Fishing

The night grew deeper, and the bustling worldly atmosphere of Jiangcheng gradually faded away.

In the west of the city, Blackwater Pier.

This was one of Jiangcheng's largest waterway freight distribution centers. Bustling with traffic during the day, at night, apart from a few dim searchlights, there was only the howling river wind and the sound of waves crashing against the embankment.

Deepest within the pier, a row of abandoned warehouses crouched in the darkness like giant beasts.

One of the warehouses was brightly lit.

Inside, over a dozen men in uniform black suits were busy moving wooden crates.

A man with a scarred face and ruthless eyes sat on the second-floor railing, looking down and overseeing everything.

He was Viper, the person in charge of the Flesh Embrace at Blackwater Pier.

"Hurry the fuck up! This batch of goods must be sent off before dawn! If you delay the Cult Master's grand plan, you'll all become fish food in the river!" Viper roared impatiently.

His subordinates moved even faster.

They all knew that the Cult Master was about to hold an ascension ceremony. This was the organization's most important moment, and no mistakes could be made at any step.

Viper spat out his cigarette butt, feeling a bit irritable inside.

To ensure the absolute safety of the Empress Casino, most of the organization's top fighters had been transferred away. Even his two most capable lieutenants had been called over to help set up defenses.

Now, all he had on hand were useless, weak stragglers.

However, he didn't think anything would go wrong.

Blackwater Pier was their turf, operated for years. Even the authorities had to think twice before interfering. Who would dare to cross them at a time like this?

Right at that moment, the heavy iron door of the warehouse was knocked on from the outside at an unhurried pace.

Thump, thump, thump.

Three times, highly rhythmic.

The warehouse instantly fell silent. Everyone stopped their work and looked warily at the main door.

"Who is it?" Viper frowned, standing up from the railing.

No one answered.

Only the knocking continued.

Thump, thump, thump.

"Damn it, playing tricks!" Viper spat and gave his men a look. "Ah Si, take two guys and go check it out."

A lean man nodded, took two companions, and, gripping their weapons, walked cautiously toward the door.

He looked out through the observation peephole on the door. It was pitch black outside; he couldn't see anything.

"Who's out there? Speak up or we'll shoot!"

Ah Si shouted, trying to sound tough despite his inner fear.

The knocking stopped.

Ah Si breathed a sigh of relief, assuming it was some blind drunk who had taken a wrong turn.

Just as he was about to turn around and report back, a faint click came from the door lock.

Immediately after, under everyone's astonished gazes, the heavy iron door which normally required three or four people to push open slowly creaked inward, revealing a crack.

A chilling gust of wind poured in through the gap.

A black wooden box, carved with bizarre patterns, was pushed in unhurriedly from outside, coming to a stop in the empty space at the center of the warehouse.

Then, the iron door slowly closed again.

From beginning to end, they did not even see a shadow of a person.

A deathly silence filled the warehouse.

Everyone's eyes were focused on that black box.

As members of the Flesh Embrace, it was impossible for them not to recognize this object.

This was the medium to summon demons, the ultimate treasure that Cult Master Blood Butcher dreamed of!

A few days ago, the organization issued a strict order to search the entire city for a young man carrying a coffin on his back, who supposedly stole the box.

Now, this box had abruptly appeared right in front of them.

"The box... it's that box!" a cultist shouted with a trembling voice.

Viper's breathing quickened as well, his eyes filling with greed.

He was loyal to the Cult Master, but facing a supreme treasure that could elevate him to the heavens in a single step, it was impossible to remain calm.

If he could secure this box and present it to the Cult Master, it would definitely be a massive merit! By then, his status...

"Quick! Bring the box here!" Viper practically roared.

The two cultists closest to the box exchanged a glance, both seeing the greed in each other's eyes, and lunged forward almost simultaneously.

However, at the exact moment their hands were about to touch the box, a sudden mutation occurred.

The black box suddenly glowed with a blinding red light.

An indescribable, terrifying aura erupted from the box, instantly enveloping the entire warehouse.

That aura cold and evil was precisely the demonic power they worshipped, but it was countless times purer than what they usually felt.

"Ah!"

The two closest cultists let out miserable shrieks. Their bodies were like lit candles; their skin rapidly shriveled, and their flesh melted away at a visible rate. Finally, only two smoking skeletons remained, crashing to the ground and shattering into a pile of dust.

The others were scared out of their wits, scrambling backward in a panic.

"What's going on! What the hell is going on!" Viper screamed in terror. He could feel the demonic power within his own body losing control, as if it wanted to burst out and worship the box.

This wasn't some ultimate treasure at all; it was a trap!

Outside the warehouse, atop a shipping container a hundred meters away.

Chen Guan and Long Ao were quietly watching all of this.

"You... what did you do to that box?" Long Ao looked at the eerie red light seeping from the warehouse and the faint screams. He was somewhat astonished; even with his sharp eyes, he couldn't see through the trick.

"Nothing much, I just activated the coordinate mark Lin Jiu left on it," Chen Guan's tone was calm.

Of course, he wasn't going to tell Long Ao that not only did he activate the mark, but he also used his own resonance to mobilize some of Baal's power, injecting a trace of Baal's aura into it.

Baal hadn't intervened and hadn't even spoken a word; he didn't know if the demon was still paying attention to him.

The amount he left inside was very small, not enough to cause true lethal damage, but it was enough to detonate the impure, mixed demonic power within the bodies of the Flesh Embrace cultists.

To these believers, Baal's aura was equivalent to the purest form of power. Taking even one breath of it would cause their bodies to explode and die.

The first step of the plan was a success.

"What do we do now?" Long Ao asked.

"Wait." Chen Guan cast his gaze toward the Empress Casino. "Wait for a bigger fish to be drawn in."

Viper must be frantically contacting Blood Butcher right now to report the situation here.

A supreme treasure that could move and kill was enough to make the paranoid Cult Master restless. He would definitely send someone to check, but he would absolutely not come in person.

And this was exactly what Chen Guan wanted. Just like fishing, he was currently just chumming the waters.

He wanted to draw out Blood Butcher's forces from that turtle shell bit by bit, and then destroy them one by one.

Just then, a figure silently stepped into Chen Guan's line of sight, walking unhurriedly toward the warehouse.

The man was dressed in a sharp suit and wore gold-rimmed glasses, his strides elegant. It was none other than Lin Jiu.

Why would he be here?

Alarm bells rang loudly in Chen Guan's mind.

White Tiger seemed to have also noticed the two people on top of the container. He stopped in his tracks, looked up, and a playful smile appeared on his face.

He made an inviting gesture in Chen Guan's direction.