The Bait

A night passed, and even by three in the afternoon, no battle had broken out in Yangcheng.

Meanwhile, far away from Yangcheng, in the Capital.

Inside an ordinary courtyard house, Zhu Weiliang sat on a sofa with his legs crossed.

Holding a newspaper, he read the daily news and said without looking up, “Have you really made up your minds? Once you board my ship, you won't have a chance to get off.”

“Rather than siding with the military to offer icing on the cake, I would rather take a gamble and provide help in their hour of need.” Opposite him, Lu Senyu spoke with a serious expression.

Reaching his current position was already the absolute limit of what he could achieve.

If he took another step up, he would be a councilman. But that step was as difficult as ascending to heaven; many were stuck at this stage, never even touching the threshold until they retired.

Sitting next to Lu Senyu was a middle-aged man in a black military officer's uniform. He was the commander of the Capital garrison, Zhao Tuanxian.

He looked at Zhu Weiliang. “Minister Lu is right. With five councilman seats currently vacant, the military automatically retains one. The remaining four seats will be contested by the major factions, but there are still many people ahead of us in those factions. It would never be our turn.”

Hearing their responses, Zhu Weiliang put down his newspaper, a faint smile appearing on his face. “Since you both think so highly of me, if I secure the councilman seat, I will definitely help you both take a step further!”

It wasn't that the Imperial Family had no allies in the government, but their strength was not as formidable as those of the other factions. The addition of these two now gave him a glimmer of hope.

“By the way, what is the situation in Yangcheng? I heard that Wang Hai and the others have been neutralized, and Yangcheng has been lost,” Zhu Weiliang said with a solemn tone.

This was an issue he would have to face as soon as he became a councilman.

“Yes. Since the new councilmen have not yet been elected, the military has washed its hands of the situation there, aside from withdrawing the fighter jets and high-yield missiles,” Lu Senyu replied.

They said they washed their hands of it, but in truth, no one else dared to interfere either.

The bodies of the last five who had tried to meddle had barely gone cold in their graves. No one wanted to be murdered in their sleep along with their entire family.

Zhu Weiliang listened, his eyes flashing. Maybe I can find an opportunity to contact those monsters. If I can reach a cooperation with them, my position will be completely secure.

He didn't choose to make contact right now. The situation there was too chaotic. He feared that the supernatural being he reached out to might die the very next day, and it would also be easy to provoke a powerful enemy.

Everything would have to wait until a victor emerged in Yangcheng.

With the death of all the previous councilmen, the existence of the supernatural had reached a level that could no longer be ignored.

Not just him, but the other factions also had the idea of recruiting or collaborating with supernatural beings.

The sun set over Yangcheng.

8:00 PM.

In the city sky, the crow flew past. It scanned the ground below, its eyes filled with confusion: Where did that item go? Mr. Zhao clearly released it.

Several crows were deployed around Zhao Jin to monitor the item's whereabouts at the first opportunity.

It already had five items in its possession, and the Church of the Earth Mother had one. Only the final piece was missing.

In the distant sky, a monster with a wingspan of six to seven meters flew by.

It was also searching for the supernatural item, completely ignoring the crows that flew past it from time to time.

On the ground, everyone was searching for the item.

They had been searching since the early hours of the morning, yet they still hadn't found it.

On the first floor of a ten-story office building in the East District.

Liu Wen stood there expressionlessly with his hands clasped behind his back. Before him, a Night Slave held a red tray with both hands.

On the tray was the seventh Lord of Evil item that everyone outside was searching for—the rattle drum.

All around them, Night Slaves stood in silence. The entire office building had been cleared out.

As his spiritual power grew stronger, Liu Wen stared at the rattle drum. In his crimson vision, the thing was billowing black mist.

He didn't want to hold this bizarre thing himself, nor did he want his Night Slaves to hold it. Since the Night Slaves had a spiritual link with him, he was afraid of being corrupted by the Lord of Evil item.

The elevator doors opened behind him. Liu Zhian stepped out wearing a white shirt and suit pants.

Behind him, a middle-aged man with a numb expression, wearing a thin blue jacket, followed him out.

Upon seeing the dozen or so expressionless people with crimson eyes standing around, a trace of surprise flashed in his numb eyes.

