Shen Feng and his men began their search within Yuzhou City. During this time, they discovered many gangs engaged in heinous acts. Some specialized in training orphaned children to become pickpockets, specifically targeting valuable items from others. Failure to learn resulted in severe beatings.
Others were involved in the abduction of women. In this era of turmoil and displacement, many people were left homeless. Even if a woman was taken, her disappearance often went unnoticed. These women were confined to hidden rooms and forced into prostitution.
Upon witnessing this, Shen Feng lost his composure. He was shocked that such wickedness was hidden within Yuzhou, under his own jurisdiction. He immediately ordered his soldiers, "Take these scum out and kill them. No need for interrogation. It's unnecessary!"
Shen Feng's brief search of the city uncovered chilling revelations. Yuzhou had descended into such chaos that even cults had emerged. A group of charlatans had bewitched the ignorant, convincing them that their suffering was a test. To escape this suffering, they were told they must offer all their possessions to the gods.
Those who didn't understand the truth followed suit. The result was not liberation from suffering, but endless toil, with all their grain handed over to the charlatans. The charlatans, well-fed and prosperous, presented themselves as benevolent figures.
"Arrest them!" Shen Feng sighed in exasperation.
Shen Feng couldn't comprehend why people would believe such simplistic propaganda. He understood if it were villagers with limited education, but it was perplexing that many city dwellers were also falling prey to these cults. These people should have been more discerning, yet they were being terribly deceived.
Lin Yue analyzed, "City Lord, I believe it's like this: these bewitched individuals are beyond mere intelligence. They are deceived because they wish to escape reality. Society is unstable, and survival requires constant effort. These people don't want to suffer, so they seek spiritual solace. At this point, they don't care what kind of god it is."
Shen Feng shook his head. "Fortunately, I discovered this early. If I had found out later, these people might have doused themselves in gasoline and stormed the City Lord's mansion to protest."
After searching the city for a while, Shen Feng's mood grew heavy. He hadn't expected such terrifying events to occur within the city. Was this truly the once harmonious and beautiful society? Why had it suddenly become so dark? People were once kind, offering seats to the elderly and stepping forward to uphold justice when witnessing unfairness. Now, there was no resistance from the gangs or organizations within the city.
Furthermore, gangs controlled the largest number of casinos. Many gangs frequently engaged in private battles over territory. It could be said that as bright as Yuzhou was by day, it was equally dark by night.
The city-wide search was intense, a testament to Lin Yue's efforts. He had spent months investigating, cultivating hundreds of informants, and delving into numerous gangs. Many gamblers served as Lin Yue's informants, and he had even arranged for his old classmates to join a gang in Jiangyang to conduct clandestine investigations.
Inside a small room, a man dressed in a white chef's uniform was filled with anxiety. Beside him was his daughter, about five or six years old. The man was the chef who had escaped from Shen Feng's residence. Upon discovering his plot had been exposed, he fled, not forgetting to bring his daughter along.
"Brother Lang, what should we do now? The city is constantly being searched; we'll be found sooner or later. Should we run?" the man asked urgently.
The chef knew that if he were caught, it would mean certain death. He was completely panicked and only sought protection, having acted entirely on the other party's instructions. At this moment, he could only rely on his employer for safety.
There were only three people in the room: the chef, his daughter, and another young man. The young man idly played with a butterfly knife, his expression grim.
"You useless fool, you messed everything up! I finally got you the arsenic, and you've been in hiding for two months, yet you still failed. Truly useless." Brother Lang was furious. It was supposed to be a foolproof plan, yet it had gone awry.
The chef felt wronged and quickly defended himself. "How could I have known this would happen? I served the chicken soup and other dishes, but Shen Feng and that shrew started arguing and didn't eat a single bite. Later, the little dog ate my food, and that's how it was exposed."
A fierce glint flashed in Brother Lang's eyes as he narrowed them slightly. "Old Zhou, how about this: I'll help you get out of the city and go to Jiangyang. Once we reach our territory, Shen Feng won't be able to catch you, and that shrew won't see you."
The chef nodded. His greatest desire now was to escape. Of the thirty-six stratagems, fleeing was the best. The martial world was treacherous; if things went wrong, retreat was the wise course. There was no need to stay in Yuzhou and be beheaded.
However, the chef felt something was amiss and quickly asked, "I heard that Yuzhou's main transportation routes have been blocked. How will we leave?"
Brother Lang explained, "Don't worry. Our Dragon Slaying Gang has already prepared an escape route. There's a sewer that leads directly to the Yangtze River outside the city. Leaving through the sewer, someone will pick you up by the river."
The chef felt relieved and was about to leave with his daughter on his back.
Brother Lang quickly stopped the chef and said in a low voice, "Don't bring your daughter. We'll take care of her here. Bringing your daughter will only expose you. Listen to me, you go back to Jiangyang alone first. After a few days, I'll send your daughter to you."
The chef hesitated for a moment, then finally put down his daughter and bowed. "Linlin, you stay in Yuzhou for a few days. Daddy will come back to pick you up later."
"Daddy, I'm scared!" Linlin was reluctant to part with her father and clung to his clothes. Her mother was already gone, and if her father were also absent, it would be terrifying.
