The King of Curses

Chapter 182 Undercurrent
Kong Yinlian, who had been with An Zhizhen for a while, had some understanding of her boss's style.

She cares about the balance between curse masters and ordinary people, keeping conflicts under control to avoid full-scale hostility, but this is just An Zhizhen's consideration for the overall situation.

But when it comes time to clear the obstacles, I will clear them decisively.

She stood beside the boss and watched silently. The spell master named Botong stretched out his hand and gently peeled off Zhang Yuanlu's face. Without any tools, he peeled off a human face from the neck cleanly and neatly.

The amazing thing is that after this "face-pulling" incident, not only did Zhang Yuanlu's facial skin disappear, but only flesh and blood covered his facial bones; his entire body trembled violently, and he fell into a state of his soul leaving his body, and his body lost its vitality.

The boy picked up the face lightly and stretched it out in the air. It was clean without a trace of blood, and the fear and confusion that remained on the thin skin were vivid.

As he displayed his trophies, the curse master showed pride on his face.

"If someone passes through my hands, not only will they lose face, they will lose their souls."

"I see."

An Zhizhen nodded slightly.

According to legend, the origin of "face changing" is that when ancient humans faced ferocious beasts, they painted their faces in different ways to create different shapes in order to scare away the invading beasts in order to survive.

Although drama is an art form of dramatic performance, its origins are closely related to the supernatural spiritual world.

For example, Nuo opera, which originated from Nuo dance, was originally a ritual dance in Nuo sacrifice, a kind of totem worship and primitive religious activity of primitive ancestors, with a long history of inheritance and a strong mysterious atmosphere. Later, it gradually developed into a folk dance that entertains both gods and people.

Historically, the development of drama is a process of slowly fading away its religious overtones; and in the age of spiritual revival, this mysterious temperament has returned in another form.

"There's more to it than that. Just wait and see."

The boy chuckled and without hesitation put the face against his own.

That face that looked like a mask, but was in fact imbued with the power to bind the soul, when it came into contact with another person's face, it was like blood dissolving in water, the same substance quickly blending and becoming indistinguishable from each other.

The boy's face was covered by Zhang Yuanlu's skin, and his facial features twisted and changed like flowing water, gradually becoming identical to the boy himself.

Not only his face, but his entire being was deformed by a strange external force.

Originally, Zhang Yuanlu was a head taller than him, so at this moment, the hunched skeleton of the boy began to grow "creakingly", his muscles swelled, the fat on his belly bulged, the hair on his body shortened, and his skin color changed...

Bo Tong's face was distorted, sweat was pouring down his forehead, and he was struggling to hold on; finally, another Zhang Yuanlu appeared in front of them.

Apart from the ill-fitting clothes and pants, others could no longer tell the difference between her and the original owner.

"I can see through him. His strength is probably around B-level. He is not good at direct combat, but his ability is very special. If the boss doesn't intend to use him as a test subject, he may be very effective in the fields of espionage and intelligence..."

Kong Yinlian, who was watching from the side, secretly analyzed

"Say your wish."

"——I want to promote my tricks and let more and more people see my tricks one day..."

Although his methods were strange and he treated human life as worthless, the man's eyes lit up when he talked about his dreams and he was as innocent as a child. After receiving a definite answer from this adult, the boy was ecstatic and bowed his head respectfully.

……

"Yinlian, the people brought by Zhang Yuanlu are now..."

"It's downstairs."

After all, Zhang Yuanlu is one of the richest men in the country. He has plenty of money and hired several curse masters as bodyguards. But he was here to attend a meeting. An Zhizhen and the Super Workers Committee he represented were his partners, so he didn't ask anyone to follow him...

Although numbers are meaningless in front of An Zhizhen, making such a mistake shows that he is used to the way of communicating with people in civilized society and subconsciously ignores that he has stepped into a new world where strength is respected.

Even for ordinary people who hold high positions in society, their cognition is still limited.

He was not a spell-binding master, so he did not understand the gap between humans and An Zhizhen. All the achievements in the past were based on people's familiarity and mastery of the operation of society; but spell-binding masters represented another set of rules, a set of rules that override the past system. Their way of doing things was barbaric in the eyes of others.

