Chapter 366: The Dignity of the Black Feather

That's the whole story.

Cheng Shuili and the other were both a bit silent; this guy's courage is far too small— they hadn't done anything yet, and he gave everything away.

And it's no wonder the Christmas Sock fell out with him; of the five hundred Game Coins, only two hundred went to them.

Cheng Shuili didn't even know what to say; they had handled the matter far too sloppily.

After Su Rui and she dealt with this person, the two kept following the trail and arrived at Shadow.

The person was still fairly clever, didn't cause any more trouble, and simply wore a pair of shorts and a gas mask, kneeling on the road, looking very much like someone pleading for forgiveness.

If it weren't for the poisonous fog outside, this guy wouldn't even want to wear a gas mask.

Just as Cheng Shuili's vehicle appeared, he bowed repeatedly while shouting: "Wuya Dalao, spare me! Wuya Dalao, spare me! It was my delusion! It was my pig‑fat clouded mind! I shouldn't have taken this job, let alone pass the task to that incompetent Wild Ghost, disturbing you! I'm wrong! I truly know I'm wrong!"

"As long as you spare my life, I'll say everything. No, no, no! I'll say it right now!"

Shadow shouted, his small eyes quietly gauging the two's expressions; seeing no sign of hostility on their faces, he hurried to continue:

"My job was given to me by my cousin! He's got prospects; he's become a deputy in Dragon Soul. He told me to contact you, and after receiving the bounty, one thousand Game Coins are mine, the rest must be handed over to him, he'll turn them in!"

"You already know what happened later. When I heard your name, I realized this couldn't be my job, so I found someone else, and didn't expect that the person I found would find another!"

By then his teeth were about to snap, yet he forced himself to continue: "Boss, the player ID you put a bounty on is 1566! But I have no idea what happened between you, and my cousin never told me anything, he just sent me to collect the reward…"

He muttered on, saying a lot more, even unaware that he was repeating himself.

Cheng Shuili raised her hand, halting Shadow's incoherent, repetitive pleas.

"Enough."

Her voice was soft, yet it instantly silenced Shadow, leaving only heavy, terrified gasps hissing through the gas mask.

Cheng Shuili stared at his disheveled state, slowly paced forward, stopping a few steps away from Shadow, while Su Rui held a handgun at her side, guarding and watching for any sudden movement.

"Everything you said, I recorded."

Cheng Shuili pulled up the system panel for him to see, "Including your identification of Dragon Soul Li Changyou's deputy."

Shadow's body trembled, his head dropping even lower.

Cheng Shuili continued, "Since you confessed fairly openly and saved me a lot of effort, you may keep your life."

Upon hearing that, Shadow jerked his head up, the eyes behind the mask exploding with incredulous glee; he was about to bow again in thanks, but Cheng Shuili's next words nailed him in place.

"But," Cheng Shuili's tone suddenly turned cold, "the death penalty can be avoided, but the living crime cannot escape. You, Wild Ghost, Christmas Sock, and your cousin who's a deputy in Dragon Soul… anyone on this line who dared to reach out must be prepared to have their claws chopped off. No one can run."

A heart‑rending scream rang out on the road.

Cheng Shuili raised her hand and wiped the fresh blood off her face; instead of continuing along that line to hunt Dragon Soul's deputy, she went after the assassin 1599.

At first Cheng Shuili and the other were extremely cautious, until a kick flung the door open and they saw the figure lying on the ground, barely clinging to life.

His mouth was filled with blood, and his limbs seemed broken.

Cheng Shuili had no doubt that had she arrived a little later, this person would have died.

She stared at the man on the ground, the vehicle's lights casting on her eyelashes, casting a small shadow that hid the turmoil swirling in her eyes.

Su Rui hurried forward, crouched to examine, and upon looking up her face was grave: "Boss, his tongue was cut, the tendons in his limbs were also sliced… the strike was clean, likely to stop him from talking."

He seemed to sense someone approaching, struggling to move his eyes, his vacant gaze meeting Cheng Shuili.

In that instant, a hoho weird sound came from his throat, his body convulsed violently, unclear whether from fear or something else.

"Dragon Soul's doing?"

Cheng Shuili's voice was light, as if asking the man on the ground, yet also as if talking to herself.

