Chapter 80
Captain Li stood at the mission site.
The world of feasting and revelry was shattered. Neon lights flickered, and the ground was littered with broken glass and the remains of tables and chairs. The air was filled with the stench of alcohol, blood, and the stench of ghouls, a potent mixture that made the veins on his forehead throb.
"Minister, we have the mission details."
Herring received mission information from the surviving players and shared the light screen.
[Quest Name: Sentiments are the Graveyard of the Soul]
Mission Location: Dashijie Ballroom, Zhongsu Town
[Ghoul Level: B (Highest)]
[Number of Ghouls: 0/4]
【Time limit: None】
Difficulty Rating: B
"These are the earliest mission details. When we arrived, there were 10 ghouls," Herring said. "Similarly, no one knows if we've strangled any B-rank ghouls. Buchou... two ghoul waves erupted in one night. This is the first time we've encountered such a thing in our Chuujuku."
He was beginning to waver in his previous judgment. Could it be that this B-rank ghoul really possessed such a high IQ?
"Minister, headquarters suspects a ghost mother is lurking in Zhongsu Town. Could this be it?"
Captain Li had been lost in thought, then slowly shook his head. "Impossible! The turning point for Zhongsu Town's transition to a high-frequency zone was the flour mill mission. The highest-level ghoul in that mission was an A, so it couldn't be this B. Neither ghouls nor players experience level drops.
"Tonight's two missions may be connected, but they have nothing to do with the Ghost Mother. And these two missions...maybe just a coincidence."
coincide?
Why did the minister suddenly change his attitude?
Herring was puzzled: "But didn't the Minister say that the B-rank ghouls in the trading company might still be alive? The big world is also B-rank..."
Captain Li: "Think about it, what's the biggest characteristic of the ghoul tide controlled by the highly intelligent Ghost Mother? Each ghoul is created by the Ghost Mother herself, making it easier for her to drive and control them. And these two times, leaving aside the initial ghoul, the subsequent attacks were one-bite-one-bite-another—a chain-like differentiation. It doesn't seem like—"
"Premeditated," Herring said, his complex thoughts suddenly becoming incredibly simple. "So, a B-rank ghoul escaped from the trading company and, in order to recover from its weakened state, came to the open world to forage for food? And for some reason, it wasn't able to devour all the players' souls, which is why it split into ghouls."
"It's more likely that after foraging, it differentiates into new ghouls to attract attention and escape in the chaos. This is its usual trick." Captain Li said.
Even if this B-rank ghoul survived, it would only be a cunning one, not a high-intelligence, high-destructive boss. The hidden dangers facing Zhongsu Town would be significantly reduced.
Captain Li originally hoped that Zhongsu Town would become a high-frequency mission area. Such an existence is actually a good thing.
Herring understood his thoughts and said hesitantly, "Minister, then we..."
Should we continue to cast a wide net to search for clues?
Captain Li didn't answer, but instead asked, "Assuming the B-rank ghoul in both missions is the same one, have you ever thought about why it came to the big world after leaving the trading company?"
"...Isn't it because there are so many players in the big world? They are all its prey."
"That makes some sense." Captain Li suddenly smiled. "But when combined with another coincidence, it's too much of a coincidence. ——Who owns Hongyun Trading Company and the Great World?"
"Mayor Heng Batong?" Herring's eyes widened. "Is it because An Rou wanted to buy land today and fall out with Heng Batong? Minister, this, this, this..."
Herring was so shocked that he was speechless. Could it be that this B-rank ghoul was sent by Anrou?
An NPC drives a ghoul? Is it possible?
Horrifying!
Captain Li smiled and said, "It's not what you think. Rather than An Rou, it's more like the system is controlling everything behind the scenes. A special NPC... who knows what role she plays in the entire game."
"Then we...don't investigate anymore?"
"As always, we'll send patrols to monitor unusual movements and won't initiate searches." Captain Li said, "It seems no one can disobey the wishes of a special NPC. It's a shame that the name Heng Ba Tong is so unknown."
Heng Batong, who knew nothing about anything, lay on the sofa, all his strength drained away. When he saw Tang Lang coming late, he didn't even have the energy to stand up and get angry.