The bigwigs of various countries who used to profit from the famine will become harmless delicacies on the table of the new ruling class. The wealth, power and status they created will be dismembered and shared, and transformed into the cornerstone of the new world.

"The things I asked you to investigate..."

"Zhang Yuanlu started from scratch and has a background in organized crime. He has a lot of blood on his hands, but it's been a long time since then, and most people who know the inside story are no longer alive."

"We'll announce the news after a while. When we do things, we still have to take into account the thoughts of our 'partners' who have higher moral standards."

"I see."

Kong Yinlian nodded respectfully.

……

After Zhang Yuanlu, the office door was knocked for the second time. This time the visitor was Jiang Zhifeng.

"Take Bo Tong and deal with the people Zhang Yuanlu brought."

The woman ordered.

"Yes."

Kong Yinlian called to the boy to follow and passed by the middle-aged man who walked in.

"Mr. Jiang."

"Long time no see, Counselor An."

Jiang Zhifeng sat down stiffly, trying his best not to look anywhere else.

He had no idea what had happened in the room before; he only saw a skinned corpse appear in the room a few minutes after Zhang Yuanlu entered; then, "Zhang Yuanlu" knelt down respectfully in front of An Zhizhen and walked out of the office...

The other party had no intention of hiding anything. Looking at the scene, Jiang Zhifeng could not help but guess what had happened, and he felt a chill in his heart.

"Is something wrong?"

"some……"

Jiang Zhifeng grabbed his knees and tried his best to keep calm.

"My father's 90th birthday is in a week, and we don't know if Advisor An is available..."

"Banquet? It depends on the situation."

An Zhizhen held her cheek with her hand, looking uninterested.

"Of course, of course, whatever is convenient for you. But it would be our honor if you are willing to take the time to come."

"Um……"

When his eyes met Consultant An's, his heart suddenly trembled.

The other person's pupils were as awe-inspiring as a deep-sea whirlpool. She was observing herself. No, it was not so much "herself" as it was someone outside of her body who aroused the other person's interest.

Jiang Zhifeng felt his scalp tingle when he saw these eyes that seemed to be able to see into his heart. Later, he even hoped that even if the other party suddenly wanted to kill him on a whim, at least he could kill him quickly...

After more than ten seconds of suffocating silence, the other party finally spoke slowly.

"Compared to the banquet...Mr. Jiang, there is someone in your family who I am very interested in."

"Who is it?" Jiang Zhifeng was stunned.

"You have a niece who is currently attending college, right?"

"This...what do you mean?"

……

Jiang Zhifeng looked worried. Not long after he left the office in a hurry, he bumped into the two people who had left earlier.

The three of them looked at each other and greeted each other silently.

After entering the office, Kong Yinlian's expression was relatively calm; but the other man who took off Zhang Yuanlu's skin and pretended to be his bowl boy looked a little frightened and did not dare to look up at the woman sitting behind the desk.

It is inevitable that people will feel uneasy after failing the first mission.

"The spell-binding masters Zhang Yuanlu hired were not ordinary people. One of them saw through Bo Tong's disguise as a human skin and escaped from me."

Kong Yinlian reported to An Zhizhen.

"I suspect that the other person is the one you are looking for."

She said a name.

According to An Zhizhen's plan, the "clearing mountains and destroying temples" campaign in each city will generally be divided into two stages: the first stage is called "comprehensive investigation", which mainly involves preliminary intelligence exploration and preparatory work.

If there are restless guys in the city who are well-informed, they should jump out to stop them at this time.

Tianhai City was the first stop for the implementation of the plan. After the Super Working Committee deliberately released some information, the reaction was as expected: groups of sorcerers, folk curse-master groups or individuals who were dissatisfied with the official organization, some guys who were afraid of chaos in the world, and even non-human figures...

They are secretly uniting and trying to work together to resist the pressure from the Super Working Committee.

This was exactly what An Zhizhen wanted. She already had an initial list in her hands, and one of Zhang Yuanlu's bodyguards was a member of the list.

