Jiangcheng City, Third Satellite City.
In the northern outskirts of No. 3 City lay a ridge of black stone hills, virtually barren of plant life. Under the pitch-black night, the rugged contours of the crags were scarcely visible, devoid of any surrounding buildings or lights.
Pedestrians were scarce here even during the day, and at night they vanished entirely.
Suddenly, a string of heavy footsteps echoed through the dark, crunching loudly over loose gravel. Two figures emerged, striding swiftly toward the rocky hills.
The one on the left was tall and burly, dressed in a sharp black suit. Atop his frame sat a striped tiger head, eyes fierce and domineering.
The one on the right was tall, lean, and athletic, wearing an ordinary T-shirt and shorts. Black fur covered his body, capped by a black tiger head, with irises dark as well. In the dead of night, the slightest flash of his bared fangs made it look as though a set of teeth had manifested a spirit of its own.
These two figures were none other than the suit-wearing tiger and the black tiger who had previously fled from beneath the Tiger Head Gang.
Originally, that black tiger had not undergone the taking of form. But after that bloody slaughter, through some mysterious catalyst, he had actually half-taken form into this roughly adolescent human shape.
Together, they entered a gloomy cavern on the flank of the black stone hills. Following the tunnel-like grotto several hundred meters inward, they came upon a burning torch deep inside.
The suit-wearing tiger plucked a yellow hair from his ear and held it over the torch flame.
Chhh—
The yellow hair curled and burned away, dissolving into a wisp of smoke.
Rumbling echoed through the cavern immediately afterward. Two protruding boulders ahead parted smoothly to either side, revealing a corridor paved with black square tiles! Above, below, left, and right, electronic tiles glowed with hazy, radiant hues. The high-tech atmosphere stood in stark contrast to the desolate stone crags outside!
Faint vibrations of thumping music drifted from within.
The black tiger's pupils reflected the dazzling colors, flashing with a glimmer of curiosity.
The suit-wearing tiger led him forward as the stone doors closed automatically behind them. Passing through the corridor, they arrived before a second-floor railing. Below sprawled a massive dance floor, awash with neon lights and revelry!
Overhead hung over a dozen swaying, multicolored disco balls, while surround speakers blasted deafening music. Bodies of every shape and kind packed the ground-floor dance floor.
Some possessed wings sprouting from their backs; some were armored in scales from head to toe. Their heads were of countless bizarre varieties—beasts and birds, cattle and horses, chickens and ducks—all venting pure animal hormones across the floor.
Yet without exception, every single one was a demon!
Compared to human nightclubs, the demons here were even more wanton and unrestrained. Outfits were skimpier, movements more explicit, and some scenes were daring enough to make the black tiger blush beneath his skin.
Fortunately, cloaked beneath thick black fur, nothing showed.
The suit-wearing tiger was clearly accustomed to such sights. Paying them little mind, he kept leading him onward.
Built into the cavern, the venue spanned three levels. The first level housed the sprawling dance floor along with stages for DJs and performers. The second level was a relatively quieter bar area, where various demons sat drinking and chatting. The third level consisted of private rooms fitted with one-way glass, shielding the interior from outside view.
The suit-wearing tiger led the black tiger straight to the bar, took a seat, and tapped the counter. "Give me two Immortal Points the Ways."
Behind the bar, the bartender was a lion sporting golden-yellow dreadlocks, a vest, and a bow tie. Glancing up at the suit-wearing tiger, he smiled in greeting. "Brother Huang, haven't seen you in a while. Heard something went down with the Tiger Head Gang. Everything all right?"
"You certainly stay well-informed," the suit-wearing tiger replied bluntly. "That's exactly why I'm here today."
The dreadlocked lion glanced at the black tiger. "Haven't seen this little brother before. First time at the club?"
"My boy Little Hei," the suit-wearing tiger replied. "Before, he hadn't taken form, so he stayed hidden at home the whole time. Going through this life-and-death crisis and getting severely wounded gave him some sudden epiphany instead, allowing him to half-take form."
The dreadlocked lion nodded. For demons like them, taking form was arduous. The clever ones needed nearly a century of cultivation, while the clumsy ones might take two or three hundred years just to reach the half-taking form stage.
Just like them—though their general silhouette resembled human shape, countless traits such as scales, fur, animal heads, and tails remained in the details, making it impossible to blend into human society.
Even if they slipped into the city, they could only live in the shadows.
