He then observed another laborer wearing the Iron Bracelet, and indeed, a black thread seemed to drill into the other's body.
Chen Mu couldn't help but sigh, "Being a laborer is no longer an option."
"I'll have to think of another way."
Chen Mu surveyed the surrounding environment.
Only now did he notice that around the middle-aged man, there were subtly distributed five or six burly men dressed in black leather armor.
He had initially thought they were soldiers of the Tangshan Army maintaining order.
Now, seeing how they were positioned, it was clear they were there to protect the middle-aged man.
"Must be an important figure," Chen Mu shook his head.
The Iron Bracelet might just be a method the Tangshan Army used to control people, and only high-ranking individuals would have access to such core secrets.
"I can only run."
He could see clearly that although this place was deep within the encampment, just four or five hundred meters to the south was the Fenxi River.
If he could dash into the Fenxi River before others could react, he would be able to escape successfully.
The laborer camp was mostly untrained laborers; they wouldn't be able to catch up to him.
With that in mind, he took a half step to the side with his right foot.
Soul Strength surfaced under his foot and his thigh—since he had decided to run, he would give it his all.
Just as he was about to exert force, he suddenly felt the sharp focus of a gaze upon him.
Chen Mu pretended to glance up casually, only to meet the middle-aged man's expressionless face.
For no apparent reason, Chen Mu felt a chill in his heart as if he were being stared down by a fierce tiger.
He quickly lifted his head and stretched his hands as if stretching lazily to move his limbs.
"Who is he?!"
Chen Mu had a feeling that if he crossed paths with that man, he would die!
Even though his Wandering Soul was almost covering half his body, he still felt a fatal sense of danger.
"Shell Soul?!"
Chen Mu felt his teeth ache.
For a matter so central as controlling the entire army, it would make sense to send a Shell Soul!
"This is troublesome!"
...
Chen Mu wasn't sure if it was a misconception, but he kept feeling that the middle-aged man was staring at him.
He dared not make any rash moves even more so.
"Do I really have to wear the Iron Bracelet and be controlled by others?" Chen Mu gritted his teeth unwillingly.
"I should have let Jie Jia find out more before I came here to infiltrate," Chen Mu regretted.
At this point, he was completely out of ideas.
The middle-aged man posed too great a threat. Merely looking at him gave Chen Mu a sense of fatal danger.
"With someone like that in charge, how am I supposed to find the Thousand Mechanism Token?" Chen Mu felt utterly disheartened.
If he ran, he would die; if he didn't run, he would be controlled.
"Forget it, I'll continue to be a laborer, at least I won't die for now," Chen Mu thought with a grim expression.
"Everybody in the laborer camp wears an Iron Bracelet, and I haven't heard of any unusual deaths. It seems that the Iron Bracelet is safe for now," Chen Mu comforted himself.
"After getting through this, I'll have to find Jie Jia and grill him to see if he can remove this control measure," Chen Mu sighed.
What is this? Am I digging my own grave?
The moment the black thread drilled into the sleeve, he transferred it into the space.
"That was dangerous!"
Chen Mu felt a lingering fear in his heart.
"What a pity I can't go to Chunfeng Tower," Chen Mu lamented.
"I must reward myself properly."
Chen Mu turned his head to look towards the nearby Fenxi River.
"Let's quietly make some poached fish."
This is a military camp, and even more so, the neglected Laborer Camp.
There's only one requirement for cooking: make sure it's cooked through.
After eating three days of Dingyou Camp's working meals, Chen Mu almost vomited.
...
The year 642 of Liang, early February seventh.
At the foot of Tangshan, the site of Dingyou Camp of the laborers.
Chen Mu's eyes were slightly narrowed, his hands moving automatically with the knife.
Dodo dodo...
The rhythmic sound of the knife chopping on the wooden stump resonated unceasingly.
After a good while, Chen Mu snapped out of it, his bewildered eyes gradually focusing.
Taking advantage of the short and round Zheng Yuan's inattention, he stealthily popped a Bigu Pill into his mouth.
The rumbling in his belly immediately quieted down.
Since the day he put on the iron ring, he had been at Tangshan Army for half a month.
Chopping vegetables and practicing the Breathing Method became his whole life.
Moved by a thought, a gray wall appeared in his mind, and Chen Mu looked towards the item at the very bottom.
Cloud Mirage Shape Cultivation Technique: 3185/10000/Fifth Rank;
"It's a long journey bearing heavy responsibilities," Chen Mu sighed.
He was now urgently hoping to increase his strength.
To get the Thousand Mechanism Token, without Shell Soul strength, he couldn't even participate.
That middle-aged man had given Chen Mu a great sense of crisis.
Silently sensing the coverage area of his Wandering Soul, he realized it now covered up to his belly button and finally let out a sigh of relief.
Although the progress on the Cloud Mirage Shape Cultivation Technique was only one-third, the other six Shape Cultivation techniques had been correspondingly improved.
"Finally nearing halfway."
He focused his attention on the Five Ghosts Bag.
The small paper figure was still squatting there, guarding the hair-like black thread.
Chen Mu discovered that this thing seemed to be a living creature, adept at burrowing into flesh and blood.
Because of this, he had wasted several fish.
Once it enters a living body, it absorbs the nutrients from the host and lies dormant, growing.
"Could this be some kind of parasitic worm?"
Lucky it didn't burrow into his body.
He looked at Zheng Yuan beside him with pity.
Inside the other laborers, there was one of these things.