Chapter 243: Countermeasure

’In that case, I’ll deal with Tang Xingxiong first!’ Tang Xingxiong’s utterly detestable face flashed through Zhang Wenda’s mind.

If dealing with Qianxi was still a long road ahead, then the opportunity to kill Tang Xingxiong was practically at his doorstep. Zhang Wenda’s heart began to race.

’Compared to the Tang Xingxiong from before, my power is almost on par with hers now that I’ve recovered my ’red’ self. More importantly, I stole her Double Fish Jade Pendant. Her strength must be greatly diminished now.’

’This time, with reliable intelligence from Bureau 507, I absolutely have to finish that woman off for good.’

However, facing his former enemy, Zhang Wenda didn’t dare be careless. He absolutely had to give it his all this time.

Just then, Zhang Wenda suddenly remembered something. He took out his phone again, turned his hand over with difficulty, and started tapping the screen with his knuckles.

After a few quick taps, Zhang Wenda opened his call history. He found the last call he’d made—an international call to America—and dialed it again.

"Hello? Hello? Is that Ahava? It’s me. Uh, listen, can you get me another Sacrificial Knife from Kopan? I need it urgently."

Zhang Wenda spoke as he walked back to his residence. "It wasn’t that hard for you to get one before, so why are you saying it’s difficult this time? Isn’t it just 300,000? I’ll transfer it to you."

"What do you mean it’s not about the money? Why are you afraid of offending the gods? Haven’t you already offended all of your Maya gods?"

"Hello? Hello? Are you there? I’ll add more money!"

In the end, Ahava agreed. Although he claimed it wasn’t about the money, the high price of 400,000 made him go against the ancestral teachings of the Sacrificial Plate and decide to give it a try.

The price for this, however, was that Zhang Wenda’s savings were nearly empty.

But there was one problem. The plan was set to begin in five days. Would there be enough time to ship the Sacrificial Knife over?

But Zhang Wenda had worried for nothing. Ahava’s efficiency was still astonishing. The very next day, just after Zhang Wenda had finished moving from his old place to their new 80-square-meter residence, a long, thin package appeared at their new front door.

’It must be from Ahava, right?’ Zhang Wenda thought, looking at the Maya knotted script on the package and checking it with a translation app on his phone.

"Hahaha!" Song Jianguo ran over to him happily. "I finally have my own room!"

Zhang Wenda’s gaze shifted from the package to her. "Stop running around! Hurry up and set up those idols! Did the mushrooms sunbathe and sing today? Get to work."

Although an 80-square-meter apartment didn’t sound very big, it was housing provided by Bureau 507, which meant it was 80 square meters of pure living space, with no deductions for common areas.

The apartment was a perfect three-bedroom, one-living-room, one-bathroom layout. Even the Black Cats got their own room, unlike before when they were all crammed into a single bedroom.

More importantly, both Zhang Wenda and Song Jianguo now had a blue tattoo on their wrists. From their perspective, the upside-down ocean outside the window was finally right-side up. Going out would finally be less inconvenient from now on.

The cats, however, hadn’t been flipped back. But that was fine, too. The Black Cats could live freely on the ceiling, which conveniently kept their living spaces separate from the humans’.

Zhang Wenda sat down on the sofa and gently slit the package open with his scythe. When he saw the familiar Obsidian Blade appear before him once again, Zhang Wenda heaved a sigh of relief. ’It made it in time.’

"Jianguo, how long until your period?" Zhang Wenda asked toward the innermost room.

"It just ended, what’s the rush! If you like it so much, you can have it every day! So I’m the one getting elbowed, not you, huh?"

Hearing her reply from the room, Zhang Wenda knew he probably couldn’t count on her "period power."

He gripped the golden knife handle and weighed it lightly in his hand. ’With this thing, and the element of surprise, as long as Tang Xingxiong’s power hasn’t changed drastically, I have about a seventy percent chance of killing her.’

Zhang Wenda recalled Tang Xingxiong’s abilities. He took out a pen and some paper and began to review their previous encounters.

’This is a rare opportunity. If she escapes, God knows when I’ll get another chance. I have to prepare everything in advance and finish this person off for good.’

Zhang Wenda continued his review late into the night. He didn’t even notice when Song Jianguo invited Wang Xiaohua over to spend the night in her new room.

When he finally snapped out of it, it was already 1:00 AM. He stretched hard, quickly washed up, and prepared to go to sleep.

Due to mental exhaustion, Zhang Wenda wasn’t sleepy when he got into bed. It wasn’t until half an hour later that he groggily drifted off.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when he groggily opened his eyes. In his daze, he seemed to see a large black mass on the ceiling.

"Shoo, shoo, go sleep in your own room. If you can’t, go find your master. What are you doing in my room?"

Zhang Wenda closed his eyes again as he spoke. Just as he was about to fall back asleep, a thought popped into his head. ’Ever since I turned back into a monster, all the Black Cats except for Black Coal have been disgusted with me. Why would they come into my room?! That black mass isn’t the cats!’

He suddenly snapped his eyes open and shot his gaze upward. He discovered that the thing on the ceiling wasn’t a pile of Black Cats at all, but an unusually blurry, writhing black mass.

’Who is it?! What thing dares to sneak into Bureau 507’s main base to ambush me?’ Extremely tense, Zhang Wenda instantly entered a combat stance.

At that moment, however, he was shocked to find that all his powers seemed to have vanished. Even his body had reverted to that of a child.

"What... what the hell is going on?" Zhang Wenda stared at his own small, childish hands in disbelief.

’Qianxi?! Tang Xingxiong? Do they already know about the plan? Have they started making their move against me early?’

Just then, Zhang Wenda suddenly looked out the window. He saw that it was pitch black outside, without a single star in the sky. ’Something’s wrong. I’m supposed to be able to see the coastline clearly from the new apartment!’

He didn’t know how this was done, but he was certain that it was not something an ordinary person could accomplish.

He tried to secretly tap on the wall, attempting to send a message to Song Jianguo next door. However, his fingers made no sound at all as they struck the wall.

Just then, the black mist on the ceiling began to writhe. Then, two bizarre hands, each with eight fingers, extended out from within it.

Zhang Wenda, who had been extremely tense, felt a sense of familiarity when he saw the hands. ’I feel like I’ve seen these hands somewhere before.’

At that moment, Zhang Wenda heard a deep voice emerge from the darkness. The voice carried a hint of annoyance and exhaustion.

"What in the world are you trying to do? How many times have you sacrificed yourself now? As a mortal, you must keep your word! You already owe me two souls! And you’re back for more?"