Absolute Gate

Chapter 52: All in the Same Industry
Jordan was very surprised by what Longkui said.

"Is Party A a fake?"

Longkui said with certainty, "At least this blackberry is definitely problematic."

"One hundred and twenty million? Lightning-struck wood? Heh, I think it's an accomplice that Endless Summer hired, spending money to pretend to be the number one sugar daddy so that they would give us wrong information."

"Jordan, lies in the Otherworld are everywhere."

"So what if it's the client? You have to be wary of anyone, because anyone can lie to you."

Jordan suddenly realized, "Ah, that's right. So what is he lying to us about? What is this BlackBerry trying to mislead us about?"

Longkui pondered for a moment and said, "He said that Wujinxia and his gang had ghosts and gods attack him to put on a show, which must be false."

"However, it's true that a ghost attacked the camping group of four and set their car on fire; we just saw it."

"Therefore, the four people who were attacked were definitely not from Endless Summer's group. They were probably other people in the same line of work who also came to take the life of the God-Demon Master."

Jordan nodded: "Now that you mention it, it's true."

"How could someone attacked by a demon be their own master? The theory that it's an act doesn't hold water. It can only be that kid attacking other mercenaries."

"After the attack failed, the client lied to us and framed those four people."

"Then...we've chased the wrong people, haven't we? Why are we still chasing this camping quartet?"

Longkui retorted, "After being attacked, these four people ran at full speed towards the Great Snow Mountain. Do you think they're crazy?"

"We spotted the purple light bomb at the campsite just now."

"So the camping quartet was not only attacked by ghosts and gods, but also by Endless Summer herself."

"The four of them are heading straight for the snowy mountains, either to pursue their target or to engage in a chase... In any case, we're on the right track!"

Jordan pondered: "Indeed, since the camping quartet is from another group, could it be that they also took on the Blackberry mission?"

Longkui smiled and said, "You've hit the nail on the head."

"So I also lied to the client, exaggerating my features and saying that I was covered in python tattoos."

"And Blackberry will definitely tell the other four about this characteristic, so that the others will mistakenly think that we are the Oni Master's group."

"Then they incited us to fight to the death and struggle against each other, which only benefited them."

"..." Jordan was stunned.

Longkui smiled confidently: "But I have already seen through Blackberry's lie. When we catch up with the four ahead, even if they misunderstand us a little, it won't be much."

"After all, they have fought against Endless Summer before, and they may be chasing Endless Summer further ahead. When we arrive from the rear, they will definitely have doubts about what the client said at first."

"Furthermore, I don't have any tattoos, so there won't be any misunderstandings between us, and we can cooperate."

Jordan's expression was strange: "Indeed, but how do we plan to collaborate with Sister Longkui?"

"The bounty can be split and settled, but what about the mark of the ghost and god? Didn't you come here for this calamity?"

Longkui's eyes sharpened: "I am determined to obtain this calamity-inducing artifact."

"However, we can pretend that we only care about the bounty and cooperate temporarily to see how things go."

Jordan nodded in agreement.

We'll feign cooperation and work together to kill the target. The outcome will depend on the situation.

……

Wu Zhong and his three companions were rushing about at breakneck speed, their steps so swift that they were practically flying over the grass.

The four people had three bags, but Wu Zhong didn't carry a bag; instead, he carried Yangchunsha (a type of medicinal herb).

Xia Heng and Luo Yi, while running, would occasionally wave their hands to absorb the energy released when they exerted their strength.

Everyone maintained a speed of 70 kilometers per hour and kept running until 2 a.m., eventually becoming a line of fast-moving black dots as we entered the peaks of the highest snow-capped mountains.

Once you step inside, the distant snow-capped mountains in the dim light appear as one enormous black wall after another.

They were climbing on the back of a giant beast, and with each step they took on the loose snow slope, the sound was amplified in the deathly silent canyon.

