I slay demons and monsters in a bizarre city.

Chapter 35 The Man Behind the Scenes

Finding the bronze shrine was more important to Lin Jiuge than finding the Ten Heavenly Stems Ancient Gods.

"I have never seen the actual bronze shrine."

Lin Jiuge took out a not-so-clear photo and waved it in front of Li Changgeng. "The bronze shrine I was talking about, is this the one? Have you seen it before?"

“Tell me the truth. You people are able to work for our company, earn high salaries, and sign confidentiality and private customization agreements. If you violate these agreements, we can even use the death penalty, the electric chair, against you.”

The bronze shrine is of utmost importance to the Ten Gods Pillars, as it can bring out the power of the ancient gods of the Ten Heavenly Stems to their fullest potential.

Hades, the King of the Night Slayers, specifically instructed Lin Jiuge that in addition to finding the Ten Heavenly Stems Ancient Gods, the Bronze Shrine was even more important. With the Bronze Shrine, there would be a chance to fight the evil gods; otherwise, it would become extremely difficult. Hades' desire to possess the Bronze Shrine was even stronger.

Lin Jiuge never asked Hades whether any of his orders were reasonable. She seemed to be born knowing how to obey Zhan Ye Si. Hades never said who the superior department of KMS Games was, and Lin Jiuge did not intend to ask.

The order given to Lin Jiuge by Zhan Ye Si was to kill Li Changgeng. Hades was worried that someone with a divine seal would grow up in time and threaten his position in Zhan Ye Si. Whether Li Changgeng was an ancient god or an evil god, the risk had to be nipped in the bud.

The Night Slayer Division has a strict hierarchy, and the lower level must obey the orders of the higher level. The Night Slayer Judges are the ones who are sent out by the Night Slayer Division to carry out the most missions. Above the judges are the Dark Night Censors, and Lin Jiuge is a Dark Night Censor.

The person with supreme power in the Night Slayer Division is Hades, but there seems to be an even more mysterious behind-the-scenes figure above Hades. Lin Jiuge vaguely knows that there is such a person, but has never met him.

Li Changgeng glanced at the blurry photo and knew that the bronze shrine in his mind was the same as what Lin Jiuge had said. To be precise, it was given to him by that ragged, faceless man in yellow. It was strange, really.

Ever since the bronze shrine entered his mind, the three characters "Li Changgeng" engraved on it have been flashing with golden light. The lock, whose shape is indistinct, has an inexplicable attraction to Li Changgeng, as if it is saying, "Li Changgeng, open it, open the shrine."

"What is this thing? I've never seen it before. Besides, it doesn't look like a box, nor a safe. It doesn't even look like an incense burner. It seems to be of no use at all."

Li Changgeng wouldn't be foolish enough to tell Lin Jiuge that he had a bronze shrine in his head. Given KMS Games' tough approach, they might actually pin him to the operating table in the lab and give him a crazy dissection.

Three years ago, one of the programmers who leaked the core source code of the company's game was executed by KMS Games. It is possible that the game company deliberately created some malfunctions and did not allow the electric chair to pass a very large current at once, which caused the poor guy sitting in the electric chair to suffer the torture of being electrocuted nineteen times.

The electric chair execution is actually very simple. The positive and negative terminals of a DC power supply are tightly connected to the top of the condemned person's head and feet, respectively. When the power is applied, the person will inevitably die under the extremely strong current.

Death is also a matter of almost instantaneous events, and the pain is extremely brief. This kind of electric chair execution is more of a deterrent, especially for death row inmates. The fear and terror before the electric chair is turned on almost drives them crazy. The person who leaked the core source code of the game company was so scared that he wet his pants before the electric chair was even turned on.

After being electrified more than ten times, the boy finally defecated, filling the room with a foul stench. The more times the electricity was applied, the more his skin and muscles were roasted, and the smell of roasted pig skin was nauseating.

KMS's actions were also tacitly approved, or even openly permitted, by the Black Sea City law enforcement. In principle, the death penalty for citizens who violate the city's covenant should be approved and carried out by the police department.