"Mayor, don't worry too much. We at Yinlai rushed over as soon as we got the news and strangled all the ghouls immediately. Now the business and the big world are safe." Tang Lang said.
"What's the point? We've already made such a fuss, what's the point?!"
Butler Liang was trying to calm Heng Ba down when he was blocked by a slap.
Heng Batong pointed a trembling finger at Tang Lang: "Something's wrong, something's wrong... It must be her, that An Rou! Go and take the men to guard the hotel. She's definitely going to attack the hotel next!"
The mayor's mansion is on the west side of the town square, and the Hongyun Hotel is in the southeast corner of the square, only a few hundred meters apart.
There are majestic marble pillars on both sides of the hotel entrance, and in the middle of the pillars are two men wrapped in black windbreakers.
When Heng Batong was roaring angrily in the mansion, one of them turned his head and looked across the silent and deserted square towards the mayor's mansion.
Another person noticed its movements and whispered, "What's wrong?"
"It's okay." Wang Da smiled slightly.
One man and one ghost walked up the stairs together.
"Hello, gentlemen. What are your names?"
"Tao Yushu, he is Wang Linfeng."
The name was odd, and it sounded like someone with destiny. The front desk didn't mind, after all, guests only had to pay and there was no identity verification process.
"Mr. Tao and Mr. Wang, we only have one king-size bed room left... Is that okay?"
Paopao glanced at Wang Da and nodded: "Okay."
After all, I'm here to do business, not to sleep.
Receptionist: "Room fee is 2000 gold, deposit is 1000 gold."
The hotel service is good. After paying, the waiter will lead you to your room.
After the two entered the door, Wang Da stood behind it for a while and said, "Let's go."
They opened the door and went out, quickly glancing up and down the corridor: "Which room?"
"There's only one empty room, any one will do." Wang Da's ears were sharp. "There's no one on this floor."
Paopao lowered his voice slightly and shook his head: "Many people died in the trading company and the big world. There must be people living in Hongyun. What if we come up empty-handed..."
"Then change it again. I can hear you."
To avoid leaving any clues, Paopao dragged Wang Da up to the third floor. The rooms there were also empty, likely drawn out by the two consecutive ghoul waves. Even without the ghoul waves, the players who came for the quest would still be wandering the streets, returning later in the night.
Paopao picked one at random.
Wang Da was a ghoul, naturally quiet, and ever since reaching A-rank, his temperament had undergone a noticeable change, becoming even more silent. Paopao, on the other hand, always felt awkward when alone with this subordinate.
In comparison, Zhang Dacai looks like a real subordinate.
Zhang Da’s silence is dull, while Wang Da’s silence makes it feel like even his hair is thinking.
Snap——
A beam of fire lit up in the darkness, and Wang Da lit a cigarette.
Paopao was afraid of leaving clues, so he subconsciously wanted to stop her, but he opened his mouth halfway and gave up. Instead, he asked, "Dachui, how did you learn to smoke?"
After asking this question, I felt that this sentence was strange, as if an elder was caring for the younger generation.
Wang Da pulled open the curtains and opened a window, and in the dim light from the street lamps, he exhaled a straight column of smoke.
"It can cover up the smell of the soul." Wang Da said truthfully.
Paopao was startled and his tailbone felt cold.
There was no one around except him, a single player. He had upgraded to Silver, and the fragrance of his soul was stronger than before, attracting more ghouls.
Wang Da turned his head to look at him: "Leader is afraid of me? No need."
Paopao laughed dryly: "How could that be? You are becoming more and more like a..."
Couldn't finish the sentence.
"Human?" Wang Da chuckled, "No, I am a ghoul. It's not this that tortures me, but it."
He patted his chest and pointed to his head: "In here, there are people singing all the time - not the harsh songs you hear."
Paopao is confused.
Whether players or NPCs, everyone knows that a ghoul's instinct is to devour souls. Even high-level, intelligent ghouls are driven by this instinct.
Can ghouls be controlled by someone other than the Ghost Mother? This realization is enough to shock everyone.
But what Wang Da showed was far more than just being manipulated.
Perhaps, this is a good opportunity to understand the deeper settings of the ghoul.
Paopao became curious. "Dachui, what do you usually think about? I know Lao Zhang very well. He's either thinking about when he can have his next meal, or how to suppress his desires and complete the work assigned by his boss... But you, haha, I feel a little bit hard to guess."