A fierce wind rushed in from the pass, its mournful howl like the roar of a giant dragon.

"Boom..."

Wu Zhong looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Luo Yi had bumped his head again.

The terrain here is very complex, and the night is too dark. There are no paths that anyone would walk on in the deep and quiet mountains.

Luo Yi seemed dazed and confused, having fallen and bumped into walls multiple times.

"What's wrong?" Wu asked him with concern.

Luo Yi murmured, "It's nothing, it's just too dark."

Wu Zhong and Xia Heng exchanged a glance, sensing that something was amiss.

Everyone else has good vision and can see in the dark, so why can't Luo Yi? He's even taller than Xia Heng.

"Actually, you looked so tired the whole way here."

Luo Yi said, "It's probably altitude sickness."

"Huh?" Everyone was stunned.

Altitude sickness? Although the stronger the physique, the higher the blood oxygen content is required.

But the Mad Blood Clan is different; their cellular activity and immune system are twice as high as attributes like muscle strength.

Even Yang Chunsha didn't experience altitude sickness, so how could he?

Even though his muscles were too developed and he needed more oxygen, Wu Zhong was still physically stronger and didn't experience altitude sickness.

Why don't you take a rest?

Wu Zhong said, "According to our previous plan, it doesn't matter if the mercenaries catch up with us."

Everyone nodded and sat down to rest in a sheltered hollow of the glacier.

Yang Chunsha took out some beef jerky and offered it to him, but Luo Yi refused.

"It's too hard, it's frozen solid, how can I eat it? Don't choke me!" Luo Yi resolutely refused to eat it.

The others, munching on beef jerky, looked at him strangely. Why was he suddenly being picky about food?

That's so fussy. A dignified Gold Mercenary, complaining that beef jerky is too hard?

Xia Heng sensed something was wrong: "Speaking of which... it's one thing that you don't eat, but you haven't seemed to drink anything for the past two days either, have you?"

"Your withdrawal symptoms are very severe."

Once these words were spoken, everyone realized what they meant.

Yes, he's been driving these past two days. Given Luo Yi's physique, it's understandable that he doesn't eat.

Not drinking? That's like the sun rising in the west!

Wu Zhong recalled that they had brought wine; on the contrary, they had brought a lot.

On the way, Luo Yi even took it out several times and offered it to Wu Zhong, but Wu Zhong refused each time, so Luo Yi put it back.

This seemingly normal action feels wrong no matter how you look at it.

"What kind of mental illness did you randomly get?" Wu Zhong asked with concern.

Luo Yi lay down directly in the snow. He took out the two bottles of wine he was carrying, which he had salvaged from the car, but which were now cracked from the cold.

*Smack!* He slammed the bottle directly into his face, the frozen liquor splattering against his skin.

Luo Yi forced himself to stay alert: "Don't worry about me, we still have to deal with the pursuers in a bit..."

Everyone frowned. The enemy was coming, and Luo Yi had run into trouble again. There were just too many things to deal with.

They weren't sure if misleading would be effective; if the other party could figure it out, or if the person chasing them was just a hothead, they would still have to fight.

Wu Zhong asked with concern, "Master Luo, are you still able to fight?"

Luo Yi shuddered: "What nonsense are you spouting?"

He wanted to light a cigarette, but the extreme lack of oxygen in the cold wind meant that even with the protection of his domineering aura, he couldn't light it.

Wu Zhongjian saw that Yang Chunsha was completely powerless in this oxygen-deficient and extremely cold environment, and Luo Yi was also acting strangely.

"Master Luo, you should take a rest."

Xia Heng shook his head slightly and looked in the direction they came from: "We don't have time, someone's been following us the whole time."

As he spoke, he caught a glimpse of someone.

A man and a woman leaped rapidly into the wind, their speed making the snow-capped mountains seem like flat ground, even faster than the wind itself!

"The demons and gods are back!" Wu Zhong pulled out his gun, pretending to be a warrior.

