Chapter 12 Penniless

These seven or eight people were all thin teenagers, skin and bones, but their faces looked relatively clean.

They ran into the light and shrank back in fright when they saw Lan Yuzai. Several of them clearly recognized Lan Yuzai.

But when they saw the figure wearing a mask and a baseball cap behind Lan Yuzai, their eyes lit up and they shouted:

“Boss! Do you need me to show you the way?”

“I know all the fun places in downtown! I can take you there! You just need to pay me two starch sticks! I can even wait for you outside!”

“Boss, I can take you to an absolutely thrilling place! A thrill you can’t even imagine!”

Clearly, in their minds, those who come to the lower city in such a secretive manner are all business owners from the upper-middle-class area who are there to “spend money”.

“Get out of here! I’ll kill you if you dare come any closer!”

Lan Yuzai looked fierce and menacing, yelling and cursing, and even pretending to kick someone.

The group of teenagers were so frightened that they scattered and kept shouting. If Lan Yuzai hadn’t shown off the tattoo on his arm, they probably would have pounced on him and grabbed him.

Lan Yuzai pulled down his shirt sleeves and muttered:

“A bunch of bastards who would eat people without spitting out the bones! Is this my first day here?!”

After shaking off the group of teenagers, the two entered a long passageway.

Lan Yuzai’s expression became somewhat awkward, and he whispered:

“By the way, um, boss… is it okay if you bring this up? I’m not running away, I want to follow you and learn from you! I really want to become stronger and make them all fear me! It’s just… I am, after all, a fairly well-known big shot in our local area…”

“You’re quite famous here too?”

Wang Jixuan took the bag of emergency food, which had used up Lan Yuzai’s two-month food ration, with his right hand, while his left hand still gripped Lan Yuzai’s right elbow.

Now is the most dangerous moment, and Wang Jixuan’s spiritual senses have been activated to the maximum.

“I wouldn’t say it’s huge, but it’s definitely a little bit!”

Lan Yuzai stood tall and proud, instantly becoming smug, and strode forward with Wang Jixuan, saying:

“Putting everything else aside, I, Rotten Fish, am a loyal friend with extensive connections. I have acquaintances in all seven major gangs. I’ll trouble you to pretend to be my underling later… Oh, right, what are we doing here?”

Should we just go and wipe out the Blackfire Gang?

If Wang Jixuan were at the Golden Core stage, he wouldn’t hesitate at all, but now… reason tells him that he should first make some low-level talismans and prepare a few magical artifacts in order to better deal with the gang’s large number of firearms.

He said, “I’ve heard that there are some general stores in the lower town that sell all sorts of things.”

“There are many, all over several streets, but most of the shops are barter shops, and they’re all shady, mostly run by gang members.”

Lan Yuzai asked in a low voice:

“What do you want to buy? I have a few shops I frequent.”

“You have a gun, are you looking to buy bullets? Those things are expensive, more expensive than the gun itself!”

As they spoke, the two turned a dark corner and entered a street bathed in orange-yellow light.

Wang Jixuan remained extremely vigilant, always walking behind Lan Yuzai.

He sensed that there were many people ahead, and these people…

lifeless.

The spiritual energy here is stuck in a quagmire, and everywhere is filled with the turbid energy released by human bodies.

As far as the eye can see, a fairly wide, straight street stretches inward, ending at a mesmerizing scene illuminated by signs and neon lights.

The streets were lined with narrow, rusty tin shacks, each containing a few people lying or sitting. Most of them were emaciated and poorly clothed, and their numbers were unknown at a glance.

The two rows of low streetlights along the roadside are the only source of light for these people.

Wang Jixuan walked through the area with a frown.

He had expected the area below the fortress to be in a terrible state, but he certainly hadn’t anticipated it to be like this.

This is almost identical to the scene of starving people everywhere during famine years recorded in the sect’s classic texts.

Lan Yuzai was already used to it. He revealed his shoulder tattoo and looked fiercely in all directions. Those who were staring at them immediately lowered their heads and dared not speak.

The end of this street.

Several well-dressed men and women were chatting and laughing, smoking cigarettes. They were all wearing armored vests, with pistols and magazines at their waists, and two of the men were carrying submachine guns with large magazines.

Beyond these men and women, you can see clusters of low-rise buildings covered with signs and neon lights.

