The Oriole

The muffled gunshot reverberated through the forty-ninth floor of the fortress.

This thing was this powerful?!

Wang Jixuan watched An Qian, the D-rank Psionicist, fall helplessly toward the ground with only half her body left. Behind his helmet, the corners of his mouth tightened.

He keenly realized...

The times had truly changed!

Considering that this anti-materiel sniper rifle was merely individual equipment, and the fortress strictly restricted powerful weapons from entering the Lower City, they actually possessed even stronger equipment!

Wang Jixuan's Dao Heart clenched fiercely. He decided that from now on, he should be a little friendlier toward Young Master Zhou and treat him as half a fellow Daoist.

It couldn't be helped. Daoist Wang had to face reality too.

The reality was—this world's spiritual energy was far too scarce. His cultivation speed was nowhere near what it had been in his previous life. Even in the Wanlijin shantytown, it had merely changed from "unable to complete Foundation Establishment before his Lifespan ran out" to "probably able to reach Foundation Establishment before his Lifespan ran out." The Qi Refining Realm was the easiest of the four Foundation Establishment stages.

Once he reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, he could withstand this shot if he was prepared. If he was caught unprepared and got his head blown off by this gun, then most likely...

Though his thoughts were somewhat complicated, they did not delay his actions. He grabbed the firearm, turned, and ran.

The objective had been completed. There was no need to linger.

He had no desire to trade sniper fire with the Black Fire Gang's snipers. He had only managed to kill An Qian because of his previous chain of calculations, as well as the weapon's built-in targeting system.

However, Wang Jixuan had no intention of letting the Black Fire Gang off so easily.

While the enemy was in chaos, he planned to quickly maneuver to other positions, charge in and out seven times, draw his gun fast, and fight to his heart's content...

Hm?

Wang Jixuan suddenly frowned. He darted to the edge of a sewage ditch, crouched low, closed his eyes, and concentrated. His joined Sword Fingers moved swiftly.

Several talismans pasted in concealed corners of the cabin shimmered faintly.

The surveillance devices Zhou Zhengde had acquired had sacrificed much performance for concealment and could only be used within a range of twenty meters.

But it did not matter. Daoist Wang had a "brand-new" system beyond technology and psionics.

A blurry image appeared in his mind.

A drunken Wanlijin Gang member was leering as he approached the trembling Ye Zi in the corner. Her shoulder clothing had already been torn away, revealing a pale bra.

She held a kitchen knife in her hand, lips tightly pressed together, her expression calm and her gaze resolute.

Wang Jixuan frowned slightly.

He looked toward the cabin. Crossing all of Wanlijin territory to return from here would take around ten minutes. If he took a shortcut, six or seven minutes would be enough.

Behind him, the Black Fire Gang had already descended into chaos. An Qian's death had filled the entire gang with terror. He could easily expand his gains next...

Wang Jixuan narrowed his eyes.

Hesitation only invited disaster.

Follow his True Heart, leave no regrets!

Whoosh!

Qi surged through his body. Like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, he shot back into Black Fire Gang territory at extreme speed.

Inside the cabin.

The drunk greedily inhaled the faint fragrance lingering around the girl after her bath as he stepped closer and closer to Ye Zi.

"Little Ye Zi, I've wanted you for a long time... Don't worry, the Black Fire Gang is fighting over there. Our people have all gone there. No one will know I'm here."

"Be good and let me strip you naked. I'll show you how fun this is. You're already a big girl. Come over, come on."

Ye Zi's little face was deathly pale, and the small hand holding the kitchen knife trembled without stop.

Suddenly.

Click.

The sound of a safety being disengaged rang clearly through the air. In the dim corner, an old woman raised a pistol and aimed it at the drunk's temple.

The drunk froze. "Hey, hey, old lady, are you serious? You have so many children. What's wrong with letting me play with one? I can pay. I really like this Little Ye Zi."

"Don't move, you filthy piece of trash thinking with his dick."

Old Madam Kong's voice was incomparably calm—so calm that the drunk instinctively stopped reaching for the pistol at his waist.

