Lord of Prayer

Chapter 477: Chapter 301: Tell Batman, I’ve Found the Joker (Part 2)

The original plan was to wait for the Poisonous Sore Gang’s combatants to get into position before making their move. They would lure Andre out of the building, ambush him, inflict heavy damage, and then hand him over to Siegfried for brainwashing. But now, circumstances had changed. They clearly couldn’t stick to the original plan; doing so would mean missing this golden opportunity.

The Plague Doctor stood there, lost in thought for a long time. After a flurry of brainstorming, he finally made a decision.

’This should work...’

·

Bear City Police Department.

The entire building was engulfed in a sea of fire, its piercing glare dyeing the black night sky crimson. Even from a hundred meters away, the waves of heat were hot enough to scorch the skin.

Dozens of Bear Group employees brandished their guns, laughing and cheering in front of the burning wreckage.

"We’ve avenged our brothers!"

"Hahahaha! Now you know who the real boss of this city is! You kill one of us, and we slaughter your entire police department!"

"From now on, Bear City is our turf! The damned North Carolina Government can fuck off and stay gone!"

Just as they were all cheering, the ground began to shake without warning.

THUD THUD THUD...

A thundering sound grew from a distant rumble to a deafening roar, reaching the Bear Group employees in seconds.

It was a powerfully built woman in the uniform of a North Carolina Counter-Terrorism Department Special Agent.

She was nearly two meters tall, with a massive, brawny build that exuded a heavy, oppressive aura. An average adult looked like a child next to her. The thugs had never seen a woman more powerfully built than the burliest of men, and they froze on the spot.

WHOOSH!

The female Counter-Terrorism Department Special Agent, Marid, suddenly lunged. Her large hand clamped around a Bear Group employee’s head. With a forceful squeeze, the man didn’t even have time to scream before his skull was crushed as easily as a paper wad. Blood and viscous fluids spurted from between her fingers like juice from a squeezed watermelon.

Terrified by the horrific scene, the Bear Group employees screamed, raised their guns, and opened fire on Marid.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT... A scorching rain of metal hailed down.

Marid dug in her heels, her massive frame erupting with the speed of a cheetah to dodge the bullets. Like a rampaging dump truck, she plowed straight through the crowd, annihilating everything in her path. A spray of severed limbs and mangled remains filled the air. One Bear Group employee was merely grazed by her body, but his bones shattered and tendons snapped as if he were made of glass, and he died instantly.

Watching from a distance, Zhou Chen immediately made a wish to brainwash this powerful woman into one of his "temporary workers."

[Wish Value -100]

This female Special Agent was a Tier Two, and as a Strength Type Ascender, her mental fortitude was a major weakness. Because of this, it didn’t cost Zhou Chen much Wish Value to brainwash her from afar.

Soon, Marid had slaughtered all the Bear Group employees. She then turned and sprinted toward the Bear Group Building.

Zhou Chen followed discreetly, ready to exploit any opportunity that arose.

Along the way, Marid met two of her colleagues: one Tier Three and one Tier Two.

Since no one else was around, Zhou Chen dropped the pretense and simply wished to brainwash them all.

[Wish Value -500]

[Wish Value -300]

’Still pretty expensive...’

Brainwashing these two had cost him a total of eight hundred Wish Value, an amount they would be hard-pressed to earn back. Under normal circumstances, Zhou Chen would never make such a losing trade. However, these were special times, and this was a necessary expense. As long as he could take down Andre and see the rest of the plan through, the Poisonous Sore Gang and the Salvation Army would provide him with a handsome amount of Wish Value. It was an investment.

Zhou Chen glanced at his System Panel.

[Wish Value: 5777]

He’d originally had over ten thousand Wish Value, but his expenses in North Carolina were just too high. Spiking the Gold Coins for the Merchant alone had burned through five thousand points, to say nothing of recently brainwashing the Sea Monster and the Siren. Even with a steady influx of Wish Value, his expenses were starting to outstrip his income.

