Zhou Zhengde sighed and spoke at length in the video:
"The situation is indeed rather bad. Mu Liang, you may not realize how serious the problem is."
"This attack you carried out on the forty-ninth floor successfully drew the attention of the 13th Institute.
"We truly hadn't expected Wen Heisen, the Black Fire Gang's third-ranking figure, to be a Psionicist—a D-Class Psionicist specializing in physical enhancement.
"Even more unexpectedly, you seriously injured him so easily. One of his eyes was ruined, and the blade you stabbed into it damaged some of his nerves, leaving him unable to conceal the injury... That helped us immensely!
"Now the higher-ups are paying unprecedented attention to the Black Fire Gang. The coalition force for the Encirclement and Suppression of the Black Fire Gang has been reinforced again, and the head of the 13th Institute stationed in Fortress 76 was directly warned by the Governor.
"You have no idea how satisfying it was to sit in on that meeting! It was so damn satisfying!
"Thank you, my dear comrade-in-arms!
"However, the head of the 13th Institute in Fortress 76, who had already given up on the Black Fire Gang, has just sent down one D-Class Psionicist and one E-Class Psionicist. They've already entered Black Fire Gang territory.
"There are now at least two D-Class Psionicists and one E-Class Psionicist in the Lower City. The E-Class one is relatively weak.
"They're there to capture you. The Black Fire Gang will also follow their orders, and there are people from the 13th Institute moving around on our side as well.
"You really don't need to fight alone, Mu Liang. We share enemies and goals. I know you may mind the fact that the Black Fire Gang's core members will most likely be allowed to survive, but that's one of the fortress's unspoken rules. They say the fortress needs these gangs... Though I despise it too, that is indeed the truth."
Zhou Zhengde sighed, his eyes filled with helplessness.
"Anyway, come back first. It'll be relatively safer here.
"I had them deliver a basic Text Exchanger to you. If you don't want to come back, you can send me a message.
"We can carefully discuss what to do. I don't mind letting your will temporarily take the lead in our cooperation, because you truly are... far stronger than I expected.
"Remember to write down the gift you gave me last time in the Text Exchanger, so I can confirm that it's you on the other end. Only then can I feel at ease paying them that expensive final payment."
Chirp!
The basic Holographic Player stopped working and returned to its state of blinking green fluorescence.
Wang Jixuan wore an expression that was difficult to describe.
The 13th Institute had sent additional Psionicists to capture him. Even the fortress's thirteenth floor was no longer safe...
He searched the middle-aged man's embrace and quickly found a small square box. Its front held a screen and a simple nine-button keypad.
Drawing on Mu Liang's memories, Wang Jixuan quickly understood how the device worked and sent Zhou Zhengde a message.
[02: Take with rice soup after burning.]
"02" represented the network ID of this text chat device.
[01: Oh no! They moved so fast! As expected of the Lower City's most elite mercenary squad!]
Wang Jixuan: Why did these words seem like they could make sounds?
He could practically imagine Zhou Zhengde's exaggerated yet perfunctory expression.
Wang Jixuan gave a simple reply.
[02: No need to pay the remaining balance.]
[01: Why? Did something happen?]
[02: They were ambushed by the Black Fire Gang.]
Wang Jixuan raised a hand and rubbed his brow.
Fortunately, only those bald monks in the Cultivation World had precepts against lying. Those who cultivated the Dao did not care about such things.
[01: Are you all right, Mu Liang? I'm a little worried about your situation. I think we can talk this through carefully. This thing has plenty of battery.]
[02: How did you find me?]
Wang Jixuan thought for a moment, then added a question mark.
[01: Very simple. Mu Liang, you exchanged the other gang currencies for Joy Coins over too short a period, and your actions were too concentrated. The City of Joy gang had already tracked your whereabouts yesterday. They came to me themselves, and I used supplies to help suppress the matter for you. The City of Joy sells the most intelligence among the seven gangs.]
Wang Jixuan silently counted himself fortunate.
Not having a transformation technique was truly troublesome.
However, transformation techniques were advanced spells that could only be cultivated in the Nascent Soul Realm. It was still too early.
[01: I can help you. Our enemies are the same, and we've fought together before. Is there something about me that you don't trust?]
[02: Thank you, but I still prefer solving my own problems.]
[01: No, no, no. This is too risky. Your value is immeasurable, and we should be more cautious. The Black Fire Gang has now brought in a new D-Class Psionicist. I remember telling you about this. Didn't you watch the recording I gave you?]
[02: Watched it. Those who sit and await death will eventually die. Break through the clouds and battle the wind to seize a chance at life.]
No message came from Zhou Zhengde's side for quite some time.
Wang Jixuan was not anxious at all. He was considering what to do next—advance or retreat. He had to make a decision now.
Advance: quickly make a simple magical artifact, kill the Black Fire Gang's boss and Wen Heisen, then capture Wen Heisen's soul.
That would inevitably involve a certain degree of risk.
Retreat: return to the thirteenth floor and cultivate for several months, waiting until his aura was full and his preparations complete.
But that carried risks as well. It might even trap him, and he would need to rely on Zhou Zhengde's faction. He would inevitably be constrained by others afterward. He might become Zhou Zhengde's retainer... That would be extremely uncomfortable.
His uncle-master's voice echoed beside his ear, as though his uncle-master were urging him to make more preparations. But after pondering for a while, he still decided to follow his True Heart.
Then he would choose the third option!
Advance and retreat at the same time.
He would ask Zhou Zhengde for limited assistance, make himself a disguise mask to conceal his identity, then find a way to infiltrate the forty-ninth floor and investigate the Black Fire Gang's boss and the Psionicists. He would absolutely not act rashly without finding a suitable opportunity, and afterward, he could repay Zhou Zhengde for this favor.
