ATPnovel Chapter 25 The Lord of Humanity and the Chinatown Conference
Chapter 25 The Lord of Humanity and the Chinatown Conference
He once looked at the semi-transparent system panel in front of him and raised an eyebrow.
【Name: Life for Life System】
[Host: Formerly]
[Level: 8]
[Effect: Automatically generates 128 assassins daily, whose physical strength is 1.8 times that of a normal adult Homo sapiens male]
Current number of assassins: 403
Number of summonable assassins: 128
[Upgrade Requirements: Kill 256 humans (0/256)]
[Currently Unlocked Sub-items]:
[Hive Consciousness]: ...
[The deceased feared death]: ...
[Subspace Teleportation]: ...
[Eagerness for knowledge]: ...
[Exquisite Craftsmanship]: ...
[Practicing medicine to save lives]: ...
【Strategic Planning】: You can choose to summon assassins with this trait. Assassins with this trait will have super strong organizational and debating abilities, but at the cost of occupying two summoning slots.
[Lord of Humanity]: You can share all the skills of any one of your assassins and permanently gain a matching physical attribute bonus, while also removing all negative status effects from yourself. The effect lasts until actively canceled or refreshed at midnight the following day.
The skill "Strategic Planning" appeared when he upgraded the system to level seven, but he didn't summon it because he hadn't figured out its use yet and the factory urgently needed scientists and engineers.
"System, you've completely given up on it, huh? So you really are the Warhammer System, aren't you?"
He mentally made a comment.
The system did not respond at all, and no golden skull or blue-winged bird appeared.
He immediately put the complaints aside and focused his attention on the skill "Lord of Humanity".
He quickly summoned a new assassin beside him and designated him as the shared target.
In an instant, his body began to undergo incredible changes.
Muscle fibers subtly adjust and thicken, increasing their cross-sectional area, while the skin, tendons, and fascia become stronger. Bone density increases, nerve sensitivity improves, and cardiopulmonary function strengthens…
Even the hidden injuries and pains left from working in the mines vanished when this force touched them.
His posture was silently corrected; his spine straightened, his shoulders and back relaxed, and his body gradually became perfect.
He dismounted, took a deep breath of the crisp air, and suddenly propelled himself forward, charging towards a tree a hundred yards away that was as thick as several people could hug.
The wind whistled past his ears, and the scenery on both sides of his vision rushed by. In just six or seven seconds, he had darted to the tree like a cheetah. Twisting his waist and thrusting his shoulder, he threw a punch!
“Pah!”
With a dull thud, the bark mixed with the shallow wood cracked open, sending wood chips flying and leaves scattering across the ground.
"Holy crap, I've become Superman?"
He had pulled his fist back; if it were the old him, that powerful punch would have been enough to leave his entire fist covered in blood. But now, his skin was only slightly red, not even abrasion.
In addition, the skills possessed by the assassins also automatically appeared in their minds.
He was proficient in firearms handling, artillery operation, horsemanship, and close combat. It was as if he had undergone thousands of hours of rigorous training and knew all the tricks of the trade.
"Wait, the Lord of Humanity skill can remove all negative status effects. Doesn't that mean I have a recovery and purification buff that I can use anytime, anywhere?"
Once, with a blink of an eye, certain long-suppressed thoughts began to stir.
His golden cudgel hadn't subdued a female demon for many years.
But after thinking about it again, he decided to put aside some of his bold but unhygienic ideas for the time being.
After all, there are too many sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis, gonorrhea, and pubic lice these days. Even if it could be cured, his obsessive-compulsive disorder would resist the idea.
He used up all 128 summoning slots that had been refreshed after today's upgrade, connected his consciousness with Su Song in the factory, and instructed him to accept this group of Chinese suicide soldiers and prioritize filling the skilled worker gaps in various scientific research and production projects.
The mare came running over, mounted the horse, and set off on the road back to Chinatown.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Meanwhile, Chinatown was in complete uproar.
The news that Yixingtang had been completely wiped out at the wedding banquet of Longtou spread rapidly through the streets and alleys.
Those guests who had drunk less and woke up earlier scrambled back to their respective areas, and their terrified accounts quickly pieced together the outline of the incident: well-trained, unfamiliar armed men, precise kidnapping, and the sixteen menacing words on the wall...
While people were still speculating about which faction in Chinatown was behind the ruthless attack, they learned a chilling piece of news from people entering the city.
On the beach outside the city, there were dozens of corpses with broken heads, each with a braid at the back of its head.
And so everyone knew the final outcome of Yixingtang.
The next day, on Duban Street, in front of the Tin Hau Temple.
