Cthulhu America, I can see the kill line.

Today is a rare sunny day, but the cold wind blowing through the streets of the lower town after the snow is even colder than when the snow was falling heavily.

Yesterday's sewer journey was a lot of fun, like a relaxing dream. After going through a long, dark tunnel, I met an adorable talking hamster. It was like a fairy tale.

Unfortunately, that wasn't a dream.

Kong Jiu reached into his pocket and gently touched the green fluorescent crystal again. After confirming that it was still on him, he steadily walked out of the church district and stepped into the territory belonging to the gang.

This was the first time in more than half a month that he had stepped into the non-neutral area of ​​the downtown area.

After the Purple Light Cult absorbed all the other cults, the gangs spontaneously formed a united organization.

Because its headquarters were located in the northern port of Hills, it was named the "Vortex Warband".

Rumors suggest that this gang, composed of veterans and street thugs, has also acquired a super destroyer with formidable ground attack capabilities.

"If that's true, then Amerigo's military equipment is incredibly outdated."

Kong Jiu thought to himself, not quite believing the news.

But these brutes were able to fight to the death with the cult's psionicists, so even without destroyers, they probably have other terrifying trump cards up their sleeves.

Piles of mechanical exoskeletons, gravity guns, and ceramic power armor?

Kong Jiu shook his head, unable to imagine it.

Before he could think any further, just a few steps into the Zhanbang district, several burly men emerged from a street corner and blocked his way.

"It is I, Kong Jiu."

Kong Jiu had already detected these people 500 meters away, while they were still on Church Street.

But he pretended not to notice, calmly glanced at the burly men, and announced his name.

The burly men exchanged glances, clearly aware of Kong Jiu's identity and reputation.

"Dr. Kong, what brings you here?"

The tallest man at the head of the group spoke up. His skin was as black as if it had been roasted. He squeezed in front of Kong Jiu and bent down to ask.

These war gang sentries, who had undergone modifications and were injected with enhancement agents, were all over two meters tall, even without armor, making them veritable giants.

Out of respect, they would always bow slightly when speaking to Kongjiu.

Many members of the Zhan Gang had received help from Kong Jiu when they were down on their luck, or were brothers who had died in battle, and whose bodies were stitched up and buried.

These rough men are not like cultists, who worship nothing but illusory things and are heartless and ruthless.

On the contrary, they had a familial bond, and they respected Kong Jiu very much, showing human kindness in every way.

Unfortunately, they were taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Once addicted, these giants become more inhumane than cult members.

For example, to prevent danger caused by excessive use of enhancers, gangs began raising blood slaves very early on.

Blood slaves are mostly prisoners from rival gangs, who are given enhancers over a long period of time to increase their tolerance, making their blood rich in enhancer components.

The excessive dose of drugs permanently destroyed their minds, leaving the blood slaves almost unable to think, no different from brain-dead vegetative patients.

According to Kong Jiu's informant, "Most of my men have a habit of cutting open the necks of female blood slaves to drink the blood and then entangle with them. It's not only more pleasurable than simply ingesting enhancers, but it also avoids the risk of overdose."

This is just one of the "mildest" ways gangsters use enhancement agents.

This is why, even though Kong Jiu had witnessed the cruelty of cults, he never thought that "gangsters are kinder."

"I'm tired, I've come here to relax." Kong Jiu casually made up an absurd reason.

The burly men looked at each other, unsure of how to respond.

Seeing this, Kong Jiu's lips curled up slightly, revealing a smile: "Alright, I won't make things difficult for you. Just say that Kong Jiu is here to discuss the price of the corpse, and send any leader to liaise with me."

The burly men breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly stepped back, leaving only the dark-skinned man leading Kong Jiu deeper into the street.

Until the end of the cold, gloomy street, a brightly colored sign appeared:

Veteran's Barbecue.

Kong Jiu looked at the shop's name and saw through the glass counter countless muscular men drinking and eating meat inside, while... they were also consuming enhancement drugs.

"Those are the brothers who just finished their night watch; Boss Samael is inside."

The dark-skinned man led Kong Jiu to the entrance of this place, which was actually a bar but was actually a barbecue restaurant, and then turned and left.

Kong Jiu took a deep breath of the dry, cold wind and pushed open the door to enter.

The smoky aroma of roasted cumin, the smell of evaporating alcohol, and the cloyingly sweet and rotten scent of the fortifier, all mixed with the heat, hit him like a slap in the face.

He silently put on the gas mask he never took off.

"Hmm? Who's that little bean sprout wearing a mask by the door?"

"Let me see... wait, this mask looks familiar, like it belongs to an Asian person?"

"You two idiots! That's Doctor Kong! The Death Angel of the Prophet Church in the Lower City!"

"Hey, Kong, long time no see! What brings you here? Want something to eat? Or... would you like to have one, as an exception?"

As the cold wind blew in, the gang members noticed Kong Jiu as he pushed open the door and greeted him warmly.

Kong Jiu raised his hand, revealing a half-hearted smile: "No, I'm here to discuss serious matters with Samael. I won't disturb your enjoyment."

He walked through the group of drunken veterans and headed straight into the back of the bar until he pushed open the door to the innermost luxury private room.

The dancer's body, sprawled haphazardly on the ground, accompanied by an even stronger, sweet, fishy smell of enhancers than outside, seemed to pierce through the mask and into Kong Jiu's nostrils.

A burly, shirtless man with a fierce glint in his eyes, like a wolf pack leader, looked up at Kong Jiu.

