Corpses Everywhere

"Did a senior send you to work at Thousand Liang Workshop? Can you reveal the identity of that senior?" He Jiaqing looked Cui Tike up and down. Apart from Green Water Bow, He Jiaqing really couldn't think of any other senior who would have any dealings with Cui Tike.

Cui Tike shrugged. "I'd also like to know which senior sent you to Thousand Liang Workshop. How about we make a deal? You tell me his identity first, and then I'll consider whether to reveal my senior's identity to you."

"The senior who sent me here doesn't like others to know his identity, so you'd better not inquire about it. Finding out will only do you harm."

Cui Tike shook his head slightly. "I'd like to give you the same advice, but I don't know if you'll listen."

To be honest, He Jiaqing found it hard to understand the relationship between himself and Cui Tike. Although the two were not close, every time they crossed paths, it was a matter of life and death.

He Jiaqing rescued Cui Tike from Bastard Slope, and Cui Tike sent He Jiaqing to the Jiang Xiang Gang headquarters. They even joined forces to deal with Green Water Bow. Based on all these past experiences, the two can definitely be considered friends.

However, He Jiaqing disliked Cui Tike, and Cui Tike also had a bad impression of He Jiaqing.

In the noisy gambling den, the two stared at each other for a long time before He Jiaqing spoke first, "If we continue like this, the problem will never be solved."

Cui Tike shrugged. "We don't have to be at an impasse. You do your thing, I'll do mine, and we won't interfere with each other."

He Jiaqing shook his head. "I'm worried that you'll interfere with me, so I think it's better for us to be honest with each other, starting with you being honest with me."

As soon as he finished speaking, He Jiaqing had a wooden box in his hand.

The wooden box belonged to Cui Tike. The two were standing face to face when the box suddenly ended up in He Jiaqing's hands.

"You actually stole my things?" Cui Tike was surprised. "Even my best friend in Pro State avoids physical contact with me as much as possible. He even used Feather Duster when he saw me off."

"What good stuff is inside?" He Jiaqing didn't rush to open the box.

"It's a keepsake from that senior. Open it and take a look."

He Jiaqing did not rush to open the box, worried that there might be a trap inside, or that it might be Cui Tike's lesion.

He held the box to his ear and said, "Let me hear what token this senior gave you."

There was a sound coming from inside the box, and it was quite loud.

He Jiaqing was stunned.

He returned the box to Cui Tike, his attitude noticeably changing. "Are you trying to use his identity to threaten me?"

Cui Tike shook his head and said, "In Pro State, many people have used his identity, but as far as I know, none of them ended up well."

He Jiaqing nodded slightly. "Please tell this senior that I have left Thousand Liang Workshop without causing you any disturbance."

Cui Tike retrieved the wooden box and responded coldly, "I have my doubts about the claim that it caused no disturbance."

A manager in the gambling den, named Lu Xiqiang, approached the two men, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and said, "Are you two here to gamble? If you want to gamble, please come inside. If not, don't block the way at the door."

Cui Tike laughed and said, "I'm here to have fun. If this brother doesn't want to play anymore, he'll leave right away."

"I'm leaving now," He Jiaqing said, glancing at Cui Tike first. "Have a good time."

He then looked at Lu Xiqiang and said, "I wish you a prosperous business."

He Jiaqing disappeared into the night. Cui Tike came to the card table, played two hands of Pai Gow, and lost both.

He took out his wallet, his expression somewhat serious.

Lu Xiqiang laughed and said, "What's wrong, brother? Tight on your money? I'll introduce you to a friend who can help you out."

A Loan Cultivator leaned closer and whispered, "How much do you want to borrow?"

Cui Tike did the math. "If it's just me, ten silver dollars should be enough, but if I include all my friends, it would probably be tens of thousands of silver dollars."

"You brought friends?" Loan Cultivator looked around.

"We brought them. A few are waiting at the entrance, and the rest are wandering around elsewhere." Cui Tike whistled, and a dozen or so men, dressed in dark red robes and hoods, entered the gambling den.

Loan Cultivator was taken aback and asked Cui Tike, "You don't believe in foreign religions, do you?"

