4: Chapter 4 The Arrow Released and a New Journey

Walking out of the solemn gate of the police station, the city lights were already flickering on outside.

The nights in the cities of the Dragon Kingdom always carried a sense of illusory prosperity.

Neon lights flickered, traffic flowed like a river, and the glass curtain walls of the skyscrapers reflected a kaleidoscopic, bizarre array of colors.

A warm evening breeze brushed against his face, carrying the scent of cumin from roadside barbecue stalls and the smell of car exhaust.

Zhang Cheng, however, felt not a hint of warmth, but rather a bone-chilling coldness and clarity.

He stood on the steps, turning back to look at the majestic national emblem on the police station, then looked at the land before him—familiar yet strange—a cold and bitter arc curling at the corners of his mouth.

This incident, while seemingly passed perfectly, was actually fraught with extreme danger.

He knew better than anyone that the police let him go not because they believed him, but because there was no evidence.

In that final look the veteran detective gave him, he read suspicion.

If not for the perfect identity of the "Death Soldiers" arranged by the system and the clean, efficient operation that left no physical evidence pointing to him, he would likely be behind bars right now, awaiting trial.

The Dragon Kingdom is a nation with strict rule of law. It possesses the most powerful state apparatus and the most rigorous social control system in the world.

Sky Net system, big data analysis, facial recognition... Here, the power of an individual, especially the "unconventional" violent means he currently possessed, was like a torch held up in the dark night—too conspicuous and too dangerous.

This time, killing a Wang Pangzi required such meticulous planning and a bit of luck. What about the future?

As the system's power grows, his ambition will also expand. He will inevitably need to summon more Death Soldiers and exchange for more weapons and equipment.

A hundred Death Soldiers? A thousand?

AK47s? Rocket launchers?

Within the borders of the Dragon Kingdom, where would these thousands of people hide? How would these guns and ammunition be transported? Even if he only exchanged for one gun, once discovered, it would be a shocking case that would bring down the thunderous strike of the state's power.

At that point, what would await him would certainly not be a second "insufficient evidence," but rather SWAT teams breaking down his door, life imprisonment, or even a bullet to the head.

"The Dragon Kingdom, although it is my homeland and has a natural emotional connection, is ultimately not where I can spread my wings."

Zhang Cheng walked on the bustling street, surrounded by crowds returning home from work, their faces wearing expressions of weariness but contentment.

And he, like a lone wolf that had just awakened, blended into the flock of sheep, appearing completely out of place.

"The power of the system belongs to the darkness, belongs to chaos, and belongs to those lawless places where rules have collapsed.

Staying here is no different from a dragon trapped in shallow waters or a tiger fallen on the plains. Not only can I not develop, but I might also invite disaster upon myself."

The idea of leaving, like a spring bamboo shoot breaking through the soil, became incredibly firm and clear at this moment.

Since this place cannot contain his ambition, then he would go to a place that could.

A place name suddenly popped into his mind—"Northern Myanmar."

It is the hinterland of the Golden Triangle, a hotbed of crime, and a paradise for adventurers.

There, warlords are entrenched, and the government army is powerless to control it; scams run rampant, drugs are flooding, and every inch of land is soaked in blood and greed.

There is no law there, only guns and power. Whoever has the biggest fist makes the rules.

But this is precisely the soil he needs!

There, there are the system's "monster grinding" targets—countless telecom fraud parks, each one an ATM for points; there are mid-term opponents—those local warlords entrenched in the region, serving as whetstones to test the combat effectiveness of the Death Soldiers; and there are the late-game chess opponents—the proxies of major powers in that region.

More importantly, it borders the Dragon Kingdom.

The official authorities of the Dragon Kingdom have an urgent need to combat telecom fraud in Northern Myanmar, protect their nationals, and open up an outlet to the Indian Ocean, but restricted by international law and diplomatic relations, many things are inconvenient to handle directly.

This might become an opportunity for him to leverage strength or even cooperate in the future. Being an agent walking on the edge of light and darkness might be more promising than simply being a warlord.

"That is the chessboard where this piece of mine should be placed."

