Death by a Thousand Cuts

Human traffickers deserve to die.

This was something Yin Yang had always believed in and acted upon.

If he didn't know about it or hadn't encountered it, that would be one thing.

But now that he knew, Yin Yang would naturally help save them from their physical suffering. As for how that physical suffering came about, well, that was none of anyone's business.

Yin Yang opened his notebook again, but this time he flipped to a new page.

If possible, he didn't want to target the Security Bureau.

After all, the current Security Bureau was overseen by Wang Gen.

Yin Yang had personally witnessed the battle between Wang Gen and Su Baadao, and he had even picked up the Demigod's Skull that the other had discarded. He didn't know much about others, but with Wang Gen's combat intuition, the man had definitely memorized the aura of the blade-wielding ghost.

If he used the blade-wielding ghost again, it would trigger those memories in an instant. Given Su Baadao's personality, if he knew the 'instigator' was still around, Mangliang City would likely never know peace again.

However...

Human traffickers had to die!

Whoosh—

Yin Yang stretched his shoulders and looked up at the overcast sky.

"It's going to rain."

"Yeah."

Nie Pi clenched his fists tightly. Whenever it rained, his broken leg would throb with a faint ache.

Rumble—

Thunder rolled, a cool breeze swept through, and a fine drizzle began to fall.

People at work scrambled for cover. Yin Yang handed the notebook to Nie Pi.

"Take the notebook back to the tent. I'm going out for a bit."

"Okay."

...

Rumble—

Outside the Security Bureau's temporary station, Yin Yang wore a black mask and a transparent raincoat. It had been a long time since he had worn this outfit.

He activated his Perception skill, and the world transformed before his eyes.

Yin Yang felt secretly relieved. Because of the earthquake, the Security Bureau's buildings had become structural hazards and were currently being repaired. For the safety of the security officers, the office had been moved to this temporary camp. If not for that, Yin Yang wouldn't have dared to activate Perception. He hadn't forgotten the warning that 'one look could mean death.'

The rain grew heavier, and dark clouds blotted out the sun. Behind Yin Yang, light and shadow warped as the figures of the four ghosts gradually emerged.

He focused his spirituality into his Perception skill. The temporary station of the Security Bureau zoomed in rapidly before his eyes, and everything around him seemed eager to speak to him.

He saw many blurred figures.

Those figures were of various colors, but about a dozen of them were clearly entwined with strands of dark purple vengeful aura.

Yin Yang frowned, realizing he had oversimplified things. These security officers had fought many battles against the True Knowledge Society; it was normal for them to have lives on their hands. Trying to distinguish them solely by the presence of a deathly vengeful aura would be difficult.

But it didn't matter. His Perception skill had been enhanced; it would just take a little more time.

Yin Yang channeled all his spirituality and even added a trace of divinity, finally narrowing the dozen or so candidates down to four. By chance, two of them walked out of the temporary station. Without the building's obstruction, Yin Yang saw them clearly: the grayish-purple resentment behind them was dense, forming thick, tangled threads.

Others had dark purple resentment because they had killed high-quality targets!

These two, however, had won simply through sheer volume.

Without needing Yin Yang's command, the blade-wielding ghost followed them. Yin Yang looked back at the Red-Haired Ghost, who nodded, his gaze never leaving the temporary station.

...

"Damn it, I can't stand the thought of Wang Gen staying up there for another three or four years."

"Not a single bit of extra profit day after day, and he treats us like pack animals."

"Forget it, why don't we just resign and leave? It's not like we haven't made plenty of money over the years."

"Shh!"

The man in the passenger seat was very alert, but the driver didn't care.

"Are you seriously afraid of being bugged in the car?"

"Caution is the parent of safety. Besides, we can't just resign. Do you know how many eyes are on our money? If we resign and lose this skin of the Security Bureau, those people will be on us like hyenas!"

The driver still looked dismissive. Seeing this, the passenger's eyes slowly turned cold. In their line of work, caution was the most important thing. He didn't want to lose his life because of a fool.

Boom!

The speeding car hit something unknown and flipped over toward the side of the road.

Both were transcendents. Although they were only Sequence 9, their reactions were still faster than ordinary people.

"What did we hit?!"

"I don't know!"

Crash!

The car lay overturned on its side. The two kicked open the doors. Rivulets of rainwater seeped through the gaps, making their bodies feel chilled.

When they finally managed to crawl out, they saw a man standing not far away. He wore a transparent raincoat and a black mask.

Even though it was raining, not a single drop touched him. The rain diverted about three meters above him, falling to either side as if an invisible giant umbrella were over his head, shielding him from the wind and rain.

Without a moment's hesitation, the two reflexively drew their guns to fire. The time, the place, and this person—everything screamed that something was wrong! They knew better than anyone the logic of striking first!

But the moment they raised their pistols, a cold glint appeared out of thin air, severing their wrists instantly.

"AAAHHH!!!"

They screamed in agony as blood gushed from their wounds.

Yin Yang's expression was playful as he walked toward them at an unhurried pace.

"Wearing the uniform of a security officer while engaging in the business of human trafficking... did you never think that if you were exposed one day, you would die?"

The man from the passenger seat gripped his severed wrist tightly. He knew he had to stop the bleeding immediately; at this rate, if the person opposite them stalled even slightly, they would bleed to death.

There's still time, there's still time. If I take my hand with me, I can still get it reattached at the hospital. There's still time!

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the cold glint flashed again, and his other hand flew into the air.

"AAAHHH!!!"

The intense pain surged through his nerves, incinerating every thought in his mind.

"Who are you?!"

"What do you want?!"

The driver was terrified, clutching his wound and begging for mercy. "What do you want? Or what do you want to know? I can tell you everything! You said we're human traffickers—are you looking for someone? Who are you looking for? Tell me, I have many connections!"

In his desperation to survive, he had begun to babble incoherently.

Hearing this, Yin Yang's smile became increasingly kind. Unfortunately, his black mask covered most of his face, so they couldn't see his expression.

"I— Mmmph!"

The man was about to say more when he felt himself hoisted up by a massive, icy hand. He turned his head and saw the Headless Ghost standing behind him! Black smoke billowed from where its head should have been, making it look like a humanoid furnace.

"I don't need to ask you anything. Once I've tortured you to death, your souls will tell me everything naturally."

At Yin Yang's voice, the blade-wielding ghost materialized behind the man from the passenger seat. The zhanmadao swung in a continuous blur, yet each stroke only took away a thin layer of flesh.

If an Executioner were present, they would surely recognize it. It was the most difficult part of the Executioner's assessment.

Death by a Thousand Cuts!