Lord of Prayer

Chapter 473: Chapter 299: Sun King (2)

He was also the Abyss’s greatest threat. Had he ascended to godhood, wiping out the Abyss would have been more than just talk.

The death of Sun King Noah was, without a doubt, the most tragic loss for humanity since the dawn of the new era.

·

·

「Half an hour later.」

Zhou Chen and the Plague Doctor were in a jeep bound for Bear City.

Bear City was the domain of Andre, the "Violent Bear." The city hadn’t always been called Bear City; Andre had renamed it to serve as his base of operations.

In all fairness, after Andre took over Bear City, its economy boomed, transforming it into a non-numbered, first-tier city in North Carolina. Although the lower class remained the lower class, they could at least eat their fill every day and have meat twice a month. They lived much better than people in cities like Rusted Iron City or Red River City.

This was because Andre had built dozens of factories, large and small, providing countless jobs. With its extremely cheap labor force, the "Bear Group" he founded became a contract manufacturer for many large corporations and was incredibly profitable. In just a few years, it had driven Bear City’s economic growth.

The sickest joke of all was that because Andre and most of his trusted subordinates were foreigners, the minimum worker benefits they implemented were actually considered high for North Carolina. They couldn’t even imagine going any lower.

It just went to show how viciously North Carolina exploited the poor.

Three hours later, Zhou Chen, who was at the wheel, spotted the silhouette of Bear City. They soon reached the city entrance, where the guards responsible for inspecting incoming vehicles gave their documents and vehicle a cursory check before waving them through. To avoid drawing attention, the Plague Doctor was not wearing his bird-beak mask but a lifelike human-skin mask instead.

Half an hour later, the two drove to the center of Bear City’s slum district. The place was even more bustling than downtown Red River City. There were several office buildings, and a large shopping mall could be seen every few blocks. The pedestrians on the street had a completely different energy about them compared to those in the previous cities.

"Andre has managed this place pretty well."

While waiting at a red light, Zhou Chen remarked, "For the poor, this kind of life is already quite good. Being able to eat your fill is more important than anything else."

"It’s not bad, I suppose. But the lower class is still the lower class, with no human rights to speak of." The Plague Doctor pointed to an alley entrance up ahead, where a burly man was dragging a battered man inside. Not far away, several police officers were on patrol, but they all chose to ignore the scene.

A moment later, the burly man emerged from the alley, the corner of his jacket spattered with bloodstains. The police officers, meanwhile, hurried into the alley.

"Murder in broad daylight, right in front of the police. Where is the law?" the Plague Doctor sighed. "A society like this is sick beyond cure."

"It’ll get better," Zhou Chen said reassuringly.

「A few minutes later.」

The vehicle pulled into a mall’s underground parking garage and stopped. Zhou Chen unbuckled his seatbelt and looked at the Plague Doctor. "What’s our next move?"

—On the way to Bear City, the Plague Doctor had already completed his Advancement to Tier Three.

The Advancement came just like that, clean and simple.

"I need to stabilize. While we wait for Ah Man and the others to arrive, you can act on your own. Just remember to gather as much intel as you can," the Plague Doctor said.

"Let me act on my own?"

Zhou Chen paused, then a smile spread across his face as he opened the car door. "Alright. I’ll go gather some intel, then."

SLAM!

Zhou Chen slammed the car door shut, glanced around, and quickly departed.

The Plague Doctor watched Siegfried’s retreating figure, and a strong intuition suddenly hit him: ’He’s going to stir up some trouble.’

’And it’s going to be something big.’

’After a moment’s thought, the Plague Doctor decided not to dwell on it. The bigger the mess Siegfried made, the better. It would be ideal if the entirety of Bear City descended into chaos.’

·

「That night.」

The Bear City Police Department received an emergency call about a disturbance at a bar.

Officers were dispatched immediately, rushing to the reported location where many patrons were running screaming from the bar, shouting, "Murder!" and "Someone’s been killed!"

