This allowed the shop owners to quickly recover a significant portion of the losses they had suffered due to the sharp decrease in pedestrians on the street. However... everyone felt as if they were risking their lives to earn the money they were making.
Amidst the turmoil within Dangyang City, the people from over a dozen countries initially exercised considerable restraint, with no one daring to provoke public anger and strike the target first. However, after several days, once all the experts dispatched by various countries had arrived, this fragile balance could no longer be maintained.
More than twenty Westerners, fluent in Portuguese, were the first to break the taboo. One night, after leaving a bar, they brazenly robbed several cars on the street and then marched in a large group towards the Zhou family compound.
In fact, after so much time, the various powers had a general understanding of the fact that the two attacks on the Zhou family by the US had both ended in failure. However, they didn't think their opponents were really that strong or terrifying. Instead, they disdainfully thought that the people sent by the US were all useless trash, a bunch of incompetent idiots. The only unexpected thing was the flying car that could fly through the air. But even that shouldn't have scared a great superpower into submission! Since you, our big boss, have given up, then we won't be polite about the benefits.
This special mission, belonging to a certain Western country, was almost entirely composed of arrogant lunatics. Apart from the intelligence agents who arrived earlier and had some sense, the guys who came later to provide support were either renowned assassins or mercenaries with blood on their hands. To them, the Zhou family was nothing more than a slightly fatter lamb, and there was really nothing to fear. Their only concern was how to get rid of the guys from other countries after they succeeded.
However, they already have a fairly comprehensive plan for this, and they believe that as long as nothing unexpected happens, they are about 70-80% confident that they can break free from the encirclement and pursuit of the other dozen or so forces and successfully escape from Dangyang.
And China is so big, as long as they leave Dangyang, they can hide anywhere, and those foreigners who are also unfamiliar with the area won't be able to find them...
It was precisely because they had a relatively certain plan that these guys were so arrogant in taking the lead and making the first move.
This disruption of the balance ultimately led to an unprecedented bloody crisis in Dangyang...
Unfortunately, the first guy who dared to eat the crab, although he had considered the dangers he might face and made all sorts of plans after eating the crab, never thought that he didn't have a big enough mouth. The crab was still alive and was a demonized crab. As a result, instead of getting to eat the crab, they were eaten by it.
The incident happened extremely suddenly... Because of the hot weather, all the vehicles carrying the twenty-odd people had their windows open while driving. In order to avoid being intercepted by the other dozen or so forces, these people immediately increased their speed to an extremely high level when they were about to make their move. They sang off-key songs, stared with bloodshot eyes at the Zhou family compound in the distance, and excitedly howled, just like a group of gorillas locked in an iron cage in a zoo.
At that moment, a sudden change occurred. Almost all of the twenty-odd people felt as if they had been bitten on the neck by a mosquito at the same time. Then, everything went black, and all the blood in their bodies froze instantly. Then... one after another, the speeding cars crashed together under this change. Some were knocked off the road, some lay sideways on the roadside, and some even exploded.
In the blink of an eye, all twenty-odd people in six or seven vehicles were wiped out, and from beginning to end, not a single enemy appeared before them.
When the other dozen or so extremely sensitive groups realized that the first group had made the first move, they could no longer remain calm. Almost simultaneously, they all used the same method: they stole cars on the street and sent out all their members to surround the Zhou family compound.
They also didn't believe that the Zhou family, with such a large and powerful force, could really form any effective resistance.
Their only worry is whether they can be the one to successfully pick the only peach.
Now that someone has already taken the initiative, they naturally cannot afford to be negligent. If they are even a step slower, they might not even get a taste of the spoils. Moreover, the Chinese police and military are not to be underestimated. If the Zhou family is wiped out today, causing a huge uproar, the Chinese military and police will likely intervene. Therefore, after taking action, they must immediately withdraw from this place to avoid being surrounded and captured.
