Chapter 85: Anaconda 2
Borneo.
The world’s third-largest island, famed for its tropical rainforests and its lively reputation as a tourist destination.
Its highest rainfall can reach 3,800 millimeters, and it is home to many of the world’s rarest animals.
To humankind, the jungle here remains an untouched wilderness.
Still, few ever dare to go in; most prefer to sightsee by boat.
For deep in the forest lurk poisonous scorpions, venomous snakes, and other lethal beasts, while the rivers are home to fierce gharials and giant anacondas.
But none of that mattered in the least to Li Changsheng.
He had no intention of going there.
It was already afternoon, and the weather was scorching.
Li Changsheng walked along the island’s paths with a parasol over his head.
Andehuen was repairing the ship at a dock in Indonesia. Bored while waiting, Li Changsheng had made an appointment with the captain and come out alone to wander.
He had two purposes for this trip.
The first was to go to bars and similar places on the island to see whether he could hear any strange tales and learn something about bizarre creatures.
Unfortunately, this small country did not even possess myths or legends. Li Changsheng had spent several thousand dollars in vain, receiving only information that was obviously counterfeit at a glance.
He was not discouraged, though; after all, this was merely a pastime.
As for the second purpose, it was tourism.
He had never visited here in his previous life, and since he now had the chance, he might as well take a good look around.
What was interesting, however, was that whether word of his spending habits had been leaked, or some ill-intentioned people had taken him for a fat sheep, someone had clearly noticed.
...
In the rainy season, the weather changed very quickly.
After the midday heat, it was not long before the sky suddenly turned overcast. Dark clouds rolled in, and after several terrifying peals of thunder, raindrops the size of soybeans began to fall, sounding like beans frying in a pan.
The rain grew heavier and fiercer until all of Borneo was swallowed in a torrential downpour.
Under the sheets of rain, countless tourists and vendors hurried about, either packing up their stalls or fleeing for shelter. The once-noisy, bustling streets and lanes of Borneo were instantly emptied.
Li Changsheng also lost any desire to wander. Opening his umbrella, he slowly stepped into the street.
The rain was so heavy that after only a short while, the cobblestone road had already gathered puddles in its low places.
Amid the sudden storm, quick footsteps rang out. Ahead of Li Changsheng and behind him, two people in dark raincoats were hurrying along, their feet splashing water everywhere as they ran.
They seemed to be in a rush to find shelter.
Before long, their paths crossed.
At that very moment, the people in front and behind both turned around. Cold, shining daggers flashed into view, and in the blink of an eye both blades were pressed against Li Changsheng’s waist.
“If you want to live, don’t scream. Come with us!”
The speaker was a middle-aged man with a fierce face and a body covered in tattoos, around forty years old. He grinned savagely, looking at Li Changsheng as though he were a lamb awaiting slaughter.
“An exposed fortune invites trouble. The ancients truly did not deceive me.”
Li Changsheng sighed. “I only came out for a trip. Was this really necessary?”
The middle-aged man sneered as he and the others shoved Li Changsheng along. The group went farther and farther into the wilderness until they entered a dense forest.
“Hand over your money!”
Someone barked coldly.
As he spoke, he brandished the dagger before Li Changsheng.
Li Changsheng shook his head, reached out, and seized it. The dancing blade light came to an abrupt halt as he gripped the man by the front of his shirt and with a casual pull sent him flying away like a cannonball.
The dagger clattered to the ground, then with a whoosh landed in Li Changsheng’s palm. He swept his hand back in a reverse slash.
Only a tearing sound was heard as the endless rain curtain was split apart.
The instant the blade light blazed forth, the pupils of the four men opposite constricted sharply. With a crack, the raincoats on their bodies were slashed open by the chilling edge of the blade and tore apart with a boom.
What was torn open was not only the raincoat, but also their throats.
A robbery ended just like that.
Three corpses lay strewn across the ground, blood spreading into the rainwater and staining the forest in a shocking red.
“Damn it, this isn’t over. Even a clay man has three points of temper. Next time I run into this kind of thing, I’m absolutely not pretending to be weak. I’ll find a little grove and silence them for good.”
With a sharp hiss, the dagger flew from his hand. The robber who had been hurled away and miraculously survived had not gone far before it pinned him to a tree trunk.
It had already been three days since he arrived in Borneo. For the first two days, Li Changsheng had been drinking in bars, using money to buy information about strange tales and oddities. Unexpectedly, this had attracted the attention of quite a few people hoping to make a windfall.
There was nothing to be done about it. Who told him he had no documents and had entered on a completely fabricated identity purchased with money? As the saying goes, good news may not travel far, but bad news spreads for thousands of miles.
The rumor that he was a fat sheep had already spread through the local underworld.
Though those bandits, thieves, and the like could not pose any real threat to him, they were like buzzing flies, impossible to silence and impossible to ignore.
“If I get the chance, I’ll kill a few more and see who dares come at me again!”
As he thought this, he collected the corpses into his spatial storage and casually sent a message in the group chat.
Li Changsheng: @ALL, if anyone has time, deal with the corpses in the storage space. Don’t leave them in there cluttering things up.
Li Xiaoxiong: Boss, did you kill someone!?
Li Changsheng: Took care of a few robbers.
Li Xiaoxiong: Oh, oh! I’ll throw them into the swamp!
Li Xiaoxiong was as enthusiastic as ever.
Li Changsheng smiled and walked out of the forest, following the road toward a bar.
...
Inside the bar.
The lighting was dim, and shadows moved everywhere.
Rock music played within, and all kinds of people sat around dozens of tables.
The smells of alcohol and tobacco mingled together.
At the sight, Li Changsheng frowned.
He liked quiet; he did not care for such noisy places.
He had been about to leave, but then he thought better of it: since he was already here, why not draw in a few more robbers and kill them?
In his previous life, he had worried too much. When people cheated him or gouged him, he could only swallow his anger.
But now, all he wanted was to kill them.
Thinking this, Li Changsheng went straight to the bar and said to the bartender, “Whiskey. On the rocks.”
This was the second time Li Changsheng had come to this bar.
The bartender clearly remembered him. When he saw Li Changsheng arrive, he was first startled, then quickly hid the surprise and silently poured the drink.
Li Changsheng sneered inwardly, making a note of it, then found a corner and sat down by himself.
He quietly savored the whiskey in the glass, letting the warmth of the alcohol slowly spread across his mouth.
His gaze drifted through the bar, sweeping over the surrounding patrons before he withdrew it.
He slowly turned the glass in his hand, leaving rings of moisture on its sides.
Li Changsheng’s eyes were deep.
During the voyage, he had spent most of his time in the ship’s luxury cabin, quietly sensing and adapting to the power he had obtained from the crystal.
He called this power the Force.
And when using it, the state in which it shone with blue light he called the Super Blue State, while the state in which magic radiated red light he called the Super Red State.
Experiments had shown that even without entering the Super Blue State, his cells still decayed, though at a very slow pace.
But once he entered the Super Blue State, especially when using Atomic Breath, the rate of cellular collapse became terrifyingly fast.
Fortunately, the G-type organism possessed self-repair capabilities, or Li Changsheng would have been finished long ago.
If only a vampire would come along and let me absorb it...
Li Changsheng muttered inwardly.
Just then, a commotion broke out at the entrance of the bar.
Several Westerners in black raincoats walked in.