This Mountain is Mine, These Trees I Planted!

Soreness ached through their calves, cramping the muscles and making it difficult to keep their expressions natural. This was the state of every player on the top floor.

To say nothing of the members of the Calamity Cult.

The roller coaster of experiences they had just gone through left them completely reeling. Everything had happened too fast, catching them entirely off guard.

The other players nearby were even more at a loss.

Run? Where could they run?

Fight? Who could they possibly beat?

Everyone could only stand there, staring blankly at each other, waiting for either Wu Wang or Gentleman Penguin to reappear.

Yun Ze couldn't help but curse at Jinxiu, who stood a few steps away.

“What the fuck are you people trying to do?”

She rolled her eyes. She shot back without hesitation.

“To bury you all here, of course! Is this your first time meeting the Calamity Cult?”

Yun Ze was speechless.

She had a point. The players present were all high-level; they had basically all encountered Calamity Cult members before. They truly were a bunch of madmen with bizarre methods.

But for all your arrogant talk, he thought, could you at least stop your legs from trembling just like ours?

The few from the Calamity Cult were clearly having trouble standing steady as well.

They truly hadn't expected the "He" they were waiting for to be the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】, nor for him to be so fickle and exasperating. For now, they could only engage in a war of words with the other players.

Not a single person made a move to fight.

After all, standing beside the crystal coffin were the High Priest of Suffering and Mary in her red dress. No one dared to offend these two.

A hint of worry also appeared in their eyes. Only they knew just how audacious Wu Wang's actions had been. The gamble was simply too great.

The moment Gentleman Penguin discovered he was the one who stole the red tentacles, it would all be over.

As a merchant who traversed the Myriad Realms, it would be all too easy for Gentleman Penguin to torture someone. He had at least a hundred ways to do it.

Creeak…

Just as the atmosphere in the Hongmen Club had frozen to its absolute limit, the sound of the main door opening finally rang out.

Everyone took a deep breath. They held their breath, staring to see who would walk out.

“What's everyone waiting for? True love? You won't find that waiting here, you know.”

Wu Wang himself hadn't appeared yet, but his cheeky voice drifted in from outside the door.

The people from the Calamity Cult were overjoyed to hear this.

He took care of Gentleman Penguin!?

But in the next second, one man and one penguin walked in side-by-side, chatting and laughing. Wu Wang was even carrying a bucket full of saltwater fish.

He casually tossed it in front of the nun and Mary.

“Help me make a couple of dishes. I like it braised in soy sauce, and make it look like Stargazy Pie.”

“And I'm rather partial to chopped chili, if you wouldn't mind, ladies,” Gentleman Penguin added.

The crowd looked at the nun and Mary in disbelief. One was the High Priest of Suffering. The other was the personification of the cruise ship's power.

Yet now, at a single word from the man before them, they obediently picked up the bucket and headed out the door. It seemed they were really going to the kitchen to cook the fish.

What the fuck, the world's gone mad!

Is this the power of the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】? He can command NPCs that seem incomparably powerful to us with just a single sentence.

“Great existence, is there anything you need us to do?”

Tangqian Yan cautiously stepped forward to test the waters.

Wu Wang smiled faintly at her.

“As a matter of fact, there is one thing that only you can accomplish.”

Hearing this, every Calamity Cult member perked up. A task that such an existence needed them to complete. It must, without a doubt, involve top-secret matters.

Dealing with other Venerables? Conducting an experiment of faith? Preparing some kind of ritual for Him?

The more they thought about it, the more excited they became.

But they never expected Wu Wang's next words, spoken in a voice full of ice.

“I need to borrow your heads.”

The Calamity Cult members could only stare in confusion.

Swish!

The cane in Gentleman Penguin's flipper swung fiercely through the air.

In an instant, the entire hall seemed to emit a cheerful sound. Countless question marks appeared out of thin air, circling the dumbfounded Calamity Cult members and emanating an aura of ultimate danger.

“Ah! You are…”

Jinxiu didn't understand. Just a moment ago, everyone was talking normally. Even when Gentleman Penguin rushed in, it seemed he was just looking for trouble with Wu Wang.

