The Fourth Disaster: People become gods through high martial arts and gaming

Chapter 236 Above the Monster
"White Feather Gang?"

"Are you sure?"

Upon hearing this name, Lin Qi was momentarily stunned.

Last night, Wu Zhuoqun contacted him on behalf of the human race's high-ranking officials to inform and congratulate him on becoming the fifth deputy city lord of the City of Light. Therefore, he entrusted the human race's high-ranking officials to investigate which force was behind the assassination.

After all, being targeted by a powerful force that can mobilize the Red Moon Merchant Guild, if you're not careful, you might not even know how you died.

Furthermore, and most importantly, he can only deal with the mastermind behind the scenes by bringing them to justice; otherwise, he will continue to be on the defensive and will have no chance to retaliate.

The human race has existed since the founding of the City of Light. Even though it has declined over the years, its information network in the City of Light is unmatched by ordinary major powers and is much faster than his investigation alone.

However, this result was truly beyond his expectations.

In his memory, the White Feather Gang was nothing more than a wild gang in the City of Light. Although it later rose to prominence and ranked much higher among wild gangs, and even tried to suppress the Obsidian Martial Arts School, he had long forgotten about the White Feather Gang after he became a martial artist.

It's hard to imagine that the White Feather Gang, which has only just established itself in the suburbs, could afford to hire the Red Moon Merchant Guild. Even if they sold the current Obsidian Martial Arts School, they definitely couldn't come up with that amount of money.

“This is certain.” Wu Zhuoqun nodded, took out a memory chip and handed it to Lin Qi, saying, “This contains all the evidence.”

In fact, when they were investigating who hired the Red Moon Merchant Guild, they couldn't believe that a gang that had only just established itself in the suburbs could afford to hire the Red Moon Merchant Guild.

However, after multiple investigations and solid evidence, it can be confirmed that it is not fake. After all, there are only a few families that have a grudge against the Obsidian Martial Arts Academy, and it would be difficult for any force, whether it be the Ape Clan or the Feather Clan of the City of Light, or even the Three-Eyed Clan and the Half-Scale Clan, to come up with such a large amount of wealth.

With so many energy crystals, it's better to do it yourself.

In the end, the investigation left only one group: the White Feather Gang, which they had excluded from the beginning.

You wouldn't know anything about the White Feather Gang until you investigate. Since establishing itself in the suburbs, the White Feather Gang has become incredibly wealthy. Even families in the city would envy them for their martial arts resources. And all these resources are delivered to the White Feather Gang through the Red Moon Chamber of Commerce.

Although the Red Moon Merchant Guild operates very discreetly, no force in the City of Light can escape the city's garrison's monitoring; they simply turn a blind eye to it most of the time.

"Fifteen hundred energy crystals, Isaac is really rich." Lin Qi was also speechless as he looked at the evidence in the memory chip.

The footage shows that the Red Moon Merchant Guild secretly gave Isaac 1,500 energy crystals, which was clearly obtained through some kind of transaction between Isaac and the Red Moon Merchant Guild.

“We suspect that Isaac sold something to the Red Moon Merchant Guild, and these 1,500 energy crystals are just the final payment,” Wu Zhuoqun explained. “A considerable portion of that should have been used to hire the Red Moon Merchant Guild.”

"With such solid evidence, even if I arrest Isaac now, it shouldn't be considered a violation of the city's rules, right?" Lin Qi asked Wu Zhuoqun after reviewing all the evidence.

“Of course, as the victim, Master Lin has every right to deal with him, and the major cities will not interfere.” Wu Zhuoqun nodded, but his expression was somewhat embarrassed as he said, “However, after learning that the assassination attempt had failed, Isaac fled the City of Light immediately.”

Lin Qi was not surprised by this, and asked again, "Do you know where he went?"

The Red Moon Merchant Guild would have known immediately if the assassin had failed, and it would have been normal for them to inform their employer. Any Isaac who wasn't stupid should have realized that he couldn't stay in the City of Light anymore. After all, he was now a deputy city lord-level expert, and the manpower and resources he could mobilize were incomparable to what they used to be.

Given enough time, finding the mastermind within the City of Light is only a matter of time.

“I know.” Wu Zhuoqun said with a somewhat grim expression, “We even sent people to capture Isaac immediately, but Isaac was one step ahead. He is now under the protection of the Smiling Skull. One of the captains who was chasing him was killed by the Smiling Skull. They said that this matter is over and that Isaac is now one of the Smiling Skull’s men.”

"The Smiling Skull? What kind of force is that? They even dare to kill members of the garrison of the City of Light on a mission?" Lin Qi asked, puzzled. "Isn't the Smiling Skull afraid of retaliation from the City of Light?"

Any city that sends out a garrison to carry out a mission represents the will of that city. Especially someone like Isaac, who openly violated the city's ironclad rules, was actually stopped and killed during the arrest. This is absolutely a slap in the face to the City of Light. It would be strange if the City of Light didn't retaliate.

