54: Chapter 54 Evil Begets Evil

Jiang Luoli watched the contemplative Su Chen through the rearview mirror.

Su Chen didn't hesitate for long before looking up to meet Jiang Luoli's gaze.

"Alright, I'm in."

With his extraordinary mental strength, he could sense this senior's attitude toward him.

It was undisguised admiration, pure goodwill, and a hint of a young girl's budding affection.

He was no longer the unlucky loser of the past, and he was no longer afraid of corporate interests setting traps for him.

If they tried to set him up, it wouldn't be out of the question for him to just take over their capital instead.

The corners of Jiang Luoli's mouth curled up slightly, forming a stunning arc.

"A wise choice."

"I'll notify you of the specific details once I've made the arrangements."

"For the next few days, get some rest and adapt to the changes in your body."

Thinking of this, she seemed to remember something else and pulled a gold card from her wallet, handing it to Su Chen.

"There's five million in here. Spend it however you like; if you run out, just ask your big sister for more."

"Oh right, one more thing."

"In a while, Jinguan City will host the quinquennial Huaxia Heroic Spirit Contract Ceremony."

"The organization originally only prepared one slot for me, but since you've joined us now, I'll see if I can get them to approve another one for you."

"If you're lucky enough to gain the favor of a Heroic Spirit... tsk tsk tsk."

Su Chen nodded.

"Thank you, Senior."

The supercar eventually stopped outside a dilapidated urban area that looked completely out of place amidst the surrounding prosperity.

This was Jianghai City's famous 'urban village'.

The alleys were crowded and noisy, filled with a mixture of dampness and cooking fumes.

Su Chen's home was in an old resettlement building here.

When he first tested into the international metropolis of Jianghai from a province known for its competitive college entrance exams, Su Chen was bullied by his three roommates and was forced to move out.

He couldn't afford any other housing.

He had no choice but to settle for living in a house leased by several of his relatives who were struggling to make a living in Jianghai.

"I'll leave you here then,"

Jiang Luoli said.

"I have things to do. I've already pre-deposited part of your sister's medical expenses, so don't worry."

Su Chen was stunned for a moment, a warm current rising in his heart.

His current 'Immunity to All Diseases' trait only worked on himself.

Perhaps in future investments, he could obtain a healing-type cheat to completely cure his sister's illness.

"Don't mention it; consider it an advance investment from the organization."

Jiang Luoli waved her hand, her tone brooking no refusal.

"Becoming strong quickly is the best way to repay me."

"I'm off."

With that, she didn't linger.

The black supercar let out a low growl, merged into the traffic, and disappeared around the street corner.

Su Chen turned and walked into that familiar, filthy alleyway.

Seeing him unharmed and even possessing a completely changed temperament,

The neighbors and relatives at the alley entrance and in the corridors—who had already been preparing for a funeral feast—cast various complex gazes his way.

There was surprise and curiosity, but more than that, there was undisguised jealousy and hushed whispering.

When an exceptionally outstanding, shining person enters a foul environment,

He receives not respect and admiration, but slander and filth.

Su Chen had come from a competitive academic province, worked his way through school, and won countless scholarships.

He supported his vegetative sister alone, facing countless irrational bouts of bad luck with a smile.

In the eyes of these people who were just waiting to die, these beautiful qualities were far too dazzling.

"Oh my, isn't this Su Chen? I heard you were about to kick the bucket; are you all better now?"

"Tsk tsk, hooking up with a sugar mommy really makes a difference. Look at that complexion—did the hospital stay give you a total makeover?"

"Who was that woman driving the sports car just now? She's really loaded! Su Chen, what kind of dumb luck did you stumble into?"

"Hmph, he's just a boy toy! Let's see how long he stays so smug!"

"Exactly, people like him will get dumped once they're played out!"

The foul words were like the buzzing of flies, constantly drilling into Su Chen's ears.

If it were before, he might have felt anger or humiliation but would have endured it in silence.

But now...

Su Chen's face was calm as if he hadn't heard a thing. He walked straight through those malicious gazes toward his home on the top floor.

His steps were steady, and his eyes were as calm as an ancient well.

However, the moment he stepped into the shadows of the stairwell,

An invisible, intangible, yet vast and majestic mental power spread out quietly from him like mercury spilling across the floor.

It precisely enveloped the homes of those neighbors and relatives who had spoken the loudest and most viciously.

In the next moment.

"Ah—! A ghost!"

"What's touching me! Get away!"

"Help! Why did the lights go out! Who's crying?!"

"The window! The window opened by itself! There's a shadow! A white shadow just floated past!"

Shrill screams, terrified cries, and the sound of furniture clattering instantly erupted from those mean-spirited relatives.

The few of them were so scared they flailed their limbs wildly, making strange, rasping sounds.

Soon, they all collapsed on the ground, drooling and wearing hideous expressions.

These relatives were actually scared into mental derangement by the illusions Su Chen created.

Meanwhile, to the outside world, everything remained normal.

Only Su Chen slowly climbed the stairs.

The corner of his mouth curled into a faint smile.

