My sister died tragically, and now I'm a citizen of my motherland, why are you crying?

Jiangcheng, 100 meters underground.

black market.

Zhou Min would only come to the black market as a last resort.

It's not because it's dangerous here, but because of the air.

Every time she walked down this corridor, she felt as if she were traveling through the stomach and intestines of some enormous creature.

She walked down the corridor to its end.

There's no road here, only a huge stone wall.

There is a huge, irregular pattern on the wall that looks like some kind of natural rock texture.

But if you stare at it long enough, you'll see it move.

Yes, this wall is alive.

Because there is a person living inside it.

Or rather, the wall itself is a person.

"Open the door."

Zhou Min stood in front of the door, took a deep breath, and tried to make her voice sound calm.

The patterns on the wall stopped moving.

Then, one eye opened.

It was a huge, grayish-white eye.

He slowly turned around, looking down at Zhou Min.

"We're closed today."

The sound came from inside the wall, muffled and hoarse, like two huge stones rubbing against each other.

"I know things are tense these days."

Zhou Min took a black card out of her pocket and held it up in front of the eye.

"President Han sent me."

The man inside the wall is known in the circle as "The Petrifier".

He stared at the card with that eye for a few seconds, then moved his body without saying a word.

This opened up access to the black market.

Zhou Min squeezed in sideways.

The stone figure slowly closed its eyes behind her.

After passing through the darkness behind the door and walking through a corridor, light finally appeared before my eyes.

This is a huge underground space, as big as two or three football fields.

The dome was covered with pipes and cables, like a giant spider web.

Holes had been carved into the surrounding walls, and they were filled with goods—boxes of weapons, sealed medicine canisters, and iron cages covered with black cloth.

The air was filled with a mixture of smells: gunpowder, formaldehyde, and rotting organic matter.

Zhou Min strode through the area, heading towards the deepest part. Her destination was an inconspicuous wooden door in a corner.

She knocked three times, paused for two seconds, and then knocked twice more.

The door opened.

The secret room was small, only about twenty square meters.

A long table, a few chairs, and a chandelier.

A middle-aged man sat at one end of the long table.

He was wearing a dark gray suit, his hair was neatly combed, and he wore gold-rimmed glasses, looking like a respectable businessman.

His name is Han Dong, and he is the biggest middleman in Jiangcheng's black market.

"Xiaomin, you're here?"

Han Dong raised his head, a professional smile on his face.

"Sit down. How did things go?"

Zhou Min sat down opposite him, took a USB flash drive out of her pocket, and placed it on the table.

"The surveillance cameras at all twelve intersections in the eastern part of the city have been installed."

The footage has been connected to your system; what you're seeing outside now is a loop of empty shots.

Even if someone stares at the screen all day, they won't see any problem.

Han Dong picked up the USB drive, twirled it in his hand, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Thank you for your hard work. The money has been transferred to your account."

Zhou Min glanced at her phone, confirmed the payment had been received, and then put the phone away.

But she didn't leave.

Han Dong glanced at her: "Is there anything else?"

Zhou Min hesitated for a moment, then asked:

"Mr. Han, if I may ask, what exactly do you want me to do by hacking into the surveillance cameras in that area?"

Han Dong's smile faded slightly.

Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask.

"I know."

Zhou Min moved forward slightly.

"But I've done so much for you, shouldn't I at least know the general situation?"

In case anything happens, I'll be prepared.

Han Dong stared at her for a few seconds.

Zhou Min did not avoid his gaze.

After a moment of silence, Han Dong sighed and stood up.

"Alright, since you want to know, I'll show you."

He walked to the wall and pressed a hidden switch.

The wall slowly opened, revealing a larger secret room behind it.

Zhou Min's pupils suddenly contracted.

In the corner of that secret room, there were more than a dozen huge iron cages piled up.

The iron cage contained all sorts of strange creatures—some looked like humans, some like beasts, and some were completely unrecognizable.

They huddled in the deepest part of the cage, emitting low moans, their eyes gleaming with fear and despair.

"Is this... a weirdo?"

Zhou Min's voice tightened. She subconsciously took a step back and bumped into the chair behind her.

"Twenty-three."

Han Dong's voice was eerily calm.

"Rating from C to A, they were captured from the wilderness."

He went into the secret room, and Zhou Min hesitated for a moment before following him.

Han Dong walked to an iron cage and looked at the half-human, half-wolf monster inside.

The thing was covered in wounds, some of which had scabbed over, while others were still bleeding.

Sensing someone approaching, it let out a low growl, but the growl was weak and filled with fear.

"The area you hacked," Han Dong pointed to the top of his head, meaning above.

"Tomorrow, a few weirdos will be 'accidentally' released."

Zhou Min's brain buzzed for a moment.

"You're going to let them out?"

"It's not my idea to release it." Han Dong turned around and looked at her. "It's the Hero Association that wants to release it."

Zhou Min was stunned.

"The Hero Association? Why would they...?"

Why?

Han Dong laughed, his laughter full of sarcasm.

"The whole world knows about the recent 'Homelander' incident."

The internet is flooded with criticism of the Hero Association, saying they are inactive and only good at putting on a show.

The chairman is under a lot of pressure and needs to organize a few big events to quell the public outcry.

He walked to another iron cage, inside which was a reptilian monster covered in dark red scales.

The creature's limbs were secured to the four corners of the cage with specially made chains, rendering it unable to move.

"Think about it, why do those heroes always manage to meet the right weirdo at the right time and in the right place?"

Why are those weirdos always killed in front of live broadcast cameras?

Why do heroes always appear in the most "critical" moments?

Han Dong's voice grew lower and colder.

"Because those monsters were originally released by the Hero Association."

"What's the use of heroes if there are no weirdos?"

Who will provide them with a stage to perform on?

Who will create opportunities for them to become famous? Who will help the Hero Association sell drinks, merchandise, and even game items?

He turned around and looked at Zhou Min, his eyes completely expressionless.

"Monsters are just ATMs for the Hero Association."

They kept strange people, released them out, and then sent people to kill them.

Every live stream is a meticulously planned performance, and every battle is a pre-rehearsed play.

Those heroes are just actors.

And those ordinary people who were killed by the monster…

He paused.

"It's just a prop for this scene."

Zhou Min's legs went weak, and she held onto the iron cage, barely managing to stand.

The strange man in the iron cage was startled by her movements and shrank into a corner.

"You...you're an accomplice too?"

"I'm just a businessman."

Han Dong said.

"If someone wants goods, I'll supply them. If the Hero Association wants monsters, I'll help them capture them."

Each gets what they need, that's all.

He walked back to the long table, sat down again, and his tone returned to calm.

"Alright, stop pretending to be high and mighty."

You know what you should know, and you also know what you shouldn't know.

What happened today, I'll keep to myself.

Zhou Min opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.

She nodded and turned to leave.

Just then—

"Bang."

A muffled thud.

It came from outside.

The sound wasn't loud, but the entire secret room was shaking.

The chandelier swayed and creaked, and dust fell from the ceiling in a flurry.