Faith
Fresh blood flowed down the sliced-open torso, dying the expensive velvet carpet red. 【Zong Wen】 could clearly feel his life force draining away, but there was nothing he could do about it...
【Liu Qingyan】's fingertip tapped on the back of his hand and slowly traced upwards along the crook of his arm. The skin on his arm began to slide off smoothly, revealing the blood-colored palm and forearm muscles, like taking off a piece of flesh-colored clothing.
There was already not a trace of blood color on 【Zong Wen】's pained face. This was undoubtedly a cruel punishment. Watching his own skin and flesh being peeled off with his own eyes, this extremely visually impactful scene was frantically assaulting his reason.
He struggled to speak hoarsely:
"Let... let me go..."
"I... return your freedom... I beg you..."
"Whatever you want... is fine..."
【Liu Qingyan】's fingertip traced across his shoulder, as if meticulously carving a blood-colored artwork. Facing 【Zong Wen】's pleas, she shook her head slightly:
"Why..."
"Because he doesn't like you."
【Liu Qingyan】 said softly, "So, you must die."
"He...?"
"He has already left the 【Main City】. Now that I kill you, it won't implicate him... When he returns next time, he won't ever have to see this face of yours that disgusts him."
【Liu Qingyan】 lifted her fingertip. At this moment, most of the skin on 【Zong Wen】's body had already fallen off, leaving only an aged face covering the blood-colored body, looking demonic, bizarre, and sinister on the bright red carpet.
He seemed to have thought of something, speaking word by word:
"【Special... Envoy】??"
Seeing 【Liu Qingyan】's hand reaching towards his face, 【Zong Wen】's desire to survive reached its peak. He exhausted all his strength and pleaded:
"Why... do you want to help him kill me... He clearly... is unwilling to pay attention to you... And I! I... elevated you to the peak of the Red Dust 【Main City】... I am your true benefactor!"
"People like you... wouldn't understand..."
【Liu Qingyan】's fingertip landed lightly on the center of 【Zong Wen】's terrified brow. With a casual slice, a wrinkled face peeled off completely, falling lightly onto the blood-colored carpet.
The entirely blood-colored 【Zong Wen】 knelt in the pool of blood. The dim yellow candle fire flickered in the room. In the mirror opposite him, which was specifically used for girls to touch up their makeup on normal days, his appearance was clearly reflected... At this moment, his entire body was blood-colored, his face dripping with fresh blood. No beauty, ugliness, age, or youth could be distinguished, only endless terror.
The black dress slowly stood up. The hem of the skirt had already been stained with blood, dripping fresh blood "tick-tock, tick-tock".
【Liu Qingyan】 calmly looked down at 【Zong Wen】, who had turned into a blood person. One palm gripped his throat. Gazing into those terrified and despairing pupils, she slowly opened her mouth:
"He is not just my benefactor..."
"He granted me salvation, gave me 【Faith】. He is the one and only Red-Clothed God upon these ruined ruins of mine."
Crack——!
As 【Liu Qingyan】's voice fell, 【Zong Wen】's terrified head was instantly snapped off.
As 【Liu Qingyan】 released her blood-colored palm, 【Zong Wen】's head drooped down, like a sinner kneeling in a sea of blood to repent. He had already lost all signs of life.
He had never thought that after sweeping across the Red Dust 【Main City】 for so many years, he would eventually die in his private room where he played with his collections, die in front of that soft and comfortable bed... He had wanted to ravage an absolutely beautiful rose, but his throat was slit by its sharp thorns.
The dim yellow candle fire flickered in the room. The young girl's face had no expression at all. She stopped and looked at 【Zong Wen】 in the pool of blood for a long time, then slowly turned her head and looked in the direction of the Red Dust 【Main City】's gates...
Her cinnabar-like red lips curled up slightly. Her water-like eyes stared into nothingness. Both hands lightly lifted the hem of her skirt, and facing the direction Chen Ling had left, she knelt on one knee,
Like a pious believer.
The black skirt bloomed amidst the blood-colored soil, like a chilly rose. She parted her lips slightly, murmuring to herself:
"This humble girl, 【Liu Qingyan】, with a meager gift... respectfully sees Lord Chen Ling off from the city."
-----------------
【【Audience Expectation Value】 +3】
【Current 【Expectation Value】: 78%】
Two lines of prompts flashed before Chen Ling's eyes. He froze slightly, the black windbreaker stopping at the edge of the 【Red Dust Domain】.
Chen Ling turned his head and looked back in the direction of the Red Dust 【Main City】. It had already been a long time since he left the 【Main City】, and its outline was blurred and unclear... But under this pitch-black night, it seemed as if something was happening.
"The 【Expectation Value】 rose again... What's the situation?" Chen Ling murmured to himself.
For the 【Expectation Value】 to increase for no reason was definitely not a good thing. Chen Ling carefully reviewed the recent events in his mind, but still couldn't think of any hidden dangers...
"Yi ya?"
To avoid being too eye-catching, Chen Ling had covered the piled-up boxes of silver notes with a black cloth. At this moment, 【Clown】 was sitting on top of them, dangling his two short legs while looking at Chen Ling doubtfully, seemingly asking why he wasn't moving.
"... It's nothing." Chen Ling shook his head and continued forward.
The increase in 【Expectation Value】 now was most likely related to the situation in the 【Main City】. Chen Ling thought it over and over. The struggle between the Beidou Consortium and the 【Flower Capital Consortium】, the duo of 【Jian Changsheng】, and also 【Liu Qingyan】, the Huang's Consortium... These all seemed possible.
Although he had left the 【Main City】 now, the storm he had stirred up during his few days there wouldn't dissipate just because he left... Chen Ling had a premonition that the situation in the 【Main City】 would be quite turbulent for the upcoming period.
The sticky note Chen Ling left for the Huang's Consortium before he left was actually not some secret method to turn the tide, but merely a reminder...
As the 【Special Envoy】 of the Golden Society, Chen Ling was an existence situated right in the center of the storm of the struggle between the five major consortia. He was the most sensitive to the general trend of the 【Main City】. Even the slaughter between Beidou and Flower Capital was provoked single-handedly by him, and the contradiction between the two sides had already reached an irreconcilable point.
Chen Ling was very clear that the 【Flower Capital Consortium】, which had been tossed to the verge of death by him, could inevitably not be a match for the Beidou Consortium. No matter how much 【Zong Wen】 struggled, the collapse of the 【Flower Capital Consortium】 was only a matter of time.
When a whale falls, all things grow. The collapse of the 【Flower Capital Consortium】 would inevitably release a massive amount of resources. Chen Ling's reminder to the Huang's Consortium was to tell them not to fear the power of the 【Flower Capital Consortium】, and to start dividing and even swallowing their resources as quickly as possible. If they were late and the other major consortia intervened, along with some small consortia picking up the scraps behind them, they would miss a great opportunity.
Although Chen Ling didn't know how many benefits the Huang's Consortium could reap in this opportunity, it would absolutely be more than the money he had scammed from them, which could be considered returning a favor... What's more, if the Huang's Consortium really seized the opportunity, it could be considered that he had personally supported them. Perhaps not long after, they could also become a great source of assistance.
Chen Ling calculated the situation of the Red Dust 【Main City】 mostly in his mind. Pushing a mountain fully loaded with silver notes, he slowly disappeared at the edge of the horizon in the night.