Chapter 34: One Hundred Million Gone with the Wind

The tentacle monsters were layered atop one another, forming a small hill three to four meters high. The tentacles that had been dancing in mid-air descended, piercing through the gaps between the bodies toward the center. Faintly, blood could be seen seeping from the edges.

Thump!
Thump!
Thump.

Suddenly, the sound of a heartbeat, thunderous and loud, emanated from within the "small hill." With every beat, the expressions of the tentacle monsters grew more ferocious, and the tentacles on their bodies stabbed even more frantically toward the source of the sound.

Ten seconds later, the heartbeat ceased abruptly.

BOOM!

With a massive explosion, the outer tentacle monsters were instantly reduced to piles of shredded meat, while those inside transformed into thick, drifting blood mist. Standing amidst the mist was a tall figure.

It was Jiang Ren.

He was currently devoid of clothing, his skin and hair stained a deep, blood-red. His muscles bulged outward, appearing even more exaggerated than usual. Standing nearly two and a half meters tall, his blood-red hair stood on end, moving as if caught in an unseen wind. His eyes glowed with a scarlet light, and his left arm was covered in dark red scales. He looked like a demon god.

If he were usually considered a muscular "monster" in the eyes of others, then at this moment, he was a monster through and through.

"He got away?"

Jiang Ren looked out through the church doors. He could sense that Frank was no longer in this abandoned town. Moreover, the man seemed to have used some kind of method to cause his aura to vanish mid-way, leaving Jiang Ren with no way to pursue him.

He had been certain of capturing Frank just moments ago, but the energy contained within that scarlet eye had exceeded his imagination. As his left arm absorbed the energy and funneled it back into his body, his physical strength grew so rapidly that he struggled to maintain control.

Simply put, it was too potent; he needed to slow down.

"I don't know whether to call this a blessing or a curse."

Jiang Ren shook his head. If the scarlet eye hadn't been so potent, he might have already captured Frank and perhaps even forced information about the Celestial Society out of him.

However, precisely because the energy was so potent, his body had been strengthened significantly. He could now even use the traces left behind by the scarlet eye to sense if there was anyone else in the town.

Jiang Ren looked again at the riddled, ruined church. The survivors he had saved from the living corpses were all dead. He could not tell if they had died during the summoning ritual or in the battle that followed.

*Hiss~*

White gas, like steam, vented from the pores on Jiang Ren's body as he rapidly returned to his original form. While this demon-god transformation was powerful, the consumption was immense. If sustained too long, he would be forced to draw heavily upon the energy in his left arm, which would likely trigger his beastly instincts to sound another warning.

"What's this?"

Jiang Ren noticed two torn pieces of paper scattered outside the church door and picked them up. They were made of parchment, and judging by their color and texture, they were at least a decade old. When he joined the two pieces together, one side was smooth and patternless, while the other faintly showed a translucent, heart-like image.

From this parchment, Jiang Ren felt a faint energy. It was somewhat similar to the energy of the scarlet eye, yet there were many differences; the entity that had bestowed power upon this parchment seemed even more formidable.

"Was it through this paper that Thorne and the others were turned into tentacle monsters?"

Jiang Ren carefully stowed the paper away. It might be useless for now, but who could say what the future held?

Considering his current state of undress was somewhat inappropriate, he searched the houses around the church and managed to find a piece of rag that was clean enough and wide enough to cover his lower body.

"Not bad."

Jiang Ren tied the rag around his waist, twisted his hips, and nodded with satisfaction. Aside from feeling a bit drafty, he felt no other discomfort. He then set off along the path he had arrived on, heading out of the town.

"Did I forget something?"

Halfway there, Jiang Ren frowned slightly, then suddenly slapped his thigh: "Damn it, my hundred million is gone!"

The people who had hired him to come to this town were undoubtedly those black-robed men who claimed to be members of a Celestial Society branch. But now, all the black-robed men were dead in the church, and the only one who had escaped would certainly never dare to appear before him again. This meant that he would not be getting his final payment of at least one hundred million federal coins.

"What a loss, what a loss..."

Beside the silver truck outside the town, several armed employees watched Jiang Ren walk toward them, muttering about his losses. They looked at each other in confusion—what was wrong with the boss?

Especially with Jiang Ren's getup—wrapped only in a single piece of cloth—the two people with the sharpest eyes silently averted their gazes and let out deep sighs. They silently reminded themselves that humans and monsters were not the same species and that there was no point in comparing them.

One of them opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it as his companion shook his head silently.

Not long after Jiang Ren had entered the black mist, they had been surrounded by three federal special operations squads. If they hadn't been keeping a high level of vigilance due to the nature of their work, they likely would have been sniped before the squads even got close.

However, while they had discovered the threat in time, they had only had enough time to hide inside the truck. They were then surrounded by bazookas, bombs, and other weaponry brought by the three squads. Just as they were bracing for a desperate fight, those people had inexplicably left.

The silver truck started up. Jiang Ren, now dressed in spare clothes, lay on the seat with his eyes closed to rest.

At that moment, a pleasant ringtone sounded. An employee took a phone from a box nearby and respectfully handed it to the distracted Jiang Ren: "Boss, it's a call from your brother."

Jiang Ren snapped out of his daze and pressed the green button.

As soon as the line connected, the panic-stricken voice of his younger brother, Richard, came through: "Brother, save me..."

"Don't panic. Tell me where you are," Jiang Ren said, interrupting the trembling voice on the other end.

"I'm at—"

Before Richard could finish, the call was abruptly disconnected. Jiang Ren clicked to call back. Because of his left arm, his relationship with his parents in this world was not good—it could even be said to be quite poor. However, he still maintained a decent relationship with his younger brother, who was born a few years after him.

Although they had drifted apart over the years as his brother entered his rebellious phase and rarely contacted or visited his overbearing older brother, even with the distance, Jiang Ren could not simply ignore his plight given their blood ties.

"I want to know Richard's exact location within ten minutes."

Seeing that the call wouldn't go through, Jiang Ren immediately issued his order. The men nodded solemnly. They rarely saw their boss wear such an expression, but whenever he did, it meant someone was about to suffer.