Chapter 47: Why is the Red Scarf So Red?

PS: Sorry everyone, this book has already reached 100,000 words and still hasn't been signed. I don't know if there is any hope left, so everyone shouldn't hold out too much hope either.

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This thick black Qi was completely beyond everyone's expectations. Jiang Yuanzhan and the others were hit head-on by the black Qi in an instant. For a moment, various negative emotions welled up in their hearts—some hateful, some sorrowful—and with bloodshot eyes, they couldn't wait to have a massive slaughter.

At this moment, even the slightest unpleasant memory, even if it had happened a long time ago, was magnified countless times, causing people to fall into a state of madness from which they could not extricate themselves.

An Awakened under Jiang Yuanzhan could not control the inexplicable rage in his heart. He found everyone an eyesore, finally lost his reason, and suddenly launched an attack on his comrades beside him. This completely ignited the fuse on everyone's nerves, and a chaotic battle unfolded right then and there.

Even Jiang Yuanzhan himself was caught up in it.

His strength of will was clearly incomparable to that of an ordinary person, and his cultivation was also much higher, but even so, he could only barely guard his mind. While forcibly suppressing the negative emotions churning incessantly in his heart, he had to defend against attacks from his subordinates. He was stretched thin, and since he couldn't bring himself to strike back heavily, he was powerless against the situation before him for a time.

Outside, everyone in Rongcheng saw this black Qi rising into the sky, like the wolf-smoke lit on the deserts of ancient times, bringing with it some kind of ominous omen.

Some people thought it was a tornado, but they were quickly refuted by others. Not only did it look nothing like a tornado from its shape, but where would a tornado come from in this Xichuan Basin?

Even though they were far away, this black Qi that had slightly dissipated affected many people's minds. Coupled with the recent series of strange changes, it had long since made many people jittery. For a time, chaos ensued, triggering one car accident and stampede after another.

At this very moment, outside the large pit, amidst the bewildered gazes of numerous military police, Zhang Wei leaped up from the pit and climbed onto the machinery hanging overhead in a few moves. He shouted in a concentrated voice: "Soldiers, retreat immediately! Do not touch this black Qi!"

Although the military police at the scene were not Awakened, they were armed with firearms. Once they lost their minds and started a wild shooting spree, the consequences would be no worse than those caused by a crazed Awakened. Therefore, Zhang Wei felt that the top priority was to evacuate these people as quickly as possible.

However, how could these troops retreat at will without orders? An officer-looking man pressed his hand on his gun holster, stepped forward with red eyes, and shouted: "What happened down there? Where is the Jiang Department?"

Zhang Wei waved his hand: "No time to explain, go quickly, go quickly."

The officer cursed "MMP" in his heart. You damn guy, you wasted the effort of these two sentences—you could have explained it clearly, couldn't you?

After a moment of silence, the officer said: "Can you come down and talk? Since you won't let us touch this black Qi, why are you standing inside it?"

Zhang Wei's figure was covered by the black Qi, making him appear indistinct. He shouted righteously: "I am suppressing the demons inside the black Qi! Otherwise, you would have been finished long ago. Go quickly, I can't hold on much longer!"

Since when do you suppress demons while sitting lazily and crossing your legs? Who are you trying to fool?

The officer was half-doubting. No matter how he looked at him, he didn't look like it. Suppressing demons? Do you think you're the Supreme Old Lord?

Although he couldn't retreat just because of these words, he didn't dare to ignore them either. He could only order everyone to pull back in a circle, keep a slight distance, and stand guard at a distance that was neither too far nor too close.

In fact, Zhang Wei was indeed not lying.

He had been contaminated by the black Qi before he even climbed out of the large pit. While the people below were fighting fiercely, Zhang Wei discovered that not only did the black Qi fail to affect him, but it actually brought him quite a bit of Resentment Value income.

Absorbing ownerless Resentment, +9, +9, +9...

Although Zhang Wei couldn't figure out why this Resentment could be generated out of thin air, it didn't stop him from enjoying the income brought by the black Qi.

Although the individual Resentment wasn't much, the rate of increase was fast—it was refreshing three or four times almost every second...

Moreover, Zhang Wei discovered that he hadn't completely absorbed these ownerless Resentments. It seemed that this materialized Resentment wasn't so easy to absorb, and the generation of Resentment had nothing to do with him. The amount he absorbed was at most one percent of what was inside... or even less.

Thinking of this, Zhang Wei felt very, very uncomfortable.

If he could swallow all this Resentment alone, there would be at least hundreds of thousands... no, at least a million Resentment points, right?

This was equivalent to watching banknotes burn right before his eyes.

