Oh, You Still Have Compassion?

Stitching up skin is definitely the most time-consuming task, especially putting back the original skin that has been cut into pieces. It not only takes a lot of time, but also consumes terrifying Sacred Potion.

Li Ziran grabbed his hair, deeply troubled. He couldn't just ignore the girl who had been slashed so badly.

Although Nicole left him a bottle of top-grade Sacred Potion, it wouldn't be enough to use it up on such a routine surgery. Besides, the three Mermaid in front of him were homeless and had no way of getting reimbursed for the Sacred Potion.

"Damn seawater!"

Li Ziran cursed under his breath; he had to take the blame for this.

His eyes darted around and landed on the rabbit girl with the broken tail, whose leather was still intact, and he immediately had an idea.

The Corpse Witch simply flipped the girl with the severed tail up, made a fine incision along her scalp, and easily produced a Frog skin in his hand.

"Oh well, I guess I'll just have to make do."

Although such a major skin replacement would be time-consuming, it would save time and money. If he performed the surgery with the two Corpse Witch, the Mermaid girl could be restored by tomorrow morning.

The surgical scissors swished and cleaned inside the room, tossing pieces of skin into the pool, instantly turning the steaming hot bathtub a bright red.

The Corpse Witch quickly cut the skin, causing Emily, who was standing to the side, to stare wide-eyed. Although she knew from Li Ziran that he could transplant skin onto girls, in her understanding, it was just removing some dead skin. But now this man had completely peeled off the Mermaid's skin, and even cut two new legs on the fish tail, before pasting the short-tailed rabbit girl's skin onto it intact.

This doesn't look like a skin change; it's more like pasting paper on top.

This was something that Emily thought was completely impossible, yet it actually happened right before her eyes.

At this moment, his determination to follow Li Ziran became even stronger.

Inside the room, Li Ziran was busy and tense, while in a closed chamber in the Hippo Ancient City, three men sat facing each other with serious expressions, a map placed between them.

This is a map of a city-state. The most prominent feature on the map is the "First Street" marked in the center. Various shops are drawn on both sides of the avenue. Anyone familiar with maps will recognize that this is an aerial view of the entire Hippo Ancient City.

First Street is only half the length of a little finger, but it is the center of ten ring First Street. These ring streets are formed by eight straight lines running in eight directions, connecting all the streets together. At first glance, it looks like a very neat spider web.

On this peculiar 'spider web', Slave-Sorting Platform, slave screening platforms, slave exhibition stands, gladiatorial arenas, slave shops, auction houses, and all sorts of other literal descriptions appear endlessly.

"Sandrew, your suggestion is good, but I still need to personally verify whether this human has the strength." The speaker was a man with three curved horns on his forehead. Although he was wearing a formal suit, he could not hide the scales on his face. Behind his suit, a Tail full of thorns trailed out, with the end of the Tail naturally forked into nine segments.

But the most unusual pair of eyes, a deep purplish-red, had no pupils; instead, they were round gemstones resembling swirls.

This is a multi-tailed Demon, Lower Demon.

Sandrew was not pleased by the praise; he knew the nature of Demon well, especially Demon Overlord who held military power.

These guys, who are inherently aggressive, are basically lunatics. To get anything out of them, you need to have a solid business deal.

"Of course, that's necessary." Sandrew maintained his necessary smile. "You've seen the sample; it's absolutely the best product in the world today, there won't be any problems with it. However, I need to guarantee Li Ziran's absolute safety. I want to reiterate that he's not a product in my hands, but a formal member of the Shadow Society. I don't want any friction between us on issues of understanding, especially you Demon. It's best not to test his soul casually, and especially not with any slave contracts, understand?"

The Demon Overlord paused for a moment, then let out a strange laugh, "Sandrew, ten grams of Abyss demon gold paired with the skeleton of a Purgatory Black Dragon —how about this human for me?"

As the voice faded, Rhine Duke, who had been silent to the side, visibly took a breath. Clearly, the skeleton of the Purgatory Black Dragon was extremely valuable, especially to Necromancer. A skeleton meant a Bone Dragon, and for Necromancer of his caliber, each additional Bone Dragon would significantly boost his strength.

