Chapter 1 Demon Weasel Bandits <TOC> Chapter 3 Search the Corpse!
Translator: SumTLMan
The “Demon Weasel Bandits” had no trouble getting nearly a hundred assassins climbing ropes up the high walls and into the city with an insider’s help.
The buildings in “Blazing Steel Fortress” were densely arranged like fish scales lining the narrow streets.
The clock tower’s hands indicated that it was already two o’clock in the morning with the streets deserted of any pedestrians.
The gang of thieves quietly followed their intended route through the slums and came straight to an estate where roses lined the courtyard.
Besides the estate’s iron fence, a plaque hung indicating the identity and title of the manor’s owner.
This is the residence of the Imperial Baron, Maureen Banderas!
Tonight.
A river of blood will be spilt on the estate, leaving no survivors.
Confirming the destination, Boss Quinn waved one hand, and all the assassins instantly disappeared into the darkness.
Fortunately, Rayne didn’t have to go into head-to-head combat.
He and two other recruits drew straws for a relatively easy task.
Instead of going to Maureen’s estate to participate in the assassination, they followed Captain Tyger as he lifted the cover of a manhole in the street and went underground.
The steel city had a cobweb-like network of sewer pipes at its base, which was where they were tasked with guarding the perimeter and interception to prevent any survivors from escaping.
……
It wasn’t long before Rayne, and three others came to a halt at a wide main pipe after passing through the narrower sewer pipes.
The smell of raw sewage in these sewers was still an unpleasant experience, even though they were wearing gas masks.
Tyger found a dry spot to sit down as he said to the three recruits: “In case anyone escapes from the sewers at Maureen’s estate later on tonight, this is the only way they can go. Our job is to hold down this location and kill anyone who tries to escape through here.”
“Aye, Captain Tyger!”
At those words, Rayne and the other two recruits stood at attention and replied respectfully.
This was a rule learned by the new recruits.
Tyger looked at the three nervous recruits and gave a sarcastic smile as he said: “Heh, you guys don’t need to be so nervous, just find a place to lie down and wait for the operation to be over. We won’t be needed to complete this operation.”
One of the recruits looked puzzled as he asked: “Ah… So, Captain Tyger, are we going to set up traps?”
Tyger waved his hand dismissively and said: “No need.”
Hearing this, the man asked again: “But what if an enemy comes later and we have no time to react, will there be any accidents?”
“Accidents? Heh, the boss himself is here, what accidents can there be?”
Tyger shook his head with slight disdain as if he thought it was a ridiculous statement.
After a pause, he added a lazy explanation: “The target this time… That Dr Maureen is just an [Advanced] who has broken through the second-order genetic lock, while Boss Quinn is a [Demon Hunter] with three genetic awakenings! Besides, even if they are of the same rank, who do you think has a better chance of winning? A non-combatant advanced doctor or a demon hunter assassin? This time, I let you recruits tag along just so you can gain some experience. There’s no chance of you fighting at all…”
“Ah… So that’s how it is.”
It suddenly dawned on the recruit’s eyes after hearing that explanation as he lowered his hand touching the dagger at his waist.
“Besides, if something really happened, wouldn’t daddy still be here? There’s no need for you bratty recruits to do anything…”
Tyger sneered and took his gas mask off.
With that, he took a silver flask out of his pocket, loudly gulped down a mouthful of wine and shut his eyes to take a nap.
The mission didn’t allow drinking, but Tyger, the old greaser, didn’t care, and the recruits didn’t dare to gossip.
“Oh…”
Seeing the captain’s relaxed demeanour, the other two recruits’ guard slackened as they sat down on the spot.
Rayne, who had never spoken in the corner, took a few more steps and found an access point to sit down.
Out of an abundance of caution, he chose a passage farther down which opened to allow him to quickly enter and exit.
……
The captain, Tyger, is an old man in the regiment with an arrogant personality, a taste for alcohol and sex, and had an unrivalled strength.
It was only because of his seniority that he got the status of recruit drill instructor.
But even so, Rayne doesn’t dare to underestimate him.
Because… This sickly-looking alcoholic was an [Awakened] who had broken the first-order genetic lock and had gained extraordinary powers!
(Note: The exclusive title for a first-order transcendent is [Awakened], second-order [Advanced], third-order [Demon Hunter], fourth-order [Great Demon Hunter]…)
Although this outing was the best chance to escape from this bandit nest, Rayne didn’t dare to make a move at all.
He was 100% certain that Tyger would quickly kill him if he made any rash sudden moves.
This was an instinctive reaction that came with absolutely crushing power.