Wang Da didn't answer. After a long silence, he tapped his forehead with the hand holding the cigarette and said with a smile, "She knows."
It was clear. An Rou seemed absent from tonight's impromptu fish dinner, but she was actually involved throughout. Wang Da and Zhang Da were her eyes, ears, and—weapons.
He grew increasingly curious about what incredible bug his boss had discovered. Could it be that the top players' understanding of the game was beyond the reach of ordinary people?
Paopao thought it unlikely. At least, he had never heard of anything like it from his own brother. The strength of high-level players came from their intuition and strength honed through slaughter.
He wanted to ask more, but Wang Da exuded that aura that kept strangers away, making him at a loss as to how to start.
In the silence, time passed by minute by minute. Paopao was almost falling asleep waiting when he suddenly heard a voice saying "Here it comes".
When he opened his eyes, Wang Da had already rushed behind the door, waiting for the player outside to push the door in. He pressed the other party's door, and a faint soul light flashed on his palm.
The player's body instantly stiffened, without even a scream.
——Even the process of devouring the soul reveals calmness and elegance.
This is in stark contrast to Zhang Da. For some reason, Zhang Da, who can devour souls with just contact, has to hook the player in front of him and take a bloody bite on the neck before he stops.
Paopao felt that Zhang Da was venting his suppressed instinctive anger.
The player's soul remained, transformed into a new ghoul, and was locked in the room. Wang Da and Paopao continued to sneak into other rooms until dawn.
Paopao saw some red bloodshot in Wang Da's eyes, and he finally looked somewhat familiar.
"Five should be enough," Paopao said. "If things get rough later, we can bring back a few more bodies."
Seven people were killed, five of whom transformed into ghouls, leaving only two bodies on hand. Add the two that Paopao brought back from the trading company and the two that Zhang Da brought back from the Great World, for a total of six bodies.
The total is decent, but compared to the scale of players involved in the three ghoul waves, it's a bit underwhelming. It's like the difference between sesame seeds and watermelons.
Wang Da's disguise as a player was flawless. He teamed up with Paopao and waited for the ghoul tide to break out. Then he could get more corpses back. It was not difficult at all.
-
Heng Batong refused to go to bed. He sat in a chair all night, feeling anxious and restless, and even caught a fever.
This is a rare thing.
Butler Liang hurriedly fed him several bottles of life potion, and his red face returned to normal, but he still looked sick and looked very bad.
"Why hasn't he come yet? Has Tang Lang gone yet?!"
"I went, I went, but there was no news all night. Maybe the hotel is fine. Master, please relax."
Heng Batong was worried: "Did he really go?"
"It's true. The security guards report back every hour. They just came and said that Yinlai has the hotel well guarded." Butler Liang said, "Besides, sir, there are many people with destiny staying in the hotel. Even if there really is a ghoul, it won't cause any trouble."
"Aren't all the people in the big world destined by fate?!"
Butler Liang was stuck, paused, and then smiled, "Don't worry, Master. I've told Gang Leader Tang that there are hundreds of Destiny Guardians guarding here. Gang Leader Tang has promised that if An Rou is really behind this, she will be caught!"
In the early morning, the dim light of day could not dispel the darkness in the city. Captain Li sat in a private room of a teahouse, and withdrew his gaze from the nearby Hongyun Hotel to the dark streets.
There are few pedestrians.
The large world quest took place around nine o'clock at night. For the next seven or eight hours, the vast town of Zhongsu returned to its usual tranquility. Groups of players wandered the streets for the night before gradually dispersing.
In the early morning, Captain Li thought that today's mission was over and was about to log off. Unexpectedly, the spy planted in the Yinlai Guild sent a message, and Tang Lang personally led all the online members to secretly surround the Hongyun Hotel.
It is unclear whether Tang Lang is smart or Heng Ba Tong is just being clever.
If it was the former, secretly plotting behind the back of the Oli Guild, he deserves to be punished. If it was the latter...
Captain Li sneered. By entrusting such an important mission to Yinlai, it seemed Hengbatong was abandoning Ou Li.
Herring gave him another cup of hot tea.
"Minister, there has been no movement for so long. Yin Lai must have come up empty-handed, right? Some of our members want to take a break offline."
