After Zhang Lisheng listened to the old man’s self-introduction and learned that he was not only a deputy-level inspector of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences but also the Gate of Death’s Guardian of the Three Great Mountain Gates of Life, Sacrifice and Death, a complex expression crept upon his face.
The young man became silent for a while before asking deliberately despite knowing the answer, “Oh, so you’re Senior Ouyang? Do you actually have an official position in China just like Consultant Zheng? Then, does that mean that are you here on Shrimp B1 Island to also carry out some special mission?”
“Well, yes and no,” Ouyang Boxiong’s eyes twinkled as he said honestly. “It’s really thanks to the blessing of this inexplicable emergence of foreign worlds that I can finally seize the opportunity to transform from the dark into the light. I no longer have to hide in the dark but I’ve still been used by the government as cannon fodder. However, nobody could really stop it if luck decides to come your way. A few months ago, several witchcraft disciples were sent to this island to pretend to be a US citizen to explore but they actually found a reliance for witchcraft to make it big…”
When the old man reached here, his tone unknowingly became excited. “Leaving aside the poisonous strange worms on this Shrimp Island, the most important thing is that the Emperor Molasses actually exists right here. Not only that, this Emperor Molasses can really prompt nature to turn into demons and give birth to the Gold Core. The foundation of the wizards in my witchcraft’s Gate of Death and Gate of Sacrifice completely rely on the conditions of the soul and wizard gus gathered. This island can be said as a godsend treasure for us! Should my witchcraft grow bigger, then…”
“But, Senior Ouyang, this Shrimp B1 Island is now US territory so can the wizards really snatch it away?” Zhang Lisheng’s sentence cut off Ouyang Boxiong’s imagination as he asked a realistic question.
The old man’s expression turned solemn and the air in the cement room seemed to have become dense. Fortunately, a tall old man with a fat belly suddenly chuckled like the Laughing Buddha and said, “Young man, don’t think that my witchcraft of Three Great Mountain Gates of Life, Death, and Sacrifice must be weak for having been squatting in the dark for thousands of years. it’s all because of those mongrels called Taoists who are subjected to the Philosophical Tao School rules and are not allowed to stretch their limbs. On top of that, they always bragged about being on the side of justice so they were willing to become the lackeys of the local authorities to join forces to suppress us! If it’s not for so…. Hmph… But well, of course, it’s not wise for us to just seize the island from the hands of the US devils abruptly just like that. After all, the power of these rockets and missiles is indeed not to be underestimated. ”
The fat man seemed to have talked a lot but when one carefully thought about it, one would realize that the content was actually empty. However, Ouyang Boxiong actually clapped his hands and said, “Brother Zhu was absolutely correct! Did you hear that, boy? We must take our time to reach a decision. Right now, the most critical thing is that even though our group of people is powerful, most of us are not fluent in foreign languages. Now that we’re on this island, even if we have an exceedingly great plan, we can’t do anything at all…”
“Not fluent in foreign languages?” Zhang Lisheng asked in a dumbstruck manner. “Then, you must not be fluent in English right? How did you guys manage to get into Shrimp B1 Island then? I thought that only US citizens are allowed to enter right now?”
“Young man, you really have no manners! How can you keep interrupting your elders’ words?” Ouyang Boxiong had a displeased expression on his face but he still continued to explain, “Of course it’s the Chinese government who arranged for us to enter the island. At first, there were some interpreters with us but no matter what, they did not belong to the Gate of Witchcraft. Adding on to the fact that we have some secrets among us, we had no choice but to let them have some accidents.”
After the old man finished saying so, his mouth trembled slightly and the ground by the corner where the concrete was peeled off suddenly moved again. Not long after, a few middle-aged people who looked like foreigners as though there were foreign Chinese emerged from the ground one after another, like riding on an elevator.
“There, it’s these few people. It’s said that they were international students who graduated from foreign universities. Sigh, speaking of it, if they were willing to be used by my witchcraft, they would have been able to have their lives spared. Unfortunately, it’s a pity that they have now turned into living corpses and though there’s the word ‘living’ there, they’re actually dead!” Ouyang Boxiong pointed at the group of living corpses and stared at Zhang Lisheng as he said those threatening words, bringing out the best of his sinister tone and causing people to shudder upon hearing his words.
The old man’s alternately soft and hard approach that was tempting and coercive at the same time made a series of expressions run through Zhang Lisheng’s face for a long time. In the end, he finally asked something irrelevant, “Senior Ouyang, I read in the ancient book that when a Grand Wizard is commanding a living corpse without attaching his soul, the corpse should be spiritually intelligent but how come they look just like a vivid doll instead?”
This question took everyone by surprise. Ouyang Boxiong was stunned for a moment before bursting into a laugh and pointing at Zhang Lisheng as he said, “Young man, you’re really an idiot, a seed, for being able to ask such a question right at this moment. It would really be a pity if you fall in the hands of the outer community! Ah forget it, let me answer your question first, and then you’ll answer my question. Making a breakthrough to Rank-12 Wizard and undergoing the Resurrection can indeed allow the living corpse to retain its wisdom but there’s always a give and take in this world. If a wizard wants to retain the living corpse’s wisdom, then he would have to sacrifice his own intelligence as well. The amount of a Grand Wizard’s intelligence is closely related to the wizard gu’s condition. Unless you transform the ancient strange insects in succession, it’d be impossible for one to have enough intelligence. In short, all cultivation is interlinked. There’s a saying that states ‘one wrong step may lead to catastrophe’, you better be more careful in the future.”
