Chapter 205: I'm Afraid the New Year's Firecrackers Are Too Loud

Why fight them head-on?

Why play games with them on the chessboard and by the rules chosen by the opponent?

Since they were dead anyway, then... why not be a bit more aggressive and drag a few more people down with them? See if they could pave a path to survival?

If they couldn't determine the enemy, they would determine the opponent first.

If there was no path, then they would go find the Sin-Eroding Cult and demand one.

Everyone was used to being regular troops, used to life-and-death struggles, to the point that when the situation reversed and they were in the shoes of their former opponents, they hadn't thought of this style of fighting that had caused them so much suffering, nor could they estimate the wildness of a recidivist Ember like Ji Jue...

In that case, shouldn't they let the Sin-Eroding Cult experience the pain the Anquan Bureau once felt?!

Endless whack-a-mole, endless wanted criminals, endless evil parties to suppress...

"Is there any potential here, Brother Shan?"

Ji Jue looked up and asked.

Tong Shan pondered for a moment and nodded solemnly: "Yes."

"With such a big scene, the Sin-Eroding Cult might even have a Heavenly Human sitting in command now," Xu Guan poured a bucket of cold water. "If things go wrong, we'll just be delivering ourselves to them."

"But with such a big scene, how many can a Heavenly Human actually manage?"

Ji Jue laughed: "Even Tao Gong, with his Heavenly Eye hanging high, overlooking the entire region, doesn't he have places he can't reach?"

Otherwise, how could the mole have passed information out from under Tao Gong's nose?

"With such a large setup and so many people, even if the Sin-Eroding Cult and the Long Jihui are as thick as thieves, they can't possibly be huddled together in one place and leave everything else unattended, right?"

Ji Jue looked at Tong Shan.

To this, Tong Shan nodded decisively.

This wasn't some speculation or conjecture, but a simple management problem—to spread out such a large setup meant they inevitably had to distribute manpower all over Quancheng.

For the convenience of dispatching, or to avoid friction, or because they wanted to keep a few little thoughts or secrets, the Long Jihui couldn't possibly just lie down under the nose of the Sin-Eroding Cult; split management was the simplest method.

Even the Anquan Bureau, represented by the Heavenly Human, had to split into the First, Second, and Third Departments in Yacheng, separating into so many jurisdictions... If everyone could gather together, meet every day, and live together to cultivate tacit understanding and bonds, wouldn't that be wonderful? Was it that they didn't want to?

If one wanted to count on subordinates to have initiative, one couldn't expect them to also be puppets who asked for instructions on everything and discussed following orders every day.

Knowing how to handle things, knowing how to do things, knowing how to carry the burden, and knowing how to stir up trouble were four rings that were almost completely nested together.

Occasionally having an assistant like Tong Shan, who was worry-free, steady, and could balance the Anquan Bureau and local Yacheng forces, was truly a blessing; more often, there were people like Yu Hanguang who loved to fish, Lu Shenzhou who loved to slack off, Zhao Chengping who loved power, and even... Wen Wen who loved to roll up her sleeves and flip tables.

Reality wasn't a mobile game. If you mixed a bunch of R-cards, N-cards, and SSRs in one warehouse, they would be beating each other's brains out within three days, and Wen Wen could even get an MVP screen for friendly fire.

And this was the Heavenly Human!

The Heavenly Human, who emphasized order, integration, and rules the most among all the Supreme Good!

Could the flies crawling out of the gutters of the lower nine-streams like the Sin-Eroding Cult really be of one mind and share a common hatred? What kind of dream were they having? Just looking at how decisively Yan Chong sold out his teammates was enough to know what kind of shit these guys were on a daily basis.

It was imaginable that internal power struggles and life-and-death battles were the norm. Even if the Long Jihui and the Sin-Eroding Cult were in deep cooperation, they might have to fight it out first to compete for the right to speak. And situations where other powerhouses like Yan Chong held troops in self-respect would not be rare.

If they were both going to fill the front lines, why did my baby have to have one more than the other family? For the same supplies, why did the neighbor have one more crate than me?

Thinking of this, Ji Jue began to sympathize with their management.

To be able to knead such a bunch of motley crew together, they must have eaten quite a lot of stomach medicine and blood pressure pills, right?

"After suffering a loss once, the Sin-Eroding Cult will definitely learn a lesson; the manpower dispatched this time will only be more, not less, not to mention they have to monitor all the routes."

Ji Jue said: "As long as we seize the opportunity while other parts are internally empty, it's not impossible to catch one or two middle-to-high-level members and escape along the Sin-Eroding Cult's routes."

