Chapter Eighty-Eight: Replicating the Golden Baroque

“From what I know about Liang Jing, he got into trouble back in his hometown, provoking people he shouldn’t have, which forced his family to push him out. He’s never known fear—fighting from childhood to adulthood, he beats others until they submit. You could say he’s ruthless, daring to the extreme. Now that the world has changed, he’s even more brazen. But there’s one thing to note: Liang Jing once told me that the other party insulted his mother, and in a fit of reckless rage, he nearly crippled the man.”

Jing Hui recounted this calmly. Though their relationship was merely casual, they had shared many drinks, and Jing Hui had heard many stories from Liang Jing.

Inhale!—

Only now did they realize how utterly mad their enemy was. Tu Guiwu’s heart was filled with regret—if only he had pretended nothing happened. Now that he had provoked this mad dog, he could no longer find peace.

“However, this tells us something important: Liang Jing cares deeply and fiercely protects his own. He holds grudges and retaliates mercilessly. We can use this. If we lure Liang Jing out, we can surround him from all sides. I don’t believe he’s invincible.”

Jing Hui spoke with full confidence.

“What’s the plan, exactly?”

Young Master Tu was at a loss, forced to grasp at straws, hoping to eliminate this menace. Otherwise, he feared he would be killed or driven mad. What Tu Guiwu didn’t realize was that others already saw him as unhinged—crazy, a psychopath. The perfect description.

“Liang Jing was provoked by verbal insults from Lü Fengsheng and his men, and after losing a subordinate, he sought revenge. We can exploit this. I’m certain Liang Jing is still nearby. If we spread word that we’ve found his loved ones, he’ll come out in desperation. We just need to keep watch and wait for him to reveal himself. Once he does, dealing with him will be straightforward.”

“Also, it’s best if you notify the military to deploy heavy weaponry. They have suffered significant losses when Liang Jing was injured before, so I’m sure they’ll be eager to assist.”

Jing Hui’s words spilled out like a sycophant’s, steadily poisoning the situation.

……

In a two-and-a-half-story house in the village, a young man of medium build with a fierce tiger tattoo lay on a large bed. Two beautiful young women massaged his back, which should have been a comfort. Yet he was tense, almost terrified, waiting anxiously for news.

“Boss Jian!”

A subordinate called from outside the door.

“Old Nine, how’s the situation?”

The tattooed man forced his voice to sound calm as he asked. Regret gnawed at him—why hadn’t he investigated thoroughly before agreeing to help? He had flattered the wrong people, and now he had provoked a psychotic enemy. Worse still, he didn’t even know where his enemy was.

“Yes, we bribed Young Master Tu and got some information about Liang Jing.”

No wonder Tu Guiwu felt so insecure—his subordinates were arrogant and treacherous, ready to sell him out for a little gain. Everyone knew the man was a perverted lunatic—a tragedy all around.

“Liang Jing repeatedly sought trouble with Tu and Dai Wu… The awakened ‘Brother Huang’… even took the woman Young Master Tu had his eye on…”

Jian Ge, the tattooed man, was both amazed and impressed by Liang Jing’s audacity. He dared to provoke the mad Tu several times and had even succeeded.

“During the day, Young Master Tu called in the military with their mutated war dogs to attack the two houses. The resulting battle killed over a hundred of Tu’s men and soldiers. Liang Jing lost only one subordinate. Then Tu’s bribed men were sent to negotiate compensation—an exorbitant demand.”

“What? Liang Jing lost one man, Tu lost over a hundred, and yet Liang Jing demanded compensation? That’s outrageous!”

Jian Ge was stunned. Liang Jing was tyrannical—he ruined their schemes, killed their men, stole their women, and when they sought revenge and slaughtered a hundred, he still demanded compensation? Was he a mad dog? So brutal and overbearing.

“And then?”

“The negotiations failed. One of the bribed men on Tu’s side was rigged with a bomb and carried out a suicide explosion, using a deadly poison. It was devastating—except for Tu and Uncle Xie, everyone else died, over a dozen in a single blast.”

Inhale!—

“The previous explosion was the same—also a suicide bombing, killing dozens. Before dying, those people cursed loudly…”

Inhale!—

So vicious, so ruthless. Even those who don’t believe in curses felt a chill. Worse yet, Tu’s own men betrayed him, becoming suicide bombers to take revenge.

Outside, the mutated beasts howled mournfully, the sound echoing forlornly. A cold wind seemed to seep through the window sill. The tattooed man lying on the bed shivered inexplicably.

“Hurry! Pull all our men back. We’re done here. No one is to leave their quarters freely. If anything happens, we bear no responsibility!”

“Yes!”

The subordinate outside seemed relieved, excitement mingled with fear. This mission was a nightmare—anyone could suddenly turn and attack. Who wouldn’t cherish their life? They just wanted to survive, not die needlessly.

……

Almost simultaneously, many factions involved made the same decision. Death tolls from recent massacres kept rising. Explosions continued—curses, suicide attacks, death. Even if the leaders wanted to continue, their foot soldiers would rebel. Survival was all they cared for.

Yet, on the other hand, a considerable number still fought desperately, believing in ‘true loyalty in adversity’ and ‘greater gains through sacrifice.’ Not everyone feared death.

……

In a hidden underground chamber, the zombie ‘Brother Huang’ kept bringing captives to Liang Jing. These were people sent to hunt him—Tu’s men and others. As his own enslaved men died in suicide blasts, replacements were needed constantly. Liang Jing felt no remorse for these deaths. These were his enemies, out to kill him. The more time passed, the more he felt no guilt—only resolve to crush those sworn against him.

“Go!”

Watching a man freshly enslaved by his ‘Light of Temptation’ ability, Liang Jing gave the order and equipped the man.

“Bombs are running low. The military has caught on and no longer carries explosives. Sigh… we’ve also used quite a lot of poison.”

After a moment’s thought, Liang Jing sat cross-legged to meditate, quickly restoring his internal energy.

As Liang Jing’s enslaved men continued killing his foes, he adhered to a principle of not wasting resources. He expended internal energy and then used the life essence gained from these kills to restore it, cycling through consumption and recovery. This refined his energy, making it purer and easier to control.

Due to limitations, Liang Jing had not copied much equipment. He focused on replicating the crystal core of the golden boss Baroque, something he had long tried but never managed due to insufficient energy—even scanning was difficult.

Now, at last, his energy had reached a third level, enough to scan.

For Liang Jing, ‘copying and generating’ was no longer an insurmountable challenge. Unlike scanning, which must restart if interrupted, copying could be paused and resumed with energy input.

This was a recent discovery; he hadn’t had much time to study it before, not being a genius.

As his men kept killing his enemies, Liang Jing gathered abundant life essence, which he used both to train and replenish energy and to continue copying the crystal core. With zombie ‘Brother Huang’ constantly on alert nearby, Liang Jing cycled through restoring energy, copying the core, exhausting energy, and restoring again.

This golden boss Baroque’s crystal core seemed special, requiring large energy consumption. By now, Liang Jing had restored energy fifteen times, meaning he had consumed the life essence of at least sixty people…

Progress: 51%. He needed over a hundred to fully replicate a single golden Baroque crystal core. Could this be related to the golden boss’s awakened talents?

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