Degeneration

Chapter 22 — Degeneration

Since the arrival of Red Rose, the citizens of Glorybound City have their lifestyle reworked.

The establishment of Red Rose Pavilion has slowly earned the attention of various wealthy people.

Not only was the Red Rose Pavilion built grandly and majestically, it was also decorated with luxurious objects and precious art pieces.

The served menus varied in all sorts of cuisines and were appetizing to the stomach—the exceptional taste and smell was even enough to make gourmets ascend to paradise.

Not only that, the dishes were served by exquisite attendants whose appearances were like something out of fairytales. The beautiful and handsome attendants were even able to provide special services like full-body massage or even performing a dance just only for you.

Their appearances were further beautified upon receiving the power of the Cosmetic Guild and Tailor Guild. In a sense, they were constantly promoting their latest products to the cash cows.

And while dining, there would be contracted traditional and pop musical bands performing on the wide stage illuminated by colorful spotlights.

The most popular performers were the beautiful attendants who can dance and sing well.

The Age of Idols had begun.

And the trailblazer was Red Rose.

The Red Rose Pavilion has turned into a symbol of wealth and prestige.

This pavilion was widely talked amongst the circles of the wealthy in the eastern region.

There was even a saying amongst the wealthy people that if you were not a member of Red Rose Pavilion, then it means you were not rich and popular enough, resulting in some kind of contempt and discrimination.

Since the prideful wealthy nobles and rich merchants were flocking to Glorybound City, they inevitably brought opportunities to hasten the growth and development of the city.

The livelihood of the citizens were benefiting from this development. Jobless citizens were ecstatic because there were more job opportunities.

And if Red Rose Pavilion was the symbol of wealth and prestige, then Red Rose Taverns were the symbol of joy and peace.

The taverns sold cheap yet bubbly beers and delicious dishes. And like the pavilion, there were also some solo performances from part-timers who know how to handle instruments like guitar.

With taverns and inns scattered in various villages and small cities, along with the pavilion, Red Rose has now built a wide information all over the entire eastern region.

The influence of Red Rose was well-received and very popular to the people from the eastern region.

The most known reason was due to the variety of entertaining comics they were releasing.

In this age wherein the entertainment of ordinary people was still lacking compared to spirit masters, the rise of high-quality comics have provided them with addicting stimulation akin to drugs.

There were even reported cases of drug abuse decreasing lately ever since the appearance of high-quality comics.

The Comic Guild held a prestige status, always receiving aspiring employees and letters from their fans that treated them as lofty gods.

It was especially true for the department that handled adult comics…

Of course, there are some bad cases about the comics, but parents couldn't stop their children from getting hooked by the comics.

Some children even resorted to stealing just to get hold of the forbidden adult comics.

And this case was proven correct by a student from Red Mountain Academy…

"Hehe, look guys! I stole this adult comic from my father…"

A group of children were huddled together in a group circle.

Tang Wulin joined them because he was also curious about the comic.

And curiosity killed the reader…

A boy with freckles and buck teeth started to flip the comic pages.

Gulp…

Everyone gulped down their saliva in anticipation.

"..."

"Oh shit!

"My god, I have seen the truth!"

"Father… is this enlightenment…?"

The children displayed many kinds of reactions.

Even Tang Wulin was shocked to his core upon witnessing those baffling contents.

"How are their bodies so detailed…?"

"No!! Those white lights are blocking the view!!"

The pages of the adult comic became hurried.

The sound of heavy breathings filled the room.

"Hurry up and flip faster!"

"Let's appreciate them first!"

An argument quickly ensued with the heat swallowing their reason.

Tang Wulin chose to escape before he became infected by them.

However, he was now introduced to the wondrous world of comics.

Later that day, he visited the Red Rose Tea Shop and bought the best-selling comics for children.

Although it pained him to see his hard earned money vanishing.

Yet the purchases were worth it.

Na'er also came to like the comics he bought.

The comic they were reading was titled 'Vlad the Bloodsucker', which was said to be based on real life, the savior and hero of Red Rose.

The actions were so intense and blood boiling that it stimulated the adrenaline rush.

However, he found it difficult to agree with the cruel actions of the protagonist that involves cruel tortures to inflict the bad guys with the most pain.

Nevertheless, the comic introduced him to the dark reality of the world through the views of the protagonist and the tragic stories of the people he saved. Nothing was always sunshine and light, slowly changing his perception of reality.

The people who read the comic were also becoming more aware about the cruel reality. Some even felt connected to the story as they also experienced something similar.

Those people were secretly rooting for Vlad who kills the evil, not the police or government that just throws them in fragile jails.

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There was Meng Tian Workshop, so the branch of Blacksmith Guild focused on collaborating with other branches of the guilds.

Their most selling products were merchandise based from the comics which fans loved to buy. Not only that, they were also responsible for making musical instruments for the new Musical Guild of Red Rose.

The brand of Red Rose—from comics, cosmetics, clothings, shoes, common and soul tools, merchandise, etc—were highly sought out by many people.

After all, the qualities were known for always being original and high because they were constantly hiring and people who have talents.