People come and go there, and there are some simple means of transportation.

Lan Yuzai, who had been so arrogant just moments before, immediately tucked his tail between his legs, lowered his head and tugged at Wang Jixuan, taking out two emergency food items from Wang Jixuan’s bag, and then pulling out a crumpled paper bag from his shirt pocket.

Lan Yuzai tilted his head and warned, “Don’t speak, and whatever you do, don’t make a move. They all have guns, and there are rifles on those rooftops. This is the territory of the City of Joy.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the men and women guarding the street looked over.

“Oh! Rotten fish!”

“Hey! Brother Zhang! You’re on guard duty today? You’ve worked hard.”

Lan Yuzai bowed and scraped as he approached, pulling out a few cigarettes and a skull-shaped lighter from the paper bag.

Wang Jixuan silently held the five pencils, calculating the angle of his throw.

As long as Lan Yuzai dares to ask for help…

The gang members from 【City of Joy】 smiled as they accepted the cigarettes, lit them with their button lighters, and took the two bags of emergency food that Lan Yuzai handed over.

“Rotten Fish, didn’t you just come down here a few days ago? What’s wrong? You’ve expanded your territory and have too many blood bags?”

“Hey, I’m on the thirteenth floor. You know that there’s not much profit to be made there. The captain who just arrived is ruthless.”

Lan Yuzai’s eyes were as innocent as a primary school student’s at that moment:

“I want to get a gun to take with me; things aren’t very peaceful where we are.”

Getting guns?

These people said:

“Bringing a gun on the thirteenth floor? You don’t want to live anymore! You can’t have guns on floors twenty-eight and above. Don’t break the rules!”

“I heard there’s big news on the thirteenth floor: Blackfire’s Big Mouth Hua got killed! That guy was such a loser. I heard he tried to seduce a female doctor, and then she stole his gun? Is that true?”

“The Blackfire Gang has been sending people up the ranks these past few days. That female doctor seems to have some connections and is being protected. What’s going on?”

Lan Yuzai scratched his head: “I don’t know the specifics, but it’s true that something like this happened. The Black Fire Gang even offered a lot of conditions, asking us locals to find those two people involved.”

What happened to your neck?

“Someone messed with us,” Lan Yuzai chuckled. “We need to get a gun; we have to get it back!”

“You’re such a loser, go inside.”

“Oh, thank you, Brother Zhang! Thank you, Brother Zhang!”

Lan Yuzai turned his head and glared at Wang Jixuan: “What are you standing there for? Call him Brother Zhang!”

“Brother Zhang,” Wang Jixuan called out calmly.

“My new underling is still a bit reserved,” Lan Yuzai laughed. “I’ll take him in to have some fun.”

“Go.”

The gang members waved their hands impatiently. Lan Yuzai clasped his hands together and waved them repeatedly to express his gratitude. With a forced smile, he led Wang Jixuan onto the colorful, wet ground.

‘He didn’t even ask for help.’

Wang Jixuan casually grabbed Lan Yuzai’s elbow and frowned as he stared at the street ahead.

Everywhere you look, there are two or three-story buildings, and you can see members of the ‘Joy City’ gang walking back and forth on the rooftops everywhere.

These people occupied the best view areas and controlled the street’s lighting.

The streets were full of people, and everyone looked so busy.

The simply dressed, thin men sat on their rickshaws, waiting for their next customer.

Young waiters stood on the street waiting for customers or wiped the shop windows. The windows displayed various goods, but the most common images were of men and women dressed in sexy clothes, striking alluring poses under the dazzling lights, enticing passersby.

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On the street, you can see many well-dressed figures, including many in the light blue uniforms of the Midtown Police Department.

The air smelled heavy and cloying.

The two streets seemed like two different worlds.

In a fleeting moment, Wang Jixuan seemed to see a giant, five-colored python coiled up in the underground space more than thirty meters high, flicking its tongue and staring at him with a pair of cold eyes, as if it wanted to swallow him whole.

“Boss… Boss? That hurts so much!”

Lan Yuzai called out in a breathy voice.

When Wang Jixuan came to his senses, he realized that he had subconsciously gripped Lan Yuzai’s elbow too tightly, so he loosened his grip.

Lan Yuzai’s face flushed red with pain.

“Stop looking, we can’t afford this place,” Lan Yuzai muttered, clutching his elbow with teary eyes.

