Chapter 17: The Encirclement

In the end, Luo Xiaoyu still politely declined Yuan Dong’s proposal.

Before it was truly necessary, she did not wish to bind herself to any force—

Even if it was only attaching a name, it might later become an anchor point that brought her endless trouble.

Yet if it truly became necessary afterward, then she would not refuse either.

Through the conversation with Yuan Dong, she also understood the reason why the personnel of the Moon Church were so devout toward the deity they believed in.

Having learned more, she also gained a bit of a concept as to why they cared so much about public safety and the guarantee of people’s livelihood.

This all originated from the doctrines.

She even felt that the doctrines of the Moon Church resembled some kind of modern governance manual, rather than the religious superstition without much scientific basis in stereotypes.

Although the personal worship toward “Him” seemed not much different.

Between Luo Xiaoyu’s home and the convenience store opened by Chen Ge there was an area close to the desolate outskirts.

That place was the territory occupied by the gang “Poison Snake.”

If one passed by there one might encounter gang members, and moreover the Church’s knight patrol teams were also unable to cover every corner in all aspects.

If it was an ordinary person they might meet with unexpected misfortune.

Yet this kind of information was also obtained thanks to the girl and Bai Mu not exactly counting as ordinary people.

In the impressions of the citizens of Qiufeng City, it seemed that no matter where this edge city far from the core region of the Human Federation was, it was very chaotic—even the center of Qiufeng City was the same.

Bai Mu had repeatedly reminded Luo Xiaoyu to take detours as much as possible and not approach there.

Yet in order to thoroughly eradicate the threat, she still decided to take a turn near that area.

Perhaps she could obtain suspicious information about the specific situation of the gang.

Because according to the information Yuan Dong had told her, there only existed a scant few Transcendents within Poison Snake.

Although Luo Xiaoyu’s current state might put her at a disadvantage upon encountering the other party, she held many moves in her hands that others had never even thought of.

Escaping was certainly no problem.

When truly encountering a hard target the girl would absolutely not go smash an egg against a rock.

The streets here were not much different from elsewhere.

It was only that compared to the calm of the street with the convenience store, there was an additional subtle atmosphere of everyone fearing for their own safety in the air.

This was true of the pedestrians passing by, and also true of the still-open vendors and food stalls on the street.

It seemed the girl’s refined attire was not very common.

She had already been stared at and watched by passersby several times in this vicinity.

This made her feel a little at a loss.

After several struggles in her heart she finally adjusted with a deep breath, then continued stepping forward.

Benefiting from the upgrade of the Glimmer Candle, the girl before long sensed the fact that someone seemed to be following her.

Her heartbeat accelerated a little.

Luo Xiaoyu turned and circled into an alley.

The several burly trackers behind her saw this and instead grinned, revealing smiles.

“Our Poison Snake Gang is one of the top existences in Qiufeng City.

When those fools couldn’t even eat their fill we were already able to often eat large fish and large meat by following Lord Zhou.

Today’s opportunity to render meritorious service—whoever among you wants to take it, go snatch it yourselves.”

“Old Zhang, you’re just sitting here and enjoying the fruits?”

The man called Old Zhang was fierce and vicious, laughing roughly with a loud “haha.”

“I already said that if you all elect me as small team leader, I’ll think of you all—

Is there anything wrong with these words? Tonight when we go back we’ll add wine and dishes! I’m treating! The credit will be shared by everyone!”

Old Zhang stirred the emotions of the crowd.

With such a large, disorderly group of people gathered together, the surrounding residents scattered far away upon seeing them and did not dare approach.

What’s more, they all wore that Poison Snake pattern, either as armbands or on their hats.

The leading Zhou had never actually required this; it was simply that the people underneath liked to show off.

Once their own material conditions and life became a little better than the people they could see, they would impatiently display their own existence.

Yet Old Zhang was not a reckless person.

That he could rise to the position of small team leader also verified this point.

Lord Zhou had said something unknown, and then the Fat Man and Li Jie began issuing bounties within Poison Snake, wanting the people in the gang to find the black-haired girl.

Only to find her, and then obtain more personal information.