Lu Xiqiang was also a little nervous. "You can come and have fun, but don't try any magic tricks on me. We have rules in this business, so don't ruin our feng shui."

"Don't worry, we're all here to have fun." Cui Tike smiled and gestured for his friends to take off their hoods.

The lights in the gambling den weren't very bright, and the people inside weren't easy to recognize.

Their skin was too dark, and their facial features were not clearly defined.

They seem to have no facial features.

It's not that they don't have any teeth at all; they laughed, and they had mouths with a few scattered teeth inside.

The gambling den fell silent instantly. Everyone stared at Lu Xiqiang in horror, exclaiming, "What kind of monster is this?!"

"Pfft!" Cui Tike wasn't too happy. "The way you speak is very impolite, and my friends are very unhappy."

Loan Cultivator shouted, "What religion do you believe in? Who gave you the audacity to cause trouble in Thousand Liang Workshop?"

"You've brought up the issue of faith again. We worship two deities of Daoism, one is our Grandmaster, and the other is our senior brother. We can discuss this in another place." Cui Tike wiped his face, revealing a patch of orange-red rash on his cheek.

A group of his friends all smeared it on their cheeks, and orange-red rashes broke out on their faces.

Lu Xiqiang was somewhat knowledgeable; seeing these various rashes, he exclaimed in surprise, "You,

That's Green Flower's technique.

"Don't mention the name of the Grandmaster casually. Besides, this rash is my own creation." With a wave of his hand, Cui Tike a dozen "friends" rushing into the crowd.

Just as Lu Xiqiang was about to call for help, two "friends" flanked him from the left and right.

One man grabbed his hair and choked him, while another man tore open his stomach and pulled out his intestines and internal organs.

Not long after, Lu Xiqiang collapsed to the ground and fell silent.

One by one, the people around him fell down. The Loan Cultivator was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he crawled to the door on the ground.

He climbed out of the door with his hands, but his feet were still inside. Suddenly, someone grabbed his feet from behind.

When Loan Cultivator turned around, he saw Lu Xiqiang, whose internal organs had just been removed, crawling to his feet, his left hand gripping his left ankle and his right hand grasping the back of his calf.

Loan Cultivator pedaled desperately, shaking off Lu Xiqiang behind him, and stumbled out of the gambling den.

On the street, he saw the gamblers running away in all directions, along with several hooded men.

He saw people trying to jump over the wall, but they were dragged back one by one by hooded men.

Loan Cultivator rushed towards the gate without thinking, and there he saw Cui Tike.

Loan Cultivator bowed repeatedly and said, "Friend, the affairs of Thousand Liang Workshop have nothing to do with me. I'm just here to do business!"

Cui Tike stepped aside to make way for him. "I believe you, you can go now."

Loan Cultivator rushed out of the first gate and walked for another ten minutes or so when he suddenly felt an intense itch on his face.

He scratched it lightly, and the blisters on his face burst open, oozing orange-red juice.

The juice, as if alive, flowed rapidly through Loan Cultivator's hands, from his fingertips to his palms, from the base of his palms to his arms, and from his arms to his ribs...

Loan Cultivator dared not scratch. He tried to wipe the juice off, but it was very sticky and remained stuck to his body.

Screams echoed all around. Looking back, I saw many hooded men dragging the gambling den out of the house from the surrounding courtyards.

The hooded men ignored the Loan Cultivator, Loan Cultivator in turn ignored the juices on his body and ran wildly toward the gate.

After running a few dozen meters, he fell to the ground.

Orange-red liquid seeped into his shoes, and his numb feet had lost all feeling.

He tried to get up, but he couldn't muster the strength in his hands.

He tried to shout, but clumps of pus gushed from his mouth.

His vision gradually blurred, as if an orange-red curtain was hanging over his eyes.

Li Banfeng handed the newspaper to Dou Jiyan: "The largest gambling den in Pro State has reopened, Ding LiuSan's business is booming. It seems it's time for us to go and check out Thousand Liang Workshop."

"Seventh Brother, I'll go with you." Dou Jiyan quickly packed her things and prepared to leave.

Li Banfeng stood up and said, "Don't go yet. You'll only be a burden to me. Tell me where the contract is buried first, and I'll find a way to bring it back for you."

