Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 74 Targeting
A wisp of black mist condensed at Zhuang Fan's fingertips and seeped into the metal casing of the exhaust fan.

He used the same method to treat another vent.

Watson was already in position at the ventilation opening, and he aimed the launcher, which was filled with smoke grenades, downwards.

"Boss, it's almost eight o'clock."

"So fast?"

The old peddler wiped the sweat from his brow and said in a deep voice, "Then let's set off and collect the debt."

at this time.

"Whoosh—whoosh whoosh—"

A series of smoke grenades were fired in succession, exploding inside the warehouse and instantly filling the air with thick white smoke.

"Cough cough! What's going on!"

"Enemy attack!"

Almost simultaneously, Zhuang Fan pulled the safety pin and accurately threw the fragmentation grenade into the crowd.

Although the smoke obscured his vision, his eerie fog perception allowed him to pinpoint the location of each bandit very clearly.

The grenades were deliberately thrown in areas with many people.

"Boom! Boom—!"

A series of explosions rang out, and the shockwaves blew tables, chairs, and other debris away.

Screams, wails, and curses all mingled together.

The surviving bandits were blown to pieces. Clutching their bleeding wounds, they rushed toward the warehouse door.

They were met with a precise shot from the top of the clock tower.

"Pfft—pfft pfft!"

It was her first time shooting in actual combat. Her hand holding the gun trembled slightly, but her eyes were unusually firm.

Watson also rushed over to help shoot down the outermost bandits.

Inside the warehouse, the old dealer was both shocked and furious. He grabbed an automatic rifle and started firing wildly at the top of his head.

“Da da da da—!”

Zhuang Fan had already jumped down from the rooftop and moved through the smoke, his automatic pistol emitting a series of "puff puff" sounds.

When the gunfire stopped, only the old dealer remained.

"It's you!"

He was filled with rage. Clutching his bleeding wrist, he rushed toward a mechanism deep inside the warehouse and yanked down the control lever.

"Creak—Boom!"

The door of a huge iron cage next to it slowly rose.

A giant steel figure, over three meters tall, emerged from the darkness.

Its head was like a huge iron can turned upside down, with only a narrow red slit visible for its eyes.

Its body is pieced together from thick armor plates, and the exposed joints are full of hydraulic pipes and cables, giving it a very rugged style.

The right arm is a two-meter-long chainsaw, while the left arm is a giant hydraulic clamp.

"Tie Niu! Tear him apart!" The old vendor became hysterical.

Tie Niu strode heavily toward Zhuang Fan, completely ignoring the bullets coming his way.

"Kid, your crappy pistol is useless! You're dead today!"

Zhuang Fan frowned and precisely injected a cloud of black mist into its iron can head, but found no reaction.

A cyborg? Not really.

It must be a prosthetic body with a transplanted brain.

He quickly retreated, dodging the fatal blow.

"boom!"

The chainsaw blade cleaved the ground, instantly cracking the concrete and sending debris flying everywhere.

The old peddler laughed loudly: "You overestimating fool!"

Tie Niu moved swiftly, delivering several more fatal blows.

Zhuang Fan dodged several times, then regained his senses and expanded the range to include Tie Niu's entire body.

Where is the brain?
Finally, he sensed a faint, eerie mist ripple around Tie Niu's waist and abdomen.

This savage bull actually stuffed its brain into its abdomen.

He stood still, raised his hand, and pointed at Tie Niu's waist and abdomen.

The black mist shot in like a sharp arrow, instantly penetrating the area.

"Roar—Ugh!"

Tie Niu immediately knelt down, clutching his stomach and roaring in pain.

Zhuang Fan certainly knew what was going on.

Once the black mist enters the brain, it will instantly distort and then expand in volume, squeezing the outer alloy cavity.

"boom!"

With a muffled thud, flesh and blood exploded from the inside, and the massive body of the Iron Bull crashed to the ground.

The old peddler suddenly realized what had happened and muttered, "Impossible, why?"

The man before me can actually control the eerie mist!

Zhuang Fan used a lot of black mist, and his breathing became somewhat disordered. He then walked step by step to the old peddler.

"boom!"

He kicked him to the ground and pressed the gun to his forehead.

"Who ordered you?"

"It's...it's the Apocalypse Cult!"

Under death threats, the old peddler dared not hide anything: "They want me to pay tribute, the pressure is too great, I really have no other choice!"

"Other recycling stations charge protection money of 10,000 yuan per month, and you dare to charge me 50,000?"

"This was absolutely not my intention!"

The old peddler begged for mercy in terror: "It was...a high-ranking official who specifically ordered it!"

