Chapter 1 "Hmm..."

He swallowed again. After a quick, short battle and killing two more people, Su Zhou felt his heart racing. But now wasn't the time to waste time; he had a lot more to do.

First, he needed to change into the guards' clothes and blend in.

Comparing their sizes, Su Zhou gave up on the Black guard and approached the White guard. He lifted the body with its head twisted 180 degrees, preparing to strip off the clothes.

Just then, through the White guard's unblinking eyes, Su Zhou vaguely saw his reflection… and he froze.

With his eyesight, the reflection in his pupils was unexpectedly clear.

And very abnormal.

Su Zhou could see an unnatural flush on his face, and his pupils were no longer as clear as before. Instead, they seemed to be surrounded by a halo of blue-purple light. He emanated a cold aura, and beneath the emotionless indifference like that of a beast, there was a hint of deeply hidden madness and excitement.

"...Is this what I look like now?"

Standing among the two corpses, Su Zhou grasped the White guard's head twisted 180 degrees, his expression indifferent as he stared into the other's eyes. The heart of the 'maniac' teenager beat violently, pumping blood from his arteries throughout his body.

Then, he exerted force with both hands and crushed the other's cheekbones.

With this action, and listening to the sound of bones breaking, Su Zhou's expression changed from the initial indifference to a calm smile tinged with madness.

"Good. This expression is worthy of me."

There was nothing to hide.

Right now, madness and excitement should be the norm for members of this mysterious organization. His current, obviously abnormal state was actually the most normal state.

Moreover.

He liked this feeling.

An extraordinary feeling… completely different from ordinary people, that feeling of 'abnormality.'

Why did he like strange tales?

Did he really like ghosts and monsters?

Yes and no. More than so-called ghosts or exotic beasts, Su Zhou liked the 'abnormality' and 'mystery' that was completely different from the world he was currently in, completely in the unknown!

Ghosts and monsters, strange tales and legends, were just a part of it, but they couldn't represent everything he wanted—even this dangerous, mysterious organization fascinated Su Zhou, making him want to explore it!

Fear of death, fear of danger, these were probably the instincts of all human beings, but Su Zhou didn't have them.

He might be afraid of heights and dirt, hate cockroaches, and have obsessive-compulsive disorder, but if he encountered extreme life-threatening danger, he would be extremely excited!

Because the state of that life was constantly changing, not knowing whether it would die or live, whether it would become worse or better. This unknown and dangerous feeling, swaying on the boundary of 'mystery' and 'transcendence,' was so fascinating that he couldn't stop.

"The terrible nature that I've been hiding has been exposed…"

The teenager murmured softly, but it didn't matter.

Thinking only took a moment. Soon, Su Zhou changed into the White guard's clothes and picked up the submachine gun. Compared to the Black guard's height of over 1.8 meters, this White guard was only a little over 1.7 meters, which fit him perfectly.

Then, he went straight into the cave.

Although it seemed like he was taking the initiative to delve into the enemy's lair, putting himself in danger, Su Zhou himself understood very well that if the other party really had some kind of 'secret snake' that could track his aura, running outside would only lead to being discovered. On the contrary, by following the cave where a large number of offerings were coming in and out, his aura as an 'outsider' would be masked by the same smell.

Moreover, he couldn't abandon his friend. Instead of choosing an impossible escape, he might as well see if the cult's gathering place had communication devices to call the police, or create some chaos so that he could take advantage of the chaos to rescue Shao Qiming.

This wasn't a crazy act, but one based on reality. Whether it was Zheng Country or the American Federation across the World Sea, there had been cases where mysterious organizations of nearly a hundred people, or even 'restored dynasties,' were suppressed and destroyed by a few or even one police officer.

And as a superhuman, he had also received relevant training from his father. Not to mention suppressing a mysterious organization with magic and guns, at least creating a big mess was definitely possible.

"Qiming, Qiming, I'm being a good friend, right?"

Muttering in his heart, Su Zhou advanced quietly but quickly under the dim light of the mine tunnel. Before long, he had gone several hundred meters deep.

However, this cave seemed to have been transformed from a natural cave. Various branching caves were extremely mysterious and complex. Each slightly larger cave was illuminated by lights and showed traces of people and carts walking. It was well-connected and ventilated on all sides. Heaven knows how many natural and artificial air inlets and outlets there were. In a short time, Su Zhou was confused and couldn't find where the kidnapped tourists were.

Fortunately, this was a cave. By calming down a little, Su Zhou could hear what kind of sounds were coming from the depths of each cave.

"Hmm… someone is approaching?"

Su Zhou heard many sounds: English, Rossian, English with a Zhutian accent, and Zhutian language. Su Zhou could even hear Chinese, Fusangese, and other languages. It seemed that this mysterious organization really spanned many countries and had a lot of energy. However, he could tell that different languages were basically in different areas. It seemed that the relationship between the various branches of this organization wasn't very good.

A bad relationship might mean that they weren't familiar with each other? Although it was just a simple guess, it was also his chance.

