The Mantis Stalks the Cicada / Dumping a Body and an Encounter

After days of threats failed to force the monster to respond, a strange emotion began to fester within him.

He wanted to regain that cultivation speed. Even if he was currently being targeted by the Divine Gate, as long as he contributed the cultivation technique that involved his brain, he would probably be safe, right?

After all, that method is several times more powerful than the current Life Spiritual Qi Extraction Method; it only requires killing a few insignificant villains to become stronger. Something so good, even the higher-ups would tacitly approve, right?

He kept telling himself this, and the reason he hadn't yet taken action to hand over the cultivation technique to Divine Gate was simply his possessiveness. He figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to hand it over to Divine Gate when he was actually discovered.

As for now, let him continue to enjoy the benefits of the cultivation technique! In any case, that monster still refuses to respond to his ideas.

Thinking about this, Shimakawa Kameyo could no longer sit still.

He took a deep breath and walked toward the red-light district as usual. In such areas, there was never a shortage of gangsters and thugs.

Those guys, even if they die, no one will pity them, will they?

He had heard of the recent urban legends. Despite the uproar over the deaths, how many people were actually afraid? Didn't they all applaud such actions, or even attribute his achievements to the gods—no, to the deified Yotsuya Miko?

The more he thought about it, the Shimakawa Kameyo became. He began to convince himself that he hadn't done anything wrong and that what he was doing now was the right thing to do.

Of course, Yotsuya Miko wouldn't really believe such a claim.

"... How did this guy manage to decipher the alterations to the Life Spiritual Qi Extraction Method?"

Amidst the flashing red, blue, yellow, and green neon lights, Yotsuya Miko's figure peeked out from the corner of the wall. The glaring light shone on her, blurring her face.

In such light pollution, it was impossible to track Shimakawa Kameyo with just her eyes, so she adopted a more efficient approach: using her Spiritual Sense.

The spiritual energy emanating from Shimakawa Kameyo was very distinct in his Spiritual Sense. The mixed spiritual energy was like a stinking garbage heap, impossible to forget in a short time. There was only one possibility for such mixed spiritual energy to appear on this guy.

Without needing many words, Miko was already certain that Shimakawa Kameyo was the perpetrator of the recent asymptomatic deaths. The reason for these deaths was to seize the Life Energy from these evil people.

The only thing she couldn't understand was how this guy managed to do that.

But compared to thinking about such things, she had a more urgent need.

Without a doubt, if Shimakawa Kameyo were to be discovered by Divine Gate and his cultivation technique were to be learned, it would be a nightmare. Her Life Spiritual Qi Extraction Method was already a divine skill in this world, so what about a technique that could far surpass that extraction method by killing? She dared not gamble on whether these guys would dare to kill; at least Shimakawa Kameyo did, and although he mostly killed bad people, he had already accumulated several murders on his hands.

From a selfish perspective, if Shimakawa Kameyo's techniques are discovered, the agreements she has reached with Divine Gate could collapse. She would then have to rebuild her prestige and choose a more direct approach to make Divine Gate and the forces behind him realize her true strength once again.

From another perspective, the impact of such a technique being spread would be disastrous. At least Yotsuya Miko is confident that her modified Life Spiritual Qi Extraction Method has a backup plan to prevent such a serious incident from occurring.

"A backup plan..."

She took a deep breath, recalling the few small fragments she had previously inserted into the Life Spiritual Qi Extraction Method. If the opponent's current cultivation method was a modified version of the Life Spiritual Qi Extraction Method, then these fragments should also be effective.

"I cannot orchestrate the scene of Shimakawa Kameyo's death, nor can I come into contact with him, because that would Divine Gate Shimakawa Kameyo me."

At this moment, her mind was very clear, and she was even somewhat glad that she hadn't told Okita Qishen about Shimakawa Kameyo. If she had told him, she would have been given leverage over him.

"The best course of action is to return the way you came."

As he spoke, he unhesitatingly chose the opposite direction from Shimakawa Kameyo.

She couldn't interfere with modern electronic devices like surveillance cameras, but she could make them misjudge the situation and fail to detect that she had been following Shimakawa Kameyo. However, there were limits to her concealment; she still needed to maintain a certain distance from Shimakawa Kameyo.

So she simply went home as usual.

Shimakawa Kameyo is not going to live past tonight, but he must die in a plausible accident.

Fortunately, she has some methods she can use.

The death of Shimakawa Kameyo was already planned in the outline. The current situation is that he has no choice but to die, otherwise he would be captured by Divine Gate and forced to reveal his techniques, which would make the story impossible to write, and he would have to let Miko overturn the table.

Chapter 211 The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Yueyi Walks Along with Yin Yi, Erbo, and Master Shrimp?

The man's gaze swept over the passersby on the street, the dazzling lights obscuring his face and blurring his vision.