That would mean not getting to eat mutton and getting into trouble, so this is a one-time opportunity, only for this one day. After today, whether they succeed or not, they definitely won't be able to stay in Dangyang anymore.
But as these guys frantically chased after the group that had made the first move and arrived not far from the Zhou family compound, the scene from before suddenly appeared before their eyes: six or seven cars had overturned without warning, all totaled on the road. And what was even more terrifying was that... two or three of the cars were obviously not seriously hit, and the cars did not overturn, but for a long time, not a single person was seen crawling out of the car alive.
This immediately caused all the people chasing behind to gasp in surprise.
You have to understand, how many of these guys who dared to come here are ordinary people? Which one of them hasn't been through the baptism of gunfire? Let alone a small car accident, even if a high-speed train accident occurred, with these people's skills, they should all be completely unharmed. How could they all be killed in this one crash? Thinking this way, they suddenly realized with horror that... these people probably didn't die because of the car accident, but more likely because everyone in the car was already dead, which is why... this bizarre car accident happened.
But not a single person has appeared... not even that legendary flying car has materialized, so how could... these twenty-odd grown men have inexplicably died on the way here...?
The most terrifying thing is the thing you can't understand. Before they figured out the truth, the people from the dozen or so forces all stopped in a panic after they found that the guys who led the charge had been wiped out so inexplicably. No one dared to cross the line again. In an instant, nearly a hundred cars stopped less than five kilometers away from the Zhou family compound. The faces inside the cars, whether white or black, were all filled with confusion and fear.
If there were only one faction here, seeing how tragic the fate of those who came before was, they would most likely turn around and flee for their lives without hesitation.
But now that so many people, belonging to so many different countries, have gathered here, no one is willing to lose face. Moreover, they all feel that with so many people around, even if the Zhou family has any underhanded schemes, they probably won't be able to carry them out. So, they all stared at each other in the car like bullfighters, as if they could make all their competitors collapse without a fight just by staring at them.
After this stalemate lasted for more than ten minutes, these people finally realized that this was not a solution. So, each faction sent a representative, got out of the car, gathered together to discuss the matter, and finally reached a consensus to launch a joint operation. Regardless of who could obtain the most important flying car or all the blueprints and data for the flying car's manufacturing, they would just charge in and wipe out the Zhou family first. The distribution of the spoils could be negotiated later.
With the plan settled, these dozen or so forces decided to divide their manpower into different camps and form four alliances temporarily based on the closeness between the countries. Each alliance would be responsible for a specific area, and the four alliances would attack the Zhou family compound from four directions at the same time. At that time, whoever broke into the Zhou family first would naturally gain the greatest benefit.
After agreeing on the plan, everyone immediately began to act. They then spread out their teams according to their pre-arranged alliance formations and simultaneously launched an attack on the Zhou family compound from four directions.
Hundreds of cars drove into the Zhou family compound in a grand procession. Even if everyone living in the Zhou family compound was deaf or blind, they would feel the earth trembling silently at that moment.
However, the Zhou family compound remained completely quiet from beginning to end, without a trace of noise or screams of fear.
The alliance forces responsible for the east quickly arrived near the first group of vehicles that had been inexplicably knocked down. They did not rush to advance but stopped temporarily, and a designated person began to investigate the cause of death of those people.
The conclusion came quickly: apart from the impact of the car accident, there were no suspicious fatal injuries on these people's bodies. What was strangest was that not a single drop of blood flowed from the wounds that had been torn open by the car accident. The blood in all of their bodies had actually congealed into crystals.
This shows that all of these people died from an extremely rare and deadly poison.
Upon reaching this conclusion, the faction representing several countries within this camp was not surprised but rather delighted.
They didn't believe that with so many people in a speeding car, there was a chance of being poisoned.
Considering that these guys all came from the same bar before they stormed the Zhou family compound, they had reason to believe that most of them had been tricked in that bar and had their drinks poisoned. However, this poison might have had a delayed effect, which is why they suddenly died at the same time just before they arrived at the Zhou family compound.