“Find a general store,” Wang Jixuan instructed.

“Over here… Don’t worry, I really won’t run away. The Blackfire Gang’s territory is on the 49th floor, and this is the 46th floor. It’s the territory of 【Joy City】 and 【Silver Party】. The Silver Party and the Blackfire Gang don’t get along… I really want to learn your skills to become awesome!”

…

Making a talisman requires two basic items:

Talisman paper, talisman liquid.

If one were to be particular, the talisman brush would also need to be made of the finest demon beast hair… At this moment, Wang Jixuan had no way to choose these.

The so-called general stores are actually shops that occupy anywhere from a dozen square meters to several dozen square meters.

Some shop owners are more diligent, organizing all kinds of items neatly. Most shop owners, however, exhibit a carefree attitude, with goods piled haphazardly on the shelves, creating a chaotic yet aesthetically pleasing scene.

The room was filled with all sorts of items, a dazzling array, but there weren’t many brand-new ones.

Wang Jixuan was quickly disappointed.

Talismans are generally made from the sap of spirit trees. There are several thousand-year-old trees next to the cave where Wang Jixuan has been in seclusion for many years, and the spiritual liquid extracted from them exudes a rich spiritual energy.

Among these 46-story shops, Wang Jixuan found only a small number of blank papers.

These papers are all recycled paper, reused countless times. It’s not that they’re devoid of any spirit, but rather that they’re completely useless.

If he can find suitable talisman paper, he can actually make some emergency talismans.

Because blood is the most common talismanic liquid.

Exorcising talismans often use rooster comb blood, while Five Elements talismans often use the blood of spirit beasts of the corresponding attributes.

At worst, Wang Jixuan could simply bite his finger to draw talismans, as his blood was now tainted with a trace of spiritual energy.

“What kind of paper are you looking for, boss?”

Lan Yuzai, standing to the side, asked somewhat bewilderedly:

“You’re really not here to buy weapons? You have to go to another street to buy bullets.”

Wang Jixuan asked, “Why should I buy weapons?”

“Go get the black…go get those people!”

Lan Yuzai glanced guiltily to his left and right:

“Why are you buying paper, boss? Do you need to write something? There’s paper in Midtown, isn’t there? Some of the paper here was even sourced from Midtown by us.”

Wang Jixuan glanced at him.

It was also his request that Lan Yuzai not leave his range of two steps, otherwise he would attack directly.

Wang Jixuan said, “Don’t ask any more questions.”

“Okay,” Lan Yuzai looked out onto the street. This commercial street, covered by the Silver Party, was the third most bustling area on the 46th floor, and he wanted to explore it as well.

—If the big boss can set him free.

Wang Jixuan suddenly stopped, looked down at a messy shelf, and carefully moved aside some bone fragments that seemed to have come from nowhere.

Was he mistaken?

Why are there obvious remnants of spiritual energy on these black bone fragments?

What’s this?

He searched carefully and soon found the faded label on the shelf displaying similar black bone fragments.

Low-level Blade Beast Exoskeleton – Scavenged Item.

—None of the tags here have prices.

Blade Beast?

Yes! There are monsters in this world! And humans were driven off the surface by these monsters, and they built fortresses to survive!

Wang Jixuan’s eyes lit up, and he quickly searched the nearby shelves.

He soon made a new discovery.

A large, dusty glass bottle was filled with a light pink liquid, labeled 【Deactivated Blade Beast Blood】, with the intended use specified as 【Collector’s Item】.

Most of the spiritual energy within has dissipated, but some spiritual energy still remains.

‘Soaking ordinary paper in this liquid will imbue it with spiritual power! In the future, if I want to refine pills, I’ll need demon beast blood too! A good thing!’

Wang Jixuan’s thoughts suddenly became incredibly active.

He turned his head to the side and glared at Lan Yuzai, who was picking his nose.

“Do you… have any coins used here?”

Lan Yuzai nodded blankly: “Yes, yes, this is the most prosperous floor in the lower city. I’ve also saved up some Happy Coins from the Universal Casino. We can also barter with the food we brought. The rule of Happy City is that robbery is prohibited.”

Although Wang Jixuan had tried his best to remain calm, he still looked to the side somewhat embarrassed.

“Lend me some…I’ll pay you back later…”