"This is the place."
Outside the wasteland zone base constructed by Wangyou Media, a battered truck ground to a noisy halt deep within the sparse woods. Several massive figures squeezed out from the rear bed.
Huang Dahu jumped down and looked left and right. Seeing no one around, he stepped forward with relief, peered at the screened perimeter of the base ahead, and took out a tiny phone in his palm to confirm.
A bruised and swollen Hei Xiaozai circled the truck, saying with some heartache, "We spent the last of our money on this new truck, and look how beat-up it got."
Da Pao hopped down from the driver's seat, casting him a cold glare. "I told you I don't know how to drive this thing! Neither of you can squeeze into the cab, so what other choice did we have?"
As transformed tiger demons, Huang Dahu and Hei Xiaozai were far too large; the cabs designed by humans were simply impossible for them to enter. The two roe deer demons could barely squeeze inside, but the problem was... they didn't know how to drive.
Having just escaped from the wasteland zone, the two brothers had only learned that garbage on the ground wasn't food after tasting rat poison several times. Expecting them to master driving really was asking too much of a roe deer.
As their instructor, Dreadlocked Lion had endured considerable misery, somehow managing to teach a roe deer to drive while under strict orders not to smoke or call his students stupid.
Huang Dahu had shelled out a substantial bonus for that.
Yet there was no other way. Although this was the outskirts, there was a lot of vehicle traffic lately. Without a car, the demons wouldn't have made it far on foot before being spotted.
By the time Da Pao bumped and rattled his way here, calling the truck intact would be a lie; it was practically totaled.
"The target... is here?" Er Pao stared blankly at the base. "Are you sure?"
"Sure," Huang Dahu nodded. On his phone was a picture showing Yue Wen and Zhao Xing'er driving in aboard that RV. "I hired the Flying Bird Group to track them. They were told to alert me the moment they left the city."
The Flying Bird Group was a demon organization in Jiangcheng City founded by several avian demons, capable of commanding birds for observation and surveillance. For demons who didn't dare show their faces openly, the Flying Bird Group's assistance was extremely practical and served as a powerful source of intelligence.
Naturally, their rates were also steep.
Back when they fled the Tiger Head Gang, they hadn't managed to bring much along. After spending money right and left like this, the two tiger brothers now embodied four words: utterly and completely penniless.
Yet for revenge, they didn't care. Money could be earned again, but if they didn't avenge their brothers now, it might soon be too late...
When Huang Dahu had been bored in the basement, he used to watch human movies and anime. He knew all too well how terrifying young humans without parents could be! He might be in the lower three realms today, but who knew if he would reach the upper three realms before long?!
Revenge had to be taken early.
Of course, he didn't read novels. Although he was working hard to learn human culture, text-only pastimes were still far too highbrow for him. Even among humans, only those with supreme wisdom, stunning looks, and towering moral virtue could make reading web novels their hobby.
While he was still observing and pondering, Er Pao heard the word "sure," grabbed a hammer, and started marching over.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Huang Dahu quickly reached out to stop him. "What are you doing?"
"What am I doing?" Er Pao looked back blankly. "Going to do the target in."
Da Pao rolled up his sleeves as well, clutching a monkey wrench. "Just leave it to us. We're professionals."
"Professional, my ass!" Huang Dahu pointed at the base encircled by sheds. "Do you even know what that place is?"
Da Pao closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "There's a lot of restless demonic aura. It feels familiar. Is it some demon king's mountain?"
"That's a private estate! It's written on the sign! Can you read?! You can only sense demonic aura, but do you have any idea how many human cultivators are hidden in there?" Huang Dahu said. "If you barge straight in like that, aren't you looking for deer—er, looking to die?!"
"Looking for deer?" Er Pao's eyes were vacant. "Reindeer came too?"
"What reindeer!" Huang Dahu said in complete exasperation. "I'm saying it's human territory! You can't just barge in with egg-regious abandon! You have to be careful!"
"What egg?" Da Pao frowned at him as well. "Chickens came too?"
"Your mother came too!" Huang Dahu nearly lost his mind. "Idioms! Don't you know what idioms are?!"
Er Pao turned his head, looking all around. "My mom came? Really?"
"..." Huang Dahu wore an expression of total soul-crushing despair. After a long silence, he said, "Just follow my lead, all right?"
"You're paying, so of course we'll follow your lead," Da Pao said, restraining his younger brother and nodding.
"You haven't learned a single thing about the human world, but you sure learned about money fast." Huang Dahu let out a long sigh. "First we observe from here to see what they're doing inside, and then we wait for the gates to open to sneak in. Otherwise, if you just rush in blindly, do you even know how many humans are in there?"
"Yeah," Da Pao agreed.
The demons crouched together inside a ditch on the hillside, peering toward the base and watching closely.
"You really need to learn from me. Your methods are way too reckless," Huang Dahu said. "My brothers and I worked the underworld in the city for over a decade. We carried out assassinations more times than I can count without a single hitch. When it comes to this, I'm the real professional."
"Then how did your brothers die?" Da Pao asked.
"..."