The person behind the Night Slayer Division likely has close ties with the Police Security Bureau. Lin Jiuge suspected that the real person behind KMS Games Company might be a high-ranking official in the Police Security Bureau.

Especially after the arrival of the eternal night mist, the urban order of Black Sea City has undergone great changes. The role of the Police Department has become prominent, and it has even become the only one that is dominant, currently on par with the Black Sea City Government.

"Can I leave now? I've never seen this strange thing before." Li Changgeng didn't want to stay in Lin Jiuge's office. He felt like there were several 360-degree high-definition cameras watching him, which made him very uncomfortable.

Lin Jiuge accepted the photo. She felt that the divine seal on Li Changgeng was very special. As for the bronze shrine, the possibility of him seeing it was extremely low; Lin Jiuge herself had never seen one. Lin Jiuge's current thought was how to keep Li Changgeng alive. If Li Changgeng died, it would mean the divine seal would completely disappear, something Lin Jiuge didn't want to see. "You can leave, but I don't agree to you living in the company's single dormitory. I'll give you authorization. There's a red fox doll on the bookshelf in the small study behind my office. That's the switch. Press it, and the door behind the bookshelf will open. The elevator there goes directly to the second basement parking lot. You can leave from there and enter my office."

Lin Jiuge looked at Li Changgeng seriously, "I'm doing this for your safety. You must keep this a secret. If you dare to leak it, I can kill you without the judge even lifting a finger. There are three cat heads of different colors next to the coffee machine. Don't touch them! Remember that!"

"Also, you should stop taking those red capsules and white pills. In short, stop taking any more medicine! Those kinds of medicines damage the brain and are even more harmful to the nervous system."

Lin Jiuge is the only person in the entire KMS Games company who doesn't take medication.

The medicine distributed free of charge to the public by the Black Sea City Hall is said to reduce the harm of the fog and be beneficial to people's health. However, Lin Jiuge felt that the medicine had a certain degree of dependence and that long-term use could easily lead to addiction.

The drugs were manufactured by the largest biopharmaceutical company in Black Sea City. There's no such thing as a free lunch; there's likely a huge conspiracy behind these drugs.

"You can't stop taking your medicine." Li Changgeng smiled awkwardly. "Thank you for your kindness, President Lin. I'll stay in your study then. There's one more thing I'd like to know the answer to. Is it true that the buck-toothed girl said the company is going to lay off employees?"

"It does happen."

Lin Jiuge didn't mince words, "Your performance is good, so you won't be laid off. Focus on your work. Also, finish the game as soon as possible. The entire MKS game company is focused on your game right now. Complete the first Ghost Train infinite flow dungeon as soon as possible. The initial test data for the game is good, and we expect its popularity to continue to rise."

Li Changgeng felt something was off. Lin Jiuge was a beautiful, cold, even harsh and ruthless woman. This time, her visit to her office was completely different from the last one. The memory of Lin Jiuge standing outside the bathroom with a whip and candle, her cold and ruthless shouts, still lingered in Li Changgeng's ears.

But the Lin Jiuge in front of me felt different from last time; she was much gentler, as if she were not the same person. Indeed, women are so fickle.

Li Changgeng received a green pass card and, following Lin Jiuge's instructions, actually found the small, separate study.

This study is completely separate from Lin Jiuge's office.

However, this study is not small at all; it has a bed, sofa, bookshelves, wine cabinet, treadmill, coffee machine, and everything else you could need.

Li Changgeng has developed a habit of drinking coffee.

The coffee machine filled half a cup with black coffee. He saw the cat head that Lin Jiuge had told him not to touch. It was black, white, and red. He couldn't tell if the cat head was made of metal or wood.

There was indeed a small door on the bookshelf next to the coffee machine. At this moment, the door was black, and the black cat's eyes lit up.

Li Changgeng's hand trembled, and the coffee cup slipped and smashed onto the white cat's head.

With a whoosh, the door turned white, and the dazzling white light grew increasingly blinding...

Before Li Changgeng's eyes, red numbers began to count down...

(End of this chapter)