Wu Xiaode breathed a sigh of relief.
These days, it's hard to find a few people to talk to on the street, but if you switch to the internet—
Tens of thousands, even millions, are not a dream!
He gathered his thoughts and looked towards Li Zheng, who was sprinting into the darkness.
The guy was burdened with the calamity of killing him and had already troubled him twice.
Did he have time to play with him?
Should he deal with him?
Once Wu Xiaode's killing intent flared, his entire demeanor changed completely.
Ya flapped its wings in excitement, awaiting the start of the slaughter.
Suddenly—
The ground began to shake again.
Li Zheng stood in the darkness, unreachable by the streetlight, and laughed maniacally, "Wu Xiaode, I just wanted to test your skills just now, but now I'm certain, you're definitely going to die!"
In the darkness.
A row of type 10275 humanoid combat mechas slowly approached.
Two "police" officers had already each manned a Battle Armor, and Li Zheng also jumped onto another Mobile Battle Armor, entering the cockpit, and directed the Mecha to raise its machine gun.
All the Mobile Battle Armors raised their machine guns at once—
Wu Xiaode looked at the dark muzzles and cannons, ready to transform into a crow and soar into the sky, but then he noticed something strange.
—The Mobile Battle Armor remained stationary.
A cold electronic voice came from the Mobile Battle Armor:
"Criminal data updated."
"Current target is a high-level authority owner, identity confidential, attack prohibited."
"Initiating takeover of current Mobile Battle Armor."
"Takeover complete."
"Preparing to return."
"Departing!"
Boom—
The entire row of Mobile Battle Armors flew one by one into the high sky and quickly disappeared from Wu Xiaode's sight.
Wu Xiaode stood there dumbstruck.
—What's going on, why did they all leave?
Could it be...
Wu Xiaode thought of someone.
Yes, it could only be him who could do this.
He'd find an opportunity to thank him later,
Wu Xiaode shook his head and picked up his phone, ready to delete that live-streaming app.
Doing this once was enough.
He had many things he must do, some even requiring him to conceal his identity; he definitely couldn't be so conspicuous again.
Wu Xiaode's hand was about to press down, but suddenly he paused.
Because the screen was suddenly filled with dense fireworks, covering the entire screen.
"How—everyone—ah, thank you all for your tips," he hastily said.
Each firework was a dollar.
With so many fireworks, he was making a fortune!
On the phone screen, suddenly a plane flew by.
Shit!
A plane!
Showing a plane in the live-stream cost 10 dollars.
That's a breakfast right there!
Wu Xiaode immediately beamed with joy and said over and over, "Thank you, guys, for your tips."
"What? Why does this film seem so realistic?"
"Because... we've invested a lot in special effects and props, striving for authenticity and credibility."
"Could it be real? Of course not!"
Suddenly, a line of colorful text popped up on the screen:
"Young man, show us proof, and I'll send you a rocket."
A rocket?
He's going to send a rocket?
A rocket is 500 bucks, enough to buy a good pair of shoes!
Wu Xiaode suppressed the excitement in his heart, walked up to a wall, and said, "Alright, actually this wall is also a prop, take a good look—"
He placed his hand on the wall, and it entered effortlessly like sinking into mud.
As he walked forward, allowing his hand to leave deep marks on the wall, he explained with his phone in hand:
"See? Could anyone spread open a wall with their bare hands? Impossible, right?"
"Exactly, exactly, these are all custom-made props."
"Yes, they are all props."
Accompanied by a burst of brilliant special effects, a rocket rose from the bottom of the screen, crossing the entire interface.
It was really a rocket!
500 dollars!
And most importantly, this money was clean, earned by his own labor!
Actually, he shouldn't delete the live-streaming app.
What if at some future moment, the Book of the Dead went crazy again and needed to gather likes?
Yes, for his own growth, he should keep his live streaming account.
Wu Xiaode smiled and said:
"Thank you guys, bros, 666~"
"Okay, that's it for today's live stream, see you next time!"
He swiped his hand.
The app was closed by Wu Xiaode.
He breathed a sigh of relief, stretched lazily, and said, "Finally, everything is settled..."
Only then did he notice that a group of beggars were still standing by, each looking at him dumbfounded.
"It's all fake," Wu Xiaode waved at them.
The beggars didn't move.
They looked at Wu Xiaode and then back at the wall.
Even if everything was fake—
The wall was real!
We live here every day, how can you deceive us with this wall?
"Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!"
A string of stars burst above everyone's heads, making Wu Xiaode a bit embarrassed.
He looked towards the Book of the Dead.
Two rows of ice crystals' small words appeared on the Book of the Dead:
"You have earned the admiration and fear of 21 beggars."
"These are also part of the book—used by the book to upgrade its new function."
Miser!
You're already upgrading, yet you still covet the possessions of beggars, I really misjudged you!
Wu Xiaode cursed inwardly but, having no other choice, could only shake his head and transform into a crow, soaring into the sky, quickly vanishing from sight.
Dozens of beggars looked up together.
"He flew away," the leader of the beggars muttered.
"Yes, he flew away, boss," a beggar said.
The crowd felt that tonight's shock was greater than the entirety of their previously mundane lives.
Suddenly.
A faint voice arose:
"What are you talking about?"
The beggars turned their heads and saw that the Mecha, which had been burning earlier, had somehow extinguished.