The officers, on high alert, drew their sidearms and pushed through the fleeing crowd into the bar. On the dance floor lay a man’s body, his skull caved in, blood pouring from the wound. A blood-stained ashtray lay nearby. A woman clung to the body, sobbing uncontrollably, her clothes torn.

Just moments before, she had been walking down the street with her husband when several thugs had ambushed them and dragged her away. Her husband had chased after them, only to be beaten to death.

A hulking man in a leather jacket spat on the corpse and cursed, "It’s your goddamn lucky day I laid eyes on your woman. You must’ve been tired of living, daring to raise a hand to me."

"Stop your fucking crying and get up. This your man, huh? Heh, I’m gonna fuck you senseless right in front of his corpse! Hahahahaha!" The hulking man grabbed the woman’s arm, yanked her to her feet, and with a RRRIP, tore her clothes to shreds.

"Let her go!" Seeing this, the officers raised their pistols and roared.

"Huh?" The hulking man shot them an irritated glare, pointing to the bear’s head emblem on his chest. "I’m with the Bear Group. You got the balls to touch me?"

The officers froze. Their bravado evaporated, and after a few seconds of hesitation, they lowered their pistols.

The Bear City Police Department had an unwritten rule: in Bear City, you were better off pissing off city hall than crossing anyone from the Bear Group.

They were the true masters of this place.

Anyone who dared to clash with the Bear Group would disappear without a trace that very night. It didn’t matter what rank they held; even a common foot soldier was untouchable.

"Help! Help me!" the woman wailed, struggling frantically. But her frail body was like a ragdoll in the hulking man’s grasp. She could only cast a pleading gaze at the police, her eyes begging them to save her.

But every one of the officers looked away. The woman’s heart sank into a pit of despair.

"Go on and scream. No one here will save you." The hulking man snickered. "See? I’m not just gonna fuck you in front of your husband’s corpse, I’m gonna do it right in front of these cops. What are you gonna do about it? No one’s coming to save you, so I advise you to behave. Don’t piss me off, or else... I’ll have these cops and my boys here take turns on you. Then I’ll throw you to the beggars and let those stinking bums have their turn too."

Seeing the police still standing by, completely unmoved, the woman seemed to accept her fate. Her struggles ceased, and the light in her eyes faded to gray.

"Alright, you’re a quick learner. In that case, I’ll show you what real pleasure is. I guarantee that after one round with me, you’ll be hooked. You’ll forget all about your useless husband. Hey, you! Come flip her man over. I want him to watch!" the hulking man said as he started to unbuckle his belt, a lecherous smirk spreading across his face.

"Freeze! Hands on your head! Get on the ground!"

Suddenly, a sharp command cut through the air. Zhou Chen, dressed in a Bear City police uniform, had his pistol aimed at the hulking man, his face set with righteous determination. "Move again and I shoot! Final warning!"

Silence.

’Is this kid new? That’s a Bear Group man. How does he have the nerve?’ The other officers stared at Zhou Chen, bewildered.

The hulking man’s expression slowly turned cold. "Kid, you got a death wish?"

"I’ll give you to the count of three. Hands on your head, on your knees!"

Zhou Chen began to count down, "Three... Two..."

His dead-serious expression only seemed to amuse the hulking man. "Are you fucking tired of living, or are you just plain stupid—"

BANG!

The gunshot cut the hulking man’s words short. A bloody hole had appeared in his forehead.

His eyes widened in shock, unable to believe someone had actually dared to open fire.

"You... how... dare..."

THUD. The body collapsed to the floor.

"Phew—"

Zhou Chen blew the smoke from his gun’s muzzle and calmly reholstered it. "Suspect ignored multiple warnings. Lethal force authorized."

Silence. A long, heavy silence.

The other officers stared numbly at the corpse on the floor, their legs starting to shake.

’We’re done for... We’re so done for...’

’All hell is about to break loose!’