Can't I raise myself?

"Ryan, the chief is looking for you!"

His colleague shouted.

He waved his hand and walked to Jonathan's office. Jonathan was sitting in his chair, frowning in distress.

"Why are you only arriving now?"

"Uh... Chief, didn't you give me a mission yesterday? I scouted the location last night and got back late."

Jonathan nodded, not paying much attention. He beckoned Ryan over. "There's been another murder, a major casualty incident. I have urgent matters to deal with here, can you go and take a look for me?"

"A murder? Where?"

"The Snake Mouth Gang. About twenty of them were found dead together this morning. I suspect it might be related to a Transcendent. Be careful."

"Could it be the Blood Cult again?"

"I don't know. Go do a preliminary investigation first. I'll have others take over later... Damn it, these guys really don't make things easy."

As soon as he finished speaking, the office phone rang.

Ring ring~ Ring ring~~

Jonathan snatched the receiver. "Who is it?! Huh? Yes, it's me... What? Say that again!"

Slap!

He hung up the phone, his face more solemn than ever.

"Ryan, we've got trouble."

Ryan asked doubtfully, "What is it now?"

"The Snake Mouth Gang has been wiped out."

Chapter 26: A Friend Worthy of Trust

Half an hour ago.

The Snake Mouth Gang's stronghold, a large mansion in the East District.

Flames spread through the house with a crackling sound, and screams occasionally echoed from within, chilling the listener to the bone.

Because of the Snake Mouth Gang's dominance, the surrounding area was their territory. The boss lived in a large mansion, and his subordinates lived in smaller ones. Even if a citizen happened to pass by and hear the sounds from afar, they wouldn't dare to come any closer.

A gang, murderers!

These screams must be someone being tortured.

And this excellent geographical environment also created a natural advantage for 'Lin Qi's' rescue operation.

She fought her way from the main gate to the mansion, from the first floor to the second. When she found the Snake Mouth Gang boss, he was still in his room having morning exercise with a red-haired woman.

"Boss!" "Boss!"

"Hurry up and take that guy down!"

Snake Mouth Gang members, who had rushed back from outside, some with clubs, others with axes, charged up the stairs.

"It's just one person, hurry!"

"Die!"

Swish!

The bravest warrior rushed forward, swinging his axe, but it suddenly stopped in mid-air.

He froze, staring at his hand with a dazed expression, seemingly unable to comprehend what had stopped him. He never figured it out before he was sent flying.

The Silent Nun's abilities were too monstrous!

Against these ordinary people, the demon spirit's attacks basically took down one person with a single blow. Coupled with its incredible speed, even the large numbers of the Snake Mouth Gang were useless.

'Lin Qi' simply stood her ground. These people couldn't get within half a meter of her. Ignoring the chaos around her, 'Lin Qi', dressed in a gray hooded robe, walked into the room.

"You, who exactly are you!"

The Snake Mouth Gang boss, Rott, questioned her with a shaky voice, "Do you know who I am? My brother-in-law is a nobleman!"

"Baron Holder?" 'Lin Qi' said coldly.

Rott froze.

"You know that..."

"He promised you the development rights for the slums?"

"Are you here about that?"

Rott's eyes flickered. He knew things weren't that simple. The slums looked like a piece of cake, but after so many years, they remained a persistent problem for Berman City.

Those who couldn't solve the issues would pass them on to the mafia, making them the prime scapegoats if anything went wrong.

That's why Rott had initially instructed his subordinates to handle things discreetly. If anyone caused trouble, they should be killed. Killing was fine, but the noise had to be contained; it couldn't become common knowledge.

Damn it, where did things go wrong to attract such a killer!

Others might not know, but Rott had some inkling.

In this world, there exist many abilities that surpass those of ordinary humans, mastered by only a select few.

Although he had never seen a Transcendent before, he had heard many rumors about them. They were beings absolutely not to be provoked!

It was clear that the girl before him was one.

Rott said in a deep voice, "If any of my useless subordinates have offended you in any way, please tell me. Whether you want to kill or torture them, I'll drag them out for you to deal with as you please!"

"They killed my sister."

"This..."

Rott was dumbfounded.

How could his Snake Mouth Gang possibly kill the sister of a Transcendent?

"Are you sure there's no mistake?" Rott asked, unwilling to give up.

"There's no mistake. I saw it with my own eyes."

"You didn't stop them?"

"I saw it with my own eyes."

"?"

So, you saw with your own eyes that your sister was killed?

