Feng Mu got the answer he wanted.
The Big Black Core was indeed synthesized from the Little Black Core, the instrument was the tool in the briefcase, and the operation method was not difficult. Dark One didn’t hide anything and revealed everything smoothly.
Or rather, Dark One thought since the briefcase was in Feng Mu’s hands, it wouldn’t make any sense even if he didn’t say a word, as the other party would eventually figure it out on his own.
Dark One selectively answered some of the other questions.
But as for the purpose of the Calamity Corpse Sect making the Big Black Core, he kept silent, as it was clearly a core secret of the sect.
Feng Mu guessed it might be related to the "Calamity Corpse Transformation" that Dark One accidentally mentioned earlier. He was somewhat curious but not overly concerned.
Seeing that Dark One would rather die than talk, Feng Mu decided not to press any further. He then showed his trustworthy side by having Ma Wei dig a separate hole for Dark One, right next to Boss Zheng.
As for exchanging a question for a question, Feng Mu did answer them all, though how many punctuation marks in his answers were genuine, only he knew.
Anyway, dead people can’t verify the truth.
Besides, do dead people need the truth? Don’t they need the kind lies of the living instead?
While Ma Wei continued diligently digging pits, burying bodies, and filling the soil, Feng Mu and Ma Bin were already sitting back in the car.
Feng Mu took out two Big Black Cores and put them in his pocket, leaving the rest along with the briefcase to Ma Bin: "You keep this case for me for a while."
Ma Bin noticed that [Mask] only handed him one briefcase, not mentioning the other two briefcases that were blackmailed, causing his face to twitch: "This thing is important to you, right? Why don’t you keep it yourself?"
Feng Mu didn’t lie and responded sincerely: "There are still two tails unresolved; carrying it myself would easily attract danger."
Ma Bin, although usually calm, didn’t know whether to be pleased or angry at [Mask]’s candid response: "???"
Feng Mu continued frankly: "Bearing potential risks for [Online] is part of your duty as [Offline], isn’t it?"
Ma Bin suddenly understood and replied slowly: "You’re [Online], so whatever you say is right."
He clenched his fist, cracking the eyeball he was playing with in his hand, causing a fingernail-sized memory card to fall out.
Feng Mu glanced over without asking further, only thinking to himself:
"Zheng Si’s fake eyeball, no wonder Ma Bin specifically dug it out to play with in his hand all this time; turns out it hid a secret inside. I almost misunderstood him as a pervert who likes to collect dead people’s stuff."
Without asking more, Feng Mu could guess what the memory card contained just by instinct.
A gang leader’s secret hidden inside an eyeball would be nothing more than black accounts, a list of protectors, or leverage—just like in all the old movies.
Instead, Ma Bin didn’t conceal it in front of him after breaking the eyeball, immediately pulling out his phone to place a call.
"Hello, Secretary Hou, Boss Zheng won’t be causing any more trouble, uh-huh, I found the item and it’s been destroyed, uh-huh, I understand, no backup, the Cyan Wolf Gang will continue to serve everyone, rest assured, everything remains as it was."
The call was brief and ended after a few words.
Ma Bin turned around, flicked his fingernail, and the memory card arched through the air into Feng Mu’s palm.
"Since the organization wants us to infiltrate and grow in [Zone 9], we must find a way to penetrate the Executive Government, although with the size of the Cyan Wolf Gang, we can only reach mid-to-low-level governors."
"But if we use them as our entry point, slowly corrupt and convert them, one day we can replace all key positions with our people. By then, the organization can..."
Ma Bin paused, suppressing the fervor and excitement in his tone, returning to the present subject,
"This memory card is both the Cyan Wolf Gang’s talisman and its death warrant. It’s not safe with me; it would be better to trouble [Online] to hide it well for me."
Before Feng Mu could refuse, Ma Bin added soft and languidly, "Protecting [Offline] should also be [Online]’s duty, right?"
The expression under [Mask] froze briefly; Feng Mu couldn’t shake the difficult familiarity of Ma Bin’s manner of speech.
Through the cold mask, they shared a meaningful gaze for a second.
Feng Mu accepted the memory card, instructing: "Don’t be idle; gather Black Cores for me in the shadows. You’ve heard how to use the instrument in the case, process them all into Big Black Cores. I’ll come to use them regularly."
After giving instructions, [Mask] pushed open the car door. Before leaving, it seemed he remembered something and casually said, "By the way, when you go to the incineration plant to collect Black Cores, be courteous to the corpse burners. There’s a little ghost in there who’s quite interesting; I plan to watch him for a while, maybe develop him into [Offline]."
Bam!
The door closed, leaving Ma Bin alone in the car.
He slowly rolled down the window, watching as [Mask]’s departing figure disappeared into the night.
"Corpse burner, little ghost?"
An image naturally surfaced in Ma Bin’s mind; he still remembered the name he’d last crossed off the list with his own hands.
"It must be Feng Mu, right? Eager to develop a new [Offline]; are you dissatisfied with my abilities, or does that person have some extraordinary trait you fancy, or perhaps he is...."
Ma Bin squinted his eyes, as if he thought of something interesting, his mouth curving into a slight smile.
He extended his hand out of the car, his fingers rubbing together, the remains of the cracked eyeball scattering into the air.
Digging pits, Ma Wei sniffed with an itchy nose, sneezing violently, with snot falling into Boss Zheng’s hollow socket, only to be covered by a clod of soil.
.....
Feng Mu ran home hastily under the cover of night.
No one was home, which didn’t surprise him; he had a few missed calls on his phone, all from Wang Xiuli.
One call came earlier, while the rest came much later.
Feng Mu looked at the call times and calculated to get an answer.
The first call should have been Wang Xiuli worrying about Feng Ju, who called in a hurry before leaving, while Feng Mu, with his phone on silent, was busy tracking a fool playing with ants.
The following calls must have been made when Wang Xiuli received news about Feng Ju’s serious injury on her way home; by that time, Feng Mu was heading to the secret rendezvous.
Sure enough, a text message followed, also from Wang Xiuli, with another time gap, urging him to hurry to the hospital.
Feng Mu had a strange expression, muttering to himself: "Feng Ju couldn’t be dying, right? Is Wang Xiuli urging me to see him for the last time?"
Feng Mu casually tossed his phone onto the bed, not in a hurry to go to the hospital.
If Feng Ju really were dead, it would be too late anyway; if he weren’t, a little delay wouldn’t matter.
He had more pressing matters to attend to; the [Bronze Chest] was only half opened when Ma Bin interrupted him, and now he had to finish immediately, no matter who was dying.
Right now, he just wanted to open the chest, to taste the flavor of the Big Black Core afterward.
[You’ve unlocked the Bronze Chest!]
[You’ve received the following rewards:
1, You’ve gained 1 Special Skill Point.
2, You’ve obtained an Evil Spiritual Technique: Blood Bar Deceit Eye.
3, You’ve activated a stealth [Destiny] tactical squad. They’re currently serving time in Zone 9’s Prison No.3. You might consider planning a jailbreak to rescue and reclaim this tactical squad. They won’t disappoint you.]
Feng Mu was completely stunned: "What the hell? The stealth squad is supposed to be stealthy; how did they all end up in prison?"