Chapter 35: Riot

Closing his eyes, Chu Zhu sorted through his thoughts for a long moment before speaking again: "Uncle Li! Did you see those two people..."

Chu Zhu pointed to the two suspicious targets identified for closer scrutiny, then proceeded to personally describe the areas where Nüwa No. 17 had indicated these targets had appeared.

"Use your authority to comb through these areas thoroughly! See if you can find those suspicious individuals... You should lead the team yourself! It is almost certain that if the killer is among these two, then that true killer is a transcendent!"

Chu Zhu paused briefly, turned to look at Li Kang, and emphasized, "A very strong one!"

"..." Li Kang stared at Chu Zhu for a long time, still unable to grasp what Chu Zhu meant when he said he couldn't remember earlier.

Moreover, he was now puzzled by another matter: how could Chu Zhu possibly know that the killer was a powerful transcendent?

Turning it over in his mind, he wondered if it could be a divine oracle...

In the end, Li Kang could only say, "I understand!"

"Good." Chu Zhu thought for a moment more, then hurried toward the corridor leading outside. "Nüwa No. 17, delete the background data."

"?" Li Kang looked at the base as it returned to its normal state, then thought back to the incredibly magical events that had just unfolded before him. After a long silence, he rubbed his cheeks with a bitter smile. "What on earth is all this?"

Although everything that had happened made Li Kang understand why Chu Zhu insisted on living in the underground temple base... the confusion had only grown.

"I have a feeling I've been dragged into a case involving a massacre," Li Kang sighed. Anyone who could communicate directly with the gods—no matter how you looked at it—held a status that was sensitive to the extreme.

Even though Chu Zhu’s status was already sensitive before, this was a different level of sensitivity entirely.

If word of this got out, or if the power brokers in Tianjing or Dijing were to find out...

Li Kang clapped his hands over his face. It was over. If Chu Zhu were truly royalty, that would be one thing, but if he weren't... Li Kang felt as if he could no longer breathe.

After all, if someone who wasn't of the royal family could communicate with the gods enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple... what were they trying to do? Or rather, what were they capable of doing?

"Forget it!" Li Kang clenched his fists, forcibly driving the chaotic thoughts from his mind, his expression turning grave. "A transcendent... damn this wretched transcendent! If not for them, how could I have witnessed such a thing... And even setting that aside, why did they have to do something so heinous?"

When Li Kang spoke the last sentence, he was practically grinding his teeth.

He would rather have seen a bank robbed than see six people, including the Director-General, murdered at the Redevelopment Zone Union.

Chu Zhu was a powder keg, but was the Union any different?

If this matter wasn't handled properly, it would very likely cause the entire Redevelopment Zone to explode. At that point... the consequences would be unimaginable.

***

Redevelopment Zone, Union Headquarters.

The headquarters was located in an unfinished building within the Redevelopment Zone, only three stories high.

Although it had undergone basic renovations after the Union moved in, it was not luxurious; one could even say it was quite slipshod. The interior decor remained raw concrete, and many empty window frames were crudely patched with cloth and paper.

By the time Chu Zhu arrived, the place was already packed.

The Union’s guard detail, armed with various cold weapons, stood with bloodshot eyes, beginning their patrol. It was clear their emotions were highly unstable!

Guan Fei was trying to persuade them, drenched in sweat. "Brothers, I came from this Redevelopment Zone too... I know what the Union represents! I also respected Director-General Zhou Ze, but everyone, please, you must stay calm!"

"Traitor! You’re nothing but a traitor! All you know how to do is tell us to endure! Endure! Those damn bloodsuckers killed the Director-General! And you’re telling us to endure?" Someone couldn't hold back and shouted curses.

"I know, he’s already passed the civil service exam and is a patrol officer now! He looks down on us entirely..."

"If you can find the killer, kill them, then we’ll believe you."

"I, this, you..." The fat on Guan Fei’s body trembled violently due to his agitation; he felt he was truly out of options. Some of the more emotional individuals were already swinging clubs in his direction.

Guan Fei didn't dare to fight back, only dodging and retreating as he took the blows. After all, if he truly acted and escalated the conflict... the consequences would be unthinkable!

Just as he was reaching the point of despair, he saw his savior and his voice turned shrill. "Mr. Chu! You've come."

Instantly, countless eyes turned toward him.

The atmosphere, which had been nearly boiling over, went silent in an instant.

At the end of the day, this armed guard detail had been built by Chu Zhu’s own hand.

Without the guard detail, without the apparatus of force, how could Chu Zhu have made those factory owners so obedient?

Precisely because of this, the reverence this group held for Chu Zhu was beyond question.

Immediately, a massive crowd surged toward him.

"Director-General! The Director-General, he..." A boy who looked no older than fifteen or sixteen, wearing factory overalls and clutching a wooden club, spoke with a choked voice.

"It must be those damn factory owners! Mr. Chu, let's do it! Hang them all from the lampposts. Kill them all!" This was a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties, gripping a bamboo spear and grinding his teeth.

"Protest, demonstrate, retaliate! A blood debt can only be repaid with blood." This was a young man.

The scene was in an uproar, the masses surging with agitation.

The relief on Guan Fei’s face froze, more sweat pouring down. He stared at Chu Zhu with tension, bordering on pleading. He had realized something terrifying...

If Chu Zhu held the same thoughts as this crowd, it was over...

If Chu Zhu raised his arms and gave the call, it would truly trigger a response across the entire Redevelopment Zone... If that really happened, it would have been better for Chu Zhu not to come at all, and just let these people from the Redevelopment Zone storm the factories and kill indiscriminately...

After all, if this group really did that, at most they would destroy some factories and kill some wealthy people, but if Chu Zhu took the lead...

In any case, with his limited imagination, he dared not contemplate what the final outcome would be.

As for this, Chu Zhu said nothing. He simply swept his cold, sharp gaze over everyone present.

Many people instinctively took a step back. They sensed Chu Zhu’s dissatisfaction and suspected they had made a mistake; many even shivered like mice seeing a cat.

"Nonsense!" Chu Zhu squeezed the word out through his teeth. Although the factory owners were indeed suspicious in his eyes, the degree of suspicion was quite low...

It wasn't that Chu Zhu looked down on them!

If transcendent beings could so easily involve themselves in reality, he should have died when he was twelve!

How could he have lived to be sixteen or seventeen as he was now?

There must be some other problem at play!

Furthermore, even if it were truly one or several factory owners who had acted, they had to precisely lock onto a suspect! Then drag them out and interrogate them thoroughly. Only after having evidence could they kill them!

Kill them all? Are you looking for death!

Do you really think the Jinghai City authorities are dead?

If things reached that point, it could almost be called a riot!