Free Web NovelJust then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the study.
Immediately afterwards, there was a loud knocking on the door.
"Lord Aso! Are you alright?" The captain of the guards' voice rang out from outside the door.
Just now, he vaguely heard a commotion coming from the study.
That's why I rushed over to take a look.
The door was opened from the inside.
Caesar, disguised as Taro Aso, wore an expression of extreme impatience at being disturbed.
What could possibly be wrong with me?
The captain of the guard was so overwhelmed by this imposing aura that he quickly lowered his head, not daring to look directly at the guard.
He glanced quickly at the interior of the study out of the corner of his eye.
The desk, chair, and bookshelf were all neatly arranged, with no signs of a struggle.
He felt a little more at ease and quickly forced a fawning smile.
"It's alright, it's good that you're alright."
"It seems I was just hallucinating."
The captain of the guard bowed and carefully retreated, afraid of displeasing the lord again.
Just then, a sudden, urgent cell phone ringtone came from the study.
Zhou Huai's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
He ignored the captain of the guards at the door, turned around and walked back to his study, closing the door behind him.
He picked up the personal communicator belonging to Taro Aso from the desk and calmly pressed the answer button.
"Hello."
A calm male voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Lord Aso, the first batch of goods has arrived at the west gate."
"Please come and take inventory in person."
The first batch of goods?
Zhou Huai raised an eyebrow, countless thoughts flashing through his mind in an instant.
What kind of goods?
Goods that can be personally inventoried by someone of Taro Aso's stature are definitely not ordinary.
This is very likely the secret mission that Kujo Hiroji gave to Aso Taro.
Zhou Huai's voice remained completely still, mimicking Taro Aso's tone as he gave a brief response.
"Understood, I'll be right there."
Hang up the phone.
He pushed open the study door, preparing to go downstairs.
Suddenly, a crisp and rhythmic sound of high heels clicking on the ground came from the stairwell.
The sound came from afar, neither hurried nor slow.
Zhou Huai looked in the direction of the sound.
A familiar yet unfamiliar figure was seen slowly walking up the stairs.
The newcomer was wearing a tight-fitting black lace dress that perfectly accentuated her voluptuous figure.
Her face was adorned with exquisite makeup, and her red lips looked exceptionally alluring under the lights.
It was his beloved stepmother, Liu Yuru, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
She paused slightly when she saw "Aso Taro" standing at the top of the stairs.
She then put on a charming smile, but deep in her eyes hid an undisguised fear.
She quickened her pace and swayed her hips as she walked up to Zhou Huai.
He bowed slightly.
"Lord Aso, I've arrived."
For some reason, Zhou Huai felt a surge of disgust the moment he saw Liu Yuru's face.
Enemies meeting are bound to be filled with hatred.
He clearly remembered how this woman had acted arrogantly and domineeringly in the Zhou family, and how she had humiliated him with the most cutting words.
And how did she collude with her son to sweep her out of the house like trash while she was paralyzed in a wheelchair?
Now, everything she's going through is entirely her own fault.
He was too lazy to waste words with this woman and spoke in a cold tone.
"You're too late."
"Go kneel down at the door."
Liu Yuru's smile froze for a moment, and she looked somewhat at a loss.
"Lord Aso, what...what did you say?"
"You mean you want me to kneel at the door?"
She pointed to herself, looking utterly pitiful.
"Was it...did I do something wrong?"
Zhou Huai wasn't buying her act and chuckled lightly.
"If I tell you to kneel at the door, then kneel at the door."
"If you ask one more question, I'll make you kneel in the street!"
Liu Yuru's face changed color rapidly, alternating between pale and flushed.
A mix of emotions swirled within her.
But in the end, the fear of the man in front of her overwhelmed everything.
She gritted her teeth, swallowed all her resentment and grievances, and lowered her head deeply.
“I...I understand, Lord Aso.”
"I'll go kneel down at the door right now."
Seeing Liu Yuru's angry but helpless expression, Zhou Huai felt a surge of indescribable satisfaction.
Things are different now, Liu Yuru.
