Bab 234: Chapter 234
Night, Hell's Kitchen
Squeak! Squeak!
In the dark alley, the occasional squeaking sound of mice echoed. The next moment, the sound abruptly stopped, as if silenced by death.
The factory remained eerily quiet, very quiet.
Faintly, a dark factory could be seen, with what appeared to be a shadow moving inside. But in the next moment, it was as if nothing had been there, and the darkness resumed its stillness.
Suddenly...
Tread! Tread! Tread!
The faint sound of footsteps echoed from outside the factory.
Immediately afterward, shadows began to stir within the dark factory, as if on guard or in anticipation.
Soon, an old Asian woman appeared, looking at the dark factory as if she could see the shadows inside.
The next moment, she gently raised her frail, bone-like arm and waved it lightly. Instantly, a wave of energy swept through the entire factory.
Simultaneously, the entire factory seemed to come to life. Torches hidden around the premises ignited one after another at a visible speed.
The flames illuminated the entire factory, banishing the darkness.
Then, a large number of ninjas dressed in black were revealed, kneeling on the ground. Opposite them stood the old woman.
She was none other than one of the five fingers of the Hand—Madam Gao.
"Rise." Madam Gao's hoarse voice commanded, and all the black-clad ninjas obeyed, standing up and forming two lines, leaving a wide passage down the middle.
Madam Gao looked down the passage and then up at the railing across from her. She spoke in her raspy voice, "Bakuto, Murakami, Alexandra, Sowande, come out."
As soon as Madam Gao's voice fell, four figures appeared on the railing above. They jumped down, crossing the railing to land on the flat ground below.
"Madam Gao, you're late," Murakami, dressed in black with a katana at his waist, said in a cold tone.
In response, Madam Gao looked at Bakuto indifferently and replied calmly, "Shut up. Let's get to the point. What's the situation with the sacrifice to the 'Beast'?"
Feeling slighted by Madam Gao's dismissive attitude, Murakami's anger surged, but then, remembering her power, he suppressed his rage and remained silent.
Bakuto, sensing the tension in the air, stepped forward to diffuse it, saying, "Madam Gao, our factory has suffered severe damage recently. Both the goods inside and the deaf-mute people we were holding have been lost."
"The most important thing is that someone is targeting our Hand. So far, three of our factories have been attacked, including one under your control."
Hearing this, Madam Gao's eyes grew cold, and she asked sharply, "I just returned. Tell me, who's responsible? Is it a member of K'un-Lun?"
Bakuto, feeling the cold air emanating from Madam Gao, shook his head slightly and replied softly, "No, their methods are very covert. We only discover the damage after the fact."
"What about the situation with the sacrifices?" Madam Gao was silent for a moment before asking.
At this point, Murakami, who had been standing aside, said coldly, "The deaf-mute individuals who were originally intended as sacrifices have been rescued."
"Now, we have to choose a new batch. Otherwise, the Black Sky will become uncontrollable. When that happens..."
Madam Gao was already aware of the consequences without Murakami's reminder.
The Black Sky was the Hand's ace, and its strength was such that even if the five of them combined their forces, they would still be no match for it.
If not for the power of the 'Beast,' controlling the Black Sky wouldn't have been so easy.
After contemplating the situation, Madam Gao addressed the four of them in a hoarse voice, "A new batch of stowaways is about to arrive, and they can be used as sacrifices. I want the rest to be used to compensate for our losses."
Murakami, still dissatisfied, replied, "I also had a factory that was destroyed."
"This isn't the time for bickering," Alexandra interjected, stepping in to prevent further quarrels. "We need to deal with the enemy first, or the problem will only get worse."
Alexandra's words seemed to freeze the air around them.
Sowande, standing nearby, spoke quietly, "My factory was also destroyed, Alexandra. Do you have a plan to address this situation?"
"Sowande, of course I have a plan," Alexandra replied, glancing around at the others and signaling for the ninjas to leave.
Once only the five of them remained in the factory, Alexandra spoke in a deep voice, "Recently, I've made contact with someone who, like us, requires living sacrifices. However, while we offer sacrifices to the 'Beast,' they intend to sacrifice to an entity named 'Dormammu.'"
"Alexandra, are you insane?" Madam Gao shouted sharply. "You know how difficult it is for us to manage the 'Beast,' and now you want to deal with followers of an evil god? Aren't you afraid they'll turn on us?"
Despite Madam Gao's extreme dissatisfaction, Alexandra waved her hand dismissively and said, "Don't worry. They're like us—they're not followers of the evil god; they're just using its power."
Hearing this, Madam Gao didn't respond, but the suspicion in her eyes was clear, as it was in the eyes of the other three.
All five of them had studied at K'un-Lun but chose to betray their teachings in pursuit of immortality.
However, the knowledge they had gained warned them of the dangers associated with evil gods.
They were familiar with the power of the 'Beast' and had devised countermeasures. As long as there were sufficient sacrifices, they could gain power at minimal cost.
Not only could they strengthen themselves, but they could also be resurrected.
But dealing with the power of an unknown evil god was a different story. Even if they were merely users of the evil god's power like themselves, there were inherent risks.
They all knew that followers of evil gods were usually madmen, obsessed with wielding the god's power.
When interacting with them, there was always the risk of being sacrificed themselves.
Suddenly, one of the Hand members seemed to have thought of something and asked Alexandra directly, "You didn't tell him about the dragon bone, did you?"
"What are you thinking?" Alexandra responded with some irritation. "I've only known him for a short time. How could I reveal such a secret?"
She continued, "However, I have spoken with him, and he claims to have the ability to track down our enemies."
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Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone