Chapter Thirty-Five: The Task of the Deathbird

Long Er handed the cloth bag to Lin Lei:

“This should be a task from the ‘Deathcallers.’ It seems they want to use these threads to locate something. There were originally quite a few, but I’ve distributed most over the past couple of days, only keeping one for myself…”

Lin Lei took out the thread and immediately noticed it seemed to possess a kind of attraction, clinging tightly to his body as if pulled by an invisible force.

“How exactly is this supposed to be used?”

He raised an eyebrow slightly. Though he sensed no source energy fluctuations from it, the thread’s unique effect made it clear it was no ordinary item.

Long Er’s eyes widened immediately, his expression turning strange as he said, “The people from the gang leader’s side said that whoever is drawn to the red thread is the location of the target…”

Lin Lei’s eyes narrowed slightly at this.

Long Er’s expression shifted subtly. “This thread should be related to the thing you took from the ‘Deathcallers’ before. I’m afraid they’ve already detected its approximate location…”

Lin Lei nodded, his face growing serious.

He naturally guessed that after he pulled the sword hilt from the box, some sort of anomaly must have occurred, allowing it to be sensed.

“They don’t seem to be able to pinpoint my exact position…”

Lin Lei’s eyes flickered thoughtfully.

As an organization boasting experts at the Fifth Realm, the “Deathcallers” were not to be underestimated by the current Lin Lei.

But fortunately, he still had his alias “Long Wentian.”

Some of the minor affairs of the “Deathcallers” were naturally handled by the lower-level Purple Dragon Gang, while the surrounding area of the Upper City was under “Long Wentian’s” jurisdiction…

This situation was akin to Lin Lei investigating himself, making it much easier to manage.

He raised an eyebrow, then turned to Long Er.

“Right now, immediately, replace all the threads in our men’s possession with new ones as quickly as possible.”

Long Er nodded solemnly. “Don’t worry, Brother!”

An hour later.

Long Er knocked on Lin Lei’s door again, clutching a cloth bag.

“The gang leader’s people brought twenty threads. They’re all with me now,” Long Er said, wiping sweat from his brow.

Lin Lei raised an eyebrow and took the bag from him. Each red thread seemed to be drawn to him. Counting them, including the one he had before, there were exactly twenty.

“Did anyone notice anything unusual?” Lin Lei asked.

Long Er’s eyes flickered.

“Two people near the Song City noticed the threads acting strangely, pointing to the Song City’s location… They came to me just now, but I’ve dealt with them. The rest are still searching other areas with no findings yet.”

“Well done,” Lin Lei nodded approvingly.

This kid was actually capable, though lacking in humanity and too closely tied to Long Wentian.

Lin Lei would never spare his life.

He put away the cloth bag, but Long Er did not immediately leave. Instead, he hesitated, showing signs of reluctance before weakly speaking, “Brother, I have something to remind you of… please don’t be angry…”

Lin Lei glanced at him coldly. “Speak.”

Long Er looked nervous. “Brother, you might not have noticed, but you’ve been acting a little strange these past few days…”

“Oh?”

Lin Lei’s eyes narrowed, flashing a predatory red. “Tell me, what’s wrong with me?”

If Long Er had already sensed his change, Lin Lei knew he would have to eliminate him early. Until then, he’d rely on the “Soul Confusion Potion” to see if he could force out the location of the secret meeting place between Long Wentian and Lei Siguang.

In the small study pavilion.

Seeing Lin Lei’s expression, Long Er broke out in a cold sweat, swallowed nervously, and hurriedly said:

“Brother, you feel completely different, and there’s a kind of oppressive aura around you that unsettles people… I suspect it has to do with the item you obtained. People like us find it harder to maintain sanity than ordinary folk…”

Hearing this, Lin Lei’s eyes flashed, but his murderous intent subsided.

He waved his hand, his voice still hoarse: “I understand. You can leave now.”

Of course, if Long Er truly suspected him, he wouldn’t have come forward voluntarily with such observations.

Long Er was relieved and said, “Brother, get some rest!” before hastily leaving the room as if fleeing.

Watching Long Er go, Lin Lei reclined on the sofa and began massaging his temples.

The surge of killing intent he had just felt toward Long Er stirred his restless emotions once more.

At that moment, the door Long Er had just closed was flung open again.

Before Lin Lei could open his eyes, he felt a burning-hot body fall atop him.

“Brother, take me,” Yu Shishi whispered.

Lin Lei opened his eyes, his gaze burning red as he stared into Yu Shishi’s moist eyes, his expression hardening. “You don’t even know… what you’re about to face…”

...

Lin Lei was not an animal driven by base desires.

Wearing the face of “Long Wentian” and intimately close to a woman who adored Long Wentian, he felt something strange—a subtle tension between being a minotaur and its opposite.

But he was no paragon of virtue, especially with the increasing corruption within him, which only escalated his negative emotions…

Still, after deeper interaction, his mental state had improved considerably.

...

In the following days.

Lin Lei busied himself, avoiding excessive contact with Long Er and other trusted men, frequently excusing himself with various reasons.

After a week, his corruption had eased notably; the hallucinations and ringing in his ears had almost vanished.

But full recovery would still take time.

During this period, he focused mainly on developing his “Swordbone” ability.

Meanwhile, Qi Fangyan found Zhao Bing’s sudden disappearance strange, as she had hoped to rely on Zhao’s help to resolve matters.

However, with no one bothering her these past days, Qi Fangyan was actually quite pleased.

Xie Jielun had long since been eliminated, and their boss “Long Wentian” was now Lin Lei himself, ensuring no one would trouble Qi Fangyan.

In fact, some of Long Wentian’s subordinates constantly guarded nearby to protect Qi Fangyan.

Lin Lei even detected abnormal source energy fluctuations nearby, likely caused by Long Wentian’s source energy users activating their abilities by chance.

...

Weekend.

Night had fallen after dinner.

Xiao Shisan sat on the sofa watching TV.

Lin Lei half-lay on the sofa, scrolling through the information he had recently obtained from Li Xueshu.

It contained intelligence on some local supernatural organizations in Biyang City.

Among them was the name “Deathcallers.”

The “Deathcallers” were one of the three major local civilian supernatural organizations in Biyang City and one of the few recognized by the Investigation Bureau.

According to the Bureau’s intelligence, though the “Deathcallers” had some connections and cooperation with underworld groups like the Purple Dragon Gang, overall, they were a neutral, even somewhat orderly supernatural organization.

They often collaborated with the Investigation Bureau.

Besides the “Deathcallers,” Biyang City’s other three major civilian organizations were the Astrologers’ Guild and the Blood Cherry Society.

The Astrologers’ Guild was small, lacking combat-related gifts, and enjoyed the best, cleanest relationship with the Investigation Bureau.

The Blood Cherry Society was, needless to say, a purely evil organization.

Among these three, the strongest was undoubtedly the “Deathcallers,” the only force capable of somewhat challenging the Biyang Investigation Bureau.

The other two were far inferior.

Buzz—

Lin Lei’s phone vibrated in his pocket.

It was a message from Long Wentian’s number.

Long Er’s message appeared: “Brother, something big has happened. The gang leader wants all our men to assemble immediately…”

Lin Lei frowned.

The so-called gang leader naturally referred to the Purple Dragon Gang’s leader.

“Did the gang leader say what it’s about?” Lin Lei immediately sent a message.

Long Er replied:

“It’s an arrangement from the ‘Deathcallers.’ It’s urgent and sudden. They didn’t specify the details, only said it’s somewhat dangerous… and ordered our men to gather immediately at the DC District headquarters.”