Rainbow Street.
This is a row of bars, where all sorts mingle together and the traffic is never-ending. At night, music thunders through the air, creating an extraordinarily lively atmosphere.
Wu Xiaode got out of the car, adjusted the clown mask on his face, and strode quickly past the main street to knock on a side door of a bar.
The surveillance camera above the door pointed at him.
Wu Xiaode took out a card and casually waved it around.
He waited a few moments.
The door opened.
Wu Xiaode walked in.
"Mr. Clown, you look quite unfamiliar here," said the waiter who was in charge of reception.
"I indeed seldom come here," Wu Xiaode replied.
"Are you here for fun, or do you have serious business?"
"Serious business."
"Please follow me," the waiter said with a smile.
It was just past eight in the evening. The place was not very crowded, and the music was soft.
Wu Xiaode followed the waiter all the way inside to a private room deep within the bar.
"Welcome."
A bald man wearing sunglasses sat on the sofa, puffing on a cigar while lifting his glass to Wu Xiaode.
Five or six gaudily beautiful women sat on the sofa.
Several burly men stood or sat by the door, faces filled with fierceness and defiance.
"I need to purchase some things," Wu Xiaode said.
The bald man swiped casually in the void in front of him, and a gentle female voice suddenly filled the room:
"Customer number 3057, Platinum Card, duration of use: four years, bearer card."
The bald man clicked his tongue twice and exhaled a smoke ring, "This Platinum Card hasn't been used—your account must still have quite a bit of money—why don't you spend some, and I'll show you a good time all night long?"
"No need," Wu Xiaode said calmly.
"You sound like you're not even eighteen yet, tsk, to get this card means you can spend the money on it freely—come on, let me show you the truly prosperous side of the world, how about it?" The bald man grinned, revealing his yellowing and blackened rotten teeth.
"I said no need," replied Wu Xiaode.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
"Go, all of you, get out," the bald man said irritably, waving his hand at those around him.
The pretty girls all got up and walked towards the exit of the private room.
The thugs began to close in on Wu Xiaode.
"You little punk—"
Just as the bald man was about to say something harsh, he suddenly stopped.
The clown had reached out and gently pressed a spot on the wall.
A handprint several inches deep quietly appeared.
The spot covered by the handprint was not only cement but also happened to have a piece of steel decorative plate.
The steel plate was pressed into the wall as well—
It looked as if it was just made of paper.
The clown withdrew his hand, remaining silent and sitting quietly as if nothing had happened.
The bald man paused momentarily, then suddenly burst out laughing, "Come, come, come, good brother, it's our first meeting, come over here and sit down, let's have a drink together—"
"What are you dumb girls standing there for? Fei Fei, Xiao Xiao, and Lili, all of you come and attend to our esteemed guest!"
The girls started laughing and encircled Wu Xiaode on either side.
"I don't need these, I'm in a hurry, there's something I need to buy right away," Wu Xiaode's voice came from behind the clown mask.
"Alright, alright, as you wish."
The bald man sent the girls away and personally poured a drink and handed it to Wu Xiaode before asking, "Brother, what do you want?"
"An identity."
"For how long?"
"Seven days."
"Seven days?"
"Yes, my time is extremely precious, seven days... should be just about enough."
"No problem, go ahead and pick."
The bald man snapped his fingers and said, "Qianqian, provide the holographic images for customer selection, service category twenty-one."
A series of lights flashed in the private room, coalescing into various images of men with differing appearances.
Wu Xiaode looked at these images and asked, "Are they reliable?"
"Absolutely reliable, these people are all under my management. Once you have made your choice, they will disappear for a day, and you will appear on the street with their identity—"
The bald man stressed, "Anything that happens during that day will be attributed to them, even murder."
"I guess it's not cheap," said Wu Xiaode.
"Of course, because you hold card number 3057, you are our Platinum customer, and you can enjoy such services—the price is naturally up to the service's value," said the bald man.
Wu Xiaode looked at the images of the people.
These individuals were tall and short, fat and thin, of varying ages.
"If I choose this fat guy, is there a way to disguise myself as him?" Wu Xiaode pointed to a bald fat man.
"Injection to speed up cell metabolism, temporary display of an aged physique, and we have specialized modelers to apply adipose gel on your body, facial modeling won't be a problem either, we can directly create a facial mask; as for the pupils, we have 3D printed specialized optical colored contacts for your convenience."
"That's very professional, not bad, but how do we deal with height?" asked Wu Xiaode.
"We have martial arts experts who provide a one-time bone shrinking service, it's a bit painful, but you can choose the painless package," said the bald man with a shrug.
"Good, I'll take this man's identity," said Wu Xiaode.
He pointed to a lean young man.
"Qianqian, retrieve the data," said the bald man.
"Yes," the female voice began to read, "Name: Zhang Chen, farmer from the Capital's first suburban district, working at Plantation number fifty-one until now."
"His identity is clean," the bald man said.
"Alright, I'll take him," declared Wu Xiaode.
