Chapter 178 - Demon

Chapter 178: Chapter 163 DemonAt this stage, there was no other option but to feign ignorance and collaborate with Liu Chengzhe, helping him "cover up" the intimate business dealings of Chengzhe Group and Qinghai Town Marine Transport Group and using Liu Chengzhe’s connections to gather more evidence...

"Breaking news, a fire accident occurred in the basement of a bar in Kapdong, Seoul Gangnam District, causing over twenty deaths and injuring more than forty, here is the footage from the scene."

The TV, which had been playing an entertainment program as background music, suddenly switched to live news.

Firefighters were seen carrying out foreign laborers, dressed only in underwear on stretchers — they were all still alive but looked horrified as if they had undergone a tremendous scare.

Liu Chengzhe’s eyes widened, and he abruptly stood up. Both the bar and the basement were his properties; with the fire, the drug factory hidden in the basement could no longer be concealed.

The only good news was that he was always cautious, managing his subordinates in multiple layers with one-way communication.

In the entire drug factory, only Song Canhui, a former policeman, knew his identity as the big boss. As long as Song Canhui wasn’t captured, there was no risk of exposure.

Buzz—

The spare phone in his shirt pocket vibrated, showing an incoming call from Song Canhui.

After hesitating for a moment, Liu Chengzhe first activated a voice-changing software before answering the call, "Hello."

On the other end, Song Canhui’s voice was filled with panic, "President! Something terrible has happened, a group of unidentified people raided the underground factory, I barely escaped."

Liu Chengzhe paused before responding, "Wait, there was an attack? Where are you now?"

"I’m already downstairs of Chengzhe Tower..."

"Don’t come up, I’ll have someone drive you to a safehouse," Liu Chengzhe interrupted.

Song Canhui lowered his voice and said, "But I have important matters that cannot be discussed over the phone, I must report in person. It’s regarding the Goddess."

Hearing this, Liu Chengzhe looked up at the Sect Hierarch of the Spirit Sect and Prosecutor Kim, the former looking astonished and the latter shaking his head in confusion—the Prosecutor was merely accompanying what were disguised as corpses, the human body models, and was unaware of the subsequent events.

Liu Chengzhe’s eyebrows furrowed, finally saying, "...I’ll send someone to bring you up, to the sixtieth-floor conference room."

Plan confirmed.

On the ground floor of the tower, Li Cheng, bearing the face of Song Canhui, put down the phone and passed through the security gate under the watchful eyes of the building’s security.

As the so-called Seoul Peace Forum is to be held on the fiftieth floor the day after tomorrow with numerous domestic and international political and business celebrities attending, security was especially tight. Armed guards could be seen everywhere, checking and addressing potential risks.

A male and female security guard, hearing the command over the radio, escorted Li Cheng into the elevator.

The elevator carriage ascended, the male and female guards chatting and laughing; through the glass reflection on the inside of the elevator, Li Cheng noticed both of their chests adorned with dried cherry blossoms—the symbol of the Spirit Sect.

"Sorry, I have something urgent and need to stop by the fiftieth floor."

The male guard pressed the button for the fiftieth floor, and as the elevator doors opened, they saw many staff members wearing dried cherry blossoms on their chests still bustling about, preparing the lavish venue—the Spirit Sect was the financial backer behind the Seoul Peace Forum; thus, its followers were also helping to organize and prepare the Forum.

The male guard, under his companion’s puzzled gaze, forcibly pushed her out of the elevator. Just as they stepped out, the male guard swiftly turned, drew his gun from his waist, and pulled the trigger towards Li Cheng in the elevator.

Clang!

A bullet, deflected by a suddenly appearing rusty machete, flew off and precisely hit the elevator button panel.

"..." Li Cheng’s face moved from behind the blade, staring at the male guard and furrowing his brow, "Did I give myself away somewhere?"

"...Malice."

The male guard retreated while strainedly speaking, "Around you, there is a lot of malice which is a characteristic of having recently killed a large number of people."

On the male guard’s shoulder, a semi-spiritual animal resembling a racoon slowly emerged, trembling, and fearfully looking at Li Cheng, known as Shikigami Tali.

"Tsk."

Li Cheng indifferently smacked his lips; his current body’s physical condition and the lavishness of his equipment far exceeded the average level of Lv11 players, but perhaps what he lacked was something akin to an Inner Power, Original Force, or spell system of power.

Help fill in the weaknesses such as "Concealing Breath" and "Spiritual Body Damage."

’Considering my body is no longer related to a normal human, practicing the Inner Power Secret Manual might just result in disrupted Qi and blood, leading to possession.’

Li Cheng, lost in his thoughts, stepped out of the elevator.

The entire floor’s security personnel and Spirit Sect followers, hearing the gunshots, all gathered around.

Someone holding a walkie-talkie was shouting loudly, reporting the abnormal situation on the fiftieth floor. Another person raised their gun, ordering Li Cheng to raise his hands and not resist.

Some were anxious, instinctively moving closer to the emergency exits.

Others displayed fanatical joy, and to honor their faith, they actively bit their tongues and sliced their palms, smearing the blood on paper cuts to summon various Shikigami—

Kappas, Fox Fires, Nekomata, Mermaids, Snake Bands...

A myriad of demons appeared within the modern skyscraper’s venue. Some of the larger Shikigami had to stay prostrate on the ground.

Countless eyes were watching every move of Li Cheng.

He lifted his palm and pressed the Electronic Pet Egg button.

Zi—

The Liquid Metal Robot fell to the ground; Gray Rain, facing a hall full of indiscriminate demons, eyes shining, arms morphing into twin axes, exclaimed excitedly: "Nature nurtures man, man owes nature nothing!"

The axes scraped against each other, sparking glaring Mars.

Nearby, Li Cheng casually pulled off the shirt that belonged to Song Canhui, revealing the Sea Shark Type Single Soldier Exoskeleton underneath.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

The lights on the exoskeleton lit up one by one, the shoulder blades automatically popped open, releasing two small quadcopter drones that flew out of the window, circling outside the building, overseeing the situation.

Four mechanical arms extended from his shoulders and ribs. Li Cheng leisurely took out four pump-action shotguns from the Backpack and mounted them on the mechanical arms.

A grim premonition enveloped all the Spirit Sect followers, who without a second thought, commanded their Shikigami to swarm forward.

Facing the incoming multitude of demons, a slight electric arc suddenly flashed between the bangs of Li Cheng’s hair.

Electricity flowed along the spine, filling his limbs and every muscle, excitedly and intensely expanding and contracting.

In the eyes of the Spirit Sect followers, Li Cheng’s figure suddenly vanished from the spot, with only one or two fleeting afterimages captured on their retinas.

Using the shoulders and heads of the Shikigami demons as stepping stones, he leaped into the center of the venue, landing on one knee like a superhero.

Buzz—

The Sea Shark Type Single Soldier Exoskeleton emitted the high-speed sound of servo motors operating, its four mechanical arms rotating in different directions, automatically aiming and locking onto the astonished Spirit Sect followers.

The two drones outside, having scanned the active targets on-site through AI programming, designated all units except Gray Rain as "enemies that lethal force can be used against."

Automatic aiming is not a far-fetched dream; all the mechanical arms needed to do was pull the triggers.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The four pump-action shotguns fired simultaneously in all directions, the spray of bullets reaping a swath of lives.

The surrounding space was instantly cleared; Li Cheng took a half step forward, swinging the rusty machete in a semi-circular arc, simultaneously cleaving through a two-meter-tall Red Demon and the Kappa standing behind it around their waists.