"Ted." The Plague Doctor raised his hand, gesturing for the blond man to be quiet. He looked at Zhou Chen. "Mr. Siegfried, you believe you can assassinate the Rusted Iron City Mayor all by yourself?"

"I wouldn’t have spoken up if I wasn’t confident," Zhou Chen answered calmly.

"Is that so..." The Plague Doctor sat up straight. "In that case, Mr. Siegfried, could you please explain in detail? As Ted just mentioned, there’s a ’Hand of the Empire’ squad around City Hall, and the Mayor has three Tier Two Ascenders as personal bodyguards. With this level of security, not even a Tier Three Ascender could guarantee a one hundred percent successful assassination... I’d like to know where Mr. Siegfried’s confidence comes from."

"That concerns my own secrets, so I refuse to reveal too much. But I can give a little demonstration..." As Zhou Chen spoke, he snapped his fingers. The blond man named Ted shot to his feet.

"Ted?" someone nearby asked in shock, wondering what he was doing.

"Fuck! Go! Ignore!"

Ted suddenly let out a booming shout and performed a perfectly executed backflip on the spot, stunning every member of the Poisonous Sore Gang.

"Mind Control?" the Plague Doctor murmured.

"You could call it that," Zhou Chen said cryptically.

Just then, Ted looked confused and scratched his head. "What did I just do?"

The Plague Doctor fell into a contemplative silence, beginning to reassess Siegfried’s power. Ted was a newly promoted Tier Two Ascender, and his Spiritual Power was not weak, yet Siegfried had placed him under Mind Control without any warning. What surprised the Plague Doctor even more was that with so many people present, not a single one had detected Siegfried activating his Ability.

"But that’s still not enough."

After a moment of thought, the Plague Doctor spoke in a grave tone, "The Hand of the Empire squad consists of thirteen members: one Tier Two Ascender, two Tier One Ascenders, and ten highly-trained special forces soldiers. They wear the [Dashing Pegasus Mark 4] armor twenty-four hours a day. That armor can resist Mental Skills like brainwashing, control, and hypnosis. Furthermore, if the armor detects any physical or mental abnormalities in the wearer, it will sound an alarm.

"On top of that, the Mayor and other high-level officials, as well as their bodyguards, all carry special devices that prevent Mind Control... If your plan, Mr. Siegfried, is to control someone to assassinate the Mayor, you can forget about it."

"Mr. Plague Doctor, I never said my Ability was of the Spiritual Element."

Zhou Chen pointed this out, then added as if a thought had just struck him, "So, is that why you decided to kill the Rusted Iron City Mayor and his officials, rather than controlling them and using them as puppets?"

The best approach for the Poisonous Sore Gang would have actually been to use hypnosis and brainwashing on the Rusted Iron City Mayor and others, controlling them like puppets. That way, Rusted Iron City would officially belong to the North Carolina Government, but behind the scenes, it would have already changed masters, becoming a stronghold for the Poisonous Sore Gang. The gang could then continue to hide itself, developing and growing stronger in the shadows.

Looking across the World, there have been countless similar incidents. The most well-known case dates back to Year 05 of the New Calendar, when a Spiritual Type Ascender used mental techniques to control a high-ranking member of the Star Association. Hiding under the protection of this authority, the Ascender developed their power in secret. By the time they were accidentally exposed, they had already brainwashed and controlled an entire city, marking the first large-scale brainwashing incident in history.

However, it was precisely because of such precedents that the North Carolina Government had taken precautions long ago.

"Yes, we had considered a brainwashing plan, but it was impractical," the Plague Doctor replied.

"Well, you can add it back to your plans now."

"..."

After a few seconds of silence, the Plague Doctor sat up a little straighter and asked solemnly, "Mr. Qiglin, can you brainwash them without triggering the alarms?"

"The success rate is about fifty-fifty," Zhou Chen shrugged. "If the brainwashing doesn’t work, you can just kill them. At least this gives you a better option."

Compared to simply killing the Mayor and other officials, the benefits of brainwashing them were clearly far greater.

"Indeed..." the Plague Doctor nodded. "Uncle Ze, add this to the plan."

"Okay," the thin, bespectacled middle-aged man acknowledged.

"Hmm... Mr. Siegfried, I believe you have the Ability to kill the Mayor single-handedly, but for the sake of the bigger picture, I must ask you to act together with us," the Plague Doctor said, offering a tactful piece of flattery.

"Alright."

Since the client had spoken, Zhou Chen had no reason to insist.

·

「Evening came quickly.」

The Poisonous Sore Gang had finished absorbing the five major gangs. They gathered the members who had originally belonged to those gangs in an abandoned factory, claiming it was for a training session.

However, after waiting there idly for half an hour, no important members of the Poisonous Sore Gang had shown up. There was only a group of grunts maintaining order and swaggering about.

"Brother Long, we’re old acquaintances. When the bosses get here in a bit, you have to put in a good word for me. Help your little bro out a little..."

A burly, fleshy-faced man was lighting a cigarette for a thin, rat-faced man, his attitude completely deferential. After lighting it, he even started massaging the man’s shoulders, his posture utterly servile.

It couldn’t be helped. The guy had chosen to join the Poisonous Sore Gang back in the day. Now that the Poisonous Sore Gang was the sole power, holdovers from the five major gangs like them were sure to have a hard time. If they wanted to survive, they had to hurry up and suck up to the powerful.

"Mm... Carmen, you were pretty decent to me back then. Don’t you worry about that. I, Ah Long, am not an ungrateful person..." The rat-faced man smoked with a smug grin, savoring the pleasure his new status brought him. ’To see a ruthless guy who once stood above me now begging me so humbly... it’s just so satisfying.’