Blood Hand Society.
This was a medium-sized Predator Organization.
Predator Organizations ranged from thirty-five people to three or five hundred. They were notorious for their secretive operations and vicious methods. They were a nightmare tumor deeply loathed by every human gathering area on Blue Star.
The Blood Hand Society had fewer than two hundred members and was founded by a man nicknamed Blood Hand.
It was rumored that this man was formerly an Assassin who specialized in no-capital businesses. Later, he realized that killing people alone was too slow, so he began developing members. Each person would cut someone for him once, leading to the existence of the Blood Hand Society today.
When Blood Hand woke up today, his right eye kept twitching. There was an old saying on Old Earth: 「Left eye twitching means wealth, right eye twitching means disaster.」
「Could some disaster befall me today?」
Blood Hand muttered to himself.
Impossible. His organization wasn't large enough to warrant being coveted and purged by the Flame Shrine.
Besides the Flame Shrine, their sworn enemy, their relationship with other Predator Organizations was quite good; they generally kept to themselves.
His robbery business was booming. In such harsh survival conditions, he and most of his brothers could still wear gold and silver, eat meat and drink wine, living quite comfortably.
Except for one squad that went out on a job and hadn't returned yet, almost no annoying incidents had occurred recently.
"What disaster could it be?"
"Am I overthinking things?"
However, his Assassin's intuition told him things wouldn't be that simple.
Sure enough, a subordinate soon burst through the door, shouting, "Boss, this is bad! The Flame Shrine people have surrounded us!"
Usually, they were the ones who silently surrounded others. Being surrounded by the Flame Shrine today felt incredibly awful.
But that was the Flame Shrine.
Apologize!
No matter the reason they surrounded them, the Blood Hand Society had to go kneel and kowtow to them first.
Thus, Blood Hand slapped the subordinate across the face and roared, "What's all the racket? Is there something that can't be resolved?"
The subordinate spun twice from the slap, covering his face, and said, "Boss, a lot of Flame Shrine people have arrived. Our brothers here have already engaged them. The Second-in-Command asked me to hurry and fetch you to take charge of the situation."
Blood Hand's expression grew solemn. He said aloud, "Which people from the Flame Shrine? Bian Zhenxin? My relationship with Bian Zhenxin was quite good. I even gave him several of the good items I used to play with, plus a lot of gold and silver. Is he leading people to surround us?"
"It's not Divine Envoy Bian. The one leading is a White Robe, and the ones surrounding us are the Flame Army."
"..."
Blood Hand started getting a headache.
"A White Robe has arrived? Did they say why?"
"They said to hand over a person."
"Hand over who?"
"They said a Black Robe was killed, and our people did it. They demand we hand over the person, or they will purge the Blood Hand Society," the subordinate said fearfully.
They feared nothing, having committed many murders and robberies in the past, so they knew exactly what the Flame Shrine was capable of.
They didn't believe in gods, but they feared the people who represented the gods.
"One of their people was killed, what does that have to do with us?" Blood Hand was furious, but his expression quickly turned to horror: "You said a Black Robe was killed?"
"Yes, that's what they said."
"The Black Robe of the Hen Shan Gathering Area was Bian Zhenxin... Is Bian Zhenxin dead?"
"They didn't mention a name..."
"The times have changed," Blood Hand murmured. "If this isn't handled correctly, the Hen Shan Gathering Area will become a slaughterhouse..."
Blood Hand pondered for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said, "Bring out that box of Luminous Pearls I've been saving, and all the good loot we seized last time. Bring it all out..."
"Boss!" the subordinate exclaimed in shock. That was the foundation Blood Hand had painstakingly accumulated over many years, and he was just going to give it away?
"A small price to pay to avert disaster," Blood Hand said bitterly. Giving away so many treasures at once pained him deeply. "The Flame Army is here; if we don't give them some benefits, will they leave? If we offer it ourselves, we might save our brothers' lives. If we wait until they start robbing, we'll lose both people and property."
Blood Hand had dealt with the Flame Shrine enough times to know how greedy and brutal these people were.
They were the ones who acted without scruples, while his own men were the true believers of the Flame God.
When Blood Hand led a group of subordinates out, he was startled by the dense crowd of Grey Robe people.
The Grey Robe people were numerous, but they were a disorganized mob. If a real fight broke out, it wasn't certain who would win or lose. Blood Hand didn't take them seriously.
The key was the nearly one hundred Flame Army members gathered around the White Robe Elder; these were the ones he truly had to worry about and fear.
They were uniformly equipped, using long spears ideal for charging. Moreover, a dozen or so of them actually held long rifles—a rarity after the Great Cataclysm.
His Blood Hand Society also possessed a few handguns, but they looked inadequate compared to the enemy's. Worse, they lacked Bullets. It was a great achievement if they could equip three to five rounds per gun. Having a whole box of Bullets was unrealistic.
When they robbed people, they couldn't exactly give a heads-up, saying, "I'm going to rob your guns in a moment, so prepare some extra Bullets..."
That wouldn't be proper!