The movement routes within Quancheng were confidential; it was impossible for everyone to have a copy.

The intricate Quancheng protected the Sin-Eroding Cult, but it also trapped them inside. They were such a makeshift operation that to avoid someone being stupid and leaking the secret or the news, those with low authority probably only knew one or two internal activity routes.

If they wanted to truly find a path out of Quancheng, catching small fry was useless; it had to be someone who could manage things and had a say in decision-making meetings.

The key to this plan was the time difference.

Raid their branch before the Sin-Eroding Cult reacted, and then leave Quancheng before the alarm spread.

This was the most feasible retreat path Ji Jue could find at the moment.

If this path didn't work, then they could only hunker down and wait for rescue, which was equivalent to a slow death. Or, they could gamble on luck and find a Time Ruin that was currently gestating, just like everything the Sin-Eroding Cult had done in the past, hiding inside it and drifting out of Quancheng.

But the feasibility of this plan was too low, and the chance of success was also too low.

It was almost equivalent to wishful thinking.

But even if they chose to raid the Sin-Eroding Cult, there was a crucial problem placed in front of everyone.

Quancheng was so big, where the fuck was the Sin-Eroding Cult?

"Brother Shan, do you have any clues?"

Ji Jue looked at Tong Shan, who was pondering and considering.

And Tong Plant, just smiled.

They understood each other without a word.

"As expected..." Ji Jue breathed a sigh of relief.

This hand was already half-stable.

After killing Ling Zhi and repelling Yan Chong, when Tong Shan was hanging high in the sky, he hadn't just been focusing on showing off.

Even though the internal and external troubles were worse than ever, it was still enough to easily crush a few unlucky kids to death. And the reason he hadn't blocked those surviving small fry from fleeing...

You're baiting the trap, aren't you?!

No, wait, you kid, you might have planned this long ago, right?!

"Are you really a Heavenly Human?" Ji Jue was suspicious.

"Genuine and authentic."

Tong Shan said, "It's precisely because I'm a Heavenly Human that I have to distinguish between work, off-hours, and overtime."

He smiled meaningfully. "When I'm not being Tong Plant, I'm actually quite flexible."

The Heavenly Human was the integration of order, not the integration of idiots. Civil servants having to follow rules and civil servants loving to find loopholes weren't contradictory; it was just that it wasn't as wild as Ji Jue's ideas...

One had to prepare for everything in two ways; one didn't seek the best, but one absolutely must not seek the worst.

Originally, after thinking the squad had lost its retreat path, he had instinctively left a few marks on the fugitives, seeking nothing more than to follow the vine to find the melon, to see if there was a chance to hide in Quancheng and find clues about Commander Lou.

He admitted that Ji Jue's plan had an element of gambling.

But he really liked it from the bottom of his heart.

"Any interest in joining the Anquan Bureau?"

He invited him again. "Part-time is fine too. The Third Department has more budget than it can spend every year, and all consumption is paid for by the Federation. I really think highly of you."

"Do you hate the head of the Third Department that much?" Ji Jue asked in return.

Immediately, Tong Shan choked and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

And so, the plan was set.

Three hours later, on the edge of Quancheng.

In the dancing white mist, a dilapidated house between illusion and reality hid silently in the shadows.

In the deathly silence, there was only a rustling sound, vaguely echoing from the cracks, roofs, sewer pipes, and even the corners of the street edges.

Insects, inconspicuous like black dots, crawled quietly in the corners, spreading out and vaguely shrouding the entire street and the nearby area.

Spying on everything.

From time to time, insects would crawl into the door frame, falling into that overly noisy 'darkness'.

Under the flickering lights, the scattered poker cards on the table were left uncollected, and beer bottles were thrown everywhere.

Cigarette butts in ashtrays and disposable paper cups and rice bowls piled up like mountains, mixed with leftovers, emitting a pungent odor, but that odor was mixed with sweat, grease, and foot odor, as if it were an unmanaged university dormitory, wafting with a 'fragrance' that haunted one's soul.

"Fuck Yan Chong, fuck Ling Zhi, fuck Xu Ling, fuck the Tianxin Society..."

The fatty leaning on the chair smoked, cursing incessantly: "Those pieces of shit just snapped their fingers, 'Oh, I have an idea,' and then they poked such a big hole for you.

Poking the hole is one thing, but everyone is almost dead, and they still let the Anquan Bureau people run away! Can you believe it? Two against one and they couldn't win, losing face!