"I didn't do a thing."

"I just... let you see the things you fear most."

"As the saying goes, a clear conscience fears no ghost knocking at the door."

With his mental strength at the level of an eighth-rank martial artist, evoking the strongest fears in these ordinary people was simply too easy.

As for these relatives with their long histories of bad behavior...

Even if the authorities really came to investigate, with no witnesses, they would only be able to have meaningless exchanges with a group of completely terrified idiots.

He, Su Chen, wouldn't be implicated in the slightest.

He pushed open his rusty iron door.

With a creak,

All the noise, fear, and malice outside were completely shut out.

The interior, though simple, was kept very clean.

Su Chen walked quickly through the small, cramped space and stood by the window.

Looking at the bustling city lights, he slowly closed his eyes.

Almost simultaneously, an extremely powerful ripple of mental energy, which an ordinary person could never perceive, spread out with him as the center.

This was mental power!

His majestic mental power, comparable to an eighth-rank martial artist, displayed an astounding effect in this modern reality.

Everything within a radius of several kilometers was clearly reflected in his 'mind' like a high-definition holographic image.

In the building next door, a couple was arguing over trivial matters.

At the snack stalls at the alley entrance, there were busy owners and diners.

Further away, in an upscale residential area,

He could occasionally sense the energy fluctuations, ranging from strong to weak, emitted by several martial artists who were currently practicing.

Of course, their mental strength was far below Su Chen's, so it was naturally impossible for them to detect his probe.

The entire world was presented before him in an extremely microscopic yet macroscopic way.

"Wait... what's this?"

Su Chen's attention focused on a place where the energy fluctuations were most intense.

This location wasn't far from his rented house; it was also within the slum area, about two streets away.

In his mental vision, Su Chen could sense a bloody aura and pure malice.

But it wasn't directed at him.

It didn't seem to be a murderous aura attached to a living being, either.

Su Chen's thoughts shifted slightly.

His 'perspective' instantly zoomed in, descending over that area as if passing through walls.

It was a dilapidated two-story building slated for demolition.

The surroundings had already been cordoned off with yellow police tape, and ordinary citizens had long since been evacuated.

Several men wearing uniform black martial arts suits, with ferocious golden dragon patterns embroidered on their chests, were guarding the perimeter with solemn expressions.

Their auras were roughly equivalent to the Late Foundation Establishment stage in the Fantasy World.

Their mental power fluctuations were only at the level of second or third-rank martial artists.

Clearly, they weren't particularly powerful.

But in this modern world where the spiritual qi recovery hadn't been going on for long, this was already a force not to be reckoned with.

The men were in uniform, and the surrounding citizens who had come to watch all had looks of respect and envy on their faces.

Although he had never actually interacted with them, Su Chen didn't find it hard to guess their identities.

"Official personnel?"

Su Chen's 'gaze' passed through the walls of the small building cordoned off by the tape and entered the house.

The sight before him made even his brow furrow slightly, despite having experienced the mountains of corpses and seas of blood in the Fantasy World.

In the center of the room stood a large, transparent glass tank, like a laboratory specimen container.

In the center of the space inside the tank was a male corpse.

He was posed with an outstretched hand, as if trying to grasp something but never quite reaching it.

The expression on the man's face before he died wasn't one of terror, but rather a slightly satisfied smile.

The corpse's naked upper body was covered in crisscrossing wounds.

The wounds looked as if they had been carved by thousands of small knives simultaneously.

On the floor, a large amount of cash was scattered.

They were all hundred-yuan bills.

They were spread in a thick layer, many of them already stained a dark red by coagulated blood.

It was an extremely discordant scene, filled with a sinister aura.

Several black-clad martial artists were carefully lifting the glass tank, preparing to transport it away.

"Just what happened here?"

Su Chen's brow furrowed.

Such a bizarre case was not at all common in modern-day Huaxia.

The dead man happened to look somewhat familiar to him.

He was a middle-aged man who was unemployed and relied on doing small business to survive.

While he wasn't exactly a good person, anyone would become more vigilant if a living human being was turned into this state less than a few hundred meters away from them.

After a moment of deliberation, Su Chen had made his decision.

He remembered the card Jiang Luoli had stuffed into his hand before she left.

The card was entirely black, made of a material that was neither metal nor jade.

On the front was a simple sword-shaped emblem, and on the back was a string of numerical digits.

Jiang Luoli seemed to have mentioned it at the time.

If he encountered official personnel or martial artists from other formal organizations questioning him, or if he needed to prove his identity as 'one of them'.

Presenting this would allow them to grant him some convenience without exposing his true identity.

Su Chen concentrated his intent, attempting to attach a very fine wisp of mental power to the card he had placed in his pocket.

Then, he gently sent it toward the black-clad martial artists.

He didn't show himself, but simply let the card carrying his mental power brush against the lead martial artist's cheek like a gentle breeze.

The martial artist's body stiffened suddenly, and he whipped his head around.

His sharp gaze swept toward the direction of the card, and his hand instantly went to the weapon at his waist.