The Ship of a New Era

S-Class Mixed-Blood's Tainted Blood

Quality: Extremely Rare

Description: A special mixed-blood bloodline that has been modified and contaminated, with the potential to turn humans into dragon-blooded mixed-bloods.

Usage Requirements: Constitution > 15, Spirit > 10

Effect 1: After use, there is a 15% chance of obtaining an S-Class dragon-blooded mixed-blood bloodline, a 25% chance of obtaining an A-Class dragon-blooded mixed-blood bloodline, a 40% chance of obtaining a B-Class dragon-blooded mixed-blood bloodline, and a 20% chance of an unknown mutation.

Effect 2: This bloodline has been modified by a great existence. Mixed-bloods who obtain their bloodline through this item will not be affected by the critical blood limit and can purify their bloodline without limit.

Effect 3: This bloodline has been contaminated. There is a small chance of suffering mental erosion after use.

It was a vial of serum shimmering with a purple sheen. On his third draw, Bai Cangshu chose the bloodline with the best value for money.

Though Time Zero was powerful, it was an ability of dragon-blooded mixed-bloods. In essence, it was the power of dragons.

Bai Cangshu had increasingly transcended the limits of humanity, but racially speaking, he was still human.

And after successfully drawing a Bloodline Item, Bai Cangshu roughly understood the location corresponding to that Hearthstone’s coordinates. It was probably the Dragon Raja World.

For one thing, Xu Zhiyu had many items related to the Dragon Clan on him. That either meant he had a particular fondness for this work, or that he had only recently entered the Dragon Raja World and had not yet had time to sell those items for cash.

Combined with the Hearthstone’s charge display of 3/30, Bai Cangshu guessed that Xu Zhiyu had most likely entered a mission world three days ago—the Dragon Raja World—and had used the Hearthstone to do so.

Under the night sky, Bai Cangshu sat alone in the living room of the manor house. The night was terrifyingly quiet. The servants and butler in the manor seemed to have vanished.

With a flick of his finger, he cut the mouth off the bottle of red wine on the table as though it had been sliced by a sharp blade.

He drained the wine in one gulp, then leaned back on the sofa and continued watching the world’s chaos unfold.

"Reports state that earlier this afternoon, the police exposed a mysterious individual named Xu Zhiyu, who launched an assault on the Blue House and caused the deaths of dozens of people, including the president…"

"According to an urgent report from our correspondent in Korea, Korea’s eighteenth president was attacked and killed this afternoon. The Korean police currently believe the attacker was an Ability User named Xu Zhiyu. Korea has confirmed the existence of Supernatural Ability Users for the first time and warned of their danger…"

"…The Free Federation’s military stationed in Korea has already imposed martial law…"

Because Reincarnators vanished from existence once they were killed, there was no footage when the television stations mentioned the name "Xu Zhiyu." There was only a blurry portrait of a black silhouette.

The police had described this as the other party possessing a miraculous ability that made him impossible for cameras to capture.

Bai Cangshu knew very well that the police had no idea who Xu Zhiyu was at that moment. The content of their reports had been entirely fabricated by the March Group.

Even the upper echelons of the March Group did not understand why they had to frame a nonexistent person. In their view, they could have simply described the culprit as an Ability User from the north, deepening the public’s fear.

Bai Cangshu reclined on the sofa with his eyes closed, seeming to have drifted into a nap. Yet some even more "grand" thoughts arose in his mind for no reason.

It seemed that humans as a species possessed limitations that were difficult to erase. Even the elite who had received a good education always had their vision confined to that tiny patch of land because of the position they occupied.

The south, the north—this was probably the most stubborn source of unease in the hearts of these Koreans. Yet they ignored the fact that Ability Users, in essence, were already an entirely different species from ordinary people like them.

They ignored the extraordinary group that possessed the power to kill them with ease, yet remained obsessed with another regime that shared the same roots but held a different ideology.

Even a talented human like Li Xianhou cared especially deeply about such things.

Within Bai Cangshu’s Mantra, a man whose heartbeat had been carefully suppressed to fewer than sixty beats per minute lay silently on a high slope in the private hunting grounds outside the manor, holding what was probably the finest firearm of this era.

After hearing that Bai Cangshu was willing to hand this country over to him, Li Xianhou had lost his composure. He had made his choice.

The man codenamed Ghost breathed steadily, his crosshairs already fixed on the target’s brow. Though the distance was great, he was confident that he could hit with a single shot.

He was merely waiting for one final order.

Suddenly, the sound of engines rose in the distance. Ghost saw three black business vehicles arrive outside the manor, and more than a dozen heavily armed personnel appeared around its perimeter.

Ghost called his employer.

"Did you arrange for anyone else to make a move?"

Li Chengji closed the study door, frowning in confusion. He knew very well that when it came to assassinations, more people was never better. On the contrary, only by spending the most money on the fewest people could the objective be achieved more cleanly.

"No. Why do you ask?"

Li Chengji had a bad feeling.