Even though he had gone through a year of hellish training as an assassin and had developed his skills as a thief, he was still an ordinary man.
In front of this [Awakened] who had gained supernatural powers, the gap was like comparing a young child to a strongman.
This is a mysterious world where human beings can awaken extraordinary powers, where they can take genetic potions to break through their genetic potential and gain superhuman abilities.
Even the most ordinary black iron grade genetic potion can increase a person’s ability by 3-10 times greater than that of an ordinary man.
This is an overall increase in speed, strength, toughness, perception, cellular activity, neural response… This full range of abilities can be increased across the board.
(Potion Qualities: Black Iron Grade, White Silver Grade, Yellow Gold Grade.)
In terms of raw physical strength alone, this man named Tyger, who has been a transcendent for many years, has at least five times more physical power than Rayne.
So, to even entertain the thought that he could escape from under Tyger’s nose with his current combat strength would be an absolute fool’s errand!
……
Clearly, Rayne wasn’t the only one who wanted to escape.
A little while later, the other recruit’s gaze drifted a bit as Tyger looked at the dark passages in the sewers. Then, as if he had guessed something, he gave a cold laugh.
“Hehe…”
He suddenly spoke: “The first time out of the base on a mission eh, 9554, 9623… You two aren’t thinking of escape, right?”
“…”
Having had their little secret intentions revealed before all those present.
There was a flash of panic showing across those two recruits’ face.
“Don’t think daddy doesn’t know what you’re thinking. Come to think of it, I was in the same boat back in the day…”
Tyger was unimpressed and shook his head: “Brats, I know you’re not happy about your circumstances, but you gotta give up. Not to mention that you won’t be able to survive a single blow from daddy’s fist, even if I were willing to let you escape, you won’t be able to cure the poison of [Zombie Potion] and be dead within the month.”
Upon hearing these words, the two recruits were like frosted aubergines, instantly wilting down at the explanation.
“Look at 9527, sitting over there so relaxed, just waiting for the mission to be over in peace. Why keep those unrealistic delusions of grandeur?”
At this time, Tyger pointed at Rayne, who was silent at the side.
This recruit, who said very little, had mediocre qualifications but was easy to discipline and looked worry-free.
When they heard this, the other two recruits were deflated and looked at him with disdain: “Oh, just a cowardly crane’s tail.”
9527 was Rayne’s code name in the recruits’ group, and until he became a full-fledged member of the “Demon Weasel Bandits”, recruits weren’t entitled to a name.
After all, more than 70% of recruits don’t live to experience an awakening of transcendence.
No one will remember the name of a dead man.
When he heard Tyger’s compliment, Rayne remained silent, continuing his small role as the “invisible” character.
But when he heard the mention of [Zombie Potion], a dark gloom passed over his eyes.
“Wisdom Brain” projected a status bar on his retina, showing a continuous countdown: [Unidentified toxin erosion, expected to be fatal after 26 days, 19 hours and 44 minutes.]
This is what the top brass of the bandits used to control the new recruits, a chronic poison!
All of the recruits present have even seen before their very eyes a guy who hadn’t taken the antidote on time. When the poison kicked in, he was instantly drained of blood by a mysterious force, struggling in agony for a quarter of an hour before dying in horror…
“Gulp” a sound made from taking another sip of wine.
Tyger didn’t want the recruits under his command to make an attempt at escape, so he said in a tone of a man who had been in their shoes: “You recruits, behave yourselves, and after you’ve made enough contributions, you can exchange the points for a genetic potion for advancing to [Awakened]. After, you’ll be able to enjoy some good food and drink. And hey, hey… There’ll be no shortage of money, women, and cultivation resources…”
Upon hearing these words, a glimmer of hope appeared in the eyes of the two recruits.
The path to transcendence was the beginning of the road to real power.
The “Demon Weasel Bandits” had a bloody reward mechanism.
If you want to get the antidote or genetic potion to advance towards transcendence, you have to exchange for it by using points.
The so-called points are actually given for regularly participating in missions involving murder and larceny…
Once you’ve raised enough points, you’ll find yourself habitually wanting to kill people. At which point, you’ll never be able to leave this bandit gang which only knows of murder and plunder.
Rayne didn’t want to be manipulated into becoming a cold-blooded killing machine.
He was looking for a chance to escape from the Demon Weasel Bandits.
But under Tyger’s watchful eye and with the [Zombie Potion] still in his body, both have become fatal chains which bound his opportunity for freedom.
But he also didn’t expect that…
On his first mission, the opportunity to escape came so fast!
The well-planned assassination mission went sideways…
Chapter 1 Demon Weasel Bandits <TOC> Chapter 3 Search the Corpse!