Chapter 320: The Devil's Deal

"So, do you know why Council Member Li chose your Second Brother in the end?"

Boss Rat asked with a smile.

"I understand. Because Second Brother wants fewer peaches,"

Yan Jing said slowly.

Council Member Li was Duke Jing of Qi.

Even if he only offered a single peach, Xiong Er would grasp it tightly, just like those three warriors back then.

The warriors cared about Duke Jing's favor and their title as braves, while Xiong Er cared about Council Member Li's support.

There was no need for fine horses or priceless furs—a single peach was enough.

If Boss Rat had made the decision alone, this meeting would still have been a business deal. But the moment he surrendered his authority, the nature of the situation changed.

Council Member Li had undoubtedly spoken with the two of them beforehand, and the terms Xiong Er offered were far lower than Hu San's.

"So why did you hand over your power, Pops?"

Yan Jing asked.

If he hadn't given it up, this entire mess wouldn't have happened.

"I really did want to step down."

"I'm going to die eventually."

Boss Rat said softly, "Rather than waiting until I'm dead for them to tear each other apart, it's better to let them fight to their hearts' content while I'm still alive."

Yan Jing fell silent.

People instinctively fall silent when talking about death, never quite sure if the other person wants to be comforted or given well wishes.

At a time like this, he really ought to say something like, "Pops, you've still got a long way to go."

But both he and Papa Rat knew it was the truth.

Papa Rat's genetics meant his lifespan was far shorter than that of other species. Reaching his current age was partly due to biological serums, and partly due to his Tier.

No one knew exactly what Tier Papa Rat was, not even the original Mao Si.

They only knew it wasn't low.

Having taken a palm strike from him last time, Yan Jing guessed he was probably at the Sixth Tier.

At this Tier, if he were human, living to be two hundred wouldn't be a problem.

But for Papa Rat, seventy or eighty was already pushing it.

Halos of neon light blurred against the dark glass of the car window, falling across their faces like dry, yellowed autumn leaves.

"It's fine, Pops. If you die one day,"

"I'll keep Second Brother and Third Brother in line."

Yan Jing said. He threw a paw into the air, clenching it into a fist with dramatic flair:

"I'll protect everything you leave behind, Pops."

[favorability +1]

Finally...

It finally moved.

Yan Jing was actually a little surprised.

For so many days, the 60/100 favorability hovering above Boss Rat's head had seemed completely frozen, never shifting once.

Only now had it actually gone up by 1.

The next second, a rolled-up newspaper smacked his raised paw down.

"Ouch—"

Yan Jing clutched his paw.

"Relying on a brat like you to protect it? Heh, you're still a long way off."

Boss Rat said with a smile, his eyes closed.

"I'm serious, you know."

Yan Jing pillowed his head on his paws and said softly.

...

...

Tianwei took a deep breath.

Today was the day to finish her final transaction. She had already arranged to meet the buyer to offload the remaining two-thirds of the stones.

After much haggling, the price had been set at nine thousand eerie points.

Combined with these nine thousand eerie points, the stone Mr. Luo had given her would exchange for over ten thousand eerie points in total.

It was a massive sum. She decided to use this money to move out of the Anthill and rent an apartment in a normal neighborhood.

The money would easily cover rent for a dozen years, and her regular salary could handle her daily living expenses.

As for what would happen a decade from now, that wasn't something she needed to worry about yet.

The world was changing so fast—who had the energy to plan that far ahead?

Just like right now...

She looked up at the darkening sky and caught the heavy scent of moisture in the air. It was going to rain.

Even though it had been perfectly sunny all morning.

Although synthetic skin was waterproof, it was just like how the Information Component claimed to be waterproof.

No one actually wanted to test it.

Throwing on a raincoat, she hummed a little tune as she set out, weaving through the complex, winding alleys of the Anthill. Before long, she arrived at the location of her previous deals.

It was a row of battered mailboxes, originally used by the apartment building's residents to collect their newspapers and milk. Once the area devolved into the Anthill, those residents had moved away one by one, and not long after, the building itself had collapsed.

The upper and lower halves of the collapsed structure formed a delicate angle, hiding the mailboxes in shadow.

Tianwei looked around warily. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she ducked into the shadows. Bending down in front of the lowest mailbox, she took a key from her pocket and opened the door.

Then, she reached inside and felt around.

Her fingers quickly brushed against something shaped like a card. After confirming the texture felt right, she placed the stones she had brought inside.

"Phew—"

Stepping back out of the shadows, Tianwei let out a long breath and smiled.

With that, her great task was complete.

I'll need to find a chance to properly thank Mr. Luo...

Maybe tomorrow. I'll treat Mr. Luo to a meal. But what should I treat him to? There's that beef noodle shop I've been eyeing for ages but could never bring myself to try. They use real beef, though I don't know if Mr. Luo would find it too cheap...

Clatter.

A small pebble rolled into Tianwei's lowered line of sight, coming to a stop right by her feet.

Tianwei immediately jerked her head up, only to see a black club swinging straight at her face, magnifying rapidly in her trembling pupils.

Crack!

Like a small animal taking a direct blow to the head, Tianwei was instantly struck down by the club.

There was no time to react, let alone scream. Blood instantly blurred her vision, and everything before her eyes overlapped into bloody, crimson afterimages.

She could barely make out the shapes of three or four figures standing in front of her.

"Sorry about that."

The man who had swung the club spoke. He reached down and snatched the card she had just secured from her waist.

"Strictly speaking, we're not robbing you, because there are no eerie points on this card."

"But to save you the heartbreak of finding out later..."

"S-spare... spare my life."

Tianwei pleaded from the ground. The adrenaline was kicking in, temporarily suppressing the agony in her head. She didn't dare move a muscle, signaling her absolute submission.

