As he spoke, his eyes suddenly lit up, landing on several fashionably dressed, pretty young women in a corner of the crowd.

Those women were clearly terrified, huddling together and trembling; their delicate and pitiable appearance only stirred the sadistic desire deep within Tanaka's heart.

"Heheh..."

Tanaka let out a lewd laugh, jumped down from the wooden crate, and walked toward the women while holding a dagger.

"You're all going to die in the end anyway."

"Before you kick the bucket, why not let my brothers and me take you for a spin first and enjoy yourselves? At least your lives won't be in vain."

Hearing this, several henchmen around him broke into malicious laughter and closed in with vulgar gazes.

Just as Tanaka's dirty hand was about to touch the cheek of one of the girls...

"Bang!"

The door of the factory building was shoved open forcefully.

A panting henchman scrambled inside in panic, looking flustered.

"Boss! Bo... Boss!"

"Mr. Asō is here!"

"What?!"

The lewd smile on Tanaka's face instantly froze, and his outstretched hand jerked back as if scalded.

Asō Tarō!

He was Lord Kujo Koji's trusted confidant, the direct superior of low-level thugs like them, a big shot who held power over life and death!

If Asō saw him messing around here and delaying the main business, he would probably be thrown straight into a meat grinder to feed the dogs!

"Stand straight, all of you! Put away those sleazy looks!"

Tanaka kicked aside a drooling henchman beside him, hurriedly straightened his clothes, put on an extremely flattering smile, and trotted toward the entrance to greet him.

Soon, a black limousine slowly drove into the center of the factory building and came to a steady stop.

The car door opened.

A shiny leather shoe touched the ground first.

Right after, Asō Tarō's slightly plump figure stepped out of the vehicle.

He wore an exquisite bespoke suit, his hair was combed meticulously, and he wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, looking refined and elegant.

"Mr. Asō! Why are you here in person?"

Tanaka trotted up to the front of the car, bowing his waist nearly ninety degrees with a face full of fawning smiles, looking just like a lapdog seeing its master.

"For a small matter like this, just say the word, and your humble servant will handle it perfectly!"

"Asō Tarō" adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose and indifferently scanned the dense crowd inside the factory building.

"How many people have been captured so far?"

His voice was flat, betraying no emotion.

Tanaka hurriedly straightened his back and reported truthfully: "Reporting to Mr. Asō! Adding up everyone across all the factory buildings, there are at least 500,000 people!"

"Per your instructions, they are all carefully selected young and strong adults with lively vitality!"

Hearing this, Asō Tarō gave a slight nod.

"500,000... Mm, decent efficiency."

He turned his head to look at the smiling Tanaka, reaching out to pat him on the shoulder.

"Good work, everyone."

Feeling the big shot's appreciation, Tanaka felt light as a feather with excitement, his face flushing red.

"Not at all! Not at all hard!"

"It is our honor to serve Lord Koji!"

"As long as Lord Koji commands, we wouldn't blink an eye even if we had to scale mountains of daggers or step into seas of fire!"

Hearing this, the smile at the corner of Asō Tarō's mouth widened, carrying a hint of mockery.

"Not bad, not bad."

"You're quite a flatterer."

"Since you are so loyal, I can't treat you poorly either."

Tanaka was overjoyed, assuming he was about to be rewarded for his merits, and prepared to kneel and express his gratitude.

Yet he heard Asō Tarō make a troubled expression.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... what should I give you all as a gift?"

"I'm not very good at giving gifts..."

Tanaka waved his hands repeatedly.

"No need, no need! We only did what we ought to do, no reward is necessary."

However, at this moment, Asō Tarō put on a look of having thought of something to gift.

"Ah, I know. I can send you all down first. Kujo Koji isn't far from death anyway."

"Why don't you go down first and wait for him? That way, you can truly show your unyielding loyalty."

The expression on Tanaka's face froze.

"W-What do you mean?"

"Mr. Asō... I don't quite understand what you're saying."

He raised his head in confusion, wanting to find even a trace of joking on his direct boss's face.

However, all he saw was a pair of eyes as cold as an abyss.

Before he could figure out what was happening...

Standing beside him, a trusted henchman who was usually submissive to him suddenly shuddered.

Those eyes, originally full of fear and awe, instantly became dull and vacant.

The next second...

Without any warning, the henchman raised his hand as icy chill surged in his palm.

A sharp ice blade materialized out of thin air.

"Pfft!"

Without the slightest hesitation.

Carrying a bone-chilling coldness, the ice blade stabbed viciously into Tanaka's chest, sinking all the way to the hilt!

Blood instantly dyed his white shirt red.

Tanaka lowered his head in disbelief, looking at the ice blade plunged into his chest, then raised his head to stare at the expressionless henchman who seemed to have turned into a marionette.

His mind was filled with question marks.

Just what had happened?

Why kill me?

He opened his mouth, wanting to interrogate him, but could only cough up mouthfuls of bloody froth.

However, this was merely the beginning.

"Kill..."

"Kill them all..."

A low, eerie whisper—seeming to originate from the depths of the soul—echoed throughout the entire factory building.

The bodies of the henchmen originally responsible for guarding stiffened one after another.

Immediately after, their eyes all turned cloudy, losing focus.

"Roar!!!"

A burly man suddenly let out a beast-like roar, drew the saber at his waist, and turned to hack at the companion beside him.

"Are you crazy?! I'm your second uncle!"

The companion shrieked in terror, but he was met only by the cold blade.

"Pfft!"

A head flew into the air.

Blood splattered everywhere.

The entire factory building fell into complete chaos in an instant.

All the guards seemed to be possessed, inexplicably turning on one another in a violent frenzy.

Fireballs, ice spikes, wind blades... light from various special abilities exploded within the crowd.

It was as if their former comrades had turned into mortal enemies who killed their fathers; every move was lethal, fighting to the death.

And the five hundred thousand civilians tied up on the ground, witnessing this sudden bloody scene, were scared out of their wits, their screams and wails reaching the sky.

"Asō Tarō", standing in the center of the chaos, was like a statue detached from it all.

Blood splattered onto his suit, yet he didn't even bat an eye.

He slowly took off the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, tossed them onto the ground, and crushed them underfoot.

Those sinister eyes that originally belonged to Asō Tarō were now flashing with a deep and cold light belonging to someone else.

"Kujo Koji."

"The good show is about to begin!"