Chapter 1 Music Stops

The music stopped abruptly.

In the dim light, countless horrified, fearful gazes converged on one person.

The man, having removed his baseball cap, calmly returned the gaze, meeting each and every one of them… Just as Crow had said, he was a rough man, and a rough man had his own way of solving problems.

Throwing the first punch was his way.

The man who had been punched unconscious, half his body embedded in the wall… After the cap was removed, everyone recognized Crow, and the bustling crowd fell into extreme silence in an instant.

Several men, similarly tattooed with pocket watches, trotted to the collapsed wall. One checked the unconscious companion's breathing… and then sighed in relief.

He was still alive.

Immediately afterward, angry voices rose from among the man's companions.

"Crow, you're going too far…"

A burly man, two meters tall with a thick beard, slowly squeezed out of the crowd. He wore only a black short-sleeved shirt, his biceps bulging with muscles, revealing a glimpse of the shattered stopwatch tattoo. His expression was grim as he said angrily, "Assaulting someone in broad daylight for no reason… Do you think our Southern Hall has no temper?"

Not long ago, Crow had assaulted Chen Jingtan.

Chen San had declared that he would hunt down Crow in the underground world and flay him alive… Of course, later, when the Madam intervened to mediate, Chen San generously expressed his understanding and explained that it was just a figure of speech.

But everyone knew that superficial understanding did not mean a true reconciliation.

The Chengxin Society's Southern Hall was searching everywhere for this unreasonable brute.

Not only did he not hide… but he became even more arrogant!

"Is that so?"

An unexpected response.

With his hands in his pockets, Crow slowly looked up, gazing at the man who was a head taller than him, and asked calmly, "This question… I'll only ask you. Do *you* have a temper?"

The burly man was stunned.

The reason he dared to stand up… was because he believed Crow was in the wrong, especially given the current situation. The Chengxin Society's Southern Hall was so furious, that no matter how good he was at fighting, he should hide.

The moment Crow attacked, the information had already been sent to Chen San's adopted sons, and someone would arrive soon. If he didn't want to cause trouble, he should leave the scene as soon as possible.

He glanced warily at Crow's hands in his pockets, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, and ultimately chose silence.

Of course, he had a temper.

But he didn't want to get punched… Although he was large, he could foresee that if he opened his mouth, Crow would punch him even further than the previous guy.

"…"

Song Ci was somewhat disappointed.

He turned to look at the superhumans on the third underground floor and asked, "What about you?"

There was no response.

"You really disappoint me… Where's your backbone? Living in the underground, if you don't have any anger in your hearts, you've lived in vain." Crow slowly walked to the unconscious man. The companions who were checking and supporting him, driven by anger and fear, chose to retreat, wanting to distance themselves from this dangerous person.

Crow crouched down and rummaged through the man's pockets, pulling out a small medicine jar.

"I knew something was wrong with him, and sure enough, searching him was a guaranteed hit…"

Song Ci chuckled softly. He stood up, held up the small white medicine jar, and said calmly, "This is a prohibited item… You should know that, right? The third underground floor of the Huazhi Building is for superhumans to cultivate. It's fine for you all to gather here and party, but you can't cross the line."

There were two sets of rules in this world.

One was the superficial one… such as the third underground floor of the Huazhi Building being a place for superhumans to cultivate.

The other was the unwritten, unspoken rule.

Superhumans living in the capital all knew that members of the Three Sanctuaries never went to the third basement floor of the Huazhi Building. It was the gathering place of the Chengxin Society, where underground superhumans reveled… and occasionally engaged in some irregular transactions, trades, and found some irregular fun.

The Chengxin Society was a black knife.

Sharp… but also covered in dirt.

The big shots who wielded this knife needed to ensure that their clothes were clean and that the blade was sharp. The things that couldn't be brought to the table needed the help of those in the underground to erase. Of course, if problems arose, the solution was simple.

Erase the person who caused the problem.

You see, the rules of the capital were actually that simple. And it was precisely this law of survival of the fittest that ultimately created a figure like Song Ci.

Might makes right.

Those Chengxin Society members with stopwatch tattoos quickly gathered together, realizing how foolish they had been…

Trying to reason with Song Ci…

The moment this guy threw the punch, he was ready to be unreasonable.

"Make way."

"I'm detaining this guy. Let whoever's in charge come and get him." Crow grabbed the man's collar and said calmly, "Anyone can come… Just tell them I'm waiting for them at the Jiangtan. When you're all there, I'll release him."

