Chapter 41: Fleeing in Panic

As Chen Chong smiled and asked his question, a cold draft blew through the corridor. The two supervisor lackeys shuddered, their backs already soaked with cold sweat.

“W-we just… heard some noise.”

After clearly seeing the bloody scene inside the room, the two supervisor lackeys felt their hair stand on end and their tongues tied in knots. They stammered:

“S-so we came to check it out…”

Their faces were as pale as if they had seen a ghost. As they spoke haltingly, they kept backing up until their bodies pressed tightly against the wall behind them. They clutched the iron rods in their hands, looking utterly terrified.

They never imagined that this newcomer would be so vicious. Not only had Skinny Ghost failed to scare this kid, but he had been beheaded instead. His death was gruesome beyond belief!

The image of Chen Chong holding a severed head while smiling in the darkness was far too shocking. Comparatively speaking, they were the ones who had been truly frightened!

“Oh? Is that so?”

Chen Chong chuckled, tossing Skinny Ghost’s head to the floor. He let it roll and tumble in the pool of blood, his tone gentle as he spoke:

“This guy wanted to eat me, so I killed him. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Skinny Ghost’s head made soft rolling sounds. The two lackeys’ eyelids twitched violently. They felt their legs go weak, and forced strained smiles onto their faces:

“If… if that’s the case, then… then there shouldn’t be a problem.”

Facing Chen Chong, the intense horror and fear they felt prevented them from even pretending to know nothing about this matter. They could only answer stiffly.

“Well then.”

Paying no attention to the two terrified lackeys, Chen Chong crouched down and wiped his tactical knife on the hem of Skinny Ghost’s clothing. He spoke as if to himself:

“Since that’s the case, how about you two help me clean up this corpse? I still need to rest, and it’s really unsightly to just leave him lying here like this.”

The two lackeys’ mouths twitched. They glanced at each other. Although they desperately wanted to run back and report to Yin Hu immediately, in this terrifying situation, they didn’t dare refuse Chen Chong’s request.

After thinking it over, they figured Chen Chong probably wouldn’t, and shouldn’t dare to, make a move against them. Finally, steeling their nerves, they gritted their teeth and said: “Alright!”

Afterwards, Chen Chong sat back down on his own bed plank, while the two supervisor lackeys stiffly walked into the blood-stench-filled dark room.

Throughout this process, Chen Chong’s figure was completely hidden in the darkness, silently watching their movements.

When these two lackeys arranged his room, they had probably known that such a bizarre situation might occur. It was clearly under someone else’s instruction. In all likelihood, it was Tie Shan, the Blood General’s trusted subordinate, who had casually set this trap for him. Anyone else, even an Awakener, could have fallen victim if they had been careless.

And the reason why no one lived in this half of the rooms where he was staying was likely due to this as well.

A dangerous glint appeared in Chen Chong’s eyes:

“Tie Shan…”

Feeling as if needles were pricking their backs, the two lackeys gritted their teeth and forced down their inner fear and the pungent smell of blood. They pulled the blanket from Skinny Ghost’s collapsed bed frame and spread it on the ground. Then, they used the blanket to wrap up Skinny Ghost’s headless corpse while also hastily wiping up the pools of blood on the floor. Finally, the two of them worked together to lift Skinny Ghost’s corpse. Covered in bloodstains, they walked out of the room.

With a creak, after the two lackeys carried the corpse out of Chen Chong’s room, the door behind them slowly closed.

By now, timid faces were peeking out one by one from the other end of the corridor. These were laborers who had also been awakened from their sleep by the earlier loud noise. Now, terrified, they watched the two men carrying a gore-covered corpse walk out of Skinny Ghost’s room.

“What are you looking at? Get lost and go back to sleep!”

The two lackeys forced themselves to bark a scolding, wishing they each had an extra leg. They promptly took Skinny Ghost’s corpse and fled in panic.

…

About ten minutes later.

Inside a standalone house not far from the laborers’ dormitory, the desk lamp cast dim light. Yin Hu, whose pleasant dreams had been disturbed, looked at the two subordinates before him. His expression was grim as he spoke darkly:

“This kid is that alert? And so ruthless?”

Hearing these two lackeys report the news that Skinny Ghost had actually been beheaded, there was no doubt about it—his attempt to assert dominance had not only produced no effect whatsoever but was instead equivalent to Chen Chong delivering a slap to his face, neither light nor heavy.

“You said it.”

The two lackeys still had lingering fear on their faces. Recalling their own pathetic performance, they felt somewhat ashamed and irritated, so they exaggerated as they said:

“That Skinny Ghost guy was just too useless. I bet that kid was on guard the whole time and didn’t sleep at all. Otherwise, Skinny Ghost wouldn’t have died so pathetically.”

“Captain, what should we do next? No matter how you look at it, Skinny Ghost was scarce talent. That kid bumped off Skinny Ghost right from the start, clearly showing no regard for you, Captain. Since he dared to openly kill someone in the residential building, he’s challenging the rules of the Crimson Territory! Should we gather our men now, arrest him, give him a harsh flogging, and put him in his place?”

Hearing the advice from these two subordinates, Yin Hu’s gaze turned sinister. He spoke darkly:

“You two idiots. Are you fools yourselves and think I’m a fool too? That kid is also an Awakener, and he’s obviously emboldened by his connection to the General. Even Tie Shan only dared to set a small trap. It’s nothing more than a madman who eats people in his dreams biting the dust. Who can do anything to him? Am I supposed to go out of my way just to mess with him?”

Scolded harshly by Yin Hu, the two lackeys pulled their necks in, replying obediently: “Then… Captain, we…”

“Enough. This matter is over. You two just focus on keeping an eye on him. But don’t get too close without reason. Don’t let anyone else get something on you.”

Under the confused gazes of his two subordinates, Yin Hu waved his hand and said coldly:

“I’ve already heard. This Chen Chong seems to know some secret and is of considerable use to the General. That’s why he gets these special privileges and preferential treatment. There are quite a few people in the Territory eyeing us right now. You two are the more clever ones under my command. Keep an eye on him, but use your own good judgment and don’t go looking for trouble. If he makes any unusual moves, or if anyone proactively makes contact with him, report it to me immediately.”

By now, Yin Hu had made inquiries elsewhere and learned the detailed background of Chen Chong. He realized that this guy was clearly a hot potato. Although he didn’t know exactly what kind of deal had been struck between Chen Chong and the Blood General, to avoid any possibility of arousing the Blood General’s suspicion, Yin Hu could only suppress his impulses for now.

In today’s wasteland world, everyone had their own survival philosophy. Whether someone was an Awakener was not the standard for measuring everything. The reason Yin Hu had lived until now and landed the cushy job of Supervisor Squad Captain was naturally because he was cautious enough, and also because he clearly knew who the true master of the Crimson Territory was.

Those who couldn’t figure this out were already dead.