Chapter 67: Trade for the Person
Zhao Sheng leaped from the sixth floor, scaling two air conditioning units before landing on the ground. Seeing no one chasing after him, he felt a slight relief. Just as he was about to leave, a long, thin shadow suddenly pounced from the shadows of the second floor. He only caught a glimpse of a few unnaturally long, sharp fingernails flashing before his eyes before three bloody gashes appeared on his face!
Hu Wenhu jumped onto a tree branch across the way, crouching like a cat, his vertical pupils fixed intently on the person below!
Zhao Sheng cursed, pushed off the ground with force, and sprinted rapidly out of the residential area. As he ran, he pulled out a bottle of black potion and poured it into his mouth.
Hu Wenhu leaped between trees and building walls like a cheetah, closely following behind him. The two exited the residential area one after the other. Tian Yun appeared from the other side of the apartment building, leaving a blur in the air as he snatched up the bottle Zhao Sheng had discarded and followed him out.
At the same time, Yu Xiaoyu appeared on a nearby residential building, following Zhao Sheng's trail, moving lightly between the structures.
This entire area was filled with residential buildings, dense apartment complexes, and numerous alleyways. Zhao Sheng had originally planned to find a place to hide, but even though he briefly shook off his pursuers, they quickly found him again. Moreover, as he ran, another player appeared, and the two of them flanked him from left and right!
"Damn it!" The wounds on his lower back and wrist gradually healed, and his speed increased. After putting some distance between them, he pulled out his phone and made a call. As soon as it connected, he shouted into it, "Boss, someone's making a move on our Holy Sword Society. I'm being tailed..."
Before he could finish, one of the two pursuers suddenly accelerated from the left and slammed into him, sending him crashing into a trash can by the roadside!
"Oww!" A beast-like roar grew closer!
Zhao Sheng ignored his flying phone, kicked the trash can to block the path, and bolted forward.
Hearing two clangs behind him, he was about to turn around when a taxi suddenly shot out from the middle of the road!
The sharp screech of brakes echoed down the street. Zhao Sheng leaped onto the taxi's hood to narrowly avoid it. The metal hood dented inward, and the vehicle shook. He turned his head and found himself locking eyes with the driver.
Instinct made him pause for a moment, then he plunged headfirst into the residential area across the street. Passing through this area would lead to Sunshine Avenue, where buildings were under construction. Ever since the frequent murders in Ting City, construction had stopped at night, leaving not even a guard on site.
"I want to play too." The Painting Woman reached out from the back seat, showing him the words on her phone.
Xu Huo glanced at her in the rearview mirror. "Besides photos, what else can you sense? If the range is big enough, I'll let you play."
The Painting Woman hesitated for a moment, then quickly typed: "Photos, paintings, paper, within one building."
Xu Huo restarted the car. "No matter how big the place, as long as it's one building?"
The Painting Woman nodded.
"Alright then." Xu Huo said. "Go help Yan Jiayu."
The Painting Woman happily floated out the window, her small bag containing her phone still securely strapped to her paper form, making her look like a flying carpet.
Parking the car outside the residential building directly opposite the construction site, Xu Huo walked into the site and came to a building whose exterior walls hadn't yet been sealed.
Inside, Yan Jiayu had already knocked Zhao Sheng unconscious. She held a stone club in one hand and was dragging him out by the ankle with the other, the Painting Woman beside her.
Looking at Zhao Sheng, whose head was covered in blood, Xu Huo greeted her, "Thanks for coming to help."
Yan Jiayu still had her slightly messy hair, but she had changed into ordinary clothes. She said with a smile, "My master taught me to be a good person, and being a good person means ridding the world of evil. This guy is too wicked. I didn't want to reason with him, so I hit him a bit hard."
"No problem, as long as he's still breathing. Cannibal players are tough anyway." Xu Huo took out a soft, deflated balloon and placed it over Zhao Sheng's mouth and nose. After one breath, the balloon spontaneously swelled to the size of a human head.
He casually released it, and Liu Jia's voice came through his earpiece: "Mr. Xu, I see the balloon. It's floating above the building."
"Good."
Just then, Huang Junjie and the others arrived. Tian Yun handed Zhao Sheng's phone to Xu Huo. "We went through all that trouble to drive him here. Is it useful?"
"Of course it's useful." Xu Huo took the phone and dialed the number saved under "Boss."
"Hello?" There was a pause on the other end, then the voice said, "You caught Zhao Sheng? What's your goal?"
"I want to trade for someone." Xu Huo said. "Did you guys capture a player named Zhou Xiao a few days ago?"
"There is such a person." The voice on the phone was flat. "But once something falls into the hands of my Holy Sword Society, there's no precedent for giving it back."
"We can forget about the potion. You trade the person for Zhao Sheng." Xu Huo said in a gruff voice. "If you don't care whether Zhao Sheng lives or dies, that's fine too. I have a few brothers. Getting information out of him won't be a problem. As long as your Holy Sword Society remains in Ting City, we'll fight to the death. Think it over."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end, then a cold laugh. "Then you wait."
Xu Huo cheerfully gave the address and hung up.
On the third floor of a shopping mall in the southern part of the city, almost the moment the call ended, the tall, dark, muscular man smashed his phone to the ground and snarled, "What the hell is that!"
"Boss, what's wrong? Is Zhao Sheng really in trouble?" A young man dressed like a wealthy playboy, holding a golf club, asked.
"I told you long ago, he was bound to cause problems sooner or later." A beautiful woman beside him sank a putt, then smiled and added, "He kills without restraint. Now that players aren't out in the open yet, can he withstand bullets or cannons? Getting taken down is a good thing. It saves the Special Affairs Bureau from targeting him and dragging us down."
"Is the boss worried about Zhao Sheng's life or death?" A long-haired youth sitting on a sofa a few steps away, savoring wine, said with a gentle smile. "Our branch may have only been established recently, but no player has dared to openly challenge us yet. If we let this slide, where will the boss and the Holy Sword Society's face be?"
"That's true." The beautiful woman winked at the tall, dark man, whom everyone called the boss. "Boss, how many people are on the other side? Should I go?"
The tall, dark man rested his chin on his fist, adopting a thoughtful pose. After a moment, he said, "Alright, Cao Yan. You and Ma Yu take seven or eight people and go. First, find out if they have anyone backing them. If not, kill them all."
"Killing them all would be such a waste." Cao Yan touched her red lips and laughed. "They're all players. It's better to bring them back and use them."
"Zhao Sheng's phone location shows he went from Jiayi Residential Area to Sunshine Avenue and hasn't moved since. The call came from there too." Ma Yu flicked her hair. "A bunch of simple-minded idiots. What use are they? Might as well eat them to replenish our strength."
"Enforcers don't need to be that smart." Cao Yan giggled. "But players taste good. Eating them works too."
"I'm coming too. Same rules, whoever kills gets the kill." The playboy also became interested, licking his teeth.
The group reveled in the thought of the taste of players, the atmosphere quite harmonious.