Lord of Prayer

Chapter 426: Chapter 275: Plague Doctor

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The thugs from the Fierce Tiger Gang died peacefully.

For Zhou Chen, killing them was as easy as squashing bugs.

Flesh and blood splattered as the last headless corpse slumped to the ground. In an instant, many of the malicious, prying eyes in the shadows vanished. The gang members loitering on the street all grew wary at the sight. After exchanging glances, they hurried away. Within a few breaths, the entire street was empty.

This was the deterrent power of an Ascender.

In remote, underdeveloped places, a Tier One Ascender could easily raise a small army, claim territory, and become a local warlord if they so wished.

Zhou Chen searched the bodies but only found a few daggers and some small-denomination bills. They were clearly low-level members of the gang, most likely just using its name to throw their weight around.

He pocketed the money and continued on his way. It seemed word of what had just happened had already spread, as he encountered no more thugs trying to rob him.

Soon, Zhou Chen reached a remote and quiet district. He turned into a dark alley and stopped before a dilapidated iron door, its entrance piled high with trash. He raised his hand and knocked out a code: four short raps and two long ones.

A few seconds later, the iron door creaked open a crack, and a pair of eyes observed the visitor from the darkness within.

"Dark web user, ID ending in 9527?" the person inside asked.

"That’s me," Zhou Chen said calmly. "Transaction verification code S9Q4."

The person inside sighed in relief and passed a folded white paper through the crack. "Everything you want to know is on here."

Zhou Chen took the paper. The next second, the iron door slammed shut. The person inside clearly wanted no further conversation with him; they were on high alert, already escaping through a secret passage within the building.

He paid it no mind and unfolded the paper. It detailed the location of Rusted Iron City’s black market and various recent events, mixed with some unsubstantiated rumors.

The major recent events were: "An Abyssal Demon appeared in Kalin City, half the city fell. It took the North Carolina Government Army four days to kill it." "Under the siege of the North Carolina Government Army, the Lion Association of Xize City was annihilated. The president of the Lion Association, who had declared Xize City’s independence three days prior, was hanged in the public square." "The Black-robed Man killed three Ascenders loyal to the North Carolina Government and caused a major disturbance in City No. 13, resulting in three hundred seventy-two casualties."

The rumors were: "A female doctor suspected of being able to cure Crystal Disease has been captured by the ’Salvation Army’." "The North Carolina Government will distribute supplies to the slum districts in three days." "The Rusted Iron City Mayor has ordered the closure of the bridge to the city center, completely cutting off the slums from the central district."

Kalin City is a populous city in the southern part of the North Carolina Republic. It wasn’t hard to imagine why it took four days to kill that Abyssal Demon—kill off a few more poor people to lighten the population burden.

Xize City, on the other hand, is a city in the North Carolina Republic near America. Not long ago, an organization called the Lion Association rose to power, occupying all of Xize City in a short time. They stormed the city center, publicly beheaded the mayor and other high-ranking officials, and declared Xize City’s independence.

’In my opinion, America must have been secretly backing them,’ Zhou Chen thought. ’The North Carolina Republic might be rife with class division, but the resources buried in its lands are very real. In such a chaotic situation, there’s no shortage of people wanting to fish in troubled waters and take advantage of the chaos.’

But unfortunately for them, the Lion Association was crushed by the North Carolina Government Army. Xize City’s independence lasted only three days before it fell back under North Carolina’s rule.

Then there was the mysterious Black-robed Man who possessed the Wish Box. There had always been rumors that he specifically hunted Ascenders working for the North Carolina Government, and it seemed they were true. He had even gone and caused a ruckus in City No. 13. One had to know that in the North Carolina Republic, any city with a number for a name was a city for the wealthy. Placed on the Eastern Continent, it would rank as a second-tier city. His rampage must have scared those rich folks to death.

’As for the rumors... The doctor who can cure Crystal Disease is Calia. She’s currently holed up in a secret lab researching it, so that rumor is completely false... Second, the North Carolina Government distributing supplies. Sounds fake, but I think it’s possible. After all, the government has to maintain its reputation. It can’t carry out a massive purge openly. Handing out supplies might even win over some of the foolish masses.’

’The third rumor is about Rusted Iron City, and I think it’s also highly likely. With the precedent of Xize City, those high-and-mighty officials who used to ruthlessly exploit the poor must be panicking. If an insurgent group were to appear in Rusted Iron City, they would be the next ones to be publicly beheaded.’

No matter how you looked at it, the situation in North Carolina was an absolute mess. To say it was chaotic would be an understatement.

But what did any of this have to do with Zhou Chen? He was just here to scout the area and gather some intel.

After lighting the paper with the intelligence on it and watching it burn to ash, Zhou Chen left the dark alley and headed for the underground black market mentioned in the report.

The chaos and backwardness of North Carolina’s slum cities made them a haven for wanted criminals with nowhere else to turn. There were quite a few Ascenders, like Calia, hiding here under new identities. Over time, North Carolina had become a Heaven for fugitives, and the chaos in the slum districts was inextricably linked to their presence.

Wherever there were Ascenders, a black market was bound to exist.

Half an hour later, Zhou Chen arrived in a district near the center of Rusted Iron City. Compared to the previous areas, the situation here was much better. There were no gangs of thugs roaming about, and many civilians dared to walk the streets. The shops were also open for business.