He could not answer, only mustering his last strength to stare at her, his eyes filled with despair and a near‑mad, vengeful poison.

He's actually blaming her? It wasn't her who made him like this.

He can't be hating her for not dying, can he?

That would be utterly unreasonable.

Cheng Shuili quietly watched him for a full half‑minute. Then she gave a faint smile, slowly crouched, and took the two Eternal Life Bottles from the Abyssal Ring.

Using this on him is somewhat wasteful, but spending one hundred energy stones can refresh the usage count.

Energy stones are cheap now, Cheng Shuili felt no remorse.

A drop of liquid slid into his throat, and 1599's body jolted as if pierced by invisible force. The hoho sound in his throat abruptly stopped, his vacant pupils suddenly contracted, focusing on Cheng Shuili's calm, unruffled face.

Immediately, a chilling scene unfolded.

The flesh in his mouth began to writhe and grow at a visible speed; where the tongue root had been cut, new tissue proliferated wildly, reshaping itself in an instant.

At the same time, his limp limbs emitted a tooth‑aching "Crunch", the misaligned bones auto‑realigned, the broken tendons reconnected and healed as if alive.

Within a few breaths, the man who had been barely clinging to life now lay perfectly whole on the ground.

Except for the blood‑stained body, proving the recent horror was not an illusion.

1599 jolted upright, instinctively feeling his throat and limbs, his face filled with post‑catastrophe bewilderment and disbelief.

But when he looked up and met Cheng Shuili's bottomless eyes again, the bewilderment instantly gave way to immense terror.

Cheng Shuili watched the shifting expression on his face, slowly spoke, her voice still light: "Now you can speak. Tell me, why did Dragon Soul kill you to silence you?"

1599 opened his mouth; his dry throat produced a hoarse sound, his eyes flickered as if weighing pros and cons, or perhaps fearing something.

Su Rui's gun barrel silently pressed against the back of his head.

"Our boss is asking you questions."

Su Rui's voice was colder than the barrel, "Or do you want to relive what just happened? We can take our time. Let me remind you, I'm more professional than those people, do you want to try…"

1599 shivered all over, the last sliver of luck completely shattered. He collapsed on the ground, his voice trembling with sobs and utter collapse: "I say… I say… it's Li Changyou! The leader of Dragon Soul! He sent me to assassinate you! He never gave me the promised reward, and now wants to kill me to silence me! That old fox! Beast!"

He ranted incoherently, describing how Dragon Soul had contacted him, how many resources were promised for him to use the special "Silver Charge Bullet" for the assassination, and how after the failure they turned on him mercilessly, spouting everything like beans, also mentioning Ling Yun and others, and Li Changyou's promises.

Cheng Shuili listened quietly, and when he could no longer provide new information, she gave a slight nod.

She reviewed the footage, then refocused on 1599, who was still looking at his now‑healed wounds, apparently still finding it hard to believe.

The room was quiet, only the faint rustle of clothing.

Cheng Shuili suddenly spoke, "I'll settle the Dragon Soul's debt with them; now it's time to properly settle our own debt."

1599 jerked his head up, the color draining from his face, and the body that had just recovered seemed to begin throbbing faintly again.

He stared at Cheng Shuili in terror, his lips trembling, "I… I already told you… I said everything I know!"

"You spoke, so you can still breathe now."

Cheng Shuili's voice was flat and unruffled, yet colder than any threat, "I healed you, so you should tell me this information. But the fact that you fired at me is a separate matter."

She stepped forward half a pace, and shadows enveloped the crumpled 1599 on the ground.

"You know exactly what that bullet means. Ignoring defense… If I weren't so lucky, I'd be the one lying here now, or perhaps not even have the chance to lie here."

1599's whole body went rigid, frozen by the cold murderous intent in her words; his survival instinct forced him to scramble backward with hands and feet until his back pressed against the cold vehicle wall, with no retreat left.

"I… I was forced too! Li Changyou forced me! He threatened me with my family! Moreover… that special device is now in his hands! That device has a cooling period, can only be used once a week, and consumes a huge amount of material; I really had no choice but to cooperate with him!"

He tried a final struggle, even though his words must have sounded utterly hollow to the woman before him.