"Let them wait. We won't retreat until Yinlai does."
Herring issued the order and then asked, "If the Hongyun Hotel really reveals a mission, should we cooperate with Yinlai, or?"
Captain Li said in a cold and hard tone: "Ouli's territory, of course we have to seize it."
-
The Hongyun Hotel faces the street on three sides and the town square on the north. If they blatantly send people to surround it, it will definitely attract the attention of Ou Li and other players from other places.
Tang Lang arranged all four hundred members in the hotel.
Fortunately, the hotel was large and had a basement for storing miscellaneous items, which was enough to accommodate most people. The rest could be spread out in a linen room or something on the first floor, which would be just enough.
Following Hengbatong's instructions, he arranged a smart member at the front desk to act as an NPC. After one night, no flaws were revealed.
But... Tang Lang glanced at the time in the lower right corner of the light screen again, and a night had passed.
He led the team to wait and see, not only to deal with Hengbatong's demands, after all, he witnessed the conflict between Hengbatong and Anrou yesterday. That night, a wave of ghouls broke out at the two Hengbatong properties.
It's too coincidental to be suspicious.
"President, should we retreat before it's completely light? What if we're discovered by Ou Li..."
The one who spoke was Tang Lang's confidant, known as [Worker]. His greatest characteristic was his cautiousness and timidity. When Yinlai was first established, it was a guerrilla force, roaming the territories of various major guilds. Many times, thanks to him, Yinlai had escaped disaster.
Tang Lang once admired his character, but now, he is more annoyed and disappointed with him.
In the future, we will have to fight Oli head-on, and timid people will be of no use.
Tang Lang said unhappily, "So what if they found out? The mayor of Zhongsu Town is on our side, and Lengbing City has also issued a clear ban on guild fighting. Liming is still only gold, what can they do to us?!"
The worker closed his mouth, and there was a flicker in his drooping eyes.
Fighting Minister Li is like fighting the entire Ouli. Why can't the president understand this? If this continues, Yinlai, with only a thousand members, will soon be disbanded.
He remained calm, sending a message on the light screen, and suddenly his eyes widened.
Tang Lang was much more advanced than him and had already noticed it. He jumped up and said, "Notify everyone to kill! Especially the guy next to An Rou. If you see him, bring his body to me!"
If these tasks were really planned by An Rou, then this kid would definitely be involved!
The door was kicked open, and the ghoul's suppressed roar suddenly became clear.
The worker was about to switch to the guild channel when the task details on the screen suddenly changed.
[Quest Name: Is there anything happier than dying in your sleep?]
Mission Location: Hongyun Hotel, Zhongsu Town
[Ghoul Level: C]
【Number of Ghouls: 12/12】
【Time limit: None】
Difficulty Rating: B
A few seconds ago, the number of ghouls was clearly [5/5]!
When the number of ghouls exceeds 10 in a single mission, it is a ghoul tide!
Another wave of ghouls!
Tang Lang had already rushed out with everyone, leaving only the worker in the linen room. He quickly glanced outside the door, his expression showing a moment of struggle.
At five in the morning, players who had returned early from their night outings were already fast asleep, and those who had recently returned were also preparing to go to bed. It was the time when everyone's guards were at their lowest. Several ghouls howled, crashing through the door and walls with lightning speed, rushing towards the nearest delicious soul.
A pool of calm water was thrown into the red-hot meteorite and instantly boiled.
Compared to the trading companies and the big world, this wave of ghouls has the largest number and the strongest destructive power!
The entire Hongyun Hotel fell into chaos in the blink of an eye. The number of ghouls continued to climb. Tentacles, bones, sharp teeth, claws, slime... The number of ghouls that were mutating wildly continued to increase. Their mutated organs pierced through the walls, smashed the floor, and destroyed the roof...
The horrifying noises mixed with the screams that came one after another, like the early morning bell, awakened the entire Zhongsu Town.
The Yinlai members had already made preparations, but after waiting all night, their preparations had been exhausted. Furthermore, the number of ghouls listed in the mission details was far greater than the previous two ghoul waves, exceeding 30 in just a short period of time!
Hongyun is called a restaurant, but it is actually a hotel. The long corridors and rooms one after another naturally cut into Yinlai's formation.
