Takeda Masao clutched his right cheek.

It was unbelievable.

The two underlings had clearly struck hard.

At this moment, both his left and right cheeks were swelling visibly, like two overly fermented steamed buns.

"You... you goddamn dare to hit me too?"

"Are you guys trying to rebel?"

The two underlings immediately knelt before him.

"No... no, Boss!"

"I... I don't know how it happened! I... I didn't mean to!"

The underling next to him looked distraught.

"Boss, I really don't know what happened."

"When I heard you badmouthing the Boss's wife, my head just went 'buzz'."

"It was like something exploded, and then... and then I didn't know anything."

"By the time I reacted, my hand had already slapped out."

The other person also nodded repeatedly, his face full of lingering fear.

"Me too! Me too!"

"I just felt a sudden fire erupt in my heart, burning me uncomfortably."

"Even now, thinking about it, I feel a chill down my spine."

"Boss, do you think we've run into something unclean?"

Listening to their jumbled explanations, the towering rage in Takeda Masao's heart slowly subsided. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

He frowned deeply.

Today was indeed too bizarre.

It was as if he had really been entangled by something dirty.

Normally, even if they had nine guts, they wouldn't dare to lay a hand on him.

Thinking of this, he kicked both of the men kneeling on the ground.

The kicks weren't hard; they were more of an outlet for his frustration and a warning.

"All of you, get the hell to the corner!"

"Anyone who dares to come near me again, I won't be ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) so polite!"

The two subordinates were as if granted a great pardon, nodding repeatedly.

They scrambled to their feet, using both hands and feet, and obediently squatted in the furthest corner of the truck.

They looked like two startled quails.

Zhou Huai maintained a calm exterior, but inside, he was roaring with laughter.

The effect of the parasitic worm control was indeed good.

Although the control time was relatively short at the moment.

But at critical moments, it might have an unexpected effect.

The atmosphere in the carriage was extremely oppressive.

No one dared to speak again.

Only the monotonous roar of the truck's engine and the 'thump' sound of the wheels rolling over the gravel road remained.

Soon, a menacing black silhouette appeared on the distant horizon.

It was an alloy city wall, a hundred meters high, like a crouching giant beast, straddling the wilderness and civilization.

As the truck approached, the full view of the city wall became clearer.

The wall was constructed from massive black alloy panels joined together.

Innumerable dark cannon muzzles extended from within the wall, like the fangs of a giant beast, emitting a cold metallic luster.

At the city gate, an absurdly heavy alloy gate was tightly shut.

Over a dozen fully armed guards stood solemnly with guns, their eyes vigilantly scanning every approaching vehicle.

The captain of the guards at the city gate clearly knew Takeda.

He waved for the truck to stop, then walked over with a frown.

"Takeda, why are you back so soon?"

The guard captain leaned in to look at the empty truck bed, his surprise deepening.

"Is that all you managed to get?"

Takeda jumped down from the truck, a smile on his face, and familiarly handed over a pack of cigarettes.

"Don't even mention it, Kenji."

"The Boss had an urgent matter and told us to return immediately."

The guard captain, named Kenji, took the cigarettes but showed no intention of letting them pass immediately.

He lit one, took a deep drag, and the smoke he exhaled blurred his stern face.

"Takeda-kun, I must warn you."

"Tokyo City is about to be completely locked down. Once you're in, you won't be allowed out for a while."

Takeda's eyes darted, understanding the implied meaning.

He lowered his voice and leaned closer to Kenji's ear.

"Kenji-kun, has something happened in the city?"

Kenji smiled, not answering directly.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

He glanced at the others in the truck bed, then changed the subject.

"Did you encounter any strange people while you were out?"

Takeda thought to himself that he hadn't encountered strange people, but he had encountered strange things.

However, his face remained impassive; he just smiled and shook his head.

"No, everything was normal."

Kenji nodded, saying nothing more.

"Alright, bring your men down for inspection."

He waved his hand at the guards behind him.

Beside the alloy gate, a slightly smaller side door silently slid open.

Behind the door was a brightly lit, pure white room filled with the smell of disinfectant.

Takeda cursed and called out to his subordinates.

"Get the hell down, all of you! Inspection time!"

The few underlings sighed and jumped off the truck, lining up to enter the white inspection room.

Zhou Huai, controlling Caesar, blended into the crowd, silently following at the very end.

Inside the room, several staff members in white protective suits impassively operated various precise instruments.

The first to be inspected was the underling as thin as a monkey.

He was asked to stand on a metal disc.

The disc lit up, and a blue beam of light scanned him from top to bottom.

On the display screen next to it, his detailed information immediately appeared.

"Name: Kobayashi Kenta"

"Profession: C-Rank Gale Assassin"

"Rank: 25"

"Affiliation: Tri-Mouth Gang"

"Status: Normal"

Next, he was asked to undergo fingerprint and iris scans.

The entire process was tedious and lengthy.

Kobayashi Kenta seemed a bit impatient, muttering under his breath.

"Damn it, what's going on? It's never been this strict before."

The staff member operating the instrument gave him a cold glance.

"If you don't want to be inspected, you don't have to enter the city."

Kobayashi Kenta shrank his neck and immediately shut his mouth.

These inspections alone took over twenty minutes.

Soon, it was Zhou Huai's turn.

He mimicked the actions of those before him, impassively stepping onto the metal disc.

The cold blue beam of light slowly swept over his body.

Zhou Huai could clearly feel a peculiar energy fluctuation probing every cell within Caesar's body.

This energy even tried to touch his Soul Origin.

But just as that energy was about to delve deeper, the token of the faceless worn on Caesar's chest warmed slightly.

A more mysterious, more powerful force instantly surged out, silently constructing an insurmountable barrier.

The probing energy, like hitting an invisible wall, was easily repelled.

On the display screen next to it, a light flashed.

The data belonging to Natsume Masahiro clearly appeared.

"Name: Natsume Masahiro"

"Profession: C-Rank Insect Tamer"

"Rank: 23"

"Affiliation: Tri-Mouth Gang"

"Status: Normal"

The inspecting staff member looked at the information on the screen, then looked up at Zhou Huai, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

"Insect Tamer?"

He mumbled, his tone carrying an undisguised hint of disdain.

"The Tri-Mouth Gang really takes in any trash these days."

Zhou Huai lowered his head, perfectly playing the role of an insecure and timid low-level character, making no response.

The staff member then had him undergo fingerprint and iris scans.

All data perfectly matched the information in the database.

Thanks to the powerful effect of the token of the faceless, Caesar's impersonation of Natsume Masahiro revealed no flaws.

"Alright, next."

The staff member waved impatiently.

Natsume Masahiro was as if granted a great pardon, quickly stepping off the metal disc and returning to the end of the line.

After everyone had been inspected, Kenji finally spoke a few words into the walkie-talkie.

"Creak—!"

The absurdly heavy alloy gate finally slowly rose before everyone.

Takeda motioned for everyone to get back into the truck.

The truck let out a low roar and slowly drove into the deep tunnel leading to Tokyo City.

The tunnel was long, and the emergency lights on both sides of the wall cast a dim yellow light, illuminating everyone's faces inside the truck in flickering shadows.

After driving for about five minutes.

The view suddenly opened up.

Takeda Masao pulled out his phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

"Hello, Mr. Sato, we're already in the city."

"Okay, we'll be right over."

Hanging up the phone, he yelled at the driver.

"To headquarters."