The pitch blackness, a situation that should only occur when one closes their eyes, was a real-life manifestation for Cao Ming, who became blind with his eyes open.

He was knocked unconscious and taken away from the hotel. When he opened his eyes again, he was locked in this basement. As long as no one came and the door was closed, there was no light in the basement, but at least he could still breathe.

Wang Jin is a man who uses any means necessary and has a volatile personality. We're not on the same wavelength as him. If it weren't for the incident in Shijie, we wouldn't even be connected.

His only impression of Wang Jin was that he was an unkillable cockroach. No matter how serious the injury, he would be fine after a night's sleep. Perhaps because of his strangeness, he did things in a ruthless way, and he would do anything to get what he wanted. Old Jin was also completely under his control. The higher-ups were also watching and said that it might not be long before Wang Jin could take Old Jin's place.

They both belong to the Lidao Sect. Lao Jin is currently the head of the Lidao Sect in Beiyu City. His business covers the entire Beiyu City and extends to all the districts, counties and towns under the jurisdiction of Beiyu City.

Recently, the new business model of supermarkets has driven a huge amount of consumer traffic. They frequently hold lucky draws for spending a certain amount or offer buy-one-get-one-free promotions. People are happy to spend their money, and supermarkets are making a fortune.

The supermarket's daily purchase and sales volume has now topped the list in the region, attracting the attention of other merchants who are eager to make money.

In the past month, countless people have approached him, some wanting to invest, some wanting to join, some wanting to deliver goods to seize sales stalls, and many more wanting to imitate his methods and learn from him.

However, while the model can be imitated, if the business philosophy is not up to par, they cannot operate effectively. Compared to the foot traffic of this commercial center, other locations are always less than satisfactory. Moreover, with such a successful example before them, customers are not fools. No one would abandon Yuan's Self-Service, which offers a variety of new and exciting features, to go to another newly opened supermarket.

So, some scoundrels with bad intentions approached the landlord wanting to buy the supermarket, or more specifically, to increase the rent, hoping to squeeze out Yuan's Self-Service and take its place.

Little did they know, he had foreseen this outcome, so last month he quietly sold more than a dozen houses and bought the supermarket.

So there's no landlord; the landlord is himself.

These bastards, realizing they couldn't join, resorted to violence. Now, he's the one who got messed with!

Unable to get his house, Wang Di actually wants that trash from the Chamber of Commerce to take the top position! He even wants his brother's father-in-law to step down! Dream on!

Feed him spoiled food!!! Haha!

He'd rather starve than eat! Even if Cao Ming dies, he'll die standing up!!!

He didn't know how long he had been hungry, but he was dizzy and lightheaded. The spoiled rice was replaced with delicious dishes, which were laid out all over the floor, but he still wasn't going to eat.

He wanted to see when that heartless nemesis would realize he was missing!

Cao Ming absolutely denies that he deliberately harmed himself to soften that person's heart! Hmph!

I'm so hungry...

I don't know how much time had passed, but my consciousness was starting to blur.

People came in, a lot of people, at least a dozen or so.

The heavy iron door was pushed open, and the basement was brightly lit, as if it were daytime.

Cao Ming didn't open his eyes, but covered them with his hands. He lay on his side in the corner, hunched over, not curious about who the person was. After all, it wasn't one of his people.

"Drag him over here." A low, hoarse voice rang out in the basement.

Cao Ming squinted, gradually adjusting to the light. Two henchmen arrived, pulled him up from the left and right, dragged him forward, and then slammed him heavily to the ground.

Cao Ming, already dizzy, collapsed to the ground, his mind still buzzing.

Damn it! Once he gets out, I'll have to bring the security team and raze this place to the ground to vent my anger.

Someone squatted down and lifted his chin with two cold fingers. The force was so great that he couldn't break free and could only open his eyes and glare angrily.

What catches the eye is a handsome and refined face, with beautiful almond-shaped eyes hidden behind glasses, a high nose bridge, and thin, cool lips. He looks like a refined scoundrel, more like a scumbag who makes women unable to resist than a fearsome underworld boss.

Of course, this is without making eye contact with him.

How could anyone's eyes emit such a cold, sinister light? Just by looking at them directly, one could feel the chill of a venomous snake coiling around their neck, as if the person before them were their prey, ready to hunt and devour them at any moment.

This person probably has more than one life on his hands!

Yuan Zhuan once said that killing one person will cause a murderous aura to appear on one's body. Those who have killed many people can control the murderous aura at will, but they can still make people feel cold as soon as they see them.