That single question struck Huang Dahu completely dumb.
He didn't know what to say. Cautious and meticulous for over a decade, only to have someone kick down their door and wipe them out in a single day—he still found it hard to accept.
"Our brothers were just playing cards and listening to music at home when two cultivators showed up. The moment they came in, they went on a killing spree," Hei Xiaozai answered.
"You don't need to tell them that much," Huang Dahu muttered.
"I heard those two took the job for just five hundred bucks before coming over to smash us," Hei Xiaozai continued indignantly. "Five hundred total!"
"Keep your voice down!" Huang Dahu snapped. "It's not something to be proud of!"
"Just five hundred to kill three?" Er Pao looked up at Da Pao. "Big Brother, are we asking for too much by wanting fifty grand to kill two?"
"Stop embarrassing us!" Da Pao scolded. "Five hundred is more than fifty! How many times do I have to teach you?!"
"Oh..." Er Pao nodded.
Huang Dahu closed his eyes in utter despair, feeling deeply that there was no future for this team.
Right at that moment, heavy-duty trucks drove up one after another, their weight causing the road to hum and rumble. The massive demons felt the ground vibrate violently beneath them. The convoy consisted of dozens of these huge vehicles, their cargo tightly sealed, looking from afar like a long black dragon's spine.
At the same time, the gates to the estate swung open. A crowd of people poured out, directing the convoy to enter in an orderly fashion.
Da Pao closed his eyes and sniffed carefully against the wind. "Such a heavy demonic aura! Even heavier than inside!"
"Good opportunity!"
Seeing the scene before him, a sharp gleam flashed in Huang Dahu's eyes. His predator's instinct told him this was the perfect chance to slip inside.
"Watch my lead and follow me!"
With a low, muffled growl, he dropped to all fours and sprinted forward, as though reverting to his beastly form. Flanking the hillside, he reached the side of the heavy convoy, bounded up gracefully, and swished beneath one of the heavy trucks, clinging to its undercarriage to ride inside.
In that moment, he was once again the majestic overlord of the forest!
Da Pao and Er Pao followed right behind. Though the two brothers looked clumsy and foolish, they possessed a bizarre agility. Swaying and darting after Huang Dahu, with two quick bounds, each hopped under a truck and latched onto the chassis.
Only Hei Xiaozai ran into trouble. He didn't dare reveal his true form, yet he wasn't entirely used to this human body. When he leaped, his timing slipped slightly, and his body slammed into a wheel with a loud thud.
The heavy wheel sent him spinning head over heels. He tumbled several times, collapsed to the ground, and grew dizzy, his consciousness fading.
"What was that sound?" Someone noticed the commotion and looked over.
The demons' hearts leaped into their throats.
If the humans grew suspicious and inspected all the vehicles, everything would be ruined!
Then, the human over there shouted, "What's going on?! One of them fell out! Good thing it was drugged and won't wake up anytime soon. Quick, carry it into the park!"
"Coming, coming!" Several cultivators escorting the convoy ran over and hoisted the black tiger onto their shoulders.
One of them looked back. "Wait, none of the cargo beds seem broken. Is this one from our shipment?"
"Must be," another said. "Look how bruised and swollen it is. Those are definitely injuries from crashing against the city-defense barrier."
"True enough..."
Amid the humans' chatter, the entire professional assassin team successfully entered the park.
***
A few minutes later, the director's voice came through the earpieces of Yue Wen and the others.
"Everyone keep your faces neutral and continue whatever you're doing. I have an announcement."
"Due to your overly valiant performance, our reserve of demon beasts in the wasteland zone has run out. We have just released a new batch. Their strength will be slightly higher, so be mentally prepared. Without a bit more intensity, the tension of this simulated wasteland zone would be too weak. Of course, given your realms, handling them won't be an issue."
"Currently, the individual livestream with the highest viewership belongs to Sister Hua, followed by Little Sister Feixia and Yue Wen. Yue Wen in particular, you're very popular with the viewers right now. Keep up the good work."
"It's getting late, so feel free to take a break. Viewership is lower at this hour, and you've been exploring for a long time. As long as you can ensure your safety, you may sleep for a bit to recover your energy."
Hearing this, Yue Wen was taken aback. What good work?
Aside from being handsome, had he done anything else to please the audience?
Whatever, never mind.
As for resting, that was pure nonsense. After finally making it to such a great place, he wished he could split into three people to slay evil entities! Sleep?
The demon beasts were right there. If you didn't harvest them, someone else would.
How could anyone sleep at a time like this?
"Ji Yang, your personal stream has the lowest viewership—dead last at the moment," the director reminded him. "You might want to take a page out of Yue Wen's book and slay more demon beasts. It seems viewers don't like watching you search for treasure chests; they prefer combat."
"All right, that's all. Over!"
When the director finished speaking, everyone wore different expressions.
Ji Yang, who had been working so hard to find chests, gritted his teeth. He had wanted to open more chests to win the game, but they preferred watching demon beasts get slaughtered?
Heh, fine.
Then let them see what a disciple of Hidden Dragon Pool was made of!
Chapter 40