This immediately emboldened the members of the alliance. What was there to fear? After all, they hadn't been to that bar before! And what were the chances that they would all be poisoned? So... all they had to do was muster their strength and storm into the Zhou family compound. They were certain that no unexpected incidents would occur along the way.
However... before these self-righteous guys could get back on the bus and start charging again, many of them suddenly felt an itch on their necks, arms, or hands. Then... their bodies instantly stiffened completely, and their blood congealed at a visible speed, turning into a crystalline substance all over their bodies...
"Thump... thump..." A series of sounds of bodies falling down rang out one after another. In the blink of an eye, there were fifty or sixty people on the ground and inside the car who had been poisoned and collapsed.
However, because this camp had a large number of people, with personnel from several countries gathered together, numbering at least nearly two hundred, although so many people died at once, a large majority of them were temporarily spared.
And soon, some observant people noticed that on the body of each person who had inexplicably fallen, a tiny, seemingly insignificant mosquito would fly off the corpse.
Upon realizing this, the person who discovered it immediately understood and shouted, "Mosquitoes... damn it... it's mosquitoes causing trouble! Everyone be careful, kill those mosquitoes, don't let them bite us, or we'll die too!"
"What kind of mosquito is so powerful? How is that possible?" One skeptical fellow remained unfazed by the man's loud warning, even watching a small mosquito land on his exposed arm without making any attempt to shoo it away, as if trying to prove his bravery and prowess.
However, the result was tragic. He only felt a slight itch on his arm before his whole body went numb and he couldn't move a single finger. Then... everything went black, and he completely lost consciousness.
Fortunately, there aren't many idiots like this. Most people reacted immediately after being warned by the previous person. Even if they didn't quite believe that there were such poisonous mosquitoes in the world, they still didn't dare to take the risk. They either dodged or swatted the mosquito to death.
In short... these little mosquitoes are indeed much faster and more agile than ordinary mosquitoes, but compared to these seasoned veterans, they are naturally incomparable.
If these people are not on guard, these mosquitoes can naturally approach them silently.
Now that these guys are on guard, there's naturally no chance for them anymore.
Volume 3, King of the City, Chapter 656: Infinite Differentiation
In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen mosquitoes were killed. However... tragically, those who swatted the mosquitoes with their own hands didn't fare any better. As soon as their hands came into contact with mosquito blood, they would quickly fester. Once a small hole appeared in their palms, allowing the mosquito's venomous blood to come into contact with their own blood, they would follow in the footsteps of the previous victims. Their blood would quickly congeal, and they would die instantly, beyond any hope of survival.
"These mosquitoes are terrifying! I must never let their blood get on my skin, it's so poisonous..."
Another person watched helplessly as his companion met such a fate after swatting a mosquito. In terror, he screamed for his life, but then a mosquito silently landed on the back of his neck. He felt a numbness in his neck, then his whole body stiffened, and the words he was about to say stuck in his throat, unable to come out anymore.
Only then did the experts finally understand the power of these mosquitoes. They all huddled together, carefully guarding against any suspicious insects around them, whether mosquitoes or flies. As soon as a suspicious insect flew close to them, they would immediately use various methods to kill it from a distance. Although much of this was in vain, much like using an anti-aircraft gun to kill a mosquito, they managed to escape a calamity and no one died from the mosquitoes' mouthparts.
"It seems these guys aren't too stupid after all. It's probably pointless to keep attacking them with my treasures."
Not far from the battlefield between mosquitoes and humans, a car was parked on a small road on a hillside. Due to the angle, people below could not see the car at all, but the people inside could clearly see everything happening on the road below from their elevated position.
There were two people in the car, one was Dwight and the other was Susanna.
By this time, Susanna was already utterly shocked by what she saw through the night vision binoculars. She never imagined that the mosquitoes Dwight had fed with poison would be so powerful that they could kill a living person instantly.
