City of Sin and Mist (The Black Death) Chapter 133: Iron Hand

The Tribunal headquarters is shrouded in a dense concentration of black mist, yet it remains relatively free of those who have lost their minds.

In the underground prison, two Level 7 Deputy Ministers remain shackled, leaving the entire department leaderless. It can be said that the main force’s deployment to Evergreen City is precisely why this stronghold was so easily breached by the enemy.

The enemy is hidden, we are exposed, and the disadvantage is severe.

The chains, capable of restraining any player below the High level, groan under tension.

A masked figure holding a key approaches the cells. Most of the Tribunal staff are currently out on field duty; while they do not understand the root of the chaos, they are doing their best to maintain order, though some have already succumbed to madness.

Only one Level 6 player remains to guard the headquarters. For a city with a population of hundreds of thousands, this is unbelievable.

Currently, there are only two players left in this game who have not yet died. Of the original seven, Gao Cheng and Liao Yuan took out two. Wu Hui eliminated one. Orb-Spider schemed to kill one. Furthermore, internal conflicts over interests claimed another.

Thus, only two Level 6 players remain.

One is Liu An, mentioned in the previous chapter. Ke Wenbei tracked his movements, but he had already fled by the time Gao Cheng and Liao Yuan arrived.

The other is the one currently guarding the Tribunal headquarters.

A Level 6 player is not typically considered high-ranking within the Tribunal. Had the city not dispatched its personnel to neighboring Evergreen City, there would likely be over twenty Level 6 players, with more than a dozen belonging to the Tribunal.

As it stands, only two Tribunal members remain here. With Gao Cheng and Liao Yuan absent, and three of the remaining four out maintaining order, only one person is left in this facility.

Naturally, not all members of the Tribunal are righteous individuals with iron wills; otherwise, someone like Deng Ruqi would never have infiltrated their ranks.

This man is the villain within the Tribunal. He joined only to secure a powerful patron and climb the ladder. He usually puts on a convincing performance, even secretly using the black mist to erode the two Level 7s.

The city is gradually descending into chaos, but for him, it is not enough—it is still too slow.

It is time to add some fuel to the fire.

He walks to the cells, sees the Deputy Minister sitting calmly beneath the chains, and pulls out the key.

"Luno," the Deputy Minister suddenly opens his eyes. "So, you are the mole."

"As expected of a Deputy Minister. Still able to maintain your sanity after inhaling so much Sin Mist." The Tribunal member, addressed by his name, touches his mask.

The mask is simple: a smiling face.

His alias is Luno the Smiling Face.

"It's nothing remarkable, but as long as I am not provoked, I can hold on for a while longer," the Deputy Minister says.

Smiling Face adjusts his mask and lets out a disdainful chuckle. "If that were truly the case, you would have pretended to be insane, waiting for me to unlock you before suddenly striking. Right now, you are merely trying to intimidate me."

"And how do you know I am not utilizing reverse psychology to play with your thoughts?"

"I’m willing to take the gamble." Smiling Face shrugs, inserts the key, and unlocks the cell.

The Deputy Minister does not move, knowing that any action would cause him to lose control, with unimaginable consequences thereafter. Thus, Smiling Face leaves, laughing heartily.

One by one, the out-of-control Tribunal members and the various wanted criminals held there are released.

Smiling Face’s voice echoes through the corridor:

"Humans are truly fragile, both in mind and body."

"A gentle push is all it takes to trigger a domino effect of chain deaths."

"Go, wreak havoc! There is nothing in this city that can stop you. Your repressed desires can now be unleashed!"

—

The city's order is collapsing.

Orb-Spider hides in the shadows, pondering his next move.

In the game, although intelligence is the hardest attribute to improve, many players have been cultivated to be significantly smarter than the average person. Mid-level players generally possess an intelligence stat of at least seven.

Most of the remaining enemies likely possess an intelligence score exceeding twelve. The foolish ones have likely all perished.

The problem at hand is grave. He wonders if there is still an opportunity to resolve it.

The spider web appears so fragile in the face of a great gale. What truly defeats him is not the other players in the game, but the Demon God itself.

Those not participating in the game are largely unaffected by the rules; everyone in this city is essentially an NPC to the seven players. Originally, they shouldn't even have been aware of the anomalies. What, then, is causing more and more people to awaken?

Outside the city, Iron Hand finishes reporting to headquarters.

He clenches his fists and looks up at the sky.

For days, he has been attacking the black clouds. As a Super player, Iron Hand possesses a certain ability to contend with the power of the Demon God itself.

It is roughly equivalent to an ant attacking an elephant. Still, it is something; for a High-level player, opposing a Demon God is like a single drop of water resisting an ocean.

The black mist before him is only a fraction of the Demon God’s power, not its true form. Therefore, Iron Hand’s attacks remain effective.

Each strike consumes a significant amount of his energy.

The black clouds in the sky show no reaction. He does not know if any changes have occurred within the city.

His hands ache.

If the Boss were here, he could surely do more, right?

But Iron Hand believes that after fighting for so many days, he must have had an impact on the city. Perhaps he has already cracked some of the conceptual rules.

Continue.

If an ant is persistent enough to bite, the elephant will eventually feel the pain.

Among the four Level 12 players of the Tribunal, Iron Hand is the most persistent and steadfast. The Chief Justice has always worried that this would lead to his downfall.

Having navigated the treacherous waters of the game, it is incredible, even miraculous, that he has maintained this state.

Iron Hand assumes the Chief Justice is still at headquarters.

In reality, the Chief Justice is watching his subordinate from not far behind.

He certainly cares about the lives of the people in the city, but he would not be as desperate as Iron Hand. The Chief Justice has more important matters to attend to.

Moreover, he wishes to observe whether mid-to-low-level players are capable of ending the Demon God’s game through their own strength.

Unlike Iron Hand, the Chief Justice can see the situation inside the city. Though it seems the struggle will continue for a while, looking at the big picture:

It is already an endgame.

With the wanted criminals released from the Tribunal, the chaos in the city intensifies.

Two Level 7s clash once again within the city. This time, there will be no local Tribunal forces to suppress them.

Those still maintaining order are exhausted, running themselves ragged.

Wu Hui stands outside the villa, various criminal impulses surging within his mind, suppressed only by Li Xiaoyue’s mental interference.

They will come. With four or five people awakening in this immediate vicinity, they are bound to come and investigate.

With so many traps set, even if a Level 6 arrives, he has a forty percent chance of victory.