Chapter Thirty-Three: The Paper Bird's Pursuit

After some time, several people hurried into the alley where they had been before.

“The signal was last sent from here,” one of them said.

The middle-aged man at the front nodded. The prayer beads he had been spinning in his hand paused for a rare moment.

“Qiangzi is gone. Search the area and see if any traces remain.”

“Yes!” The others responded, though his calm tone made their hearts tighten; they knew the boss was angry.

Night had fallen, but it posed no obstacle to them. Some climbed atop the alley to inspect from above, others scoured the ground for clues.

Only one young man remained motionless, standing silently beside the middle-aged man, his expression tranquil as a still lake.

The middle-aged man paid him no mind. He had traveled far and wide, seen much, and since entering this peculiar Magic Tower amusement park, he had used his formidable abilities to gather a large group, forming the team they had now.

“Boss, the Piercing Blood Eyes were on Qiangzi. Now…”

The youth hesitated, then spoke.

“They’re gone.”

Tang Ao shook his head, his face betraying no emotion. Years spent in the gray business world had taught him to conceal his feelings. But the loss of the Piercing Blood Eyes pained him deeply.

He had invested heavily in Qiangzi, seeing the young man’s talent as worthy of cultivation, bestowing upon him the precious Piercing Blood Eyes to groom a core member. Now, unexpectedly, Qiangzi was dead.

With Qiangzi gone and the Piercing Blood Eyes already fused, they would either vanish or be extracted as spoils, though the latter was unlikely.

He trusted Qiangzi’s judgment, believing the opponent was truly a novice. He had cautioned his team to remain vigilant, more out of habit than concern. But this time, he had miscalculated.

Standing in the shadowed alley, spinning his prayer beads, none could guess what Tang Ao was thinking.

“Boss!”

Someone called out nearby.

Tang Ao and the young man at his side quickly approached.

“There’s blood here!”

A man squatted, pointing to a small, inconspicuous stain of blood—the very spot where Murong Xun had felled the youth with a single arrow.

“Clean and efficient, not even a corpse left behind—a professional,” Tang Ao sneered.

“Ah De!”

“Coming!” The young man investigating from above responded, jumping down to join the group. Another joined from the other direction.

“See if you can track them,” Tang Ao said, looking at Ah De.

“I’ll try.” Ah De produced a blood-red talisman, rubbed it against the bloodstain, folded it several times, and soon a small paper bird appeared in his hand.

“This is Qiangzi’s blood. I’ll use its aura to track them, but the encounter between Qiangzi and his killer was brief—their auras barely mingled. Qiangzi’s aura will soon fade; we don’t have much time and may not catch up.”

“Do it,” Tang Ao said coolly.

“Yes!” Ah De dared not say more. He quickly formed several hand signs, and the paper bird fluttered its wings and flew off in a certain direction.

It was precisely the path Murong Xun had taken upon leaving.

The five followed without hesitation. Though the bird moved swiftly, their abilities easily kept pace.

Tang Ao wanted only one answer: who had slain his two trusted lieutenants.

He had spared no expense, delaying his own advancement tasks and investing precious items to strengthen his subordinates, all to build his foundation and ease his passage through the world’s trials.

In his mind, Qiangzi was simple, easy to control, while Li Jing was stubborn but reliable—a valuable enforcer. Both were core members he had intended to nurture. Yet, after just their first mission under him, both had perished. The loss of manpower was minor compared to the wasted investment.

“No matter who you are, you’re as good as dead!” He resolved inwardly not to let that person die easily.

As one of the few on the verge of advancement in the novice zone, Tang Ao had every right to make such a claim.

Thinking of the price paid to cultivate Li Jing and Qiangzi, even Tang Ao could not help but feel a pang.

Not to mention the upgrades to their attributes—the Piercing Blood Eyes alone were worth six thousand park coins, while Li Jing’s Golden Bow, a blue-tier item with the property “guaranteed to hit,” was a rare gem among blue-quality equipment, fetching between fifteen hundred and two thousand coins. Altogether, his losses exceeded ten thousand park coins. Anyone would be in a foul mood after such a setback.

Knowing Tang Ao’s mood, the others dared not speak, fearing they might invite misfortune.

As one of the prime rulers in the novice zone, Tang Ao inspired deep respect among his followers.

Ah De continued to control the paper bird’s flight, his magic quickly draining. Pale-faced, he reluctantly pulled out a strawberry and ate it, restoring his mana and gradually regaining color.

After crossing the streets, they found the bird’s path grew ever more remote, leading them out of the bustling city and into its hidden, shadowy underbelly.

Despite the harsh environment and the nauseating stench, they were hardly novices like Qiangzi and Li Jing; they had faced all manner of situations and pressed on without batting an eye.

“There’s no sign of people nearby,” the young man beside Tang Ao whispered.

Tang Ao nodded. Since Zhao Jun said so, it meant this was an abandoned district, where people seldom ventured.

Such places were fertile ground for evil and the uncanny.

At this moment, their quarry had come here for only one possible reason.

“Why would anyone come here now?” Tang Ao wondered.

There was little point in killing mere low-level anomalies—it wasn’t worth the time. Even the Bureau’s enhancement serum, valued at three hundred park coins, wasn’t enough incentive; one could simply collect it as a bonus when slaying anomalies.

He simply couldn’t fathom why anyone would come to such a place.

People like them hunted more powerful anomalies, earning enough points for greater rewards.

Only thus could they exchange hunt points for the benefits they sought.