Dou Jiyan did not hide it; her contract was buried in the main hall of the largest gambling den.

Li Banfeng set off overnight and arrived at Thousand Liang Workshop, only to find the gate open but the gatekeeper gone.

Ding LiuSan's business is indeed shrewd; he doesn't even close his shop at night.

A chill ran through Li Banfeng, and he sensed danger.

Something happened in Thousand Liang Workshop.

Upon entering the gate, Li Banfeng smelled a strange odor, a bloody smell with an oily scent. After walking along the main road for a while, Li Banfeng saw clumps of orange-red, sticky substance on the ground.

Some of the sticky substances were still wriggling.

Is this a person?

Li Banfeng tried to avoid the sticky things as he walked forward. After passing through the first block, he arrived at the eighth Li Banfeng, where he saw several people wearing hoods standing silently by the roadside.

The Hundred Flavors Exquisite skill of Baiwei warned Li Banfeng there were some smells he would never forget.

Is this DaoLao Ghost)?

Those hooded people maintained a normal human posture, and there was no trace of DaoLao Ghost on them.

A hooded man emerged from a courtyard on the side of the street, his gait so steady as to be a stark contrast to the four-limbed, DaoLao Ghost.

Is this another new technological breakthrough?

Most importantly, how could DaoLao Ghost have come to Thousand Liang Workshop, a place so far away from Bastard Slope?

Cui Tike walked out from another courtyard and stood in front of Li Banfeng: "Friend, what a coincidence, you're here too. I learned about your past from the newspaper. You witnessed their bet here. I thought you would never appear in Thousand Liang Workshop again."

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "It was Dou Jiyan who made the bet, but I still really want to visit the largest gambling den in Pro State."

Cui Tike nodded. "At first I was also very curious about what Pro State's largest casino was like. After actually coming here, I was a little disappointed, but at least my mission is progressing smoothly."

Li Banfeng looked around. "Is this your mission?"

"Yes," Cui Tike nodded. "My mission is to prevent these gambling thieves from posing a threat to Pro State, whether alive or dead."

"Who gave you this task?"

Cui Tike for a moment and said, "I shouldn't have revealed his identity to anyone, but I think you should be an exception because you are a very good friend of his."

He took a wooden box from his pocket and handed it to Li Banfeng.

In Pro State, few people dare to take things directly from Cui Tike, and Li Banfeng is one of them.

He opened the box and took out a Pellet Drum.

Mi ding ding!

Li Banfeng shook the Pellet Drum and asked Cui Tike, "Was it him who gave you this task?"

Cui Tike nodded. "You told me to get along well with the Peddler and try to gain his support."

I thought it was a very good suggestion, so in Seven Autumn City, I decided to accept the task the Peddler gave me.

"His mission for you was to kill all the gambling cultivators at Thousand Liang Workshop Gambling House?"

"That's inaccurate. He first told me to assess the situation. If Dou Jiyan could maintain stability at Thousand Liang Workshop, this operation would be canceled immediately."

If Thousand Liang Workshop falls into Ding LiuSan's hands, then we need to observe the changing trends of Thousand Liang Workshop.

If Thousand Liang Workshop gets out of control, then the threat must be eliminated, whether the gambling practitioners are alive or dead.

We must not allow them to threaten the security of Pro State.

I believe my understanding of the mission is correct. All the surviving gambling practitioners in the Thousand Liang Workshop are dead, and their corpses will no longer be used by anyone else.

Cui Tike did indeed succeed; no matter how much someone wanted to become a gambling cultivator, he wouldn't dare to eat that sticky, orange-red substance.

Regardless, one thing must be acknowledged: the Peddler chose the right person to carry out the mission, and Cui Tike completely eliminated the threat that Thousand Liang Workshop posed to Pro State.

"Friend, I guess you've come here looking for something, right?" Cui Tike took out another wooden box and handed it to Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng opened it and saw that inside were the contract and the Local Earth Seal.

"Please convey to that beautiful lady that Thousand Liang Workshop has undergone significant changes. Whether she wants to return here is her own decision. I suggest she start over somewhere else."

