Nightmare Despair

Chapter 79 Enemies
"Old Li, don't rush to make a final judgment."

Niu, standing nearby, walked over to Li Xiangqian, stretched, and groaned, his neck and lower back cracking. He grimaced and complained, "My old back... there are signs that the electricity in the teahouse was deliberately cut off, and the method was clean and efficient. There are a lot of bone fragments and flesh scraps mixed in with the blood, making it look like he was killed by a bladed object. This isn't some kind of mirage; it's clearly a slaughter."

"It's less of that mystical stuff."

“I think it was more of a meticulously planned murder, no, a massacre.”

"I just don't know how Wang Yuanzheng, who runs a teahouse, could have gotten involved with such a ruthless character."

"I've already had people check the surrounding surveillance footage. The amount of blood on the ground suggests at least seven or eight deaths; it's impossible for someone to just vanish into thin air like that..."

Wang Yuanzheng, an ordinary teahouse owner?

Li Xiangqian twitched the corners of his mouth, and a number of unspoken, sarcastic remarks instantly popped into his mind. However, he swallowed them back before he could say them, as he was long past the age of making such casual remarks.

He's a veteran policeman in Xishan, born and raised there, and has been working his way up in the ranks for decades. He's well aware of the reputation of those members of the Wang family.

Wang Yuanzheng's current state of being reduced to ashes is nothing but the result of the seeds he sowed in the first half of his life.

From the perspective of an ordinary resident of Xishan, Li Xiangqian felt that Wang Yuanzheng's death was good, even too late; it wouldn't have been enough if only he had died...

Too many members of the Wang family have the blood of the old Xishan people on their hands.

Unfortunately, he ended up wearing that police uniform.

Driven by his duty, whether the case was a mirage or a massacre, he had only one goal.

Break it.

"That's right, whether they're human or ghost... they'll eventually be caught!"

"Captain Li, Captain Niu, we've found something in the basement!"

A young policeman rushed up the stairs, staggering and nearly slipping into a pool of blood. Leaning against the wall, he said with a horrified expression, "The basement... there are thousands of rounds of ammunition, dozens of guns! Even grenades and explosives!"

The team leader, who was rubbing his back, froze.

What respectable business owner would bury an armory under a teahouse?

Team Leader Niu didn't bother to correct himself. Upon hearing the gun, he immediately roared, "Seal off the scene immediately! Investigate! Check for any ledgers! Count the bullets! We cannot allow a single bullet to enter Xishan City!"

The young policeman looked flustered upon hearing this.

I racked my brains trying to figure out how to phrase my report. All signs indicated that, not to mention bullets, we were missing several grenades.

……

"Luo Tong, Wang Yuanzheng is dead. What do you think?"

Mr. Hu casually tossed the disposable phone he had ordered takeout into the small shredder next to the table. With a buzzing sound, the phone was instantly reduced to a pile of metal slag.

Luo Tong's expression remained as stiff as a wooden block as he said indifferently, "He who kills will be killed in return. Did he think he could just say he's washing his hands of the world and walk away? Everyone has to die eventually. How he dies, who kills him... I'm not surprised at all."

“Wang Jibei, Wang Linxi, Wang Yuanzheng… Of the three Wang brothers, apart from the sickly second brother, which one hasn’t had the blood of the Xishan people on his hands?”

"The eldest brother is the top-ranking member of the old canal gang, and the youngest brother is the black glove who does the dirty work for the Wang family."

Luo Tong's voice was low and somber.

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

This humorous,江湖-style comment amused Boss Hu.

Boss Hu laughed and said, "I've noticed that you martial arts practitioners all have a bit of a quirk in your thinking... Luo Tong, things might not be as complicated as you think."

"I don't think it was done by the Wang family's old rivals."

Luo Tong's dull eyes darted around: "Who's that? Zhou Kai? That little apprentice?"

Mr. Hu raised his hand and stroked his chin, pondering for a moment before saying, "I hadn't originally thought of him, but since you brought it up, let's assume it's him."

After saying that, Boss Hu stood up, stretched his shoulders, and made a cracking sound.