"Who?"

“A big rat! Very fierce, with an exceptionally long tail!” The old peddler said, trembling. “He’s a new patriarch of the Templar Order, in charge of this area. We’re all under his jurisdiction!”

The Church of Apocalypse, the Temple Order, the Patriarch...

These words triggered new memories for Xu Renyi, which Zhuang Fan searched carefully.

It turns out that the Apocalypse Cult has a strict internal hierarchy.

The highest-ranking official is the bishop, a very mysterious figure.

Then there is the decision-making body, the three pillars and the twelve apostles.

Below them are the Temple Order, which performs specific functions.

The Patriarch is a member of the Temple Order, responsible for managing the territory under his jurisdiction.

Further down are mutant warriors, clone laborers, human vassals, and cannon fodder, etc.

"Is the new patriarch named Tataji?"

The old peddler nodded quickly: "Yes, that's him! He even told us to call him His Majesty Tata!"

It really was that damned rat.

From the very beginning, Zhuang Fan was wary of this rat-man leader, who was far more cunning than Jetta.

Seeing that Zhuang Fan remained silent, the old peddler's eyes were full of pleading: "I've said everything, can you let me go now?"

"can."

Zhuang Fan nodded: "I'll give you a quick death."

Gunfire rang out.

He silently put away his pistol, the slight ripples in his heart suppressed, the last vestiges of warmth left for the past.

The longer he stayed in the wasteland, the more he had to abandon all unrealistic fantasies, because the price of mercy was too high for him to pay.

He didn't think about right or wrong, he just wanted to protect the people around him and the hard-won habitat.

When Hua Sheng and Hua Xin entered the warehouse, all the bandits inside had already been eliminated.

The two men moved the weapons processing table back to the truck, and after searching the warehouse, they found 200,000 gold coins that were intended as tribute.

Watson was a little excited: "Two hundred thousand! This time we not only broke even, but we made a fortune!"

"So you want to get beaten up a few more times?"

"I don't want to," Watson quickly shook his head.

Look here.

Hua Xin discovered a hidden basement in a corner.

Upon opening, a stench assaulted the senses.

The room was filled with piles of white bones, and there were six slaves chained up, barely alive.

Zhuang Fan looked at those numb eyes and said in a deep voice:

"Okay, let's take them back to the base and have someone keep an eye on them until I get back and interrogate them."

Watson nodded, but asked with some doubt, "Aren't you coming back with us?"

"I need to figure some things out."

Zhuang Fan's expression was grave: "You all go back first."

"Okay, Brother Ya, be careful."

"I will."

The Watson siblings drove the truck back to base.

Zhuang Fan drove another car towards the Jetta team's hideout.

Before he even got close, he saw thick smoke billowing from the underground cave, which was in complete disarray.

The campfire was trampled out, the makeshift shack was knocked down, ashes were everywhere, and there were several pools of blood that had not yet dried on the ground.

"My strategist!"

When Jetta saw Zhuang Fan, he grasped at a straw and said in a tearful voice:
"Tataji! He, he stole all our goods and kidnapped all the Black Rat Clan members!"

"What else did he say?"

“He said we had crossed the line, that we were forbidden from challenging his authority and from developing a private army, and that this was just a warning, but next time he would just snap my head off.”

"He just left?"

"Yes!"

"where is it?"

"That broken bridge to the south, that's where his stronghold is."

"Well done, Tataji. Someone came to cause trouble at my base today too."

"Ah, even the strategist!"

Zhuang Fan slowly said, "Have the routes you've been taking to transport goods these past few days been monitored by the Tataji people?"

Jetta paused for a moment, then realized, "That must be it! My whereabouts must have been exposed, strategist, I was wrong!"

"It's not your fault."

Zhuang Fan had already made up his mind.

Tataji's audacity in acting so recklessly goes far beyond Jetta's "overstepping of boundaries."

He patted Jetta on the shoulder, "I will report this matter to the Demon General immediately and let him handle it. Don't worry."

"Thank you, strategist!"

Jetta's small eyes remained dull, and its tail drooped limply to the ground.

This was a huge blow to it.

Zhuang Fan turned and left, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

Tataji clearly knew that the recycling station was the property of "Lord Demon General," so why did he dare to order the old dealer to collect 50,000 in protection fees?
Tatajimoto rats probably wouldn't have the guts.

Then there's only one possibility left: the other "Demon General" backing it up has started to exert his power.

And it was specifically targeted at him.

This is a complex web of interconnected events, a scheme within a scheme, making things quite complicated.

It seems the real actors haven't taken the stage yet.

(End of this chapter)