Chapter 701: Like a Rat in a Hole
The curtain of the night had fallen and the lights were lit.
Nesting himself while quietly reading a financial magazine in Lulu’s bedroom in the Paradise Club, Tang Xiu found that a huge business opportunity contained within the widespread popularity of the Internet nowadays. It had even brought impact to the business entities in real life, causing the Internet superstars to earn a lot from it.
As someone who reached a supremacy in the Immortal World and had experienced the hi-tech world of advanced civilizations, it made him realize other channels of making money and also become aware of the several businesses that were relying upon the Internet for marketing.
SmartBrain; it was a must-have item in the advanced civilization world, the likes of which was the mobile phone in today’s society! The SmartBrain had complete functionality as an integrated communication and networking tool, was easy to carry anywhere, and connected to the virtual space’s shopping malls. One could even use its virtual reality hologram feature to surf the network and immerse their consciousness to enter the commercial establishments and obtain the same experience of going out shopping in real life while staying indoors.
Games, in the other hand, were also a lucrative business, such as the “Elite Battleground”, “Speed Arena”, “The True Kingdom Through the Age Of Warring States”, and “Great Interstellar Voyage”…
Tang Xiu once visited the star territory of the advanced civilization, during which he learned some elementary knowledge, and these were the games he was most familiar with. However, after he obtained himself a SmartBrain, other than trying out “Elite Battleground”, he just ignored the other games after he felt that there were no other contents regarding abilities he could learn in them. After all, given his status, capacity, and strength at that time, it was just a sudden impulse on a whim to hunt for novelty in a spur moment.
However, he could conceive a lot of ideas just from the SmartBrain and games, and he could even casually write a plan to develop games. But the research and development of the SmartBrain was the very understructure for those products to be produced.
Tang Xiu put down the financial magazine, looking vexed. If he did not lose his interspatial ring in the Immortal World, he could have a treasure house in his hands now. At the very least, he had stored his SmartBrain gadget inside that interspatial ring.
“I may still have money in hand, but the rate at which I’m spending it is pretty much the same. It won’t take long to use it all if I can’t find another way to earn more. The earnings of the Everlasting Feast Hall are quite good, yet the internal purchase of New City in Star City requires a huge funding chain, so I can’t rashly put the money to use there.”
“The Everlasting Feast Hall itself is also thriving, but with grooming subordinate cultivators, massive purchase of cultivation resources, as well as cultivating spirit herbs and rearing fierce beasts, is kind of like burning money. Being barely able to maintain the balance is already very good.”
“What should I do to earn more money in the shortest time?”
Tang Xiu was not a money grubber, but he still felt the pinch. There was actually a huge plan he kept in mind: to establish an army consisting of cultivators. In particular was the number of street children he had been looking for all over the country, which now numbered up to 1,200. The funds required to spend on their cultivation would be quite colossal as well.
Back in the past, he was the type of person who was ignorant of household management, its daily necessities and affairs, and yet, he now profoundly experienced how did it feel to not have enough money.
Knock, knock…
The door was knocked, and Mo Awu’s voice came from the outside, “Boss, we found some suspicious leads, and our people are currently tracking them.”
Tang Xiu’s complexion moved, and he immediately cast away the “money” issues in his mind. After he came outside, he asked in a deep tone, “Is it about those divergent creatures?”
“Yeah.” Mo Awu nodded. “Some divergent creatures were seen in the Hong District’s Jinbai Hotel today. Our intelligence personnel has conducted an investigation, and according to the traces left by them, they have already conducted a thorough search and are currently in a certain point of the border of Shanghai and Changxi City. Judging from the trail, they should be heading toward Mt. Lao.”
Changxi City, toward Mt. Lao?
Tang Xiu had been there before when he first came to Shanghai and went to the car race bout through the Laoshan highway with Chi Nan. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, “What has the police found from their investigation?”
“The police investigation officer we bought informed us that they are also baffled and at a loss now, and there is no investigation to be conducted on the murderer who killed those four nightclub girls. So much so that they cannot determine the nature and motives of the criminal case, and are unable to investigate as to what or who the murderer is,” said Mo Awu. “I heard, however, that the police have contacted the people from the Special Department, so maybe there will be people from the state soon.”
“Nevermind the police. We’ll head over to Changxi City immediately.” Tang Xiu nodded. “I want to see how powerful these divergent creatures are.”
****
Changxi City, Laoshan.
In a valley between the peaks of a mountain range, a small lake gleamed a reflection of the sunlight on its waving surface. On a dark spot at the lakeside, Shanjenna curled up in her tattered black robe, shivering all over. Her wings were pierced with silver bullets, and though it was not a fatal injury, it still made her injury worsen.
Han Jintong sat next to her, looking exhausted, panting and with a ragged breath. His face was as pale as a sheet, while his messy hair fully depicted the sorry situation he was in.