Retaliation from one city is no joke; it can also cost other cities dearly.

“This Smiling Skull is known as one of the three most formidable entities in our Misty Mountain region, along with Domain City and the Red Moon Merchant Guild,” Wu Zhuoqun explained to the puzzled Lin Qi. “However, not many people know this name because they never operate in the major cities of the Misty Mountain region, but instead remain entrenched in the Dead Mountain Range.”

"The Mountain of the Dead is a lair of monsters. Even someone as powerful as the city lord would face a great risk of death if he entered the Mountain of the Dead. However, the Smiling Skull faction can come and go freely. They can even resell items from the Flowing Light region on the other side of the Mountain of the Dead. I've heard that some of the Red Moon Merchant Guild's supply channels come from the Smiling Skull."

"The three most formidable forces in the Fog Mountain region?" Lin Qi was hearing this for the first time and frowned. "So, I'm helpless against Isaac?"

He would definitely not let the person who tried to assassinate him get away with it.

If it weren't for this lucky breakthrough in his mental strength, he might have actually been assassinated by Fred. After all, he was only a martial artist at the Refining Organs Realm, and his actual physical abilities were no match for Fred, who was at the high level of the Limit Bone Forging Realm.

Not to mention that Isaac is incredibly wealthy, possessing a full 1,500 energy crystals. If he could acquire these, not only would the matter of the Cultivation Tower be resolved immediately, but he would also have a large surplus.

“As long as Isaac stays in the Dead Mountain Range, there’s nothing we can do.” Wu Zhuoqun shook his head. “The power of the Smiling Skull is extremely formidable. If it weren’t for the Smiling Skull’s fear of Domain City, all the major cities in our Mist Mountain region would probably be living in the shadow of the Smiling Skull right now.”

"However, Master Lin, you don't need to worry. Isaac is probably no longer able to ask the Red Moon Merchant Guild to assassinate the deputy city lord. Even a city lord like him would probably find it difficult to pay the price for the Red Moon Merchant Guild to assassinate the deputy city lord. Moreover, Isaac must have paid a very high price to become one of the Smiling Skulls this time."

"The members recruited by the Smiling Skull are either martial artists trained internally or martial artists with extremely high talent. It is impossible for ordinary martial artists to join. For a martial artist of Isaac's age to join and be protected by the Smiling Skull, the price he paid is probably no less than hiring the Red Moon Merchant Guild to assassinate you."

“Isaac should no longer have the financial resources to do anything. As for the other members of the White Feather Gang, we have already eliminated them all.”

"Okay, I understand." Lin Qi nodded after hearing this.

It's a pity that Isaac can't be killed right now, but the Smiling Skull's strength is currently unshakeable. He can only wait until the players develop their strength before making a move.

"If you need anything in the future, Master Lin, please feel free to contact me. Whether it's about hunting lords in the wilderness or needing manpower for the construction of Crimson Moon Town, we can help you," Wu Zhuoqun said.

“We do need a lot of manpower to build Crimson Moon Town, but what our Obsidian Martial Arts Academy wants to do most right now is to increase the number of disciples. Could you please do some publicity in various cities and towns?” Lin Qi looked at Wu Zhuoqun, who wanted to help, and understood that this was a gesture of goodwill from the human leaders of the City of Light. He did not intend to refuse.

Currently, he wants to improve quickly, and the human race in the City of Light is definitely one of the biggest helpers. After all, there are some differences between the races in this world, and most importantly, no race wants another race to rise to power.

At this time, he had become the deputy city lord of the City of Light. Although many young men from various clans had come to join, those who joined the Obsidian Martial Arts Academy were merely discarded pawns of these families. They would never allow truly outstanding young men to join the Academy. Such a group of young men might have no problem becoming martial artists, but becoming a Bone Forging Realm expert would be extremely difficult. Even with the various resources of the academy, very few would actually reach the Bone Forging Realm, let alone become his future allies.

In contrast, the human race is different. They send talented people over almost immediately. With the support of the martial arts school's resources, the number of experts who can reach the Bone Forging Realm in the future will definitely be quite large.

On his side, only with a large number of Bone Forging Realm experts can he protect the various resources that players occupy and plunder. Otherwise, relying solely on a limited number of players and the vast resources needed to cultivate them, he simply wouldn't be able to protect them.

However, the number of humans in the City of Light is still too small. If he wants to upgrade his management authority to level three, he needs one million martial arts disciples. That means absorbing all the talented people in the City of Light. It would be good if he could gather 100,000 people, let alone one million.

To achieve this, we must draw talent from other cities and towns.

“No problem, I’ll go back and prepare now. In just a few days, the news of Obsidian Martial Arts Academy’s recruitment will spread throughout the major cities and towns of the entire Fog Mountain region.” Wu Zhuoqun’s eyes lit up when he heard this.