But he still laughed. He had shown Li Ziran to the Demon, and not just for a Bone Dragon.

"As I said, Li Ziran a member of the Shadow Society, an equal to me. I hope you and the Demon under your command will respect him."

The Demon Overlord chuckled instantly, but his eyes were cold. "Sandrew, stop with the hypocritical tricks. He's just a baseless human. If it weren't for this tiny bit of Demon -cultivation skill, do you really think you could get the Black Dragon's corpse? The world moves forward, so we have to look ahead. He might be useful now, but in a day or two, he might be worthless. In Hippo Ancient City, the most volatile thing is the price of slaves, right?"

This obvious warning caused the Rhine Duke to frown repeatedly, and that was the truth.

Although Li Ziran's methods were ingenious, it was not impossible to steal them, especially for Demon, who were most adept at attacking the soul and stealing memories.

The thought of Li Ziran's strength made him lose confidence.

Sandrew's firmness surprised him. Without hesitation, he said, "Commander, if this is your attitude, I think we can end this conversation today. I see no sincerity in you whatsoever. I've said this isn't business. Li Ziran is my friend."

Seeing that Sandrew stood up as if to kick him out, the Demon Overlord finally became a little anxious and laughed, "No, no, no, Sandrew, I was just joking. After all, this is our first time cooperating, and I hope you can understand. Yes, friends, we're all friends. That Li Ziran is also my friend. Let's stick to the original plan, and I will give him enough respect."

However, if this person's abilities aren't as miraculous as you imagine, I'm sorry, but don't blame me for being blunt.

He stood up, bowed, and said with a smile, "I have to go prepare the operating room for your friend. I promise, I'll do it with all my heart!" After saying that, he pushed open the door and quietly walked out. In the instant he stepped out, his scales and Tail disappeared, and he transformed into a human and left.

"Sandrew, what are you thinking?"

Without the Demon, Rhine Duke could no longer contain his curiosity and asked, "Respect? You want to give Li Ziran respect? Isn't that ridiculous?"

"Ridiculous!" Sandrew said with certainty. "I never thought these guys could follow the rules."

"Then why let Li Ziran deal with the Demon alone? I could have handled this kind of business. We know how capable Li Ziran is. He's very talented, but the more talented someone is, the harder they are to control, especially humans. How often have they groveled before? Sandrew, don't forget, the Justice Alliance is primarily composed of humans. Giving Li Ziran this kind of opportunity might one day eliminate you."

"Are you scared?" Sandrew asked mysteriously.

"What?" Rhine Duke was taken aback by the question and didn't immediately understand.

"Sigh, it seems you've been on the Grasslands for too long, you've lost all your edge. This time, after eliminating the Vampire, it's probably your turn." Sandrew said with some melancholy and regret. "Thinking back to when you joined the Shadow Society, you were so full of vigor. I never thought you'd be nearing the end of your road."

Rhine Duke looked very uncomfortable, but the thought of being eliminated finally brought a rare hint of panic to his usually calm face.

"I have a way!" Rhine Duke replied stubbornly.

"A solution? Recruiting the Elves of the Grasslands? Or usurping the throne of the Rhine Clan? Stop dreaming. You know better than anyone that even if you succeed, it will only make Shadow Elder value you more. Can you escape?"

Upon hearing the word "escape, "Rhine Duke's expression finally crumbled. He stared intently at Sandrew and exclaimed in astonishment, "How dare you utter such a thing?"

Sandrew said dismissively, "What's there to hide? You don't mean to report this to Shadow Elder and have me turned into a puppet, do you?"

He tapped his head as he spoke, "That old guy knows everything. Doesn't he know how many people in the Shadow Society are plotting? Wake up! If he wanted to, that Shadow Crescent Moon could destroy your Spirit World in an instant. Brother, do you still expect to break through the Shadow Society's blockade and join the Dark Council one day?"

Rhine Duke remained silent, though he was reluctant to admit it, Sandrew was telling the truth.

