Bait

"Abomination!"

Zhao Si took a long stride forward.

Channeling the strength of his late-stage Lianli, he grabbed a fallen Ironwood Javelin with one arm.

"Go!"

The javelin transformed into a black bolt of lightning. With a dull thud, it pierced clean through the layer of hardened slime armor, burying itself a foot deep into the back of the Black Catfish Demon!

Foul-smelling black blood surged out instantly, staining the river surface.

"Great arm strength! Captain, well done!"

The guards cheered immediately.

Zhao Si's spirits soared. Seeing the Black Catfish Demon writhing in agony and exposing its soft underbelly, he roared, "Strip the cannon cover! Use the Armor-Piercing Crossbow! Kill this beast for me!"

Chen Er and Hou San scrambled toward the bow, tearing away the heavy waterproof tarpaulin. A Western-style heavy siege crossbow, forged entirely from brass and refined steel and connected to a high-pressure steam valve, was revealed.

The bolt was as thick as a human thigh.

"The air pressure is too low, the winch is jammed!" Hou San was drenched in sweat, pulling desperately at the mechanism, but the violent rocking of the ship made it impossible to aim.

"Move!"

Lu Zhen swept to the side of the siege crossbow, his feet planted firmly on the slippery deck like the roots of an ancient tree.

His arm muscles bulged, veins popping beneath his dark, taut skin. With sheer human strength, he forced the jammed steel winch to move, dragging the heavy crossbow muzzle to aim directly at the river.

"Fire!"

"BOOM--!!"

High-pressure steam erupted. Amidst a deafening roar, the massive steel bolt carried the unstoppable force of machinery as it was launched with ferocious power!

"Squelch!"

The sound of flesh tearing was enough to make one's scalp tingle.

The steel bolt pierced the gills of the Black Catfish Demon with pinpoint accuracy, pinning its massive head firmly in place!

The river surface boiled violently for a moment. The terrifying mutated water demon twitched a few times before finally rolling over to reveal its enormous white belly, dark red blood staining a large expanse of the river.

"It's dead! The beast is dead!"

The guards erupted in cheers of survival.

"Quick! Use the steam winch to drag this thing up! Don't let the other beasts in the river have it!"

Accompanied by the heavy grinding of the winch, the massive carcass, seven or eight meters long, was slowly dragged onto the deck. With a dull "thud," the entire steam-powered iron ship sank lower into the water.

A stench filled the air as the ship's doctors rushed to set bones and stop the bleeding for the three brothers who had been severely injured.

Zhao Si wiped the river water and sweat from his face and walked over to the corpse of the Black Catfish Demon. Far from being afraid, he slapped his thigh in excitement and laughed wildly:

"Hahahaha! We've struck gold this trip!"

He turned to look at Lu Zhen, his eyes filled with fanaticism: "Brother Lu, you don't know—a mutated water demon that has reached this level of cultivation is a priceless treasure in the eyes of those Westerners in the concessions!"

"Every major foreign firm is offering high bounties. A complete Black Catfish Demon like this, once hauled back to Ocean City, could sell for at least ten thousand silver dollars!"

Ten thousand silver dollars?

Lu Zhen's expression remained calm, but his heart gave a slight jolt.

The Westerners were paying such astronomical prices for the flesh and blood of mutated monsters... Could it be that this was the raw material those Western "Hetero-Martialist" types used to refine "Beast Blood Serum" to rapidly create Bright Force masters?

With such tyrannical and chaotic blood energy, if it were truly injected into a human's veins, it was no wonder the National Martial Arts community cursed them as half-human, half-ghost beasts.

But then, Lu Zhen's thoughts deepened.

He calculated rapidly: killing a water demon on the river could fetch ten thousand silver dollars. Although dangerous, for the Gu Family Chamber of Commerce, which possessed Western firearms, cannons, and steam warships, organizing a fleet specifically for hunting was a business with a guaranteed profit.

If killing demons was so lucrative, why would Old Master Gu go to such lengths, risking the destruction of his ships and the loss of his men, to run the shipping route to Jiang City?

Unless...

The cargo in the hold was far more valuable—and far more dangerous—than this ten-thousand-dollar mutated water demon!