Unexpectedly, Lin Qi had such ambitions. He not only wanted to absorb the people of Chasing Light City, but also the people of other cities and towns. Putting aside how many resources it would cost, just the effort required to cultivate these people was something that no top-level Bone Forging Realm cultivator or deputy city lord in the entire Chasing Light City was willing to do. Most of them were focused on cultivation.

For someone like his teacher Liu Tianzong, who usually spends a lot of energy cultivating his disciples and guiding some promising newcomers, is already a very rare thing.

I simply can't imagine someone behaving like Lin Qi.

If that's true, then the rise of their human race is truly promising.

As the master of the Obsidian Martial Arts Academy, Lin Qi has now become the representative of the human race in the City of Light. The stronger the Obsidian Martial Arts Academy becomes, the greater their voice and status will be in the City of Light.

As soon as Wu Zhuoqun finished speaking, he led Lin Yan out of the lounge without saying another word. He was clearly very interested in the proposal and wished he could bring over talents from various cities right now.

Not long after Wu Zhuoqun left, Lin Qi, wearing Fred's Tier 2 armor, quietly charged alone towards the White Feather Gang's stronghold.

Isaac was originally just an ordinary leader of a local gang, with no powerful backing.

Even though he had already become a master of the Bone Forging Realm, Isaac still dared to attack him, even at the cost of spending so many energy crystals. There is only one reason for this.

He definitely has something Isaac wants, and he needs to die.

While at Crimson Moon Mountain, Lin Qi knew that the White Feather Gang must have taken something from underground, but in his opinion, nothing was more important than a small energy vein.

But now, he understands everything.

The real treasures at the foot of Crimson Moon Mountain are not some small energy vein at all; in fact, that small energy vein is not even worth mentioning.

The transactions between Isaac and the Red Moon Merchant Guild alone demonstrate that it represents an unimaginable fortune.

If Isaac had hidden these things well, there would have been no need to kill him; he could have simply gone elsewhere to live a quiet life and develop his power. The reason he didn't do that was simply because he couldn't.

The player had just occupied the White Feather Gang's stronghold when he was assassinated by Isaac, so the answer is self-evident.

The things that Isaac hid were at the White Feather Gang's stronghold.

He dared not let others know about the things that Isaac had hidden. After all, the things that Isaac sold to the Red Moon Merchant Guild were already priceless. If others knew what Isaac had hidden, even as the deputy city lord of the City of Light, he would probably have a hard time protecting them, and might even lose his life.

Therefore, Lin Qi did not intend to tell anyone; going alone was the best option.

White Feather Gang stronghold.

With Lin Qi's arrival, the players mining energy ore at the White Feather Gang's stronghold were not surprised at all. It was just like Lin Qi would usually appear at the mines in Red Moon Mountain. It was just for the sake of the plot, and he came to supervise and increase his presence. They continued to mine quietly, afraid that others would mine too much of the energy ore.

The most nervous of them all was Yi Ye Fuyun, who was leading the team.

"The owner of the cave came here, could it be to calculate how many mines we escaped from?" Yi Ye Fuyun looked at Lin Qi wandering around the cave with great tension.

They are not yet core disciples and do not have the authority to establish a base in the White Feather Gang's territory. However, they have sent people here to mine in large quantities, which can be said to be exploiting a loophole in the system so that they do not have to pay 50% of the energy ore to the martial arts school.

“It’s possible that the manufacturer discovered this loophole and sent the museum owner to check the situation in person. Maybe it will be confiscated like the mithril mine I discovered before.” Fang Zhen, who was standing next to Lin Qi, also looked at Lin Qi cautiously and suggested, “I suggest we bring more people over and offer them higher commissions. Let’s mine as much as we can while we can. If it’s confiscated, we won’t have anything left to mine.”

"Okay, I'll go back and call more people over now." Yi Ye Fu Yun nodded and quickly got to work.

After Lin Qi had thoroughly examined the entire cave, he initially thought he had guessed wrong.

Just as one of the players digging inside the cave suddenly screamed, the terrified scream echoing throughout the cave, Lin Qi rushed over immediately.

Inside the cave, a player was found foaming at the mouth inside a broken rock wall. Inside the rock wall was a small space containing a transparent container about the height of a person.

At this moment, a crack appeared in the transparent container, and the mere existence of this crack caused the spiritual fluctuations and vital energy emanating from within to instantly kill the player.

Even when Lin Qicai was less than fifty meters away from the container, he felt an unprecedented sense of fear.

"What's happening here?"

Lin Qi was stunned when he saw the humanoid arm inside the transparent container.

Even though that arm was so withered and shriveled, with cells that were practically dead, a mere inanimate object, he could still feel the suppression of its life force. He simply couldn't imagine what kind of life it was.

You know, even if a high-ranking lord stood in front of him, he wouldn't be afraid at all, but now he was terrified of a severed arm, which was simply unbelievable.

(End of this chapter)