Surrounded? Not really.
Hundreds of people were crowded in the corridor, and no one knew when a ghoul would rush out of which room, and the whole place suddenly became a turbulent stream of boiling water.
Many members of Yinlai were affected. When touched by a ghoul, a bit of their soul was lost, and a new, hungry ghoul was born.
"What are you panicking about?! Kill!!"
The guild leader, who was also a top player, set an example by killing the two divided members with a single blow of his sword without even blinking an eye.
Colleagues, friends, siblings... all friendships were destroyed in an instant.
The worker squeezed in the crowd, watching the weapons and skills fall on his former colleagues, and swallowed his saliva.
The words that were about to come out of my throat were swallowed back into my stomach.
——Many people present here have soul cards. If they just reach out and activate a soul card, they can save them...
Once his troops' morale stabilized, Tang Lang no longer cared about the ghoul tide before him. He used his movement skill to quickly shuttle through the restaurant. The master's speed was astonishing, and he had circled all three floors in no time.
An Rou’s little lackey was not found.
The anger that had been suppressed for a day suddenly exploded. He waved his hand, and a long spear emerged from his palm and pierced the head of a ghoul.
After the ghoul fell, a Yinlai member was revealed behind him, holding a knife in both hands, maintaining a sprinting posture, and one of his eyes turned into a bloody hole.
"Chairman..." The member uttered two words and fell down.
"What bad luck!" Tang Lang cursed.
However, accidentally killing a subordinate is just a matter of a resurrection card. At most, I can wait for the resurrection to come online and give him more rewards.
Now that things have come to this, we can only focus on the task at hand. Tang Lang clicked his fingers and sent a message on the guild channel.
[Complete the task within ten minutes and get a 50-50 reward! ]
It was usually 30/70, but now with the mention of 50/50, the Yinlai members suddenly became excited, their killing intent rising. However, the worker suddenly sent a message in the channel.
【Olibao is coming! 】
Tang Lang was shocked.
"Package? That means a lot of people came. So fast?!"
He rushed downstairs and just as he reached the first floor, he saw two members bleeding and lying on the ground.
The corpse did not undergo a violent transformation.
Tang Lang glared at Captain Li at the door: "You killed my people?!"
"Really? I'm sorry, I couldn't tell if they were divided or not." Captain Li said this, but there was no apology on his face. "It can't be helped. I don't recognize them."
Playing dirty tricks in the ghoul tide, even if Long Yan comes, it is hard to tell who is right and who is wrong.
Tang Lang's teeth creaked, his only desire being to destroy the Gold-ranked Dawn Darkness. However, the Ouli players were so densely packed outside the restaurant, it went without saying that they had surrounded it completely.
Like him, Dawn Darkness also obviously played a trick of waiting for the rabbit to come to him!
"A-zai! Get everyone to retreat!"
Tang Lang had no choice.
-
Three streets away, on the roof, Paopao glanced at the smoke-filled Hongyun Hotel, feeling a lingering fear.
"Da Hammer, did you hear about the ambush, or did the boss tell you? Yinlai and Oli teamed up to ambush us, and hey—we almost got caught there."
Wang Da smiled silently, his five fingers grasping the corpse's throat, crushing it the instant the player revived. With a swift swing of his other hand, he collected all the money that had leaked from the corpse into his palm.
Seeing this, Paopao turned his head to look at the corpse on his back. There was no sign of resurrection. When he looked at Wang Da again, the other party reached out and took the corpse from his back.
"Why? I can carry it."
"She's looking for you."
"Oh oh." Paopao nodded, "What about you?"
"Back to the farm."
As the words drifted by his ears, Wang Da's figure had already disappeared into the dark alley.
-
"Master, you've been through the whole night, so don't get too angry..."
Bang, a slap landed on Butler Liang's face.
Heng Batong's eyes were dark blue and bloodshot, and he cursed, "Don't be angry? You destroyed my two most profitable businesses in one night, and you want me to stop being angry?! Help me up!"
Butler Liang didn't dare to persuade him anymore and helped him walk to the door obediently.
Outside the study was an independent courtyard. In the courtyard, twenty soldiers in black were lined up in an orderly manner, each holding a musket in their hands.