Blood Hand walked through the crowd and went straight to the White Robe Divine Envoy. He bowed deeply, ensuring all formalities were observed.
Only then did he look towards Bian Feng, saying with feigned fear, "Divine Envoy, your presence honors our humble Blood Hand Society. May I ask the reason for your visit to our small temple? If you have any commands, please do not hesitate to speak."
Bian Feng stared at Blood Hand with indifferent eyes. In his view, Blood Hand was already a corpse.
Chen Hu threw the Skull Head lighter in his hand at Blood Hand's feet and asked in a deep voice, "Do you recognize this lighter?"
Blood Hand glanced at the lighter and immediately wanted to deny it. But recalling the White Robe Elder's eerie gaze, devoid of even a shred of emotion, he decided to tell the truth.
"I have indeed seen this lighter... It belongs to one of our minor leaders. I saw it when he lit my cigarette..." Blood Hand explained while carefully observing the White Robe Elder's Facial Expression. "I wonder how it ended up in Your Excellency's hands?"
"Where is that minor leader? Have him come out," Chen Hu said.
Since the Divine Envoy was unwilling to speak, he was acting on his behalf entirely.
Blood Hand knew the problem likely stemmed from Scarface and the others. He was filled with hatred, thinking that if that bastard were alive, he would slit his throat himself. Anyone who dragged him and the Blood Hand Society into danger deserved to die.
But for now, he had to act subservient and explained, "Your Excellency, it's not that I'm unwilling to hand the person over. It's just that they went out on a Mission and haven't returned yet..."
Chen Hu drew the large saber at his waist with a 「clank」 and roared angrily, "Do you take us for three-year-olds? You expect us to believe such a flimsy excuse?"
"You want to protect him?" The White Robe Elder finally spoke. This was the first sentence he had uttered since arriving.
His voice was soft and weak, seemingly lacking strength. Yet, Blood Hand felt a chilling terror that made the hairs on his body stand on end.
Blood Hand looked towards the White Robe Elder, his expression serious and earnest, and said solemnly, "Divine Envoy, I have no intention of protecting him. I do not wish to be enemies with the Flame Shrine, and I know the consequences of offending you. If he were here, I would have already tied him up and delivered him to Your Excellency."
Blood Hand waved his hand, and four Blood Hand Society brothers placed four large boxes at the White Robe Elder's feet.
"Divine Envoy, you have traveled far. We in the Blood Hand Society have nothing worthy to offer as hospitality. These are a few small trinkets I have collected over the years. I hope the Divine Envoy will accept them."
The White Robe Elder didn't even glance at the boxes. He just looked calmly and deeply at Blood Hand and said in a deep voice, "The Flame Shrine's Black Robe envoy in the Hen Shan Gathering Area is dead. Losing one Black Robe isn't a big deal; we at the Flame Shrine have many Black Robes. Every human gathering area has one Black Robe..."
"However, the Black Robe who died happens to be my son. He is my only son... So, you should understand my feelings now, shouldn't you?"
"I understand. I understand," Blood Hand said, breaking out in a cold sweat, nodding repeatedly.
"No, you don't understand," the White Robe Elder shook his head and sighed. "If you understood, you wouldn't be trying to buy peace from an old man whose son just died."
"Divine Envoy..."
Blood Hand was completely confused by the old man's logic.
I'm giving you money only to show my respect; it doesn't mean I actually did this!
We live quietly every day, engaging in robbery and murder. We never thought of becoming enemies with the noble Flame Shrine, and we certainly wouldn't assassinate a Black Robe. Wouldn't that be insane?
If you're insane, you lose your life.
Bian Feng raised his hand and said, "Within three breaths, if we do not see the owner of the lighter, there will not be a single living person left in the Blood Hand Society."
"Divine Envoy, that person truly hasn't returned! My brothers have been looking for him too. If you don't believe me, send someone inside to search..." Blood Hand said anxiously.
"Three."
"Divine Envoy, we are innocent! You should know the nature of us Predators... I've brought out all the foundation I've accumulated over the years. How could I do something this drastic for a minor Leader?"
Predators are ruthless, so ruthless they even curse themselves at critical moments.
You know we Predators are not good people. How could a scoundrel as heartless and beastly as I make such a great Sacrifice for a mere subordinate in the organization?
Divine Envoy, please think carefully. How could someone as inhuman as me possibly do something so righteously loyal?
I am innocent!
"Two."
"Divine Envoy, I am friends with Divine Envoy Bian, a friend of many years... We often drink and play games together. If you don't believe me, ask Divine Envoy Bian to come out; he will surely speak justly on my behalf!"
The White Robe Divine Envoy's finger moved down noticeably faster, and he said, "One."
The Flame Shrine represents light and justice. But the Flame Shrine's Black Robe being friends with a notorious Predator Leader would damage the reputation of him and his son if it got out.
"Kill!"
Chen Hu understood the Boss's intentions, let out an angry roar, and swung the large saber in his hand toward the Blood Hand in front of him.
A new week begins, time to climb the charts. I ask all of you, and the lovely little fairies, to lend Old Liu a hand!!!