Chapter 28: The Disguise

Dragon Wentian, reduced to minced meat.
His body was scattered, unable to reassemble.
The scattered fragments of flesh and blood were far too sparse to regenerate a complete body.
Dragon Wentian was thoroughly done for.

Lin Lei activated “Devour” on these dispersed meat fragments, and this time it went exceedingly smoothly.
The final energy expenditure exceeded three hundred units of gluttonous energy.
“That’s nearly ten times the consumption of a second-tier demon ghost…”
Even though demon ghosts are not particularly powerful second-tier anomalies,
this level of energy consumption was undeniably terrifying.

But it was all worth it.
“Possessing the ability of ‘immortality,’ my survival capability will be greatly enhanced…”
Originally intending to solve Sister Yan’s trouble, Lin Lei ended up defeating multiple opponents and acquiring such a formidable ability, which alleviated much of the negative emotions weighing on his heart.

After dealing with Dragon Wentian, Lin Lei took a mop and began cleaning the bathroom.
He had experimented extensively throughout the night, leaving bloodstains everywhere.
“Since I need to inherit Dragon Wentian’s identity, none of these matters must be exposed…”

At that moment, there was a knock on the door once again.
Lin Lei quickly washed up, then stepped out of the bathroom, transforming back into Dragon Wentian’s appearance.
He opened the door.

“Brother!”
The bald man from before stood at the doorway with several underlings.
He stepped inside alone and closed the door behind him.

“Brother, we lost him… there’s no trace left. I suspect he might also be an ‘Origin Energy Awakener’… Should we report to the gang and ask for their help?”

The gang in question was obviously the Purple Dragon Gang.
This bald man knew about Origin Energy users, so he was definitely no ordinary person—likely one of Dragon Wentian’s trusted aides.
Lin Lei even suspected that this man might also be an Origin Energy user, although he had not sensed any unusual energy fluctuations from him.

“Only newly ascended Origin Energy users or those actively using their abilities would exhibit more obvious energy fluctuations…”
Lin Lei feigned deep thought, hesitating for a moment before shaking his head.

“No need.”
He continued to pinch his throat, making his voice hoarse and raspy.
Having spoken with Dragon Wentian for a while, Lin Lei remembered his approximate voice, but lacking the ability to perfectly mimic it, he maintained a hoarse tone to avoid suspicion.
The less he said, the less likely he was to slip up.

“Understood!” The bald man nodded, his eyes flashing.
“By the way, we found Xie Jielun’s corpse downstairs, but the man spared the prostitute he called for…”

Lin Lei feigned a severe headache and sighed.
“Seal off the information. Under no circumstances can this be leaked.”

The bald man nodded.
“I’ll have it handled immediately…”
Lowering his voice, he added, “What about the prostitute? Should we silence her?”

Judging by the tone, this was not their first time dealing with such matters.
Dragon Wentian had clawed his way up from an orphan to a high-ranking member of the Purple Dragon Gang, and no doubt had blood on his hands.

Lin Lei remained outwardly calm, waving his hand.
“The more deaths there are, the harder it becomes to cover up…”

“Understood. I’ll place a [Sealing Curse] on her…” The bald man nodded again.
Lin Lei also nodded lightly, though his mind stirred slightly.

The [Sealing Curse], as the name suggests, should be an ability to restrain someone from leaking information.
Whether it was a power of a certain artifact or a unique skill of this bald man, it was undeniably useful.

Lin Lei was naturally curious and wished to master such an ability, but given his current identity, he was in no hurry to reveal it.

The bald man lingered, then suddenly leaned closer to Lin Lei and whispered,
“Brother, do you think… this matter might be related to that thing we got from the ‘Deathbird’ last time?”

“After all, even the ‘Deathbird’ places great importance on that item. If they knew I had it, I’m afraid…”
Worry was written all over the bald man’s face.

Lin Lei’s eyes flickered sharply. He glanced at him and rubbed his temples, feigning weariness.
“Maybe.”

The bald man’s words stirred something deep within Lin Lei.
Dragon Wentian had taken an item from the ‘Deathbird’—clearly not through any legitimate means.
Such an item could easily attract the pursuit of Origin Energy users, and the ‘Deathbird’ valued it highly—

It was definitely no ordinary object.
A powerful Origin Energy artifact, perhaps?

Lin Lei’s mind raced swiftly, but on the surface, he showed no hint of it, simply continuing to rub his temples as if burdened by some headache.

Seeing Lin Lei’s demeanor, the bald man dared not say more and bowed respectfully.
“Brother, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”

Lin Lei suddenly raised an eyebrow and called him back.
“Wait… how’s the preparation of the ‘Yin Women’ going?”

If this bald man was truly one of Dragon Wentian’s trusted aides, he must know what Dragon Wentian was up to!

The bald man’s expression darkened, and he quickly lowered his voice.
“There’s still some way to go. We can’t let the ‘Deathbird’ find out about this. We can’t mobilize the gang’s forces—only our trusted men. Secretly gathering seventy-two Yin Women is proving somewhat difficult…”

“The strict lockdown in Biyang was just lifted recently. I’ll do my best…”

Lin Lei nodded.
The ‘Deathbird’ was a legitimate organization; Lei Siguang and Dragon Wentian were cultists of the ‘Red Moon’ faith. Thus, the bald man had to keep the search for Yin Women hidden from both the Purple Dragon Gang and the Deathbird.

Lin Lei said no more and quietly sat on the nearby sofa, lost in thought.

The bald man relaxed slightly upon seeing this, then bowed his head again.
“Brother, get some rest. If nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”

Lin Lei nodded.

Once the bald man left, Lin Lei exhaled deeply.
Though he could perfectly imitate Dragon Wentian’s physique and appearance, he could not fully mimic his speech tone and subtle gestures.
Fortunately, Dragon Wentian spoke fairly normally, with no peculiar catchphrases and a common accent, so Lin Lei was not too worried about being exposed in the short term.

He planned to eliminate Dragon Wentian’s close aides, like the bald man, in time and then support a new group of loyal followers to firmly establish his assumed identity.

Licking his lips, Lin Lei began inspecting Dragon Wentian’s bedroom.
The bald man had mentioned a particular item that Zhou Haoran almost stole—something possibly related to extraordinary power…

Using his “Devour” talent, Lin Lei thoroughly searched the bedroom for anything he could “devour,” but found nothing.
He then expanded his search throughout the entire suite but still found no objects suitable for “devouring.”

“This guy either already handed the item to someone else or hid it in a special place…”

Shaking his head, Lin Lei picked up Dragon Wentian’s phone.
Perhaps some secret was concealed within.