Cheng Shuili Qing Qing let out a faint laugh, and there was not a trace of warmth in it.

"Everyone must bear responsibility for their choices. You chose to take the mission, chose to pull the trigger, so you must bear the corresponding consequences."

She halted, looking down at him from above, "You should also taste what it feels like to have a bullet pierce your heart; if you can survive, then your life will truly belong to you."

The moment the words fell, Su Rui's barrel had already turned, and she pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang!

A gunshot echoed within the cramped vehicle.

1599's pupils suddenly dilated as he looked down at his own chest in disbelief.

A bloodied hole was gushing fresh blood.

Intense pain surged, he opened his mouth but could not utter a sound, his body convulsing violently as he fell backward.

Cheng Shuili watched the scene expressionlessly, and only after receiving the system's kill notification did she turn and leave.

All the evidence was in hand, and now, since Dragon Soul won't declare war proactively, Black Feather will declare war!

Sneaking around doing petty moves, then acting as if nothing happened? Thinking that if we don't declare war, Cheng Shuili won't come after us?

Returning to Black Feather's territory, Cheng Shuili once again posted a notice in the group, calling all members to gather in the territory.

Because there was a celebration banquet tonight, most people treated today as a holiday, staying inside the territory, so they arrived especially quickly after the order.

Cheng Shuili stood before the crowd; she said nothing, but posted all the evidence in the group chat.

From the Christmas sock, the wild ghost's testimony, to the video of Shadow kneeling in plea, and the full recording of 1599, after being healed, identifying Li Changyou.

The crowd began to flip through, and the air seemed to solidify.

At first there was silence, a death‑like hush, only the faint wind rustling in distant fields could be heard.

Then, like a massive stone thrown into a calm lake, the chatter erupted explosively.

"Dragon Soul?! Was it ordered by Li Changyou? That old man?"

"Silver Penetrating Bullet… ignoring defense… they really want Lao Da's life!!"

"These scum! Secretly pulling such dirty tricks!"

"Lao Da! This is intolerable! We must strike back!"

Waves of angry shouts rose higher, every face flushed with fury, eyes burning with provoked flames. Someone—unknown who—shouted first, "Declare war! Annihilate Dragon Soul!"

Immediately after, that voice merged into a unified roar:

"Declare war!"

"Declare war!"

"Declare war!"

Cheng Shuili raised her hand, and all the voices instantly fell silent.

Dozens of eyes stared at her, awaiting her decision.

Her voice was clear and calm, echoing across the venue, "It seems everyone's thoughts align with mine."

"Dragon Soul first tried to turn Lingyun, failed, then resorted to this underhanded method, attempting an assassination."

"They thought that without a formal declaration, by doing petty moves, we would swallow our anger, or treat it as a mere ordinary clash."

"Today they can kill me with Silver Penetrating Bullet; tomorrow they'll use even more insidious means against any brother or sister of Black Feather."

"For such an enemy, compromise and warning are meaningless."

"Only by crushing them completely can everyone understand—"

Cheng Shuili's gaze suddenly became as sharp as a blade, her voice rose sharply, laced with cold murderous intent: "Black Feather's authority tolerates no provocation!"

The response was a deafening roar, all Black Feather members' emotions ignited completely, their battle spirit soaring.

Cheng Shuili said no more, directly opened the system panel, facing everyone; her finger hovered over the declare‑war option, her gaze sweeping over the excited crowd below, then she pressed it without hesitation.

【System Prompt: Please select a war‑declaration target】

Input: Dragon Soul

【System Prompt: Please confirm the declaration. After declaring, your faction "Black Feather" and the target faction "Dragon Soul" will automatically enter a hostile state, lasting until one side disbands or both agree to end the war. Confirm?】

Cheng Shuili's finger pressed heavily on "Yes".

【Faction "Black Feather" has declared war on faction "Dragon Soul"!】

The once bustling World Channel instantly fell into a brief dead silence.

"What the hell?! Black Feather declared war on Dragon Soul?!"

"What's going on, why are they fighting again? Black Feather has been fighting all day! Didn't they say they were exhausted? Didn't they say they were recruiting? Why declare war again?"

"I don't get it, I don't understand either."