But with just one glance, he could already see several targets to choose from, after all, this was a place frequented by the city's gangs. There were many people with bare arms, their arms tattooed with various ghosts, gods, or beasts, and even their pockets were bulging.

"These must be knives," the man thought.

Even the police would find this area a headache. As a result, the buildings here are very old-fashioned, and many alleys are abandoned. Business people don't usually come here, but there are always some people seeking thrills.

The same was true in those dark alleyways; despite the recent spate of deaths occurring in these very alleys, business remained as usual. Perhaps, to these guys, death wasn't a big deal?

Urban legends don't just instill fear in these gangsters who live on the edge; quite the opposite, they find them fascinating.

"Has no one died in a long time?"

A group of people staggered out of a building. These drunken thugs with strangely dyed hair paid no attention to the stares of passersby. They just happened to be at a street corner with an alleyway, and for no apparent reason, they started thinking about the urban legends that had recently occurred.

"That... what deity..."

The leader, with a ruddy complexion and glazed eyes, mumbled something under his breath.

He paused, then let out a burp.

"Uh--it's gone?"

His underlings, who were in no better shape than him, were buzzing in their heads. They only regained some consciousness after hearing their boss speak.

"Boss, it's gone!"

Suddenly, he shouted and raised his right hand high. This was one of them, and the others were moved by this ritualistic gesture.

That's all!

They shouted in unison, and at first glance, they did indeed look like they were drunk and acting crazy.

Alcoholics...

Shimakawa Kameyo curled his lip and kept his distance from the group. His target wasn't a small group of seven or eight people; such a group was too risky. He was looking for lone individuals, preferably those who weren't being watched by many.

And it seems he's discovered something about this guy?

His gaze fell on a man who was also walking out of the building not far away. This guy was also heavily drunk. Before he even stepped down the stairs, he went to the side and started vomiting heartily, forcing the staff in the store to drag him out onto the street.

This throw seemed to bring the burly, tattooed, bald man to his senses. He first stood up from the ground, and then touched his clothes.

"I'm out of money."

He mumbled something, his face barely visible, as if he had vomited again. After vomiting, he half-covered his head and staggered into a nearby alley until he disappeared from sight.

Shimakawa Kameyo watched the direction he left in, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his lips.

This guy's physique is so massive, he must be able to provide him with plenty of essence for his cultivation. Being drunk, alone, and heading into an alley—isn't that just creating an opportunity for him? Does this guy think he's safe just because of his size?

That's really embarrassing, but Shimakawa Kameyo is a superhuman.

Watching the flow of people coming and going, he disappeared into the crowd, silently following the burly man into the alley.

These alleyways aren't dead ends, but rather sections originally planned for urban development that have been gradually neglected due to their narrowness. In this area that hasn't yet been demolished, such alleyways are everywhere, and they lead to other areas without any problem. At most, unfamiliar people might easily get lost in these complex sections.

For safety or other reasons, these gangs are much more fond of such streets. These alleys are often the best escape routes in case of major incidents, effectively evading capture by their own gang members or the police, and can also be used as shortcuts. Undoubtedly, this burly man's choice to walk such a road at night shows his confidence in his memory and physical abilities.

Even gangsters rarely choose this route at night; the risks in the dark are too great, and there might be other gangsters blocking the road, ready to ambush you.

After his previous murders, Shimakawa Kameyo became familiar with these alleys. Moreover, possessing spiritual energy and Spiritual Power, he could walk normally in the dark without the aid of light. This advantage ensured that his murders never failed. Furthermore, the Blood Sha Needle did not require him to physically touch the victim; he only needed to maintain a distance of a few meters from the person he was killing to end their life.

He slowly approached the burly man, holding his breath to make sure he wouldn't be spotted.

As he approached the victim, gauging the distance between them, he slowly condensed Blood Sha Needle in his hand. In his mind, today's killing would also go smoothly, and this guy had chosen the route that would take him home, saving him a lot of time by not having to go around in circles.

Just as Shimakawa Kameyo approached the optimal distance and was about to unleash the Blood Sha Needle in his hand, the staggering, drunken burly man suddenly turned around, his gaze sweeping straight behind him.

"Who's there!"

This sudden action caught Shimakawa Kameyo off guard. In the next instant, he was about to release the Blood Sha Needle, but for some reason, the spiritual energy within his body suddenly surged violently, causing the Blood Sha Needle, which should have been fully formed, to collapse and fail to condense. With the surge of spiritual energy and the disorder of his Spiritual Power, his vision, which he had maintained even in darkness using spiritual energy and Spiritual Power, suddenly went black.

Before this sudden situation could even end, just as his eyesight was adjusting to the darkness, Shimakawa Kameyo felt a sense of panic—the panic of losing his supernatural powers. He tried to run away, but his legs felt like lead, completely immobile. And worse still—the foreign object piercing his chest.

It was a very fast knife, Shimakawa Kameyo was certain of that. Because only after it had plunged deep into his chest did the tearing pain reach his nerves. And the location of the stab was far too precise...

