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Chapter 248 Scavenging
Since he had already mistakenly hit the secondary vehicle, Zhou You had no intention of staying any longer.

Although the elevator was out of service, the elevator shaft was still passable, and he could easily escape by making two holes.

As for the pursuers, let's not even mention that, according to his observation, those guys were basically equipped by a standard security company, with not even a few riot guns. And even if the other side had enough firepower, in this pitch-black night, with his skills, he could climb the cliff and disappear into the deep forest. Who could catch him?

Could they possibly throw napalm bombs?

So while everyone's attention was focused on the stage, Zhou You silently retreated and soon approached the elevator.

I knocked on it. The elevator door was quite sturdy, but the tempered glass on both sides was a bit weak. I could use my evil energy to penetrate it and shatter it through the weak point. But just as I was about to make my move, the woman on the stage suddenly spoke again.

"As everyone knows, the cult suffered huge losses because of the indiscriminate attacks of a mad dog. However, thanks to everyone's strong support, especially the assistance from those in the political and business circles, the situation has finally been calmed down, and the mad dog has even been reduced to the point where it was sick but had no money for treatment and was about to become a dead dog."

Upon hearing this, Zhou You paused his hand slightly.

A burst of laughter erupted from the audience.

One of them, a portly man who seemed completely unconcerned about revealing his identity, laughed.

"You flatter me, Holy Maiden. I only tampered with that old dog's pension and medical insurance. His troubles with the Church are the same as his troubles with us. Besides, seeing that old dog with nowhere to turn and only able to wait to die is quite amusing."

Xu Xin on the stage nodded, and a slight smile even appeared on her strange mask.

"Thank you, Your Excellency. I would also like to thank everyone in the department. Without your help, the cult would probably not have made it this far, and the pharmaceutical production would not have been able to proceed so easily. On behalf of all the members of the cult, I would like to say thank you."

This time, no one answered; only a gaunt man clapped his hands softly.

Although he didn't say anything, it was clear from his subtle movements that he must be someone who had been in a high position for a long time.

"Next, I'd like to thank everyone at the main radio station. Thanks to you all, the cult has been able to remain hidden behind the scenes, and even now, few people know about it."

There was no response this time, but Xu Xin didn't mind. She maintained her usual gentle and polite voice and continued.

"followed by"

Zhou You wasn't in a hurry to drill. He crossed his arms and watched the spectacle with a cold eye.

Now he understands why this cult, despite causing so much trouble, has never been caught and is rarely heard of online.

It all boils down to the two words Han Ruiming mentioned earlier.

Money and power are all it is.

This church used the so-called "Ascension Powder" that supposedly could grant immortality and prolong life as a bargaining chip, exchanging it for a large amount of money. In turn, they used money, women, and power to gain protection, ultimately weaving an impenetrable net that silently concealed all evil beneath it.

But that's it.
Zhou You suddenly laughed.

Money and power might be influential outside, but here, he felt something else was stronger. At this moment, Zhou You wasn't in a hurry to leave—after all, Han Ruiming's side didn't start until three and a half hours later, and it had been agreed that if Han Ruiming won, there would be no rush to take action; everything would wait until Zhou You arrived.

And in that brief interval, the speaker on stage was nearing the end.

"Finally, let us thank Ms. Serval, a well-known philanthropist in this city. Without her extensive efforts to pull strings abroad, we would not have been able to obtain so much material so easily. Thank you again."

Seeing Xu Xin gently clapping her hands, the woman she had seen in the elevator earlier sat in the corner, gave a cold snort of extreme displeasure, and ignored her.

Whether it was flattery, approval, indifference, or hostility, Xu Xin's voice remained calm throughout. She glanced around at the scattered crowd below and then spoke softly.

"Alright, enough with the usual pleasantries. I'm sure you're all eager to get down to business."

Before he could finish speaking, the atmosphere on the field suddenly changed.

At first, even during the commendation and thanks, no one was enthusiastic. Everyone was indifferent and lazy. But at this moment, except for Zhou You, everyone else raised their heads and looked up, as if they were eagerly waiting for something.

Xu Xin didn't delay or make any more pleasantries. Instead, she clapped her hands, and two waiters, also wearing masks, dragged out a huge food cart.

The food cart was about two meters long and covered with a silver-white metal lid. When it was pushed to the center, everyone stood up and eagerly crowded around it.

To avoid alerting others, Zhou You followed along—but before he could take more than a few steps, a strange smell gently entered his mouth and nose.

—It was a mixture of the smell of blood, sweetness, and the stench of the Ascension Powder.

He had already smelled this odor in that previous 'pharmaceutical factory'.

Therefore, it is self-evident what was on that food cart.

Xu Xin clapped her hands again, signaling the two to open the lid.

The first thing that catches the eye is a face as pale as a sheet of paper.

—It was a female corpse.

A female corpse that was brutally murdered and then forcibly processed into 'medicinal herbs'!

After everyone turned their attention to her, Xu Xinfang spoke again.

"I'm sure you've all read Journey to the West. The ginseng fruit in Wuzhuang Temple is said to grant you 360 years of life just by smelling it, and 47,000 years by eating one. Although our sect's Ascension Powder can't reach that level, in this degenerate age, it can be considered a longevity-enhancing and disease-curing elixir."

"But as you all know, those powdered crumbs are all inferior products after calcination. Although eating them can make people feel like they're floating on air, it only lasts for a while, and the effect will become weaker and weaker as you take more. But this 'ginseng fruit' is different. It was personally refined by the sect leader, so you can eat it with peace of mind—and there will be no side effects."

　I'll try to finish the reality section before the end of the month. I really should have listened to my brother's advice this time. Writing this stuff is even harder than writing the first volume, "Buddha's Heart." It's always about the "Great Harmony" method or even the whole chapter going to the censors.
　　The book was revised again and again. The next volume is a fictional detective story, and the one after that is set in reality and focuses on folklore. We're not going to touch those kinds of things anymore.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)