However, it was precisely because he was in the center of the black Qi that the black Qi overflowing outward had been absorbed by him, making the Resentment contained within much thinner, allowing the surrounding military police to maintain their sanity and not go crazy and fire their guns.

At this moment, Zhang Wei couldn't see the movement at the bottom of the pit, but from the muffled echoes that came up from time to time, he could guess that the fierce battle below was still raging.

But even if he went down, it would be useless. The black Qi at the bottom of the pit was too much and too thick; he could only absorb a small portion of it, which was completely insufficient to restore the sanity of those caught in the thick of it, and they could only remain trapped in the quagmire of the chaotic battle.

Fortunately, this burst of black Qi erupted suddenly and disappeared quickly. About three minutes later, the black Qi gradually weakened and faded, finally disappearing completely.

Zhang Wei took a look. In just this short while, the Resentment Value he had harvested had already exceeded six thousand, and he couldn't help but sigh with regret.

Thinking that Jiang Yuanzhan and the others were still down there and he didn't know how they were doing, and that there was no telling what other tricks were lurking in the dark inside the Underground Palace, Zhang Wei didn't want to take the risk. But thinking about the 50,000 yuan that hadn't reached his hands yet, if something happened to Jiang Yuanzhan, this trip would have been in vain.

Just as he was hesitating, the officer walked over and said with a solemn expression: "Little comrade, can you go down and investigate the situation?"

Zhang Wei was silent for a moment, then suddenly said: "Who are you, and for whom?"

The officer was stunned. Why did he start singing a red song? As someone from the military, he was most familiar with these lyrics.

So he tentatively replied: "My comrade, when will you return?"

Zhang Wei glanced at him, his expression solemn: "For Rongcheng, for the people!"

After saying this, he leaped toward the bottom of the pit, with a tragic and heroic momentum of never returning.

The officer's tiger eyes filled with tears, and he raised his hand to salute silently. He thought that if this youth encountered any mishap, he would be uneasy for the rest of his life.

In his view, Zhang Wei's two questions were merely to state his position.

Who are you? Naturally, a soldier; for whom? Naturally, for this country and the people.

Although I am not a soldier, I will not let you fight alone, and I can also do my best for the safety of Rongcheng and the people.

Thinking of this, the officer was filled with emotion, his heart surging: I didn't expect such a great breadth of mind and consciousness at such a young age. He is truly a modern Wang Erxiao; it is rare indeed.

Zhang Wei returned to the bottom of the pit and saw everyone lying scattered on the ground, dead or alive. Only Jiang Yuanzhan still had his eyes open, but he was also slumped on the ground, covered in countless wounds, panting incessantly.

With his cultivation as a department head, he would never have been injured by these subordinates. It was just that he had suffered internal injuries from the start, and coupled with the fact that he couldn't strike with full force, he had fallen into his current predicament.

Seeing that the other party was still alive, Zhang Wei finally breathed a sigh of relief: For my 50,000 yuan!

Jiang Yuanzhan said with a straight face: "Are your eyes not blind anymore?"

Zhang Wei said casually: "It's fine after being smoked by the black smoke... Let's go up quickly."

As he said this, he prepared to carry the other person on his back.

Jiang Yuanzhan was speechless. What kind of eyes do you have? Being smoked by smoke actually makes them better? Can you find a decent excuse?

"No rush, you go down first and take a look. Yiming and two brothers fell in."

Zhang Wei frowned and looked at the bottomless pit under the slope, feeling a bit annoyed: "I'm just a little Young Pioneer, is it appropriate for you to order me around like this?"

Jiang Yuanzhan said sternly: "Why is the red scarf so bright? It is because it was dyed red with fresh blood."

Zhang Wei was speechless for a moment, thinking to himself: When did a serious Jiang Department head like you learn to change song lyrics?

He only heard Jiang Yuanzhan sigh and say again: "I won't force you; you've already done enough. I don't want to use money to tempt you anymore; this is, after all, a life-threatening matter... You go."

"Are you sure you're not leaving?"

In the darkness, Zhang Wei's voice could not be discerned for joy or anger.

Jiang Yuanzhan waved his hand and said indifferently, "I'm not leaving. Sometimes, even when you know you are powerless, you cannot retreat; and there are some people with whom you must advance and retreat together."

Zhang Wei shook his head and climbed upward without saying a word; Jiang Yuanzhan lowered his eyelids in some disappointment and said nothing more.

Suddenly, Zhang Wei, who had already climbed more than ten meters, jumped back down, his falling figure kicking up a cloud of swirling dust that covered Jiang Yuanzhan's head and face.

"You had better use money to tempt me instead."

Zhang Wei dropped these words and threw himself into the deeper darkness.