Jumo drove a dilapidated van, bringing Wenwen and Tiaoma to a smelting factory on the outskirts of the city.
It was an ordinary factory, producing ordinary steel, except that the owner of this ironworks was Red Beard.
He had been using the factory's resources to help him search for rare metals and perform simple forging throughout the entire region.
On the edge of the factory, there was a relatively independent area, with a workshop at its center. This was where Red Beard worked.
The workshop was covered with insulation boards, appearing rather rudimentary, but beneath the sheet metal, it was entirely cast in steel, resembling a fortress. This single workshop alone was quite valuable.
The temperature in the vicinity was abnormally high. Even though it was the dead of winter, it felt scorching hot.
After Jumo greeted them, the workshop door was opened from the inside. First, a blast of scorching hot air gushed out, followed by an odor that made Wenwen very uncomfortable.
Peering through the opened door, one could see corpses hanging inside the workshop. The smell they had just encountered likely originated from these bodies.
Before even formally seeing Red Beard, Wenwen's impression of him had already soured to the extreme.
Red Beard walked out of the workshop, sweat steaming off him like white mist. He had a patch of flame burning on his chin, resembling a red flame.
Wenwen raised an eyebrow. This guy looked quite intimidating at first glance, but he was really short…
He walked a few steps towards Wenwen and the other two, looking up at Jumo and asking, "Did the high-level demon and the person with the sword qi crystal come with you?"
Jumo bowed and said, "As you said, sir."
High-level demon?
The person with the sword qi crystal must refer to Tiaoma, so the high-level demon must be Wenwen?
Wenwen thought for a moment and realized that when he had Unmasked Demon disguise himself, he had inadvertently revealed his identity.
However, this was actually better. Since he was going to disguise himself as a vicious and ruthless individual, having a demon identity would make him less suspicious.
Red Beard looked at Wenwen curiously and said, "You don't look like a demon."
Wenwen's eyes shifted slightly, and with a little control, he emanated Qin Shuang's unique aura.
It possessed both the gloomy and terrifying traits of a vengeful spirit and the malicious and sinister aura of a demon. Red Beard's expression changed slightly; this was the first time he had encountered a demon with such a unique aura.
From that aura, Red Beard knew that Wenwen was not easy to deal with, but there was still a gap between them.
He then said to Jumo, "You can go back now. You're not needed here anymore."
After Jumo left, Red Beard asked doubtfully, "With Jumo's strength, he shouldn't have been able to subdue you. Why did you come to me with him?"
Wenwen half-crouched, bringing his face to the same level as Red Beard's, and said, "I don't know why you're looking for me, but I want you to forge a sword for me, a sword of my own."
"Forge a sword, hehe." Red Beard looked at Wenwen with ill intentions.
"This is the reward for you forging my sword." Wenwen nodded to Tiaoma. Tiaoma then opened the box and took out the sword qi crystal from the cotton padding that carried a strange smell.
Seeing the sword qi crystal containing immense power, Red Beard's eyes widened. He reached out excitedly and said, "Give me that thing!"
Tiaoma looked at Wenwen, who shrugged slightly. "It's fine, give it to him."
Red Beard carefully took the sword qi crystal, looking at it from all angles, even licking it to taste it.
Tiaoma expressionlessly closed the box. He didn't want Red Beard to know what he had just licked.
After confirming that the sword qi crystal was genuine, Red Beard excitedly spun around with it.
"My long-held wish is finally about to be fulfilled. If I forge this into a demonic sword, I will surely succeed!"
"First, it needs to be corrupted with demon blood and the souls of wicked people, and then…"
As he spoke, Red Beard turned to Wenwen and revealed a ferocious smile. "If I melt you into the sword, this sword will surely be stronger. This way, I will also fulfill your request, forging a sword for you."
Wenwen frowned. "You want to forge a sword with me? Are you crazy?"
"Of course I'm not crazy, but using a demon like you as nourishment will forge a more powerful demonic sword. I have already prepared the most top-tier sword embryo, which will not tarnish your essence."
Wenwen sighed. It seemed that Red Beard had become somewhat deranged in his pursuit of forging the demonic sword.
He wondered how many lives he had taken in his continuous attempts.
Such a grave sinner should be sent to the Containment Facility for labor and reform.
Just as Wenwen and Red Beard were about to clash, a toy plane descended from the sky. The Jester, wearing a leopard-print coat, emerged with his three subordinates.
His three subordinates were also distinctive. One rode a bicycle and carried a red-tasseled spear, another wore a pumpkin on his head, and the last had saw-like blades spiraling around his body.
"Red Beard, I've come to demand an explanation!"
"Jester, how come you're here…" Red Beard's expression darkened. The Jester was also an Upper Sequence Superhuman like him, but his strength was significantly greater.
The Jester's eyes were fixed on the sword qi crystal in Red Beard's hand, and he snorted, "You killed my men, stole my belongings, and you still ask me why I'm here?"
"These two traded it to me," Red Beard said to the Jester, pointing at Wenwen and the other, and then tucked the sword qi crystal at his waist.
The Jester was enraged and cursed, "You old scoundrel dare to quibble! Today, you will surely die!"
He held a high position in the Absurdity Covenant, but he didn't have many Superhumans at the Assimilation realm among his subordinates. The four members of the Quail family already constituted half of his skilled personnel.
Even without the sword qi crystal, after suffering such a significant loss at Red Beard's hands, he would have to fight Red Beard to the death.
Furthermore, after personally seeing the sword qi crystal, the Jester finally understood how captivating it was. He should have acted personally for this item long ago.
Seeing the atmosphere becoming increasingly tense, Wenwen and Tiaoma stepped back a couple of paces.
Since the people from the Absurdity Covenant had intervened, Wenwen was happy to watch them fight each other, allowing him to reap the benefits.
The Jester spread his hands and shouted at Red Beard, "Rejoice, make merry, my dear friends!"
A compartment on the plane opened, and dozens of toys of various designs flew out, landing beside the Jester.
Among them were over twenty toy soldiers wielding various weapons, who had grown to the size of ordinary people, forming a protective circle around the Jester.
And behind the Jester stood a robot model over ten meters tall and a twenty-meter-tall green plastic dinosaur toy!
There were also toy planes, tanks, battleships, and other items. This was clearly a toy army!