As soon as the Human Emperor Banner came out, I became the Lord of the Old Ones

Chapter 227 An Unprecedentedly Dire Situation

When powerful creditors and desperate debtors collide, conflict is inevitable.

In the month following the end of the Dawn Cup, Dawn City did not recover as expected before the tournament, failing to create more jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Instead, several serious incidents occurred in succession, with most of the perpetrators being key employees of the Shattered Star Club.

A veteran coach who has worked at the Shattered Stars Club for over twenty years firmly believes that the Shattered Stars team will achieve great results in the Dawn Cup.

He gambled his entire fortune at an underground casino, only to lose everything.

When creditors came to his home to collect debts, they never expected that this old coach, who had lost his savings, job, and future and was heavily in debt, had suffered a mental breakdown and was being corrupted by the remnants of his past, turning into a bloodthirsty monster.

As a result, the creditor's three henchmen were killed on the spot by the old coach.

The creditor was seriously injured in a fall while trying to escape.

It also caused widespread chaos in the downtown area, spreading rumors and causing panic among the people.

This happened just two days later.

The largest underground casino in Dawn City was looted.

The killer's plan was meticulous, but his methods were exceptionally cruel. He murdered seven casino staff members, including guards and the treasurer, and stole a large amount of cash and luxury goods that had been pawned at the casino.

Those who dare to run underground casinos are certainly not benevolent people.

Even the treasurer always has several combat cards inserted into the card reader.

Not to mention the well-trained guards, who were often retired soldiers from the Spirit Guard Corps and ruthless men who had seen blood, yet they were still wiped out.

Based on the results of the on-site investigation, the identity of the murderer was quickly identified.

He is another senior coach from the Shattered Star Club, leading two of the main players of the Shattered Star team.

They all believed Sheikh Krat's sweet talk, and half a lifetime of hard work went down the drain with the closure of the Shattered Star Club.

He lost everything in the underground casino and incurred huge debts that he could never repay in his lifetime.

The fact that their colleague had been corrupted by the remnants of an old soul and transformed into a spirit-eating body made them feel a sense of shared fate and determined to strike first.

To avoid ending up like his colleagues, suffering a mental breakdown in poverty and becoming a spirit-devouring entity.

They chose to go all in, pulled off a big heist, and then disappeared.

Unfortunately, although they were outstanding in combat, they were not expert criminals after all. They left too many clues at the scene and lacked the ruthlessness to abandon their wives and children and run away.

Within 24 hours, two of them were captured by the Security Bureau before they could even escape Dawn City.

However, the operation to apprehend the third person went awry.

The powerful backer of the underground casino found this guy who dared to provoke the tiger before the security bureau could.

Unlike the security bureau, these people are not worried about damaging the surrounding environment or the safety of innocent people.

Both sides activated powerful battle spirits during the fierce battle.

Just a month ago, the main members of the Shattered Star team were receiving applause and cheers on the stage under the spotlight.

At this moment, however, he transformed into a mad dog, utterly despondent and devoid of humanity. Realizing there was no hope of escape, he recklessly activated the illegally enhanced [Lava Giant], causing himself, the gang members hunting him, and even half of the building where he was hiding to burst into flames. These successive heinous incidents deeply disturbed the nerves of all the citizens of Dawn City.

This also made the staff of the Shattered Star Club the target of public criticism.

Already struggling to find new jobs, they found themselves in an even more difficult situation.

As a result, several spirit masters, including "Golden Boy" Carlos, who carried high-risk combat cards and possessed unique skills, all disappeared.

Optimistically speaking, they chose to flee their debts, relocate to another city, change their ways, and make a comeback.

But it's also possible that they are still lurking in some corner of the turbulent Dawn City, ready to do something even more terrifying than "robbing the underground casino" at any time.

Shortly after the murders, a devastating rumor began to circulate in the streets and alleys.

Dawn Heavy Industries claimed to have found a new mineral vein with astonishing reserves, which would bring a large number of jobs and new opportunities to Dawn City—but this was a complete lie.

The so-called new mineral vein does not exist at all.

Liming Heavy Industry simply wanted to use this fake news to attract buyers from all walks of life, so they could sell the entire group for a good price.

The reason why Liming Heavy Industry sponsored the Liming Cup so extensively this year, creating the largest and highest-level competition in its history, was to demonstrate its strength and gain favorable conditions at the negotiating table.

Unfortunately, these days, wealthy and powerful buyers all have professional preliminary investigation teams and will not easily believe Liming Heavy Industry's survey data.

The doping scandal at the Dawn Cup and the bizarre murder case involving the Shattered Star team further deterred potential buyers, causing them to lose most of their interest in Dawn Heavy Industries.

As a result, Liming Heavy Industry became a hot potato, with no buyers showing any interest.

Without the rescue of external funds, Liming Heavy Industry, a pillar enterprise that once created glory and sheltered countless citizens from the wind and rain, may collapse in the near future, plunging the entire city of Liming into an unprecedented crisis.

No one knows where this rumor originated.

A spokesperson for Liming Heavy Industry firmly denied the rumor, stating unequivocally that the development of the new mine and the construction of a future mining town are already on the agenda.

Unfortunately, Liming Heavy Industry's two failed transformations in previous years have exhausted the trust and confidence of the citizens.

The rumors did not subside despite the successive press conferences held by Liming Heavy Industry.

Instead, it spread like wildfire, becoming increasingly intense.

The collapse of faith then evolved into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

More and more astute business owners are trying to close their businesses in Dawn City, even at the cost of huge losses, to cut their losses and escape this sinking ship.

Their self-rescue efforts resulted in even more people losing their jobs.

Some unemployed people stay at home and sigh.

Some people prayed to the gods and Buddhas, hoping that the Dawn Heavy Industry development project could be implemented as soon as possible and lead Dawn City out of the crisis.

But some people are unwilling to sit idly by and wait for death. They choose to work with the remnants of the past, who are bound by life and death with them, and use the most primitive and ancient methods that humans are born with to carve out a bloody path to survival.

Soon, the security situation in Dawn City, located in the safe zone, deteriorated to an unprecedented level. It was on the verge of becoming a giant version of Rolling Stone Fortress, or even like the wilderness, where order collapsed and lawlessness prevailed.

(End of this chapter)