As several bodies fell one after another, the girl responsible for communications beside the Rose Queen on the opposite side of Yang Zicang’s Syn-Link immediately covered her mouth and screamed.
{Ah! You’re killing people.}
Yang Zicang clenched his fist, covered his mouth, gave a light cough, nodded, and thought to himself:
[Now you should know that these people in the team can steal others’ Moxel.]
The girl over there immediately fell silent. Here, even the most naive understood that certain things could only be washed away with blood.
The surrounding clamor continued unabated. Several figures were trying to push through the crowd to escape, causing a commotion.
–He’s also from Shi Qian’s team.-
–And him! I saw this man; he came with that Li guy.-
Two more people were caught and dragged before the human wall.
–I, we’re not!- stammered one man with an unrefined accent.
Pfft!
As the head fell to the ground in an instant, another man trembled in fear and said:
–W-wait! I’ll provide clues! Clues about the others! I haven’t done anything yet.-
Yang Zicang said, –Tell me everything you know, and I’ll spare your life.-
–Chu Jun. Chu Jun orchestrated everything tonight. He used his ability to induce Zhang Xian, the shed master, to invite everyone under the guise of a memorial ceremony—both a memorial and a celebration. At the same time, he had an excuse to invite the big clients.-
–What!-
Zhang Xian, who had escaped the calamity by going outside to toast, stood frozen.
–Suggestion ability? Tell me more.-
–Yes, it’s a Moxel ability. It can make people do as Chu Jun says. Though it doesn’t always work, the odds are still high.-
A chill of dread crept into Yang Zicang’s heart. He now understood where that sudden impulse at the banquet table had come from.
Zhang Xian and a few other shed owners who had organized the gathering were shaking with fear.
Still, that cleared them of suspicion.
The captured man spoke with a trembling voice:
–A lot of people have been suggested by Chu Jun. And Chu Jun’s ‘suggestion’ was stolen too.-
Whoa! An uproar erupted. This was too terrifying.
The man continued:
–And on the way here, I heard another Lord Shi Qian—no, another Li Shangxiang say that once he gets Chu Jun’s psychological suggestion ability, he’s going to Rose Creek to claim those beauties. Make them all fall madly in love with him.-
The lady on the other end of the sensory feed froze for a moment. Only the voice kept coming.
–He said he dreams of being in bed with the Rose Queen, doing… well, you know.-
Yang Zicang’s brow twitched. Another Li Shangxiang?
The crowd around burst into clamor.
–Damn! I’ve never seen the Rose Queen, but I’ve heard she’s gorgeous! Svelte and curvy, legs so fine.-
–The Shi Qian crew is after the Rose Queen too? I… fuck, he’s after every beauty there!-
{Yang Zicang, shut him up! Ah~ Sister Rose, Yang Zicang, Sister Rose says kill him!}
Yang Zicang instantly severed the Syn-Link.
That girl’s link reconnected, but Yang Zicang quickly latched onto a random Syn-Link to dodge the direct awkwardness.
{Oh my god, it’s Master Zicang! Finally connected to you! I worship you so much—can you invest a little in me? Even throwing me some junk would do.}
Link broken.
A crowd was bustling around the bloodstains, scrambling to dig that patch into an isolated island.
–Any more info? Keep talking.-
Without any prompting from Yang Zicang and the others, someone was already dragging that guy, forcing him to spill more about Shi Qian.
–A few days ago, the Big Client’s action caused tons of unknown but powerful Moxel to pop up in the Frequency-Lost Land. The Shi Qians have already done a preliminary allocation. The Black Dragon King’s precious Nen ability goes to Lord Three, and the hypnotic healing ability of that beauty in the Qushui Shed area goes to Lord Five…-
The crowd was already seething with rage.
–How despicable!-
–Good thing my ability isn’t that strong—it’s not in the top tier,- someone said, relieved.
The man went on, –Even those non-top Moxel, they plan to use suggestion abilities to recruit them one by one, turning them into formidable generals for the team.-
–Pfft!- Some people who had just taken a couple of sips of wine to calm their nerves instantly spat out a mouthful.
–Even if they can’t fully tame them, when they encounter a more interesting Moxel ability, they can steal it, craft it into an ability ball for trade, and give it to us low-level members to swap out.-
–They want to sell us off like pigs in a poke!-
Everyone lost their composure.