The group of brave but brainless people under Old Zhang’s command began searching with great fanfare in the western district, at least in the places where Poison Snake could freely move.

Yet Old Zhang was also not without a brain.

How could such a large bounty be issued for no reason?

He followed these people in together, letting the people under him who were eager for quick success go first.

Perhaps Zhou only wanted a glove to handle matters for himself.

As a Transcendent, directly capturing a little girl was indeed contemptible, yet in Old Zhang’s eyes there was only profit.

If they could capture her they would capture her; if they could not then forget it.

The several people who heard Old Zhang’s words immediately grew excited and split into several directions as they advanced toward the depths of the alley.

The vast majority of people had little vigilance from the very beginning.

Old Zhang protected the several people following him to the front and advanced together.

The several people did not know how long they had advanced.

Only after a long time had passed and things clearly became abnormal did someone uneasily speak up and ask:

“Old Zhang, is this alley this deep?”

“We might have encountered Weirdness. Don’t panic. Use the intercom to notify the remaining several teams and have them pay attention to responding according to the rehearsed methods.”

In order to stabilize the people’s hearts, Old Zhang did not say any extra words.

He looked at the mist that had begun to linger around at some unknown time and quickly made a judgment.

The scale of this mist was greatly different from the Fog Persons that could be seen everywhere previously.

If they had encountered a Weirdness that could match a Transcendent, then the time remaining for them was very limited.

Because this meant that the Moon Church and the Federation authorities would also quickly notice this place.

That girl—up until now she still had not come out?

A trace of surprise could not help flashing through Old Zhang’s heart.

If she was still alive, this could verify that the other party was not an ordinary person.

Knowing how to face a Fog Person of this level without anyone guiding her—perhaps the other party belonged to the kind of highly talented person in Lord Zhou’s mouth.

The Thin Man and the Fat Man were like this, while Li Jie was the most classic example.

The latter had even already become a Transcendent under Lord Zhou’s cultivation.

Thinking back to the early period when Poison Snake had just been established, Li Jie had still been an ordinary person who had never even seen Weirdness.

Meanwhile, at a high place of an abandoned building.

Luo Xiaoyu’s smooth long hair fluttered along with the breeze, her golden pupils silently watching the group of people below.

Relying on the enhancement of her physical attributes, her figure lightly crossed those troublesome obstacles, ran up the half-collapsed stairs to the top floor, and overlooked the below from the place with the most open view.

The girl did not know the thoughts of the people below; she only wordlessly observed the level of these people.

Judging solely from growth potential, Luo Xiaoyu was not an existence they could even touch.

Yet she would not think this way.

According to the mysticism she sensed, the level of this group of people was only a little higher than ordinary people.

Yet the method they used to surround her seemed as though they had already done this many times.

There were people guarding every direction that could leave the alley.

If Luo Xiaoyu were currently below, she would probably be discovered by them very quickly.

Yet under the influence of the mist, these people should not head toward the even more dangerous upper areas.

For people who had half a foot stepped onto the extraordinary path, this kind of mist could probably only play the role of influencing judgment.

Yet ordinary people could not endure remaining within the mist for a long time.

“Mistification” could make them produce hallucinations, and for those with fragile spirits it could even cause the other party’s mind to become disordered.

Luo Xiaoyu currently did not intend to do so.

She clearly understood that these ordinary people were only secondary.

Only by striking down the core layer of Poison Snake could this organization that was not united to begin with collapse with a loud crash.

She had to thoroughly eliminate these factors that obstructed her peaceful life.

Even if she herself could not do it, Luo Xiaoyu still had Yuan Dong’s contact information stored in her phone.

This was something she had added in passing when Yuan Dong was trying to recruit her.

These people surrounding and hunting her had clearly come prepared.

In other words, no matter whether the Moon Church side knew of her actions or not, Poison Snake certainly knew that the deaths of the Thin Man and the convenience store boy could not be separated from her.

Deactivating “Mistification,” before the dense white mist dispersed Luo Xiaoyu followed the path she had found in advance, avoided the line of sight of the Poison Snake members, and left the alley.

She still needed to continue obtaining points.