The chef looked down and gently comforted her. "Linlin, be good and listen. You must listen to Daddy right now. When the situation calms down, Daddy will definitely come to pick you up."
Then, the chef heartlessly abandoned his daughter and prepared to flee with Brother Lang.
Brother Lang quickly led the chef to a sewer entrance in the south of the city. As they opened it, a foul odor wafted out. They had avoided surveillance all the way and had not been discovered. Now, as they reached the exit, they both felt a sense of relief.
The chef asked, "Brother Lang, we're going through here?"
Brother Lang nodded and said seriously, "That's right, we're going through here. You go down first, and I'll cover the manhole cover from behind."
The chef didn't doubt him and was about to crawl into the sewer. For the sake of survival, he didn't care about the dirtiness.
However, at that moment, Brother Lang pulled out his butterfly knife and stabbed the chef in the back. The chef turned his head with difficulty and cried out, "You scoundrel, you broke your promise! You're despicable, you're shameless!"
Brother Lang didn't waste words. He kicked the chef down and said into the sewer, "Don't you understand? You were just a tool. If you succeeded, you'd have anything you wanted. But since you failed, what use are you?"
Brother Lang thought for a moment, then threw the butterfly knife into the sewer and removed his gloves, discarding them.
"Speaking of which, you have no value, but your daughter still does! When she was young, she could be trained as a pickpocket. When she grows up, she can serve people. When she's no longer needed, she can be sent to a brothel to earn money. As for you, I can only tell her that Shen Feng killed you!" Brother Lang sneered.
The chef, his breath growing weak in the sewer, regretted his momentary lapse in judgment, believing their plan. Now, his plan had failed, he was being silenced, and his daughter's life would be miserable. In this light, he was the one who had doomed his daughter.
"Help! Can anyone save me? I..." The chef's consciousness faded in the sewer, his body growing cold in the wastewater. He died.
In reality, if the chef had thought more carefully about Brother Lang's words, he wouldn't have been so easily deceived. Since the mutated rats in Yuzhou had been cleared out, the sewers had been reinforced with steel bars. Not only could humans not pass through the sewers, but even mutated rats couldn't enter Yuzhou. The talk of an escape route was pure fabrication.
Unfortunately, in his panic, the chef failed to discern the truth and actually believed the words. His death in the sewer was truly pathetic.
Late at night, soldiers discovered the chef's body in the sewer and quickly reported it to Shen Feng.
Shen Feng looked at the recovered corpse, his brow furrowed. He mused, "The gangs in the city have all been apprehended, and those who weren't have been executed on the spot. So, why would someone need to kill the chef? Unless the perpetrator is someone else, and this is a silencing!"
As the saying goes, a thief can steal for a thousand days, but a guard can only guard for a thousand days. Shen Feng had been unable to find the mastermind behind the poisoning of the chef and now sensed something was amiss. The gangs in Yuzhou had been rounded up. Regardless of their size, in the face of true power, they could only be annihilated. However, if enemies were still hidden behind the scenes, the situation would be far more dangerous.
He wasn't afraid of enemies with vast power or large numbers; there were ways to deal with them. But once enemies were hidden behind the scenes, they couldn't be dealt with easily. If their true whereabouts couldn't be found, how could they fight?
"Lin Yue, are you certain you've accounted for all of Yuzhou's gangs?" Shen Feng asked.
Lin Yue immediately nodded and said earnestly, "City Lord, I guarantee that I have investigated all the gangs in Yuzhou. Tonight, all the gangs have been dismantled."
Shen Feng frowned and muttered to himself, "Could it be that the culprit isn't from Yuzhou's gangs, but from elsewhere?"
Lin Yue quickly replied, "City Lord, I've also been investigating in Jiangyang. Perhaps we should go to Jiangyang and take care of the remaining gangs there as well?"
Shen Feng was silent for a moment, then gently shook his head. "No. If the culprit is in Jiangyang, they have likely gone into hiding by now. Our actions in Yuzhou have alerted them. If these people aren't foolish, they've already dispersed and are hiding. Rushing to Jiangyang now would be ineffective. Let's pause for now."
Shen Feng felt a pang of regret. It seemed he had become too complacent in recent days, either by his senior sister's side or meeting Chu Chaoyan privately, and hadn't paid enough attention to the city's movements. He hadn't realized someone was planning to assassinate him, and such a plan had likely been in the works for some time.
"We must strengthen our defenses from now on to prevent this from happening again. Next time, there won't be Xiao Hei," Shen Feng thought to himself.
Shen Feng greatly feared poisoning. If it were physical damage, he could withstand it to some extent with his evolution base. But poisoning was different. Many poisons caused irreversible damage, and even if one survived, their body would be ruined.
Shen Feng himself was studying medicine. Although his skills were only half-baked, he knew a fair amount about chemistry. Many chemical substances, while seemingly simple, could overwhelm even an elephant.
"City Lord, Mr. Chu is looking for you and wants you to go to the prison immediately." Just then, a soldier came to report that Professor Chu had sent a message, asking Shen Feng to hurry to the prison.