Chapter 265

As the sky grew dark, Sunshine City, which originally had little nightlife, gradually fell silent.

But the silence didn't mean peace; quite the opposite, the outer city had almost turned into a mentally fractured madman with multiple personalities.

It was quiet; from the tavern on the street corner to the beggars in the alleys, those night owls who should have stayed active a while longer had all shut their doors early, hiding in the darkness without daring to peek out.

Yet it was also excited; gang members swaggered through streets and alleys, hardly bothering to hide their weapons, and under their shouting, ordinary folk shut their doors and windows tight, trembling under beds and tables.

"Damn it, do you know where those damned Easterners are!"

"I saw you take the Easterners' money today; you're telling me you're their informant!"

"After interrogation, they're in the third room on the left upstairs!"

External conflict is always the best medicine to unite a divided interior; these gangs of the outer city, who once wished each other dead, are for the first time standing on the same front.

After a chaotic scramble, they prepared to follow the already scouted route, heading opposite to cause trouble for the Easterners and drag back their lost face!

But players don't need to sleep; so-called "lodging" is just lying in bed playing on their "phones", chatting with buddies on the public screen, researching where to explore tomorrow, looking for a suitable travel guide.

So the rough procedure for tonight's late-night visit is……

"Tsk, what's all the commotion outside? Could it be that even in another world someone uses little cards to order takeout?"

"Really annoying; I was just about to video chat with the little sister I met on Feixin… Forget it, I'll go out and see what's happening."

"Hey! Can you guys keep it…… ah!"

"Brothers, grab your weapons—the dog gang has come to settle scores!"

"Whoa, I thought you were just talking; did the gang really come to cause trouble?"

"Yeah, really—I just saw through the window a bunch of burly guys break in downstairs."

"Damn, brothers and sisters, let's shoulder up together!"

Thanks to the game's public screen, the gang's enforcers, who thought their ambush was a sure thing, succeeded only a few times at the start before being turned by the rested players into foolish turtles actively diving into the iron vat.

Either they had just knocked on the hotel room door, not yet seeing who was inside, when a heavy punch slammed into their face.

"You've rebelled against me—how dare you cause trouble for your player grandpa!"

Or they had just stepped into the deserted old house when they saw several armored figures smirking while holding iron pipes.

"You think you have more people? Let me see whether I have more bullets or you have more lives!"

Or perhaps……

"Ah! You actually shot hidden arrows! Wait, wait till I respawn and regroup!"

... Actually, not every player can be that excellent; there's always an unlucky soul who accidentally dies in the enforcers' siege.

In short, in an instant gunfire erupted across the city, fists and feet flew, magic was flung back and forth, from tavern to inn to dark alley, players and gangsters fought in a melee.

Amid such chaos, even the special operations team that had no grudge with the gang and was merely strolling outside for a moment during the day was ambushed by the gang's enforcers because of that Easterner's face.

However, before the two sides could fully engage in battle, the gang accidentally knocked over the inn's wine barrel, and Ji Ming tormented them with his 【Fart Technique】 until they fled in disarray, counting as a victory without fighting.

But they ran—did the players let them get away?

"Wuuu, hero, don't chase me—I was wrong, I was wrong! Please don't pursue me; can I go to the bathroom?"

"Come back! Grandma, speed up—if they escape, who will make up our missing merit?"

Thus, no matter how ferocious and cunning these gang enforcers are, facing the players' average level gap of several ranks in hard strength, they can only become helpless bags of merit and experience.

For each player they kill, they must pay ten or even nine times the price—blood spurts, severed arms fly, red and green fluids spill everywhere.

In the end, these desperate villains no longer know whether they are seeking trouble with the Easterners or the Easterners are seeking trouble with them.

They can only abandon their teammates, rush to open a path, squealing and screaming for mercy, barely managing to save their lives.

All the bigwigs were originally waiting at home for good news, but were suddenly jerked out of bed in a panic, perking up their ears only to hear such a pathetic matter.

