The Gaze Striker

Searching a haunted building for something suspected to be a strange artifact was indeed difficult.

Money wasn't easy to earn.

Sitting in the car on the way to their destination, Li Yi could not help sighing inwardly.

But he had no other choice. If there had been another way to make fifty thousand yuan in a short time, he would not have accepted such a dangerous job.

The vehicle wove through the old district, bumping along the way.

Everyone in the car remained silent, and the atmosphere was somewhat grave.

"This car has been circling around. We passed this road just now. Looks like Old Crow is very cautious. I'm starting to believe what he said might be true. Heh, if we really find a strange artifact, that'll be interesting." The man in the hoodie laughed to himself.

"Since we'll be working together soon, let's briefly introduce ourselves if no one minds, so we can get acquainted. My name is Wei Li. I'm a doctor at a small clinic in Tianchang City. I came here because my daughter is ill, and I'm short on surgery fees." The bespectacled, somewhat thin man smiled as he spoke.

"Zhang Kaiwen." The man in the hoodie grinned. "I'm from out of town. I borrowed loan-shark money and couldn't pay it back, so I hid here. I'm only doing this for the money. No other reason."

"Liu Yan, local. I have some talent for cultivation, and I want to see whether I can take that first step. But cultivation costs money. My family isn't well-off, so I want to fight for myself. After all, I couldn't save a hundred thousand even in ten years of ordinary work. And even if I did earn it, I'd be older by then, and it would be too late to start cultivating."

The woman in the slip dress spoke with exceptional seriousness. Her eyes revealed the resentment and longing in her heart.

Li Yi said, "My name is Li Yi. I already told Old Crow about my situation, and you should all have heard it. I won't waste any more words here."

At last, everyone's gaze turned toward the final man, a tall, burly man with a square face.

The man sat in the car with his arms folded, his muscles bulging. Stern and serious, he spoke in a booming voice. "My name is Wang Hu. I'm from Hong Kong. Don't compare me with trash like you. I only came here because I was short on pocket money during my travels. In my eyes, you are nothing but bit players, while I, Wang Hu, am destined for greatness. I am fated to overturn this world."

"..." Everyone else.

Good heavens, why were you so different from everyone else?

As the vehicle came to a stop, a high-rise with half of its structure missing stood before them. Warning tape had been set up around it, and signs telling people to stay away from dangerous buildings were posted everywhere. The nearby buildings were likewise badly damaged, each one incomplete, as if some enormous catastrophe had suddenly struck at one point in time.

"So this is the Ruined City?"

Li Yi got out of the car and looked around, but there was no one else nearby. Many long-abandoned cars were parked on the road, while the surrounding wasteland was choked with wild grass.

Few people came to the Ruined City. It was not only because the area had suffered such terrible destruction, but also because unknown dangers might be lurking here. Only outlaws, or those who had entered the path of cultivation, were willing to linger in this place.

"Old Crow, you're late."

At that moment, the crisp sound of footsteps came from within the darkened building. Then a figure slowly emerged from the depths of that darkness. Her features could not be seen clearly, but her voice revealed that she was a woman, though her tone was exceptionally cold.

"We took a few extra turns on the road to avoid any accidents," Old Crow explained in a low voice.

The figure continued, "Only five people? Scatter this few into the building and they won't even make a ripple. Too few. There need to be at least ten."

"Investigator Wang Jian has been active around the Old Town District. I don't know whether he received some information or whether it's a coincidence, but he showed up in Wangmen Residential Area. I don't think there should be too many people in this operation, or it will be easy to expose ourselves. We don't know exactly what is inside this building, but it never hurts to be careful," Old Crow said.

"Wang Jian? I understand. You did the right thing. Other people truly cannot be allowed to know about this. Five it is, then. We'll give it a try. If it fails, we'll find another batch." The woman spoke.

"Hey, hey, from the sound of it, the five of us can only succeed and can't fail? If we don't find what you want, does that mean you'll silence us? That's not what we agreed on at the start." Zhang Kaiwen stepped forward a few paces, frowning as he asked.

But the moment his words left his mouth—

In the darkness of that building, a pair of eyes seemed to light up, as though a gaze had suddenly appeared.

Bzzzz!

At that instant, Li Yi felt his head buzz violently. His ears rang at once, his vision went black, and he could see nothing. At the same time, a nauseating urge to vomit surged up inside him.

Fortunately, the sensation came quickly and faded just as fast.

When he came back to himself, he saw Zhang Kaiwen, who had just spoken, suddenly collapse to his knees. His face was deathly pale as he let out a cry and vomited violently. Blood flowed continuously from his eyes, ears, and nostrils, making him look both miserable and terrifying.

