Chapter 84: Negotiation? Restitution!

After Political Commissar Gong departed, the expressions of Young Master Tu and Uncle Xie in the courtyard were grim. They had essentially concluded that Lu Fengsheng and his men were likely finished. The opposition was far more formidable than they had anticipated. Based on their understanding of Liang Jing, he was a lawless individual; once he regained his composure, he would undoubtedly seek revenge—a frantic, devastating retaliation.

Just then, a scrawny man with a sharp, rat-like face and a height under 1.7 meters walked toward the courtyard. His appearance and demeanor were incredibly wretched, instantly marking him as a bottom-feeder. He attempted to push past the guards to enter the yard and meet Young Master Tu.

"Stop! What is your business?"

Two guards stood on each side of the gate. Two of them were stoic and upright, while the others were slovenly and oily, clearly little more than local ruffians. They recognized this familiar, wretched man as one of Young Master Tu’s subordinates, yet they habitually barked the challenge anyway.

"I’m here to see Tu the Turtle—er, no, Tu Guiwu. I have urgent business."

Whether by a slip of the tongue or intentional insolence, the rat-faced man spoke loudly enough for Young Master Tu and Uncle Xie, who were inside contemplating their next move with grim faces, to hear him perfectly.

"Insolence! How dare you insult Young Master Tu? Seize him!"

The men at the gate were incensed. Although they had mocked that nickname in private, they couldn't allow it to be heard by the man himself while they were on duty—this was the perfect chance to demonstrate their loyalty.

"You dare! Do you have any idea how critical my business with Tu Guiwu is? Can you bear the responsibility if you delay it?"

Seeing them prepare to attack, the rat-faced man roared, issuing a loud threat.

Just then, a voice rang out: "Let him in!"

Young Master Tu’s expression darkened further, but as a man long accustomed to power, he retained some control. The man’s brazen lack of respect was completely uncharacteristic of his usual subordinates; something was clearly wrong.

"Yes!"

Although they allowed the man to enter, several heavily armed guards followed closely behind. They, too, sensed the shift in atmosphere. Even though the intruder was one of their own, they remained on high alert, ready to apprehend or execute him at the slightest sign of trouble.

"Er Gou! What is the meaning of this? If you don't have a good explanation, you know Young Master Tu’s methods. Don't make a fatal mistake!" Uncle Xie stared at the man with a sour expression. He had been the one to recruit him, and seeing him act with such defiant, insulting insolence toward his master prompted this cold, veiled threat.

"Pah! Who doesn't know about Tu the Turtle—er, Tu Guiwu’s cruel, vicious, and perverted nature? Don’t bother threatening me."

"First of all, I must declare that I have turned over a new leaf and pledged my loyalty to Liang Jing. I will never again engage in the wicked, soul-destroying acts I performed under Tu Guiwu. I am terrified of going to hell to suffer eternal torment after death, or being reborn as a beast to be slaughtered. I want to reform, become a model citizen, and contribute to the nation and the people, for—"

The onlookers were stunned. They couldn't fathom that a man who had spent his life stealing and doing evil would suddenly join Liang Jing and claim to be reforming. They paid no mind to his talk of hell—in this world, everyone did whatever was necessary for profit. However, for Young Master Tu and Uncle Xie, the implications were dire: the retaliation had arrived.

Indeed, there was no doubt that this man had been sent by Liang Jing. As for how he had been forced to "reform" and follow orders, it traced back to the three Awakened individuals Liang Jing had killed.

Though those three were not particularly strong, any Awakened was considered an elite among humans—a "Green Elite" monster, or perhaps even a higher-tier "Blue Boss" or "Gold Boss." After Liang Jing’s experiments yielded no results, he could not justify letting such valuable targets go to waste. Their life essence was highly beneficial to him, and killing Green Elite monsters or higher guaranteed equipment drops. He had simply killed them.

He had obtained three items: a mysterious rune stone from the water-element Awakened, Yin Hongzhen; a skill scroll from the beast-transformation Awakened, Du Zhilun; and a Green-tier skill book from the wood-element Awakened, Gu Xincheng.

The rat-faced man, known as "Er Gou," was acting under the influence of that Green-tier skill book.

[Temptation of Light]: Used on enemies, it strikes the brain, causing paralysis. Used on monsters, it may turn them into loyal servants or kill them. The higher the target's spirit, the lower the success rate. Initial level: 1%.

[Temptation of Light] was a Green-tier skill, and at this moment, it was perfect. While the system rated it as a low-level Green skill, that was based on game mechanics where "tamed" monsters disappeared upon logging out. For Liang Jing, there was no "logging out"—unless he died completely.

It was a pet-taming skill!

Possessing it made Liang Jing’s operations much easier, and his long-held ambition was finally within reach. Although he previously had zombie minions, they couldn't compare to living pets. The zombies were merely simple tools controlled by the "system," and Liang Jing had little affinity for undead creatures.

The skill’s level determined its capacity: two pets at the initial level, three at intermediate, and five at advanced. Liang Jing even fantasized about a menagerie of creatures that could fly, swim, walk, and burrow. The flying pets, in particular, would serve as aerial radar—a vital asset in a world without a game-style "mini-map."

"Er Gou" was Liang Jing’s first "pet." Human brain structures were complex, and the skill should have caused fatal trauma rather than control. However, Liang Jing’s spirit was over twenty times higher than the man’s, and his deep understanding of the human sea of consciousness allowed him to target his mental pulses with precision. The success rate was around 30%.

With this and other improvements to his strength, Liang Jing felt confident in his retaliation. He was now acting with complete impunity. This scene was a performance of his own design; if the opposition agreed to his demands, a reconciliation might be possible, but at the very least, it served to disgust Tu the Turtle. Liang Jing knew, however, that with the death of Liu Zhixiong, his demands had increased, and the other side would likely refuse.

The only drawback of [Temptation of Light] was the range; because it was a temporary form of enslavement that would fail if he were too far away, he had to stay within two hundred meters.

"Speak your business and be quick about it!" Tu Guiwu interrupted the man’s posturing, his face dark. Were it not for his remaining sliver of patience, he would have had the traitor tortured to death on the spot.

"Ahem! Very well. I am here as the plenipotentiary representative of Boss Liang Jing to demand compensation! Because you sent Lu Fengsheng and his men to harass us today, you have caused us great loss, including the sacrifice of one of our own! For your verbal insults and the emotional damage you’ve caused, you must provide compensation. Otherwise, this is war to the end, and you shall bear the consequences!"

Er Gou cleared his throat and struck a grandiose pose, mimicking the diplomats of a dying empire, conveying the message that they would not stop until they were satisfied, and that the opposition would live to regret it.

Ignoring the livid Tu Guiwu and his men, the "negotiator" Er Gou continued...