This was a musket team that Heng Ba Tong had invested heavily in, along with the equipment and bullets for practice, with each soldier costing tens of thousands of gold.
Tang Lang, this two-faced guy, waited for a whole night but got no good news, so Heng Ba Tong had no choice but to use these treasures.
It's a pity that these musketeers can scare ordinary people, but when they heard that they were going to kill ghouls, their legs and feet became weak and their hands began to tremble.
Heng Batong was so angry that he was about to start cursing when a security guard ran in in a panic.
"Master, the hotel is haunted! There are so many of them, more than the Commercial Bank and the Great World combined!"
Heng Batong's eyes rolled back, and he instantly passed out. Butler Liang was standing far away, and didn't have time to help him. The musketeers who were closer, upon hearing that there really was a ghoul, were so frightened that they didn't even think of helping him.
The poor town leader, the god of all the people in the town, fell to the ground and hit his head on the bluestone bricks, causing it to bleed.
"Hey, what's going on? Hurry up and help the mayor up!"
A lively and pleasant voice came from far away and reached Heng Batong's ears. He woke up immediately and looked up, only to see An Rou walking towards him gracefully in white high heels.
She seemed to have anticipated this. She took out two life potions from her off-white leather handbag and handed them to Butler Liang: "Hurry up and give them to the mayor. Can't you see that his face is covered in blood?"
"Oh, okay, okay..."
Butler Liang took the life potion and saw his master still lying on the ground in a miserable state. He hurriedly called out to the soldiers, "Help the master up!"
When they lifted him up, they saw that not only had Heng Batong's forehead been bruised, but his nose, lips, and chin were also bruised. As luck would have it, one of his front teeth had not only been knocked out but had also been lodged in his tongue, causing blood to flow whenever he opened his mouth.
It can be as miserable as it can be.
When NPCs drink life potions, the effect is much smaller than that of players. Wounds can be healed, but broken front teeth cannot grow back.
"Mmmmm!"
Heng Batong's tongue was swollen and painful, and he couldn't speak. He was supported by the musketeer, staring at An Rou with red eyes.
The bleeding has stopped, but the wound cannot heal immediately, and the swelling of the tongue cannot go down immediately. It seems that I won’t be able to speak for a while.
That’s good. An Rou has been up all night and is mentally exhausted. She also wants some peace and quiet.
However, thanks to the two life potions she drank before going out, her face looked radiant, as if she had just had a good sleep.
Butler Liang helped Heng Batong into the study. Heng Batong stared desperately at the door and waved his arms.
"Ah!"
It was unclear whether Butler Liang truly didn't understand or was just pretending. He turned to the musketeers outside and said, "Everyone, go down and patrol the streets to maintain order. This will prevent the townspeople from causing unrest due to the ghouls and causing trouble for the master."
???
Heng Batong's eyes were full of question marks, and his confusion turned into anger, and he struggled to get up.
But Butler Liang pressed his shoulders hard: "Master, Master, you can't do that. Your injury hasn't healed yet."
Heng Batong ignored the severe pain in his tongue and kept moaning as hard as he could.
Butler Liang nodded repeatedly, turned to look at An Rou, and asked politely: "Boss An, the master wanted to ask you what brings you here so early?"
An Rou suppressed her smile.
This time, Butler Liang probably didn't understand, after all, NPCs don't lie. But not understanding didn't matter. While Heng Batong couldn't speak, Butler Liang found the right opportunity to "get paid for the job."
Last night, An Rou asked him to relay a sentence that would surely infuriate Heng Batong, so naturally, he would have to give him a big red envelope.
An Rou's face was filled with concern. "I heard early this morning that there were ghosts haunting the town. Lucky Commercial Bank, Great World, and even Lucky Hotel—aren't they all the mayor's years of hard work? I was worried he'd be too upset, so I came all the way here to offer my condolences."
Every word pierces Hengbatong's heart.
Heng Batong's eyes were wide open with anger. He tried to stand up by holding the handrail, but his shoulders were held down tightly by Butler Liang.
Butler Liang's eyes fell on An Rou's hands: "It's not proper to come here empty-handed to offer condolences."
"Of course I didn't come here empty-handed." An Rou took out a stack of folded papers from her handbag. "I brought the contracts for the wasteland in the eastern suburbs and the three properties I just mentioned."