Of course... what surprised her even more was how obedient the mosquitoes were to Dwight. Whatever Dwight told them to do, they did it.
Hearing Dwight's words, she couldn't help but feel a little amazed. It was just a few dozen mosquitoes, yet they had created such a magnificent battle record, which was simply unimaginable to her.
I really don't understand how Dwight, who was described as sleazy back then, could now possess such formidable skills...
Seeing Dwight suddenly open the car door and jump out, Susanna was taken aback and quickly asked, "Where are you going?"
Dwight smiled slightly and said, "Continuing like this will only increase casualties for my darling, so of course I have no choice but to take matters into my own hands, hehe..."
"No—" Susanna exclaimed in shock, "Are you crazy? Those people are all desperate criminals. They have knives, guns, and I even saw someone carrying a rocket launcher... My God... Even regular troops aren't as fierce as these people. You... You're just rushing in alone, aren't you just throwing your life away? Why are you doing this... They're causing trouble for the Zhou family, what does it have to do with us? Although... we're now working for the Zhou family, we're just employees, even... less than employees. We're just prisoners of that little Zhou Ziwei. Now that the Zhou family is in danger, instead of their own people coming out to fight, why are you going up there to show off?... Did that little Zhou Ziwei force you to do this?!"
Dwight turned his head and shook his head slightly, saying, "No one forced me. Didn't I tell you? I'm going to show you my true self... Now, please take a look at my most authentic self! Hopefully, it won't scare you! Hmm... my performance in a moment might be quite shocking, so you'd better be prepared."
After saying that, Dwight leaped into the air, and then a large amount of red mist suddenly appeared all over his body. As soon as the red mist appeared, it tightly enveloped Dwight, and then Dwight was carried away by the red mist and flew away into the air.
"God...this...how is this possible?"
Although Dwight had already warned Susanna, she was still startled. She covered her alluring red lips with her small hand, suppressing a scream. The car wasn't far from the thugs; if she shouted, they would definitely hear her. Those guys had just lost dozens of men and were all bloodthirsty. If Susanna made a sound now, she might attract a hail of bullets, grenades, or even artillery fire…
However, Susanna's worries were obviously unnecessary, because Dwight had already appeared in front of the group of thugs, and the way Dwight appeared was so shocking that not only was Susanna terrified, but the dozens of people who had survived the mosquitoes' venomous bites were also stunned.
At this moment, everyone's attention was focused on the red mist drifting in mid-air, and the figure that was faintly visible within the mist.
They were all so stunned by the sheer power of the red mist that they had no energy left to notice any other sounds. Even if Susanna were to shout loudly, or even if he were to set off firecrackers, probably no one would pay any attention.
"My God... what... what is this thing? How... how come there seems to be a figure in that red mist? Can anyone tell me if my eyes are playing tricks on me?!"
"I bet that red mist is the embodiment of a devil... How could this be? Could it be that our enemy isn't even human?"
Amidst gasps and screams, some impatient individuals began firing at the red mist from a considerable distance.
The sound of gunfire echoed through the night sky, startling countless birds roosting in the forest. However, after the sharp bullets pierced through a red mist, they inexplicably vanished without a trace, without even causing a ripple.
As the red mist drew closer, the group of thugs became increasingly panicked, with more and more people recklessly raising their weapons and blindly attacking the red mist.
Even the two men carrying rocket launchers, disregarding their limited ammunition, seemed to have gone mad, relentlessly firing howitzers at the red mist.
As expected, hard work pays off. Although the initial bullets did not produce any noticeable effect when they hit the red mist, the addition of two rocket launchers finally brought about a considerable effect with their powerful attack.
The once thick, almost tangible red mist had gradually thinned out, and even Dwight's figure, hidden within it, was now clearly visible.
"Damn it... He's not an Easterner... But... how did this guy get here? And what are those red mists?"
