Chapter 146: Underworld Martial Law

The underworld was placed on high alert. Enforcers worked around the clock to search for the sole princess of the Lord of Death. In the skies, on the streets, and even in dark alleys, enforcers searched every obscure and suspicious place.

On that day, many shady figures in the underworld and several rogue factions were purged. Their souls were scattered so they could be remade devoid of all accumulated power, forcing them to start climbing the ranks again to regain the privilege of rebirth.

In the underworld, the option of rebirth could be chosen according to one’s accumulation of underworld qi, as well as other factors such as underworld gold coins and the merit one had earned.

Having their souls scattered was like having their identification reset. They were stripped of all possessions, and the only things that remained intact were their identity and memory in the underworld.

At that point, the chance of regaining their former status was nearly impossible. Along the way up the ladder, most of them had made enemies, especially those shady figures and the leaders of rogue factions.

They knew their enemies in the underworld would use this opportunity to suppress them. Worst of all, unlike in the mortal realm, they could not truly die here either, so they would suffer repeated cycles of death and rebirth.

These people had no choice but to hide or give their loyalty to the Lord of Death Palace and abandon all their ambitions.

Yes, most of these shady figures had ambitions, whether to become a regional governor or even to replace the Lord of Death himself.

On that day, these figures were purged the moment the enforcers gained the slightest suspicion about them.

They were indignant at first, but the moment they learned the reason for the purge, they redirected their curses toward whoever had caused it.

“Arrrgggh, no! It’s not me! I only occasionally kidnap people and force them to work in my factory, but it’s definitely not me!” one of the figures shouted in alarm as the enforcers crushed his forces.

“F*ck! Who was the idiot that kidnapped the princess? If I find out who you are, I will scatter your soul repeatedly and wait for you at the shore of the River of Souls to scatter it again and again!” another shady leader howled into the sky as he resurrected from the River of Souls.

On that day, anguished cries and indignant howls reverberated across the underworld.

None of the enforcers had discovered any clue about where the princess had been taken. Their anxiety mounted as the pressure on them increased.

At that moment, the Lord of Death had left the underworld to conduct a periodic inspection of the Wheel of Samsara, and it would take some time for him to return.

However, time passed without any clues emerging. They needed to find the princess soon. Otherwise, if the Lord of Death returned and learned of their failure to protect the sole princess of the underworld, they would face his wrath.

The underworld was now in a full state of martial law.

To understand why all of this had happened, we must return to about eight hours earlier.

— 8 Hours ago – Western Desert Canyon —

Inside the flying ark, in the dining room with a full panoramic viewing window, a bar table was placed by the window so guests could enjoy the view outside. The canyon slowly passed below as the flying ark soared above it.

Inside the room, the searing heat outside was not a problem because the temperature had been fully regulated by a temperature adjustment array. This type of array worked like an air conditioner in the modern world.

The only catch was that such an array could only be afforded by the wealthiest one percent.

The little troublemaker, Ningning, was enjoying the pizza. Cheese was smeared all over her mouth, and she licked it clean with her tongue while relishing the taste.

Max, the red fur husky-like dog, was also eating his share on the ground nearby. Wei Chen joined them, watching the clouds drift past the viewing window while holding a slice of pizza in his hand.

Looking at the little troublemaker eating nonstop, he noticed she had already finished half of the large tray he had made.

How did all that food fit into such a tiny frame? Wei Chen wondered as he watched her enjoy herself.

“Hey… tell me that when you finish this tray, you will go back,” Wei Chen said.

“Umm… let’s see if I’m full or not. If not, you need to make more pizza for me to take back!” the little troublemaker said with a wide smile.

“Yo, kiddo, eating too much pizza is not good for your health. You might get fat, and your mama might not be able to pick you up,” Wei Chen said, half joking and half warning her.

“Don’t worry. All my mamas’ cultivation levels are at least at the Golden Immortal realm. Even if I am as heavy as a mountain, they can easily pick me up!” the little troublemaker replied confidently.