Zhang Cheng stopped, casting his gaze towards the southwest, as if he could pierce through thousands of mountains and rivers to see that jungle filled with crime, danger, and infinite opportunities.

"Hoo..."

He let out a long breath of stale air, no longer hesitating, stepped forward, and merged into the flow of people on the street.

But his back revealed a sense of determination. Contained within it was the sharpness of a blade about to be drawn from its sheath.

...

Returning to that narrow, damp, moldy rented apartment.

Zhang Cheng locked the door, pulled the curtains shut, and even checked once for pinhole cameras before sitting on the creaky single bed and calling up the system panel again.

[Current Points: 1990] (Note: 1000 points are automatically added every day at midnight)

[Functional Services]

Death Soldiers Summoning Space (Not Activated)

Real-time Map (Not Activated)

Skill Infusion (Not Activated)

Looking at the remaining points, Zhang Cheng began to plan calmly.

To go to Northern Myanmar, he couldn't go alone to his death. He needed bodyguards, eyes, and, more importantly, a place to hide troops anytime, anywhere.

"System, how many points are needed to activate the Death Soldiers Summoning Space?" he asked in his mind.

[Activate Death Soldiers Summoning Space (Beginner, can accommodate 100 unsummoned Death Soldiers in a dormant standby state, can be deployed at any time), requires 500 points.]

"Activate!" Zhang Cheng did not hesitate.

This was necessary. Within the borders of the Dragon Kingdom, he couldn't walk around with a large group of Death Soldiers. With this space, he could carry his troops like ammunition and release them once he reached a safe place.

[Ding—500 points consumed, Death Soldiers Summoning Space (Beginner) has been activated. Remaining points: 1490.]

On the light screen, the previously grayed-out space icon instantly lit up, emitting a faint blue glow.

"What about activating the Real-time Map?"

[Activate Real-time Map (Beginner, displays terrain, Death Soldiers' locations, and simple red dot indicators for enemy situations within a 1 km radius centered on the host), requires 300 points.]

"Activate!"

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. With this radar-like map, he could avoid most ambushes and tracking.

[Ding—300 points consumed, Real-time Map (Beginner) has been activated. Remaining points: 1190.]

In the top right corner of the light screen, a miniature circular radar map interface appeared. Currently, there was only one green dot representing himself, blinking in isolation.

Functions activated.

Zhang Cheng lay on the hard bed, looking at the mottled ceiling.

Tomorrow would be a new day. New points would be credited, and new plans would begin to be implemented.

Meanwhile, in another corner of the city, in a small loan company with a sign reading "Honest Lending," the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

This company was actually a loan shark den, and the boss was none other than Wang Pangzi's older brother, Wang Hu.

Wang Hu was even more ruthless than his younger brother. His brother acted like a tyrant in the factory, while he was someone who would eat people alive in society without spitting out the bones.

When Wang Pangzi was alive, he often used his position to introduce workers in urgent need of money to his brother for high-interest loans; the two colluded to make a lot of black-hearted money.

Now that Wang Pangzi was dead, this source of income was cut off. More importantly, his own brother had been stabbed to death at the factory gate like a chicken, which made Wang Hu, who always cared about face, feel like he had been slapped hard across the face.

In the morgue, looking at his brother's pale, bloated face, Wang Hu's eyes were bloodshot, like a beast waiting to devour someone.

"Damn it! The police say a homeless person killed him? I don't believe it!" Wang Hu punched the wall, his knuckles bleeding. "How could there be such a coincidence? My brother was just about to fire that kid named Zhang Cheng, and then he gets killed? And it just happens to be some lunatic?"

He didn't care about evidence; he only cared about the logic of the underworld.

"It must be him! It must be that little bastard who paid for a hit! Even if he didn't do it, this debt must be settled on his head!" Wang Hu gritted his teeth, turned around, and roared at the four scruffy-looking lackeys with tattooed arms behind him:

"Go! Investigate for me! Find out where that Zhang Cheng lives! I don't care what the police say; I want him to wear mourning clothes for my brother! I want to cripple him!"