Chapter 43: Approaching Danger

When Feng Mu woke up in the morning, he received several text messages.

The messages were sent by Ma Wei, with the sending timestamp close to midnight: 06:17.

The content of the messages was extremely sensational.

——Boss, the Green Wolf Gang lost quite a few brothers last night. It seems Big Brother Bin asked them to handle some business at the black market, but as it turned out, they all died. Their bodies were found underneath a bridge arch.

——Qian Hao, Big Brother Bin's trusted confidant, died especially miserably. When his body was carried back, half of his heart had been eaten away.

——Boss, you'll never guess what ate it. It was ants! His chest cavity was entirely filled with ants and ant eggs.

——Word has it, I heard from the gang's physician that Qian Hao might still have been alive when half of his heart was being eaten. Hahaha, it cracks me up. I think the physician probably needs a brain check, don't you think, Boss?

Feng Mu's sleepiness vanished instantly.

He read the text messages over and over again, extracting the key information and piecing it together with what he already knew, naturally arriving at the following deductions.

First, Qian Hao had been sent by Ma Bin to the black market to collect black cores.

Second, the black market merchant who dealt in black cores was extremely ferocious and by no means an ordinary martial artist.

An ordinary martial artist would not possess the means to devour a person's internal organs using ants while keeping the victim alive even after half their heart was consumed. This was clearly professional interrogation torture.

Third, Qian Hao was merely a gang punk and definitely could not withstand the torture; he must have betrayed Ma Bin.

Fourth, the more brutal the black market merchant's methods were, the more certain it was that a secret was hidden behind the black cores, and this group of people would inevitably target Ma Bin next.

Of course, this secret was definitely not named the Yin-Nether Nine-Nether Calamity Grievance Iron, which should be a secret exclusively enjoyed by him alone since he possessed the system.

The black cores had another secret, but the outcome was the same—the objectives of this group clashed with Feng Mu's.

Thinking of this, Feng Mu felt seventy percent dismayed and thirty percent relieved.

He was dismayed because this group of black market merchants was not simple, and Ma Bin might not necessarily have the upper hand against them. His plan to exploit Ma Bin to acquire black cores was basically half-ruined.

He was relieved because he had not accompanied Wang Jian to the black market, nor had he stupidly sought out this group to acquire black cores in reverse.

Otherwise, his fortune would have been unpredictable.

As for whether someone could survive with half their heart eaten away, what was so strange about that? Of course they could.

"Unless half my heart is instantly blasted to pieces, in which case [Frenzy Blood] might not have time to react and I'd kick the bucket, but if ants are left to nibble at it bit by bit, [Frenzy Blood] can definitely keep me hanging onto my life, and the more it hangs on, the tougher it gets," Feng Mu thought to himself.

He pondered further: "Yet I can only hold onto my own life, not someone else's. Using that as a reference for comparison, the tier displayed by this group of black market merchants is higher than my current one."

Feng Mu rationally concluded: "For safety's sake, I shouldn't covet the black cores in their hands for the time being."

Then the remaining doubt was: what if Ma Bin couldn't hold his ground—would he betray him?

The bad news was that Ma Bin would definitely betray him;

The good news was that the portrait Ma Bin had of him in his mind was that of a limping man seeking revenge for love.

Since it had nothing to do with Feng Mu, there was nothing to worry about.

Just as Feng Mu was thinking this, Ma Bin seemed to sense something and called him.

It was the phone that belonged to the red-haired punk; the two of them had agreed to use this device for contact.

Feng Mu cocked his ear to listen to the movement in the living room. Wang Xiuli should be preparing breakfast in the kitchen. He then plugged in the earphones, answered the call, and made his voice hoarse: "Hello, what is it?"

Ma Bin had all his lacklings leave the room. Unfazed by the disgust, he had meticulously inspected Qian Hao's corpse several times. With his expression growing increasingly solemn, he finally dialed the red-haired punk's phone.

"Did you stitch me up?" Ma Bin's opening line was an unceremonious interrogation.

Feng Mu's tone was flat: "What are you talking about?"

Ma Bin sneered: "All the subordinates I sent to the black market are dead, and their states of death are utterly miserable. That bunch of black market merchants dealing in black cores shouldn't be at the level of ordinary black market traders."

It wasn't that Ma Bin looked down on the black market, but the reality was that within the "resource control and circulation" system constructed by the upper and lower cities, the black market was merely a gutter sewer.

Contraband might circulate there, but it certainly wouldn't be anything high-grade.

Merchants surviving in the black market might be shrewd and cruel enough, but they definitely weren't truly fierce, because genuinely fierce merchants all wore legal disguises.

Those who loitered around the black market still openly operated shops to receive customers in broad daylight.

Ma Bin's words were somewhat convoluted, but Feng Mu understood them. Inwardly, he admired Ma Bin for being acute enough to immediately catch the scent of danger.

Feng Mu feigned shock, fell silent for a few seconds, and then explained: "I didn't stitch you up. I didn't know that bunch of black market merchants wouldn't be simple."

Ma Bin sneered: "So you used me to test the waters and probe them?"

Feng Mu felt a bit awkward; he indeed harbored that malicious intent.

Without waiting for Feng Mu to quibble, Ma Bin continued: "A thorny and dangerous bunch of fellows, meticulously disguised as black market merchants and lying low for years without drawing attention—obviously, their ambitions are massive. And now, they can no longer keep up the act."

Feng Mu: "Ah, thanks to you."

Ma Bin was choked with anger: "They will definitely target me. So, tell me, what secret is actually hidden within the black cores?"

Feng Mu remained silent. How the hell was he supposed to know what secret the black cores hid?

Ma Bin gritted his teeth and threatened: "If you don't tell me, then when they come looking for me, I'll have no choice but to rat you out."

Ma Bin didn't know what the person on the other end of the line looked like, but he believed he had grasped certain crucial clues, such as the limp, being a student at No. 47 High School, and having a close relationship with Wang Wei.

He was convinced that as long as he hardened his heart to investigate, he would surely uncover the other party's true identity. In other words, if he handed this intelligence over to that group of black market merchants, the result would be identical.

Therefore, Ma Bin believed his threat was grounded in substance and carried tremendous weight.

Feng Mu had no desire to burn bridges just yet. He let out a long sigh, appearing forced and helpless, yet unwilling to fully disclose the truth, and simply spat out a single keyword: "Evil Sacrifice!"

Ma Bin's eyes lit up, obviously connecting it to something.

Feng Mu mentally applauded his own quick wits; the system's evaluation of him was spot on—he was indeed exceptionally adept at lying and making falsehoods pass for truth.

He said: "I don't know the details either. I can only tell you that the black cores are connected to a specific evil sacrifice."

Feng Mu stopped at a hint, and silence fell on both ends of the line.

Feng Mu was silent because he could only be silent, while why Ma Bin was silent remained a mystery to Feng Mu.

After a long while.

Ma Bin's voice came through the receiver again: "Understood."

Feng Mu: "..."

No, buddy, what exactly do you understand? Can you elaborate? I am super curious; riddle-mongers never die a good death.

Feng Mu felt an itch in his heart. He really, really wanted to know what Ma Bin had concocted in his head so he could draw inspiration from it the next time he lied.

Ma Bin did not satisfy Feng Mu's curiosity. Instead, he shifted the topic: "In that case, among the items you demanded from me, the black cores must be crossed off."

Feng Mu was understanding: "Fine by me."

Ma Bin made another demand: "I got into this trouble because I was testing the waters for you. If they come looking for me, you have to come and help."

Feng Mu grinned, his laughter genuine: "Of course. Since the two of us are cooperating, we must watch out for each other. Don't worry, I'm someone who values brotherhood and martial arts ethics above all else."

Ma Bin gave a cold snort and hung up the phone.

Ghost believes in martial arts ethics; he preferred to believe that his threat had worked, and the other party should understand and therefore fear that group of black market merchants even more than he did.

Naturally, Feng Mu did not care about martial arts ethics. He was simply a corpse-cremation worker who had received a stroke of good fortune; he wasn't walking the pugilistic world.

However, half of his previous sentence was sincere: "Well, if the opportunity presents itself."

After all, when the snipe and the clam grapple, it's the fisherman who benefits!

Therefore,

Facing the black market merchants head-on and putting oneself in peril? (X)

Using teammates as bait, launching a sneak attack, shooting a concealed arrow, and swapping bases in one wave? (√)