Chapter 18

Inside the stuffy incineration room.

Three E Corpses piled up, melting in the flames like a small mound of earth.

Crackling sounds—the corpse oil splattering in the high heat.

One—two—three—four… a drawn-out beat, coming from beside the furnace fire, from Feng Mu, who was stiffly moving through his postures.

Facing the melting E Corpse's face, practicing Body Forging Exercise at half speed, looking a bit strange, seeming too disrespectful to the dead, right~

Wang Jian sat at the gate with his mouth agape, smoking, muttering in his heart: "Yesterday he practiced Basic Fist Technique, today Body Forging Exercise—does Feng Mu have something wrong with his head?"

"Is it because he can't take the College Entrance Exam after dropping out, and he's too stimulated?"

Wang Jian tried several times to persuade Feng Mu to stop—he's not taking the College Entrance Exam anyway, so what's the point of practicing?

But he didn't dare to persuade him, afraid of stimulating Feng Mu and making the other's condition worse.

"Sigh, he's really practicing terribly."

Wang Jian watched for a while, then looked away, gaining a clear understanding of Feng Mu's Bone Quality.

Stiff tendons and bones, slow movements—apart from a bit of brute strength, only a pitiful sight remained.

"How about after work today, take Feng Mu to the Black Market to wander around, clear his mind, change his thinking?"

Wang Jian still valued loyalty; he really couldn't bear to watch a classmate practice Body Forging Exercise over and over in the incineration room—it was creepy.

Wang Jian would never admit that he was afraid Feng Mu would practice a few more times and the E Corpse would run out of the furnace and sway with him.

After all, those who could become E Corpses had decent Martial Dao cultivation in life and loved it deeply; otherwise, they wouldn't qualify to walk the Evil Path, right?

Unfortunately, the three E Corpses from this morning still hadn't been shipped out.

Going to the Black Market empty-handed wasn't proper.

Feng Mu wanted to go to the Black Market, but he wasn't in a hurry; he declined at lunchtime.

"I only have one Black Core in hand—can't sell it and have no money to buy anything; going would just broaden my horizons. The priority is to level up as soon as possible."

Feng Mu could distinguish priorities.

In the afternoon, four more E Corpses and one normal female corpse were delivered.

The four E Corpses produced one Black Core; by order, it fell to Feng Mu, so now he had two Black Cores in his pocket.

Like the Long March taking another solid step—worthy of joy and congratulations.

The female corpse was a normal person, but an unnatural death, because half her neck had been stabbed apart, and a pair of eyes remained wide open until death.

Seeing Feng Mu finally stop his Body Forging Exercise, Wang Jian breathed a little easier and said with a smile: "What's wrong, didn't expect we'd burn normal corpses here?"

Feng Mu quietly looked away; although they had only met once, he recognized the deceased—she was Wang Wei's mother.

Wang Wei was killed by Zheng Hang.

Wang Wei's mother was stabbed to death with a knife.

In just one week, both died unnatural deaths and would reunite underground.

Feng Mu showed no emotion on his face, following Wang Jian's words to ask: "Hmm, we only burn E Corpses, where did this one come from?"

Wang Jian curled his lip: "By regulation we only accept E Corpses here, actually… those who understand, understand."

Wang Jian disliked handling human corpses because they didn't produce Black Cores and didn't pay overtime—it was working for nothing—so his movements were a bit rough as he hoisted the corpse and threw it into the incinerator.

Feng Mu helped out, and heard Wang Jian casually say: "Brought by the Patrol Bureau's car; heard the person was stabbed to death at the Hospital last night."

Feng Mu made an acknowledging sound and ignited the Power Switch.

The Fire Snakes darting out from the iron plate holes were not picky eaters, accepting all and swallowing the corpse.

Feng Mu had burned E Corpses several times, but burning a human corpse was his first time.

Burning Zheng Hang didn't count—only Bone Fragments were left then, so there was nothing to see.

Feng Mu stared for a while and discovered the differences between the two.

E Corpse bones were harder, flesh thicker, making noise when burned, just like their ferocious appearance—very disobedient, needing constant watching and flipping, otherwise they wouldn't burn clean.

Human corpses were different: soft bones, loose flesh; placed in the fire, you'd watch the facial skin peel and deform, the skin sack melt into mud—the whole process was indescribably quiet.

