Chapter 955
Chapter 955 - 941: The Person Behind the Scenes
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"Our greatest advantage? It’s that in the eyes of all those involved, we haven’t even entered the game, we’re virtually nonexistent...."
Whether it’s the fierce struggle between the two major factions of the Refugee Camp, the private killings between "earth hunters" and "Blood Feast", or even the local’s hostility and exclusion towards outsiders, all these conflicts and disputes had, at least on the surface, nothing to do with Lu Ping’an and his party.
But in reality, the true puppet master behind it all was Lu Ping’an himself.
"...Too bad, this time the destined male lead has to be replaced."
According to the previous "script", Lu Ping’an would continually intensify conflicts, drawing all the "confrontation" onto Blood Feast.
And Dao Zhong and his group were the protagonist team.... In Lu Ping’an’s script, they would keep causing trouble and making enemies everywhere, worn out physically and mentally through repeated conflicts until internal betrayal arose, ultimately leading to their end through mutual destruction among themselves.
"This script is perfect!" At least Lu Ping’an was very satisfied with this arrangement.
As the Black Hand behind the scenes, Lu Ping’an wasn’t in a hurry at all; he was simply leading these "string-pulled puppets", gradually steering the people of Blood Feast towards a future of universal abandonment.
Lu Ping’an understood clearly that his greatest advantage was the reality that "he himself was not on stage".
He was the Audience, the Judge, the NPC that gives missions and rewards, but he was not the actor who should be on stage...
"As long as I don’t show my health bar, I am invincible...."
His power was strong, manipulating the mortals in the city like marionettes, silently arranging their "fates", but his power was also very weak....
"...Once I’m detected, then all the goodwill will instantly vanish into bubbles."
His power was formidable yet fragile, the web he wove carried malicious poison, but could also be easily destroyed by the fiery rage.... When life is threatened, when someone wants to kill you, more "goodwill" merely brings more "outrage at being betrayed and deceived"
"...So why not lead them into a dead-end filled with venom before I am detected?"
Lu Ping’an did just that.
The people of Blood Feast had already been subtly led into a dead-end.
Their already not so abundant social network had been completely severed; now, their survival resources depended on "Mr. An Nan".
They had completely turned against the Refugee Camp and become mortal enemies with everyone; they had cut off any possibilities for development beyond Mr. An Nan.... If Lu Ping’an could arrange their life and work, he could naturally arrange for their "self-destruction".
However, before the net was drawn tight, a bigger fish jumped in, so big that Lu Ping’an doubted if his net was strong enough.
"...Do we have the capacity to take down a Rule-level?"
"Actually, we’ve already done it before, with the Snake King, who was a veteran Rule-level."
Thus, Lu Ping’an thought of Didirona, the unlucky one who still provided precious materials regularly in the "pharmacy" of the Courtyard.
"...But at that time, Didirona was no longer at Rule-level."
"Yet she still retained most of the characteristics and abilities of a Rule-level, merely lacking the most dangerous Authority. We, in fact, could give it a try."
Hunting a Rule-level might have seemed like a dream in recent times, but with the experience of killing the Snake King, Lu Ping’an felt there was a real possibility of success.
However, Zhao Yan now was different from Didirona; the former Snake King had fallen from Rule-level, while Zhao Yan’s absolute strength was definitely inferior to the Snake King, but he remained a genuine Rule-level Big Boss.
"How to hunt a Rule-level?"
"...If sheer strength isn’t enough to kill him outright, then first, you have to figure out what ’rules’ he has. Ha, he merely managed to break through by the skin of his teeth, using mass sacrifice, a low-class method, with many drawbacks to come."
In Big Cat’s eyes, Zhao Yan can’t be considered a complete Rule-level... he needs time to mature, needs to consume resources to raise his other abilities to Rule-level as well.
But after having just committed a massacre, he immediately turned his back and left home, completely lacking the time and resources to fill in the gaps.
"He probably has only one Profession that has reached the seventh tier, the others are possibly still at the sixth or even lower, his Professions aren’t fully integrated, those low-level Professions couldn’t possibly provide full support for his main Path at the seventh tier...."
Big Cat sees him as even less than Didirona back then, akin to a child wielding heavy weapons... the weapons are dangerous, but if they are used recklessly, the "child" himself could be in grave danger.
Of course, all of this will become irrelevant with time, he could slowly address his weaknesses and become a complete Rule-level....
"People of the Blood Feast, particularly those who walk the path of the Blood Demon, have fundamental abilities related to ’human’ material. On Earth, they wouldn’t be short of materials, but here they definitely will be.....Even if Blood-crow had her own materials, she wouldn’t share them with him."
In Big Cat’s judgment, Zhao Yan should be suffering from persistent Thirst for Blood, the incompleteness of his professional system exacerbating this "hunger."
"To solve it is simple, completely change your form, take on a different Species, then continue the practice of extensive ’cannibalism’...but in this world, that’s not realistic."
People of the Blood Feast, once they reach Decree-level and above, can’t be termed human anymore, completely ’taking over and rebirthing’ into another species and then continuing to plague other species is indeed possible.
Perhaps, they were determined to take this measure, and that is why they could make the decision to abandon their Mother Star.
But now, with them being watched so closely, it is definitely impossible....even the unrestrained Blood Feast would struggle to decide on completely switching their species.
Of course, this transformation would lead to a long and dangerous period of weakness, another reason why they couldn’t make the decision.
"Maybe, in Zhao Yan’s view, Dao Zhong and the others are the perfect blood bottles..."
𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
It’s not just Lu Ping’an’s speculation, in the past two days, just watching the Blood Feast crowd after ’reinforcements arrived,’ not a single one of them seemed pleased.
If it were the past on Earth, the Church’s hierarchy could still demand that they refrain from infighting.....but now, they’re naturally craving cannibalism, with direct and no psychological pressure from the survival of the fittest.
Lu Ping’an pondered, schemed, but in the end, he still had to face this dangerous enemy.
"...Merely relying on these ’secretions,’ is it possible to analyze his rules?"
This was Big Cat’s suggestion, which Lu Ping’an effortlessly accomplished.
However, can one really determine the specific "rules" he possesses just from some "saliva in a wine bottle" or "strange marks on a cloth"?
"If it’s impossible through other means, but if you’re a Blood Saint whose entire body can turn into liquid, his ’secretions’ are part of his Body, his power is mostly related to blood control, his ’body fluids’ will reveal many secrets."
That’s what Big Cat had said at the time, and while she spoke, she even laughed disdainfully.
"He’s too young, and he’s no real genius..... for the pursuit of climbing the despicable and bottomless other side, doesn’t that show he is self-aware, knowing that just relying on himself, he won’t make it?"
"You mean, the path he’s chosen is..."
"Even if it’s not a universal Path, it’s one of the most commonly used and well-established types. We just need to search among the common abilities of ’Blood Demons,’ most likely he has forcefully elevated one of those abilities, using a massive amount of life sacrifices to forcefully upgrade."
Having "options," the next step is to conduct a comparison test with the "finished product."
And it’s only by analyzing Zhao Yan’s "rules" that he can potentially be completely killed.
"...It’s confirmed. It’s the ’Voodoo Blood Curse,’ he is a Twisted Avatar of the Blood-God child."
— End of Chapter 955 —