After thinking it over, Wang Jixuan sent Zhou Zhengde a message.
[02: I need a favor from you.]
[01: Good! Very good! How many Purification Force members do you need? Or I can directly ask my grandfather to mobilize the Defense Army!]
[02: No need. Help me get an identity, preferably one that can alter my appearance. I want to infiltrate the forty-ninth floor.]
[01: Is that all? (_)]
Wang Jixuan leaned back and frowned at that emoticon.
How had that been typed out?
It was rather interesting.
A moment later, the small box vibrated gently, and a line of tiny words appeared on the screen.
[01: I'll give you an answer in an hour. I need to design a new identity for you—one with a suitable reason to leave the Middle City and seek refuge with a Lower City gang. I also need to find someone trustworthy to bring you into the forty-ninth floor... After this is over, I hope we can have an open and honest talk. I feel like I'm about to become your little brother!]
[02: We can associate as equals. Brother Zhou.]
[01: Wait for my message. Protect yourself as best you can. I want to understand the miracle that happened to you. I'll send someone to find you as soon as possible. Can you set a fixed meeting place?]
[02: Where Night Hawk was shot in the head.]
[01: A perfect meeting point.]
No more characters appeared on the little box's screen.
Wang Jixuan let out a breath and tucked it into his inner pocket.
He did not want to make friends.
Cultivators in the Golden Core Realm lived three hundred to five hundred years. Those in the Nascent Soul Realm lived eight hundred to a thousand years. Those in the Mahayana Stage could live five thousand to six or seven thousand years, while it had long been rare for ordinary people to reach seventy.
If a mortal confidant or close friend were to pass away, it would stir ripples in one's Dao Heart as well.
"There's still a little trouble here."
Wang Jixuan glanced at the five mercenary team members and pondered briefly.
He would need to find a way to refine artifacts later, so it would be better to prepare more Joy Coins... Their equipment looked quite good.
"My apologies."
The next day.
The attendant who came to clean the room froze when she saw four men and one woman covered by quilts on the bed. Then, as though it were nothing unusual, she shook the service bell.
Hm? Why was there so much blood on the floor?
"Ah! They're dead... Well, it's not a big deal."
The attendant frowned and grumbled a few times before turning to call for several helpers.
She hated cleaning up bloodstains.
Meanwhile.
At the place where Night Hawk had been shot in the head, in a corner of that cluster of low buildings.
Wang Jixuan sat in the gap formed by two stacked rooftops, maintaining a posture of holding the origin and guarding the one, with a bullet resting in his palm.
He had not entered meditation.
If he gained insight after entering meditation, he would enter a state of comprehending the Dao. It would be easy to lose his perception of the outside world and become immersed in the Great Dao.
Wang Jixuan did not lack insights into cultivation. He was merely using this posture to accelerate the circulation of aura through his body and increase the speed at which he absorbed spiritual energy.
After the previous few magical battles, his Spiritual Sense had improved significantly. It could now cover an area of more than ten meters around him.
Once he completed the Qi Refining Realm and entered the Spirit Gathering Realm, his Spiritual Sense would transform into divine sense. As his cultivation improved, the range it could directly investigate would continue to expand.
More importantly...
This world had no formations or barriers!
As long as his divine sense was achieved, enemies would have nowhere to hide, and evil would meet the nemesis of the righteous Dao!
Vroom—
The roar of a motorcycle engine sounded from the distant main road. A motorbike with its high beams off slowly entered this slum district.
More than a dozen motorcycles had stopped on the main road, gathered beneath several streetlights.
Wang Jixuan hid beneath a nearby eave and watched the situation on the main road.
Under the streetlights, more than a dozen young women dressed in sexy, skimpy clothing chatted and laughed while remaining alert. They held submachine guns in their hands and wore ammunition belts around their bodies. Most had dyed their hair in bright, multicolored shades.
Wang Jixuan recognized the Silver Party insignia tattooed on their shoulders.
Were they keeping watch for the motorcycle ahead?
That person in front... As expected, she had gone to the place where Night Hawk was shot in the head.
The Silver Party had installed an enormous billboard there. It depicted a headless sniper, along with a pile of ghost-face graffiti. The Silver Party had not hesitated to spend the Lower City's precious electricity, using several spotlights to illuminate the billboard.
Wang Jixuan had chosen this as the meeting point because the landmark was easy to find, and the surrounding environment was highly suitable for one person to hide in.
The female motorcyclist who had already arrived at the meeting point rode slowly, circling again and again.
Hearing the low rumble of the engine, figures inside the surrounding buildings hurriedly shut their doors and windows tight.
Wang Jixuan stroked his chin as he continued thinking.
It would be a lie to say he was not worried that this was a trap.
A sphere floated beside the female motorcyclist's shoulder. It was an expensive integrated reconnaissance-and-combat drone, and it was what gave her the confidence to act alone.
She rode around the area seven or eight times before finally coming to a slow stop. Her long, beautiful legs wrapped in leather pants supported the motorbike. Several muffled mutters came from behind her pure-black helmet, as though she were saying something like, "Isn't he here?"
She tilted her head and called out, "Boss?"
Wang Jixuan continued to wait without moving.
The female motorcyclist sighed dejectedly. Her upright posture slackened.
She raised a hand to pat her lower back. At that moment, around the abdomen concealed by her tight leather pants and short leather jacket, there was an unobtrusive ring of belly fat.
Daoist Wang looked closely.
"Doctor Wei?"
The female motorcyclist instantly turned her head, straightened up, sucked in her stomach, and gracefully removed her helmet. Her freshly permed and dyed long wavy hair cascaded down.
Before you continue