Chapter 27: Madness of Greed
A frog leaped out from Old Hu's corpse, sighing in pity, "Such a promising young man, yet so careless with his life."
It looked up to see Lu Li approaching. The frog, sensing the danger, swallowed hard and said cautiously, "Young man, do you need to con-..."
"Aaaaah! You can't treat me like this! Respecting the old and cherishing the young is a fine tradition of the De Yue Dynasty. You can't just..." The frog was cut off as Lu Li grabbed one of its legs and hung it upside down. Using his shadow, he created a jar with holes and placed the frog inside. Although intrigued by this life-saving frog, Lu Li had no time for research now. He had to wrap up the script first.
Meanwhile, on the bridge, Li Yuanfeng was laughing maniacally. What could the state do? They were still played to death by him. He had collected several masks, and only three were left: the Sloth Mask, the Fear Mask, and the giant snake's Hatred Mask.
With these three masks, along with his own Greed Mask and the Destruction Mask, he would have all ten. Then, he would become a god. Old Hu's claim that the masks were a scam was something Li Yuanfeng was unwilling to believe.
Just like those deceived by scams, were they truly fools? No. Some even had high education and intelligence. But why were they fooled? Initially, they were lured by the thought of getting something cheap, followed by a promise of enormous benefits. Greed and a sense of luck blinded their eyes and ears.
After investing heavily, they instinctively refused to believe it was a scam. Those continuously deceived hoped to prove the contrary, only to fall for it again.
Li Yuanfeng carefully stored the five masks, his hope of becoming a god. But first, he had some loose ends to tie up. His eyes flashed with malice as he thought of something. He hardened his resolve, and with his enlarged body, he picked up the still-unconscious Xiaomi like a chick and walked to the frozen giant snake. He placed Xiaomi in front of the ice.
Grabbing Xiaomi's hand, he shouted towards the frozen Bing Bing, "I don't know if you can hear me, but I give you ten seconds to defrost yourself, or don't blame me for what I do to your companion."
"Ten, nine, eight..." The more Li Yuanfeng counted, the more malicious he became. By the time he finished, he twisted Xiaomi's right hand, dislocating it, and then pulled it back. Xiaomi screamed in pain, waking up briefly before passing out again.
Xiaomi's right arm dangled like a noodle. Li Yuanfeng grabbed Xiaomi's left hand and shouted again, "This is just the beginning. If you stay silent for another ten seconds, I'll continue. I guarantee your companion will suffer immensely. Ten, nine, eight..."
"Enough!" Bing Bing's voice came from the shattering ice, revealing her angry face. "I know what you want. I can help you, but you must send Xiaomi away first."
"Send away?" Li Yuanfeng asked.
"Yes, I'll create an ice boat with frozen air. Put him on it, let him float down the river, and I will defrost the others," Bing Bing said firmly, leaving no room for negotiation.
"If I break my promise, you can always catch up, can't you?" Bing Bing said coldly, creating an ice boat from the air before closing her eyes.
Li Yuanfeng smiled and nodded, a sinister look in his eyes. As he placed Xiaomi in the ice boat, his finger brushed against Xiaomi's eyeball, activating his life-draining ability from the giant species. Even if Xiaomi survived, he would be a vegetable, and his eyes would lose all function.
Trapped by the snake's corpse, Bing Bing watched the ice boat drift away. Seeing Xiaomi's faint breathing, she felt slightly relieved. As long as he was alive, the bureau should be able to handle his injuries.
"Now, keep your promise. Defrost those people's faces so I can retrieve the masks," Li Yuanfeng demanded impatiently.
Bing Bing glared at him. She could release Dark River and the others, kill Li Yuanfeng, but it would be meaningless.
First, Li Yuanfeng pried off the mask from the giant snake's head, then came to the Sloth Mask, making Bing Bing defrost only its face to retrieve it. Finally, he approached the most dangerous, Dark River.
Despite Dark River being frozen, his presence still made Li Yuanfeng uneasy. But he successfully retrieved the mask without incident.
"Now that I have what I need, you have no use. Your dangerous abilities mean you must die!" With the masks in hand, Li Yuanfeng turned to Bing Bing, grabbed a protruding steel bar, and stabbed it into her head.
Watching Bing Bing die silently, Li Yuanfeng turned his attention to the eight masks before him, just one short. He took out the Destruction Mask, his expression savage.
Then, he heard the Shadow Demon's voice from inside, "Well done, boy! You've gathered them all. What do you plan to do now?"
"I want these to be mine. Shadow Demon, why not grant my wish?" Li Yuanfeng said maniacally, his greed intensifying. He was ready for a fight, but the Shadow Demon replied in a low voice, "Alright."
Suddenly, the Shadow Demon screamed, "Li Yuanfeng, what have you done to me... I won't forgive you..."
Li Yuanfeng was puzzled. He hadn't done anything, so why was the Shadow Demon screaming? Despite his panic, he picked up the Destruction Mask, convincing himself it was fate, that heaven was helping him.
Blinded by greed, Li Yuanfeng breathed heavily, looking at the nine masks. "Hahaha, I'm going to be a god!"
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his back. A steel bar pierced through him, and his body began to freeze. Turning around, he saw Bing Bing, dragging her crippled body behind him.
"Sorry, but I think you should die now."