“Are you from the Security Department or the Disciplinary Committee?”

Hearing this, the middle-aged man’s vigilance and hostility lessened slightly as he scrutinized him with suspicion.

A flash of red light disappeared in the Demon Eye Heavenly King’s eyes as he smiled and said, “Believe what you will.”

His words seemed to contain a persuasive power. The middle-aged man’s eyes glazed over for a moment, then filled with joy. He quickly stepped aside, clearing the path to the house, and said excitedly, “So you’re a comrade from the Disciplinary Committee! Come in, come in. You’ve finally arrived.”

The Demon Eye Heavenly King nodded reservedly, entered the house, and sat down on the living room sofa.

He casually glanced around the room. The furniture was simple and cheap. Looking around, he couldn’t find anything of value, let alone smart home appliances.

“I’ve already read the information you submitted, but I’d like to hear you say it again to fill in any gaps,” the Demon Eye Heavenly King said, taking a sip of tea from the disposable cup the middle-aged man handed him.

In fact, he had learned about this place through his subordinates in the black market.

The first thing the Demon Eye Heavenly King did upon arriving in Songhai was to order his followers lurking in the city to gather information about corruption, regardless of the official's rank, but the matter had to be significant.

If killing was the Enchantress’s addiction, then this was the Demon Eye Heavenly King’s.

If he didn’t kill corrupt officials or evil villains who bullied men and women for a long time, he would lose control of his desire to destroy the world and become an irrational killing machine.

“Okay,” the middle-aged man said. “Many ‘financial companies’ in the Puning District are loan sharks, and they’re all protected by Zhou Yan, the director of the Kangyang District Security Department. Different-sized financial companies target different groups of people.”

“Well-capitalized financial companies lend to small and medium-sized enterprises, while lower-level financial companies target individuals with assets. Moreover, they’re not just ordinary lending platforms.”

“They open casinos, trick people into gambling, set up ‘pig butchering scams’ (a type of fraud), and everyone who comes in eventually loses everything. Then they take the opportunity to lend money.”

“To ensure that the money they lend out is recovered, these financial companies have cultivated many thugs who collect debts every day and make trouble at the debtors’ homes. It’s useless to call the police because there are people covering for them. At most, they’ll be locked up for a few days and then come out to continue collecting debts until the debtors are forced to sell their houses or jump off buildings. Yes, there’s a saying in their circle: ‘Debts are cleared upon death.’”

“My son was forced to death this way. He was a business school student who was tricked into gambling and became addicted. Gambling money comes too quickly, and the ups and downs are too great. After tasting the sweetness, how could he live a proper life?”

“I heard my son say that some financial companies specifically target college students. Many students at their school have fallen for this, including female students. By the way, those financial companies also secretly organize prostitution, controlling many indebted female students.”

The Demon Eye Heavenly King listened quietly, nodding occasionally and taking sips of tea. Before he knew it, the cup was empty. Only then did he stand up and say, “I’ve received your feedback. Thank you for your cooperation.”

The middle-aged man was stunned and said anxiously, “Wait, I still have evidence to give you. Let me get it.”

With that, he limped toward the bedroom.

When he came out with the evidence, he found that the young man had already left. “Another one just going through the motions!”

The middle-aged man punched the wall in anger, then froze. Only then did he realize that the young man had not explicitly stated his identity, nor had he even admitted to being an official.

*How could I let a stranger into my house and tell him so much?*

That evening, Zhang Yuanqing was chatting with the experienced driver, Guan Ya.

Zhang Yuanqing: “Has everything been quiet at the unit lately? Has anyone been following you? Maybe you shouldn’t go to work and hide in Fu Qingyang’s villa for a while?”

Guan Ya: “Hehe, do you know the least costly way to kill a Ruler?”

Zhang Yuanqing: “Gather five Elders and overwhelm him with numbers?”

Guan Ya: “It’s to empty his morality score in a reasonable way, allowing the Spirit Realm to announce his real-time location and put him on the city’s wanted list.”

Zhang Yuanqing: “What’s the specific method?”

Guan Ya: “It’s simple: implant a device in the body that explodes or releases toxic gas when killed, then stand in a crowded area. As long as the Demon Eye Heavenly King kills me, a group of ordinary people will die with me.”

“According to the morality score penalty mechanism, he’ll bear most of the responsibility and have his morality score deducted.”

Zhang Yuanqing: “Holy crap, can you do that? What’s the logic behind it?”

He didn’t know much about the morality score penalty mechanism, only that killing someone deducted 10 points, while theft and robbery were less than 10 points, and causing major casualties was calculated separately.