The Shadow Society did provide them with special resources to help them grow stronger, but as their power increased and their influence grew, they felt the constraints imposed on them by the organization.

Assembly!

These seemingly simple meetings are, in fact, a constant test of one's own abilities.

A tiny Shadow Point, yet it keeps moving forward all day long, as if its rear end is on fire.

They are seizing resources, but in the end, all the resources will unknowingly flow into the hands of Shadow Elder, leaving him with only pitiful Shadow Point.

Press!

Rhine Duke dared not say it, but it was the truth.

The exploitation from Shadow Elder made him feel suffocated.

They are already exhausted from being exploited, but they still have to prepare for the next gathering.

Resistance.

He had thought about it before, but whenever he thought of Shadow Elder, he felt as if he were an insurmountable mountain range.

His strength was far inferior to Sandrew's, let alone his ability to resist.

"Sandrew, tell me your thoughts. I can assure you, we are true friends," the Rhine Duke said obsequiously, expressing his loyalty.

Sandrew didn't answer, but quietly looked at Rhine Duke and asked softly, "Have you noticed any patterns in the Shadow Society?"

"What pattern?" Rhine Duke asked, puzzled.

"Newcomer, haven't you noticed how much Shadow Elder cares about newcomers?" Sandrew said with a faint smile. "Think back to when you first joined the Shadow Society, how much Shadow Elder valued you, how many resources you received as a privilege. You were truly riding high back then."

Rhine Duke gave a bitter smile. Those were all things of the past. Now, he had little value and could be eliminated at any time.

But he quickly came to his senses. "Sandrew, are you saying that Shadow Elder's focus will now be entirely on Li Ziran?"

"Brilliant!" Sandrew said. "You wanted to know my plan, didn't you? It's simple. Recommend Li Ziran to the Demon, and then gradually drag Shadow Elder into it. Think about it, the Demon are not to be trifled with. Dealing with this race is like playing with fire. Who do you think will be burned by Li Ziran's fire?"

Rhine Duke's eyes lit up. "Of course it's Shadow Elder! Absolutely brilliant! Sandrew, if we secretly give it a push, do you think it's possible that the Demon's order went wrong and they'll have to hold someone accountable?"

"Absolutely possible, but I wonder if the Justice Alliance and the Inquisition would intervene if some details of cooperating with Demon were secretly leaked?" Sandrew asked deliberately.

Rhine Duke was stunned. He had never expected it to be this thorough. If things continued like this, Shadow Elder might really perish.

Currently, Sandrew is the strongest member of the Shadow Society, and he can launch a powerful attack when the time comes.

"What should I do?" Rhine Duke asked excitedly.

"It's simple. Factory, Demon breeding factory. Recruit a large number of laborers on the Grasslands you control to build underground Demon breeding factories, the more the better. I need to find a way to communicate with the Demon and form a fixed smuggling route. The two of us will work together to breed Demon in large quantities and then transport them to the Abyss. That way we can make money. And we need to find a way to make Li Ziran continuously demonstrate his value and breed new Demon. Just two or three Demon transactions will be enough. Given Shadow Elder's personality, he will definitely want to control this business. At that time, we will ask for some chips, withdraw, and just wait to watch the show."

Rhine Duke's eyes lit up, but then his expression froze. "What about Li Ziran? Isn't this tantamount to selling him out?"

"Oh, you still have compassion?" Sandrew chuckled. "If you feel guilty, you can secretly help."

Rhine Duke was taken aback, then quickly laughed, "Let me, Orc, take care of humans? Ridiculous! I just feel it's a bit of a waste; what promising talents they are. Alright, I'll head back to the Grasslands now to speed up the construction of the Demon Factory. Sandrew, be careful with the smuggling routes here. Keep a close eye on that Li Ziran."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, they left the secret room in high spirits.

With the Rhine Duke gone, Sandrew's expression gradually calmed down. Looking at the doorway, there was a hint of disdain in his eyes. This kind of person was only good for being used.

"Hey, Li Ziran, you can modify organs, but I wonder if you can modify the Spirit World. If you can't help me remove the Shadow Badge from my Spirit World, it seems I'll have no choice but to sell you."