"Humph!"

Xia Heng stood at the forefront, not using his armor, but covered in metallic skin. A mechanical arm rose from his back, and a scarlet laser shot out.

"Sa!"

The woman moved sideways, and the laser beam grazed her ear and disappeared.

Because the side dodge was too fast, a section of her hair was blown off.

The woman calmly took out a hair tie and tied her hair up high.

"Hiss..." Xia Heng's expression turned serious. There was no way to dodge the laser; this was his superb combat instinct.

Seeing that his sneak attack had failed, he immediately erected a light pink barrier in front of the crowd.

This was the first time Wu Zhong had seen Xia Heng use other multi-faceted methods; indeed, Xia Heng clearly had more than one incarnation.

"Gentlemen, don't make a move! We've all come here on orders to kill you. You can call me Long Kui." Seeing their serious demeanor, Long Kui put one hand on her hip.

Jordan took off his helmet and looked at Wu Zhong: "Can't you tell if I'm a guy or a ghost?"

After listening to the two, Xia Heng remained silent, appearing deep in thought.

Wu Zhong looked nervous: "In the mercenary world, it's really hard to tell who's human and who's ghost."

"Hey, woman, do you dare to open your trench coat and take a look?" Long Kui chuckled, lifting the trench coat she was wearing and draping it over her shoulders, revealing her abs.

Her skin was fair and smooth, and she was wearing only a tube top, radiating warmth in the snow-capped mountains at an altitude of 5,000 meters.

"Did you guys accept the new bounty from BlackBerry? This guy told you that Endless Summer has a female skin covered in python tattoos?"

Yang Chunsha blurted out, "How did you know?"

Wu Zhong secretly gave a thumbs up: De Biao's tone is so pure, it doesn't sound like acting.

Longkui shook her head slightly: "As expected, then Blackberry will be Endless Summer's teammate."

“They deliberately referred to me, who also accepted the mission, as Endless Summer, to mislead you into fighting with us, the snipe and the clam.”

"You guys are so naive. Someone spent 120 million to completely fool you."

"No, they didn't even spend the money, because they didn't have to die, so the bounty didn't actually have to be paid."

Xia Heng's voice pierced through the wind and snow: "What's so unexpected about this? I knew the intelligence was flawed."

"Since you are also hunting down the master of ghosts and gods, then go and find him yourself."

"We have no connection, please leave."

Jordan looked around at the howling wind along the mountain ridge and asked curiously, "Why are you staying here? Where are the Endless Summer People? Why aren't you chasing them anymore?"

"None of your business." Xia Heng instinctively glanced at Luo Yi, whose face was pale and who was trembling with exhaustion.

Longkui didn't care about his indifference, because this was the right flavor.

The four campers had just been attacked and misled by Blackberry's intelligence, so they must be nervous to see two otherworldly beings appear now.

Longkui followed the gaze to Luo Yi, raised an eyebrow and said, "It seems your teammate is seriously injured, but his body seems perfectly healthy. What kind of special ability did he suffer from?"

"We're all here to kill the ghost master, so we can cooperate and help each other."

She realized that the group of four had stopped because of Luo Yi.

Luo Yi did indeed look very strange; he seemed dazed, as if sleepwalking. He would shiver and yawn frequently.

Altitude sickness? It's impossible for someone to be that weak. It must be due to some strange phenomenon.

This made her even more vigilant and solemn. Sharpening the axe wouldn't delay the work of chopping wood; she needed to learn more about the God and Demon Master's group.

Wu Zhong complained, "Why should we tell you? We're competitors too, aren't we?"

Longkui's smile bloomed in the cold wind: "A bounty of three hundred million, just to kill a newbie, what's the point of competing?"

"If the six of us work together to complete the mission, it will be a piece of cake. We two will only need 100 million, and you can take the remaining 200 million."

Wu Zhong and the others exchanged glances, seemingly genuinely considering the matter.