Samael Hart, the sentry chief in this area, was someone Kong Jiu had encountered several times.

The wolf-like glint in his eyes swept over Kong Jiu, but vanished instantly upon recognizing the newcomer.

"No wonder I said I'd slit the throat of anyone who ruined my fun, and someone actually dared to open the door. So it was you, Kong?"

Samael's tone carried a hint of threat, but Kong Jiu understood that this was just a common state after taking the enhancer.

He gently closed the door behind him and slowly walked towards the man.

"That's rare, Kong. Ever since the Bloodthorn Gang, the Sea Dragon Society, the Black Panther Party—whoever it was, we haven't seen you since they all merged… How long has it been?"

"I'm not sure, it's been a while."

Kong Jiu gently pushed the dancer aside, who was either high on drugs or overstimulated and seemed dazed, and asked with a frown, "How's Anderson doing lately?"

"Anderson? Oh, the Bloodthorn Gang's second-in-command—he's doing really well with their boss, Grob! These days, there are so many enhancements from the Maelstrom that they can use a different one every day for six months straight. How could these potion concocters not be in high demand?"

As he spoke, Samael grabbed a few pieces of blue, translucent crystals from the table and waved them in front of Kong Jiu.

"Look at Grob's stuff. He's got some serious skills; it's bluish, but it's so potent it can keep you energized all day!"

"What, Kong, you want to try it? We don't have any corpses for you to collect lately, they've all been sent to pharmacists for drug testing."

Kong Jiu smiled. "Actually, I came to see you."

"Me?" Samael was somewhat taken aback by Kongjiu's laughter.

【Agent of Chaos】

Kong Jiu didn't explain much. He simply moved his mind and used his fingertip to open a pale purple portal, then stood quietly beside him.

This is a warp portal he opened using the [Chaos Agent] skill after awakening his psionic powers.

He consulted Li Yingying and mastered the basic usage.

Each person who can open a warp portal possesses their own designated area.

Once this area is stabilized, it will be equivalent to having a transit point.

This transit station can be used as a storage room, or, by virtue of the subspace's ability to disregard time and space, another door can be opened to reach the designated anchor point.

For example, Kong Jiu recorded the warp anchor point of the giant rat Arthur, and could open the door to find him at any time, of course, only with the other party's consent.

After repeated practice, Kong Jiu has become quite proficient in controlling this skill.

The pale purple "door" that exuded an ethereal aura instantly cleared Samael's dazed eyes.

He scratched his head, hesitated for a while, and then whispered, "Kong, are you a psyker? A psyker who can manipulate warp space? You've been hiding it well!"

"Would you believe me if I said I only recently awakened to this?"

Kong Jiu smiled and winked, "Shall we go inside and chat?"

Samael gave him a few more glances with a look that said, "I underestimated you," and then reached out and grabbed a dagger from the table.

"Hey! Don't get excited, Samael!" Kong Jiu tensed up instantly. "I'm just a doctor who can't even kill a chicken!"

"Relax, Kong,"

Samael tucked the knife into his waistband. "Going into a creepy place like the Warp without a weapon makes me uneasy."

Kong Jiu nodded, turned slightly to the side, and gestured "please" to the opened subspace door.

The two entered Kong Jiu's "transfer station" in the subspace one after the other.

"Sorry, I only recently awakened this ability, and I haven't had time to set anything up yet."

Kongjiu's territory was completely empty; there wasn't even a place to sit.

However, he had no intention of sitting down for a long talk with Samael.

He took the green stone out of his pocket and held it up in front of Samael.

A pale green light entered Samael's pupils, causing him to drift into a daze and slightly illuminating this dark area.

"I've been entrusted by someone to deliver a message."

"King Squich is losing patience."

Samael raised an eyebrow and stood there stunned for a moment.

"Alright, Samael, that's it. If there's nothing else, let's go out."

Kong Jiu gestured, trying to open the door again.

But for some reason, the door that was supposed to appear did not.

Is someone interfering with me?

"Kong, you're more complicated than I imagined."

Kong Jiu turned around at the sound and saw that Samael had drawn a dagger from his waist. The blade was glowing with a faint purple light and was interfering with the formation of the door.

His eyes were clear and sharp, showing no trace of the confusion that came with drugs.

"Damn it! That damned Arthur didn't tell me I'd have to fight after this job!"

Kong Jiu felt a chill run down his spine; he didn't think he could possibly fight a sentry leader who was armed with a knife.

"Samael, I'm just a messenger, is it really necessary to use a knife?"

Kong Jiu tried to soothe the burly man whose eyes were gleaming with the ferocity of a hungry wolf.

Samael shook his head.

"That has nothing to do with it, Kong. The ratmen are losing patience; at worst, it'll just mean an earlier war."

Kong Jiu frowned. Could these words really provoke a conflict between the two factions?

"The problem lies with you, Kong, it lies with you."

Samael laughed, a smile that revealed a fanaticism.

With that, he swung his dagger and slashed open a portal.

"Lord Farah has been searching for a psionicist, a psionicist who has inherited the will of Orfawi and has only recently awakened."

"We, the Purple Light Cult, should have realized it was you, Kong... the person in all of Hills who has the most contact with corpses..."

"Are you a follower of the Purple Light Cult?"

Kong Jiu's eye twitched. "Damn it, the Purple Light Cult has even infiltrated low-level gang leaders?"

Samael didn't reply, but turned slightly to the side and, just like Kong Jiu had done earlier, made a "please" gesture towards the subspace portal he had opened.

"Shall we go in and talk?"