So how did a quarrel between gods turn to harming mortals the very next moment?

And judging by the looks of those two, it seemed they had reached some sort of agreement outside.

What in the world happened?

“Oh, nothing much happened, really,” Wu Wang said with a shrug. “I just sold you all as a package deal to this esteemed auctioneer.”

The moment he finished speaking, the Calamity Cult members were shocked to find question marks beginning to appear on their bodies. Immediately after, they all felt their limbs grow stiff, their thoughts becoming sluggish.

【Hundred Questions Tycoon】!

【Winner Takes All】!

A string of text like this appeared on each of them, but it seemed only Wu Wang could see it. It was clearly the effect of some kind of item.

In the next second, the body of each Calamity Cult member began to slowly collapse inward. Their hands were pressed to the seams of their pants as their upper bodies bent forward. Their necks twisted past their natural physiological limits, never stopping.

From a distance, they had practically transformed into human-shaped question marks.

The instant the question marks took shape, they merged with the others already floating in the air, bobbing and dancing joyfully.

Wu Wang raised an eyebrow, a deep sense of horror growing inside him.

Just within his line of sight, there were at least a thousand question marks of various sizes.

If every one of those question marks was a person who had been dealt with like this…

He couldn't believe how much blood was on Gentleman Penguin's hands. The penguin had always presented himself to the world with the image of an amiable, even approachable auctioneer. He was polite to everyone he met.

It made everyone subconsciously forget that this was an existence who could freely enter and exit various Instance worlds. He might have even made deals with Divine Envoys and Venerables.

And the prerequisite for making a deal is equality in strength or status.

Especially since Wu Wang had heard the real 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 use the name "Little Penguin." It was obvious that Gentleman Penguin could stand on equal footing with a Venerable.

“During their official initiation ceremony, members of the Calamity Cult have a security measure implanted in them by that perverted cult leader,” Gentleman Penguin said expressionlessly. “Anything related to their operations will trigger immediate brain death in the member if it senses an external probe.”

“That is why you other Descenders have never successfully interrogated them for internal information.”

“Even I have no way to crack that pervert's methods.”

“So it's best to just kill these people on sight.”

Wu Wang said nothing. He knew very well that Gentleman Penguin was only treating them this way because he currently believed the Calamity Cult had stolen his things.

In reality, as a merchant, the penguin had definitely done business with the Calamity Cult before. He was certain of this.

Otherwise, why would the Calamity Cult have been trying to find the 【Myriad Treasures Merchant's Coupon】? They wanted to make a deal with Gentleman Penguin.

As for a merchant's principles…

Wu Wang begged to differ. At least, he considered his own bottom line to be very flexible. It fluctuated up and down quite a bit.

After eliminating the Calamity Cult members, he turned his gaze to the other players.

As they stood there with pale faces, Wu Wang grinned.

“Do you want to leave? I don't need to hear any other answer. Just 'yes' or 'no' will do.”

The crowd looked at each other.

The Poet of the Myriad Springs Division gritted his teeth, took a firm step forward, and said, “Yes!”

No one was thinking about the 【Relic】 anymore. Just getting out of here alive would be good enough.

But they hadn't expected Wu Wang to spread his hands.

“Then hand over the goods.”

The other players stared back, dumbfounded.

What goods?

Seeing their expressions, Wu Wang spoke with disdain.

“You all have to pay a price for your desires, don't you?”

“I built this cruise ship with my own two hands, one rivet and one plank at a time. You've eaten, drunk, and had your fun on it, so you have to pay up, right? I want something of value from each of you.”

Ooh~

Now everyone understood.

This mountain is mine, these trees I planted. If you wish to pass this way, leave behind a toll!

Isn't this just fucking bail money?

A wave of exasperation washed over the crowd.

The 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 seems a bit different from what we imagined.

The Poet of the Myriad Springs Division spoke awkwardly.

“Great Venerable, we are currently unable to take out any items. We Descenders are restricted within this world.”

Slap.

Wu Wang slapped a golden strip of paper directly onto the crystal coffin. A kind smile appeared on his face.

I was just waiting for you to say that, pal!

“No problem. You can sign an IOU with me.”

“One at a time, no cutting in line.”