He reached out his hand and touched his chest. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw a tall, blurry figure in front of him. The man was very close to him, and his quick reaction was nothing like that of a drunkard.

"For..."

His right hand finally touched the knife piercing his heart, and he gripped it. In those few seconds of intense thought, Shimakawa Kameyo considered many possibilities, but he never expected things to turn out this way.

Before he could finish speaking, the corpse fell slumped to the ground.

With a thud as he fell to the ground, the burly man seemed to regain some of his senses and finally realized what he had done.

"This..."

My alcohol-numbed mind cleared considerably. Looking at my hands, I was even somewhat surprised at how smoothly I had made those movements. Could it be... because I'd experienced this kind of thing too many times?

"So, what exactly is the reason I came here alone to drink?"

He touched his bald head, glanced at the corpse on the ground, and took a cell phone out of his pocket.

"Hey, Zhe, come do me a favor."

Chapter 212 Corpse Disposal and Encounter

A black car was parked on the side of the alley. The bald man slowly dragged a corpse that had already been put into a sack and put it into the trunk of the car.

"Has the bleeding stopped? If the whole car smells of blood, I'll be in trouble."

The driver was a blond young man, and his tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction towards the Bald Giant.

"Didn't you say you were going there to have some fun? How come you came back with a corpse?"

"Well... something happened."

The bald man didn't say much, he just closed the trunk and sat in the passenger seat.

"I don't know why this guy in the suit followed me all the way. Anyway, he messed with me. The blood on the ground has been cleaned up, so there's no need to worry about the blood."

That's true, after all, it's just one wound, so stopping the bleeding isn't too difficult.

"Anyway, let's just throw this guy into the sea first, so the cops won't trace it back to me."

"... Do as you please, just don't do this again next time. No, if you do do it, please don't call me out. My girlfriend and I were doing something important, and you just one phone call and—"

Yellow Hair couldn't finish his sentence. He just glared at the bald man and started the car.

"If this happens again, I'll never forgive you!"

Hearing this, the bald man realized he was in the wrong and could only pretend he hadn't heard and look at the scenery outside the window.

By the time he finished cleaning up the blood left on the body, he was mostly sober, and his reason returned. It was precisely for this reason that he found his earlier actions rather strange.

Logically speaking, in that state, he shouldn't have been able to stab such a crucial spot. How did he manage to do it? Was it just good luck?

The bald man was somewhat surprised by this explanation. He considered himself to be someone who was unlikely to have any luck, otherwise he wouldn't have come to the red-light district tonight. He himself had come here to find some fun because he was heartbroken after being dumped by his ex-girlfriend.

We found some fun, but it was a bit of a hassle.

The city isn't very close to the sea, but there's a river bend that flows into it. This bend is rarely visited because it's so remote. Because of this, it becomes an ideal dumping ground for bodies. Few police can recover bodies thrown into this bend, nor find clues to the murders on these bloated, submerged corpses.

However, perhaps realizing this, there is a local police station near this river bend, though it's pretty useless. The station is staffed with only a handful of officers and can't handle anything. Even if surveillance cameras are installed along the river bend, the gangs will still find blind spots.

"Just throw it into the sea."

As the bald man spoke, he opened the trunk, picked up the sack, and found a decent-weight rock on the side of the river bend, which he then tied to the sack. Throughout this process, the blond-haired youth simply watched while smoking, showing no intention of offering a helping hand. In his view, simply driving this burly man here was already a great act of generosity.

"Hurry up, I'm in a hurry to get back."

"It can't be that fast."

As the bald man answered, he pushed the sack, along with the stones, to the bank, and with a slight effort, tossed the corpse far into the river bend. It was only thanks to his imposing physique that he managed this feat; most people couldn't do it. Even after performing this action, he felt a tingling numbness in his arms, and involuntarily shook them, sensing something foreign trying to flow into his body through his arms, only to be suddenly blocked.

However, this illusion was fleeting, and he simply assumed it was because he hadn't disposed of a body in a long time and was rusty.

After doing all this, the burly man got into the car and was about to pat the blond guy on the shoulder when the guy dodged him in disgust.

"Go back and take a shower, you're such bad luck!"

"Cut."

The car's headlights came on, and with a roar, it slowly drove back onto the original road.

Behind the car, the river continued to flow quietly towards the sea, and the ripples from the heavy object slowly dissipated, as if nothing had ever happened.

"Did you notice anything strange about today's photos? Look at this river..."

For the Yotsuya siblings, "Creepy" remains one of their few forms of entertainment.

While eating potato chips, Yotsuya Miko watched the fabricated images on the show, and frankly, she didn't feel much of anything.

Dumping a body at sea—that sounds too much like something a gangster would do, doesn't it?

Could the next issue be filled with ghostly pictures of people buried in the mountains?

I was internally complaining, but I still felt a sense of unreality to some extent.