"Cao Ming, you're lucky, give yourself to me." The first words this neurotic man uttered sent chills down one's spine.

Damn it! It's for your mom!

"Dream on!" Cao Ming sneered. The next second, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and was sent flying along with the heavy iron chain. He crashed into the wall and fell back down, but surprisingly, it didn't hurt much.

A slight burning sensation spread across Cao Ming's chest, and his contorted face showed a moment of stunned silence.

When I reached out and touched it, it turned out to be a clump of white ash.

This is……

A bare red rope dangled around his neck.

Yuan Zhuan gave him a peace charm!

While Cao Ming was in a daze, he didn't notice that Wang Jin was tilting his head in surprise, looking at him as if he were watching a small animal in an experiment, observing its strange reaction after being injected with drugs.

The ashes in Cao Ming's hand were taken away. "Hmm, interesting." His low, hoarse voice held both doubt and a strange joy, as if he had found something good.

“Cao Ming, who gave you this talisman? Tell me, and I’ll let you go, okay?” Wang Jin squatted down again, a smile on his lips, and even his cold eyes showed a suppressed fervor.

It was as if that person was his long-lost lover.

Cao Ming sneered and sat up. "Wang Jin, this is a society governed by law. If anything happens to me, my family will never let you off the hook."

Want to know who sent it? Dream on!

The man lightly twirled the ashes between his slender, fair fingers, stood up, and the next second, with a wicked grin, stuffed them into his mouth, then grinned broadly.

Cao Ming: ...

That's insane! Damn it!

"Go and pick up the mercury," Wang Jin instructed his henchmen with a smile.

One of them answered "yes" and left, while the others showed a hint of reluctance and fear on their faces, and of course, more fear than anything else.

Wang Di hid behind his henchmen, trembling all over.

Mercury! Legend has it that Wang Jin's most vicious method was using mercury tanks, the purpose of which was to completely peel off human skin!

That madman! He'll get himself killed.

The Cao family will definitely kill him! They dare not touch Wang Jin, so he, the one who brought this trouble, will inevitably be the first to suffer.

No, he can't just sit here and wait to die.

Wang Di shrank back, trying to make himself less noticeable, and moved closer to the door.

When he realized that everyone's attention was on the glass container that the henchman had brought over, Wang Di quietly slipped away.

However, unbeknownst to him, his every move was being watched by something in the shadows, who then reported it to Wang Jin.

As Wang Jin stirred the mercury with a specially made glass spoon that was more than half a meter long, the corners of his lips turned up high, and his fascinated gaze seemed to be stirring some delicious food.

A flea ran away. Tsk... How boring. Fleas are always fleas, short-lived and stupid. Killing them is a waste of effort.

Fine, I'll just feed it to his cat.

"Go, take Wang Di to feed the cat."

"Yes." A burly man wearing a veil suddenly appeared at the door, responded, and then disappeared.

The henchmen were terrified. Who was this?

Cao Ming watched silently as the man turned and disappeared, his heart heavy.

The person just now didn't look like a human; he looked more like a lifeless walking corpse. He appeared at the gate, and a cold wind blew in, carrying a foul stench—the smell of a corpse.

The disgust in his eyes unconsciously overflowed, but Cao Ming quickly noticed it and concealed it, lowering his head and continuing to remain silent.

He could only hope that his ancestor was on his way back, otherwise, he was likely in grave danger this time.

He had initially thought the man was going to poison him with mercury, but upon seeing the amount in that bucket, he suddenly remembered a disgusting method he had once seen in a wicked book called the "Slaughtering Manual," an ancient method used to torture and kill important prisoners, which truly involved skinning and dismembering them.

"You smell something?" Suddenly, a sharp dagger appeared in Wang Jin's hand, its gleaming blade capable of blinding a person.

What does it taste like?

Cao Ming was puzzled for a few seconds, but quickly realized what he meant. He didn't say anything, but simply looked up and stared directly into Wang Jin's eyes. "You practice evil arts." This was a statement, not a question.

Wang Jin, who had been smiling, suddenly changed his expression.

"Get out, all of you." These words were spoken to the henchmen.

Soon, the henchmen were gone.

In the basement, only Wang Jin and Cao Ming remained.

The one-on-one duel was something Cao Ming was even more wary of at this moment than before.

"You know magic?" Wang Jin sat down on a stool a meter away, his eyes looking down at him.

“My master understands. And he’s better than you,” Cao Ming said bluntly.

Yuan Zhuan's methods were far beyond what Wang Jin could match.

master!

Wang Jin nervously shook his neck, his eyes flashing like a venomous snake as he glanced at Cao Ming's face, seemingly pondering where to begin.