“S-Shanjenna, I… I’m suspecting that there’s something in our body, some scent, or whatever it is that can be smelled by those assassins. It makes them able to keep a close chase and pester us tightly. I only know a little about vampires like you, but you should be able to think of a key solution or any plans that can deal with this.” Said Han Jintong right as he caught his breath and erased the blood on the corner of his mouth.
Shanjenna hesitated for a moment and suddenly asked, “Professor, can you smell any particular scent on me?”
“No.” Han Jintong shook his head.
“Smear my blood on both sides of your nose and then try again,” said Shanjenna.
Han Jintong blanked, and then used a knife to cut her finger and smear the blood on both his nostrils. His complexion changed after smelling it and quickly said, “I smell a scent. It’s very faint and the fragrance makes me feel good, but also brings a bit of dizziness.”
Shanjenna’s face instantly turned nasty, and said with an uneasy expression, “Quickly clean the blood on your nose, Professor. Shit, we’re damned. They will keep chasing us no matter where we run. It’s because they have cast the Darksoul Scent on me.”
“What exactly is this Darksoul Scent?” Asked Han Jintong quickly.
“It’s a type of special drug for the breed Race of Darkness like me, and it has a magical tracking effect,” explained Shanjenna. “Once one is smeared by this Darksoul Scent, the other breeds of the Darkness Race can smell and lock the target even if the target’s position is beyond hundreds of kilometers. They must have smeared it on me while I was unaware of it during the fight last night. Professor, I cannot implicate you any longer. Just quickly go and don’t worry about me.”
“I told you to not persuade me to leave and abandon my own student. I can never do that,” said Han Jintong with knitted brows. “Since you already know that it’s a Darksoul Scent, just wash it off. They won’t be able to find us once you lost that scent, right?”
“You can’t wash it off. The Darksoul Scent is a fragrance that enters your blood and flows with it.” Shanjenna shook her head and bitterly said. “It won’t wear off unless I’m dead and the blood in my body cools off, or… wait for half a month before it slowly vanishes. But given the situation we are currently in, let alone lasting for half a month, we can’t even last for three days. Professor, if my guess is not mistaken, they have already caught up.”
Hahaha…
A strange and jarring laughter came from the heights of the forested mountains, and the erratic echo created a gloomy and grim atmosphere in the valley.
Five hazy figures appeared in the woods from where the strange laughter came. Two Beastmen with hairy bodies, two Wingmen who flapped their wings, and a pale-faced vampire in a black trench coat. The five directly surrounded Han Jintong and Shanjenna the instant they appeared.
“Hand over the Skull Insignia, Shanjenna!”
The drifting voice seemed not to come out from these five divergent creatures but seemingly came from all directions, making it impossible to judge the position.
Shanjenna backhandedly wielded a semilunar scimitar while chiding and cursing towards the front, “The Skull Insignia is not in my hands anymore, Grove Bear. I’m being chased by elite assassins, do you think I won’t hide it in a safe place? You’re a Gold Badge Assassin of the Stygian Club, don’t hide your head like a fucking coward. GET OUT!!!”
“The second heir of the Salzburg is indeed a brave one, eh?”
An obscure silhouette appeared in an instant. Shanjenna was unable to react as a punch sent her flying upside down and thrown into the lake. But in the next moment, she blasted upward from the water, spurted out a few mouthfuls of blood, flapped her broken wings and staggeringly floated on the surface of the lake.
“Grove Bear of the Bearkin is indeed very strong. You might be able to kill me today, but you won’t get the Skull Insignia, and the content inside it will soon be obtained by the guardians of the Luminance Castle. Your mills will be destroyed when that time comes, and all your efforts will be for naught.” Shanjenna’s voice was a bit shrill, and yet contained incisiveness and fierceness.
“No no no, why would I kill you?” Grove Bear waved his hand. “You’re a beautiful little bat in my eyes, Shanjenna. I love your body, and it must be mine. I will imprison your soul and ravage your body for days and nights. I wanna see you screaming, moaning, and begging for mercy under my crotch.”
After saying said, his gaze fell on Han Jintong, raised his brows and ridiculed, “You’re not a vampire, and not even one of us, the divergent races… Oh… you’re unexpectedly a human being, eh? This is interesting, truly interesting. Shanjenna turned out to have sought help from a human? Seems like this human is quite powerful, no?”
“In my eyes, all walks of life who possess wisdom are equal. Human beings do have some scumbags, but I can find more scumbags among the divergent races, such as you, the assassination agents,” replied Han Jintong with a sneer.
“If all human beings were of the same mind as you, we—the Beastman would have long taken control of mankind’s destiny instead of hiding ourselves in the world of darkness, being afraid to use our strength too much, being afraid of openly hunt and kill humans in the broad daylight to consume their flesh and blood…”