What gave Zhou Chen an even bigger headache was that during his few hours in Bear City, he had discovered quite a few "Traders" who had already been "fattened up."

He had already collected the Gold Coins from above their heads. Now he was considering whether to create more of the "spiked" Gold Coins. Only ten of them felt like too few; it probably wouldn’t have much of an effect on the Merchant.

And creating the spiked Gold Coins would require a large amount of Wish Value.

’In truth, if I wasn’t brainwashing people so frequently, I could actually save up some Wish Value. But who can blame me? The brainwashing Skill is just too useful, especially in a hellhole like North Carolina. I don’t even feel guilty using it here. It saves so much trouble...’

Up ahead, Marid and the other two Special Agents stopped abruptly, taking up combat stances as if facing a formidable foe.

Hiding in the shadows, Zhou Chen narrowed his eyes as a car slowly came to a stop in the middle of the road.

The car door opened. A Russian man got out and stared coldly at the three Special Agents.

—"Violent Bear" Andre!

’What a coincidence. I have a feeling these three agents are no match for Andre... Hmm? Is there someone else in the car?’

Zhou Chen focused his gaze and saw a man in clown makeup in the driver’s seat. The blue and red paint on his face was striking. He was bobbing his head to the music from the car’s speakers, occasionally making an exaggerated expression.

’A clown?’

’...Joker?!’

Zhou Chen suddenly recalled that there was a Tier Two member in Fallen Paradise named "Joker"!

’Sea Monster said Joker went to a first-tier city, so why is he here? Did he fail to get in, or did the plan change? Whatever, I’ll give it a shot!’

Zhou Chen’s mind raced, and he was eager to try brainwashing "Joker" as well.

’I wish to brainwash "Joker"!’

[Required Wish Value: 6000]

[Current Wish Value: 5789/6000]

[Wish Cannot Be Fulfilled]

’Fuck!’

Zhou Chen almost cursed out loud. He was furious. He didn’t have enough Wish Value!

But after quickly calming down, he realized it wouldn’t have been worth it anyway.

’The Wish Value required to brainwash "Joker" is even more than it was for "Sea Monster" or "Siren." That must mean he’s carrying some kind of mental-defense Artifact. Brainwashing him directly is a huge waste; it would wipe me out. It’d be much more cost-effective to force him to use the Artifact first, then beat him half to death and try again.’

"The government only sent you three?" Andre said. "They really don’t think much of me."

Andre walked slowly toward them. His heavy footsteps pounded like a hammer against their chests, causing their faces to turn pale and large beads of sweat to form on their foreheads.

As Andre drew closer, the intangible pressure and sense of crisis intensified. The three agents couldn’t help but retreat a few steps. In that very instant, Andre erupted into motion with a savage grin.

For a fleeting moment, it was as if they heard a bear’s roar. When the gale swept past, Marid had vanished.

In her place was an explosive shower of blood.

A Tier Two Strength Type Ascender, insta-killed just like that, without a single trace of her body left behind.

"A Tier Three," Andre said. "I hope you can at least give me a bit of a warm-up."

Andre grinned and clapped his hands together.

CLAP! A thunderous roar echoed.

A terrifying shockwave erupted. The sudden gale sent one of the Special Agents flying, coughing up mouthfuls of blood in mid-air. The thunderous force of the clap nearly ruptured his internal organs!

The massive impact forced a grunt from the Tier Three Special Agent. He quickly steadied himself and activated his Extraordinary Ability.

RUMBLE!

A thick earthen wall shot up from the ground, blocking Andre’s fist. The next second, however, the wall shattered as if it were a sheet of styrofoam. A pair of powerful hands shot through the flying debris and grabbed the Special Agent before he could dodge.

Gripping the man’s neck and staring into his terrified eyes, Andre asked in confusion:

"The elite agents of the North Carolina Counter-Terrorism Department... are this all you’ve got?"