A man holding an umbrella and wearing a black wide-brimmed hat stood there, smiling as he gazed appreciatively at the Mecha.
"There were five strikes in total; each perfectly calibrated to just disrupt the internal structure of the Mecha. How did you manage that?"
He hesitated for a moment, then bowed toward the Mecha: "Truly incredible. If it were me, I doubt I could control my strength to such a delicate extent... With one hit of mine, it would have shattered."
After speaking, the umbrella in his hand disappeared for a moment.
Clang—
A harsh metallic sound rang out as a fierce wind surged forth.
The entire Mecha was slashed away, flung into the sky, turned into fragments, then into dust, and finally into tiny particles, disappearing into the wind with a gust.
Having done all this, the man then turned to face the beggars.
"What were you just saying?" he asked with a smile.
"Sir... the criminal, he turned into a bird and flew away," the leader of the beggars said.
"Why would he come here?" the man asked.
"One of our unseeing brothers wanted to bring him here to make some money," the leader of the beggars confessed without hiding anything.
"Honesty is a very good quality, so I will not torment you," the man said.
He reopened his umbrella and nodded toward the beggars: "Then, we'll part here, please peacefully go to die."
He suddenly disappeared.
The beggars looked at each other.
"Did he just tell us to peacefully go die?" the leader of the beggars asked.
The other beggars nodded in agreement.
The leader of the beggars fell silent for a moment then suddenly slapped his thigh: "Let's go, right now, don't stop for a minute."
He took a step forward but found himself falling to the ground.
What's going on?
The leader of the beggars couldn't help but look back.
He saw his body halved, standing motionlessly in place.
The same was true for the other beggars.
Blood quietly flowed in the darkness, ushering these people into an eternal slumber.
...
Let's turn back time a little.
Binjiang Road.
Food God Restaurant.
All customers had left, and the doors of the restaurant were closed.
Inside the hall.
Dressed in black, dozens of men stood packed tightly, yet completely silent.
Zhao Junyu sat in the central master's chair, having brewed himself a pot of Pu'er tea, he lifted the cup near his nose to smell.
"Only this fragrance can mask the smell of blood."
He praised and then sipped the tea leisurely.
Two men in black came down from upstairs.
One whispered in his ear: "Young master, everything has been cleanly handled."
Zhao Junyu swallowed the tea, without lifting his head, said: "Tell those traditional martial arts schools that the Director of the Imperial Garrison Bureau met his demise in a life or death battle with my side's Iron Wire Fist master."
An underling asked, "What if they want to challenge that Iron Wire Fist master?"
"Say he had an epiphany right after the battle, has gone into seclusion, and will come out after three months, ready to fight any challenger to the death," Zhao Junyu said coolly.
"Yes," his underling hurriedly went to see it done.
Zhao Junyu picked up his phone, dialed a number:
"Sister, the position at the Garrison Bureau has opened up."
A female voice came through the phone: "Father is already arranging for it, this time we must let our people secure that position, how have you handled things on your end?"
"I will display the bodies for them to see, to show them that this evening's confession was just us drawing the snake out of its hole, now with Iron Wire Fist reemerging, to kill everyone who dares to move against me," Zhao Junyu said.
"Two people from the United Manufacturing Technology Company died," the female voice said.
"Who's being blamed?" Zhao Junyu asked.
"Not yet decided, because they both jumped from the upper floor to their deaths, and none of the surveillance has confirmed any suspects yet," the female voice said.
"I see," Zhao Junyu said.
"If you're planning to do something, make sure it's clean," the female voice said with deeper meaning.
"Don't worry, sister," Zhao Junyu said.
Then he hung up the phone.
Zhao Junyu gestured.
Everyone turned their backs, guarding all directions, vigilantly watching for any disturbances inside and outside the restaurant.
Everything was normal.
Zhao Junyu then took out his phone and said in a low voice: "Verify high-level authority."
The phone was silent for a moment, then suddenly emitted a cold electronic voice: "Full-scope verification passed, what do you require?"
"Please load the personal identity file of citizen number XS54385854908672173, name Wu Xiaode," Zhao Junyu said.
"Loaded," the electronic voice said.
"I authorize, immediately delete all killings related to Wu Xiaode and generate beneficial alibi evidence at once," Zhao Junyu said.
The emotionless voice responded: "Decision system executing current command, 3, 2, 1, execution complete."
"Extract the bank account and records of the former director of the Garrison Bureau, extract relevant evidence, require the Inspection Bureau to take immediate action, and confirm the evidence of his abuse of power, acceptance of bribes, and framing," Zhao Junyu said.
"Further authorization needed," the electronic voice said.
"I authorize," Zhao Junyu said.
"Beginning to execute current command, execution complete," the electronic voice said.
"Upgrade Wu Xiaode's electronic tier to—Imperial Family Guard, not subject to interference from any authority outside the Imperial Family," Zhao Junyu said.
"Beginning to execute current command, execution complete," the electronic voice said.
"Erase all commands I issued," Zhao Junyu said.
"Beginning to execute current command, execution complete," the electronic voice said.
Zhao Junyu nodded in satisfaction, pocketed his phone.
He poured himself another cup of tea, smelling the fragrance, he closed his eyes for a long time, then suddenly recited:
"With no woman in heart, actions becomes divine."