As Chen Chong smiled and asked, a cold wind blew through the corridor, causing two supervisor lackeys to shiver, their vests drenched in cold sweat.
"W-we just, heard noises."
After seeing the bloody scene in the room, the two lackeys were trembling, their tongues tied, stuttering:
"S-so we came to check..."
Their faces turned pale as if they had seen a ghost. They stumbled over their words and continuously stepped back until their bodies pressed against the wall behind them. They tightly gripped the iron rods in their hands, looking extremely frightened.
They never expected the new guy to be so fierce. Instead of scaring this kid, the skinny ghost was beheaded directly and died in a gruesome manner!
The scene of Chen Chong smiling while holding the person's head in the darkness was too shocking. In relative terms, they were the ones who were scared!
"Oh? I see."
Chen Chong smiled and threw the skinny ghost's head to the ground, letting it roll in the puddle of blood. He spoke in a gentle tone:
"This guy wanted to eat me, so I killed him. Is there a problem with that?"
The head of the skinny ghost made a rolling sound, and the two lackeys' eyelids twitched. They felt their legs go weak and forced a smile on their faces:
"If, if that's the case, then, there shouldn't be a problem."
Facing Chen Chong, the intense horror and fear made them unable to disguise the fact that they knew nothing about this matter. They could only stiffly respond.
"Alright."
Without paying any attention to the two lackeys who were frightened, Chen Chong crouched down and wiped his tactical knife with the skinny ghost's clothes. He said to himself:
"Since that's the case, could you two help me clean up this corpse? I need to rest, and it's not proper for him to lie here like this."
The corners of the two lackeys' mouths twitched. They looked at each other and, although they wished to immediately go back and report to Yin Huo, they didn't dare refuse Chen Chong's request in such a terrifying situation.
They thought it over and believed that Chen Chong wouldn't and couldn't lay a hand on them. Finally, with determination, they gritted their teeth and said, "Alright!"
Afterward, Chen Chong sat back on his own bed board, and the two supervisor lackeys stiffly walked into the dark room filled with the smell of blood.
During this process, Chen Chong's figure completely disappeared into the darkness, silently observing their actions.
When these two lackeys arranged a room for himself, they knew that such a bizarre situation might occur. Obviously, it was someone else's instruction. Most likely, it was Iron Mountain, the bloody general's confidant who casually set a trap for him. If it were anyone else, even an awakened one, it would have been possible to fall into it due to carelessness.
The reason why no one lived in this half of the room he was in should also be for this reason.
Dangerous light flashed in Chen Chong's eyes:
"Iron Mountain..."
Feeling a chill down their spines, the two lackeys clenched their teeth and endured their inner fear and the pungent smell of blood. They took out the blanket from the collapsed bed of the skinny ghost, laid it on the ground, and wrapped the headless body of the skinny ghost in the blanket. Then they wiped the bloodstains on the floor haphazardly. Finally, both of them lifted the corpse of the skinny ghost, stained with blood all over, and walked out of the room.
With a creak, the two lackeys carried the corpse and left Chen Chong's room. The door slowly closed behind them.
At this moment, in the other corridor, one by one, fearful faces peeked out. They were laborers who had been awakened from their sleep by the previous commotion, and now they were watching in horror as the two lackeys carried a blood-soaked corpse out of the skinny ghost's room.
"What are you looking at? Go back to sleep!"
The two lackeys shouted at them, wishing they had an extra leg so they could quickly escape. They carried the corpse of the skinny ghost and fled in panic.
...
About ten minutes later, in a standalone house not far from the laborers' dormitory, the dim light from a desk lamp disturbed Yin Huo's sweet dreams. He looked at the two subordinates in front of him with an unpleasant expression and said in a sinister tone:
"This kid is so vigilant and ruthless. Why did he make such a heavy move?"
Upon hearing the report that the skinny ghost was directly beheaded, there was no doubt that his show of force had not achieved any effect. It was equivalent to being slapped lightly by Chen Chong.
"Who knows?"
The two lackeys had a remorseful look on their faces as they recalled their pathetic performance, embellishing their story:
"That skinny ghost was useless. I think that kid had been on guard all along and never really slept. Otherwise, the skinny ghost wouldn't have died so pathetically."
"Captain, what should we do next? Regardless of how useless the skinny ghost was, he was still a scarce talent. This kid killed him as soon as he came. It's obvious that he doesn't take you seriously. By openly ** in the living quarters, he's challenging the rules of the Crimson Territory! Shouldn't we gather people and capture him, giving him a good thrashing and killing his arrogance?"
Hearing the suggestions of the two subordinates, Yin Huo's gaze turned sinister. He calmly said:
"You two fools, do you take me for an idiot? This kid is also an awakened one, and he obviously relies on his relationship with the general to act so fearlessly. Iron Mountain did nothing more than trip him up a bit. He only killed a crazy lunatic who eats humans in his dreams. Who can do anything to him? Am I full and bored, that I must go after him?"
The two lackeys were scolded by Yin Huo until their necks shrank. They nodded submissively, "Then... Captain, what should we..."
"That's enough. Let's leave it at that. You two just focus on keeping an eye on him. But don't get too close when there's nothing happening. Don't give others a reason to find fault with you."
