"Quick! There's a problem with Cold Storage No. 3!"
"Seal the streets! That guy has run onto Wanli Gold's turf next door!"
"The Bartender is dead! Report this immediately! The Bartender and the doorkeepers are all dead! But the cold storage is safe!"
Outside the bar, groups of men and women in green sportswear were running back and forth, shouting.
More than a dozen drones equipped with automatic guns patrolled above the buildings, their engine noise throbbing in Wang Jixuan's eardrums.
At this moment, he hadn't strayed far from the bar.
The most dangerous place is often the safest.
Wang Jixuan first made a show of fleeing, then doubled back to find what looked like a normal household, hiding in the closet of a corner room in a two-story building nearby, expanding his Spiritual Sense to its limit.
The noisy shouting on the street gradually moved away;
the area around the bar became quiet.
Wang Jixuan's hands moved swiftly in Sealing, his fingertips glowing with a faint golden light, leaving complex traces in the dim space.
A crumpled piece of talisman paper slowly unfolded before him; in its center, the three-inch-tall translucent figure looked on, gaping in astonishment.
For fresh living souls, often only simple cooking is needed... this seemed rather like the ways of a Demon Cultivator.
This soul, due to being too shocked and tense, was flickering incessantly.
Wang Jixuan mentally said, "I ask one question, you answer one."
The soul from Gu Wending town continued to flicker non-stop.
A true state of shock.
Wang Jixuan wasn't in a hurry.
This living soul, being controlled by the talisman, could not lie in front of him. Sooner or later, just by making this fellow speak, he could easily accomplish the interrogation, something he was not particularly good at.
He closed his eyes and patiently waited, quietly sensing the changes in the Qi of the surrounding environment.
This two-story building was home to five people, two elderly, two children, and one young woman; they must be a family, currently tense due to the chaos in the streets.
A family of five or six enjoying a small building like this was considered an extraordinarily good living condition throughout the entire Fortress.
Wang Jixuan speculated that someone in this family must be a leader of the Black Fire Gang or a gang member who had made significant achievements. They contrasted starkly with those living in pigeon-cage like cramped spaces in Resurrection City, humans with barcodes tattooed on their necks.
Receiving no response from the soul in front of him for a long time, Wang Jixuan slightly frowned, his sword finger giving a gentle shake, a small flame bloomed at his fingertips, burning on the Soul Capturing Charm.
The talisman paper remained undamaged, but the translucent soul was filled with the light of the flame.
"Ah—"
Just half a minute later.
The soul from Gu Wending town knelt in the center of the Soul Capturing Charm, muttering lifelessly:
"Let me go, please let me go, I beg you, it would be better to let me die outright..."
"Where is your gang leader?" Wang Jixuan asked.
"The boss? BOSS?" the trembling voice from Gu Wending town responded, "I, I don't know."
"Don't know?" Wang Jixuan's fingertips sparked a small flame.
"I really don't know!"
Gu Wending town shouted in terror:
"Only the top six members of the Black Fire Gang and Big Mouth Hua know where the BOSS is because Big Mouth Hua is his real younger brother! I'm just a minor character who guards the warehouse!"
"If that's the case."
Wang Jixuan pondered for a moment:
"Then tell me what you know, who are the core members of your gang, what tasks they handle for the gang, and the places they often frequent."
The soul from Gu Wending town nodded frantically: "Okay! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
Wang Jixuan calmly reached into the inner pocket of his jacket, took out a prescription pad and a ballpoint pen, and quickly wrote down the information he heard.
—Until one enters the Gathering Spirit Realm, a Cultivator's memory will not significantly improve.
As he listened, Wang Jixuan began to sense that something wasn't quite right.
When Gu Wending town finished speaking all at once, Wang Jixuan asked puzzledly, "What exactly does the Black Fire Gang do? The relationship with Upper City is so close."
"Don't you know? Organ trading is our main business, as well as blood products," Gu Wending town responded with a wry smile.
"The existence of our Lower City gangs is to serve Upper City and the Fortress..."
Wang Jixuan was not too concerned about this intricate issue as it didn't relate much to him.
He changed the subject: "What's in the cold storage beneath the bar? Are there any treasures related to Blade Beasts?"
"I'm only responsible for guarding the door and overseeing things; I only know that there is a large batch of biological materials here meant for the Thirteenth Institute... and there are some controlled doctors..."
Unwilling to give up, Wang Jixuan continued, "How does your gang leader usually contact you all?"
"I truly, truly can't reach him..."
Gu Wending town said shivering, his soul starting to sob while clutching its head.
Wang Jixuan frowned in thought.
All he wanted now was to find the boss of the Black Fire Gang to settle this cause and effect and then peacefully continue his Cultivation, but progress was somewhat sluggish.
According to Gu Wending town, the boss of the Black Fire Gang would only periodically summon those few highest-ranking people for meetings, and most of the time, they were video conferences.
Even if Wang Jixuan managed to catch the third or fourth in command of the Black Fire Gang, there's no guarantee that the boss wouldn't hide out in Upper City.
Indeed, a cunning rabbit has three burrows.
"Come now, don't waste the last bit of your soul power. This talisman can only keep you alive for three more days, and after that, your soul will dissipate into nothing,"
Wang Jixuan said, resorting to plan B:
"Tell me about your experts, snipers, and the locations and quantities of various high-powered weapons you possess.
"Don't force me to torture you again. After all, I'm not some Devil, and this kind of thing actually places some pressure on my Dao Heart."
The soul from Gu Wending town opened its mouth.
Is that even human language?
He was torturing him, yet it was his fault?
He could only live for three more days?
A hint of despair formed in the eyes of the soul.
Flames sparked once more from Wang Jixuan's fingertips, but his mind was already considering how to coax this minor Black Fire Gang leader, understanding that carrot and stick tactics were most effective.