Word of what happened here had already spread across countless linked channels, layer by layer, until now it had nearly saturated most of the Lost Frequency Land.
Through the Syn-Link of the few red-Moxel individuals here, many—including the Rose Queen—had already heard these words. A chill ran down countless spines.
……
Black Dragon Mountain Settlement.
–Shi Qian!-
Bang! The burly man’s slap nearly shattered the tree trunk beside him.
Minutes ago, the Black Dragon King had been clearing debris from a collapsed house when someone suddenly ran up in a panic, shouting about earth-shattering news: Yang Zicang had almost been ambushed.
He’d been in the Syn-Link feed for less than three minutes—still lusting after the secret techniques and sneering that Yang Zicang had gotten what he deserved—and now the Black Dragon King was roaring with fury.
–Shi Qian’s crew, I’ll cut you into a thousand pieces!-
……
Inside a broken-down little town surrounded by a river, its walls collapsed, an elegant ancient palace stood amid the ruins.
In the great hall of Rose Creek, it was dinner time.
The plump, beautiful woman seated at the center of the long table kept her lips pressed tight. Her ears were red, her chest rose and fell in slow heaves, and her eyes were half veiled like silk, not daring to meet the gazes of the people on either side of the table.
–Sister Rose,- the girl who had initially offered to ask Yang Zicang for him looked at the woman innocently.
–It’s okay, even if you don’t say, Big Sister has already heard.- Beside her, another girl linked to the red Moxel over there had an even redder face than the Rose Queen.
–Shi Qian,- Xu Aiyuan gritted her teeth and muttered under her breath.
Without her having to give an order, the people eating on both sides of the long table that stretched across the hall were already scowling, calling out to their friends and sharpening their knives.
–How dare they have designs on Miss Aiyuan.-
–I’ll make them move something else away.-
……
Qushui Shed Area.
The female shed owner, who had always been as gentle as water, now stared at the image in her Syn-Link with a face like ice. Those around her seemed to faintly see steam rising from her head, as if something was burning.
……
Inside the desolate chariot.
The Wasteland Lord scrambled out of the bronze carriage in panic, pouring a bag of ability spheres clattering into the deep pit that had opened up from the earthquake.
–Boss.-
The people around gathered closer. The Wasteland Lord turned and looked at them. –Get out, all of you get out! You’re all Shi Qian’s people!-
The people exchanged looks. In the end, no one dared to go against his words. They all stepped past him, jumped off the chariot, and stared at him.
–Go to hell, you fucking beast! No wonder we couldn’t reach Mingying for so long——turns out it’s Wuying running around! Up yours!-
He cursed loudly at the ability balls in the pit, not daring to touch any of the ones in his bag, fearing that even a single touch might cause his own Moxel to vanish.
The bronze warrior seated on the bronze chariot slowly turned his head.
{Why such fury?}
–Charioteer, this thing can actually steal Moxel! That’s a death blow! Quick, let’s move somewhere else—Shi Qian and his people know we’re here.-
{Hmm… do you mean to almost switch to the chariot’s left position?}
The bronze man rose and grasped the chariot’s railing. The two bronze horses ahead began to move, emerging from the collapsed cave. They quickly galloped across the wilderness, raising a plume of dust in the encroaching darkness.
……
Many shantytowns received this sensational news.
They already knew that there were several identical-looking people, all named Li Shangxiang.
……
Wuying had nowhere left to run. He wanted to seek help from the other Li Shangxiangs, to fund his journey to the mysterious place where many had vanished—perhaps there was still a slim chance.
But the four Li Shangxiangs were already in dire straits, their deaths merely a matter of time.
{Yang Zicang, I’m sorry. Spare my life.}
A silk thread flickered, and Wuying’s broken line shot forth.
{If you capture one of the Li Shangxiangs alive, I will surrender my invisibility ability.}
Yang Zicang looked on coldly and callously at the trench the crowd had dug. They were pouring buckets of boiling water and hot oil into it, while a great fire blazed around.
Someone had already brought iron buckets, and others were carrying iron plates and other materials.
Yang Zicang didn’t say a word.
The young man, now running a slight fever, sat on the left side of the square, sprawling in his seat as he watched the bustling crowd with an air of authority.
The link broke.
But soon another silken thread shot toward Boboli.
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