The prominent figures from the six major associations, along with key members from the four main Hongmen branches (excluding Yixing Hall), totaling three to four hundred people, completely surrounded the Tin Hau Temple.
They either whispered among themselves or cautiously observed the others.
Inside the main hall of the Tianhou Temple, the statue of Mazu stands solemnly overlooking the world.
Before the statue, more than twenty prominent figures, including the presidents and directors of various associations, the heads of various halls, and the white paper fans, gathered together, all with solemn expressions.
"Distinguished leaders, presidents, and directors, I am the oldest here. So, I will take advantage of my seniority and offer my humble opinion as a starting point." The speaker was the president of the San Yi Association.
His name was Chen Wenhan. He was around fifty years old, thin, with a goatee, wearing a long robe and mandarin jacket, and his braid was shiny and smooth.
"The Yixing Hall has gone too far this time. We're all compatriots; if there's a dispute, we can sit down and talk it out. What kind of behavior is this, suddenly resorting to wiping out an entire family? And in such a vile way!"
"Now look what's happened. The whole of Chinatown is in a state of panic, and the foreigners outside are laughing at us."
"Chairman Chen, you should speak and act with conscience. How can you be sure it was the gang that did it?"
Someone sneered, implying something: "It's not like these various guild halls don't have their own armed forces. There's the Huating Mountain House and Songshi Mountain House of the Sanyi people, the Jishan Society and Baoshan Society of the Nanhai people, the Zhaoyi Hall of the Panyu people, the Junying Hall of the Xiangshan people..."
"Perhaps one of the gentlemen in the guild disliked Chen Jinkui and took advantage of his momentary lapse in attention to do something treacherous?"
"Master Dai is right."
Another gang leader chuckled and echoed sarcastically, "As far as I know, many people in the guild have had intimate relations with Caiyun, the prostitute Chen Jinkui married."
"Who knows, maybe one of those philandering directors, consumed by jealousy and anger, took advantage of the wedding banquet to commit a rash act for the sake of his beloved!"
The gang members behind the two men laughed in unison, drawing angry glares from the members of the guild.
"Dai Heng, Meng Chuan, that's enough!"
Chen Wenhan's beard trembled with anger as he called him by his name. "The various associations and their affiliated groups are only there to maintain order and protect our fellow villagers; they number no more than a dozen people. Are you implying that we all conspired to do this?!"
"President Chen is absolutely right."
The president of Yanghe Guild Hall also spoke. His name was Yuan Tong. He was an extremely tall middle-aged man with round eyes and a bushy beard, exuding an imposing presence even without anger.
"In my opinion, who else in Chinatown could so quietly gather dozens of elites and use such ruthless methods? Besides you few Hongmen gangs who make a living off violence, who else could it be? Guangde, Danshan, and Xieyitang, you are the prime suspects!"
Meng Chuan flew into a rage: "Fuck your mother! Yuan Tong, what the hell are you saying? Trying to frame me?"
"You think you're so great at getting angry? Others may fear your Danshan Hall, but my Yanghe Guild Hall isn't!"
"Alright, alright, everyone, don't get so worked up."
Cai Pei, the leader of Xieyi Hall, raised his hand to quell the unrest and slowly said, "Let me state my position first: this matter was absolutely not done by Xieyi Hall. Fratricide is a grave taboo in the Hongmen. We, Xieyi Hall, would never do something that would result in being stabbed three times and drowned in the river."
"That's not necessarily true," the person opposite Cai Pei said.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Ran Shaohua, the leader of Ansongtang. He had short hair and a wiry build.
"The chef is from Yuanfanglou, and Yuanfanglou belongs to you, Cai Pei. If we're talking about who has the best opportunity to tamper with food, Xieyitang is probably the first one to come to mind."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, and continued, "Furthermore, at yesterday's wedding banquet, I, Hall Master Dai, and Hall Master Meng all attended in person, but Hall Master Cai, you sent your subordinate Sun Tianbao in your place. Did Hall Master Cai know something beforehand, and thus avoid suspicion?"
Upon hearing this, the hall erupted in uproar, and all the suspicious gazes turned to Cai Pei.
"Master Cai, you couldn't have really done this, could you?"
"I haven't heard of any conflict between Yixingtang and Xieyitang recently?"
"Could it be that he wants to take over the piglet business as well?"
Faced with everyone's doubts, Cai Pei was now speechless with bitterness.
He couldn't very well say that he had offended the arms company boss named Su Song a few days ago, and that he sent Sun Tianbao to the banquet in his place just in case.
"Ran Shaohua, you're talking nonsense!"
