Chapter 289: The Destruction of the Heilong County Dock Hall

“Helm Leader Wangchuan, have you discovered something?”

Constable Captain He stood up and followed Wangchuan’s sweeping gaze with his own, pressing for an answer.

Wangchuan drew a breath and said,

“While the blood fog was invading the Branch Helm, I led my brothers in firing several volleys of arrows. If Constable He had not brought it up, I nearly would have forgotten about it myself…”

“Arrow volleys?”

Constable Captain He’s eyes shook with surprise as he turned to look over the dock plaza.

The plaza was completely empty. Aside from the shattered tung oil jars scattered across the ground and the bloodstains, there were no arrows to be seen at all…

But there were indeed plenty of arrow holes left in the ground of the dock plaza.

At once, Constable Captain He understood.

Where had the arrows gone?

The killers inside the blood fog had actually taken away every arrow?

If they were beasts, then that level of caution and care was no less than that of humans.

But if they were spirits or monsters… then how could they have left behind shattered scales?

“Search!”

“Even if you have to turn the entire dock plaza upside down, you must find those arrows. They definitely hide some secret! There might even be blood left on them by the killers.”

At his command, the constables of the Six Gates searched the dock plaza even more carefully.

And sure enough, they found some things.

Several tiny fragments of scale, identical to the one Constable Captain Yu had collected, hard and smooth.

Inside the cabins of several boats moored at the dock, they also found overlooked Armor-Piercing Arrows, though none of them bore any extra traces.

“Constable He, let this commoner keep those Armor-Piercing Arrows.”

Wangchuan made the request with a smile.

Constable Captain He waved a hand, and the pile of shattered Armor-Piercing Arrows was handed over to the Caobang disciples.

He had not come here to pick a fight.

Someone stepped up beside Constable Captain He and said in a low voice,

“Sir.”

“There should be some arrows in the river as well. Should we…”

Constable Captain He shook his head.

“Even if the arrows in the river had blood on them, it would already have been washed away. They are of no value.”

At that point, he cupped his fists toward Wangchuan and said,

“Many thanks to Helm Leader Wangchuan for your cooperation. I still need to continue south and go take a look at the situation in Heilong County, so I will take my leave first.”

“Constable He, travel carefully.”

Wangchuan returned the salute and saw him off.

…

After Constable Captain He and his men left, Yang Feiyue, who had been hiding in the Medical Hall, reappeared ghostlike at Wangchuan’s side and said,

“This Constable He really is bold because he trusts in his own skill. With the Blood Moon overhead, he still dares to wander around investigating cases. He really does not know how the word death is written.”

Wangchuan looked up at the sky.

The Blood Moon had grown rounder still, its bloody radiance so vivid it looked as though it might drip.

“Constable He is at least a Third-Rank Martial Artist. We do not need to worry about him.”

“All brothers, remain on alert!”

“The Blood Moon will pass very soon.”

“Later, give every Probationary Disciple a reward of two taels of silver, and every Branch Helm disciple five taels of silver!”

The moment Wangchuan made that announcement, morale naturally surged, and everyone’s spirits rose.

…

After leaving Hejiang Town, Constable Captain He hurried all the way toward Heilong County on horseback.

The situation in Heilong County was extremely grim.

The blood fog had come ashore.

The dock hall was quickly swallowed by the fog.

Although Song Minshu had made many arrangements in Heilong County, when danger descended, a small Yulong Gang hall simply could not withstand the encroachment of those fiendish creatures inside the blood fog.

From top to bottom, the entire place was slaughtered clean.

After many houses were smashed apart, the members of the Gold-Farming Team who had logged off to rest had their physical bodies manifested and suffered the same fate.

On the night of the Blood Moon, those unfortunate players whose souls withered immediately discovered in their rooms, while still in their sleep, that their bodies were being torn apart by some unknown thing.

“AHHH!!!”

Their screams rang throughout the rooms.

In Su Wan’s office, a red warning light flashed.

Alarm after alarm went off as game accounts were forcibly deleted one after another.

The red light shone over Su Wan’s pale face, and her expression was unbearably heavy and helpless.

“Twenty-three people.”

“Accounts forcibly deleted.”

“Send in the security robots to clean the rooms.”

Once the order was given, the security robots on each floor began to move.

One ownerless room after another was opened.

Through the linked visual feeds of the security robots, Su Wan saw the horrific blood-soaked scenes inside the rooms.

One Gold-Farming Team player after another had been disemboweled and torn apart, lying twisted on their beds with agonized expressions…

All of them had died in their own beds.

“Upload the record.”

“Warring States Game Studio. During the Blood Moon Incident, twenty-three dead. Location: Sanhe Commandery, Heilong County.”

After completing that series of operations, Su Wan picked up the phone and made call after call, passing on the intelligence.

Wangchuan soon received the information from Bai Yuhui as well.

“Something happened in Heilong County?”

“We had twenty-three Gold-Farming Team members at the dock in Heilong County. Those people died offline, which means the hall in Heilong County was most likely breached and wiped out completely.”

Bai Yuhui’s tone was heavy.

Wangchuan involuntarily sucked in a deep breath of cold air and could not say a word for a long moment.

Hall Master Song Minshu had gotten along fairly well with him.

After a brief moment of sorrow, Wangchuan suddenly thought of Constable Captain He and his group, who had ridden off toward Heilong County at full speed…

“I hope he is alright.”

Constable Captain He was, after all, a Third-Rank Martial Artist. If he saw the blood fog from a distance, he should understand what had happened and not get dragged into it.

“Helm Leader.”

“Now that something has happened to the hall in Heilong County, our shipping operations in the downstream waters are going to become troublesome. What should we do?”

Bai Yuhui reminded him.

Wangchuan rubbed his taut temples and sighed.

“Once the Blood Moon disappears, arrange for a group of brothers to go over and take control there. No matter what, the shipping business cannot stop.”

“Senior Brother, if it is Heilong County, leave it to me.”

Bai Yuhui suddenly took the initiative and made the suggestion.

Wangchuan froze for a moment, then immediately understood.

Bai Yuhui had set his sights on the status and earning power of a hall leader’s position. He wanted to use the profit-making ability of the Heilong County dock hall to obtain the resources needed to break through to a Third-Rank Martial Artist.

Wangchuan nodded.

“Very well.”

“After the Blood Moon, there should not be any danger left in Heilong County.”

“You can take a team from the Branch Helm to help you gain a firm foothold there. With the studio’s help and Captain Bai’s support, and with Lin Xun and me covering you from either side, things should return to normal soon enough.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother!”

Bai Yuhui was overjoyed.

With Wangchuan’s support, his move into Heilong County and control of a hall was all but certain.

Using the hall’s resources, he could greatly accelerate his push toward the Third Rank.

“Once you get there, be careful.”

“Yes!”

Bai Yuhui hurried off excitedly to recruit people. Before long, he had persuaded two First-Rank Martial Artists and three formal Martial Artists to follow him, along with twelve Quasi-Martial Artists.

What had been disaster in Heilong County had become an opportunity for Bai Yuhui.

Wangchuan sighed inwardly.

Then he looked up at the sky.

Midnight had passed…

The Blood Moon had reached the height of its splendor and begun to wane, drawing back its bloody radiance.

The Blood Moon Incident of the middle of the seventh month was entering its final stage.

Very soon, they would learn the losses suffered across all factions in 《spirit realm》, as well as how many casualties the major studios had taken that night.