The Plan

“From now on, this place is under my control. Leave the Specter inside to me,” Chu Jizhen said, walking straight inside without waiting for the middle-aged man to speak.

Under the influence of Destiny, the Nanming Kingdom had named these monsters Specters.

Listening to their conversation, an inspector nearby asked uncertainty, “Captain, are we still going in?”

Hearing this, the middle-aged man thought for a moment. “Follow him and see what this Special Bureau guy can do. If he can't handle it, we'll make our move!”

With that, he quickened his pace to catch up.

Inside, the factory was a standard U-shaped layout, with an office building in the center and workshops on both sides.

On the ground lay over a dozen mutilated corpses.

Beneath the office building, a six-legged Specter was feasting on two corpses.

The sound of footsteps from the entrance made the six-legged Specter stop eating. Its white face, smeared with blood and shredded flesh, turned to look over.

“Its feeding speed is slow, and it didn't react much to the helicopter engines. It must be a newly born monster,” Chu Jizhen said flatly, completely disregarding the creature.

The six-legged Specter tossed aside the mangled corpse in its grip and quickly scuttled toward Chu Jizhen. “Useless... coward... Useless... coward...”

Its speed picked up. Opposite it, Chu Jizhen extended both hands, his left palm facing upward and his right palm facing downward.

With his palms aligned about seven or eight centimeters apart, he said calmly, “Diyan, let's begin.”

“Understood!” A voice only he could hear echoed in his ear.

When the six-legged Specter closed within ten meters, he slammed his palms together toward the monster.

At the exact moment his hands met, the concrete ground beneath the six-legged Specter suddenly ruptured, and a black hand three to four meters wide erupted.

Above its head, an identical giant black hand materialized out of thin air. The two massive hands slammed together, crushing the Specter in the middle.

The six-legged Specter was pulverized by the two black palms, spraying white flesh and blood all around.

Looking at the thoroughly destroyed Specter, Chu Jizhen parted his palms. The black hands in front of him vanished into thin air, leaving only a puddle of white minced flesh behind.

He turned around and looked at the stunned inspectors behind him. “The Specter has been dealt with. You can clean up the bodies.”

“That easily?” The inspectors stared in disbelief.

Whenever they dealt with Specters in the past, casualties were inevitable. Every inspector sent out to face these creatures was prepared to die at any moment.

Chu Jizhen walked past them with lifeless eyes. “It's not as easy as it looks. I signed a contract with an Evil Spirit. Every time I use its power, it drains some of my essence.”

He had originally been an ordinary human with no supernatural abilities. It was only by chance that he signed a contract with an Evil Spirit and became a supernatural human.

Most Evil Spirits possessed the ability to form contracts with other living beings, provided the target was willing to pay the price.

Hearing this, the middle-aged inspector looked at Chu Jizhen, who looked emaciated, and couldn't help but say, “I think you'd better use your power less, or you'll have a hard time finding a partner in the future.”

“There's no other way. At worst, I can just use my hands. Compared to eliminating Specters, my body is a small price to pay,” Chu Jizhen said as he got into his car and drove off.

In the first few days after the Special Bureau was established, the public initially thought it was just an empty shell—until its members began appearing in major cities across the Nanming Kingdom.

Only then did the world realize with horror that this organization, which had been founded only days prior, possessed more than twenty supernatural beings.

Two days later.

Xichang City. A four-hundred-meter-tall skyscraper stood at the very center of the city.

It had originally belonged to a conglomerate, but after the Liu family arrived in Xichang, the building became their headquarters.

The entire skyscraper had been painted pitch-black, blocking out all sunlight.

The elevator doors opened on the 125th floor, and Liu Zhian stepped out, followed by Cao Liang.

Cao Liang took in the layout. The individual rooms that used to occupy this area, along with floors 123 and 124, had been completely hollowed out to create a massive, ten-meter-tall hall.

Sturdy men in suits with crimson eyes stood stationed around the hall.

At that moment, a strange sound caught Cao Liang's attention, forcing him to look to the left.

