Taohai City.
Xia Tianqiong flew to the city alone and landed on a deserted street corner, while the White Dragon King was left in the sea to help him catch fish demons.
The streets were deserted and desolate, much like Lin'an City, with hardly any pedestrians in sight.
You can see many trucks shuttling around the city, carrying all kinds of food, mainly dried fish and canned fish.
Wherever the truck is parked, people will come out of their homes and gather around it.
Xia Tianqiong initially thought they were using ghost money to buy food, thinking that the local authorities here were quite particular, not confining people and forcing them to burn ghost money.
But when you get closer, you realize that's not the case.
Inside the truck sat a scarred man in his thirties, who was pointing at a middle-aged woman and hurling insults.
"Damn it, are you slacking off again? How come you only have 1,800 ghost money today? Your family will starve today, and if you can't pay 3,000 ghost money tomorrow, you'll continue to starve."
The middle-aged woman grabbed the man's arm, her haggard face full of pleading.
“My husband and son are both sick, and they are not burning as much paper money as usual. Please be kind and forgive us for a few days. Once they recover, they will be able to give us 3,000 pieces of paper money every day.”
The scarred man shoved the middle-aged woman aside, saying, "Get out of here, or I'll beat you up. Next!"
Xia Tianqiong discovered that the people in the neighborhood were lining up to hand in ghost money, and each household was paying a different amount.
On average, each person pays 1,000 yuan in ghost money every day, and in return, they receive dried fish or other food.
If you pay too little, you won't get anything, or you'll only receive half the amount others receive. If you don't pay, they'll break down the door, drag you out, and beat you up.
Although the local forces in Taohai City did not establish an industrial park, they controlled all the citizens through food.
As Xia Tianqiong walked to the city center, she gradually saw some pedestrians.
They were dressed in fine clothes, full of energy, and some young people even drove luxury cars, carrying beautiful women, racing on the streets.
There are monster hunters patrolling everywhere here, making it seem much safer than other places.
Xia Tianqiong also discovered that several upscale restaurants were still open. There weren't many customers, but the dishes were plentiful, much like before the apocalypse.
The few people living in this area are likely the local power that controls Taohai City.
They possess military power, and naturally enjoy resources that others do not have.
Xia Tianqiong wants to control the entire Taohai City, which actually means controlling these people, or rather, replacing them.
Just as he was about to make a move, he suddenly heard a quarrel coming from not far away.
"Why? Wasn't it always 500 ghost money per pound of fish? Why is it 200 today?"
Zhao Haiqing was arguing with a fat man with a big belly, his neck stretched out.
His father, Zhao Qun, was pushing a flatbed cart loaded with over 300 kilograms of freshly caught sea fish.
According to the local regulations, fish caught cannot be kept by the fishermen; they must be sold to local authorities.
To obtain food, one needs to purchase it from them using ghost money.
If they didn't agree, they wouldn't even be qualified to go out to sea to fish, and might even be killed and displayed to the public.
The fat man glared at Zhao Haiqing and said with a forced smile, "This is your family's punishment for saying the wrong thing just now."
From now on, we'll buy your fish for 200 less than others. If you don't agree, we'll revoke your fishing license.
Although Zhao Haiqing was young and impetuous, he wasn't stupid. He suppressed his emotions and bowed his head to apologize.
"Captain Liu, I was wrong. I forgot that you have changed your surname to Liu. I will never call you Captain Wang again. Please forgive me this time."
Seeing that he recognized him and his attitude was decent, the fat man nodded in satisfaction. "You need to remember, there is no one with the surname Wang in Taohai City, and there are no Wang family members here. If you call him by the wrong name again, I will kill you next time."
"Yes, I understand, it won't happen again."
Despite his deep displeasure, Zhao Haiqing could only force a smile.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind.
"The Wang family? What a coincidence, I almost forgot, Taohai City is the Wang family's territory."
Zhao Haiqing turned around and saw that it was a professional charlatan, and immediately grinned.
"It's great to see you again! I haven't thanked you for saving my dad yet!"
"You're welcome!" Xia Tianqiong replied casually.
Before killing the core members of the Wang family in the capital, they were interrogated to find out which cities the Wang family controlled in various places, including Taohai City.
However, Xia Tianqiong didn't think of it at the moment.
When the fat man across from Xia Tianqiong saw him, his bulky body suddenly trembled slightly.
The news of the annihilation of hundreds of core members of the Wang family in the capital had already spread to Wang family members in various places, and they had also learned that it was done by the professional swindler.
Fearing being confronted, all members of the Wang family in various locations changed their surnames.
“I…I’m not a member of the Wang family.”
The fat man tried to argue, but Xia Tianqiong ignored him and instead asked Zhao Haiqing, "Besides the Wang family, are there any other forces here?"
Without hesitation, Zhao Haiqing replied, "It's mainly the Wang family. Since the collapse of order, the Wang family has joined forces with the Bureau to control all the people in Taohai, but in reality, it has always been the Wang family that has been in charge."
Xia Tianqiong nodded. "If that's the case, then it's easier."
The fat man didn't understand what he meant, but he had a bad feeling.
The next moment, he felt a surge of nether energy emanating from Xia Tianqiong's body, and then his vision blurred, and he suddenly found himself in a space filled with mirrors.
It wasn't just him; it was the same for millions of people in the city.
Some people are sleeping at home, some are eating, and some are using the toilet. In an instant, they are pulled into the mirror space.
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