Way of the Devil

"Crash!"

There was a loud sound of overturned furniture.

Feng Zhongheng and the others looked terrified. Frightened, they retreated backward.

The tendrils on Chen Da's arm flailed around greedily as if they intended to grab onto something. They looked dangerous enough.

"This is the result of being modified by the metal," he said with a fierce expression.

"I'm calling it Moonsilver," Lu Sheng spoke with a mix of awe and regret. "This is a unique resource found in places where the Anomalies are. With my special techniques, I can modify and implant it into the human body, making it a part of the body. However…"

He paused.

"This thing will attack anything besides its host. There's no way of controlling it," Chen Da finished his sentence.

The tendrils on his arm swiftly retracted into a ball. Then, it shrunk and morphed back into the original silver arm.

"This is the deactivated mode. However, the minute I switch it on, it'll instantly unleash all its might." The fierceness on Chen Da's face started fading. "Also, this thing takes a lot out of me. I can only keep it on for 10 minutes. I think I'll be in trouble if I keep it switched on for a longer period."

"10 minutes?" Feng Zhongzheng and the others relaxed slightly when they saw that the tendrils were put away. However, when they heard the unit for time measurement, they were slightly puzzled.

"It's this." Lu Sheng fished out a round, metallic pocket watch. "This is a tool I've manufactured based on the length of a day. It divides one day into 24 hours, every hour into 60 minutes, and every minute into 60 seconds. This is a brand-new timer."

Feng Zhongzheng and the others looked at the slowly ticking second hand. They felt as if a huge door leading to new horizons was opening before them.

Although there were similar timekeeping tools in this world, none of them was as stable as this.

Lu Sheng put the pocket watch down and produced several more.

"I've prepared these for everyone, take one each. Only the core members will have them. I hope that this stays between us. Also, the modifications by Moonsilver has limited success rates. The first thing we need is sufficient Moonsilver from the Anomalies. Otherwise, even I can't do anything," said Lu Sheng in a low voice.

Feng Zhongzheng and the others looked at Chen Da. They were either pale or had heavy expressions. However, Feng Zhongzheng was different. Although he looked shocked, his eyes were completely filled with surprise.

"If you ask me, this is a turning point for the development of our future!" He suddenly took a step forward. There was a rare show of magnanimity in his tone.

The red light in Lu Sheng's eyes died down. His lips curled with satisfaction.

With some help from his guidance, the effects were just what he wanted.

The Moonsilver was produced from where the Anomalies were. He did not modify it in any way. He merely devoured the components of Moonsilver which rejected the human body and were toxic to the human body with his own cells before implanting it into Chen Da.

If one insisted on looking for side effects, the only negative influence this would have was that the Moonsilver might acquire devouring properties due to Lu Sheng's cells. Any material that it devoured would become a part of Lu Sheng.

This was also one of the methods Lu Sheng had used to devour the abyss.

The modifying procedure was definitely dangerous. However, he had informed Chen Da about the risks involved beforehand, and Chen Da agreed to it without hesitation.

However, they did not know that Lu Sheng had merely picked one of the materials obtained from where the Anomaly was at random and implanted it into Chen Da. As for the results, all he did was add some special formations and his cells to the Moonsilver.

The actual component that was giving this effect was his formation that was planted in the Moonsilver's core.

The Moonsilver brought shocking impacts to Feng Zhongzheng and the others. Chen Da allowed some of the core members to touch his modified arm.

This matter caused quite a stir, but that was all.

Everything soon returned to normal.

Lu Sheng resumed his routine of drinking tea and looking at the information, while the other members continued gathering rumors. They lived their lives and had fun as usual.

However, an unprecedented sense of belonging silently spread throughout the members.

Although there was a limited success rate for the Moonsilver modification procedure, it nonetheless provided an entrance and opportunity for them to a whole new world. This shared secret strengthened their bonds even more.

Lu Sheng was also waiting.

The truth did not make him wait long.

Soon enough, an accident made the members of the research society realize the preciousness of power.

***

In the third block besides the Anomaly News Block and the Tea Block.

In a gloomy reception room, Lu Sheng met Zhuo Qinggui, who had been waiting outside the research society for two days.

Zhuo Qinggui's hair was messy. Her face was covered in dirt and bruised in several places. This was her third day going without food. She merely quenched her thirst with the water from the drain.

Ever since the incident with her family, she hunted down the culprit without resting or sleeping. Alas… With her family's fortunes reduced to ashes, not only was her effort fruitless, she could not even provide for her own needs.

"This is the Anomaly Research Society, not some place for you to beg." Lu Sheng glanced at Lu Jianhua who stood at the door and shook his head slightly.