"Whose mark is it?" Xia Heng seemed to be interested.

Longkui shook her head without hesitation: "I don't want it. I only want money. With money, I can buy all sorts of good things, and my strength will naturally increase. That's the most controllable way."

"Who knows if those so-called 'godly marks' are real or fake? There have been plenty of cases like this before, boasting about divine intervention but ultimately turning out to be bait or something that has caused serious harm!"

"You guys aren't afraid of getting into big trouble, go ahead and finish me off, I wouldn't want it even if it were given to me!"

She spoke with absolute certainty, and Wu Zhong and the others looked at each other in bewilderment, each taking out leaves or hay, as if seeking each other's opinions.

Longkui was also scrutinizing these people.

One of the women was clearly not very strong; she was shivering from the cold on the snowy mountain and had already suffered frostbite.

The young man who pulled out the gun was quite physically fit. She could tell at a glance that the gun was empty. Was he trying to scare people with an empty magazine? It was a bit ridiculous, but it could also be a jinx.

Looking at the guy who was pale, unsteady on his feet, yawning, looking exhausted, dazed, and with unfocused eyes, it was clear that something serious had happened to him; his mind might have been affected by his special abilities.

The only one who exudes a powerful sense of oppression is the cold-blooded man with mechanical arms and an energy barrier.

It seems like a new team was led by a god who was carrying three weaklings. They thought that since the God Master was a newbie, they could try to lead their junior to hunt him down, but instead, one of them was severely injured.

Furthermore, their reconnaissance methods were weak; otherwise, they wouldn't have been ambushed, and they still haven't lost track of them. Therefore, they considered abandoning the mission and staying here to rest and regroup.

Longkui had figured out the cause and effect in her mind.

At this point, Wu finally lowered his gun: "Alright, since we're all in the same line of work and doing the same thing, cooperation is no problem, but you still need to find a target, right?"

"We've completely lost track of them. What other tracking methods do you have left?"

Longkui countered, "I have my own way. First, tell me, what kind of injury did that kid suffer?"

She pointed at Luo Yi, leaving everyone in a dilemma.

The main problem is that even Xia Heng hasn't figured out how to fabricate a story. Luo Yi's condition is getting more and more serious, and they've only just discovered it themselves; they haven't even figured it out yet. All they know is that it's probably caused by the random mental illness he experienced during his initial embrace.

Wu Zhong, however, had a sudden thought and said, "Do you know what a complete mess it is?"

Longkui was taken aback: "A complete mess? What do you mean?"

Wu Zhong explained, "Let's call it that for now. It's a tangled mess of hemp rope, tied in a knot, with a twisted mind that compels you to untie it."

He spoke vaguely at first to gauge the other person's reaction.

Longkui seemed to be deep in thought: "A tangled mess... a tangled mess... Oh, is it the calamity object used by Gödel Mental Hospital during the Poyang Lake Rebellion when they attacked the Sisterhood?"

"It is said that two members of the sisterhood were forcibly controlled on the spot and implanted with mind-twisting techniques, making them unable to participate in the battle."

Wu Zhong remained silent; he knew nothing about it.

Xia Heng nodded and said, "That's exactly what it is."

Longkui said strangely, "This happened so long ago, doesn't it? It seems that the mess was eventually contained by 985... They won a great victory in that incident."

Wu Jian nodded: "That's right, 985 should have contained it at the Lushan base. And you forgot, where did Wu Dong, the master of gods and demons, debut?"

Long Kui suddenly realized, "It was the Lushan base. He controlled the Ghost and God Mark, gathered the Ghost and God to fight the Five Elders Peak, and broke out of 985's control."

Wu Zhong curled his lips: "He must have encountered this item while escaping through the containment area and took it with him. Blackberry said that the mark contains mental resistance, and that should be true, which is why the other party was able to possess this item without being affected."

"I see..." Longkui became nervous: "How was this triggered?"

