People are watching American TV shows, and they are also watching American-style iaido.

Rather than fearing future retaliation from the [Eternal Life Club], preserving one's life seems more important right now.

A few seconds later.

The thugs' leader gritted his teeth, stepped out from under the tree where he was hiding, and said, "Mr. Ding, don't shoot. You're right, we were indeed sent by the [Eternal Life Club], but not to kill you. We're here to guide you."

This is interesting.

Ding Ze exhaled a puff of smoke and smiled, "Continue."

“When you arrived earlier, I immediately reported the news to Washington. Then, the elder told me to make arrangements to lead you to the Tree of Life in a natural manner. We were just following orders,” the captain of the thugs explained in detail, without any doubt that Ding Ze would kill at any time.

"Why?" Ding Ze asked, somewhat puzzled.

The thugs' captain shook his head. "I don't know either. The elder only said it was the Grand Elder's order."

Oh?

What does this mean?

It feels like the Grand Elder of the [Longevity Club] wants him to find the entrance to the underground world as soon as possible?

What has the Longevity Club planned in the underworld? Are they planning to lure him in and then kill him?

Ha ha.

Ding Ze found it amusing and asked with a laugh, "Are you telling the truth?"

"Every word is true!" The thugs' captain solemnly replied.

“Alright, then lead the way,” Ding Ze said without further ado.

The thugs' captain was taken aback upon hearing this, and a hint of doubt crossed his mind.

It's that simple?

This suspicion is not wrong, because, of course, it's not that simple.

This is not.

Once all the other thugs had left behind the tree, Ding Ze smiled, drew his gun, and pulled the trigger. "You can lead the way by yourself."

Bang bang bang~~ Bang bang bang~~

Gunfire erupted again, and in the blink of an eye, more than twenty thugs fell to the ground one after another, leaving only their captain standing there in utter shock, his body trembling with rage.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

The thugs' leader, barely regaining his senses, glanced at his comrades' corpses, blinked, and then, his eyes blazing with fury, glared at Ding Ze and roared, "What have you done?!?!"

Ding Ze chuckled, took out a cigarette, lit another one, and then gave his reply, "Like I said, you can lead the way by yourself. Your companions don't need to follow. Too many people will just be arguing and it's not appropriate."

After saying that, Ding Ze added, "You should know that the people in the [Eternal Life Club] are all my enemies. It's not unusual for enemies to kill each other when they meet."

"So, are you going to stay and keep them company?"

The thugs' captain was so angry that he clenched his teeth so tightly that he almost drew blood.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

The thugs' leader, not wanting to die, looked away and said, "Follow me, I'll take you there."

"Thank you," Ding Ze replied with a smile.

A few minutes later.

The thugs' captain, his face extremely gloomy, silently packed his belongings, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and walked forward in silence.

"By the way, what's your name?" Ding Ze asked after thinking for a moment.

“Jamie,” the leader of the thugs replied without turning his head.

"Guide Jamie, I'll leave the rest to you," Ding Ze said politely, stepping over a corpse, acting as if the killing had never happened.

Sensing Ding Ze's tone, Jamie, the henchman, finally understood why the outside world called Ding Ze a mad killer.

Time passes quickly.

Two days passed by in the blink of an eye.

Finally, led by Jamie, Ding Ze and his group arrived at the Tree of Life and saw the second Tree of Life with their own eyes.

At first glance, this Tree of Life is quite different from the Tree of Life in the Amazon rainforest... First and foremost, it is not as big and does not look as majestic.

However, despite this, there is no doubt that this tree is indeed a tree of life, because its overall appearance is almost identical.

"Why is this Tree of Life so much smaller than the one in the Amazon rainforest?" With such a question in mind, Ding Ze naturally had to ask Jamie.

Jamie shook his head. "I can't be 100% sure. What I've heard is that the Tree of Life in the Amazon rainforest was the oldest one to be discovered, and it's already quite old."

"And this Tree of Life is still in its youth."

“I’ve learned something new,” Ding Ze said with a smile, finding the explanation reasonable. Then he asked, “You know where the entrance is, right?”

Jamie nodded. "I know, come with me."

Without hesitation, Jamie continued walking forward after saying those words.

Ding Ze thought for a moment, then turned to a person in charge beside him and said, "Make a call and transfer the people over according to the plan."

The person in charge, without a smile, nodded and immediately took out his phone to contact Miami.

“You stay here and wait for me to come back. I’ll go over alone,” Ding Ze instructed Janet again.

Janet wasn't a woman who didn't know her place, and despite her unease, she immediately nodded in agreement, "Okay."

Ding Ze didn't say anything more. With a cigarette in his mouth, he quickly caught up with Jamie and moved side by side with him.

Jamie clearly heard what Ding Ze had just said, and to be honest, at that moment, he really had a strong urge to fight Ding Ze and avenge his comrades.

"Do you want to kill me?" Ding Ze asked, glancing at Jamie with a smile.

Jamie turned to look at Ding Ze, defiant and courageous, and retorted, "You think I can't kill you?"

“Haha, you can’t kill me,” Ding Ze laughed. “I’m not that easy to kill. If you don’t believe me, you can try.”

Jamie: "....." (End of Chapter)

Chapter 457 Exploration Team

Deep in the mountains.

Jamie ultimately didn't dare to make a move... It's good to be alive, there's no need to throw your life away.

Humans are, by nature, bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong.

Faced with a madman and serial killer like Ding Ze, Jamie finally chickened out, looked away, and silently walked forward.

Ding Ze didn't try anything more provocative, and quietly walked forward with a cigarette in his mouth.

The distance isn't far.

The two arrived at a small hill. Jamie wasted no time and quickly walked to the entrance, then pushed aside several thick layers of vines.

After much effort, using their hands and a machete to clear away the vines, they found a very ordinary rock that didn't look like it could be entered at all.

“This place hasn’t been opened for at least several decades,” Jamie said as he searched for the mechanism to open the door.

"Hmm," Ding Ze responded, exhaling a puff of smoke, looking quite expectant.

It took two or three minutes.

Jamie found a rock on the cliff and pressed it down hard.

Instantly, the rock wall beside them slowly opened with a series of clicks.

A short while later, an entrance about two meters wide and four meters high appeared in front of Ding Ze.

Behind the entrance, it was pitch black, and a thick cloud of dust was billowing out.

“Go in from here, go down all the way, and proceed at full speed. It will take about ten hours to reach the underground world,” Jamie said, looking at the entrance. “The Longevity Club built the passage very well in the past. Although it hasn’t been used for decades, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

"I can only lead you this far; the rest of the way are up to you."

Upon hearing this, Ding Ze raised an eyebrow slightly. "Oh? Why?"

Jamie turned to Ding Ze and said, “I’ve never gone down there before, which is one reason, but the main reason is that, as far as I know, no one who has gone down there before has ever come back.”

“I have no interest in going down there to my death. The elder’s only order was for me to bring you here.”

With that, Jamie gave a cold laugh, "I hope you die down there too."

"Haha," Ding Ze chuckled, "You're quite an interesting person."

"Heh," Jamie sneered, then decisively turned around. "My mission is complete. I'm leaving."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jamie left.

Ding Ze watched with a smile, one second, two seconds, three seconds.

Well, Jamie is just to my liking, no need to kill him.

Ding Ze chuckled, lit another cigarette, then pulled out a signal gun and fired a shot into the sky.

Jamie didn't go back the way he came; he took a different route.

Ding Ze didn't care.