Li Banfeng put away the wooden box and looked at the hooded figures around him. "Did they all come from Sage Peak? They've already managed to travel this far?"

Cui Tike laughed, "You've finally shown concern for the fruits of our wisdom. They came from Sage Peak, but unfortunately, they haven't completely rid themselves of the power of Knife Ghost Ridge."

I merely used some methods the Peddler gave me to temporarily bring them out of Knife Ghost Ridge. Once the mission is complete, the Peddler will immediately send them back to Knife Ghost Ridge.

"They have changed a lot."

"This is thanks to our improvements to them, which have given them more opportunities to evolve."

?

Li Banfeng pointed to the sticky substance on the ground. "What kind of lesion is this? How could it turn a living person into this state?"

Cui Tike said, "This type of lesion comes from a technique I created, which I named 'Corpses Everywhere'."

This technique is not as simple as a unique skill. The Peddler was very generous; after I accepted the task, he gave me a reward in advance, acknowledged my Daoist sect, and even prepared the corresponding medicinal powder for Disease Cultivator. I created the first technique for Disease Cultivator, a technique that can be passed down within the Disease Cultivator sect.

Because this technique is at a higher level, I classify it as Cloud Above Second Layer Skill. The key to this technique lies not in the lethality of the lesions, but in its rapid spread and diffusion.

Like this virus, its lethality is quite limited; it won't cause serious harm to high-level cultivators.

However, it can quickly spread among lower-level cultivators.

If one day you are willing to become a Disease Cultivator, I can teach you this technique.

"Thank you for your kindness. You didn't go to Seven Autumn City to find me; you actually went to find Dou Jiyan to gather information, right?"

Cui Tike laughed and said, "Don't underestimate our friendship. I really wanted to meet you, but later on, I seemed to have developed special feelings for Miss Dou."

Li Banfeng looked around at the corpses again. "Is Ding LiuSan still alive?"

Cui Tike nodded. "He's still alive. He escaped. He's too strong. It would be difficult for me to kill him in a short time. But that doesn't matter. The Peddler clearly told me that Ding LiuSan's life or death is not within my scope of mission."

Li Banfeng returned the Pellet Drum to Cui Tike, took Dou Jiyan's contract, and left Thousand Liang Workshop.

Cui Tike instructed, "Please be sure to tell that beautiful girl to live well."

Li Banfeng glanced back at Cui Tike, who was whistling as he strolled slowly along the alleyways. Under the moonlight, it looked as if he were performing a special dance with a certain rhythm and melody.

Perhaps that was a dance from his hometown.

The red brick walls, the orange-red corpses, and the dark red robes on the hooded man's body—everything around him seemed perfectly in sync with his Dance Steps.

Green Flower could never have imagined that the first technique of Disease Cultivator came from Cui Tike.

The New Year is approaching again. In Li Banfeng's first New Year in Pro State, he learned about Cui Tike's dream.

Two years have passed, and many people and things have changed, but Cui Tike's dream remains unchanged.

Moreover, he is getting closer and closer to his dream.

Upon seeing Li Qi return, Dou Jiyan excitedly rushed to greet him, "Seventh Brother, how is Thousand Liang Workshop doing?"

Li Banfeng wanted to tell Dou Jiyan the result in a relatively tactful way, but after thinking for a long time, he really couldn't think of a more tactful way of expressing it.

"To be precise, there is no longer Thousand Liang Workshop." Li Banfeng briefly described the situation, Dou Jiyan sat on the ground in a daze.

She struggled to get up, wanting to go back to Thousand Liang Workshop for a look, but Li Banfeng handed her the contract.

"You can bury the contract back, or you can start over somewhere else. If you encounter the foreigner Cui Tike on your way back, try not to get into a conflict with him."

Li Banfeng turned and left. Dou Jiyan asked, "Is there no place for a gambling enthusiast to live in this world?"

Li Banfeng turned around and said, "There's plenty of place to stay, provided you don't demolish your own houses."

Back in Seven Autumn City, Li Banfeng went to the laboratory.

The record player moved around the room, with Zhao Xiaowan's puppet placed next to it.