The private room's door opened.
Several men walked in and scrutinized Wu Xiaode, saying, "Sir, please follow us to complete the modeling."
Wu Xiaode stood up.
The bald man also stood up, laughing heartily as he stretched out his hand and said, "Brother, welcome to the underground world. You are truly exceptional. I can already see a rising star emerging."
Wu Xiaode shook his hand and asked, "Do you sell guns?"
"Brother, guns are hard to come by, and having those things would be real trouble for us," the bald man sincerely replied.
"Alright, I understand. Thank you for this time." Wu Xiaode said.
The bald man grinned, responding, "You're welcome anytime."
Wu Xiaode followed the men out of the private room.
After he left, the bald man heaved a big sigh of relief, plopped down on the sofa, grabbed a bottle of liquor, and downed it in one go, muttering in a low voice:
"Damn it, that was really freaky, nearly scared me to death..."
A subordinate, puzzled, said, "Boss, it was just a handprint on the wall. Although his skills are not bad, it didn't warrant such courtesy."
The other subordinates nodded in agreement.
The bald man took another swig from the bottle, emptying it completely, before some color returned to his face.
He stood up, walked over to the wall, and spoke in a deep tone:
"Do you know why I'm the boss, and you're not?"
The underlings shook their heads in bewilderment.
"Insight."
As the bald man spoke, he tapped gently next to the handprint.
Crash—
Chunks of bricks and stones continuously fell, and the entire wall, several meters tall, caved inward.
The previous handprint had disappeared.
A giant handprint, over a meter long and several meters deep, emerged on the wall.
The bald man, ignoring his subordinates' astonished shouts, stepped back a few paces, all the while staring intently at the massive and fierce handprint.
The previously discontented subordinate uttered with a trembling voice:
"Boss, what the hell is that technique? Just looking at it makes me feel weak at the knees..."
The bald man snorted coldly and cursed, "A bunch of brats, you're only scared now, huh? You've got no vision. Now, get out and get back to work!"
Having been thoroughly convinced, the subordinates one by one hung their heads and walked out of the private room.
Thud!
The private room's door closed.
The bald man pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, murmuring in a low voice:
"Damn, that scared the hell out of me."
...
Under the night sky.
Rainbow Street was brightly lit, bustling with people.
Wu Xiaode slowly walked along the street and suddenly looked toward a shop's window display.
A large screen in the window was broadcasting the news.
The dignified and elegant female anchor spoke gravely to the camera, "The murderer's methods were extremely brutal; the two victims were tied to chairs, and burned alive... The suspect's name is Wu Xiaode, wanted for arson and murder, currently at large. The public is urged to be vigilant, and the special combat team has already been deployed..."
Wu Xiaode stood rooted to the spot.
Two police officers in black uniforms walked by him from behind but didn't give him a second glance.
At that moment, Wu Xiaode had assumed the appearance of a person named Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen was a peasant from the suburbs, with an unequivocal identity, so ordinary among the crowd that he wouldn't attract anyone's notice.
Wu Xiaode's gaze flickered as he looked into the void.
A thick book with a black cover silently opened, revealing a row of ice crystal small characters:
"Are you sure you want to issue a task?"
"I'm sure."
Wu Xiaode silently affirmed in his mind.
The opportunity to issue a task was obtained after completing the mission from that ancestral spirit.
Wu Xiaode intended to use it.
He was about to head to Death Demon Cave very soon.
If he could ensure Xia Huilan was safe and sound, he would have one less concern in his heart.
The Book of the Dead once again revealed a row of ice crystal small characters:
"Please find a secluded, quiet, and uninhabited place to allow this book to issue the task on the Wish Wall."
Wu Xiaode paused to think and remembered that in this area of the city, there were several districts under demolition. The houses were in the process of being torn down and were already uninhabited.
——That's the place to go.
Just as he was about to stride forward, a news story on the big screen suddenly caught his attention.
The anchor went on to say, "The earthquake in the Western Ocean has just passed, and the coastal cities have not experienced any tsunamis, which is incredibly fortunate but also puzzling to us."
"Let's now go live to our correspondent on the scene."
The camera switched.
A middle-aged man stood on the seawall, with a helicopter parked beside him.
He held the microphone and said, "Dear viewers, I am standing by the seashore, but the tsunami has not arrived as expected. As you can see, the sea is calm... wait, that's a mirage!"
He stepped aside, pointing in the direction of the ocean.
Massive shadows silently rose along the distant horizon, spreading in every direction.
The middle-aged reporter continued enthusiastically, "It's magnificent. As we all know, a mirage is an optical illusion formed by the refraction of light through the atmosphere reflecting off objects..."
His voice suddenly ceased.
For the enormous sight on the sea's surface gradually became clearer.
It was a massive palace engulfed in ice and snow.
On the ramparts of the palace, stood black skeletal warriors, each holding various weapons, their eye sockets gleaming with a sinister ghost fire, looking towards the shore.