"I put the things in the usual spot. Take them."

"I—I didn't see your faces."

"Heh."

From behind the man with the club stepped out a leader. He gave a soft chuckle, and the thug with the club immediately understood, walking toward the mailbox.

Moments later, he returned and handed the stones to the leader.

"Are these the right ones?"

The leader glanced at them, then handed the stones to a figure who had remained silent this whole time.

A moment later, Tianwei, still sprawled on the ground, heard a familiar voice:

"They're the right ones."

Tianwei's body violently shuddered, but she didn't dare make a sound, much less let on that she recognized him.

"Excellent."

The leader was very satisfied. He took the club from his subordinate and rested it against the back of Tianwei's head.

"You're sure you didn't see anything, right?"

"I didn't, I really didn't see anything."

Feeling the cold, hard press of the club against the back of her skull, Tianwei was too terrified to budge, rattling off her denials.

After what felt like an eternity, the pressure of the club lifted from her head.

"Stay down. Don't look up for ten minutes, understand?"

The leader's voice rang out.

If possible, he didn't want to kill anyone either.

They had investigated this woman beforehand and knew she was an orphan with no family, but she did have a formal job, and lately, she seemed to be in frequent contact with some man.

If she had mentioned this deal to someone else, and they reported her missing, not only would his crew risk getting caught, but the goods would also become much harder to fence.

This was the Peace Heavenly Kingdom. Killing casually was a privilege reserved for the big shots; ants like them had to consider far too many consequences.

The sound of footsteps started to fade into the distance.

Just as Tianwei breathed a sigh of relief...

Suddenly, that familiar voice spoke up again:

"She's heard my voice before."

Tianwei's heart dropped into her stomach. Pressed against the dirt, her face froze in sheer disbelief.

She never would have expected him to be so utterly heartless.

"And... who knows, maybe she already saw us."

"I watched her grow up. I know she's been dishonest since she was a kid."

If the first sentence had only made her heart tremble, these last two were like a sharp dagger, viciously slicing through her skin and stabbing straight into her bones.

Taking a desperate breath, Tianwei scrambled to her feet and sprinted frantically into the distance.

She was only a First Tier cultivator, not even at the Transcendent Tier. Right now, weird energy blazed in her internal engine like fuel, squeezing every last drop of potential from her body, all just to run a little further.

But it wasn't long before they caught up to her again.

Another strike of the club. She was dragged back in front of the group like a dead dog by the man wielding the weapon.

Following that, the leader looked at the man from the recycling station and said, "Since you're the one who wants her dead, you do it."

"If this gets exposed, you're shouldering all the blame."

With a clatter, the club was tossed at the feet of the man known as Uncle Pang.

Through her blurred vision, Tianwei watched the man bend down and pick it up.

Her voice was hoarse and incredibly weak:

"Why... Uncle Pang... why...?"

"Didn't you used to walk me to elementary school when I was little...? I gave a gift on the day you and Auntie got married... even if it wasn't expensive... And I was there the day Little Pangzi was born... I brought fruit..."

"Why...?"

Faced with Tianwei's desperate questions, the man remained silent for a long time. Finally, he spoke slowly, "See? She's lying again."

He couldn't let the people around him know that right now he was choosing "righteousness before family"—otherwise he wouldn't be able to make a living in the Anthill afterward.

He raised the club and brought it down on Tianwei, over and over again.

Blood interwove like dark silk, soaking Tianwei's body. The agony drove into her head like a savage spike, crushing her back down into the mud.

Suddenly, her sheer will to live brought to mind the words that man had spoken to her:

"This is a flower that carries a seed."

"They say that if you ever run into danger, channeling your weird energy into it will ward off disaster."

Ward off disaster...

Tianwei no longer had the strength to think. The very last remnants of weird energy in her body surged toward the two roses in her pocket.

Like gentle rain falling upon parched earth, a magnificent miracle—unlike anything she had seen in her entire life—arrived without warning. Clusters of Thorns sprouted from the two roses, wrapping around her with their softest parts, and then...

They brutally pierced straight through the hand of the man standing over her.

In an instant, the two roses intertwined, spiraling higher and higher. Very quickly, they transformed into a stalk of pitch-black Thorn as tall as an apartment building. At the very tips of the Thorns, clusters of jet-black flowers swayed gently.

"Ahhh!!!"

The man's agonized screams served as the soundtrack to the moment. Safe within a cage of Thorns, Tianwei was hoisted high into the air.

She stared blankly at the scene unfolding below her, recalling the man's words once more:

"If you ever need my help, you can give me a call."

Slumped inside her cage, she used her last ounce of strength to dial the man's comms.

"Hello?"

Yan Jing's gentle voice rang out.

"Mr. Luo... I think I need your help..."

The young woman's voice trembled with a quiet sob.

"Mhm. But my dear Miss Tianwei, I recall telling you that I am a businessman."

Yan Jing said calmly, "What do you have to offer me?"

"..."

The young woman looked down through the dense forest of Thorns to see the men already starting to attack the roots. She suddenly felt as if the entire world were slipping away into a surreal blur. Her only remaining anchor to reality was the man on the other end of the line.

"I don't know what I have to offer you, Mr. Luo. But if you want it, I can give you everything."

"You mean to say that, as long as you can live, you're willing to pay any price? Including your dignity, your Fate, your time, your passions...?"

Yan Jing smiled.

"Yes, Mr. Luo."

The young woman answered softly.

Her voice held no fear or anxiety toward Yan Jing's grim terms; instead, she seemed inexplicably at peace.

It was as if his voice carried a power that assured her of one thing: even if this was a deal with the devil, he was a devil who wouldn't casually throw her away.

Not like the people down below trying to kill her.

"Good. Wait for me there."

Yan Jing's voice was calm.