Only great demons who had cultivated for untold years could achieve full taking of form. Only that caliber of great demon could truly live like a human. Once reaching that realm, unless they deliberately unleashed their demonic power, no one could tell them apart from ordinary people.
This Demon Club was prepared specifically for half-formed demons like them.
Yearning for the pleasures of the human world yet unable to integrate, they could gather here in the suburban outskirts late at night to enjoy entertainment like humans. Surrounded by their own kind, they felt all the more relaxed.
At the same time, within this club, they could conduct trades, share intelligence, and build a network of connections that provided immense support to isolated, helpless demons in the city. No one knew who ran the Demon Club, only that its backing was formidable, with branches in every single city.
This was a utopia for the city's demons.
...
"Welcome to the Demon Club!"
The dreadlocked lion mixed another brilliantly colored drink, slid it in front of the black tiger, and smiled warmly.
"This one's on the house. What's your name, little brother?" it asked.
"I... my name is... Hei..." the black tiger stammered, his pronunciation stiff and awkward.
"He only just took form and isn't used to speaking human tongue," the suit-wearing tiger answered for him. "Our family names are always a color plus our role. For instance, I'm Huang Dahu, and my brothers were Huang Erhu and Huang Sanhu... Little Hei is the youngest in our family and was born a black tiger cub, so his name is—"
"I'm Hei Xiaozai!"
The black tiger pronounced his own name quite smoothly; evidently, he had practiced it specifically.
"..." The dreadlocked lion paused in silence for a moment before sliding over the other two drinks, their surfaces shimmering with deep blue radiance. "What kind of direction are you looking to point today?"
"The ones who wiped out our Tiger Head Gang were two human cultivators," Huang Dahu said in a low, heavy voice. "Destroying the gang is one thing, but they slaughtered three of my brothers. I can't leave them unavenged. I want to find two helpers with high cultivation levels to take out those two humans with me."
"Are they from the authorities?" the dreadlocked lion asked.
"Not the Supernatural Management Bureau. Just two meddlers. Word is they took five hundred yuan to come wipe out our gang. Hah." Huang Dahu gritted his teeth, eyes burning with hatred. "The Supernatural Management Bureau wouldn't come wipe us out either—I never once stopped paying them tribute."
"Then that's manageable." The dreadlocked lion nodded. "I happen to have two who just slipped in from the wasteland zone. Put up five hundred thousand, and this can be done."
"Fresh out of the wasteland zone?" Huang Dahu frowned, hesitating.
New arrivals meant they hardly understood the rules of human cities, and their work was prone to slip-ups. Hiring demons like that as backup left him uneasy.
"Only those fresh from the wasteland zone have that brand of savagery. Who among those who've hung around the city for long would be willing to help you kill cultivators?" the dreadlocked lion remarked. "Even if you could find someone like that, the price certainly wouldn't be this low."
"Fine..."
Huang Dahu gritted his teeth and agreed. It seemed his thirst for blood outweighed his caution after all.
After pondering a moment, he added, "You must make it clear to them: rules in the city are complicated. They must follow my commands and not act on their own."
"Rest assured," the dreadlocked lion chuckled. "They are starving! They'll definitely get the job done flawlessly for you!"
"Demons fresh from the wasteland zone are always hungry." Huang Dahu seemed to recall something, murmuring with heavy emotion. "Back when our brothers first arrived in the city, we did anything for money too. Every waking moment was a struggle to survive, staring death in the face time and again.
"Even in the direst moments, we never abandoned one another. So long as we fought side by side, we feared no opponent! It was purely on that savagery that we carved out our own domain in Seventh City.
"Who would have thought that disaster would strike right now.
"When Little Hei couldn't take form, dragging him along while hiding was perilous, yet not one of us ever suggested leaving him behind. And now, only the two of us remain... Little Hei, you must carry on for your brothers' sake..."
Overwhelmed with grief and rage, tears welled in his eyes as he turned to look at the last brother he had left in the world.
Only to see the black tiger staring blankly at the dance floor below, wearing a dopey grin.
Following his gaze, in the center of the dance floor stood a female leopard demon clad in a tube top and mini skirt. Her figure was smoking hot and voluptuous, swaying with breathtaking allure. Over a dozen demons clustered around her, completely captivated.
"You little brat!" Huang Dahu smacked the back of the black tiger's head hard. "Your brothers' blood hasn't even been avenged, and you're already thinking about this?
"And you damn well have a thing for leopard print?!"
Chapter 26