Chapter 211: Rampaging Dusk

「Meanwhile, at Venice Beach in Luocheng, Jafuni State, Meiqi Country.」

A middle-aged man in a sun hat and a floral shirt lay on a deck chair.

He was basking in the sun and sipping coconut juice while on the phone, his brow furrowed.

“Hmm, what? Dusk is seriously injured? Is this intel from the Anomaly Administration Bureau accurate?”

His name was Niu Lang.

He was the Taiping Daoist National Preceptor, and also the Taboo Item who knew the most about Antique Shop Zero.

‘The Manager is immortal and indestructible. How could the Evil Qilin have seriously injured him?’

Prince Heng’s sullen voice came from the other end of the line:

“There’s no mistake.”

Niu Lang mulled it over for a moment, then murmured,

“If it was because of that eye, then it’s possible his condition could have deteriorated.”

Prince Heng’s voice, laced with killing intent, came through the phone.

“Lord National Preceptor, what’s our move? Should we… take this chance to wipe out the Taboo Association in one fell swoop?”

Niu Lang fell silent for a moment.

“We don’t know the full extent of his decline. What if it’s just a wound the size of a fingernail? If we act rashly, the losses will far outweigh the gains.”

Prince Heng sounded resigned on the other end.

“So we’re just going to waste this golden opportunity?”

A sinister smile touched Niu Lang’s lips.

“Do you know why I didn’t let you go after that traitor before?”

Prince Heng paused, taken aback.

“The Evil Jade Flood Dragon?”

Initially, the Evil Qilin had tricked him into holding up Dusk, buying time for the Spear of Destiny to reawaken.

When Prince Heng figured it out later, he was furious and wanted to settle the score with the Evil Qilin, but Niu Lang stopped him.

Because the Evil Qilin’s strategy had been sound.

Both the Seven People within the Spear of Destiny and the Black God truly did have the power to banish Dusk to the Void Subspace.

Dusk had ultimately defeated the Black God, but even Niu Lang hadn’t anticipated that the Spear of Destiny wasn’t the Evil Qilin’s true killing move.

The real killing move had been at Dream Island Resort.

The Black God was merely a second ‘Prince Heng’ meant to stall Dusk.

The Evil Qilin had now rendered a great service, and his methods had thoroughly impressed Niu Lang, so naturally, Niu Lang was reluctant to kill him.

But… the Evil Jade Flood Dragon was another matter entirely.

Niu Lang had the complete file on the Black God incident.

He knew the Evil Jade Flood Dragon had intercepted the meddling Investigators at a critical moment.

If the Investigators had forcibly removed the Witch Association from the Twenty-Fourth Middle School, Dusk might not have dealt with the Seven People and the Black God so easily.

This was a blatant betrayal of the Taiping Dao.

Prince Heng had wanted to capture the Evil Jade Flood Dragon and unleash all his fury from being beaten by Dusk until only a head remained.

But Niu Lang had disagreed.

Niu Lang said,

“Now, you can capture the Evil Jade Flood Dragon under the pretext of hunting a traitor.”

Prince Heng finally understood.

“If Dusk isn’t seriously injured, he’ll definitely help the Witch Association and stand in the Taiping Dao’s way. Heh heh, this is like plucking a tiger’s whiskers! If Dusk doesn’t show up to help the Witch Association, heh heh heh… that’ll mean he really is in bad shape!”

Niu Lang chuckled.

“Go and see to it.”

From the other end of the line:

“Yes, sir!”

Niu Lang put down his phone, closed his eyes, and reviewed everything that had happened.

Just then, a fragrant breeze wafted by.

Niu Lang turned his head to find a young girl had appeared beside him.

Even in just a bikini, the girl exuded a sense of grace and nobility.

Her entire bearing was unspeakably aristocratic.

The girl looked displeased.

Niu Lang asked cautiously,

“My Lady, what’s wrong?”

The girl frowned at the overcast sky.

“It’s about to rain.”

Niu Lang smiled.

“The weather by the sea here is like that—changeable and unpredictable.”

The girl scoffed.

“It’s nothing like Great Xia!”

Niu Lang nodded.

“Of course.”

The girl crossed her arms.

“This is boring.”

Niu Lang said with a chuckle,

“That’s an easy fix!”

Niu Lang looked up at the dark clouds and said softly,

“Away.”

As if obeying a command, or perhaps startled, the dark clouds quickly retreated from the area.

The beachgoers who had been about to leave because of the rain stared in surprise, then erupted in cheers.

Niu Lang turned back to the girl.

“My Lady, please enjoy yourself.”

A smile bloomed on the girl’s face before she quickly suppressed it, glancing at Niu Lang with an arrogant air.

“I suppose you know how to get things done.”

…

「Meanwhile, at four in the morning.」

An alley in the old district of South Sea City.

A faulty streetlight flickered, intermittently illuminating the figure of a woman with long hair.

The woman was attractive and tall, carrying two cans of beer.

Her name was Song Yao. She was a Sheriff with the South Sea Public Security Bureau, in charge of the public relations department.

