Chapter 8

This is the city-state of Greater Berlin!

Yin Xuege raised his head to the sky, where the first light of dawn had yet to illuminate the sky, leaving everything in a dim haze. Only countless beams of light, large and small, were shining and flickering chaotically towards the sky. The city-state was filled with a murky and foul atmosphere, causing the sky above the city to be densely shrouded in thick clouds.

With the night wind came a variety of strange sounds, including the dull clanging of metal and peculiar 'bangs.' On the main street outside the alley, sharp whistles sounded continuously, with at least hundreds of people sprinting by, quickly coming and going.

Yin Xuege's ears twitched slightly. He heard the crowd split into two groups: one fleeing and the other chasing. Occasionally, the heavy sound of clubs striking flesh could be heard, mixed with the sound of bones breaking.

After years of arduous training in the Yin Clan's Young Noble Hall, Yin Xuege had his bones broken by countless people, and he had broken countless others' bones. Therefore, he could clearly distinguish which bones were broken by the sound of the fractures!

The attackers were truly ruthless, showing no mercy at all! Yin Xuege heard at least a dozen neck bones and over twenty skull bones being broken.

Instinctively wary of the chaotic main street, Yin Xuege thought of the beast he had seen outside the city, which had been stripped of its flesh and bones. The humans of the Greater Berlin city-state possessed powerful weapons that even the Blood Demons feared. Yin Xuege had no interest in experiencing the power of those weapons.

Taking a few steps into the depths of the alley, he found a faucet at the back door of a tall building. Yin Xuege and two Yin Clan warriors unlocked the faucet and used the clear water to rinse their bodies, finally washing away the foul odor.

Stepping on the uneven road, Yin Xuege and his group walked deeper into the alley. Dawn was approaching, and neither Yin Xuege nor the two Yin Clan warriors could be exposed to sunlight. They needed to reach the Yin Clan's secret hideout before sunrise.

At the end of the alley, a high wall blocked their path. A dim light flickered, and this was the back door of a small tavern, with several trash bins haphazardly piled up. Under the dim yellow light, a tall man was curled on the ground, being brutally beaten by several equally large and strong men with metal clubs. The man was already unrecognizable, and the sound of the metal clubs striking his body was dull and strange. Without needing to check, Yin Xuege could tell from the sound that the man's bones were at least half broken. In a corner nearby, a fiery red-haired woman was entangled with a dark-skinned man, the sounds of their bodies colliding and the woman's moans making Yin Xuege's heart race.

The several large men who were beating the man stopped, holding their clubs and looking over at Yin Xuege and his group.

On a trash bin, a lean young man squatted, holding a bottle of alcohol and drinking heartily. Seeing Yin Xuege's youthful face, the young man laughed strangely, "Hey, hey, a little rookie! Kid, are you weaned yet? This isn't a place for you!"

A strange force emanated from the young man's forehead, and a faint energy wave in the air quickly surged towards his right hand. A half-foot-long flame spurted from his palm, instantly raising the temperature around him.

His palm moved lightly, and the red flame flickered on his hand. The young man squinted at Yin Xuege and shook his head gently. "This isn't a place for a mommy's little darling. What are you guys here for?"

The several large men with clubs took a cautious step back, warily eyeing the two warriors behind Yin Xuege, not daring to be the slightest bit careless. This was a chaotic world, a world where human life was as cheap as grass, where a strong and healthy life might not even be worth half a loaf of bread. Everyone was a potential threat, even a seemingly weak and thin youth like Yin Xuege.

Only the dark-skinned man continued to ram into the woman he had pinned against the wall, their breathing becoming increasingly loud.

One of the Yin Clan warriors stepped forward, silently pulling out a palm-sized black metal badge and showing it. Yin Xuege, with his keen eyes, saw that the shield-shaped metal badge was engraved with a crude axe and a two-handed heavy sword, forming a menacing emblem.

"We have some good stuff," the Yin Clan warrior said simply.

The young man clenched his fist, compressing the flame into a ball of fire that emitted a powerful and dangerous aura. He glanced at the badge and slowly nodded, "Hmm, Blood Axe mercenaries, but who is this kid?"