Heng Batong stared at the stack of papers with his eyes wide open, and he regretted that he could not cry blood on the spot after drinking the life potion.
It was a premeditated plan. Three ghost attacks occurred in one night. It was definitely a premeditated plan by this woman!
"Hmmmm, Hmmmm, Hmmmm!"
Butler Liang rubbed his shoulders and said, "Don't worry, Master. I'll take a look for you first."
He pressed down the Hengbatong with his right hand, freeing his left hand to take the contract. Even though he was mentally prepared, he was still surprised by the amount on it.
"Wasteland is 100 gold per acre, the trading company, the big world, and the restaurant are all 10,000 gold... Boss An, this?"
The price offered yesterday was 2,000 gold per acre for the wasteland in the eastern suburbs, which totaled 100,000 gold. But after just one night, the total price was reduced to 5,000 gold?
There were three other properties, each one of which was one of the largest in Zhongxu Town, with none of them valued at less than a million gold. That was the lifeblood of Hengbatong's cornucopia, and they were all sold for just 30,000 gold?
Is this selling junk?
An Rou sighed deeply, looking distressed. "If it weren't for the mayor's kindness to me, I wouldn't have bought these rotten assets. For example, the cloth shop in Huangjia Alley in the east of the town had great business two years ago, but it collapsed because of a ghoul incident. Even now, no one is willing to buy that empty shop..."
Steward Liang has served Heng Ba Tong for a long time and knows the Huang family cloth shop better than most people.
It was true that it had been vacant for two years, but that wasn't because no one wanted it. It was obvious that the Huang family, frightened and relocated to a first-tier district, didn't appreciate the small price they were paid for selling the shop, so they left it vacant on purpose, hoping to pass it down to their descendants.
A shop is not farmland, so there is no need to grow anything there. After five or eight years, when the townspeople have almost forgotten about it, it will be time to reopen it.
Heng Batong groaned and groaned, his body struggling restlessly. Butler Liang quickly handed the contract back to An Rou, listened attentively for a while, and nodded repeatedly.
"I know, I know. Don't worry, Master." He raised his head and called out, "Xiao Ding, come in for a moment."
A young man walked quickly into the study with his head lowered and his back bent.
An Rou recognized him - Ding Liang, who was once sent by Hengbatong to guard the Yong'an Hotel.
When Ding Liang saw that it was An Rou, he quickly lowered his head again, at a loss.
"Go and get the black box from the museum shelf." Butler Liang ordered.
It was a black lacquered wooden box with a small, exquisite golden lock. When it was brought to him, Heng Batong was completely stunned.
What does this mean? What does this mean, Liang?!
While he was stunned, Butler Liang reached out to his neck and pulled hard, pulling off the gold chain from his neck.
On the gold chain is an equally exquisite key.
Heng Batong came back to his senses and started to make some noises. But Butler Liang didn't even look at him and ordered Ding Liang again, "Open it."
The scene was a bit weird.
Ding Liang looked at Heng Ba Tong and then at Butler Liang, and finally chose to obey his master and unlocked the wooden box.
Butler Liang rummaged through them and quickly collected four land deeds and house deeds, which he handed to An Rou.
"On behalf of the master, I thank Boss An for his kindness." He glanced at Heng Ba Tong under his command and frowned, "But this signature..."
The contract, the land deeds and the house deeds are in place. Everything is ready, except for Heng Batong's personal signature.
Under the game mechanism, signing on behalf of others will definitely not be recognized, not to mention that this terrifying deal is not what Hengbatong wants at all.
An Rou smiled slightly: "Leave it to me."
At the same time, he glanced at Ding Liang on the side.
Butler Liang understood: "Xiao Ding, go out first."
The two of them sang in unison, and even though Heng Batong was slow to realize it, he finally understood it.
This is a collaboration between inside and outside, there is a thief in the house!
"Oh oh oh!"
Heng Batong tried to call out to Ding Liang, but no one else could understand him and could only watch in despair as Ding Liang disappeared outside the door.
A face suddenly came over, blocking his view.
It was a gentle, harmless and soft smile.
Heng Batong's eyes were red. She moved to his ear and said something extremely cold in a very soft voice.
——"If you don't want ghouls in your house, just sign this."