Feng Mu sighed inwardly: "E Corpses are destined to draw attention from the moment of their birth, while most people, from life to death, never make a sound to the world—they are mutes."

Wang Jian didn't think he was a mute, so he said to Feng Mu: "Next time you burn a person, just set the fire to the lowest setting—people burn easily."

Feng Mu looked at him doubtfully, his gaze seeming to ask: Are you trying to save fuel costs for the plant?

Wang Jian said like he was looking at a fool: "If the fire is too big, it's too hot."

"What you say makes perfect sense."

Feng Mu replied casually, then froze—he didn't feel hot at all.

Soon Feng Mu realized: "Because of the coldness in the bones, so I'm resistant to high temperatures—is this another hidden benefit brought by 【Iron Eater】?"

E Corpse ashes needed to be boxed for recycling and further processing.

Human corpses weren't so troublesome; Wang Jian found a basin, casually scattered them into the air, and in a short while they were blown away by the wind, leaving no trace.

Wang Jian lit a cigarette and explained carelessly: "Those sent to the Incineration Plant to be burned are all Blank Citizens with no relatives; scatter them anywhere and no one cares—otherwise they'd be sent to the Guan."

Feng Mu understood this principle too; if not for activating the system, his own end in this life would also be to be scattered into the air.

He nodded clearly, gathered his chaotic thoughts, and continued practicing Body Forging Exercise with undivided attention.

Wang Jian was rather speechless; originally he wanted to find a classmate to keep him company at work, to chat and relieve boredom between burning corpses, but instead, every day he watched Body Forging Exercise being performed here.

Isn't it,

what's the point.

Feng Mu practiced Body Forging Exercise seven times that afternoon, each session lasting an average of 23 minutes.

Wang Jian smoked seven cigarettes that afternoon, each spaced an average of 23 minutes apart.

At seven o'clock they got off work, each greeting the other with some fatigue as they went home—one physically tired, one mentally tired.

Feng Mu rode quickly; passing by No. 47 Middle School, it happened to be the time the School let out, so he deliberately slowed his speed, eyes peering, ears pricked.

Those gang hooligans holding lists were still there in the morning.

"Your name is Zhang Cheng, right?"

"I am. What do you want?"

"Where did you go after school on March 15th?"

"What do you mean?"

"Answer when asked, so much nonsense."

A hooligan with a face full of fierce flesh, comparing against the avatar photo on the list, blocked a student and was questioning roughly.

Not daring to linger too long, worry about attracting unnecessary attention.

Feng Mu only vaguely heard a few questions, pedaled his bike and rode far away.

Feng Mu thought: "March 15th is when my system activated, which is also Wang Wei and Zheng Hang's time of death."

"The Green Wolf Gang is investigating from the time of the crime!" Feng Mu's brows furrowed into a 'ba' character, "A gang, actually conducting door-to-door investigations, looks more professional than the Patrol Bureau, is there still any law?"

Feng Mu also noticed a detail: "Those hooligans didn't seek out every student and teacher, this shows they aren't blindly casting a net, but are screening with a target."

Clearly, the Green Wolf Gang has narrowed down the scope of suspicion.

This situation, in Feng Mu's presets, is the worst kind.

Feng Mu took a deep breath, mind spinning madly: "Don't panic, just narrowed the scope, not locked onto me yet, besides, I may not even be in the suspicion scope."

Feng Mu felt he hadn't left any tracks at the scene, but after all it was his first offense, confidence wasn't especially full.

Moreover, his imagined enemy when fabricating the scene back then was the Patrol Bureau, and in fact the Patrol Bureau was indeed fooled by him.

But the problem is, the enemy now is the Green Wolf Gang, will methods that worked on the Patrol Bureau also work on the Green Wolf Gang?

Not saying a street gang knows investigation better than the Patrol Bureau, but the latter's methods and routines are harder to fathom, so the situation is even more dangerous.

At least, for ordinary people, a gang's methods are certainly more horrifying than those wearing official skins, and anti-investigation effectiveness is greatly reduced.

"Can only blame myself for only watching 3000 episodes of Conan in my past life, not 3000 episodes of the Black Society, damn!"

Feng Mu locked his bicycle in the stairwell, the instant he raised his head to climb the stairs, a trace of gloomy killing intent flashed in his eyes.

(End of Chapter)