"Family!" Before the Yin Clan warrior could answer, the back door of the tavern, made of half-inch thick alloy plates, quietly opened. A middle-aged man with a shriveled, yellowish complexion, nearly two meters tall and thin like a bamboo pole, poked his head out, smiling and beckoning to Yin Xuege, "Family! Come in quickly, I know you're coming and have prepared a comfortable room for you!"

The flame in the young man's palm dissipated into countless small sparks. He raised his bottle and drank the last of the strong alcohol, then shrugged and muttered, "Ah, family again! Dear boss, your connections are growing, you need to raise our salaries!"

The Yin Clan warrior behind Yin Xuege gently pushed his shoulder, and Yin Xuege walked towards the back door of the tavern.

Passing by the man whose bones were mostly broken, Yin Xuege frowned and lightly kicked the man's broken neck bone with his toe, "What did he do? Why did they beat him like this?"

The young man remained silent, but the bamboo-pole-like middle-aged man chuckled, wiping his face with a red handkerchief, his voice becoming muffled, "It wasn't a big deal. He drank a cup of alcohol but couldn't pay for it, so they had to teach him a lesson! Getting a drink these days isn't easy, and if everyone comes to drink for free, the business can't survive!"

A cup of alcohol, and he was beaten like this? Yin Xuege looked at the pale-skinned woman entangled with the dark-skinned man, "What about her? Did she also drink a cup of alcohol?"

"No!" The young man who could control the flame lazily shook his head, "For a loaf of bread, she willingly comforted my brothers! My brothers had needs, and she had needs, it's a very fair and reasonable arrangement!"

Yin Xuege was taken aback. The education he received in the Young Noble Hall made him immediately accept these things. He nodded and smiled faintly, "Yes, it's a very fair and reasonable arrangement! Just a bit wasteful!"

"A bit wasteful!" The young man and the several large men didn't react to Yin Xuege's remark, but the bamboo-pole-like middle-aged man was drenched in sweat, his red handkerchief becoming increasingly busy, quickly soaking half of it. He bowed obsequiously to Yin Xuege, grabbed his wrist, and led him into a dimly lit, long corridor.

On both sides of the corridor, which could only accommodate two people walking side by side, were densely packed small rooms. The sounds of women's screams and men's panting filled the air, and the smell of bodily fluids made Yin Xuege, with his keen sense of smell, almost faint.

After walking through the long corridor, which was several dozen meters long, and climbing a steep spiral staircase for about ten meters, the middle-aged man pushed open a small door. A deafening noise hit them, along with thick smoke, the pungent smell of alcohol, and flickering, glaring colored lights. This made Yin Xuege, who was accustomed to the dark and deep atmosphere of the Yin Clan city-state, shudder.

The two Yin Clan warriors, however, showed expressions of great enjoyment, laughing softly and sniffing hard.

"Master Xuege, this is the human city-state! Degenerate humans, decadent lives!" One of the Yin Clan warriors said eagerly, "With power, you can enjoy everything here! We like the smell here!"

Yin Xuege frowned and walked through the small door.

In front of him was a crowded small tavern, with countless men and women crowded together, rubbing and pressing against each other in an intimate manner. In the center of the tavern, a large metal birdcage contained nearly naked women who were wildly writhing, drawing hysterical screams from the surrounding crowd.

A pale, seductive man, barely covered by a strip of cloth, was writhing and screaming a song that Yin Xuege didn't consider music at all.

From the men and women in the birdcage, Yin Xuege detected a familiar smell. Their blood energy was much weaker than that of ordinary people, as if they had been chronically ill for a long time. Their blood energy was so weak that it seemed their blood had been drained, making them blood slaves!

They had the distinctive smell of blood slaves, but there was no trace of any Blood Demon's aura on them.

A flash of blood light appeared in Yin Xuege's eyes. According to the knowledge taught in the Young Noble Hall, these were the degenerate humans. They yearned for darkness, immortality, and eternal youth. Therefore, they willingly became the pawns of the Yin Clan, selling their souls to serve the Yin Clan, hoping to one day receive the injuries of the Yin Clan members and be transformed into Blood Demons!

These people regularly donated large amounts of blood to the Yin Clan members. To them, the Blood Demons, who were eternally young and immortal, were their gods!

Yin Xuege's gaze shifted, and he glanced at the bamboo-pole-like middle-aged man. This man was about two meters tall, and from his bone structure, he should have been a burly man. However, he was now emaciated, almost like a bamboo pole, indicating that he had been a degenerate human for at least ten years!

Yin Xuege was somewhat interested in the young man outside the back door who could control flames. His blood energy was abundant, suggesting he was not a degenerate. If such a person could become Yin Xuege's blood servant, or even be transformed into a Blood Demon, it would be a significant addition to Yin Xuege's strength.

Yin Xuege had thirty-nine drops of Blood Demon essence in his heart. By spending one drop, he could transform the young man into the weakest of the young nobles. If Yin Xuege were generous and bestowed more than ten drops, he could directly transform him into a Star Warrior!

"Respected sir, I am your devoted servant, Old Jack. For the great Yin Clan, I am willing to sacrifice everything!" As Yin Xuege pondered the young man, Old Jack led him into a lavishly but vulgarly decorated room and knelt before him respectfully.

"I am willing to offer my soul to you, I am willing to offer everything to you! Do you have any commands for me? I will do anything to fulfill your orders!" Old Jack knelt on the ground, looking at Yin Xuege with a fanatical gaze.

The heavy metal door blocked all the noise from the tavern outside. Yin Xuege did not answer Old Jack's question but looked around the spacious, luxurious, and vulgar room, which had no windows.

A Yin Clan warrior leaned close to Yin Xuege's ear and introduced him to Old Jack's situation.

As Yin Xuege had guessed, Old Jack was a veteran degenerate human! Thirty years ago, this madman had offered everything to the Yin Clan. Old Jack's tavern was the most reliable, safest, and longest-standing of the hundreds of bases the Yin Clan had in the Greater Berlin city-state.

According to the rules for the Yin Clan's scouts entering the Greater Berlin city-state, they would choose different bases each time they entered, and the bases they chose were completely random, greatly ensuring their safety.

"Old Jack, I can sense your loyalty!" Yin Xuege looked at Old Jack thoughtfully.

The information the Yin Clan warrior had just explained to Yin Xuege was not something the young nobles in the Young Noble Hall should know. This knowledge would be taught to them only when they officially became family warriors and joined the External Affairs Hall to carry out various missions, under the guidance of veteran warriors.

This time, Yin Xuege had unexpectedly been assigned the task of infiltrating the Greater Berlin city-state for reconnaissance, a first in the history of the Young Noble Hall. The two Yin Clan warriors were very diligent, constantly reminding Yin Xuege to learn as much as possible.

After absorbing the information he had just heard, Yin Xuege walked to a sofa in the corner.

Old Jack, extremely fawning, crawled on the ground behind Yin Xuege, his body trembling with excitement, and he asked carefully, "So, respected sir, is there anything I can do for you? Do you have any requests? Do you like young and beautiful girls? Or young and strong boys?"

Rubbing his hands vigorously, Old Jack looked at Yin Xuege with great anticipation.

The two Yin Clan warriors held their heads high, looking down on Old Jack. They were the lowest-ranking warriors of the Yin Clan, but they were still members of the Yin Clan, born as Blood Demons! For these degenerate humans who sought to become Blood Demons, the pure-blooded Yin Clan warriors naturally had the right to treat them like pigs and dogs.

"What is our mission?" Yin Xuege ignored the fawning Old Jack and asked the Yin Clan warrior beside him.

"Stay in the Greater Berlin city-state for three days and bring back all the intelligence collected by our informants about recent events in the city-state." A Yin Clan warrior said solemnly, "Old Jack, as usual, gather all the information as quickly as possible."

Old Jack looked at Yin Xuege with a hint of sadness. From the moment he saw the young and tender-looking Yin Xuege, he knew this youth was an important figure in the Yin Clan. His aura and presence were far beyond those of the low-ranking Yin Clan warriors. It was clear that among the three, Yin Xuege was the leader.

Such an important figure coming to his territory, Old Jack