“Oh, I see. So these few living corpses are just ordinary people and it’s no wonder you’re not willing to keep their intelligence,” Zhang Lisheng’s eyes lit up as he nodded in realization.
“In fact, when I think about it right now, I don’t even know whether it’s right or wrong for letting their wisdom disappearing,” A faint wry smile appeared on Ouyang Boxiong’s face as he said, “Young man, it’s my turn to ask you now. Are you willing to work for my witchcraft?”
“Now that things have already developed to such a stage, Senior, do I still even have a chance to choose?” Zhang Lisheng glanced at the gaze around him and shrugged as he asked.
“Alright, no matter what, you’re considered as having entered our gang now.” The sturdy man who had a full brown beard while sitting on a large wooden table on the right side of the cement house who first noticed Zhang Lisheng’s abnormality in the Four Seasons Hotel’s lobby said, “We finally don’t have to kill unnecessarily anymore. Big Brother Ouyang, I, Yang Tianyun, have made another contribution now! Please don’t assign me to the hard work of going out and exploring later!”
“Hey! Mr. Yang, who asked you to look most like a foreigner? Not only that, you’re the best in learning a foreign language as well! Well, from what I can see, you still have to go out and explore in the future…” Upon hearing the sturdy man’s complaint, a repulsively ugly and sly-looking man beside him suddenly ridiculed in a mocking tone.
When Zhang Lisheng saw that most of the people in the room began to show their true colors the instant he promised to work for witchcraft, he could not help but secretly grin.
He did not know that the reason why such a situation happened was that because the pursuit of Shrimp B1 Island was of great importance. For this reason, the Three Great Mountain Gates of Life, Death, and Sacrifice had competed to send their strong men to the island, which in the end, created a situation where there was not a leader among the multitude of people. Nobody could become the leader and this was not because the Three Great Mountain Gates of witchcraft were not strict enough.
“Silence, everyone! Don’t let our junior who has just joined the gang laugh at us!” When Ouyang Boxiong saw that the scene had broken out into an uproar, he smacked the wooden handle of the wicker chair and said loudly. “Since we now have Little Brother Zhang entering our gang, adding on to the fact that our Brother Tianyun refuses to go out to inquire some news, then I’ll take charge and change the person responsible! Min Lan, you’re a girl so you won’t attract attention if you walk together with Little Brother Zhang. From now on, the two of you will go out and explore!”
“Yes!” A young girl who looked fresh and cool but was not so beautiful stood up and answered.
“Young man! Here are some of the strange plants we have dug in the wild, and strange stones that we have picked up. When we saw people selling them at a high price last time, we could only stare with our own eyes and pile them in the room as trash.” Ouyang Boxiong nodded his head and shifted his gaze back at Zhang Lisheng. Then, he pointed at the pile of trash at the corner and said, “Go pick out some valuables and sell them together with Min Lan then buy some food back.”
“Sure! Please call me Zhang Lisheng in the future, Senior,” Zhang Lisheng said as he ran to the corner and rummaged for a while, before picking up a few ores. Then, he walked out of the concrete door with the girl with refreshing facial features.
Watching his disappearing back, Ouyang Boxiong finally gave a long sigh of relief. “We finally managed to win over this kid who knows about this US country, otherwise, we’d have to take the risk of torpedo bombardment in a few days and cross the ocean by using our various omniscient powers. If we really reach that stage, the situation would be too big for us to handle already!”
“Actually, speaking of a big situation, it has already been turned into one when you refined those four interpreters that the government sent to a living corpse long ago, Big Brother Ouyang! Otherwise, our country would not have been so heartless and not give a damn to us for a few months in succession. It’s apparent that they wanted us to go to our maker!” Upon hearing the old man’s words, a middle-aged man with a height of more than two meters in the concrete room suddenly said with a hypocritic smile.
“Brother Xu, even though you were right, it was not entirely my decision alone to get rid of these interpreters! Since they’ve seen through our plans of snatching over the island, then it would eventually cause a catastrophe to…”
“Snatch the island? Snatch over the island? We can’t just simply snatch by force like that! This is a completely impossible feat! Isn’t this a waste of energy to turn cobblers like us into doctors?”
“Snatch by force? Do you think the US devils are weak? If you really kill all of the Americans on the island, then it would be equal to invading the country and issuing a war. By that time, we’d become the target of the ‘atomic bomb.’ In fact, if it really comes to that, we don’t even have to wait for the US”atomic bomb’, because those Taoists and t-the… Hmph! There’d be no room for us to fight at all…”
“‘Hmph’? ‘Hmph,’ my ass! Just say ‘Old God’ out loud if you want to. The heaven is high and the emperor is far away so who’d be able to sell you out even if you mention the name? Speaking of it, we’re only pioneers who are here to explore this place. If we go back dryly like that, other than having no place to put our dignity, there’s actually nothing terrible about it…
The Grand Wizards of the Three Great Mountain Gates of Life, Death, and Sacrifice who had come to a dead end in the cement room had been arguing for a long time but they still did not come to any conclusion. At the moment, Zhang Lisheng, on the other hand, had already changed those few ores to a stack of brand new hundred dollar bills.
