133: A trap? No, I'm going to raid their homes and buy their goods!

At the peak of Shuangjian Peak, the night was thick and impenetrable.

The European-style villa on the cliff edge was brightly lit, its massive floor-to-ceiling windows spilling warm light into the pitch-black valley.

The room was carpeted with thick Persian rugs, and the walls were adorned with oil paintings that could have been traded for a courtyard house before the Apocalypse.

The fruitwood in the fireplace burned brightly, crackling and popping, while the air was filled with a faint scent of pine mixed with the rich aroma of high-end red wine.

Lei Lie was wearing a dark red silk bathrobe, sunken into a leather sofa, swirling half a glass of Romanée-Conti in his hand.

The crimson wine clung to the glass, looking exactly like blood that hadn't yet coagulated.

Wang Qiang knelt on the floor, his face swollen like a steamed bun, his speech whistling through gaps, saliva flying everywhere.

"President... mmph... that kid named Lu is too arrogant! He doesn't respect you at all! He said our association is just a bunch of stinking fish and rotten shrimp, not even fit to carry the military's shoes!"

Wang Qiang groaned while stealing glances at Lei Lie. Seeing no reaction, he stoked the fire further: "The most infuriating thing is Vice President Li! In front of so many people, he bowed and apologized to that kid and even told me to shut up! He's disgraced our association to the point of no return!"

"Snap!"

The wine glass hit the carpet. It didn't break, but the wine splashed everywhere, staining the floor like a glaring red flower.

Wang Qiang shuddered in fear, pressing his head hard against the carpet, not daring to breathe.

"Explain."

Lei Lie didn't turn around, his voice cold enough to freeze.

In the corner, Li Han's face was deathly pale. His gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, and his eyes behind the lenses were bloodshot.

He took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

"President, under those circumstances... if we hadn't retreated, we wouldn't have made it back."

"Wouldn't have made it back?" Lei Lie turned around, a burst of blue-violet electric arcs suddenly exploding from his body.

The air instantly became dry and scorched, and the solid wood furniture emitted a teeth-grinding creak.

Wang Qiang was pinned to the floor by this pressure, his bones groaning.

Lei Lie walked up to Li Han, staring down at him: "I am a Level 6 Spirit Source User, and he is also a Level 6 Spirit Source User. What, in your eyes, is that greenhorn stronger than me?"

Li Han's legs went weak, and he fell to his knees. Cold sweat dripped from his chin onto the floor, shattering into droplets.

But he didn't dare to lie.

"President... it's not the same."

Li Han swallowed, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks. Recalling the scene during the day, his body couldn't stop trembling. "Your aura is violent, like a fierce tiger that makes people fear you, but that person... I couldn't see any light on him."

"No color?" Lei Lie frowned.

"It was black, a pure, dead silence of black." Li Han's voice was hoarse. "It was the feeling of staring death in the face. I have an intuition that if he wanted to, none of us would survive for even a second."

The room was so quiet that only the sound of wood crackling in the fireplace could be heard.

Lei Lie's eye twitched twice, and the electric arcs on his body slowly retracted.

He was arrogant, but not stupid.

Li Han's sequence was [Danger Perception]. This kid had managed to survive until now and rise to the position of Vice President precisely because of those eyes, which were keener than a dog's.

"Pure black?"

Lei Lie sat back down on the sofa, tapping his fingers on the armrest. The rhythm was slow, each tap sounding like it was striking someone's heart.

He didn't believe an outsider kid could be that strong; it was likely some special mental ability used to play tricks.

But the Corpse Tide was coming soon. A head-on collision right now, in case he damaged his Origin Qi, wouldn't be worth it.

"Interesting." Lei Lie pulled at the corner of his mouth, revealing a set of bone-white teeth. "In this territory of Hanwu City, a Dragon must coil up, and a Tiger must lie down."

He looked at Li Han: "Tomorrow, send someone to the military base to deliver an invitation."

"Invite that Major Lu to the banquet." Lei Lie narrowed his eyes, his tone chilling. "Tell him I have important matters to discuss, regarding the Corpse Tide defense, and also... regarding who will have the final say in Hanwu City from now on."

Li Han was stunned: "President, are you thinking of..."

"Courtesy first, force later."

Lei Lie walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the pitch-black military base at the foot of the mountain, his eyes looking like he was staring at a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

"If he knows what's good for him and is willing to bow, I don't mind giving him a position as Vice President. After all, a Level 6 Spirit Source User is hard to come by, and keeping a guard dog wouldn't be bad."

Speaking of which, Lei Lie turned around, the flesh on his face twitching: "If he doesn't know how to appreciate favors..."

He glanced at Wang Qiang on the floor: "Notify everyone. Have all Spirit Source Users above Level 5 in the association ambush around the villa tomorrow night. I don't believe that with so many of us, we can't pile up and kill a single Level 6 Spirit Source User!"

"Yes! The President is wise!" Wang Qiang scrambled up from the floor in excitement, his swollen face full of the pleasure of revenge.

Li Han opened his mouth, watching Lei Lie's arrogant back, and finally swallowed his words.

Pile up and kill him? Facing that kind of absolute darkness, was quantity... really useful?

The next morning, sunlight enveloped Shuangjian Peak.

Lu Sheng had just finished meditating when a knock came at the door.

Zhang Yi walked in holding a gold-stamped, bright red invitation, his expression looking as ugly as if he had just swallowed a dead fly.

"Major Lu, people from the association have come. Lei Lie wants to host a banquet this noon and invites you over for a chat."

"A trap, huh."

Zhou Hai was squatting at the door brushing his teeth. He leaned over with a mouthful of foam to take a look and shouted indistinctly, "That old guy is definitely plotting something bad. Who knows how many swordsmen he's got in ambush. Little Lu, let's not go! Let's leave him hanging! Let him drink with the air!"

Lu Sheng took the invitation and flipped it open, scanning it casually.

The characters were written in a wild, unrestrained style, exuding the arrogance of a nouveau riche, and between the lines was that sense of condescending charity.

"Go? Why wouldn't I go?"

Lu Sheng tossed the invitation onto the table, stood up, and stretched his neck, which cracked with a crisp sound.

He walked to the door and looked up at the villa on the mountaintop, which appeared particularly glaring in the morning light.

"Someone has set up a banquet, prepared plenty of supplies, and even washed their head clean and stuck it out."

Lu Sheng turned his head, looking at the worried Zhang Yi and the excited Zhou Hai, his tone indifferent.

"Where else can you find such a good thing?"

"Notify everyone, get ready."

Lu Sheng smoothed out his slightly wrinkled cuffs, a heart-stopping golden glint flashing in his eyes.

"This noon, I'm going to the banquet, and by the way, I'll teach that President Lei what... rules are."

"Oh, right." Lu Sheng added, "Have the brothers clear out a few empty warehouses; the things coming back today might be a bit much."

Zhou Hai was stunned, then grinned wildly, spraying toothpaste foam all over Zhang Yi's face: "Hahaha! You got it!"

P.S.: Today's update (3/5).