“That’s not a healthy mindset, you know?” Wei Chen retorted before letting out a sigh.

“Honestly, even if I wanted to make more for you, I can’t. The cheese pill I got from Fatty Ding Lao has been used up. I made two super large trays of pizza, one for you and one for that red dog. Don’t you see?”

Wei Chen gestured with his chin toward Max, who was completely ignoring him and voraciously munching on the pizza. Long strands of cheese stretched over his nose as he licked and played with them.

“Then why are you making some for that dog? Didn’t it just eat that large… What did you call it? Weisswurst?” the little troublemaker asked.

“Do you want that dog to bother you and shoot you with its adorable doe eyes while waiting to share your pizza? Are you sure you can handle it?” he asked.

“Ugh…” The little one fell silent. Yes, this was not the first tray she had eaten. Wei Chen had made another tray for her earlier, but she had only eaten one third of it, and the rest she had given to Max.

Honestly, she could not handle those adorable doe eyes. Her will was not strong enough.

“I… I don’t care. You must make something for me to take back as a souvenir!” the little troublemaker argued.

“Haaa… fine. Let me check the kitchen a little,” Wei Chen said helplessly and walked toward the kitchen.

“Don’t forget! It must be something worthy for my mamas!” the little troublemaker shouted, instructing Wei Chen.

“Yeah, yeah. You can count on it,” Wei Chen responded with a wave of his hand.

Look at the bright side. Making these things should earn him some points with his boss. It was not that bad.

The kitchen was full of staff and chefs, all of them looking at Wei Chen as if he were a god. Yes, a god of cooking. With the experience of a three star Michelin French chef, and in a world with such a backward culinary culture, Wei Chen’s cooking skills and handling of kitchenware seemed almost divine, especially to the mortal workers. They could directly use Wei Chen’s methods.

It was even better for cultivators, as spiritual qi could help them control the fire and sense subtle changes in the food while cooking, making the dishes taste even better.

“At ease, folks. I’m just here to check the food storage,” Wei Chen said as he walked past them toward the storage area.

From the quartermaster, some food ingredients that required cold storage had already been transferred from the storage ring to the cold storage room on the flying ark.

Wei Chen entered and spent some time checking the ingredients.

“Hmm… maybe this will do. But the problem is it will take some time before I finish it,” Wei Chen muttered before returning to the dining room.

In the dining room, Max had already finished his tray of pizza and was now attacking little Ningning with his deadly adorable doe eyes. Little Ningning tried her best to avert her gaze and ignore him while protecting the remaining pizza slices in her hand.

Whimper… whimper…

The adorable whimpering sound from Max made the little one unable to endure any longer. She finally relented and gave the last piece of pizza in her hand to him.

Woof!

Max barked brightly, filled with gratitude and happiness. He snapped up the last piece of pizza and began eating it with relish, leaving little Ningning feeling indignant at her own weak will.

“Yo, kiddo, there’s good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?” Wei Chen asked casually, waving his hand at the depressed little Ningning.

“Oooh!? Let’s hear the good news first!” the little one said excitedly.

“The good news is that I can make a floating island for you to take back as a souvenir. As for the bad news, I need to make it from scratch, so it will take at least four hours.”

“Can you wait?” he asked, a bit more serious this time.

The little one thought about it. Four hours. Her Fourth Mama would take even longer than that to come out of the meeting room. She was safe.

“Umm! I can wait,” the little one nodded.

Seeing this, Wei Chen let out a tired sigh. He had thought this would discourage her.

“Seriously, kid, if your mama storms in here raging and spanks your butt, I won’t help you, you know,” he warned her.

“Don’t worry! Fourth Mama won’t know that I’m even missing… er, I mean, that I’m spending some time here,” the little one corrected herself and replied.

“So she snuck out of her house, huh? I should have guessed…” Wei Chen thought to himself before deciding to leave it to fate. It was not his butt that was going to get spanked anyway.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep