Chapter 576.1: Money Is Literally On Fire

Inside the modestly furnished inn at the gates of Pinecone Ranch, candlelight flickered in the plain guestroom. Unable to sleep, Wu Wenzhou paced back and forth.

Things were spiraling out of control.

At first, he had only agreed to help Yang He by providing some assistance to the mercenaries, helping them get Yang He’s six-year-old daughter out of Zhao Tiangan’s manor.

Whether out of gratitude for past favors or for his own interests, he had intended to help.

The risk hadn’t seemed too great.

Though Yang He was his boss, this job hadn’t been carried out through him, but by mercenaries hired externally.

If anything went wrong, he could always claim ignorance.

And if Yang He truly pulled out of Pinecone Ranch, while he remained loyal and distanced himself, he could become the exclusive merchant of Pinecone Ranch.

Yang He had even tried persuading him to leave together, saying with their accumulated capital, they could still make big money without relying on Pinecone Ranch’s resources.

But he hadn’t even considered it, he had politely declined.

Compared to vague notions of freedom, he desired power and wealth.

He knew he was different from Yang He. That man had perhaps enjoyed enough, but he himself hadn’t yet tasted that intoxicating flavor.

Perhaps someday he would make the same choice his old boss had made, but only after he had built up a fortune.

Leaving now would throw away all the effort he had put into currying favor with the lord, and he would never get to live the life he dreamed of.

But after seeing what happened at Hope Town, and after talking with that man named Ample Time, it felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head.

Money meant nothing if he wasn’t alive to spend it.

Perhaps his boss had been right, the people there had gone mad.

So he had agreed without hesitation to the New Alliance’s conditions, helping their soldiers infiltrate the settlement. In exchange, the New Alliance would send planes to take him and his family away.

But things had veered off course from the start.

The New Alliance hadn’t intended to sneakily investigate the Sanctuary or the Archbishop hiding there, but were plotting something far more terrifying and bold.

What’s more, their activities in Hope Town had already been noticed by commander Luo Feihui’s spies. That ambitious man had inserted himself into the game too.

Even he wasn’t foolish enough not to realize it... He had been played!

Though, to be fair, the New Alliance hadn’t outright lied to him, they just hadn’t revealed all their cards.

Compared to infiltration and bribery, simply seizing the farm outright and interrogating everyone was also a way of investigating.

It was also much more efficient.

If the New Alliance took over Pinecone Ranch, his family would naturally be safe. That still fulfilled his bargain.

However... Could it really go so smoothly?

He glanced uneasily out the dark window.

The night was too quiet.

Knock knock knock...

A sudden rapping at the door made him jump. Heart pounding, he hurried to the entrance.

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

His hand gripped the knob, but he didn’t open it immediately. Warily, he called out, “Who’s there?”

“...”

Silence.

The knocking had stopped as if the visitor had gone, but he knew they were still there. He hadn’t heard any footsteps walking away.

A shiver of unease prickled his spine. Switching his grip, he held the knob with his left hand while his right slipped into his pocket, wrapping around the revolver hidden inside. He thumbed the safety off.

Gritting his teeth, he yanked the door open.

The moment the door was open, he saw Li Liangchuan, the inn’s accountant, someone he knew.

Relief washed over Wu Wenzhou. His heart, pounding like a drum, eased at once.

“...Damn it, you knock and don’t answer, trying to scare me to death?!”

But the man at the door said nothing. He just stood there like a sleepwalker, staring blankly at him in silence.

That hollow stare made Wu Wenzhou’s skin crawl. Nervously, he swallowed and probed. “... Liangchuan?”

There was still no response as Liangchuan still stared at him with his dead eyes.

Now he knew something was wrong.

Backing into the room, he drew the revolver from his pocket and aimed at the man’s head.

Snarling, he shouted, “What the hell are you playing at?! Cut the tricks!”

At that, or perhaps to some other cue, the innkeeper’s eyes shifted slowly, lifeless gaze fixing on him.

Wu Wenzhou’s breath started to hasten. Finger tightening on the trigger, he backed up until he bumped the desk near the window.

From those muddy pupils, he saw it. He saw the raw hunger for flesh and blood.

It was the look of a starving beast spotting easy prey. He had survived too long in the Wasteland to mistake it.

There was something wrong with that man. There was definitely something off!

“Don’t come any closer! I’m warning you! One more step and I’ll shoot! AHHHH!”

Shouting in fear and fury, he fired as the man lunged.

Not once, but again and again.

Bang bang bang bang!

The roar of gunfire filled the room. The man’s head exploded, spraying blood and brain matter into the corridor.

“Don’t blame me... I warned you.” Panting hard, Wu Wenzhou leaned on the desk, staring at the body. But before he could recover, more figures appeared in the doorway.

One. Two. Three...

There were a bunch of them.

They wore slave uniforms, moving like the walking dead. Abyssal eyes fixed on him, mouths opening in guttural moans.

“Euaaaaah...”

Like a flood, they surged forward.

“Ahhh!” Terrified, Wu Wenzhou fired wildly into the crowd.

Gunfire thundered. Muzzle flash flickered like dying candles behind the curtains.

Soon blood spattered the window, smearing crimson across the glass, pressed with twisted faces and bloody handprints until the warm light inside was smothered.

...

At the heart of the settlement, the farm lord’s manor was bathed in the same blood-drenched air.

“Weren’t you looking for me?”

“Now I stand before you, why are you so silent? Kekeke...”

The dry laughter echoed eerily in the vast hall.

Everyone looked up.

A middle-aged man stood on the second-floor balcony, staring down at them with cloudy eyes.

It was as if he had been waiting there all along, waiting for them to walk into his trap.

Ample Time flicked his eyes to the VM feed, pupils narrowing when he recognized the man.

Zhao Tiangan?!

No...

“... Luo Qian?”

Ample Time asked while staring straight at the guy.

Falling Feather shot him a questioning look. It seemed like he was asking Ample Time, “What the hell are you saying?”

Ample Time didn’t answer.

A moment ago, a thought had struck him. Unbelievable as it sounded, it explained why the Sanctuary was absolutely safe.

There was nothing to do with religion. Instead, it was because that thing wasn’t on the ground.

Not being on the ground meant anyone could hear their teachings, and it could appear anywhere it wished.

Hearing the name, the man revealed a grotesque smile.

“Hehe... So you realized it faster than I thought.”

“Ah, so that’s it...”

Ample Time’s face grew grim.

Dog Good Names swallowed nervously while blurting, “What are you two talking about? I don’t get it!”

Ample Time clenched his jaw and hissed, “A spirit interference device!”

“Spirit... interference?!” Falling Feather glanced at him in surprise.

Did that really connect to what they were seeing now?

Ample Time explained, eyes locked on the man.

“Remember the device’s effect, the stronger the mind, the clearer the message, but the weaker the influence. The weaker the mind, the vaguer the message, but the stronger the control.”

He gulped once and continued, “Excessive consumption of Na Fruit drives people into the Divine Trance. In that state, their minds are pretty much wasted.”

The real Gospel wasn’t those pills, it was a spirit interference device operating somewhere.

And the pills weren’t to suppress addiction, they were amplifiers, or signal decoders!

Well, that was just his theory.

But one thing was certain. From the moment they entered Pinecone Ranch, or earlier, that being had been watching them.

The man on the balcony glared at them with malice.

“Goliath, kill them!”

“

ROAR

!”

The hulking meat-mountain let out a deafening bellow. Windows shattered from the shockwave.

“

Ugh

!”

Players in the hall clutched their ears as they nearly lost their hearing.