When everyone saw that the person in the red mist was not an Easterner, they were all taken aback. However, at this moment, no one would dwell on the matter. After a slight pause, they continued to fire more bullets at the red mist.
Unfortunately, the red mist was not slow, and Dwight's starting point was not too far away. So before the thugs could disperse the red mist surrounding Dwight, he had already flown over to their heads.
Then, the faint red mist surrounding Dwight suddenly transformed into the shape of a giant claw, which lashed downwards.
The hand, which was clearly just an illusion of mist, actually grabbed the three thugs standing at the front like a crane's mechanical arm.
The three thugs were so startled that they felt as if their blood was suddenly on fire, boiling and evaporating, slowly being drawn out of their bodies.
The three men only had time to let out a shrill scream before they died. As soon as they died, their flesh melted away as quickly as snowballs falling into a pot of boiling oil, leaving only bare, white skeletons that fell from the sky with a crackling sound and crashed into the crowd of people gathered together.
At the same time, the red mist surrounding Dwight suddenly thickened, becoming hazy and obscuring his body.
"A devil...a devil from hell!"
The thugs who were just moments ago so aggressively turned into three white skeletons in the blink of an eye when they saw three living people. Many of them were on the verge of a mental breakdown, and a few of the more timid ones even began to scream hysterically.
Moreover, Dwight was relentless. Having just absorbed the souls and flesh of three people, he felt that the energy in the red mist had been replenished, so he immediately used the red mist to conjure two demonic claws at the same time and pounced down fiercely.
Now those people realized how powerful the claws were. As soon as they saw the thing grab down again, they screamed and dodged far away. But just now, in order to resist the attack of the almost ubiquitous mosquitoes, everyone had gathered together and formed a circle, which made the mosquitoes helpless. But now... this circle had squeezed everyone together. Under Dwight's claws, even though they all desperately dodged, Dwight still easily grabbed five people into his clutches.
This time, the five people didn't even have time to let out a scream before their blood and souls were mixed together and quickly extracted from their bodies, merging into the red mist around Dwight, making the red mist around Dwight even thicker.
Then Dwight's misty claws, which reached down again, turned into three... but by this time the crowd had gradually scattered and fled, making it no longer so easy to grab two or three people at once.
However, Dwight was not in a hurry. After all, the speed of the demonic claw formed by the red mist was always faster than a person running on two legs. So... as long as Dwight identified someone and then guided the red mist with his soul power, he could easily grab them one by one.
Although each claw could only grab one person this time, Dwight's speed in absorbing the souls and flesh of the living increased even further.
No matter who it was, almost anyone caught by the demonic claw formed from the red mist would immediately explode, half of them turning into red mist and merging into the claw, while the remaining useless white skeleton would naturally fall to the ground. Moreover, Dwight deliberately dealt with the few guys who were carrying heavy weapons first, destroying their weapons and rendering them unusable. In this way, Dwight was no longer afraid of those people's ordinary firearm attacks.
In an instant, the red mist around Dwight became so thick it was almost tangible, even thicker than when it first appeared. Clearly, the lives and flesh of those people had greatly nourished this red blood mist.
Meanwhile, the thugs sent by various countries to rob the Zhou family at all costs had been completely terrified. Even if they were to face real combat, have their heads blown off by a bullet, or have their necks severed by a knife, these people who had been accustomed to living a life of bloodshed would be completely fearless.
But... what kind of things did they encounter today? First, nearly a third of them were inexplicably bitten to death by a swarm of mosquitoes. Then, a demon riding a cloud of blood mist appeared out of nowhere and attacked. With a single, massive claw, it could turn a living person into a pile of skeletons. They had never seen such a terrifying scene before. When they discovered that Dwight had destroyed all the rocket launchers and that ordinary firearms could not affect Dwight's red mist at all, these people finally lost their last bit of confidence and immediately scattered and fled for their lives.