Chapter 127: The Crazy Scorpion

"Ajin, this 'Fu' seems to be a little too low."

"Huh? How about now?"

"Mm... it still seems a bit too far right."

"Now?"

"Ah, yes, that's it! Perfect!"

In the narrow, old hallway, Yang Jin was standing on a small stool, holding a red "Fu" character in his hands. He carefully applied it to the door, smoothing out every corner with meticulous attention.

After finishing, he lightly hopped off the stool, turned around to inspect his work, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Mom, do we need to put any more up?"

"Yes, every door in the house needs one!" His aunt carefully picked out a different "Fu" character from the roll, one that was larger, more vibrant, and decorated with golden edges.

"This one goes on your brother's door. He's far away, and regular 'Fu' might not work. I specially asked for this one from the shop. It cost me over twenty yuan!"

She held the "Fu" character in her hands, rubbing the edges with her fingers as she spoke earnestly.

Yang Jin smiled lightly, "Mom, does 'Fu' really have any difference based on distance?"

"Tsk, you child, what do you know? It's better to believe than not. Your brother's life outside must be tough. Hopefully, this 'Fu' will get the gods to watch over him," his aunt replied, giving him a disapproving glare.

"Got it." Yang Jin shrugged.

Taking the "Fu" character and some tape, Yang Jin opened the door and kicked the lazy black mutt lying in the hallway, which groggily stood up, yawned, and followed them inside.

Yang Jin stuck "Fu" characters on all the doors while his aunt, wearing an apron, went straight to the kitchen to begin preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.

"Your brother never even calls home during the holidays. How can he be so forgetful?" his aunt muttered as she chopped vegetables.

"Well, it's not easy to make phone calls in the military. Maybe he's busy right now."

"Ugh... forget it. I'll call him later. At least ask if he's having New Year's dinner."

"Mom, let's not make so much food tonight. There's just the two of us, and we won't finish it all."

His aunt paused her chopping, not responding.

Yang Jin glanced at the kitchen and sighed lightly before smoothing out the "Fu" character on Lin QiYe's door, nodding in satisfaction.

This "Fu" was really well applied.

Outside the Short Building.

A black van was parked by the roadside, covered in a thick blanket of snow, leaving only a few panes of glass exposed. The glass had been specially treated so that from the outside, it looked entirely black.

The man in the driver's seat took a drag from his cigarette, slowly lowering his binoculars before reaching for the walkie-talkie.

"Scorpion Three reporting. No anomalies detected near the target. Report complete."

Moments later, another voice crackled through the walkie-talkie.

"Scorpion Nine reporting. The target woman is in the kitchen, cutting vegetables. No anomalies. Report complete." On the rooftop across the street, a man in white combat gear was lying prone in the snow, holding a sniper rifle, speaking in a low voice.

"Scorpion Eight reporting. The target boy is in the living room, moving about. No anomalies. Report complete." A different sniper, positioned at another angle of the same building, spoke through a window screen.

"Roger. Stay in position."

Hearing this, Scorpion Three frowned slightly. He opened his walkie-talkie again.

"Scorpion One, we've been waiting here for two days. How long do we have to keep this up?"

"Wait for the target to appear."

"What if he never shows up?"

There was a pause on the other end of the radio. Then the voice of Scorpion One replied coldly, "Miss [Snake Woman] said that if the target hasn't shown up by tonight, we are to capture the woman and the child and deliver them to her for disposal."

"[Snake Woman]... [Snake Woman]..." Scorpion Three snorted.

"Hmph, when did we become dogs for a woman?"

"Scorpion Three, watch your words," Scorpion One's voice turned serious, "Since we chose to be followers of the Ancient Gods Church, we must obey their will!"

"Just a few agents of gods, calling themselves gods..." Scorpion Three scoffed.

"Scorpion Three," Scorpion One's voice grew colder, "Once we chose to worship the Ancient Gods Church, we cannot go back on the pact. If we break it, you won't just destroy yourself—you'll destroy all of the Crazy Scorpion mercenaries!"

Scorpion Three clenched the walkie-talkie, sneering, but said nothing further.

"Scorpion One, if our target is really the Dual-God's agent, can we handle him with just us?" Another voice crackled from the walkie-talkie.

"Scorpion Seven, when did you become so hesitant? Even if we can't handle him, we have someone else. The Sixteenth Seat of the [Followers], just a step away from the Sea Realm—he can easily deal with a rookie still in the Pool Realm."

Once Scorpion One spoke, all objections were silenced. No one dared question the mission further.

As for Scorpion Three in the van, he only snorted again, not bothering to respond.

"Followers?" A voice from outside the van interrupted the silence.

Scorpion Three's body tensed, and he spun around, startled. Standing outside the van, with two black boxes in hand, was a young boy whose eyes were as dark as ink.

He stood there as darkness seemed to swirl around him, expanding rapidly from his center, soon enveloping the entire van.

Scorpion Three's pupils contracted. He reached for the walkie-talkie, but the boy's gaze fixed on him, and the walkie-talkie in his hand was instantly torn apart into several pieces, sparking violently.

The boy calmly approached the van and lightly traced his finger along the door. In an instant, the entire door shattered from the center!

"Followers... What are they?"

The boy's low voice echoed through the snow.

Scorpion Three, a seasoned warrior, reacted swiftly. He pulled a short knife from beneath his seat and snarled, lunging at Lin QiYe's throat.

Lin QiYe had already anticipated his move. He stepped back slightly, the blade grazing his skin without leaving a mark. In the same motion, his other hand struck Scorpion Three's wrist!

Scorpion Three's grip loosened, and the knife slipped from his hand. But instead of showing any surprise, he smirked slyly.

Out of nowhere, a sleek black short-barreled assault rifle appeared in his left hand, aimed directly at Lin QiYe.

He pulled the trigger.

Flashes of blinding light erupted as bullets streaked through the air with terrifying speed, heading straight for Lin QiYe's face!