Chapter 10

Changhong Street.

This is a street lined with bars, a mix of high and low, bustling with traffic, and every night the music shakes the sky, making it incredibly lively.

Wu Xiaode got out of the car, adjusted the clown mask on his face, and hurriedly walked, bypassing the front of the street, and knocked on the side door of a bar.

The camera on the door focused on him.

Wu Xiaode took out the card and waved it casually.

He waited for a few moments.

The door opened.

Wu Xiaode walked in.

"Mr. Clown, you look quite unfamiliar," the waiter in charge of reception said.

"I do come here rarely," Wu Xiaode replied.

"Are you here for fun or for business?"

"For business."

"Please follow me," the waiter smiled and said.

It was only around eight in the evening, and there weren't many people in the place yet, with the music playing softly.

Wu Xiaode followed the waiter all the way to a private room deep inside the bar.

"Welcome."

A bald man wearing sunglasses sat on the sofa, smoking a cigar and raising a glass to Wu Xiaode.

Several alluring and beautiful women sat on the sofa.

A few burly men stood or sat by the door, their faces full of ferocity and defiance.

"I need to buy something," Wu Xiaode said.

The bald man casually waved his hand in the air in front of him, and a soft female voice immediately echoed in the room:

"Customer 3057, Platinum Card, usage period: four years, anonymous."

The bald man clicked his tongue a couple of times, blew out a smoke ring, and said, "This Platinum Card has never been used—there must still be a lot of money in your account—why don't you spend some, and I'll take you out for a wild night?"

"No need," Wu Xiaode said calmly.

"You sound like you're not even eighteen, tsk, getting this card means you can spend the money on it freely—come, let me show you the true prosperity of the world, how about it?" The bald man grinned, revealing a mouth full of yellow and black rotten teeth.

"I said no," Wu Xiaode said.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

"Go, all of you, get out," the bald man waved his hand irritably.

The beautiful girls got up and walked toward the door of the private room.

The thugs moved toward Wu Xiaode.

"You little—"

The bald man was about to say something harsh but suddenly stopped.

He saw the clown suddenly reach out and lightly press his hand against the wall.

A handprint several inches deep appeared quietly.

The area covered by the handprint included not only cement but also a steel decorative panel.

The steel decorative panel was also pressed into the wall—

It looked as if it were made of paper.

The clown withdrew his hand, said nothing, and sat quietly as if nothing had happened.

The bald man paused for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, "Come, come, good brother, it's our first meeting, come sit and have a drink—"

"You unobservant girls, what are you waiting for? Feifei, Xiaoxiao, and Lili, serve the distinguished guest!"

The girls laughed and surrounded Wu Xiaode.

"I don't need that, I'm in a hurry and need to buy something right away," Wu Xiaode's voice came from behind the clown mask.

"Alright, alright, as you wish."

The bald man dismissed the girls, personally poured a glass of wine, and handed it to Wu Xiaode before asking, "Brother, what do you want?"

"An identity."

"For how long?"

"Seven days."

"Seven days?"

"Yes, my time is very precious, seven days... should be enough."

"No problem, come and choose."

The bald man snapped his fingers and said, "Qianqian, provide the 21st category service, offer holographic images for the customer to choose from."

A series of images appeared in the room, forming the faces of various men.

Wu Xiaode looked at these images and asked, "Are they reliable?"

"Absolutely reliable, these people are all under my control. Once you choose, they will disappear for a day, and you will appear on the streets of the Imperial National First as them—"

The bald man emphasized, "Anything that happens during this day will be counted on their heads, even murder."

"I guess this won't be cheap," Wu Xiaode said.

"Of course, because you have the 3057 card, you are our platinum customer, and you can enjoy such services—the price is naturally commensurate with the service," the bald man said.

Wu Xiaode looked at the images.

These people varied in height, weight, and age.

"If I choose this fat guy, how can I transform into him?" Wu Xiaode pointed to a bald, fat man.

"Inject to speed up cell metabolism, temporarily presenting an aged physique, and we have specialized modelers who can apply fat gel to your body, and facial modeling will be flawless, generating a face mask; as for the pupils, we have 3D-printed optical contacts, rest assured."

"Very professional, nice, but how about the height?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"We have specialized martial arts experts who can provide one-time bone-shrinking services, a bit painful, but you can choose a painless package," the bald man shrugged.

"Very good, I want this person's identity," Wu Xiaode said, pointing to a slim young man.

"Qianqian, read the data," the bald man said.

"Yes," the female voice began, "Name: Zhang Chen, a farmer from the first suburban area of the capital, has been farming in the 51st plantation to this day."

"Clean record," the bald man said.

"Alright, him," Wu Xiaode said.

The door to the private room opened.

Several men walked in and looked at Wu Xiaode, "Sir, please follow us to complete the modeling."

Wu Xiaode stood up.

The bald man also stood up, laughed, and extended his hand, "Brother, welcome to the underground world, you are truly outstanding, I can already see a rising star."

Wu Xiaode shook his hand and said, "Do you sell guns?"

"Brother, guns are hard to get, if we had them, it would be a problem," the bald man said sincerely.

"Alright, I understand, thank you this time," Wu Xiaode said.

The bald man chuckled and said, "Always welcome."

Wu Xiaode followed the men out of the private room.

After he left, the bald man let out a big sigh of relief, sat down on the sofa, grabbed the bottle, and drank heavily, muttering to himself,

"Damn, what a scare, almost scared me to death..."

A subordinate, puzzled, said, "Boss, it was just a handprint on the wall, the skill was good, but not enough to make you so polite."

The other subordinates nodded in agreement.

The bald man tilted his head back and drank heavily, finishing the bottle, and his face regained some color.

He stood up, walked to the wall, and said in a low voice,

"Do you know why I'm the boss and you're not?"

The thugs shook their heads in confusion.

"Vision."

The bald man said, reached out, and lightly tapped the handprint.

Rustling—

Bricks and stones kept falling, and the entire several-meter-high wall caved inward.

The previous handprint was gone.

A giant handprint, over a meter long and several meters deep, appeared on the wall.

The bald man ignored the shocked shouts of his subordinates, took a few steps back, and stared at the large, terrifying handprint.

The subordinate who was previously不服气 (unconvinced) trembled and said,

"Boss, what the hell is this? Just looking at it makes my legs shake..."

The bald man snorted and scolded, "You little brats, only now you're scared, no sense of judgment, now get out and do your jobs!"

The thugs were thoroughly convinced and bowed their heads as they left the private room.

Bang!

The door to the private room closed.

The bald man took out a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, muttering,

"Damn, scared me to death."

...

Under the night sky.

Changhong Street was brightly lit, with a bustling crowd.

Wu Xiaode slowly walked down the street and suddenly looked at a store's display window.

The large screen in the display window was broadcasting news.

The elegant and dignified female anchor, with a serious expression, said to the camera, "The murderer's methods were extremely cruel, two victims were tied to chairs and burned alive... The murderer's name is: Wu Xiaode, arson and murder, currently at large, please be vigilant, the special combat team has been dispatched..."

Wu Xiaode stood still.

Two police officers in black uniforms walked past him but did not look at him.

At this moment, Wu Xiaode's appearance had changed to that of a man named Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen was a suburban farmer with a clean record, ordinary in the crowd, and would not attract any attention.

Wu Xiaode's eyes flickered, and he looked into the void.

A thick black-covered book quietly opened, revealing a line of icy small text:

"Do you want to post a commission?"

"I do."

Wu Xiaode thought to himself.

The opportunity to post a commission was obtained after completing the task for the ancestor's spirit.

Wu Xiaode planned to use it.

He was about to go to the Death Pit.

If he could ensure Xia Huilan's safety, he would have one less thing to worry about.

The Book of the Dead displayed another line of icy small text:

"Please find a secluded, quiet, and uninhabited place to post the commission on the wall of this book."

Wu Xiaode thought for a moment and remembered that there were several areas in this district that were being demolished, with houses half-demolished and uninhabited.

—Let's go there.

Just as he was about to take a step, a news item on the screen caught his attention.

The anchor said, "The earthquake in the Western Pacific has just passed, but the coastal cities have not experienced any tsunamis, which is quite fortunate, but also puzzling."

"Let's connect with the front-line reporter."

The camera switched.

A middle-aged man stood on a long embankment by the coast, with a helicopter parked nearby.

He held a microphone and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am now standing by the coast, but the tsunami has not arrived as expected. You can see that the sea is calm... Wait, that's a mirage!"

He stepped aside and pointed toward the sea.

On the distant horizon, many massive shadows silently rose, spreading in all directions.

The middle-aged reporter said enthusiastically, "It's truly spectacular, as everyone knows, a mirage is a virtual image formed by the reflection of light through the atmosphere, an optical illusion..."

His voice suddenly stopped.

Because the massive image on the sea gradually became clear.

It was a huge palace complex covered in ice.

On the walls of the palace complex, black skeletons stood, holding various weapons, with ghostly flames flickering in their eye sockets, looking toward the coast.