Chapter 405
At that moment, her face was a map of wrinkles, the hawkish nose paired with shadowy eyes and well-tailored clothing made her resemble a melancholic male aristocrat. The pronounced Adam's apple and her flat chest stripped her of any trace of femininity.
This was the appearance she adopted when meeting her subordinates. For those in the Pleasure Guild, she would only personally meet one absolutely loyal follower, sending him to issue commands in her stead.
He was a seasoned extraordinary, concealing a poison given to him by Meng De. As long as he wasn’t killed instantly or controlled, he could dissolve the poison and commit suicide on the spot, leaving no trace behind—within ten seconds, there would only be a puddle of putrid blood.
After loosening her collar slightly, Meng De took a deep breath, trying to ease her growing frustration.
She despised the feeling of losing control over events; Meng De needed to regain authority soon.
Moreover, since earlier, she had felt as if something was watching her. Every cluster of flowers and every insect along the roadside made her feel like she was under surveillance.
She knew it was probably just her nerves... After Fred reported to her, she had dealt with him immediately, leaving no body behind, let alone anyone who could access his memories.
All this tension was merely her own paranoia.
Now, Meng De was completely in the shadows; she just needed to identify the key person and eliminate this unstable element... In extreme cases, she could even dissolve the key person entirely.
Her plan could not afford any mistakes; there might not be another chance to encounter such a perfect opportunity, one where killing tens of thousands would go unnoticed.
After all, the minimum requirement for the resurgence of the "Source of Cholera" was merely to kill ten thousand with a plague.
Just as she was about to reach the alley's mouth, a figure cloaked in black robes and wearing a raven mask stepped into the alley.
A raven mask... members of the Redemption Society?
Meng De showed no expression; she merely tilted her body slightly to give the cloaked figure a bit of space, brushing past him.
Aside from the key person, the only entity that could quickly disrupt her plans was the Redemption Society. Fortunately, they had been preoccupied with too many matters lately and were likely on edge, hesitant to act recklessly.
But in that fleeting moment of passing, an indescribable stench wafted from beside her.
Meng De frowned slightly.
This was the smell of decay... a scent she knew all too well, one that no simple perfume could mask.
Yet she remained silent, continuing on as if nothing were amiss; she needed to minimize her outings during this time.
However, just as she was about to reach the alley's mouth, two more masked figures in black robes entered, walking side by side, nearly blocking the alley's exit, advancing toward Meng De without any intention of yielding.
Something was off...
"Excuse me, could you please step aside?" Meng De spoke slowly, her voice deep and magnetic.
But the two figures in front seemed to have completely ignored her, continuing to close in.
"What's wrong with you?" Meng De cursed under her breath, pushing forward and shoving the two men aside as she slipped between them.
But the next moment, four or five more figures in black robes stepped into the alley, halting right at the entrance.
The figures behind them also stopped, turning to stare silently at Meng De.
A strange atmosphere began to spread through the dim alley.
The intense stench of decay filled Meng De's nostrils, and her brow furrowed.
This was bad.
She suddenly raised her hand, revealing a small vial, no thicker than a fingernail, filled with a grayish-white powder that resembled ash.
Meng De hurled the vial against the wall, and a cloud of gray mist erupted, quickly filling the entire alleyway.
"What are you hiding for?!"
She flicked her right hand forward, and the dispersing dust rapidly clung to the bodies of all the cloaked figures. As she clenched her fist, the poison was catalyzed.
Thick white smoke began to rise from the figures' clothing, their robes and masks quickly eroding, yet their skin remained unscathed.
Soon, the mask of the foremost figure shattered, revealing dozens of rat heads with bloodshot eyes staring at Meng De, countless flesh-colored tendrils writhing madly from their lips to their chins.
Their robes were completely corroded, exposing their pale, decaying bodies, the stench overwhelming.
Even having seen countless corpses and having caused the deaths of thousands with plagues, Meng De felt her stomach churn at the sight of these "humans."
What kind of monster was this?!
Was it the key person’s doing?!
This was Ansu City! She didn’t want to be caught up in this mess either!
This was why madmen were the most detestable!
But it was useless... these were merely monsters stitched together from corpses...
The "Compound 29," capable of eroding human flesh, had already begun to spread quietly. This was a highly covert virus Meng De had engineered against human flesh and blood.
It just needed a gentle trigger...
Crack, crack—
The monster at the front began to dissolve rapidly, its head decomposing into a puddle of rotten blood, clusters of rat heads, raven feathers, and tails falling away.
But at that moment, the flesh beneath the monster's skin began to swell rapidly, forming grotesque tumors.
Pop—
One of the tumors burst, releasing countless maggots, ants, venomous bees, and flies from the corpse.
Pop, pop—
Almost all the monsters' flesh exploded inch by inch, a swarm of insects pouring out, covering the alley in front and behind her.
Buzz—
The sound of flapping wings echoed through the alley as countless flying insects surged toward Meng De.
"Damn it!!!"
It was the "Queen Bee"!
Without a moment's hesitation, Meng De tore off her clothing, revealing a dark purple, barnacle-like shell that spread from her chest to her shoulder—an external manifestation of the corruption from the "Source of Cholera" potion.
A torrent of colorless toxins surged from the irregular holes, and any insect that ventured too close to the toxic area was instantly eroded into white smoke, unable to approach Meng De.
Ding—
A vial of potion, the thickness of a finger, was flicked into the air, the two substances inside swirling and mixing violently, causing a severe reaction—the glass began to crack.
Smash—
The glass bottle shattered, the mixed potion exploding with shards of glass, fine droplets enveloping Meng De.
Her skin writhed as it rapidly absorbed the components of the extraordinary potion.
The disguise on her face began to stretch, as if half of it were being torn away, her underlying muscles writhing and swelling, an unprecedented power surging within her.
Meng De crouched and leaped from her spot, bouncing off the walls a few times before landing on the rooftop.
She looked down at the alley filled with toxins and pus, her expression twisted.
"Damn it... it’s the key person..."
That Xia Er was neither a "Subverter" nor the key person, but it was clearly Xia Er's ability at play. Her burial items included these two vials of potions—"Coroner" and "Queen Bee," information Meng De was aware of.
But how did she evade the toxin's detonation? The toxin had already seeped into her very organs; there was no way she could have cleared it without noticing. That girl named Xia Er should be dead beyond dead!
Although the girl named Xia Er had become the "Coroner," even if she had faked her death and ingested the "Queen Bee" potion, she couldn’t possibly eliminate the toxin that had penetrated her bones... preparing two vials of potions...
Were they meant for someone else?
Meng De had no time to ponder further; she absolutely could not expose her identity at this moment—there were still many things she hadn’t had the chance to do!
Using the immense power granted by the potion, she swiftly leaped across the rooftops, but the next moment, she suddenly looked up, horrified to see hundreds of black crows circling above her head.
She was... locked on...
The crows did not attack; they circled as if merely confirming Meng De's position...
As if waiting for someone to arrive.
The key person?!
It’s fine... they’re just birds; I have plenty of poison to mask their senses...
But just as she was about to pull out a vial to pour into the openings of her exoskeleton, her body suddenly froze.
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