Time passes by, second by second.

The Lame Monster has yet to appear.

Black No. 2 watches Feng Mu pacing back and forth in the dead-end alley, frequently glancing down at his phone to check the time. A sense of irritability and confusion wells up in his heart.

Nearly an hour has passed in waiting.

Was the target too early, or is the Lame Monster running late?

Black No. 2 isn't particularly bright and can't figure it out, so he can only lie in wait, lurking in the dark.

Then, he clearly sees the target suddenly glance at his phone again, his face visibly growing uglier, looking around fretfully as if searching for someone hiding in the shadows.

"Stop hiding, come out. He saw you, he's not coming." Feng Mu shouted into the air.

Black No. 2 froze for a moment, his rigid eyeballs turning, making his expression look more vacant.

It took him a full thirty seconds to understand that the target was presumably speaking to him, and the "he" in the person's mouth referred to the Lame Monster.

"Have I been exposed?"

"Mission failed, but I was so quiet, hiding without even playing with ants. How did they find me?"

Black No. 2 isn't good with thinking, but he's very skilled in lurking and killing, rarely having been exposed before.

The most crucial thing is that the Lame Monster discovered him, yet he didn't discover the Lame Monster. It's like a nest of ants hiding under his feet in a hole, unnoticed, missing the nest of ants entirely, causing an itch like the itch of ants crawling in his heart.

Feng Mu inwardly wondered why the stalker in the shadows still hadn't come out. He frowned and continued to whisper, "I'm holding the Black Core in my hand, he doesn't want it. Do you want it? I'm selling it to you for 400 each."

"If you want it, I'll sell the future ones to you too, how's that? If you don't come out soon, I'm leaving."

As Feng Mu spoke, he opened his bag and openly displayed the Black Core he painstakingly accumulated.

With a darkened face, Black No. 2 walked out of the shadowy corner, clutching an ant stick in his hand, rubbing his fingers back and forth on it—his habitual action to relieve the fatigue that thinking caused.

Feng Mu was genuinely startled, having completely missed the presence of a person in that narrow corner.

"I clearly looked at that spot just now, yet I didn't see him. Was it because his skin is too dark, or did he conceal his presence, just like an ant hidden in the darkness?" The dread in his heart intensified.

Feng Mu asked with a dark face: "Are you alone? Where are your two companions? When did you start following me? Never mind, it's not important. Did you bring the money? I have 17 Black Cores here."

Black No. 2, looking at Feng Mu, who seemed slightly flustered and perhaps in desperate need of money, felt a headache coming on.

Am I exposed? Is the mission considered a failure now?

Should I make a deal with him or simply kill him?

Feng Mu sensed a hint of malice, the skin beneath his ribs tightening, the flesh on the fingers grasping the bag itching, about to split.

He asked irritably, "Do you want it or not? Give me an answer."

Black No. 2's thoughts were interrupted. He stared intently at Feng Mu, his fingernails scraping off a layer of ant skin on the stick, the sound hoarse: "Let me see your phone."

Reluctantly, Feng Mu showed the phone screen, where there was a brief message from [Lame Monster].

—You are being watched. I don't want the Black Core you have anymore. Sell it to them. I'll get it back from them.

Black No. 2 stared at the sender's note [Lame Monster], staring for a whole five seconds before shifting his gaze back to Feng Mu's face.

Feng Mu almost thought the other party was suspicious and wanted to check the note number.

This number is different from the one he gave them before. Feng Mu had no way to send a text to himself in front of Black No. 2.

The message scheduling feature was unavailable, so he could only change Ma Wei's number to a new alias.

Black No. 2 spent a long time staring at the phone, while Feng Mu's heart sank repeatedly, his sight secretly aiming at the other's throat.

This distance was just right for a sneak attack using [Eagle Claw Technique Third Form: Sky-splitting Finger], a fierce strike.

Black No. 2 reached into his pocket, took out his wallet, and without counting, pulled out a stack of banknotes to hand to Feng Mu.

Feng Mu hesitated for a moment, quickly took the money, and handed over the bag to the other party.

Feigning a money-lover, he counted the money with a smile. Black No. 2 had already turned away, walking briskly.

In the end, he didn't choose to attack Feng Mu. Apart from being moved by the fact that all the future Black Cores would be sold to them, it was also because they might still need him to find the [Lame Monster].

The conclusion almost burned half of his brain cells.

Carrying the bag, Black No. 2 walked out of the alley, still muttering incantations under his breath.

Passersby looked at him, talking to himself, with strange eyes as if watching a dim-witted fool.

Black No. 2 was repeatedly reciting the message content. His brain wasn't sharp, so it's best to memorize it word for word, to recite it back to his companions.

Then, at some moment, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, his voice lodged in his throat.

"The message says [Lame Monster] would take the Black Core from our hands? Could it be that he found out where we're hiding the Black Cores?"

Black No. 2's face changed dramatically, the more he thought about it, the more he felt his brain was finally working, and he hurriedly sprinted forward.

The trajectory of his running, if extended straight, would point precisely to that conspicuous "Black Pillar."

Sprinting madly, Black No. 2 did not know that Feng Mu was following the scent of his tracks, steadily trailing behind.

Stalker and stalked, prey and predator, had unknowingly swapped roles.

One hour later.

At the outer edge of the West City snack street, Feng Mu stopped with his eyes narrowed to a slight slit: "Hmm, the coordinates of the blood are circling around the 'Black Pillar', as if wanting to sneak inside."

"So, is the destination also in the old run-down community the 'Black Pillar' encloses, a coincidence? Or perhaps... is this group of black market merchants somehow connected with [Destiny]?"

"They can't possibly be the couriers I'm waiting for, right?"

Feng Mu's expression was filled with surprise, and after a while, he shook his head, dismissing such an absurd thought.

Doesn't seem quite right.

The most important thing is if they were associated with [Destiny] and lived in this community, theoretically, they would've been exposed to the Patrol Office two weeks ago, meaning they should all be trapped inside the "Black Pillar" by now.

"So, it's just a pure coincidence." Feng Mu thought to himself.

As time passed, most of the bystanders gradually dispersed, leaving only a few figures still lingering outside the snack street, awaiting the dispersal of the "Black Pillar."

Clearly, they were worried about friends and family residing within the "Black Pillar," including the slender silhouette of Wang Xiuli among them.

Feng Mu withdrew his gaze, following the flow of people slipping into the opposite street district, walking into a diner, casually ordering a bowl of rice, and leisurely chewing and swallowing.

The blood sensing time was 24 hours; he had the patience to wait slowly.

Waiting for the Black Pillar to dissipate;

Waiting for Black No. 2 to sneak back home;

Waiting for the marked Black Cores to return to their "family."

"There might be some risk involved, but if successful, it would be quite lucrative, potentially accumulating enough to absorb the Nine Nether Evil Iron in one go."

As Feng Mu slowly chewed and swallowed the rice, feeling the movement in his stomach, he suddenly felt even hungrier.

...

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