Sun Tianbao, who was standing behind Cai Pei, was quick-witted. He jumped out, pointed at Ran Shaohua, and cursed, "All the bosses who attended the banquet were drugged with sleeping pills in their drinks! What does the cook have to do with it? If your Ansongtang wants to smear us, at least come up with a decent reason!"
The hall erupted into chaos as various factions accused each other, creating a tense atmosphere that nearly brought them to blows.
Suddenly, an even more intense commotion, mixed with cries of pain, came from outside the temple gate, interrupting the argument inside the Tin Hau Temple.
Cai Pei, who was closest to the door, raised his hand, signaling the people behind him to go out and check.
Sun Tianbao understood and rushed out of the palace gate to check. He returned in a panic within seconds.
"It's bad, boss! That bastard Su Song is here with a huge group of people, at least a hundred or two!"
"The people outside tried to stop them, but they couldn't stop them at all; they were all taken down in no time."
"What did you say?!"
Upon hearing this, Cai Pei's face also showed panic. He had only brought a dozen or so trusted men with him to the Tianhou Temple this time. If they were here to cause him trouble, he would have no chance to fight back.
"Ah Bao, take our men and retreat from the other end of the street! Quickly!"
Cai Pei acted decisively, whispering a urgent order, and prepared to flee with his trusted subordinates.
His flustered actions immediately attracted the attention of other factions within the hall.
"Who is Su Song? I've never heard of a young man with that name in any of the guilds or halls."
"You have one or two hundred men under your command, really?"
"Could it be a newcomer to San Francisco?"
"The one who could make Tsai Pei-na panic so much after her defeat must really be some kind of powerful outsider."
Standing behind Chen Wenhan, Director Chen suddenly remembered something and swallowed hard: "I remember now."
"That Mr. Su Song is a recent arrival in San Francisco. As soon as he arrived, he took the land that Xieyitang wanted to use to build a brothel and started a weapons company."
"A few days ago, Sun Tianbao asked me to act as a mediator and invited Su Song to dinner at Yuanfanglou to have a talk."
"I had to leave midway through, and now it seems the talks have fallen through."
In an instant, the Tin Hau Temple was filled with another uproar.
"A weapons company? Really?"
"Those foreigners actually allowed us to start a weapons company?"
"Yanghe had previously tried to raise money to open an ironworks, but the foreigners rejected his plan."
The people inside the hall were filled with surprise and doubt, discussing among themselves. With the intention of watching a show, they followed Cai Pei out of the Tianhou Temple.
At this moment, dozens of people were lying on the ground on the street, groaning in pain. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be the most capable fighters from various guilds and branches.
A silent, austere, uniformly dressed group, led by a short-haired young man in a suit, blocked Cai Pei and his companions' path.
"Boss Sun, and Boss Cai, why are you all leaving in such a hurry?" Su Song asked with a smile. "Could it be that you saw us coming and were trying to run away?"
Cai Peiqiang, trying to remain calm but appearing fierce yet weak, snapped, "Mr. Su, I have another question to ask!"
"Even if the deal falls through, we can still maintain good relations. My Xieyi Hall has never done anything to wrong you. What do you mean by blocking my way with your men?"
"Jianyuan, he said he hasn't done anything to wrong us."
Su Song turned to look at Jian Yuan, who stood beside him like an iron tower, and said, "Why don't you remind Boss Cai what that foreign leader of the Hound Gang identified before he died?"
Jian Yuan said, "Before he died, he admitted that a Chinese man had brought him a message saying that the owner of the Chinatown weapons company owned a grey Andalusian horse. The messenger's features matched those of Sun Tianbao's trusted men in the Xieyi Hall."
"No proof! Su Song, are you trying to frame me?!" Cai Pei retorted sharply.
Su Song smiled slightly: "Boss Cai, it's no use being stubborn. We both know what's going on, so I won't waste any more words with you."
His eyes turned cold, and he raised his hand, gesturing, "Jianyuan, make your move!"
"Let's see who dares to make a move!"
Sun Tianbao suddenly pulled a revolver from his waist and pointed it at Su Song and his group.
But someone was faster than him.
In the blink of an eye, the assassin beside Su Song drew his revolver, pressed the hammer, and pulled the trigger.
boom!
The gunshot rang out crisply, and the hot bullet struck Sun Tianbao's revolver squarely, knocking it out of his hand and onto the ground not far away.
Before everyone could react to the lightning-fast gunfight, dozens of assassins pounced out like wolves and tigers, taking control of all the Xieyi Hall's men.
Su Song nodded slightly to the leaders of the various forces who were staring in disbelief in front of the temple, and said, "Alright everyone, it's time for us to talk."