Chapter 27: A Successful Endeavor

After receiving the 5,000 yuan compensation, Brother Niu left the hotel with his two bodyguards to have dinner elsewhere, as he wasn’t particularly fond of the food at the Garden Grand Hotel. He had no idea that he was already being targeted, marked as someone else’s prey.

In the hotel lobby, the cleaning lady was left behind, sobbing uncontrollably. Five thousand yuan was more than two months of her wages—the money meant for her child’s schooling and her elderly parent’s medicine.

Since the restaurant was not far from the hotel, Brother Niu didn’t drive but chose to walk instead. Chen Xian followed from a distance, surveying the surroundings for the location of surveillance cameras and blind spots, looking for the right opportunity to make his move.

The time was now 11:30 p.m.

After indulging himself, Brother Niu emerged from the KTV with two voluptuous, scantily clad, heavily made-up young women on his arms, flanked by his two bodyguards, and headed back toward the Garden Grand Hotel.

“Lovely ladies, do you know what those two are carrying?” he asked with a sly grin. “That’s a pile of cash—one case holds a million, two cases make two million. As long as you please me tonight, you won’t be short of money, haha!”

Hearing this, the two women’s smiles grew even more alluring, their ample chests pressing against Brother Niu’s arms as they cooed seductively, “Brother Niu, tonight we’re all yours. You must be good to us.” “Brother Niu…”

Brother Niu chuckled lecherously, his large hand, adorned with a gold ring, wandering freely over their bodies. The two burly bodyguards, clad in black suits, exchanged lewd grins at their boss’s antics.

As the group left the KTV and turned a corner on a deserted street lined with towering trees, the streetlights were mostly blocked by thick branches, leaving the area dimly lit. At this late hour, the street was empty save for the five of them.

Suddenly, a shadow darted out from the darkness like a specter, slipping past the two bodyguards from behind. In an instant, the two burly men collapsed to the ground without so much as a cry.

Brother Niu and the two women, startled by the noise behind them, turned to see a tall, skinny young man with a buzz cut stepping into the light—the two bodyguards now sprawled motionless on the ground. It was none other than Chen Xian, who had been waiting for his moment.

The two women instinctively tried to scream, but before they could make a sound, their vision blurred and they dropped in a heap, unconscious as if they’d melted into puddles. Brother Niu fell alongside them.

Chen Xian crouched down, his gloved hand swiftly searching Brother Niu’s body. Soon, he found a gilded invitation—an invite to the underground casino in the Guangnan Mountains.

Without ceremony, Chen Xian pocketed the invitation. He also stripped Brother Niu of his thick gold chain, rings, watch, and any other valuables, tearing several holes in the man’s leather jacket in the process. As for the two suitcases of money, he wasn’t about to leave those behind either.

He opened the cases and dumped all the cash into a large backpack he’d prepared in advance. The bag was stuffed full with two million yuan. Then, with a gentle touch to the heads of both women and Brother Niu—like a Buddha bestowing enlightenment—he erased any memory they had of his face, using the secret art of Mind Control.

Once everything was done, Chen Xian vanished down a nearby alley, his speed so swift that in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Under the dim streetlights, on the cold pavement, only three men and two women lay there, silent and still.

Half an hour later, Chen Xian arrived at a modest business hotel and booked a single room. He’d taken his time to avoid the street cameras, leaving no trace behind. Once inside, he set down his backpack, showered, burned his white gloves to ashes, and then sat cross-legged on the bed to examine the invitation.

There was nothing unusual about the invitation itself, so he put it away and began cultivating, practicing the Supreme Chaos Technique.

An hour later, Brother Niu awoke to find the two women and his bodyguards lying motionless nearby, and two empty suitcases beside them. His eyes bulged with rage, his face flushing crimson as he shouted hoarsely into the empty street, “Who? Who the hell stole my money?!”

But there was no answer—only the cold wind blowing through the deserted street.

Soon after, the bodyguards and the women regained consciousness. They hurried to call the police.

The next morning, Chen Xian opened his eyes, a sharp light gleaming within them. Though he hadn’t slept all night, his spirit was more vigorous than ever. After a night of cultivation, the spiritual energy within his soul space had grown once again.

He got up, washed, checked out, grabbed a simple breakfast from a street stall, and took a taxi back to the Garden Grand Hotel.

There, he saw the cleaning lady from the day before, still at work. Her eyes were swollen and ringed with dark circles, her expression empty, her spirit broken—she seemed to have aged years overnight.

He understood all too well: it was the five thousand yuan compensation for Brother Niu that had brought her to this state. Born into poverty himself, Chen Xian sympathized with her struggle, knowing how hard it was for a poor family to support a university student and care for elderly parents.

Taking out five stacks of cash, he approached the middle-aged woman and pressed the money into her hand. “Auntie, here’s fifty thousand yuan. Use it for your child’s education. Don’t refuse.”

The cleaning lady stood there, stunned.

Without waiting for a response, Chen Xian turned and strode quickly out of the hotel, hailing a taxi at the entrance and disappearing into the distance.

Only then did the cleaning lady snap out of her shock. Clutching the money, she ran outside, hoping to return it to the young man—but he was already gone, nowhere to be found.

She sank to her knees, tears streaming down her face as she bowed her head in gratitude. A simple, honest woman—this was the only way she knew to express her heartfelt thanks.

In the taxi, Chen Xian sat in the front seat, a faint smile playing on his lips, his mood light.

The taxi quickly left the town behind, heading into the depths of the Guangnan Mountains—nothing but green hills, trees, blue skies, and white clouds ahead.

Along the way, Chen Xian saw many luxury cars—BMWs, Mercedes, Audis, Porsches—everywhere he looked. No doubt, these were all bosses heading to gamble.

Thinking of the underground casino, and the piles of money waiting to be “collected,” he couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. He also thought of the mysterious, monstrous tree in his mind, which might soon bear new, wondrous fruit—his heart brimmed with anticipation.

But he also felt troubled. When the police arrived, there would be no time or opportunity to take away all the illicit money from the casino—unless, of course, he possessed some legendary treasure like a “spatial ring.”

Just as Chen Xian’s thoughts were running wild, a sudden message echoed in his mind.

It was an important update from 001.