Chapter 71: The Calm Before the Storm

Faced with the Blood General’s question, Tie Shan nodded with a solemn expression.

“That is the only explanation! As far as I know, Yin Hu had some minor conflicts with Li Bao, Sun Yimao, Qian Xu, Wang Qianlie, and the others. I’m afraid we won’t know who did it until we find Yin Hu’s body.”

The Blood General said coldly, “Yin Hu was one of the first subordinates I recruited. I even gifted him a Bloodline Gu, and his Life Field Intensity is close to that of a high-level Awakener. Who do you think has the ability to kill him silently within my Territory?”

Tie Shan was stunned for a moment. “Perhaps… more than one person acted?”

Tie Shan also knew Yin Hu’s strength; Yin Hu was only slightly weaker than himself. No single other Awakener in the Territory could possibly kill Yin Hu without causing any commotion, unless it was a meticulously detailed plan carried out by two or three Awakeners working together.

Now his only doubt was, if it was truly as he suspected, what could have possibly driven these people to ignore the Blood General’s existence and join forces to kill Yin Hu?

“Enough, baseless speculation is meaningless.”

A murderous glint flashed in the Blood General’s eyes, and a cruel, bloodthirsty smile bloomed at the corner of his mouth.

“Killing Yin Hu right under my nose is a challenge to my authority. It seems someone has become very bold and has completely forgotten how the word ‘fear’ is written!”

Tie Shan’s eyelid twitched slightly, and he asked cautiously, “General, you…?”

“Tie Shan, I’m only giving you this one night!”

The Blood General’s fingers tapped lightly on the armrest, his tone filled with killing intent, and he said grimly,

“If there isn’t a definite result by tomorrow morning, then summon everyone except the laborers to the square. I will personally preside over a special review meeting and use my own methods to find out the reason for Yin Hu’s disappearance!”

Tie Shan’s face involuntarily twitched, and he lowered his head, saying, “Yes.”

The Blood General waved his hand. “You may go.”

Tie Shan hurriedly retreated.

After Tie Shan left, the Blood General remained seated motionless on the tiger-skin chair, as if pondering something.

Yin Hu’s death was far from simple. For him, Yin Hu’s disappearance also exposed another problem: the flaw in the Bloodline Gu’s control over other Awakeners!

His Bloodline Gu required feeding with his own heart’s blood over a long period to establish some kind of mysterious life connection, allowing him to control it. With a single thought, the Bloodline Gu would gnaw on the host’s heart vessels, even biting through the heart; it was a very sharp and eerie method of control.

However, the connection between him and the Bloodline Gu had a distance limit, and that distance was 100 meters. Within 100 meters, he could sense the Bloodline Gu’s presence and control it. But once this distance was exceeded, the Bloodline Gu was just an ordinary parasite, maintaining a symbiotic state with its host until death.

This was a secret known only to him. All the Awakeners in the Territory had been controlled by his Bloodline Gu, but no one knew about this distance limitation.

However, the Blood General’s ability to rule the entire Crimson Territory with an iron fist did not rely on the Bloodline Gu, but on his own formidable power . What he cared more about was the silent challenge to his authority behind the mystery of Yin Hu’s death—this was his absolute taboo!

Sitting still, the Blood General showed a faint smile and murmured,

“Who could it be? Tomorrow, I will drag you out…”

…

“Hey kid, did you know about Yin Hu’s disappearance?”

When night grew deep and it was time for the night watch, Chen Chong had just arrived at the Power Station when Old Xu came up to him mysteriously, as if he had discovered some big news.

“Some say Yin Hu’s disappearance is a defection, did you hear about that?”

Chen Chong chuckled and said,

“Of course I know. The whole night, everywhere was buzzing with it. I just saw the guards still searching everywhere; I wonder if they’ll find him. But I don’t know anything about the defection theory.”

Even now, dozens or even hundreds of the Territory’s underlings had not settled down. In groups of a few, they were still carrying flashlights and oil lamps, searching and questioning back and forth across the Territory, with an air of wanting to dig three feet into the ground.

“They’ve already come to search the Power Station three times.”

Old Xu, of course, had no idea he was currently sharing a room with Yin Hu’s ashes. He clicked his tongue in amazement.

“I don’t think it looks like a defection. Yin Hu is an Awakener, and he pledged allegiance to the General very early on. He’s living quite comfortably in the Territory now, why would he defect?”

Chen Chong, keeping his composure, asked casually, “Then what do you think the reason could be?”

Old Xu shook his head like a rattle-drum and sighed. “How could this old man possibly know? But with an Awakener missing, the General won’t let it rest. I think there might be big trouble in the Territory very soon.”

Old Xu’s tone was bleak, carrying a sense of tension and unease like the calm before the storm. Chen Chong’s gaze flickered, and he said,

“Come on, Old Xu, you’re the pillar of this Power Station. Whatever big thing happens, it has nothing to do with you.”

Old Xu perked up and chuckled. “That’s true. I’ll just take good care of my own little patch of land.”

The two continued to chat idly for a while. As the night deepened, Old Xu, unable to fight off his drowsiness, went back to his room to sleep. The roaring Boiler Room was left with only Chen Chong.

Even late into the night, the sporadic glow of flashlights and oil lamps still flickered in the darkness from time to time; many underlings had seemingly not given up the search for any trace of Yin Hu.

Chen Chong did not engage in any cultivation. He sat peacefully across from the boiler, silently waiting for dawn.

…

The pitch-black night gradually turned pale. For the vast majority of people in the Territory, a hard night had passed, and the sky was about to brighten.

Tie Shan had not slept a wink all night. Before dawn, he hurried to the Blood General’s manor, and when he was about to let the servants deliver a message, he found the Blood General was already waiting in the living room.

Seated on the tiger-skin chair, watching Tie Shan walk into the living room with a face full of exhaustion, the Blood General said indifferently,

“What’s the result?”

Tie Shan’s expression was grim, and he said helplessly, “I’m sorry, General. Over a hundred men under my command searched for the entire night. They scoured almost every nook and cranny, but Yin Hu seems to have vanished into thin air, leaving not a single trace behind!”

As his words fell, the atmosphere in the living room froze to ice. The Blood General’s crimson eyes stared coldly at Tie Shan, making cold sweat break out on his back.

“You… have greatly disappointed me.”

The Blood General slowly stood up, and an indescribable, ferocious and baleful aura emanated from him.

“Now, except for the laborers, I want you to summon all relevant personnel in the Territory to the square. I will conduct the review personally!”