Chapter 266: Kill That Big Cheetah Man

In the Dark Alchemy Society, this group that likes to use living people to refine elixirs in pursuit of immortality, even the bona‑fide evil god Wendigo thinks they're too stupid, their brains not enough, and recruiting them would corrupt the atmosphere as live lunatics, so Death God initiated an alchemist dark duel.

…Not every alchemist can have a beautiful "deck" like Ji Ming; most of them don't even have a prescription that guarantees no side effects after drinking, and rummaging through the potion chest yields only heavyweight formulas.

Thus the so‑called alchemist dark duel feels a lot like the old Tianmen thugs' "hardcore" fights: the two sides must brew potions on the spot, then taste their own creations, and must change the prescription each round until a winner emerges.

As for determining the winner, first, the side that dares not drink loses.

For an alchemist not to dare drink his own medicine shows a lack of reverence for the Potion God's ancient edicts, brewing and treating haphazardly—damnable!

Second, those who dare to drink…

"You really drink it?"

Who can match Death God's poison resistance? People are now sipping the "Biochemical Nuclear Bomb" bit by bit to boost resilience; the piled corpses are enough to form a squad.

Naturally, he single‑handedly tore through the entire Dark Alchemy Society, downing eighteen cups of exotic deadly toxin without faltering, leaving behind a field of bodies poisoned to death.

Ji Ming, bearing a Death‑Seal talisman, stood aside and silently watched the whole contest, gaining a certain understanding of the current abilities of his peers in this world.

"That's too brutal—using a blonde girl's 9 p. m. foot‑washing water as broth; this prescription can even be written down and boiled publicly for drinking."

No wonder the Iron Chain Squad originally, when they saw us catching all kinds of poisonous insects and lizards for raw materials, acted as if it were nothing, completely normal—so my formula is definitely normal…

But even the most outrageous things have reference value; what if after learning it I use long‑forgotten skill points to upgrade it from trash to treasure?

Thus, with a compassionate attitude toward clearing his peers, Ji Ming began rummaging through their corpses, extracting numerous items from their grim, demon‑possessed faces.

"Hmm, why does this foot‑washing water guy still have a little shoe emitting a rice scent in his arms?"

…

"My apologies, my apologies, it's still your XP monster."

However, besides the dazzling array of materials and the seemingly nonsensical notes, Ji Ming also found some faith‑related items on them.

Looking up, at the deepest part of this circular hall directly opposite the door, there indeed stood a seated girl statue with a smiling face, left hand holding a vial, right hand a ladle, a large pot before her, her torso polished to a gleam by believers' lucky rumors, reflecting faintly in the darkness.

"…So does this so‑called Potion God really exist?"

【It once existed; later it tried to research a potion that grants experience upon consumption, and ended up drinking itself to death.】

Indeed, if it truly existed, upon discovering this supreme deity descending as an alchemist, one should rush over, bow, and claim the merit of the Dragon's Path.

"Then…"

【It's not a beautiful girl at all, just a giant flying medicine bottle!】

"Ah, what a pity, the five‑meter‑tall copper‑headed, iron‑boned super‑alloy girl is really cool, huh?"

As for the succubus guild…

"What a coincidence, you came too?"

"Yeah, why did you also come?"

"Whoa, so everyone's here!"

As the Outer City's largest pay‑to‑play social platform, this is naturally the most favored destination for the majority of players.

Thus, after only sending out a few thousand people, several hundred managed to come here; everyone sincerely wishes to follow Meng De Er Mo Er Gen and other genetics pioneers to thoroughly explore the mysteries of the human body.

But when they burst in enthusiastically, hoping to see if our official site has any Easter eggs, discordant hot coffee, etc., aiming for a top‑tier achievement, what met their eyes was…

"Thick‑Gift Crab!"

Among a crowd of male and female guests, beside the stage's steel pole, a constantly bouncing and twisting… giant green pepper!

Players felt a jolt in their hearts, thinking today might be a disaster; even the red‑named merit packs stayed unopened as they all rushed forward.

No matter how they pushed doors or opened and closed eyes, every crush‑worthy girl and boy turned out to be a massive moving vegetable or fruit!