Under the puzzled gazes of the two lackeys, Yin Huo waved his hand and coldly said:
"I've heard that this Chen Chong seems to know some secrets and has a significant role with the General, which is why he enjoys special privileges and preferential treatment. There are quite a few people keeping an eye on us in the territory now. You two are still clever under my command. While watching him, handle it with care and don't trouble yourselves. Once he behaves strangely or someone takes the initiative to approach him, report to me immediately."
Now Yin Huo had already found out the detailed background of Chen Chong from other sources. He realized that this guy was clearly a hot potato. Although he didn't know the exact terms of the deal between Chen Chong and the Blood General, in order to avoid any suspicion from the Blood General, Yin Huo could only temporarily tolerate it.
In the wasteland world today, everyone has their own philosophy of survival. Being an awakened one is not the measure of everything. Yin Huo was able to survive until now and rise to the position of supervisor captain because he was cautious enough and knew very well who the true master of the Crimson Territory was.
Those who didn't understand this had already become dead men.
The gloomy dawn gradually dispersed the darkness, and after a few hours, the Scarlet Territory welcomed its morning.
Just as the sky was getting brighter, the dilapidated houses in the Scarlet Territory became noisy. Fatigued and numb survivors gradually emerged one by one, and the once desolate Scarlet Territory suddenly came alive, bustling with activity.
As the clamor echoed downstairs, Chen Chong, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed in a strange posture in the blood-scented room, slowly opened his eyes, gleaming with vitality.
In his consciousness, his "Manifestation Reserves" had reached 1166 units!
"Less than 2 units in less than an hour. After deducting the 1000 units for backup, I still need nearly two hundred hours of meditation and cultivation to accumulate enough manifestation power for the remaining two **. Time is too tight..." Chen Chong muttered.
The strong and pungent smell of blood seemed to have no effect on him. Chen Chong mentally calculated and let out a long breath, stood up, and moved his joints all over his body.
Although the growth of manifestation power was slow, being able to increase it through self-cultivation was already an unexpected joy for Chen Chong. He couldn't expect too much.
After the two lackeys carried ** out last night, he didn't sleep all night and was practicing the "Ultimate Limit Qi Gong". At this moment, he not only didn't feel tired but was full of energy. It seemed like he had inexhaustible strength. His whole person had undergone subtle changes, and the strands of true qi in his body had become more solid and robust.
"Sure enough, after condensing the first strand of true qi, the cultivation speed is not as fast as before." Chen Chong lightly clenched his fist, and his joints made a crisp sound. He walked to the window, looked down at the dirty and messy street, and pondered:
"Moreover...I feel a bit hungry now?"
Last night's cultivation didn't progress as rapidly as when he condensed the first strand of ultimate true qi. The speed of cultivation had clearly slowed down. Furthermore, at this moment, he felt a faint sense of hunger in his abdomen. Every cell seemed to be reminding him that his body urgently needed nutrition.
The Immortal Beans had the magical effect of keeping one full for ten days, but it had only been less than two days since Chen Chong consumed them. After wondering about it, Chen Chong immediately thought of the reason:
It was because the cultivation concept of the early stage of "Ultimate Limit Qi Gong" was to refine essence and transform it into qi. Therefore, it was necessary to supplement the body with sufficient nutrition while practicing. If he only focused on cultivation without paying attention to replenishing qi and blood, his cultivation progress would slow down and the results would be half as effective. The main reason why Immortal Beans could keep the body full for ten days was that they contained a certain kind of essence. However, during the process of condensing the ultimate true qi and practicing all night without rest, the essence contained within the Immortal Beans had been completely consumed. That was why he felt this faint hunger now.
And it could be foreseen that if he didn't have a large amount of nutrition intake and replenishment of qi and blood, his cultivation progress would likely become even slower.
"Three parts practice, seven parts eating. It seems that there is a common principle between cultivation and fitness."
Looking out of the window, Chen Chong furrowed his brows:
"But here, can I satisfy my cultivation needs?"
Due to his life as a prisoner, Chen Chong's body was already lacking in nutrition, and now with the practice of "Ultimate Limit Qi Gong," he clearly needed a large amount of nutrition to meet his cultivation needs. What worried Chen Chong was how he could ensure the necessary nutrition for his cultivation in this world where resources were scarce.
In fact, there were several medicinal formulas recorded in the "Ultimate Limit Qi Gong" that were specifically used to nourish oneself and assist in cultivation. However, in the wasteland where Chen Chong was now, food and water were scarce resources. These formulas were essentially useless.
"Let's take it step by step!"
Chen Chong took a deep breath, unable to think of a better solution for now, and then pushed open the door, walking out of his room.
He decided to explore the Scarlet Territory, collect his supplies, and learn about this so-called "work."
Just as he pushed open the door, a few exhausted-looking workers had just reached the stairs in the corridor. When they saw Chen Chong coming out of his room, they were stunned for a moment, then trembled involuntarily:
"It's him who came out!"
"So, the headless guy yesterday... is the Skinny Ghost!?"
"The Skinny Ghost is ** gone!"
"Quick, let's go!"
These workers acted as if they had seen a ghost and hurriedly ran down the stairs, afraid of being caught up by Chen Chong.
"The Skinny Ghost... is that the crazy guy's nickname from yesterday?"
Standing still, Chen Chong touched his chin and chuckled:
"It seems that Tie Shan helped me out."