Chapter 238: Fishing in Troubled Waters
Taotie’s terrifying strength was on full display—he had crushed Capricorn’s neck with his bare hands.
With a savage grin, he tossed her lifeless body aside.
“Princess, it’s done!”
Fang Xiaocao nodded, not sparing a glance at the corpse.
This woman, once so terrifying in her madness, was now just a cold husk.
Life was unpredictable—who knew whether tomorrow or tragedy would come first?
The infamous Capricorn of Blacklist, a name that had once struck fear across the underworld, had met her end just like that.
With this, the zodiac codenames of Blacklist were effectively rendered meaningless in Fang Xiaocao’s hands.
Even with Blacklist’s formidable resources and talent pool, rebuilding a team like the one led by Gemini and Capricorn would be near impossible.
New teams rarely matched the strength of the old.
That had always been the case, throughout history.
Tom and Hummingbird approached.
Tom’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Capricorn’s corpse.
“Hummingbird, loot the body.”
Hummingbird curled her lip in distaste but obeyed.
She hated this kind of grunt work.
But she had no choice.
Officially, in Fang Xiaocao’s hierarchy, Tom outranked her.
He was the butler.
She was just a lowly maid.
Even Taotie, the head of security, answered to Tom.
If Fang Xiaocao was the Empress Dowager Cixi, then Tom was her powerful eunuch Li Lianying.
Unofficially, Hummingbird knew she was no match for Tom in a fight.
Disobeying him meant risking a Poké Ball grenade to the face.
Only a monster like Taotie—Tom’s equal in strength—could afford to mouth off to him.
In the underworld, where power ruled, the weak had no rights.
Put nicely? The strong commanded respect.
Put bluntly? The weak were disposable.
If a strong fighter decided you were annoying, they could crush you without consequence.
Your boss wouldn’t even dare protest.
After all, a dead subordinate had no value.
And no organization would pick a fight with a powerhouse over a nobody.
So—
Hummingbird swallowed her pride and got to work.
Fang Xiaocao blinked at Tom.
“Looting?”
Tom smiled.
“Princess, Capricorn’s gear is top-tier. We can’t leave it for Ragnarok to scavenge.”
“Even if we don’t use it now, we can reward future recruits with it.”
Fang Xiaocao nodded.
That made sense.
“Right. We should uphold the fine tradition of thorough looting—for future investments.”
She wasn’t poor, but compared to giants like Blacklist or Nemesis, her wealth was pocket change.
If she wanted to replace Blacklist, she had a long way to go.
Tom, Taotie, and Hummingbird chorused:
“As you command, Princess.”
Fang Xiaocao waved a hand. “Carry on.”
Hummingbird sighed.
Now looting was official duty.
Soon, Capricorn was stripped down to her undergarments.
“Princess, all usable equipment has been retrieved.”
“Good. See if anything’s useful now. Distribute what we can use, store the rest.”
Tom took charge of the division, assigning gear to each of them before packing the remainder into a backpack for Hummingbird to carry.
“Princess, do we proceed or return to the villa?”
Fang Xiaocao frowned.
“Why was Capricorn here? Did Blacklist send more people?”
Tom glanced at Taotie, signaling him to answer.
“Princess, Ragnarok allied with Nemesis. Blacklist sent Capricorn to investigate. No one else came.”
“Then… if Capricorn died here, will Blacklist send reinforcements?”
“Definitely. They might already be on their way.”
Fang Xiaocao nodded.
Capricorn had been a core asset. Blacklist wouldn’t let her death go unpunished.
“Can we… take advantage of the chaos?”
Tom and Taotie exchanged a grin.
“Absolutely.”
This was exactly what they wanted.
In the underworld, opportunism was survival.
“Then let’s move.”
Tom pulled up a map, charting a new route that avoided Ragnarok patrols.
The path was rough, but they encountered no further enemies.
After half an hour, Tom halted and raised a fist—silence.
(End of Chapter 238)
