The hall was covered in blood, dismembered limbs and flesh, the scene was startlingly gruesome.

It wasn’t that Fang Zheng was merciless by nature or enjoyed torturing and killing opponents; in truth, his power was simply too great. A slight exertion of force was beyond what ordinary people could endure.

It was like humans versus ants.

Killing ants is easy, but ensuring the ant’s body remains intact in death takes effort.

It’s not impossible,

but rather whether one is willing to waste the time.

This was indeed Fang Zheng—unwilling to bother, his body released an unparalleled Righteous Strength, like a hurricane that instantly tore a few people in the room to shreds.

Entering the kitchen, he casually slapped dead a man and a woman who were about to charge into the hall with machetes.

Then he slightly tilted his ear to listen for a moment, reached out and grabbed an iron plate on the wall, and violently yanked it back.

"Creak..."

With a piercing noise, the hardened iron plate before him was torn apart like paper.

"Clang!"

He threw the plate aside, revealing the scene behind it.

It was a dark, damp room, where several people lay... or rather, corpses.

Only two still breathed, one of whom quivered instinctively as sunlight poured through the gap.

The other tensed up, constantly letting out strange cries.

Upon closer inspection,

one could see that this person’s tongue was gone; the stump still bore blood, evidently severed not long ago.

This group not only ran a black shop but also engaged in human trafficking. Judging by the situation here, quite a few people had likely died.

No wonder each was filled with malicious aura and cruelty.

"Come out."

Fang Zheng stood up and stepped aside:

"You’re safe now."

The survivors in the darkroom shuddered and only after a moment, seeing no movement outside, cautiously supported each other as they walked out.

After not seeing daylight for so long, their eyes watered and stung upon stepping out, taking a long while to adjust.

Seeing the bodies in the kitchen, instead of fear, a look of cruel satisfaction appeared in their eyes.

The mute, missing his tongue, let out strange cries while wildly stomping on the corpses.

"Th-thank you..."

The other survivor, a young girl around ten, was of reasonably delicate appearance, but after being held captive for who knows how long, her clothes and hair were messy, and she emitted a foul stench.

The mute was also around her age but had clearly suffered more torment, with scars visible all over his body.

"Ah!"

A sharp scream suddenly echoed.

The mute, seeing the scene in the hall, was shocked despite the torment he’d endured.

Limbs and flesh covered the ground—it was like a slaughterhouse!

"There’s a place to wash back there."

Fang Zheng, unfazed, gestured aside:

"There are clothes over there, clean yourselves up first."

A moment later.

"I’m Wen Xue."

After washing up and changing clothes, the young girl’s face was still pale, looking extremely delicate.

She huddled up, glanced at the mute beside her, and said:

"His name is Tang Yin, from Yun City, we were both tricked here by job postings online."

"There were others who were deceived with us, but..."

"They’re all dead!"

Her shoulders shook as she wept continuously.

"Dead?"

Fang Zheng handed over a bowl of clear noodle soup, frowning slightly:

"They went to such lengths to deceive you just to kill? There must be another motive, right?"

Frauds mostly aim for gain, killing serves to intimidate—otherwise, why exert such effort?

"I don’t know." Wen Xue shook her head vigorously, sobbing ceaselessly, clearly unwilling to recall recent events:

"And I don’t want to know."

"Ah ah..."

The mute gestured wildly, making frequent vocalizations.

Without a tongue, his voice was inevitably monotonous, yet Fang Zheng seemed to understand him.

"Report to the police?"

"Want to go home?"

"That’s no problem."

Fang Zheng nodded:

"Just call the Public Security Department later, there’s a car outside, do you two have driver’s licenses?"

The pair exchanged glances, silently shaking their heads.

They were old enough for licenses, but their impoverished families couldn’t afford vehicles for practice.

Even if they reluctantly obtained licenses, they wouldn’t dare drive.

"Hu Zi!"

Outside came a loud shout:

"Are you home?"

The call turned into a shrill scream of terror.

"Hu Zi!"

"Who did this?"

Footsteps resounded; the two in the kitchen, holding bowls, turned ghostly pale at the sound.

The newcomers recognized the people here, implying they might be accomplices?

Could it be that they hadn’t yet escaped the tiger’s den only to fall into a wolf’s lair?

"Fear not."

Fang Zheng straightened and headed towards the hall.

A crowd gathered at the restaurant entrance, faced with the bloody scene in the hall, their expressions varied from fear to surprise.

Among them,

was none other than Master Ji, a broker seen not long ago.

Upon seeing Fang Zheng emerge from the kitchen, Master Ji was slightly surprised: 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Daoist Fang?"

"Master Ji!"

Fang Zheng saluted with one hand vertical in front:

"We meet again."

"Indeed." Master Ji nodded, glanced around curiously, and asked:

"Daoist, are you alone?"

Having arranged to explore the ruins together, he recruited extensively, bringing over twenty people.

"One person suffices." Fang Zheng nodded.

"Was it you who killed Hu Zi and the others?" A scarred man stepped out from the crowd, angrily demanding.

He clearly knew the people here.

"Yes."

Fang Zheng’s expression remained calm:

"Does the gentleman wish to avenge them?"

The scarred man instinctively gripped the knife at his waist, body tense, eyes flickering back and forth on Fang Zheng.

Though visibly angry, he seemed hesitant.