And then, they actually had the face to come and tell your daddy: 'You guys, go and guard this place, don't let a single fly fly out...' I can go fuck your mother!

We brothers were doing just fine in Huangzhou, but we got called to this ghost place, waiting around like we're in prison every day. That guy Lu Changsheng has been a Sacrifice Master for too long, his brain has a hole in it; he doesn't even know what he's thinking every day!"

"Hey, Big Brother, times are different now." A subordinate next to him advised: "We're all working for the Cult."

"Working? I'll fuck your work!!!"

The fatty opened his mouth, swallowing the insects that crawled into his hand, chewing and tasting them with a crunching sound, reading the pheromones, still cursing: "I think the Sin-Eroding Cult will be defeated by his hands! Being ridden on the neck by the Long Jihui to shit, and finding such a bunch of Deep-Abyss lunatics, and now doing big things under the limelight of the Anquan Bureau? I think they're just afraid everyone isn't dying fast enough! And that guy called... called what... Jian... Jian what? The old fogey Jian Yuan!

Just mentioning this makes me..."

As he cursed, his movements stopped abruptly, as if he had paused in place.

He grabbed another handful of insects and threw them into his mouth, juices splattering.

Unbelievable.

He looked outside the door. "They're really coming this way?"

"For real?" The subordinates were surprised; those lying down and those sitting up all straightened their backs, looking at each other.

"Send a signal to the back! Quick!"

The insect-eating fatty grinned, and between the folds of his fat, one compound eye after another opened on his face: "This time we've earned it! Everyone, prepare immediately..."

Under the pursuit and observation of countless flying insects, a broken car full of weld scars and patches drove silently into the alert range, cautious and completely soundless.

Even though it was just a short road, it twisted and turned, ensuring there were no pursuers behind it.

But just as it was about to enter the encirclement, it seemed to notice something, braking without warning, then speeding away in reverse, running wildly.

"Stop it! Stop it for me!"

The fatty lying on the roof widened all the eyes on his body, and countless thin wings like a dragonfly's instantly grew from his back, taking to the air and pursuing closely!

Like a desperate situation, under the encirclement and interception of many cultists, the car with no way out was finally forced into a dead end under many attacks, with no path to survival.

The heavy armor was full of scratches, billowing smoke, spreading.

A headlight fell off from the broken cable, hitting the ground, flickering dimly.

No more movement.

"What the hell is that?"

The fatty stood in the distance, suspicious, raising his hand to signal all his subordinates to increase their vigilance.

Then, he looked at the one standing at the very front and pursed his lips.

The sluggish subordinate stiffened for a moment, and under the urging of his gaze, he swallowed his saliva, put away his weapon, and carefully moved forward, gathering his courage, cursing with foul language, and finally pulled open the car door.

But the car door seemed to have been unable to bear the burden long ago; with just a pull, it fell to the ground with a clatter. Then, the corpses inside slowly tumbled out, the thick, bloody smell so pungent.

"Corpses?" The scout poked his head in, dazed, looking into the carriage, where, among boxes piled up in a mess, it was filled with incomplete corpse parts.

The stench was overwhelming.

"It's all corpses!"

The fatty frowned, pushed aside the subordinate who was in the way, and walked up, tearing open the car skin. The corpses, whether incomplete or complete, were exposed. However, when he reached out and grabbed one, he couldn't feel any weight at all.

His expression grew increasingly gloomy. He suddenly tore off the skin of the 'corpse', but what was pulled off was a thin piece of white paper with only two words written on it.

【CORPSE】!

And the moment the Aether disguise was punctured, the thick, bloody smell also turned into the smell of chemical agents so strong it was pungent.

"I fuck your..." The fatty's expression changed drastically. Without a second thought, he abandoned the burden and turned to run wildly.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

At that moment, in the final flicker of the headlights, came the engine's final sigh of satisfaction and exhaustion.

To be able to run this one last trip...

It said, 【That felt fucking great!】

—BOOM!!!!

A wild stream of flame spread, smoke rose, and the firelight ascended into the sky, causing the dark clouds above the firmament to appear scorched red.

The loud noise blew into the distance amidst the gale, continuously merging with the sporadic loud noises coming from other areas of Quancheng, stretching on endlessly, rising everywhere.

"Whew~"

Ji Jue whistled, looking at the flash of fireworks: "That's quite a scene."

Just consider it an early New Year's greeting.

I wonder if our friends in the Sin-Eroding Cult like the surprise delivered to their door. ===== CHAPTER 206 =====