All the anger and resentment froze in an instant, and Heng Batong's heartbeat even slowed down.
He was so angry that he was confused. He was so angry that he had guessed that An Rou was behind the continuous wave of ghouls. He was also shocked at how An Rou could drive the ghouls that everyone feared. However, he never thought that ghouls could appear in his shop and in his home.
Fear surged into my heart like a raging tide.
An Rou's smile remained unchanged, but her smiling eyes were filled with the coldness of death.
He had murderous intentions towards her, and had she not done the same to him?
An Rou and Butler Liang, it’s dark under the lamp, it’s dark under the lamp!
Even though he was extremely reluctant, Heng Batong couldn't help but hold the brush handed to him by Butler Liang, and signed his name on each contract, while pressing his bright red fingerprints.
The trembling hand made the name written crooked, and even the three characters "Hengbatong" were unrecognizable. But the contract flashed white, and the system recognized it.
A small land dispute has come to an end.
An Rou looked at the contracts with satisfaction, and Butler Liang loosened his grip. Unexpectedly, Heng Batong jumped out of the chair and crawled to the antique shelf, picked up an object and pointed it at An Rou.
It turned out to be a firearm.
"Master, you can't!"
Butler Liang's screams and gunshots rang out together, startling the morning birds in the trees in the yard.
An Rou subconsciously raised her left hand, and the jade bracelet on her wrist slid down to her forearm.
Ice wristbands.
Whether it was at the Yong'an Hotel half a month ago or at the mayor's mansion today, the reason why she was not afraid of Hengbatong's musketeers was because of this prop.
Passively activated when an attack is detected, with a defense value of 300 points.
After she had a falling out with Heng Ba Tong that day, she asked Paopao to buy a firearm from the pawn shop to try it out, and it was more than enough to defend against bullets.
After all, they are just weapons that NPCs can use, and cannot be compared with real props.
However, at this moment, a figure flashed in from outside the door and stood in front of An Rou.
An Rou quickly lowered her arm and covered the jade bracelet with her right hand.
It turned out to be Tang Lang.
"Mayor, don't be impulsive. Killing people is against the laws of Lengbing City."
Heng Batong was stunned. In his sight, Tang Lang blocked An Rou tightly behind him, raised his left hand to his chest, and blocked the bullet with just the thin-string glove.
He saved An Rou?
How dare Tang Lang save this woman from him right in front of him?!
Heng Batong was furious. Coincidentally, the swelling on his tongue had almost subsided, so he cursed, "Tang Lang, how dare you disobey me? Disobey me for her?!"
Tang Lang has a big head.
It’s not because an NPC was yelling at him and speaking rudely, but because An Rou... really can’t be killed.
What would be the use of killing An Rou even if he drove the Ouli branch out of Zhongsu Town?
Human desires can only move forward, never backward. After witnessing the grand occasion of the high-frequency mission areas during this period, he is no longer the guild leader who is satisfied with having a stable base.
Guarding a small marginal town with no missions, following the footsteps of the dawn that had been dark for so many years... How could he be worthy of the god level he had worked so hard to reach?
Tang Lang forced himself to soften his tone, "Mayor, if you violate the law, you... are no longer mayor."
Heng Batong shouted: "I can kill anyone I want, who knows, who dares to say?!"
"I dare!"
Heng Batong's expression froze, and he looked at Butler Liang who suddenly spoke: "You...you, good, you are so good, Liang!"
The muzzle of the gun moved and pointed forward.
Butler Liang trembled all over and quickly hid behind An Rou. He only heard the voice but did not see anyone.
"If the mayor dares to commit murder, I will report him to Central City immediately!"
Heng Batong: "Tang Lang, get out of the way!"
Tang Langgen didn't take the mere gun seriously. He turned his head and lowered his eyes, looking at An Rou in surprise.
He arrived just at the moment when Heng Batong opened fire. He didn't know the whole story and thought it was just a continuation of the conflict between the two. He didn't expect that Butler Liang had betrayed Heng Batong?
The struggle between NPCs is not superficial, but it is quite intense!
Heng Batong finally fired three shots in a row, bang bang bang, but the three damned people on the other side of the smoking muzzle disappeared.
Angry roars echoed throughout the mayor's mansion.
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