"It seems that he has invested in more than just the Chaogong Committee. He doesn't put all his eggs in one basket... Heh, he is indeed a businessman."

An Zhizhen laughed. She noticed that the boy looked terrified, so she said:
"The failure just now is not your fault, don't take it to heart. However, for the next period of time, I will trouble you to play the role of Boss Zhang."

"No trouble, I'm happy to do it!" Bo Tong quickly replied, "But I don't know much about this person. If I really want to play the role, I might be exposed..."

"I will send someone to assist you in your work and find someone from the Intelligence Support Group."

"understand!"

After the boy left, Kong Yinlian couldn't help but ask:
"Boss, what are you going to do next? According to the original plan, it's not time to close the net yet, right?"

"Yes, it's not easy to get the rats in the sewers to gather together spontaneously. We can't scare them away easily. They are too timid creatures, and even a little sunlight can scare them."

An Zhizhen laughed softly.

"Let's put off closing the net for a while. As for what to do next—"

The woman paused slightly, Kong Yinlian held her breath, waiting for her leader to issue an order, and then she heard a lazy complaint.

"We have worked enough for today. Let's talk about it tomorrow."

"……what?"

Kong Yinlian hadn't reacted yet and almost thought she had heard it wrong.

"I have finished my work today and I want to go home and rest."

An Zhizhen looked at her with bright eyes and a gentle tone.

"You should also take this opportunity to have a good rest, Ms. Kong. I feel that I have relied too much on your ability before. Although it is said that 'the more capable, the more work', the Chaogong Committee has increased its manpower recently, and finally someone can share some of the work with you."

An Zhizhen yawned quietly and praised the hard-working secretary. Affected by the lazy atmosphere she exuded, even her dark eyes that seemed to be able to suck people's souls into them were not as intimidating as usual.

“Ha, haha…thank you…”

Kong Yinlian was in mixed mood.

Her boss actually planned to give her a day off out of kindness one day, and she couldn't help but feel grateful...

It's such a funny joke.

As for things like “someone to share the burden”, Kong Yinlian pretended not to hear it.

Yes, the Super Working Committee has more manpower. When the laboratory was first established, Kong Yinlian always had to run around and do all kinds of work. Since the establishment of the Super Working Committee, her responsibilities have gradually narrowed. She has become the exclusive secretary of the Chief Consultant. Now she only needs to make a phone call to let others do the things that were troublesome in the past.

But this does not mean that her life has become easier. Compared to two months ago, the scale of An Zhizhen's power now does not allow for a moment of distraction, and she has to go all out every day.

"You're welcome. I'll go home first then. Bye."

After saying this, An Zhizhen stood up from her seat, picked up her coat, and really left the room.

She was clearly more concerned with something else than continuing to chair meetings or listening to the opinions of her subordinates.

"She must have gone to meet that man secretly. She said something like 'rest'. What a willful boss."

Kong Yinlian rubbed her eyebrows and felt a headache.

"Forget it, it's time for me to take a break... I should finish cleaning up the stall here first, since no one has left yet."

*
The young man's hand and the girl's hand collided in the air, making a crisp "pop" sound.

"Very good, the contract is concluded now."

Cen Dongsheng nodded with satisfaction and said:

"From now on, we are teammates. But we are still short of one person to form a team. You should remember what I told you last time, that the most basic unit of the 'Curse Forbidden Master Group' is a three-person team, because it must conform to the three elements of 'Heaven, Earth, and Man'."

"I remember. But... is this okay?"

Song Yutang was still a little dazed.

"I thought we were going to sign an agreement or a contract or something...but it turns out it's just a high five?"

"If it is not a contract that contains the power of a curse, how can such a piece of paper have any binding force on a curse master?"

Cen Dongsheng answered with a smile.

"If you want to find stable and reliable teammates, the most important thing is compatibility, not ability."

"……Too."

Seeing the other party nod thoughtfully, he asked again.

"I remember you said when you called me that you had something else to do this time?"

"It's... Jiang Yunmei, about Senior Sister Jiang. She has been saying that she wants to see you again, so she asked me to convey her message."

(End of this chapter)