Guan Ya replied: “It’s simple: carrying flammable and explosive materials is my right. As long as I don’t use them to kill people, I won’t deduct morality score. And as long as I die before the explosion, I won’t have my morality score deducted, because the explosion occurs after my death. The dead are no longer within the target group.”

“Of course, you must ensure that the explosion is ‘passive,’ triggered because the Demon Eye Heavenly King killed you. If you actively detonate it before you die, then it has nothing to do with the Demon Eye Heavenly King.”

Zhang Yuanqing understood roughly.

In short, it was to use props or other means to apply a buff that would cause a large explosion upon death and involved a subjective and objective concept.

For example, the Red Dancing Shoes were props that would explode immediately after the owner’s death. This was a characteristic of the props and couldn’t be changed; it existed objectively.

Then, after the Demon Eye Heavenly King killed him, the Red Dancing Shoes would explode, causing the deaths of innocent people. The Demon Eye Heavenly King, who caused the tragedy, would have his morality score deducted.

Conversely, if Zhang Yuanqing strapped a timed bomb to his body and attempted to die with the Demon Eye Heavenly King, resulting in the deaths of the surrounding ordinary people, then it had nothing to do with the Demon Eye Heavenly King. Everything was the responsibility of Yuan Shi Tian Zun.

Zhang Yuanqing: “So what?”

Guan Ya: “Dog Elder issued us team two members the seeds of “Exploding Flowers.”

Once our hearts stop beating, the seeds will explode, with the power equivalent to ten high-explosive hand grenades.”

The seeds of the Exploding Flowers were objectively existing Spirit Realm plants, and the characteristic of exploding after the host’s death had nothing to do with the owner. The host did not have the subjective intention to harm people.

Zhang Yuanqing: “I always feel that the setting of morality scores is very idealistic. Did Dog Elder come up with this clever trick?”

Guan Ya: “It’s a rule that several generations of Spirit Realm Hunters have discovered through practice. Evil professions also know about this method.”

Zhang Yuanqing: “Dog Elder is inhuman, actually using my beloved Guan Ya-jie as a pawn. I’m going to find him and demand justice.”

A few minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing: “Hey, why aren’t you talking?”

Guan Ya: “I’m waiting for you to get justice for me.”

Zhang Yuanqing: “Next time, for sure.”

Guan Ya: “By the way, Yuan Shi, did you join Fu Qingyang’s White Tiger Guard?”

Zhang Yuanqing: “Centurion Fu pleaded in every possible way, saying that if the White Tiger Guard lost a genius like me, it would become a third-rate gang. He hopes that I can work with him to revitalize the glory of the White Tiger Guard and make a name for ourselves.”

Guan Ya: “I forwarded it to Fu Qingyang.”

Zhang Yuanqing: “Jie-jie, let’s talk things out.”

Guan Ya: “I have things to do later, so I won’t chat with you. It’s like this: June is a large-scale killing instance. If nothing goes wrong, it should open in mid-June, which is still more than a month away.”

“According to the Five Elements Alliance’s custom, in early June, headquarters will hold arena battles and trial battles, inviting experts at the Extraordinary and Saint stages to participate. On the one hand, it’s to select future seeds for training, and on the other hand, it’s to warm up for the large-scale killing instance.”

“With your reputation and qualifications, you’ll definitely participate. Remember to look at the information later. There are many strong people at the Extraordinary stage in the Five Elements Alliance. Hmm, I just don’t know if the Taiyi Sect will participate this year.”

Zhang Yuanqing: “Is there a reward for first place?”

Guan Ya: “Yes, there are rewards for collective merit, money, and props. That’s how it’s been in previous years, but sometimes it changes. It depends on headquarters’ notification. It’s too early to discuss it now.”

Zhang Yuanqing: “Understood. Remember to handle the Zhou Yan matter that I asked you to investigate.”

Guan Ya: “I know, I’ll report it to the Security Department system. But don’t have too high hopes. Only a political struggle failure can bring down an official of Zhou Yan’s level. Ordinary reports have little effect.”

The two chatted for a few more words until Guan Ya went to handle matters, and Zhang Yuanqing put down his phone, stretching lazily on the bed.

Because of the Demon Eye Heavenly King, he didn’t have to go to work these past few days, so his schedule had become going to school, practicing fighting alone, awkwardly dancing with his uncle, and playing games with his aunt, in a repeating cycle.

During this time, he would chat with Guan Ya whenever he had time, showing the experienced driver his increasingly sophisticated driving skills.

Zhang Yuanqing lay down for a while, then sat up, opened his laptop, and made a summary of the things he needed to do recently and the things he would be facing soon.

The first thing was to avoid the Demon Eye Heavenly King’s bounty and find a suitable opportunity to report his whereabouts to the five Elders.