Ghost also sensed that something was wrong. A major conglomerate on the level of the March Group had extremely complicated internal factions. He had probably become entangled in some conspiracy.

He immediately withdrew from the slope and began dismantling his sniper rifle.

"This job is terminated. The compensation will be transferred within three days."

Beep. Beep.

The call was disconnected. At that moment, Li Chengji’s unease reached its peak. He immediately called his father, Li Xianhou, but no one answered.

After thinking it over, he called his daughter, Li Qingzi.

Click. The call connected, but a familiar voice came through the phone.

"I’ve already abandoned this job, Miss Li. I have no intention of getting involved in your family’s affairs. I can promise that our organization will never accept any mission related to you. We…"

Splurt!

Amid the sound of blood gushing out, Ghost—the legendary professional killer who had supposedly carried out more than ten top-tier assassination missions both domestically and abroad—could only make choked, gurgling noises.

"Father, I’ve arranged a villa for you on Jeju Island. Go stay there for a while."

Li Qingzi looked at the assassin’s corpse, which had stopped twitching, then fixed her gaze in the night on the dozen or so heavily armed mercenaries entering the manor.

They were mercenaries Li Xianhou had gathered in Li Chengji’s name. The purpose was to force her to make a choice and submit a "token of allegiance" before Bai Cangshu.

It was simply that neither she nor her grandfather had expected that her father had also sensed that his position was unstable and had arranged for a professional killer to genuinely assassinate Bai Cangshu in advance.

A mocking curve rose at the corner of Li Qingzi’s lips. Before interests of this magnitude, nothing remained of familial affection. She knew that even if Li Xianhou knew that her relationship with Bai Cangshu was "stable" beyond the point of becoming any more stable, he would still do this.

What Li Xianhou wanted was for the Li family to control this country. He did not care whether it was Li Chengji or Li Qingzi.

Moreover, she knew that if their positions were reversed and Bai Cangshu had chosen Li Chengji, her grandfather would also sacrifice her without hesitation and make her father submit a token of allegiance.

This was what a conglomerate was. This was… humanity.

At that moment, Li Qingzi seemed to finally understand why Bai Cangshu always wore a mocking expression, as if he were ridiculing everyone.

Humans were simply that kind of creature.

The noble were few, while the base were countless.

She took a deep breath. In the next instant, she turned into a streak of light, crossing the three-kilometer distance from the hunting grounds and charging into the manor in the blink of an eye.

Warning, Reincarnator QO60833805. You have been witnessed using extraordinary power in the real world.

You have triggered a Purge Mission. Please kill all witnesses within 10 minutes. Current number of witnesses: 12.

Splurt.

Splurt.

Splurt.

"Ah, fire!"

Bang! Bang!

Splurt, splurt…

In less than ten seconds, these fully armed mercenaries had only fired two shots before the battle was over.

You have completed the Purge Mission.

Clap, clap, clap.

Bai Cangshu held a bottle of red wine in one hand and lightly clapped the air with the other. As his palm vibrated at extreme speed, clapping sounds echoed through the air, and white Shockwaves spread outward like Ripples.

He came before Li Qingzi. The tall woman wore an exquisite, sharp-cut suit, but a few flecks of blood stained her face.

Bai Cangshu gently poured red wine over the woman’s face. The crimson liquid washed away the bloodstains before flowing down into her neck.

Li Qingzi took a deep breath, sheathed her combat blade, and closed her eyes.

She had long since shut down the electronic equipment in the manor, so she was not worried about anyone else witnessing what was happening to her. That thought surfaced in her mind for no reason, and her urge to resist was no longer as strong as before.

Bai Cangshu saw Li Qingzi’s thoughts at a glance. A smile appeared on his face. This woman was becoming more and more mature…

—

In Li Xianhou’s old residence, he sat before his desk. Several telephones rang from time to time, and his wife was somewhat confused.

"Even if you want Qingzi to take power, there was no need to send Chengji away. He suffered so much for you. The illness he got from going to prison back then still acts up whenever there’s wind or rain…"

"Shut up!"

Li Xianhou glared furiously, no longer looking the least bit aged. The woman did not dare speak again.

Li Xianhou looked at the various news reports still covering today’s explosive events on television. The thing he had always been proudest of in his life was his pair of eyes—his ability to see the situation clearly.

At that moment, he could plainly see that this world was about to change!

Trading Li Chengji’s future alone for an opportunity for the Li family to board the ship of the new era was completely worthwhile.

Besides, he was saving him by doing this!

When Li Xianhou had spoken with that Mr. Bai this afternoon, he had felt a bone-deep terror that left him afraid even to breathe.

That Mr. Bai was absolutely no kind man, and his relationship with Qingzi was by no means simple carnal desire. He was a ferocious beast!

All Li Xianhou was doing was following the wishes of that ferocious beast and arranging everything properly. Only then would the other party not become enraged.

He increasingly longed to establish that Ability User Agency immediately.

From now on, wealth and power would not compare to that most direct of things… strength!

"Have you found that White Tiger?"

"Yes, Chairman. Han Baekho has agreed to join us."