The crowd was silent, as if they were cicadas in winter.

Those superhumans from the Chengxin Society's Southern Hall were ready for a big fight, some even covering their stopwatch tattoos… to avoid becoming the next unlucky victim.

But now it seemed that this fierce man didn't want to cause any more trouble…

Just a simple provocation?

What did this mean?

…

…

"Finding them is too troublesome. It's better to let them come find me."

Dragging the man by the collar, Crow left the Huazhi Building and turned to look at Gu Shen, grinning. "You have an interesting look in your eyes right now, like you're looking at… an idiot."

Gu Shen's expression was complex.

"This is your so-called rough man's method? Attracting the entire Southern Hall of the Chengxin Society to the Jiangtan, causing a brawl?" He sighed softly. "What does this have to do with Shi Li's case…"

"Although the Chengxin Society is an underground organization, I often call it a trash can… and by trash can, I naturally mean it's full of trash." Song Ci lowered his head and said slowly, "But it's not that easy to get into the Chengxin Society. Every superhuman who enters the Chengxin Society needs a 'recommender' in name."

"…Recommender?"

"Most information in this world can't escape the eyes of the Deep Sea. I believe every member of the Chengxin Society is on record. But the 'recommender,' something hidden in the deepest part of the unspoken rules, is something the Deep Sea can't understand and won't record." Song Ci said calmly. "It only exists in our minds. The recommender pushes the superhuman into the Chengxin Society, and the receiver is responsible for a simple assessment… Unlike the assessment for members of the Three Sanctuaries, we only need to determine that the guy joining the Chengxin Society is alive and controllable, and that's it."

The Tribunal, the Prison, the Command… they extract elites and absorb talent.

The Chengxin Society… obviously doesn't have a choice. Those who join the underground organization are often "inferior products" who have been eliminated in the competition or abandoned upon awakening.

Although people shouldn't be divided into different classes.

But in fact… these people were "defective products."

Why would selecting defective products require so many assessments? Alive and usable is enough.

"I understand what you mean…"

Gu Shen's eyes lit up. Shi Li was a pawn of the Evergreen Foundation, a decision made before he joined the Chengxin Society.

And the person who recommended Shi Li into the Chengxin Society… was the target.

He re-examined Song Ci.

This guy was truly meticulous despite his rough exterior.

"The south is Chen San's territory. Before something happened, I might have been able to shamelessly ask around, but now…" Song Ci smiled and said, "You know, those guys are looking for me like crazy now. Going to their territory would be like throwing meat buns to a dog."

"Those people are already heading to the Jiangtan," Gu Shen rubbed his brow. "Are you really going to fight?"

"I was… planning to fight earlier."

Song Ci cursed with a smile, "But I'm not an idiot. Do you think I can beat a hundred or so guys coming at me? Most importantly, what good would winning do? The recommender's information still wouldn't be resolved…"

"As far as I know, important data of the Chengxin Society is stored on a closed network, partly to prevent theft and partly for safety," Song Ci lowered his head and said, "Because those two councilors are well aware of the power of the 'Deep Sea,' the underground organization they personally created… uses the oldest method. That data is recorded and shrunk, and usually only read and written while disconnected."

"If one day, the Chengxin Society needs to disappear… then this data will disappear forever."

He raised his head, looked at Gu Shen, and said softly, "The Huazhi Building, the Nanwan Building. The north and south sides of the Chengxin Society actually know each other's lairs very well. This is also where the closed-network mainframes for important data of the Chengxin Society are stored, with strict guards and patrols. Scattered data is kept by different people, but the most important core must be in the building."

"You're telling me this…" Gu Shen's scalp tingled.

"Relax, this has nothing to do with you. It's just…"

Song Ci raised his eyebrows and said in a very relaxed tone, "The guys from the Southern Hall of the Chengxin Society should all be busy chasing me now, so the guards at the Nanwan Building will be much more relaxed… perhaps the most relaxed they've been in recent years. It's a rare opportunity, and the recommender's information might be in the Nanwan Building's mainframe. Don't you want to know?"

"These are just your guesses…"

"Moreover!"

Gu Shen said angrily, "Even if the guards are relaxed, is the Nanwan Building a place you can just go? And even if you sneak in, what if you don't get the recommender's information?"

"It doesn't matter."

"What you heard before about the north and south merging is nonsense. War between the two sides… is inevitable."

Crow patted Gu Shen on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Young man, when you come to the capital, you have to choose your backer carefully… Help me with this, and after tonight, the Madam will be your strongest supporter."