And people naturally come to flock for the recruitment due to the reputation of Red Rose.

There were troubles here and there, both internally and externally, but Ning Shui held a firm control of the internal conflicts, while enforcers and Vlad secretly took care of external troubles.

Vlad had helped a lot on dealing with people like the Lobster Famillia, who were scared of being overthrown from business, were now trying to destroy Red Rose's development.

In return…

"We still haven't found any clues to the beasts Vlad is searching for… The clue is just too limited…"

Ning Shui let out a sigh as Red Rose hadn't properly repaid Vlad at all.

However, she recently got to hear strange news circulating around the region about villages randomly getting destroyed.

Even police forces weren't able to track the culprits.

Since it might be a lead, she allocated some manpower to gather more information about it.

Ning Shui sighed as she looked outside the window.

"Just what the hell is the black river of the sky…?"

The only clue Vlad remembered when that hellish night occured.

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"Just how many evils I've already killed, but this gap in my heart still feels empty."

I contemplated while sitting atop a tall building.

No, in my own mind, I knew I was sitting on a mountain of corpses and ocean of bloods.

My pair of dead eyes were reflecting the dreary red moon.

A full moon.

"When will this tragedy end?" I asked to the moon.

No one answered.

Yet that was the only answer I needed.

In the end…

"The answer is for me to grasp with my own strength."

My hand reaches out to the moon—trying to grasp that lofty celestial body that was far, far away.

"I'll become the strongest."

As I declared those words, my dark red eyes blazed with unparalleled determination.

I'll become someone strong.

If the law of the world oppresses me, I will become its King with strength.

If life and death denies my wish, I'll rule over them with strength.

If the stars are prideful, I'll conquer them with strength.

I'll govern my own fate with strength.

Only strength can end everything.

The memories of the strongest humans from the legends played in my head.

Yes, like them.

I'll…

…Become a God!

Once I've decided on something, nothing can ever impede me from it.

"That's why I'll punish those who deserve retribution with death."

Killing makes me stronger.

My eyes became cold as usual without emotions.

"Even if it's just solely for my selfish desire."

I've killed countless people.

And more will come.

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The intelligence network of Red Rose was really impressive. Due to their help, I was able to easily assassinate terrible humans, especially those from Lobster Familia.

From various villages and small cities, I've encountered various criminals like murderers, rapists, hideous politicians, wicked merchants, human traffickers, slave dealers, and other vile villains.

Once again, the terror of Vlad was engraved deeply into the ordinary people residing within the eastern region.

As a reward for slaughtering them, I could experience a crazy amount of life force nourishing my body.

The transformation of my skeletal system was complete. Unlike the muscle transformation, the skeletal transformation focused on improving my durability and toughness to bear my terrifying physical strength.

My skeletal system composed of bones, joints, and ligaments were remodeled with organic materials similar to metals, making them incredibly hard and tough like steel.

This was an organic material which was lightweight, almost to the point of being hollow, despite the increased density brought by stronger bonding compositions.

Maybe that's why my body felt lighter and flexible than it ever was.

"Almost like a snake…"

The cold force was certainly demonic in nature…

Ringg….! Ringg…!

"A call…?"

I picked up the call and heard an urgent voice from Ning Shui.

"A higher-up from Lobster Familia has finally taken action themselves."

"Where are they?"

I questioned using a bone-chilling tone.

"And this is the bad news. Lobster Famillia seized Red Rose Pavilion!"

I frowned quietly.

"The current situation?"

"They have planted three bombs inside and taken those inside as hostages. Most of the customers have been safely evacuated beforehand, but some still remain inside. Since the employees prioritized evacuating the customers, there are also the majority of them inside."

"Next, tell me the composition of the enemies."

"There are hundreds of them inside. All armed with soul guns. Moreover, there are two unknown mechas outside the gate. We don't know who has the control over the bombs."

"I see… What do they want?"

Ning Shui gulped as her tone became heavy and grave.

"They want Vlad to appear. No underhanded tactics or else they would explode the bombs."

Vlad always appears as a mysterious vigilante.

He appears like a shadow, and exits like a shadow.

The only way to really get information from him was through the comics.

The reason?

There is no one to talk about such encounters…

A dead man tells no tale.

Ning Shui felt she was too hasty to use Vlad's comic for marketing. That was basically saying she has connections with Vlad.

However, this exposure was soon bound to happen anyway.

"Don't worry about anything. Just listen to my words."

I paid no heed to her regrets.

"Block the perimeters and stop police forces from entering."

"Okay, but we can only delay them for a few minutes."

"That's more than enough."

I hung up the call and stood up straight to face the murky horizon.

The nearby crows cawed as they flapped their wings to the sky, their black feathers swaying as it fell around me.

I wore my red ogre mask which covers the mouth and nose. The cold wind fluttered my black martial sleeves, the red moon just silent behind my back.

"The night is really busy…"

I closed my eyes before calmly falling down from the huge building I stood on.

"I wonder if a mecha can handle a blow from my fist?"

I wanted to determine which steel was the strongest.

Their mecha or my fist?

...

Fuck, fuck, where's my review? 😭 It makes me want to make this even more darker hehe

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