Portable Abode inspecting the puppet and confirming that there was no tampering inside, Sui Shen Ju had the record player bring her out.

Some equipment is suitable for operation with a record player, while other equipment is more convenient to operate with a puppet. My Wife has been busy in the laboratory for several days, yet she doesn't seem to be tired at all.

"My lord, allow Little Slave a couple more days to study. I've figured out quite a few things this time!" The Wife entered the Little Slave and transformed into the stunningly beautiful Zhao Xiaowan.

The pendulum advised, "Madam, go home and rest. You've been working so hard these past few days."

The record player grabbed the board and said, "Who's suffering more, you or me, you slut? You just couldn't take it anymore, could you?"

Zhongbai didn't dare to argue; she really couldn't take it anymore.

What is the quality of the record player? What is the base of the pendulum? After days and nights of tireless research, the pendulum was on the verge of collapse.

Dream Virtue's pendulum seemed to speak. She leaned closer to the record player and lowered her voice, saying, "Madam, Master has also worked hard these past two days. Now that he's back, we should treat him to a good meal."

The record player didn't understand. "What should we do? Make him a nice meal?"

Dream Virtue smiled and said, "Madam, we can't just make you some food and drink. Master is hungry, and not just in his stomach."

This time, the record player understood and gave Dream Virtue a hard slap. "You little slut, have you been corrupted by Hong Ying?"

Dream Virtue rubbed his hands for a long time, then said with a wronged expression, "Husbands and wives should be this loving; it's only natural."

The record player thought it made sense, but after doing half of the experiment, he felt reluctant to give it up.

Unable to resist his drowsiness any longer, Dream Virtue added, "Madam, our master won't need much time." Just as he put down the equipment, he saw Li Banfeng packing his things and preparing to leave.

"Husband, where are you going?" The record player thought Li Banfeng was angry.

"Wife, continue with the experiment here. I'll go and replace the batteries." Although he had prepared quite a few battery packs beforehand, his Wife had been conducting experiments for several days, and the battery power had been used up by about 70-80%. Li Banfeng had to go to the power station to get new batteries.

The record player quickly apologized. "My lord, it was my Little Slave for being ignorant. I will go home and serve you in a Little Slave while."

"Who says my Wife is unreasonable? Where can you find such a good Wife? My Wife, don't worry about me, I'll be right back!" Li Banfeng happily went to change the battery, leaving Dream Virtue and Zhongbai sighing.

Two days later, the Wife actually made a breakthrough. "My dear Little Slave, I'm still missing a magnetometer. If I had this device, Little Slave could make something nice for you."

Li Banfeng looked at the photo of the magnetometer. His Wife had found information about the magnetometer in Teacher Song's and Yu Yaoming's notes.

But why wasn't this magnetometer found in Yu Yaoming's laboratory at the time?

Not only was it absent in Yu Yaoming's laboratory, but it was also absent in the laboratory that Du Wenming had created to replicate it.

The Wife said, "My dear husband, according to Little Slave guess, this equipment must be a new type, and neither Yu Yaoming nor Du Wenming had time to buy it."

Where should Li Banfeng buy such new equipment?

You definitely can't buy it in Pro State, and if you go to Outer State, who can you ask?

Looking for Lin Fojiao?

Li Banfeng himself found it absurd; who would buy scientific research equipment on the Black Market?

If we don't want to go to the Black Market, where else can we go?

Yuezhou, Dark Star Bureau.

Shen Jingye sipped his tea and looked at his daily schedule.

Today's schedule is still packed. Shen Jingye is lamenting how difficult it is to allocate time, wondering if he should consider canceling the afternoon meeting.

But the end of the year is fast approaching, and this meeting has been delayed since the beginning of the year. If it is not held soon, it seems that it will be difficult to write the year-end summary.

But then I thought, even if this meeting hadn't been held, the secretary could still write a summary based on whether a meeting had been held. In fact, the secretary might have already written the year-end summary, so whether the meeting was held or not wouldn't have much of an impact on him.

However, if insufficient documentation is left, it could leave a handle for subsequent inspections, which would have a significant impact on Shen Jingye.

While I was struggling with this decision, the phone rang.

"Little Shen, come to my office."