Lu Zhen wiped the blood from his hands with a cloth and walked over to Zhao Si, seemingly casual as he asked:

"Brother Zhao, since the river is so treacherous, what exactly is the precious cargo the Gu family is transporting to Jiang City in the hold?"

The moment the words left his lips, the ecstatic joy on Zhao Si's face froze.

A flash of panic crossed his copper-bell-sized eyes. He glanced around subconsciously, swallowed hard, and his tone became stuttering:

"Th-this... well, Brother Lu, the business is arranged by the masters above. As servants... we just take the money and do the work, we don't ask questions, heh heh... it's just some standard, high-demand goods..."

Lu Zhen took in Zhao Si's evasiveness completely.

He didn't press further, merely smiling slightly as he tossed the cloth aside: "True, I was just asking out of curiosity. Don't take it to heart, Brother Zhao. Go check on the injured brothers first."

"Right, right! I'm going!" Zhao Si, as if granted a reprieve, turned and hurried toward the wounded.

Lu Zhen stood alone on the blood-slicked deck, facing the cold wind blowing off the river, his gaze gradually darkening.

The atmosphere was wrong.

The eerie way the Japanese let them pass outside the pier, the way Zhao Si was hiding things with such cryptic caution, and those heavy wooden crates in the hold that were strictly off-limits to everyone.

This river journey was far from peaceful.

A monthly salary of one hundred silver dollars, plus an unlimited supply of the precious Red Scale Treasure Fish. How could someone as shrewd as Gu Yanzhi offer such an absurdly high price for no reason?

"Brother Gu, oh Brother Gu..."

You call me brother so affectionately, I just hope you aren't tricking me into boarding this pirate ship.

Ocean City, Tongjiang Chamber of Commerce headquarters.

On a carved agarwood armchair, Gu Wanshan sat with his eyes half-closed, the pair of century-old lion-head walnuts in his hands clicking and creaking. The sound echoed through the deep, spacious hall, exuding an oppressive aura that commanded respect without a word.

Below the hall, a trusted steward dressed in a black silk jacket walked in quickly, stood with his hands at his sides, and lowered his voice to report:

"Master, the fish has taken the bait. Word came back from Shiliupu Pier that the Shen Family bribed our informants and secretly measured the draft of our steam-powered iron ship."

"With the draft so deep, the Shen Family immediately concluded that our heavy cargo was all in the hold. They have already mobilized the elite death squads from their branch and set out in full force to intercept us by water."

The walnuts in Gu Wanshan's hands stopped abruptly, and a cold, mocking curve tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Very good."

He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as a blade: "The hold is filled with nothing but scrap metal and ballast stones. Since the Shen Family likes it so much, let them go fish it out of the river."

Gu Wanshan leaned forward slightly, his tone turning icy and decisive:

"Pass the word down: our real cargo goes by land! Have Instructor Sun lead the escort team personally. Depart now, take the back roads, travel day and night, and do not fail!"

"As for the river..." Gu Wanshan let out a cold snort, murderous intent bared in his eyes, "Since the Shen Family has moved their entire foundation onto the water, we shall see them through to the end. Order the second fleet to arm themselves fully and circle around from downstream to provide support! Wipe out the Shen Family's people entirely; leave no one alive!"

"Using an empty ship as bait—it secures the cargo and destroys the Shen Family's roots at the same time. Two birds with one stone. Hmph, they are still too green to play games with me, Gu Wanshan."

"Father!"

The beaded curtain of the side hall was flung aside, the jade beads clattering loudly.

Gu Yanzhi strode out, his face ashen. His eyes were filled with incredulous shock as he stared fixedly at his father sitting in the seat of honor.

"You used that iron ship as bait?!" Gu Yanzhi's voice trembled, "Lu Zhen is still on that ship! I was the one who personally invited him; by doing this, aren't you sending him to his death?!"

Gu Wanshan picked up the covered tea bowl at his side, leisurely skimmed the foam, and didn't even lift his eyelids:

"What kind of decorum is this, shouting and hollering? There are over thirty guards on that ship; aren't they all bait? What difference does one man named Lu make?"