"Who is your master?" Wang Jin approached, getting so close to Cao Ming's face that their noses almost touched.

A chilling aura emanated from Wang Jin, causing Cao Ming to shiver and lean back to create some distance.

That's fucking insane!

Seeing Cao Ming remain silent, Wang Jin smiled, his thin lips curving into a handsome arc. "It's alright if you don't tell me, I have plenty of ways to find out who it is."

"Bring them in!"

Who did he arrest? A bad feeling made Cao Ming hurriedly look up. His father appeared in the doorway, being held by a man also wearing a veil. His face had changed from pale to bluish, and he was unconscious.

"Dad! Dad! Dad!" Cao Ming scrambled to his feet in alarm and shouted loudly.

The old man, who was unconscious, showed no reaction whatsoever and seemed to have stopped breathing.

Wang Jin seemed quite satisfied with Cao Ming's reaction. The tip of the dagger grazed Cao Ming's cheek. "I've changed my mind. How about I turn your own father into a specimen right in front of you? That way, you won't have to worry about him dying. Don't worry, I'm quite skilled. I've already made quite a few specimens. I guarantee the old man will die peacefully without pain. We can put them in the living room later. They'll not only look nice, but they can also guard the house."

Glaring at Wang Jin, who looked like a demon, she gritted her teeth and said, "Wang Jin, if anything happens to my father, you and all your dogs will not live! Even if you die, you won't go to hell!!!"

"Hmm, I hate being threatened. It makes me look stupid, like I'm easy to bully. Tsk, I don't like it, I really don't. How about this, I'll give you a small punishment." As soon as he finished speaking, a dagger pierced straight through Cao Ming's palm.

"Ah!!" Cao Ming couldn't help but scream.

"Speak, who is your master?"

Cao Ming, panting heavily, raised his left hand and threw a punch straight at Wang Jin's face.

At the same moment, a whoosh—the sound of a blade slicing through flesh—was heard, sending chills down one's spine.

Wang Jin pulled out the dagger he had plunged in, and blood was dripping from it.

Cao Ming knelt on the ground, clutching his hands, nearly fainting from the pain, but the pride deep within him made him clench his teeth and refuse to utter another syllable.

Damn, that hurts!!

The limbs, which had been weak from hunger, seemed to regain some strength, like a final burst of energy, driven by the pain.

Cao Ming glanced at his father behind him, then at the mercury tank, and made a mental note of it. "If I tell you, will you let me and my dad go?"

Wang Jin was surprised by how quickly the change of heart had come. "I will consider it."

Cao Ming forced a smile onto his face, which was covered in cold sweat. "Okay, then come here, and I'll tell you."

Wang Jin toyed with the bloodstained dagger, looking down at the disheveled man on the ground.

Heh... This is the pride of the Cao family, nothing special. Now, he's his prisoner.

With an unusual glint in his eyes, Wang Jin slowly squatted down. "Speak."

"Get closer."

Wang Jin looked at the stray dog ​​in front of him with amusement and approached.

The next second, Cao Ming sprang up and pounced on Wang Jin. Normally, he would have dodged, but he encountered Wang Jin, this unpredictable scoundrel.

Cao Ming felt a chill in his abdomen, followed by excruciating pain that seemed to gnaw at his very bones.

That damn hybrid breed, it actually stirred things up!

Cao Ming, who was completely unconscious, did not notice that Wang Jin's stirring hand stopped—or rather, it stopped involuntarily.

The cool touch of his palm made Wang Jin look down, but there was nothing there. However, on the exposed half of the blade, two small red paper figures had been pasted on it at some point.

"Wang Jin, you really are practicing evil magic." A female voice came from the doorway.

An unprecedented chill shot up from the soles of his feet. Wang Jin's expression changed, the coldness in his eyes vanished, replaced by astonishment. He abruptly stood up and turned around, only to find that all the henchmen at the door were lying on the ground. The only one standing was a strange young girl. She wore a white cloth mask, a white shirt and white pants, and carried a bulging cloth bag across her shoulder. Her exposed eyes were filled with disgust and contempt, as if she had seen something dirty, her loathing undisguised.

"Ugh, it stinks! Even with a mask on, you can't hide the stench of your corpse."

"Who are you?" Wang Jin didn't move, but asked with a gloomy face, though his straight back revealed the tension in his heart.

"Me? I am a fairy who has come to act on behalf of Heaven."

The old man and the young man who had captured the corpse servant returned carrying sacks, and overheard Yuan Zhuan's last words.

Yuansun: ...

What the hell is this fairy?