"Ahhh, I hate broccoli!!!"

Black cloaks entered, steel guns roared; similar violent clean‑up incidents occurred at almost every Outer City gang's headquarters and core industry.

One can only say that modern corporate warfare dousing a rival's money‑tree with plain water is a simple pleasure, while this physical deterrence is a ruthless move of tree‑uprooting magnitude.

If Sunlight City had a crime map, the brightest spots on it are rapidly dimming; players, using a straightforward, ancestral‑wise hardcore method, successfully lowered Sunlight City's crime rate.

However, the outbreak of arms doesn't mean indiscriminate slaughter; their targets are specific and limited, having eliminated a few arrogant gangs that swore mortal enmity yesterday.

Among them, the primary purge targeted a few groups under the Mercenary faction—settling both new and old grudges—and then the Black Gloves of the Commercial Union, who, after only two days in the city, had already heard many reports of this financial giant's beastly conduct.

Therefore, in this catastrophe, the least damaged were the small gangs under the Adventurers' Guild, since, though not bound by deep loyalty, many players have formed some camaraderie with the adventurers.

Today the Adventurers' Guild is a precarious cripple; if these already‑constricted blood‑pump routes break again, the unprotected adventurers will only face harsher conditions.

Moreover, after the operation they continued the classic tactics used against the mercenaries: ordinary members serving as volunteers, public flogging with bloodied hands, sentencing murderers to mining pits, and turning the boss's sunny‑doll into a puppet.

Thus, when at dawn the guards opened the city gates as usual, thousands of heavy criminals slated for transport to the Underground World already stood in the darkness, awaiting the tried‑and‑true forced labor and heavy corvée.

Although, due to chaotic security, many are routinely captured and executed by enemies, the guards have never seen such a massive population exodus.

One guard, terrified to the core, turned to ask the squad leader who had chosen early duty amid recent turmoil.

"Sir, should we release them…"

The meat‑fleshed squad leader scanned the countless faces—perhaps familiar comrades who dined together days ago—and could only tremble and close his eyes.

"Release them! Otherwise, if we get captured too, what then?"

Within Inner City, the daytime clash between two sides the day before had left three factions suspicious, and the nighttime gang loss further shocked them.

Then last night these Easterners boldly struck, iron‑blooded sweeping countless Outer City criminal forces, committing a terrifying spree of decapitations, which returned them to the initial stage of suspicion.

Only the earlier suspicion wondered where they came from—perhaps a major upheaval in the East?

Now the doubt is whether these damned bastards will charge into Inner City, since Inner City can't withstand such barbarians!

After all, this efficiency, this mobilization, this coordination—given their Outer City resources and layout, it would be impossible for them to achieve.

Nevertheless, between the Inner and Outer Cities stands an indestructible—provided there are no insiders—defense shield, plus passage gates controlled by elite forces of each major faction.

As long as the Easterners can't break in, it's fine to let them wreak havoc on the Outer City; once Inner City recovers, we'll go out and kill them.

But setting aside how such cowardly appeasement could even exist, let's just discuss the current division of Outer City benefits among Inner City's three factions.

The robust Mountain‑folk Mercenary Alliance can choose to ignore the damage inflicted upon them; after all, the corpses of the mountain‑folk iron hammers are plenty enough for them to divide.

The Commercial Union, which holds the lifeblood of the city's economy, can choose to ignore its own losses; after all, the poor souls in the Outer City have little profit.

But the Adventurers' Association now truly cannot endure any setback; no matter how magnanimous the players are, the objective impact still caused one or two already extremely fragile gangs to collapse completely.

Helpless, Bao Lis had to gather a few clan elders and his second‑in‑command Ge Lei De for a meeting to discuss how to respond to the current situation.

In the end, he decided he must go to the Outer City himself, to the White Wolf Clan's headquarters ancestral temple, to negotiate with their representative.

If successful, the Adventurers' Association will, by virtue of its adventurer ties, objectively become their friends, thereby raising its standing in the Inner City and regaining its footing.