A fierce light flashed in Rott's eyes. He knew this situation was unlikely to end well. If it were him, he would do the same. If he were a Transcendent and his sister was killed by a bunch of ants, he wouldn't mind crushing those ants.

"Since that's the case, then... die!"

Bang!

Rott's hand drew from under the pillow, the revolver cocked and fired in one smooth motion. He fired shot after shot. This old gun usually had problems, but this time it was incredibly reliable, not jamming even once.

However, all the bullets fired were blocked by some unknown force. Rott suddenly felt an invisible hand grip his neck, his face and neck turning red from suffocation.

"Spare... spare my life."

"Your soul is already filthy. Let me offer you salvation."

His gun-wielding arm twisted in an unbelievable manner. As the steaming muzzle aimed at him, Rott fell into extreme panic.

Bang!

The bullet shot in through his mouth.

Rott's eyes widened as he collapsed on the bed. To his death, he couldn't understand what had killed him.

"Boss! Boss!"

"The boss is dead!!"

"Damn it! Kill her!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunfire erupted from the doorway. 'Lin Qi' quickly took cover in the room's bathroom. The flying bullets pierced the bedding, scattering a large amount of goose down. The red-haired woman was also pierced along with it.

The firepower was fierce, but it was meaningless if it couldn't hit anyone. 'Lin Qi' hid in the bathroom, her demon spirit leaping out from the shadows. She could see everything outside through the demon spirit's eyes.

"There's no point in holding back. Kill them all."

'Lin Qi' said in a low voice.

When Ryan and Jonathan arrived at the mansion, the entire house was already covered in the smell of blood.

Jonathan was the first to have people extinguish the spreading flames to prevent more clues from being burned. He then carefully examined the entire house and finally reached a conclusion.

"A Transcendent did this. It's the same person from the previous case."

"Chief, how can you be sure it was a Transcendent?"

"It's very simple." Jonathan pointed to the signs of struggle in the house. "Damage of this magnitude is impossible for an ordinary person. And have you noticed? The cause of their deaths wasn't from gunshots or axe blows, but mostly from force-based attacks."

Ryan nodded slightly. He hadn't paid attention to that aspect, but he hadn't planned to hide it anyway. There were so many Transcendent beings in Berman City; who could be sure it was 'Lin Qi'?

"Chief, we found this in Rott's room."

A police officer brought over a document.

Jonathan opened it and looked.

It was a record of an agreement signed between the Snake Mouth Gang and the housing department.

'Lin Qi' had seen it before and deliberately left it behind, waiting for the authorities to handle it.

The Snake Mouth Gang leader's brother-in-law worked in the municipal office. This wasn't a secret in the authorities; otherwise, how could they have allowed the Snake Mouth Gang to develop like this?

And behind Rott's brother-in-law, there was likely the shadow of Adler.

Ryan wanted to use this incident to drag Adler down and find an opportunity to kill him.

As for having 'Lin Qi' assassinate him, that was too risky. Adler himself was a Transcendent, and now with the Hand of Darkness helping him, the risk factor was too high.

"Damn it!"

Jonathan cursed, thinking about something he couldn't tell.

"Ryan, I'll leave the command here to you. I need to take care of something."

"Don't worry, Chief. I've got this."

Jonathan acknowledged him and left the mansion quickly, holding some documents.

When he heard about the murder in the slums that morning, he knew it wasn't simple. Now it seemed the city's little schemes had indeed stirred up trouble, attracting the attention of Transcendent beings, which was no small matter.

"You few, go check over there."

Inside the mansion, Ryan was giving orders.

He pretended to inspect the place, staying for two hours before leaving.

Investigate?

Investigate my ass!

The investigation would only lead back to himself.

News of the Snake Mouth Gang's annihilation spread quickly. Following that, the matter of the mafia taking over the slums was dug up. It wasn't just the East District; gang forces from other major districts also moved in to handle things.

Although the truth was quickly suppressed, the public's outcry against the mafia grew louder. After all, from the mafia's apparent involvement to their conclusion, coupled with the recent Black Ding Street case and the train station case, weren't the mafia getting a bit too brazen?

Did the mafia have any reputation?

Certainly not.

The higher-ups were all aware of the situation and knew someone had to take the fall.

As it turned out, Ryan's thoughts were too simplistic. Those in power banded together, and this matter couldn't even implicate Baron Holder, let alone Adler.

It made sense. Interest groups become surprisingly united at times like these, fearing anyone below them might rise up and share their spoils. Therefore, under stable circumstances, they preferred to cooperate with familiar faces.

In other words, someone was protecting Baron Holder, and that someone could be Adler, or someone else entirely.