Liu Yan's eyes widened beside him, her face showing a terrified disbelief. "That was... Gaze Strike?"

"Gaze Strike? What is that?" Li Yi immediately asked.

"Divine Gaze. Eyes that can kill. It is something that can only be mastered after truly entering cultivation. She can no longer be considered an ordinary person. At the very least, she is a cultivator who has opened her Spirit Medium." Liu Yan seemed to know quite a bit. Fear colored her voice, but so did a trace of envy and longing.

"This person has opened her Spirit Medium?" Li Yi was stunned as well.

Though he did not know much about cultivation, living in this era meant that even if he had never seen it, he had at least heard of it.

The first realm of cultivation was the Spirit Medium.

Although the Spirit Medium was the first step of cultivation, that step was a chasm that barred countless people at the door.

Because there was something wrong with cultivation in this world.

When ordinary people cultivated, they either became gravely ill or went mad and delirious, eventually dying in agony.

Even if they overcame the problems of cultivation, progress was incomparably slow. Li Yi knew of a relative's child who had cultivated at home for five years. During those five years, he did nothing every day, yet he had a huge appetite—he could eat, sleep, and relieve himself with gusto—only to gain nothing at all even now.

In the end, the relatives concluded that the child might not have been cultivating. More likely, he had been leeching off his parents.

And such cases were far from rare. Many families were like this.

Those who spent three to five years cultivating only to come away empty-handed were everywhere.

The risks and rewards were wildly disproportionate, and it wasted an enormous amount of time. That made many people give up on cultivation. Only families with somewhat decent means were willing to spend money and time letting their children try. Of course, there were also many poor families who tightened their belts to support a cultivator.

"Watch what you say next time. This was only a small lesson. Don't be so full of yourself. If I truly wanted to kill you in the Ruined City, I guarantee not a trace would be found." As the footsteps continued, the mysterious woman's figure emerged from within the ruined building.

She was tall and wore a tight-fitting outfit. A long ponytail hung to her waist, and an unmelting chill lay across her pale face. Her eyes were especially unusual, their pupils whitish, as if faintly glowing.

"Old Crow, transfer the money to them and have them begin immediately. Don't think about playing tricks. I'll be watching you from the shadows. If anyone acts dishonestly during this, I guarantee you won't leave here alive." After saying that, the woman swept her gaze over everyone before turning and leaving.

Before long, her figure blended into the darkness of the abandoned building and vanished in the blink of an eye.

"Heh, what a hateful woman. I nearly got killed. People who have truly stepped onto the path of cultivation are amazing. For a moment just now, I thought my brain was going to explode. That technique was called Gaze Strike, right? Damn it, I'll borrow from loan sharks to cultivate when I get back." Zhang Kaiwen swayed to his feet, spat, and sent blood mixed with saliva flying out.

"That hit really had some kick. Looks like this journey of mine won't be dull after all. Hahaha, I'm starting to get excited." Wang Hu laughed loudly.

As a doctor, Wei Li wiped his glasses as he said, "Gaze Strike is indeed dangerous. It seems to target the human brain, similar to a mental shock. Ordinary people have no means of defending against it. To deal with such an attack, only a cultivator who has likewise opened a Spirit Medium will do. We just don't know the maximum range of this Gaze Strike, or whether walls and buildings can block it."

Li Yi stayed quiet. He said nothing as he rubbed his still-dizzy head, lingering fear remaining in his heart.

He had probably only been caught in the aftermath just now. He had not been the main target.

Yet merely being caught in it had been this severe. If that woman had gotten serious, Zhang Kaiwen would undoubtedly have died, with no possibility of surviving.

If it was only a warning, wasn't that a little too heavy-handed? Was it because this was the Ruined City, or had those who stepped into cultivation already stopped treating ordinary people as people? Li Yi thought. Then he felt his phone vibrate.

When he took it out, the text message showed that fifty thousand yuan had been deposited.

The others received notifications at almost the same time.

Old Crow said in a deep voice, "The money has been transferred. Stop dawdling and begin. Once you enter the building, I'll slowly send you relevant information by text."

"Chat time is over. Move out, trash."

Wang Hu was the first to act. Ignoring everyone else, he strode toward the collapsed building ahead.

"Hey, Wang Hu, don't be so impulsive. Old Crow said that this abandoned building is haunted," Zhang Kaiwen said.

A quick note on updates: before premium release, there will be two updates a day, totaling four to six thousand characters.

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