If it fails, at least it can claim the noble reputation of pursuing peace and doing everything possible to protect the safety of Outer City residents—what's not to like?

—Anyway, no money needed; just negotiate a little. Social activists and the like are just born that way.

"The Outer City is chaotic nowadays; big brother, you're going to such a dangerous place, so you must be careful!"

Hearing the head of the Truffle Clan speak with utmost concern for his younger brother Ge Lei De, Bao Lis felt a warmth in his heart beneath his weary gaze.

To maintain the Adventurers' Association's position, he has been running around these past days, a painful effort, yet now he speaks with utmost boldness.

"Hey, what's so scary? No matter what I say, I'm a level‑36 professional; there aren't many people in this city who can stand up to me!"

Having said that, he rose gracefully, leading a few trusted clan youths toward the Outer City.

But among the crowd that hurried away, Ge Lei De seemed to sit sorrowfully in place, unmoving, watching his brother's back.

Indeed, there aren't many who can stand up to you…

But unfortunately, I know just one!

He waited quietly for ten minutes, and only after the outside fell completely silent did he suddenly rise and swiftly leave the temporary office building.

He hurried along the adjacent alley, and at a bend he darted, slipping into a small inn by the roadside.

The inn was dim; he calmly scanned the surroundings and tossed a copper coin to the drowsy old man behind the counter.

The old man glanced down with his eyes lowered.

"That little money isn't enough for a roasted lamb meal."

Ge Lei De produced another copper coin and tossed it over.

"Then give me a cup of coffee."

The old man finally grinned, pulled out a key and handed it over.

"Today's drink includes brandy; it really burns down the throat!"

Ge Lei De's eyes widened slightly in surprise; he glanced at the number on the key, then followed the stairs and hallway to the door of the corresponding room.

Turning the key, he pushed open the door; beside a beautiful walnut wood wine table sat a man polishing his sword.

He didn't lift his head, merely setting down his short sword and picking up the bottle.

"I just heard Bao Lis left the temporary building; what did he go to do?"

Taking the wine glass that Fei En handed over, the normally unkempt, rough‑looking man sat upright before him.

"Sir, he intends to negotiate with the Easterners, using a peaceful method to resolve the Outer City's chaos of the past two days."

Fei En raised his cup in a gesture, did not speak immediately, and leaned on the sofa to begin thinking.

Ge Lei De joined him in downing the strong liquor, discovering it was indeed Deep Forest‑origin brandy.

After a long while, Fei En suddenly spoke.

"Do you know which direction he's heading?"

"East Gate; that's the closest to the White Wolf Ancestral Temple!"

Fei En nodded, a calculating smile appearing on his face, and gestured lightly.

"Go then, prepare yourself; if all goes well, you could become the Adventurers' Association's president tonight, the sole leader of the Three Tribes."

Who would willingly be someone else's underling, even a 'good underling'—what's good about that?

Enduring humiliation and bearing burdens with Hu Mou Pi for years was for today; the Leopard People have sat long enough in this leading position, it's time for us to take it!

Keeping his back straight as if a scolded elementary student, Ge Lei De immediately stood and gave a deep bow.

"As you command! Sir, thank you for your support!"

Watching the exuberant Wild Boar People rush out of the inn, Fei En's smile grew even more smug.

Peaceful resolution?

How can you resolve this peacefully?

We Deep Forest folk hate it most when others seek peace!

If you don't cause chaos, if you don't fight, how can I profit from your conflicts?

An De Lu died mysteriously, and within the mercenary alliance the internal power is now solely ours.

Suo La is still alive, and that is probably the easiest enemy for me to handle; with a single word, the Commercial Union must change its sign.

Mi Yang was already dead before, and now Bao Lis cannot escape death either, so the Adventurers' Association will become my puppet.

Unwittingly, my opponents have fallen one after another, their pitiful skeletons paving the way for others to advance.

Thus, the turning‑point I've long awaited is only one step away—a chance I will strike today with my own hand, causing all conflicts to erupt completely!

With a 'clang', Fei En sheathed his dagger and, his mind settled, gestured to the silent adjutant beside him.

"Prepare for battle; it's time to end it."