If you fall into my hands, you'll be in for a world of hurt.
After doing all this, Zhou Huai got into the Aso family's luxury car and silently headed towards the West Gate.
Upon seeing that the visitor was Taro Aso, the city guards didn't waste any words.
They let them pass very readily. freeweɓnovel.cøm
The vehicle left the city and soon spotted the goods mentioned in the phone call.
Those were dozens of box trucks.
Each vehicle was very long, like giant steel pythons lurking in the night, silently coiled on the empty suburban highway.
Faint, suppressed noises could still be heard coming from inside the carriage.
Zhou Huai raised an eyebrow. There were living creatures in the carriage?
He adopted the posture of Taro Aso and opened the car door.
I slowly got off the bus.
A middle-aged man in overalls, who looked to be in his forties, hurried over with a humble smile on his face and jogged along.
He bowed deeply, adopting an extremely humble posture.
"Greetings, Lord Aso."
Zhou Huai simply made a muffled "hmm" sound from his nose as a response.
He walked over to the truck with his hands behind his back, looking around with the small eyes that belonged to Taro Aso, scrutinizing the cold metal boxes.
"Nothing unexpected happened on the way, right?"
The middle-aged man quickly followed, his back always slightly bent, not daring to straighten up.
"Don't worry, Lord Aso, everything is going smoothly."
“We took all the secluded paths, and there were people clearing the way the whole time, so we didn’t attract any attention.”
Zhou Huai nodded indifferently and gestured with his chin toward the nearest truck.
"Open it, let me see the goods."
"yes!"
The middle-aged man dared not be negligent in the slightest, and immediately turned around and waved vigorously to his subordinates not far away.
Several burly men, also dressed in overalls, quickly ran over and skillfully pulled open the heavy metal bolts on the truck.
"Splash—"
The box doors open to both sides.
A murky smell, a mixture of sweat, fear, and despair, instantly assaulted my senses.
Using the dim light inside the truck, Zhou Huai could see what was inside.
That wasn't cargo at all.
Those were real, living people.
The carriage was packed with people, men, women, young and old.
Their hands and feet were tightly bound with rough nylon ropes, and their mouths were covered with thick industrial tape, so they couldn't make a sound, only squeezing out desperate sobs from deep in their throats.
Their eyes were empty and numb, filled with fear of the unknown.
Like a herd of livestock about to be sent to the slaughterhouse.
The middle-aged man seemed to be used to this kind of scene, and even had a proud smile on his face as if he was taking credit for something.
"Lord Aso, look."
"To prevent them from causing trouble on the road, we injected them all with a special sedative."
"I promise to obey, but I will absolutely not harm your life."
He pointed to those desperate faces as if he were introducing some excellent product.
"There are eight hundred people in this vehicle."
"We have a total of forty vehicles, no more, no less, and exactly thirty-two thousand people."
Zhou Huai didn't speak, but just glanced at it expressionlessly.
He controlled "Taro Aso's" body and slowly walked to the next truck.
"Open."
"yes!"
Another door opened, revealing the same scene inside.
Zhou Huai looked at seven or eight cars in a row, each one filled with ordinary people who were tied up.
The middle-aged man followed behind him, reporting incessantly.
"Lord Aso, this is only the first batch."
"The population is still being transported in continuously from other counties."
"We expect to be able to gather another 150,000 people within three days."
"I guarantee they're all perfectly healthy and lively, and will absolutely not affect Lord Hongzhi's upcoming plans!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Huai couldn't help but gasp.
Can we raise another 150,000 within three days?
This is only what he saw.
What about those we didn't see?
Just how many "sacrifices" did Kujo Hiroharu prepare?
Now he was 100% certain that Tokyo was the final location chosen by Hiroji Kujo to revive Naruya Kujo.
That madman!
Fearing that the lives of the twenty million residents of Tokyo would not be enough to fill that bottomless pit, he went so far as to secretly capture ordinary people from other places.
He's trying to use all the ordinary people in the entire Sakura Country as fuel for his resurrection ritual!
