Don't Believe Rumors, Don't Spread Rumors

Outskirts of Yin City.

A figure draped in a loose gray-black cloak sat before a bonfire. The flames burned, yet they could not illuminate the face hidden beneath the hood.

Only two eerie, ghostly green glints of eyes could vaguely be seen, terrifying and sinister.

He sat silently in place, seemingly lost in thought.

At last, as though sensing something, the glow beneath the cloak flickered faintly.

"That little wolf cub... is dead after all." A hoarse voice echoed softly. The spiritual mark he had left on Simba had vanished.

That could only mean one thing: Simba was already dead.

The next second, another sharp, mocking voice rang out.

"Just a piece of trash. Dead is dead."

"After all, it was only a pitiful child. May our god accept its soul."

"Heh heh heh, how merciful of you. Weren't you the one who sent it in? Batch after batch."

"Yes. Rest in peace."

He raised a withered gray-green arm, like decayed wood, and slowly tossed another log into the bonfire. The flames gradually burned more fiercely.

"May your sacrifices bring us... enduring prosperity."

Yin City.

"Captain, no abnormalities found."

A law enforcement squad was searching the street.

"Good work. Continue your patrol."

Chu Zhengnan, the captain of the law enforcement squad, nodded and motioned for his team to keep patrolling.

They had originally been patrolling the nearby streets. Seven people had already been attacked and killed over the past few days, and while the culprit could generally be identified as a demi-human, there had still been no witnesses. This demi-human was exceptionally cunning.

Chu Zhengnan deduced that this demi-human likely possessed an extraordinary talent for perception, allowing it to choose the most opportune moments to attack passersby and evade their search afterward.

But tonight was different.

"Are you sure? Is this demi-human blood?"

Chu Zhengnan asked the subordinate beside him.

"I'm sure. Its scent is very different from human blood. It belongs to a demi-human, probably a wolf-type demi-human."

The subordinate answered with certainty. He was a second-tier priest-class professional, and his sense of smell was exceptionally sharp.

"Looks like this demi-human was injured. Did someone fight back?" Chu Zhengnan pondered.

This demi-human was cunning and cautious. It would have been virtually impossible for an ordinary person to injure it unless they had made preparations in advance.

As if recalling something, Chu Zhengnan narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Captain, this location isn't far from the cultist hideout we found last time."

The priest subordinate was quick-witted as well.

Two days ago, the Enforcement Bureau had received a tip from a concerned citizen and found a cultist den.

This area happened to fall under their jurisdiction. However, by the time they arrived at the hideout, there was already no one inside.

Chu Zhengnan investigated afterward but found nothing. Still, one thing was certain: the cultists had not simply fled.

After all, the situation in that basement had been rather complicated.

"Who knows what's been going on lately? Cultists, demi-humans—one after another, they just keep showing up."

Chu Zhengnan lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, recalling Yin City's recent circumstances.

Yin City had always maintained excellent public security and order, and law enforcement patrols had always been frequent.

Yet over the past month or two, cultists and vicious demi-humans had appeared one after another. It was impossible not to take notice.

After all, to anyone paying attention, this hardly looked like a coincidence.

"Something's off."

After dealing with Simba's body and placing it in the freezer, Gu Xin took a quick shower and returned to his room to lie down, but he still could not help thinking about the information he had just received.

A fifth-tier demigod-level mage had teleported an ordinary demi-human into Yin City to cause unrest.

No matter how he looked at it, something felt wrong. It couldn't be that the mage was training Simba, could it?

There was no need to think about it. The possibility that the demigod mage had nothing better to do could be ruled out immediately. There had to be some purpose behind it.

But Gu Xin could not figure it out. The information he currently had was far too limited. All he could speculate was that the demigod mage had used Simba as cannon fodder to divert the Yin City authorities' attention in order to achieve some other objective.

But if that was the case, Simba alone wouldn't be enough, would it?

"I'll tell the Enforcement Team about this tomorrow. When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up."

Gu Xin thought it over and decided not to keep such important information to himself. He should still notify the authorities.

Otherwise, if something happened in Yin City, it would be no joke. That was a demigod-level mage.

With fifth-tier strength—especially as a mage with such terrifying destructive power—destroying Yin City was not impossible.

People should handle the matters suited to them.

Gu Xin had no intention of getting involved in something concerning a fifth-tier powerhouse. He was only a second-tier card maker right now.

"Perfect. Brother Xiaoming will be back tomorrow. I'll go find him then."

Gu Xin thought.

Huang Xiaoming was an official from Shen City. Although he was not part of the same faction as Yin City's authorities, he was still an official in the end.

Having Huang Xiaoming inform Yin City's authorities would be more credible than hearing it from a complete bystander like him.

"This is seriously cursed. I only wanted to catch an Asian, yet it somehow dragged out such a huge mess."

Gu Xin felt incredibly unlucky. He only wanted to develop steadily and grow stronger; he had no desire to get mixed up in major events.

"Tomorrow, I'm refining that ugly Asian!"

Gu Xin took out his phone and checked the time. It was already eleven o'clock.

Since things had come to this, he might as well watch videos.

The next day arrived. At nine in the morning, Gu Xin got up on time.

"Good morning, Boss. I've already prepared breakfast for you. It's on the table."

Seeing Gu Xin come downstairs, Toyokawa Shoko, who was sitting at the front desk, gave him a sweet smile.

Ever since the gloom in her heart had faded, her whole presence had become much brighter, inside and out.

"Morning." Gu Xin yawned, still seeming a little sleep-deprived.

After breakfast, Gu Xin first went to school to "check in." Worth mentioning was that he saw Blue Lotus in his class.

That nun had actually transferred into Class Four. All he could say was that she really had some skills.

After checking in, Gu Xin returned to his shop.

He was desperate now, unable to wait any longer to refine that damned wolf-kin Asian!

Arriving at the laboratory, Gu Xin took out the freezer containing Simba's preserved corpse.

"Should I do a couple of warm-up tries first?" Gu Xin looked at Simba inside the freezer, hesitated slightly, then immediately gave up on the idea.

"Why warm up? Don't believe rumors, don't spread rumors. Mysticism is unacceptable!"

Gu Xin decisively began selecting the materials for this card-making session.

"The main material will be [Wolf-kin Asian], then add a [Beast Heart]."

[Beast Heart] was the heart of a beast-type magical creature known as a killer leopard.

This time, Gu Xin did not plan to add [Element] materials. [Beast Heart] was essentially an alternative kind of magical elemental material.

"Then add a dose of [Pufferfish Venom]. I bought two doses last time, so I still have one left. Finally..."

No matter what, poison was truly extremely useful!

It was even more effective against enemies without poison resistance. If necessary, it had to be added!

Gu Xin then kept scanning the cabinets along the wall before finally settling on a pair of blood-red hooked claws.

[Crimson Claw], a second-tier magical piece of equipment with Rending and Bloodthirst effects, was also one of the highest-quality items in Gu Xin's collection.

[Wolf-kin Asian] + [Beast Heart] + [Pufferfish Venom] + [Crimson Claw]!

"Very good. Come on!"

Would he be able to make it successfully?