"I know. I just want to beg you to modify me into an avenger that can defeat the Anomalies!" Zhuo Qinggui's voice was ice-cold and sinister. Although she was slightly hoarse, her tone sent numbing tickles up the listeners' spine.

Behind her, Lu Jianhua sighed.

"When I found her, she almost died. She was famished and parched. I can't do anything even though the Zhuo Family is in such trouble. If I hadn't discovered the problem when I went over to investigate, I'm afraid…"

"Is the incident in the Zhuo Family related to Anomalies?" Lu Sheng asked.

Lu Jianhua nodded.

Lu Sheng immediately understood. He mused for a while. Then, he looked up and spoke to Zhuo Qinggui. "You'll have to think this through. If you're willing to join us and keep the oath of the research society, I can modify you with Moonsilver, on conditions. Also, I don't know where you got your sources from, but I hope that you won't spread news about the Moonsilver modification to other people."

"I understand." Cold, grudging flames slowly burned in Zhuo Qinggui's eyes. Even Lu Sheng found it rare to see such pure flames of vengeance.

He rarely met anyone whose determination for revenge could be this pure.

"One more thing, to prevent the power from being misused, our research society will impose certain restrictions on your Moonsilver modifications. These restrictions won't impact your daily life in any way, but once you harm the innocent or the research society, we won't hesitate to activate them. I hope you understand," Lu Sheng added.

He told Chen Da the same thing before he was modified.

"I understand." Zhuo Qinggui nodded. As long as she could obtain power and the chance to exact revenge, she would not mind the price.

"Alright, that settles it, then." Lu Sheng understood the look in her eyes.

This was the best natural material Lu Sheng could have hoped for. If he pushed the research society's progress with her, it would be flawless.

"Give her a shower," Lu Sheng instructed.

Currently, the research society held many secrets. Lu Sheng spent a handsome amount to buy some young girls and teenagers with irrevocable title deeds.

These children, no older than 12, would one day become the research society's own team.

Lu Jianhua brought Zhuo Qinggui out of the room.

Lu Sheng stood up as well. He turned and stood by the window. He looked down at the dark scenery of the city at night.

'As I expected, the future core members of the research society will be comprised of some of these people seeking revenge…'

Zhuo Qinggui would be a blade in his hand which could smoothly propel the research society's progress.

Two hours later, he began preparing for Zhuo Qinggui's modification.

Because she had nothing left, Lu Sheng signed a subordinate pact with her, under the research society's capacity. She would gain the research society's support and modification in exchange for herself.

Zhuo Qinggui signed the pact obediently.

Feng Zhongzheng and the other core members were looking on at this ritual with complicated expressions. They knew very well that from this moment on, this young girl, Zhuo Qingguo, who had been similar to them was officially a member of the research society.

The modifying procedure went smoothly as well. One of Zhuo Qingguo's eyes and feet were completely modified into Moonsilver parts.

The modification and implanting on parts of the head was a huge trial on the research society's part.

Fortunately, under Lu Sheng's adjustments behind the scenes, the procedure was a success. The success rate was also raised to 80%.

After the procedure, Zhuo Qingguo rested for half a month, and went out eagerly to track down the culprit.

Her family had about 30 members who were completely wiped out overnight. None of her family members survived. If she had not been reciting poems in her friend's house when it happened, she would have suffered the same fate as her family.

Hence, after the procedure was completed, Zhuo Qinggui could hardly wait to begin walking her path of tracing down the culprit.

She returned every day for the martial arts training. Aside from eating and drinking, she spent the remainder of her time investigating the case and tracking down the culprit.

Although they were highly secretive about Zhuo Qinggui's matters, they could hardly contain a fire with paper. Moreover, most of the research society's members were ordinary young people from rich families. Hence, the people in the city soon learned about the shady modification procedures carried out within the research society.

Four days later, four individuals came kneeling before Lu Sheng, begging to be admitted into the research society.

At this moment, Chen Da, who went back to take care of the Anomaly, returned.

He was covered in wounds. However, he brought some Moonsilver metals back this time. At the same time, he brought with him several orphaned relatives of squire Song's family.

These individuals joined the research society as well. Lu Sheng picked four out of them. Then, he used the Moonsilver which Chen Da brought back, and modified them so that they could embark on their journey for revenge.

Some of them succeeded, while some of them did not, and never came back.

Those who succeeded returned with more Moonsilver. Lu Sheng continued to modify the newcomers with the metal.

The modified people did not feel any restrictions. The Moonsilver's formidable powers gave them strength and speed which far exceeded ordinary human beings. Their wounds healed quickly as well.

When their lives were threatened, the Moonsilver could block the attacks and counterattacked automatically.