Seeing that she didn't understand, Wu Zhong finally dared to say, "Just don't get too close, it should be within a meter. One of our brothers fell for it, and that's how we found out."

"That kid hid this thing in his clothes. Whoever gets close to him will be hit. He's really cunning."

"Our brothers who have been infected are now in a daze, only thinking about untangling the mess, their minds filled with all sorts of knot simulations."

Longkui's brows relaxed: "Close combat is not allowed. Get within one meter of this kid? Understood..."

"It's not just that; if he were to throw this, it would be a deadly move, so we must dodge it in time."

Seeing that she believed him, Wu said angrily, "Those two weren't very strong, but unfortunately our detection capabilities weren't good enough. We were just trying our luck when we came to find them. We really didn't expect them to take the initiative and strike first, so we were caught in their trap."

"The enemy was in the dark, while we were in the light. We were camping peacefully when suddenly the car exploded. Endless Summer and the Ghost Gods attacked us at night, catching us completely off guard."

"Now that we've chased them to these continuous snow-capped mountains, we've lost them. We can't find our mission target."

“But if you two have a way to find him, we are willing to help and join forces to kill him.”

“There is a way.” Longkui looked at Jordan beside her.

Jordan understood immediately and pulled out an ancient tortoise shell from his pocket.

Then he pulled out a hand axe from behind his back and looked at Longkui: "Sister, are you ready? Give me the offering."

Longkui clasped her hands together, and the surrounding wind surged even more violently, causing her hair to fly wildly.

As the palms slowly separated, a magic circle appeared in front of him, with an exceptionally complex geometric pattern.

Suddenly, a water buffalo appeared out of thin air and fell to the ground.

"Summoning magic?" Yang Chunsha's expression was strange. This kind of magic was extremely useless, as it could not be summoned across universes.

What's being summoned right now are just ordinary water buffaloes from Earth.

The group was at a very high altitude, where a cold wind swept through, and the cattle bellowed in pain and ran away as soon as they came out.

Jordan caught up with him through the snow, his movements swift and agile, much like Fei Peng's.

He lightly struck the ox with his palm, knocking it to the ground, and then slashed down with his sharp blade.

The hand axe was very sharp, and it split the cow in half, then chopped the unsplit parts a few more times until the cow's body was divided in two.

The two halves of the ox lay on the ground, their blood staining the snow red, resembling the Chinese character '卯'.

Jordan emptied the cow's internal organs and casually tossed them aside.

After finishing this task, he didn't even glance at it, casually twirling the tortoise shell in his hand.

He stared down at the tortoise shell, then suddenly pointed in Wu Zhong's direction: "Over here!"

Wu Zhong was startled and immediately turned to look at the large snow-capped mountain: "In this direction? Really?"

"How far is it?"

Jordan shook his head: "I don't know how far. It's not like it's a human sacrifice. How can you be so specific?"

"Anyway, it's in this direction."

The group was stunned. Wu Zhong was surprised that someone could predict his location just by divination.
Is this a multivariate approach, or a specific characteristic?
No one knew better than Wu Zhong and his group that the answer was correct.

Fortunately, they spent money to become big spenders and provided false information to mislead people.

If the visitor isn't a naive fool, even if the false information is exposed, it doesn't matter; the misleading will still continue.

Because they designed it so cleverly, explaining the attack on the four-person group by demons and gods, which contradicts the character of the Shinki Master.

No matter which one you believe, it will clear the names of all four of them.

You either have to believe Blackberry's claim that he summoned ghosts and spirits to attack him while he was acting, or you have to believe that the ghosts and spirits are not under Wu Zhong's control.

The mercenaries came because they trusted the latter.

Longkui, who prided herself on her intelligence, saw through Blackberry's lie but fell into a trap, now regarding the four of them as outsiders...

Who told them to believe the information they were convinced of from the beginning was wrong? Rumors about ghosts and gods are ultimately just rumors.

……

(End of this chapter)