Shen Jingye sniffed, and instantly felt less conflicted.

He canceled the afternoon meeting, came to the door of Li Qi's office, poked the corners of his mouth with his thumb and forefinger to make a sincere smile, and then went into Li Qi's office.

"Director Li, you're finally back! While you were gone, many tasks didn't go smoothly at all."

"Little Shen, please have a seat. What progress has been made in the bureau's key tasks during this period?"

Shen Jingye had just finished writing his report and was going to a meeting with his superiors tomorrow, which would come in handy.

During this period, the Dark Star Bureau made considerable progress. The influence of the Birch Hermit Association in the Huan Kingdom was basically eradicated, their key personnel were captured one after another, and many spies planted in key areas were also eliminated.

Li Banfeng highly praised Shen Jingye's work, "Little Shen, you did a good job. I called you here today because I wanted you to help me find some clues."

During my time in Pro State, I conducted extensive research on Du Wenming and discovered that he had considerable connections with research institutions both domestically and internationally.

Shen Jingye nodded and said, "I have also investigated this matter. Yu Yaoming's scientific research equipment was taken away by Du Wenming. During his tenure, Du Wenming participated in the procurement of scientific research equipment on many occasions. There are indeed suspicious points here."

Shen Jingye made two phone calls. First, he had someone turn off the surveillance cameras in Li Qi's office, and then he called his secretary.

The secretary took two boxes of documents and handed them to Shen Jingye.

Shen Jingye handed the document box to Li Banfeng: "We have investigated several research institutions that have dealings with Du Wenming, and the relevant information is all inside."

Li Banfeng looked at the information of these companies, which included addresses, contact persons, and phone numbers.

"Little Shen, you've done a good job."

With this information, you'll know who to contact to buy a magnetometer.

There was also a file box. Li Banfeng asked, "What are these for?"

"These are the findings of our investigation into the Birch Hermit Association. I had my secretary bring you some important documents."

Li Banfeng opened the document box, and on top of it was a USB flash drive.

"What is this?"

"This is a recording. The original was a record, but this is a copy. Please listen to it first."

Li Banfeng plugged the computer in and listened for a while; a man was speaking a foreign language.

Judging from the pronunciation, it should be Lafsha Language; judging from the tone, the person seems very excited.

Li Banfeng frowned. "The background noise is too loud, and many details are hard to hear."

Shen Jingye shook his head and said, "Old records, after so many years, will definitely have their sound quality damaged."

Li Banfeng listened for a while longer and couldn't help but shake his head. "Why wasn't the recording processed properly? The sound is very blurry in many places."

Shen Jingye snorted, "Even if the voice isn't muffled, do you think you can understand Lafsha Language?"

Li Banfeng turned off the audio. "Then why did you play this for me?"

"There's a translation in the file box; you can listen to it while referring to the text."

Li Banfeng found the translation and read it once:

"Brave warriors," do not bow your heads, do not shed tears, do not weep, do not let fear sway your fighting spirit. Perhaps we will perish here today, but final victory will surely belong to us.

Don't ask where the elders went; they've already left safely. Don't ask where the deacons went; they've left safely too. Don't ask why we're staying here; because someone always has to make a sacrifice.

I smelled fireworks, and that mournful singing started again. It was that woman, that woman surnamed Huang, that singer from hell; she had appeared again.

She was singing opera, that nauseating Pro State opera, the kind of thing that doesn't even deserve to be called opera. For a hearing person, it's unbearable torture and torment. "Don't be afraid, warriors! We can overcome fear, we can defeat this demon from hell, we can send him back to hell, we will surely achieve final victory!"

"Were these his last words?"

Shen Jingye nodded. "This person didn't see the victory he wanted, and in fact, they didn't achieve it."

"Who is this person?"

"Nie Li'ai Shafu, an early member of the Birch Hermit Association and a survivor of the Second Pro War."

Li Banfeng frowned and asked, "What is the Second Pro War?"

Shen Jingye was pleased and quickly lowered his voice. "This is top secret information. I thought you knew. You might have a different name for it where you're from. We call that war more than forty years ago the Second Pro War."

P. S.: Could there be a First Pro War?