However, he quickly returned to normal and followed Liu Zhian to stand behind Liu Wen.

“Elder, everything is ready,” Liu Zhian said.

“Mm, let's withdraw. Next, it's time to watch their performance,” Liu Wen said calmly.

Liu Zhian turned to the middle-aged man behind him. “Twenty million has already been transferred to your family's account. Pick up that rattle drum, and don't disappoint me.”

The middle-aged man smiled. “I didn't expect my worthless life to be worth twenty million. Thank you, Mr. Liu. You are truly a good man!”

He was already in the late stages of stomach cancer and had only a few months left to live. That was until they approached him this morning, offering to buy the final months of his life for twenty million.

Hearing himself being called a good man, a smile tugged at the corner of Liu Zhian's mouth. “Go to the fifth floor. Before those monsters find you, my men will do their best to hold them back.”

With that, Liu Zhian walked out.

Although this office building was only ten stories high, its width and length were twice that of a normal office building, providing ample space for a battle.

Moreover, he had already packed the basement of the building with natural gas.

It's a pity I couldn't find any missiles. You bastards are truly lucky. Reaching the entrance, he looked back at the office building, his expression darkening.

The natural gas he had brought in was enough to blow up the entire office building and devastate the surrounding street.

In the ground floor lobby, the Night Slave held the tray out to the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man looked at the rattle drum in front of him. Without hesitation, he reached out, grabbed the handle, and shook it twice.

A peculiar wave rippled outward. Though the sound wasn't loud, it spread at an incredibly rapid speed.

Behind him, a plume of black mist materialized, and black veins began to creep across the middle-aged man's face.

With just two shakes, five hundred meters away, a young man in black clothes heard two drumbeats ring in his mind, causing his consciousness to slip into a brief daze.

His body froze abruptly. He turned his head toward the office building. “This peculiar feeling!”

There were many passersby around him, yet they seemed completely oblivious.

A sound only supernatural beings can hear... Is it a Lord of Evil item?! He ran toward the office building. No matter what, he had to go check it out.

The unique sound of the rattle drum rippled outward. Within three seconds, every supernatural being in Yangcheng heard it.

Rule of Evil: Stir up the malice of all supernatural beings; their malice shall be converted into the power of the Lord of Evil! (Power of Rules unsealed: 20%!)

Inside a basement.

Yu Shuanghua and Zhang Yi sat opposite each other. Yu Shuanghua glared at Zhang Yi with a face full of disdain. “If you hadn't been so cowardly, would we have missed out on so many items?!”

Confronted by Yu Shuanghua's in-your-face attitude, Zhang Yi remained silent. He felt utterly helpless inside. How could the Earth Mother send him such an idiot as a teammate?

How few of them had there been back then? There was no way they could have gone head-to-head with the other supernatural beings.

Staring at the silent Zhang Yi, Yu Shuanghua sneered inwardly. It seems this kid has been suppressed by me. The position of Supreme Pontiff can only be mine. If he tries anything in the future, I'll have to put him in his place.

Right at that moment, two crisp drumbeats rang out, and the crystal ball on the table in front of them lit up.

Both of them instantly perked up. Yu Shuanghua stood up and looked toward the source of the sound. “This sound... and the reaction from the crystal! Has a new item appeared?!”

Without waiting for Zhang Yi, he strode out. “Everyone here, get ready! Move out with me!”

On the surface, over a dozen helicopters were already parked, ready to deploy at a moment's notice.

Inside the room, Zhang Yi didn't move.

He stared at the flashing crystal, a thoughtful look in his eyes. When the previous items appeared, they never triggered such a massive reaction. This is too strange. Is it a trap?

After some thought, he put away the crystal.

In any case, since an idiot like Yu Shuanghua was heading out to test the waters, even if there was a trap, Yu Shuanghua would be the one to trigger it.

On the other side, inside a coffee shop next to the office building.

Listening to the drumbeats, Liu Zhian was somewhat surprised. “Such a massive reaction. It seems this item is very special.”

“Destiny hasn't updated the forum, otherwise I would be quite curious to know what abilities this rattle drum possesses,” Liu Wen said, waiting quietly inside the shop.

For them, the bigger the commotion, the better.