This concerned his life, so it was ranked first.

The second thing was the opening of the solo instance. This wasn’t urgent; there was still at least more than half a month, but before the instance opened, he had to improve his strength as much as possible.

The method of devouring spirits to improve was having little effect and could basically be abandoned. Zhang Yuanqing was thinking of finding an opportunity to hunt down a level 3 Enchantress to refine her into an Yin corpse.

The Night Wanderer’s positioning was as an assassin and “necromancer,” which was very important, and he couldn’t ignore his professional characteristics.

The third thing was the arena competition held by the official, which Guan Ya had just mentioned.

If he could get a good ranking or reward, his solo instance clearance rate could be greatly improved. The fourth thing was the large-scale killing instance!

Whether or not he could become a strong person among the Spirit Realm Hunters would depend on the middle of the year. The Saint Realm was the backbone of the major organizations, and becoming a Saint meant becoming a true strong person.

At night, the darkness was deep.

After the sun set, the scorching air finally regained a trace of coolness. On the rooftop of a dilapidated residential building,

A young man wearing a sports headband stood on the edge of the railing, looking at the bright lights of the city.

Behind him, a middle-aged woman was sitting slumped on the ground, wearing a well-tailored suit, dressed like a career elite.

“Young man, you should know my identity. No matter what your purpose is, we can talk. I will try my best to satisfy any demands you have.”

Zhou Yan maintained the decency and calmness that a leader should have.

After getting off work today, she had just returned to the residential area, parked her car, and was knocked unconscious by a thug lurking in the garage. When she woke up again, she was on this unfamiliar rooftop, and there was only this young man with her.

After a brief moment of panic, Zhou Yan calmed down and subtly inquired about the other party’s identity, the purpose of kidnapping her, and sought the possibility of negotiation.

The Demon Eye Heavenly King withdrew his gaze and looked back, “Your name is Zhou Yan, director of the Kangyang District Security Department, right?”

Zhou Yan’s tone was gentle, and she spoke kindly, “If there is anything you need help with, please feel free to ask. I am a public servant of the people, and the people’s affairs are my affairs.”

The Demon Eye Heavenly King smiled brightly:

“I’m relieved to hear you say that.”

He lifted his foot and walked to Zhou Yan’s side, dragging her to the edge of the rooftop.

Zhou Yan looked down and felt a dizzy spell. She finally showed a look of horror, and her voice trembled as she said:

“What are you going to do? Don’t be impulsive. I said, you can bring up anything, and I will try my best to satisfy you, really. Impulsiveness cannot solve anything.”

The Demon Eye Heavenly King remained unmoved and said to himself, “I hate punishing without teaching the most. Someone reported you for acting as a black evil force…”

He smiled and listed the other party’s crimes, one by one, and then, in Zhou Yan’s horrified eyes, he lifted her up and out of the rooftop.

The high-ranking woman’s face was as pale as paper, and she begged bitterly, one hand tightly holding the Demon Eye Heavenly King’s arm, and the other hand reaching for the railing, trembling with fear.

The Demon Eye Heavenly King grinned and said:

“The people don’t need you to do things, the people just want you to die!”

With a loosen of his fingers, he threw Zhou Yan off the rooftop.

The Demon Eye Heavenly King didn’t look down, but looked out over the bustling metropolis and muttered, “It’s time to get down to business. Let me see how many Spirit Realm Hunters are in this area.”

Saying that, he took off his headband, revealing the vertical eye on his forehead. The whites of this eye were crimson, and the pupils were golden-red, filled with indifference, violence, and madness.

The Enchantment Eye!

This was the magic eye born after the “Enchantment” skill was maxed out and cultivated to the extreme.

Spirit Realm Hunters below the Ruler Realm, once they looked into the magic eye, would suffer mental trauma at the light end, and go mad and die at the heavy end. And the enchantment from the magic eye, even Elder-level Hunters, would fall for it.

Because this magic eye was too powerful, it had to be sealed by props on weekdays, otherwise, wherever the Demon Eye Heavenly King went, all living beings would die in madness.

In addition, the magic eye could identify the aura of the Spirit Realm and find the strong people lurking in the vast sea of people. That day in the Northern Border, he used this skill to find the Palace Master of the Stop Killing Palace.

The disadvantage was that this method was only a little better than finding a needle in a haystack, the workload was huge, and if he accidentally scanned an Elder-level figure, it would be easy to alert the enemy.

The golden-red pupils trembled violently, and a beam of blood light invisible to ordinary people suddenly shot out, silently penetrating the building made of steel and concrete, sweeping through the nearby area like a searchlight.

Soon, the Demon Eye Heavenly King saw a Spirit Realm Hunter and locked on to the first target.