half an hour later.」

VROOOM!!

An engine roared to life as two powerful beams of light tore through the night, illuminating the street.

Within seconds, a black Sharp Light sedan with stark, angular lines tore onto the factory street. It screeched to a halt in a fishtail, stopping just a meter from Lu Chao.

WHOOSH!!

The gust of wind ruffled the ends of Lu Chao’s hair.

The faint smell of burning rubber wafted to his nose, and two fresh black skid marks scarred the concrete.

’They’re here...’

Lu Chao, who had been standing guard by the alley, let out a sigh of relief and focused his attention on the car.

SLAM! SLAM!

With the sound of two car doors slamming shut one after another, Zhou Qiang strode out, dressed in a black suit.

"Damn it, kid, are you some kind of trouble magnet?"

"How did you get into trouble again?"

he grumbled, clearly remembering the last incident.

At the same time, Chen Junhao, dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt, ambled over with a cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Brother Hao, Brother Qiang."

Lu Chao greeted them in turn with a weary, helpless smile.

He really had no other choice. After all, his attacker was dead, so there was no one to hold accountable, and it was likely the man had accomplices.

After thinking it over, he decided that going to Brother Hao was a more reliable option than involving the Patrol Department.

"Mm."

Chen Junhao nodded. The two of them walked over, one after the other.

But their expressions tightened the moment they saw the five-fingered claw mark on Lu Chao’s chest.

"What happened?"

Chen Junhao asked in a low voice, glancing at the corpse in the alley.

"I’m not sure. It seems I was targeted."

With a helpless expression, Lu Chao explained what had happened, leaving out only the existence of [Glutton].

He included his previous encounter with the man on the factory street and his suspicion that the man might be connected to the recent disappearances.

"Oh?"

His expression turning serious, Chen Junhao took a couple of steps closer, frowning at the wound on his chest.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Zhou Qiang quickly stepped into the alley to examine the body.

"Brother Hao, I’ve never seen this guy. He’s a new face."

"Got it."

Chen Junhao nodded and continued to study the wound on Lu Chao’s chest. "How bad is it?"

"It’s fine. Not too serious."

Lu Chao shook his head. The wound had only broken the skin; it hadn’t hit anything vital.

However...

"Brother Hao? Is something wrong?"

Lu Chao asked, seeing Chen Junhao’s expression grow progressively more solemn. It was the first time he’d ever seen such a look on the man’s face.

"This technique... I’ve seen it before."

Chen Junhao said in a low voice, staring at the wound thoughtfully.

Lu Chao was taken aback, and Zhou Qiang also looked over with curiosity. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Facing their stares, Chen Junhao fell silent for a moment.

Finally, he flicked his cigarette away, its glowing tip tracing a red arc through the air.

He looked up at the night sky beyond the Iron Ring District, a hint of reminiscence in his eyes. "That was... out in the wilds..."