She really would shoot.

The drunk came to that conclusion with certainty.

Old Madam Kong slowly stepped out of the corner and said coldly, "Go upstairs, Ye Zi."

With a clatter, the kitchen knife fell to the floor. Ye Zi covered her mouth, tears immediately welling in her eyes as she ran upstairs with heavy footsteps.

Old Madam Kong said softly, "You made a very unwise choice. No one gets to bully my children."

"Enough, old lady!"

The drunk wore an impatient expression.

"If you dare fire that gun, my brothers will blast this place to pieces and send your children to the Pervert Zone in the City of Joy. Know your place. You're just some old hag getting by on her age—"

Bang!

The polished silver-white revolver spat fire.

Blood and brain matter burst from the drunk's head, and his body crumpled limply to the floor.

Old Madam Kong walked expressionlessly out of the dark corner, looked down at the drunk, and raised her pistol.

Bang, bang!

"Know your place, young trash."

"Why didn't the alarm system go off? Didn't I turn it on?"

Suddenly.

The black barrels of a double-barreled shotgun pressed against Old Madam Kong's back.

A somewhat burly figure appeared at the boundary between the dining room and the stairwell.

"I turned off the alarm system. I arranged for that unlucky bastard too.

"Don't move, and don't turn around. I know you're a good shot, even if you're nearly seventy."

"Xiaohua?" Old Madam Kong frowned slightly.

"Mm-hm."

The newcomer slowly shifted forward, revealing his face.

It was Thomas, without his gaudy makeup. He wore an explosion-proof vest over a black shirt, and the barrels in his hands trembled slightly.

He said quietly, "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't want this either."

Old Madam Kong's expression gradually calmed. "When did you find out?"

"When I was sixteen."

Thomas smiled.

"One time, after eating the rice porridge you had put sleeping pills in, I felt sick and threw up. Halfway through my sleep, I heard you arguing with someone else.

"Let me think...

"That time, it should have been when Wen Heisen, the Black Fire Gang's number three, came to discuss your younger brother Big Mouth Hua with you.

"I think he said Big Mouth Hua had raped a pair of twins, daughters of a mid-level Black Fire Gang manager. To protect Big Mouth Hua, he dealt with that manager and purged more than a dozen of his loyal subordinates, which caused an uproar in the gang.

"I remember what you said then with absolute clarity.

"You said you only had two sons. One had entered the Upper City and become a researcher at the 13th Institute. The other was Big Mouth Hua, who had been born through surrogate pregnancy using stored fertilized eggs. Big Mouth Hua could be disciplined however you liked, but nothing could happen to him.

"You needed genetic inheritance.

"Am I remembering wrong, Mom?"

Old Madam Kong nodded expressionlessly.

"Then what am I?!"

Thomas's voice carried a trace of anger.

"You are my child," Old Madam Kong said quietly. "That will never change. But there is a difference. Genetic continuation is how life continues, yet that does not negate the feelings between us, Hua."

"Then for the sake of those feelings, can you die for me?!"

Thomas spoke seriously.

"Only one person knows I came here today. That person is my partner, from the Upper City.

"I have three things to do: kill you, take your accounts, and blow up the underground passage here."

Old Madam Kong frowned. "You actually know about the underground passage here?"

"You can go directly down from your secret room. Either sit in that chair of yours or open the bookshelf on your side. Two routes."

Thomas smiled.

"My partner is extraordinarily capable.

"Our plan could never have lost from the very beginning. Do you know the most interesting part?

"I personally delivered the mysterious Psionicist you've been looking for right to your doorstep. Hahaha! This is so amusing! That Zhou Tiantian is wearing a Nano mask. He is Mu Liang, and he is looking for you too.

"He and his foolish partner Zhou Zhengde have always believed they could control the whole situation and gradually wipe out the Black Fire Gang.

"Please, they are just two dogs. Two dogs driven by my partner.

"He helped us find the hidden underground passage. Every message he sent Zhou Zhengde would be captured by the omnipresent cameras around Zhou Zhengde. Those cameras are interesting too. They came from another mother's twisted love. That mother feared her son would become mentally unstable, so she monitored him every moment."