He saw two red-eyed men pulling a flatbed cart. On the cart, human beings were stacked neatly like cargo, with at least dozens of people piled on top of one another.

“What is this?” Seeing that those people were still breathing but completely unconscious, allowing themselves to be hauled away, Cao Liang couldn't help but ask.

Liu Zhian walked ahead. The area in front of them was swallowed by darkness, making it impossible to see what lay within.

“They are tributes,” he said casually. “Selected by the Elder to serve as consumables for his evolution.”

Hearing this, Cao Liang gained a new appreciation for the Liu family's sheer ruthlessness.

“What, not used to it?” Liu Zhian asked from ahead.

A sinister grin spread across Cao Liang's face. “On the contrary, this is exactly how it should be. Supernatural humans and ordinary humans are no longer the same species. Besides, I, Cao Liang, am no saint.”

A smile played on Liu Zhian's lips upon hearing this.

The two stepped into the darkness. This darkness was not merely the absence of light; some other force was influencing the area, preventing even the light from the elevator from penetrating it.

After walking through the dark for a moment, Liu Zhian stopped and spoke. “Elder.”

Cao Liang glanced around, but he couldn't sense any living presence in the vicinity.

Then, deep within the darkness, six crimson eyes slowly illuminated.

As those eyes swept over Cao Liang, his wandering gaze froze, and an overwhelming sensation of impending death washed over him.

His pupils contracted violently, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Is this Liu Wen, the strongest person in the Liu family? Terrifying. I'm not even on the same level as him!

He had read about the Liu family online before, but most of it was about the massacres they had committed; there was no concrete intelligence on their actual strength.

Only now, facing him in person, did he realize that this first-generation supernatural human was leagues ahead of their batch.

The crimson eyes shifted from Cao Liang to Liu Zhian, and a majestic voice echoed. “Have you come to find this old man because of some matter you cannot resolve yourself?”

Currently, Liu Zhian handled all the affairs of the Liu family, while Liu Wen only needed to focus on absorbing spiritual power to reach the next stage of evolution.

Liu Zhian explained, “The Nanming Kingdom's government established a dedicated supernatural department called the Special Bureau. I initially thought it was just an empty shell, but unexpectedly, they've recruited twenty-three supernatural humans in a short time. Their Chief is even a woman.”

“She has taken control of the Capital and is supporting Zhu Weiliang in purging opposing officials. This woman is highly ambitious. Before our Liu family could even move into the Capital, she already seized it!”

By the end of his sentence, Liu Zhian's expression had turned incredibly dark. He had always regarded the Capital as the Liu family's property. Having someone snatch it away right from under their noses left him utterly infuriated.

Furthermore, the Special Bureau she created was not far from their territory. If left unchecked, it would undoubtedly pose a major threat to them.

Liu Wen listened silently until Liu Zhian finished.

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke in a measured tone, “Zhian, this old man intends to leave this matter to you. You are the one who will inherit the Liu family in the future, so act according to your own judgment. Regardless of what happens, this old man will back you up.”

Seeing that the Elder had given his blessing, a cold sneer appeared on Liu Zhian's face. “Do not worry, Elder. I will immediately arrange for someone to test this woman's strength and see if she truly has what it takes to hold the Capital.”

“Very well,” Liu Wen said flatly.

Liu Zhian turned and left, with Cao Liang following closely behind.

Once they stepped into the elevator, Cao Liang looked at him. “How do you plan to make your move? Why not let me try? If I can personally kill the head of a nation's supernatural department, my name, Cao Liang, will surely spread across the world.”

Liu Zhian pulled out his phone, not even sparing him a glance. “There is no need. Although this woman belongs to the same batch of supernatural humans as you, I will not underestimate the enemy. Hasn't a supernatural organization that does anything for money emerged within the Nanming Kingdom? We'll let those guys act as cannon fodder to test her.”

Before understanding the opponent's true strength, he had no intention of letting the Liu family openly clash with the newly formed Special Bureau. It was better to send cannon fodder first to test the waters.

After all, the one thing his Liu family did not lack right now was money.