“Brother, what were those eyes? How did they grow on us?”
Lu Ming was still pale with fear.
“A very powerful existence parasitized you.”
“Parasitized?”
“Yeah. Don't worry, I had them too, but I just finished clearing them off.”
Hearing Yin Yang say this, Lu Zhao and Lu Ming both sighed in relief, but Yin Yang’s expression remained solemn.
Previously, he thought he had been parasitized while within the Sea God's will, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
After all, Lu Ming and Lu Zhao couldn't have been inside the Sea God's will, could they?
Lu Zhao had few, and Lu's father didn't have many either. Only Lu Ming and Mrs. Lu were covered in them. This led Yin Yang to a possibility.
Seafood!
Lu Zhao had fewer because she had only recently returned; she had arrived in Huanggang around the same time he did, so their eye counts were similar.
Lu's father also had fewer because he had been in the hospital for the past two years, so he had eaten less seafood.
As for Lu Ming and Mrs. Lu, they were genuine fisherfolk. Seafood made up a large portion of their daily meals, so they had the most eyes.
Of course, this was currently just Yin Yang's hypothesis.
Verification would be simple. He just needed to check other fishermen.
“Wait for me in the temple.”
The four of them knew the gravity of the situation and nodded in unison.
Yin Yang walked quickly out of the temple. Before he even reached the pier, the Hanged Ghost pendant began looking around.
Through its perspective, Yin Yang discovered that the pedestrians on the street were covered in eyes!
Just like Mrs. Lu and Lu Ming, only a few people had fewer eyes.
Seeing this, Yin Yang knew the situation had spiraled out of his control.
As a mere Sequence 8, it was impossible for him to handle an incident of this magnitude.
This wasn't something he could bluff his way through by riding on someone else's coattails.
But then again, the streets were full of “delicious food.” If he devoured them all, how much would his divinity grow?
Yin Yang froze at the thought.
If sacrificing these things to his own divinity made it grow, what about sacrificing them to others' divinity?
Or rather, sacrificing them directly to a god?
Could this have been prepared for a god from the start?
If so, Mr. Huang's plan must be related to this.
Yin Yang frowned and walked toward the pier.
If that were the case, he really couldn't act rashly.
Right now, he was using the identity of Ghost Tiger to keep them in check, but if any major disturbance occurred and someone from above came, his identity as Ghost Tiger might be exposed.
At that point, the situation would become extremely unfavorable for him.
As he pondered, Yin Yang reached the pier. Almost everyone he encountered along the way was covered in eyes.
He randomly checked a couple of seafood stalls near the pier and saw that the seafood there also had more or less eyes growing on them.
‘It's exactly as I thought. But what is the purpose of their parasitism?’
‘I only had a dozen or so, and I felt my bloodlust increasing. How are they fine when they're covered in them?’
‘Based on the number of eyes, the fact that they aren't hacking people with knives already shows impressive willpower.’
Yin Yang's brow furrowed so deeply it could have crushed a fly. He couldn't figure it out.
In the eyes of the stall owner, this lunatic had come over and was now staring at his fish with a frown.
“Hey, are you buying or not? What's with the frowning at my fish? You're hurting my business!”
The owner's tone was unpleasant, but after Yin Yang pulled out money to buy a fish, his attitude immediately did a 180-degree flip.
“Hahaha! Boss, how do you want this fish prepared? I can clean it for you.”
“Sashimi.”
“Sure thing! I'll throw in some ice. It'll be perfect for taking home.”
The owner cheerfully helped kill and slice the fish, while Yin Yang kept his eyes fixed on the eyeballs on the fish's body.
He noticed that as the owner sliced the fish, the eyes began to multiply and shrink, attaching themselves to every single slice of meat.
Even the discarded fish guts had eyes on them.
“Boss, here's your fish.”
The stall owner handed the prepared fish to Yin Yang, who took it and turned to leave.
“Meow~”
Canned Food jumped out from somewhere. Yin Yang looked over, and sure enough, Canned Food also had eyes on its body—even more than he had.
‘This Huanggang is truly eerie!’
Yin Yang frowned. He felt like running away, but he couldn't bear to leave the sacrifice rituals here.
It wasn't easy to find a place where he could openly perform so many sacrifices every day.
And there were so many eyes!
Even though he didn't know what they were, their boost to his divinity was the real deal.
Thinking of this, Yin Yang decided to stay and continue the sacrifices. At the very least, he had to raise his spirituality enough to promote to Sequence 7!
Then, before leaving, he'd pull off one big job, fill his belly, and use the Traveler's Badge to escape!
His mood improved slightly at the thought. He turned off the shared vision of the Hanged Ghost pendant, and the eyes filling the streets instantly vanished, making the world feel fresh again.
“Canned Food.”
“Meow?”
“Let's go home.”
“Meow~”
...
Command Center.
Mr. Huang rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking haggard.
“At the beginning of the year, I passed by a fortune-telling stall. The fortune teller said I'd have bad fortune this year.”
“I didn't believe him at the time. After all, in a dump like Huanggang, how much worse could it get?”
“I didn't expect him to be so accurate.”
“Never mind those unruly mobs causing trouble, but how did Mr. Lyu end up dead too?”
The Bureau Chief stood to the side, not daring to say a word.
They had searched the entire surrounding area but found no clues.
If it weren't for the many witnesses testifying that Mr. Lyu was indeed shot from a distance, he would have even suspected Ghost Tiger of doing it.
“Sigh, that Baleful Star really is a Baleful Star!”
“I've noticed all this crap started happening after he arrived.”
“Son of a bitch, I wonder when he'll leave Huanggang.”
Mr. Huang could only vent his stress this way. As he spoke, there was a knock on the office door.
“Come in!”
A young secretary in a pencil skirt walked in.
“Mr. Huang, people from the Lyu Group are here. They wish to see you.”
Hearing this, Mr. Huang's headache worsened.
But they were, after all, the leading enterprise in Huanggang, and he needed their help for his political achievements.
To put it simply, if he wanted to build a bridge or pave a road, if he didn't count on them, was he supposed to count on those poor wretches who spent all day out at sea fishing?
“Let them in.”
“Yes, sir.”
The secretary closed the door. The Bureau Chief rose to leave but was stopped by Mr. Huang.
“Don't leave yet. When the Lyu family asks later, you'll need to explain the situation at the scene.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Bureau Chief sat back down, though his expression was somewhat grim.
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