Understanding appeared in Old Madam Kong's eyes. "No wonder. I always felt an unusual power around Zhou Tian. So he is Mu Liang, the accomplice who killed my youngest son."

"Yes, this is simply a perfect plan."

Thomas said with a smile.

"Now, Mu Liang has gone to kill the Psionicist in the Black Fire Gang. We helped him and Zhou Zhengde quite a lot behind the scenes, including getting him a large-caliber Sniper Rifle to ensure he could kill a Psionicist. Of course, it does not matter if he dies. The Cleansing Force will come afterward.

"Mom, only after you die can I gather my brothers and sisters back together.

"There is no need to call all three hundred back.

"As long as there are a few dozen, the bond between us will be enough to form the foundation of a gang. I have even thought of a name for the new gang: the Cabin Brothers. Cool, right?

"The Cabin Brothers will replace the Black Fire Gang. My partner has already arranged everything.

"I will fully inherit this legacy of yours, then frame Mu Liang for your death. That way, your eldest son, the Biological Affairs Minister, will hate Mu Liang. He will have no choice but to cling tightly to the military and become a blade in my partner's hand.

"It's killing three birds with one stone—oh, no, four birds, no, five birds. Anyway... give me the accounts or the list, whatever it is!

"I don't want to torture you!

"That list is extraordinarily valuable! With it, I can seize the secrets of those noble lords in the Upper City and see whose bodies contain organs that do not belong to them."

Old Madam Kong closed her eyes and sighed softly. "I can give it to you, Thomas. Not because you threatened me, but because... you are my child."

"That doesn't work on me anymore. Open your secret room. The accounts can only be in there, right?"

"Actually, they are not there. But if you want to see it, you may."

Old Madam Kong smiled.

"I hope this place can be preserved and continue helping those orphans. Everything here, I will give to you too.

"You are the most outstanding child, because you have forced me into a desperate situation.

"Inheritance will always be the most important thing."

"What is this? Crocodile tears? You had better not try anything."

Thomas spoke softly.

"Now is the best time for me to act. Every faction's attention is on the war between Mu Liang and the Black Fire Gang. No one can come save you.

"Mom, just help me out."

Old Madam Kong helplessly shook her head. Her eyes were full of serenity as the gun barrels pushed her slowly behind the desk.

There was no chair at the desk. She had been in the secret room watching the battle on the Black Fire Gang's side. When Ye Zi had been threatened by the drunk, she came out to save her and had fallen into a trap.

That was right.

Thomas had always liked playing the "oriole." He truly was a suitable heir. All she needed to do next was persuade him to ally with her eldest son, and then she would have nothing to regret.

Kong Lianmei sighed and activated the cover of a book on the bookshelf, pressing down with her thumb.

A section of the bookshelf parted outward. A circular platform below rotated outward, and behind the wooden wall appeared a chair, as well as...

A man in black clothes and a black helmet sitting in that chair.

The room instantly fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.

"Mu Liang!"

Thomas's eyes widened. Every muscle in his body tensed as he raised his gun to fire!

Wang Jixuan, the sweat on his forehead already gone, abruptly swung his hand!

Whoosh!

Two bone-piercing nails shot forth!

Holes appeared in Thomas's and Kong Lianmei's foreheads at the same time, and their bodies fell at the same time.

Daoist Wang smiled apologetically at the two corpses.

"Sorry, stress response."

He stepped out of the secret room and looked toward the window. Thomas's car was parked there, and there were two more auras inside—one familiar, one unfamiliar.

Wang Jixuan picked up Thomas's shotgun, fired one shot into the floor, then leaped out through the window.

Inside the car.

Ban Wenying, the Head of Internal Affairs's first secretary, heard the gunfire inside and formed a captivating smile with her lips.

The plan seemed to be going smoothly. Had they gotten the list already?

As long as she obtained that list, perhaps she would have an opportunity to take that crucial step forward...

A faint sound came from beside her.

Wang Jixuan pulled open the rear door and lowered himself into the car.