Song Yao walked over to a worn-out bench, sat down, and cracked open a can of beer.

She took a swig of the cold beer, a look of relief washing over her face.

‘On a sweltering summer day, is there anything better than an ice-cold beer to unwind after working late?’

FZZZ…

The faulty streetlight nearby suddenly buzzed, the sound jarring in the quiet alley.

Song Yao jumped, glancing at the faulty streetlight before patting her ample chest.

“Just my imagination.”

Song Yao shook her head, mocking herself.

‘Honestly, I’ve heard about so many anomalous incidents lately, my mind always jumps to strange conclusions.’

As the head of the PR department, of course she knew about anomalous incidents.

Anomalous incidents occurred frequently in the South Sea region, and someone had to come up with “cover stories” to keep the public calm.

For instance, during the Yin Yang Master incident, a tornado had mysteriously appeared in the old district.

Or the Black God incident, when South Sea City was suddenly plunged into darkness.

Then there were the times Sheriffs had to lock down entire city blocks to cooperate with the Anomaly Investigators.

And so on…

Someone had to be there to fabricate plausible lies so that ordinary people would think it was all perfectly normal.

That job fell to Song Yao.

With the recent spike in anomalous incidents, she was under immense pressure at work, constantly working overtime into the early hours of the morning.

Sheriffs were people too; they had to learn how to blow off steam.

Song Yao’s way of blowing off steam was to drink.

She was a lightweight, but she simply enjoyed drinking.

She never drank at home.

As a single mother, she didn’t want her child to see her drunk.

By the time Song Yao opened her second beer, she was already tipsy.

Through slightly hazy eyes, she saw a few young thugs walking toward her, covered in tattoos and with brightly dyed hair.

The leader, Huang Mao, sat down next to her.

“Hey, little sister, what’s your price? It’s almost dawn, give me a discount.”

Song Yao’s brows knitted.

For one, they reeked of alcohol, and the smell was overpowering.

For another, as a Sheriff, she had never been humiliated like this.

But she knew discretion was the better part of valor.

This group was clearly a bunch of drunk lowlifes.

Song Yao stood up and started to leave, ignoring them.

“Hahaha, holy shit, this drunk chick has some attitude!”

“She’s kinda hot when she’s angry.”

The thugs laughed without restraint.

Huang Mao grabbed Song Yao’s arm.

Song Yao cried out as Huang Mao pulled her into his arms.

Huang Mao stroked Song Yao’s face lecherously and smirked.

“Alright, you’ve got spirit. I like that. I’ll pay you extra. Come with me tonight.”

The other thugs had already surrounded them, leering with malicious intent.

Fear finally set in. Song Yao swallowed hard.

“I have money. Cash. Just let me go.”

This only made Huang Mao happier. He chuckled and looked at his cronies.

“Looks like this little sister has taken a liking to me. You want to buy me for the night?”

Song Yao steadied herself, trying desperately to remain calm.

“You’re all men of the world. You wouldn’t go so far as to trouble a lone woman, would you? I’ll give you money. Let me go, and we can pretend this never happened.”

One of the thugs snatched Song Yao’s purse and began rummaging through it.

“Whoa! This broad actually has a good bit of cash on her.”

As the thug rummaged, he found something that made his expression turn sour.

“Boss, you… you gotta see this.”

Huang Mao glanced at what the thug was holding, and he sobered up instantly.

A Sheriff’s badge?

‘This bitch is a Sheriff?!’

Huang Mao stared blankly at Song Yao, whom he was holding on his lap. His face was a mask of terror, tinged with a barely perceptible killing intent.

“You’re a cop?”

Song Yao studied the thugs’ expressions and breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Looks like my Sheriff’s ID scared them off.’

Huang Mao’s hand shot out and clamped around her neck. Song Yao couldn’t breathe.

She looked up at Huang Mao in terror, her eyes meeting his, which were filled with murderous rage.

Huang Mao said darkly,

“Drinking always gets me into trouble. I was just planning to have a little fun with you. If you were just some random girl, I’d have let you go after we had our fun. But you’re a Sheriff. That won’t do. I just got out on bail. I can’t have you reporting me.”

Song Yao felt her breath catching in her throat. Fear crawled from her heart into her eyes. She struggled to say,

“Please… don’t kill me… I have a child. I’ll do anything you want. Anything.”

Huang Mao turned a deaf ear, tightening his grip.

“Hey boss, why don’t you hold off on killing her? I’ve never had a taste of a female Sheriff before.”

A teenage thug in the group stared at Song Yao, his face filled with malice.

Huang Mao narrowed his eyes and released his grip.

Song Yao clutched her neck, coughing nonstop.

Huang Mao glanced at the others.

“One at a time. We’re all in this together.”

Song Yao’s face turned ashen. She struggled desperately, but she couldn’t break free from Huang Mao’s hold.

Just then, she saw something, and the will to live flared in her eyes.

“Help me!”

The thugs followed her gaze.

In the distance, a figure came staggering toward them, clutching its forehead.

The figure walked near the faulty streetlight, the flickering light casting its long shadow, making it appear and disappear.