"Even though the employer is gone, the work continues. Wang Yuanzheng has already deposited the money into the hotel's account... Tomorrow morning, about thirteen hours later, a True Strength martial artist from the Blue Leopard School and a Level 1 Enhanced Person from the neighboring Mingjiang Hotel will arrive in Xishan."

"At that time, you and the other two will work together to take care of Zhou Kai and Chen Ping at the same time."

Luo Tong frowned and said, "Chen Ping is not a target in Wang Yuanzheng's bounty."

Boss Hu turned around and slapped Luo Tong hard on the shoulder: "Don't be so rigid. I'm just letting you get revenge, aren't I? What, you don't want to kill Chen Ping?" Luo Tong lowered his head and remained silent for a moment...

"Would never dream of it!"

Mr. Hu's eyes darkened, he released his grip, and sat down again.

"Regardless of whether Qiu Ping's medicine is on Zhou Kai or not, once this job is done, I'll help you with the level two upgrade."

"Perhaps, even level three is possible... Luo Tong, you are a true martial artist, don't waste your energy."

"Work hard, and you'll get your share."

Luo Tong kept his head down, glancing at Boss Hu out of the corner of his eye until Boss Hu sat back in his office chair, pushed off the table with his feet, and slid towards the window, chair and all, before he looked away.

In the past, he would have scoffed at such conditions.

But now, it's different.

Luo Tong clenched his fists, a sharp pain shooting through his shoulder... In the battle with Chen Ping, his right shoulder suffered a comminuted fracture.

Therefore, let alone reaching the second stage of Qi cultivation, his true strength cultivation will hardly make any further progress in his lifetime.

The cost of the secondary renovation was all his savings from three years of work.

As for Level 3... he didn't even dare to dream of such an exorbitant price of tens of millions.

"Level 2 enhanced human... Level 3 enhanced human, this is my only chance, Chen Ping."

Luo Tong's eyes were cold and filled with murderous intent.

"Unfortunately, you won't have the chance to see me surpass you... because in a dozen hours, it will be your death day!"

The three joined forces! First, they killed Zhou Kai, then they eliminated Chen Ping!
Luo Tong knew that Boss Hu must have other motives behind this arrangement, but he was too lazy to think about it.

As long as he can get his revenge, that's enough.

However, from beginning to end, the name Zhou Kai never even crossed his mind for half a second when he seriously considered the countermeasures he might encounter.

The way of thinking has become a habitual pattern.

It seems he was only facing Chen Ping.

Instead of vs. Chen Ping + Zhou Kai.

……

The twelfth nightmare patient in Xishan City on July 12th died.

On the first night of summer vacation, in dormitory B305 of Xishan No. 2 Middle School, the upper bunk is right by the entrance.

Zhang Xiaodong was jolted awake from his dream and suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. He was rushed to the hospital but died six hours later despite resuscitation efforts.

To keep him alive, Huang Zhang and several police officers first ensured that he could sleep in the dormitory every night to prevent him from entering new nightmares in unfamiliar environments.

Just like he had done to the other twenty-odd nightmare patients over the past two months, Huang Zhang used hypnosis techniques to force-feed Zhang Xiaodong the rules of nightmare survival into his brain.

But he still died in the end...

"Wait a minute, where are you taking him?"

Huang Zhang looked as if he had just woken up from a nightmare, covered in sweat, and reached out to stop the nurse pushing the gurney carrying the body.

The nurse looked at him strangely: "Sir, you're not a family member, are you? Patients who fail to be resuscitated will be temporarily placed in the morgue until their families come to claim them..."

Another nurse glared at her colleague and said as gently as possible, "Sir, we understand how you feel, but hospital beds are really in short supply..."

“Go…go away, I’m not his family.” Huang Zhang’s lips were bloodless. After saying this, he seemed to have all his strength drained away, and he staggered and turned around.

Zhang Xiaodong has no mother; his grandparents passed away many years ago. His only father died last night in what was defined as a mirage murder.

No one will come to claim his body.

nobody.

(End of this chapter)