At first some thought it was their own bad luck, that the subordinates they'd sent out just happened to run into a tough nut among the Easterners.

Or perhaps the allied little grandsons didn't contribute, all slacking off, wanting to let themselves be the first to test the waters.

As a result, the envoys sent out to rebuke each household returned bruised and swollen, faces full of sorrow, saying the bigwigs of every house are now unhappy—apparently everyone suffered losses this round.

... Everyone suffered losses? That would mean……

The bald bigwig slammed the table, seized a feather pen, and hastily wrote a plea for help, ordering his subordinates to rush it into the Inner City at dawn.

He must warn the elders of the Inner City that these Easterners' strength is absurdly strong, and their intentions likely go beyond just the outer city's underworld!

His reminder was timely and indeed reached the hands of the Inner City's bigshots, but delivery doesn't guarantee the matter will be resolved.

Because of An De Lu's bizarre death, the three houses of the Inner City, though not yet openly broken, have already come close to a state of silent war.

They know that if any one of them acts rashly, it will topple the dominoes, triggering a massive explosion throughout the Inner City.

It's unclear who will be blown up, but the fool who pushes the first domino definitely won't survive.

"—Son, your dad's sitting on a nuclear bomb playing cards with the uncles; you and the other kids can do whatever you like."

Thus, although the wording of the message from the Inner City is mild, the bigwigs can clearly see that the meaning is that the elders intend to simply ignore it.

It also warned them to avoid provoking the Easterners if possible; if they endure a little disgrace, the situation might yet turn around.

"A turning point? Things do have a turning point, but it's not theirs."

Last night the major gangs suffered heavy combat losses, each feeling they were the victims.

As long as we send something to compensate and admit fault, those Easterners should stop no matter what they say—leave a line, that's the rule of the underworld!

But in the players' eyes, the ones suffering loss are clearly themselves!

Those enforcers killed on the spot are merely a little interest; the principal hasn't been reclaimed yet, and "leaving a line" applies when settling scores for killing!

So the councilors gathered together, feeling that their heavy loss last night was mainly because the players were too scattered.

If we could form a strong iron fist and give this damned gang a heavy blow, would they still dare to be so arrogant?

Then who is the fiercest in the outer city?

The outer city's gang is the fiercest!

Then who is the fiercest individual in that outer city gang?

…what the players thought of first was White Wolf Ferlo, the overseer of all city‑defense affairs in the dungeon.

As the "top‑tier" NPC that players can interact with openly every day, the storylines involving him are already well known to the players.

This figure, hailed as Al Capone of Sunlight City, naturally also heads his own crime family, which was quite powerful at its peak.

Although the family has declined due to various calamities, its flesh is gone but the skeleton remains, allowing players to fill it in and resurrect it on the spot.

When Ferlo heard the players intended to revive his family, he got so excited he almost wagged his tail, immediately scribbling a letter clarifying his current situation and the players' identities, and told them to take it to the elder of the White Wolf clan for explanation.

Fan Taozhu then took the letter to the now cowering, feeble White Wolf clan and explained his purpose.

The old men flipped the letter over and over for a dozen times before finally realizing that Ferlo truly had not died.

Tears streaming, they wailed and sobbed for a while, then immediately agreed to absorb the thousands of players into the clan and transferred all rights.

Fan Taozhu, puzzled by their decisiveness—each signing with tear‑streaked faces like children being punished—asked.

"Besides wiping out all the gangs in the Outer City, we also have a minor feud with the mountain mercenaries; aren't you afraid of getting dragged in?"

To their surprise, the old wolves clenched their teeth, showing no fear.

"Afraid? If you can drive out all the useless pigs and dogs in Inner City, you can even make us kill ourselves on the spot without issue!"

With that, the White Wolf clan instantly reorganized, becoming the players' Black Glove in Sunlight City.

Commanding over a thousand professionals, it naturally became the strongest black evil force in the Outer City, capable of dominating the entire Sunlight City Underground World, monopolizing all the pickled‑meat trade, and gradually spreading its influence into Inner City through creeping corruption, flourishing those who obey and crushing those who resist…

"Stop, stop, stop! Is this how you write a proposal? We're a righteous faction, can the wording be a bit brighter?"

"Well… the White Wolf clan is back, we're sunny, cheerful white lotuses, how about we be good friends and have fun together?"

When the news spread, several nearby gangs, big and small, were so frightened they immediately spat out the territories they had already swallowed, returning them intact to the White Wolf; the players hadn't even uttered a word before the clan's lands were restored to their former peak.

Watching them play house in the newly refurbished Wolf Ancestor Temple, the various big‑shots who had been holed up in their lair, monitoring the Outer City all day, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

They didn't even have the courage to come by day for an explanation; it seemed they were just a bunch of foreign barbarians.

As long as the later split goes smoothly, there's no cause for worry; they might even use the chance to strengthen themselves and reshuffle the Outer City powers.

At least after some maneuvering, meeting with a smile and burying the feud should be fine, since most of the dead are on our side anyway.

But as mentioned before, the rules of the road—what rules?

Now my fist is harder, so my rule is the rule!

On the second night, in an unremarkable street of the Outer City, a burly man was fiddling with a sharp dagger.

The dim light illuminated his bald head and, through the half‑open iron gate, lit the pretty girl and white‑clad attendant moving inside.

This was the headquarters of the Crocodile Gang, a notorious yet obscure underground casino; today was a business day, and the interior was as smoky and foul as always.

Suddenly, from the distant darkness, an extremely rapid footstep sound rang out, clearly rushing toward the place.

The man didn't hesitate; as his fingers tightened around the dagger, he prepared to unleash his warrior‑apprentice battle sigil at full power.

But what era is this, who still toys with swords and sticks?

There was no sound at all, so no evasion; three arrows sliced through the air, covering a subsequent true arrow that precisely struck the guard's throat.

The arrowhead, coated with "Super Mushroom Toxin 4.0 Premium Upgrade", instantly clamped the man's throat, causing his heart to stop and he died on the spot.

"Awesome, my 【Big Spore Mushroom】, this thing really went out in one hit!"

Having taken down the guard at the door, several Easterners wrapped in black robes barged into the casino brazenly.

After flashing steel to warn the serving maids to be quiet and scram, they hurried down the corridor toward the depths.

Reaching the end of the corridor, a player grabbed a Winchester, and with a boom the delicate wooden double doors of the private room burst open.

Inside, the gang's higher‑ups were playing poker with a beauty while also playing poker, staring blankly at the Easterners who burst in.

Player: "Shitbro? Are you ok?"

Before they could discard their cards, they were riddled with gunfire at their seats, turning into blood‑filled gourds.

After elongating his tone with an authentic West Coast‑flavored "demn~", the player casually holstered his gun and left, leaving the chaotic underground casino to sink into darkness.

But this lever thing, aside from Terminators and Western cowboys, is truly favored by every mafia, so this wave, this wave is a reenactment of history.

Thus it's not only the Crocodile Gang's underground casino, the Black Gold Clan's Black Fist arena, the Gordon Society's Dark Potion Academy, and the Roaring Gang's Succubus Club…

The players, grouped by guild, became dozens of assault squads, wielding spears and short cannons, stabbing fiercely at the hearts of the major gangs.

Thus, at the Black Fist arena, the Whale Fist King—renowned for twelve consecutive invincible victories and a love of devouring live victims like a meat mountain—was brutally dismembered by Cang Lang, knocked out on the spot by a literal "three punches and two kicks", and finally had his neck broken by a kick.

The remaining goons were also exterminated by the Justice Guild according to the list from the Reward Quest, their treacherous deeds judged on the spot amid the blood‑soaked accusations of victims.