Strange game designer.

Chapter 774 Breaking up

"Make me impersonate the leader among the outsiders? And then hand me over to the municipal council?" Gao Ming gained a new understanding of Councilor Ci's malice; he was like a donkey that had been used and then discarded, trying to squeeze out every last bit of value from him.

“You say your heart is set on the light, now is the time for you to contribute your strength.” Councilor Ci seemed to have planned Gao Ming’s fate long ago. “When I dispel the darkness, I will also erect a statue for you and receive offerings from believers.”

"Could it be that all those statues in the passageway are victims of the Tzu Chi Foundation?" Gao Ming vaguely remembered seeing many "important figures" hanging on the wall on the way here.

"They paved the way to redemption with their bodies." Councilor Ci spoke with utmost holiness, yet she was standing on corpses, her face stained with blood, and even her smile carried a mocking tone.

The light that countless believers worship is merely a "ghost" in a magnificent coat, a most terrifying "person".

Gao Ming now understands why Tzu Chi is allowed to exist, and why the city council in this dark city elected a Tzu Chi councilor—not because she is truly kind, but because she is dark enough.

"What a brilliant scheme." Gao Mingdu wanted to applaud. "I'm probably not the first person you've used, am I? Perhaps those statues in the passageway are the true light of this city. They were deceived by you, sacrificed everything, and ultimately became your bargaining chips."

“Do you think Tzu Chi has developed to where it is today just by talking? Only through constant sacrifice and offerings can we keep moving forward.” Councilor Tzu stood on the high platform, with the pool of blood behind him: “Actually, those who survive are the ones who suffer the most. You have no idea how much pain I have endured to bring light.”

"Being forced to wear a mask and suppress one's brutal nature is truly painful." Gao Ming cut his skin, but no blood dripped out; instead, it drew dangerous lines as if it were alive.

“You’ve done so much for Tzu Chi these past few days, this is the last thing.” Councilor Tzu waved his hand and sat down at the edge of the blood pool.

Armed subordinates approached Gao Ming, intending to capture him alive, imprint the mysterious patterns they had found in the restricted area on his entire body, and then present him to the municipal council.

"Resistance will only bring you more pain."

With a gun pointed at his head, Gao Ming was thoroughly searched when he entered, and he had no weapons. He silently raised his hands, as if he had given up struggling.

"I really like your eyes and your way of doing things. If you weren't so sleazy-looking and old, I would really like to play with you and torture you a bit." Councilor Ci felt that the situation was settled and spoke his true feelings. Gao Ming never expected that Li Sansi's sleazy old face could actually have such a protective effect.

The secret passage behind the blood pool was opened, and Gao Ming was forced to enter it with a gun pointed at him. He did not resist at all during the process, but just muttered something.

The air was thick with the smell of blood. Behind the secret passage was a human specimen room. It was unclear whether this was a fetish of Representative Tzu Chi or if the Tzu Chi Foundation also made money by selling organs. Each of these organs was very complete and exquisite, and some were even kept alive using special methods.

"Be careful not to hurt the flowers the senator is growing." A doctor with a flat head was busy in the specimen room. His body had been modified, with his lower body connected to the wall, from which flesh-colored roots resembling arms extended. "I know the senator's demands. Get out of here, you bunch of blockheads."

The flat-headed doctor showed no respect or sympathy for the women whose ears had been cut off, treating them as objects, and his words were full of malice.

Gao Ming's hands and feet were wrapped in fleshy roots, and he was dragged onto the operating table. With a ripping sound, his clothes were torn open. The flat-headed doctor approached, his two eyes, one large and one small, suddenly widening in surprise: "What gang's tattoos are these? I've never seen them before!"

He received orders from Councilor Ci to draw patterns obtained from the forbidden zone on Gao Ming's body to impersonate the leader of the outsiders. However, after tearing Gao Ming's clothes, he discovered that the other party already had some kind of mysterious and dangerous tattoo on his body.

“Each gang tattoo expresses a power, a rule of this dark city. Your tattoo… seems to belong to an outsider, but I’ve killed many outsiders, and none of them have these tattoos… Could it be that you…”

The flat-headed doctor's mouth opened involuntarily as a conjecture surfaced in his mind.

Gao Ming counted down the time, and after the blood had completely stained the Blood City Ghost Mark red, he raised his head: "That's right, I was the leader all along."

A deafening roar came from overhead, the terrifying destructive power clearly audible even deep underground. The Tzu Chi Association's chapel had been attacked; someone had used high explosives there!
"The White-browed Marquis is really punctual." Gao Ming had planned this long before he arrived.

He lost his usefulness to Representative Ci, and Representative Ci was no longer that important to him. Li Sansi's mother was a more suitable object of faith than Representative Ci.

Malice surged forth, the Blood City tattoo on Gao Ming's body intertwined with the malice in Li Sansi's heart, transforming into a crimson wave that crashed towards the flat-headed doctor.

In recent days, in order to prevent Li Sansi's malice from eroding his body, Gao Ming has been trying to avoid using his power. He doesn't know how terrifying he will become after truly merging with Li Sansi, and perhaps a new mountain lord will be born.

Dense, ghostly patterns entwined his entire body, and the aroma of flesh carried an astonishing malice. Behind Gao Ming, a ghost god nearly ten meters tall seemed to emerge. The god was eight or nine parts similar to the Blood and Flesh Immortal, but its eyes were incredibly evil, and black chains of malice appeared on its body.

All the events that occur within the Dark Shrine are symbolic. If viewed from a different perspective, one might see Gao Ming and Li Sansi's struggle for the body, which is precisely the struggle between the Dark Shrine's master and the Flesh Immortal for Gao Ming's body.

"What is this thing?!" Before the flat-headed doctor could react, the roots had been torn off, and Gao Ming's five fingers grabbed his head. In that instant, he felt as if a ten-meter-tall god had grabbed his heart, and no matter how much he struggled, it was useless.

"You've pulled out so many organs, have you ever thought that one day you'll be hollowed out yourself?" Gao Ming reached into his stomach and pulled him out of the wall.

Gunshots rang out. Gao Ming dodged, threw the flat-headed doctor's corpse at the women whose ears had been cut off, sabotaged the power supply inside the house, then activated the restricted area view and began hunting in the darkness.

This trial of the Blood City Ghost Mark and the power of malice will inevitably lead to a deeper fusion between Gao Ming and Li Sansi. However, in order to eliminate Councilor Ci and seize control of the Tzu Chi Foundation, Gao Ming can no longer care about such things.

One by one, specimen bottles containing organs fell to the ground, the formalin and the smell of meat mingling together. Gao Ming darted through the filth, heading straight for Councilor Ci.

(End of this chapter)