Chapter 45: Whatever Way You Want It Done

The scope of the ground collapse extended far beyond the original area; as the excavation deepened, several surrounding residential buildings became hazardous, and many households were mobilized to relocate as a result.

That night, the parade of monsters was not just the nest of strange snakes Zhang Wei had seen, but various bizarre creatures fleeing in a radial pattern in all directions; some slipped silently into the night, disappearing without a trace, while others caused such a ruckus that the chickens and dogs were in an uproar, eventually being beaten to death or captured.

To prevent the spread of panic, this information did not enter the sight of Rongcheng citizens through the media; instead, inspection efforts were simply intensified both openly and covertly.

After the incident, people from above came to investigate, wandering around with various instruments, and determined that there was a grand space deep beneath the ground; whether it was an ancient tomb Underground Palace or a karst cave with an underground river, it remained unknown for the time being.

Considering the countless demons and monsters surging out from within, Jiang Yuanzhan decided to investigate to the end; regardless of whether it was god or ghost inside, or whether it buried hidden dangers or an Opportunity, he would simply bring it all to light!

It was just that the depth inside exceeded imagination; in the end, every meter of further descent often required several times the time and energy for reinforcement work, forcing them to widen the opening again and again and re-excavate the passage in a spiral pattern.

More than a month passed, and the site of the ground collapse had turned into a large pit over thirty meters in diameter! What made people shudder was that almost every inch of soil had turned black-red, and the blood flowing from the giant monster's remains had seeped down almost like mercury...

If not for the fact that the instruments' reactions were becoming increasingly obvious, Jiang Yuanzhan, who stood guard every day, would have almost wanted to give up.

"Department Head Jiang, images have been sent up from below." A young man walked over.

Jiang Yuanzhan returned to the monitor and saw a patch of white ground exposed where the mud had been scraped away on the screen; in the dark corners where the searchlights did not reach, one could clearly see a faint fluorescence emanating from the ground.

"The people below report that this thing is extremely hard, and the drill bit cannot continue to penetrate, but look here..."

The image on the screen finally locked onto a spot; a pitted area appeared on the white jade-like ground, with a pool of black-red liquid covering it, emitting a hissing sound, and wisps of black Qi rising from the white jade-like surface.

"Does monster blood have a corrosive effect on this thing?" Jiang Yuanzhan frowned and said.

"It appears so for now. Should we clear the blood?" the young man asked.

Jiang Yuanzhan thought for a moment and said, "Leave it for now. Tell the workers to set up the supports and explore horizontally toward the surroundings; keep the movements slow."

"Understood."

Jiang Yuanzhan stubbed out his cigarette, his brows locked tightly, his eyes staring unblinkingly at the video feed on the screen.

A ground that could not be destroyed could be corroded by the giant monster's blood; why was this? What could be under this rock layer? And why did those demons and monsters flee overnight?

Early the next morning, hearing his phone alarm ring, Zhang Wei instinctively sprang out of bed and started boiling eggs with his eyes almost closed; it was only after bustling about for a while that he realized he didn't have to go to school today.

Looking again, Bai Guagua's bedroom door was wide open; Zhang Wei called out but got no response, and upon walking in, he saw that the little girl was nowhere to be found.

"Really, once you have money, you can't control your legs."

Zhang Wei yawned and complained, then suddenly remembered that he could also go out and have a delicious, hearty breakfast.

Eating eggs every single day, he was truly sick of it. Thinking of the taste of the beef noodles at the entrance of the alley, he couldn't help but swallow his saliva, so he decided to splurge for once.

After all, isn't my income starting to approach a moderately prosperous level?

Zhang Wei walked out of the courtyard and was just about to lock the door when he suddenly felt the light dim; he looked up in astonishment and discovered a large object flying toward him. Before he could dodge, with a 'Bang!', it smashed heavily onto his head.

Zhang Wei was in so much pain that tears fell; he clutched his head and looked at the object on the ground—a metal barrier weighing dozens of catties! If it were an ordinary person here, wouldn't their head have been cracked open?

I was heading out in a great mood to enjoy life, only to get hit as soon as I stepped out—even though his bones were many times harder, this blow was still too heavy!

With teary eyes, Zhang Wei cursed at the sky: "Damn you! Is there any public morality left??"

No sooner had he finished speaking than another black shadow plummeted rapidly in this direction.

"Still coming?" Zhang Wei was angry; he casually grabbed the metal barrier on the ground and swung it like swatting a fly. The two sides collided with a muffled thud, sending the flying object flying away solidly.

Absorbed Jiang Yuanzhan's Resentment, +699.

When he saw clearly that the thing rolling on the ground a few times was actually Jiang Yuanzhan, Zhang Wei felt a bit awkward.

This person is truly a big shot, and my god of wealth at that!

It's over, it's over; I don't know how much money I just swatted away...

Jiang Yuanzhan pointed at the other party, coughed up a few mouthfuls of old blood, and couldn't speak for a long time. Zhang Wei hurriedly ran over and said with a concerned expression: "Should you cough up a few more? The books say that if you cough the blood out, you won't suffer internal injuries."

Jiang Yuanzhan was so angry he almost cursed out loud: Have you read too many wuxia novels? My internal organs are damaged, how is that not an internal injury?

Absorbed Jiang Yuanzhan's Resentment, +744.

Zhang Wei hurriedly changed the subject and said righteously: "Speaking of which, who is so bold as to dare injure a national civil servant? Do they not fear the hammer of the law?"

Jiang Yuanzhan calmed down and said irritably: "That's enough out of you. There is a... there is a sum of money; do you want to earn it?"

He had wanted to say there was a mission, but thinking that the organization hadn't been officially established yet and currently lacked a name, plus Zhang Wei's personality, he changed his words in time.

Zhang Wei: "I do."

Jiang Yuanzhan:...

Zhang Wei added: "I won't do anything illegal, I won't do anything that sells my personal dignity or character, and I won't do anything that involves dying as cannon fodder... So, what's the price?"

Damn... revealed your true colors, haven't you?

Jiang Yuanzhan let out a heavy breath and said melancholically: "Ten thousand yuan!"

Zhang Wei pondered: "I can consider doing it."

Jiang Yuanzhan snorted: "Twenty thousand!"

Zhang Wei smiled: "Then let's try doing it."

Jiang Yuanzhan stiffened his face and said: "Thirty thousand!"

Zhang Wei said shyly: "My lucky number is five."

Jiang Yuanzhan's face turned black; he held it in for a long time, and finally squeezed two words out through his teeth: "Deal."

Zhang Wei clapped his hands, his expression resolute: "Whatever way you want it done, lead the way!"

Absorbed Jiang Yuanzhan's Resentment, +999.

When the two returned to the pit, Zhang Wei had also more or less understood the origin of the matter.

The once orderly construction site was now as devastated as if a hurricane had swept through; people lay scattered everywhere, and stretchers were being sent into ambulances like a flowing stream.

And nearly a thousand meters underground, an Underground Palace of unknown origin had developed a large hole under the corrosion of the blood. When Jiang Yuanzhan led his men to try to enter and investigate, countless Runes suddenly lit up on the white stone walls, and an extremely powerful shockwave erupted, blasting them from the bottom of the pit all the way to the sky; even the people on the ground were affected by the aftermath.

Jiang Yuanzhan was unwilling to give up and went deep into the bottom of the pit alone, attempting to destroy those Runes, but he was blasted out again and suffered secondary damage from Zhang Wei's attack.

Only then did he remember that he could use Zhang Wei's Great Sun Golden Pupils to destroy those Runes from a distance, so that he wouldn't have to touch them personally and end up being blasted into little stars by that mysterious mechanism.