At this moment, the sound of two people's footsteps approached. Su Zhou frowned, thought for a moment, and walked toward another silent cave, quietly hiding.

As the footsteps got closer and closer, the voices of the two people became clearer. They were two men, speaking English. He couldn't see their appearance, but their accents should be Federation people, not Europa Alliance. The two were pushing a cart, seemingly carrying something, and chatting casually.

Su Zhou naturally understood English. After all, he was a high school student with fairly good grades, and high school was when most people had the most knowledge. In addition, many strange tales came from outside Zheng Country. If he wanted to search for information, he would definitely have to read and learn more. Over time, he became very familiar with it.

The two approached, and Su Zhou listened carefully.

"The Void Ritual is about to begin… This transaction with the 'Great Existence' is a bit too hasty."

"But no matter how hasty it is, it must begin. The 'New Era' is coming. If we don't take advantage of the last wave of stable time to accumulate advantages, our 'Holy Serpent Spiritual Prayers Association' will definitely…"

"Last time, the organization obtained a lot of knowledge about secret incantations. I don't know what the leader wants to trade this time. You know, the number of offerings this time is more than three times what it was before."

"Keep your voice down… In the 'Spiritual Qi Revival Era,' what do you think is the most important thing? Of course, it's not those transcendent knowledge that is destined to become rampant, but a constitution that transcends mortals, and the opportunity to 'regret' and 'start over'... Think about it, doesn't this fit 'that'?"

"You mean?!"

"Yes, it's 'that'!"

The two talked in low voices, quite alarmed, but these few short sentences had already aroused Su Zhou's curiosity.

Void Ritual, Great Existence, the New Era of Spiritual Qi Revival, Holy Serpent Spiritual Prayers Association, the secret incantation knowledge obtained from the transaction, and that mysterious 'that' thing… these special proper nouns revealed a strange sense of temptation.

Seriously, if it wasn't for the fact that he had something more important to do, and that there were two of them, making it difficult to ambush in the cave, Su Zhou would want to go over and knock those two out, drag them to a secret place, and interrogate them about what those words meant.

Moreover, this organization, which calls itself the 'Holy Serpent Spiritual Prayers Association,' must have inextricable links with the local 'Seven-Headed Serpent God' of Shan Country since they chose to perform the ritual here!

"It seems that I have to find a lone guy to force a confession, otherwise I won't even know where the hostages are."

"Also, I only have two pistols, a submachine gun, and not much ammunition on me. It will be difficult to create chaos and save people. I must ask where their armory is, at least to find more ammunition."

Taking advantage of the fact that the two were gradually moving away, Su Zhou narrowed his eyes.

The male tour guide, the driver, and the guards outside all had guns, which meant that these people had a way to get guns and ammunition. In that case, the armory might have other things.

Su Zhou didn't waste time. He came out of the cave where he was hiding. He immediately sneaked in the direction where there were fewer voices, preparing to grab a loner to ask about the location of the armory.

But just as he was about to go deeper, Su Zhou suddenly heard the voices of the two people who had left earlier behind him.

"Wait, Asian."

Hearing this sentence, Su Zhou immediately clenched the two stones tightly in his hand, frowning slightly. He slowly turned his head, like an ordinary person with a slightly slow reaction.

—If they find something wrong with me, I will strike directly, smashing their noses or mouths, or even their Adam's apples… With my strength, it's enough to knock people unconscious and smash their teeth. I can't give them a chance to make a sound to warn others.

His mind raced, but just as Su Zhou completely turned his head and was about to strike, he heard the other person's rather arrogant voice: "You, take this cart of equipment to the dumping point. We're in a hurry to 'reserve seats' in the ritual hall, so we don't have time to waste."

Looking up, there were two American White people. The two were pushing a cart of mine lamps and protective clothing, heading towards a cave on the side. They happened to be turning a corner and saw Su Zhou, who was alone and also Asian, so they had ideas. One of them joked maliciously, "Come on, hurry up and push it all, you might still have time to participate in the ritual, hahaha!"

"Okay."

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Su Zhou's originally serious face suddenly revealed a smile, a very happy smile. He turned around and walked unhurriedly towards the two American White people in the cave.

"Eh, you look…"

Just as Su Zhou approached the two members of the Prayers Association, they realized that something was wrong… They really couldn't distinguish the faces of most Asians, and the different regional branches really didn't have good relations with each other. This was also why they dared to bully Su Zhou, who was alone.

But after seeing Su Zhou's face clearly, they were shocked to realize that something was wrong—this person was so young and his appearance was so outstanding that even if he was Asian, they would never not recognize him.

"You want me to help you transport things?"

But at this moment, Su Zhou had already approached them within three feet. A dangerous aura, carrying a hint of blood, a hint of madness, and a hint of excitement, came. The teenager's gaze was like that of a python peeping at its prey before hunting, causing a chill to run down the spines of the two.

Su Zhou's light voice also entered their ears at this moment.

"Okay."