Chapter 1936: Processing Plant Attack Incident
Xu Huo pushed aside his coat to reveal his sidearm, a clear warning.
Unexpectedly, however, the two exchanged glances and instead walked toward him.
Two fists were no match for four hands, and Xu Huo had someone with him. At this moment, the best choice was to avoid a direct confrontation.
Xu Huo did exactly that, shielding the mute woman behind his arm as he steadily retreated.
The mute woman was also terrified, clutching his clothes nervously.
Just as Xu Huo was about to pull the mute woman and run, two more people entered from the other end of the alley. They clearly knew the two from the scar-faced man's residence.
Forced into a corner, Xu Huo had no choice but to draw his sidearm and fire at the ground near the feet of the two closer men. The laser gun punched finger-width, finger-deep holes into the ground. He shouted, "All of you, back off! Or I'll call for Support Department backup!"
At that moment, the drone that had been following Xu Huo appeared. Its rotating electronic eye clearly displayed recording functions, and based on the Inspector's sidearm usage, it activated its firing permissions, its gun barrel aiming at both groups of people, one in front and one behind.
"I don't want trouble with you. I'm just here to collect her parents' bodies," Xu Huo said again.
The four men, who had already stopped in their tracks, finally turned and left, not returning to the small courtyard.
Seeing this, Xu Huo let out a huge sigh of relief. He turned to the mute woman and said, "It should be fine now."
After this little incident, both of them became more cautious. Even when entering the narrow courtyard, they first checked inside cabinets and under tables, making sure no one was hiding before they relaxed.
The mute woman's parents were still in the cellar. They had been dead for several days, and the bodies had already begun to rot.
Suppressing the stench, Xu Huo moved the bodies out. He said to the mute woman, whose eyes were reddening, "It's not convenient to move the bodies during the day. Let's bury them here."
The mute woman wiped her tears, picked up a tool from the yard, and started digging.
Xu Huo helped as well. But before they had even finished digging the grave, they unearthed other bodies—more than one, in fact. The bodies were in various stages of decomposition, both male and female.
Not wanting to know how many bodies were buried beneath this courtyard, the two covered the dirt back up. In the end, they buried the mute woman's parents in a corner of the yard.
After the burial, the mute woman suddenly pointed to a cabinet against the wall. Xu Huo cooperated and moved it aside, watching as she pried up an irregular stone slab and dug a box out from the dirt beneath it.
This must have been buried by the scar-faced man. The mute woman explained that she had seen it before.
Inside the box, besides a few pieces of decent jewelry, there were two blackened circular pieces of metal, button-sized. Both showed signs of wear. One surface had become completely smooth, the engraved characters no longer visible. The other still had some remnants, but it was impossible to make out the complete characters.
"Are these badges?" Xu Huo had seen in the Inspector Department's files that the Rebel Army used such engraved badges as tokens of identity. However, due to limited resources, their badges had no uniform material. They were all made into circles and engraved with the word "Will."
These were probably the belongings of Rebel Army members killed by the scar-faced man and his thugs.
"Do you know where I can pawn things?" Xu Huo asked. "We can exchange these for money. It'll last us a while."
The mute woman nodded and took him to a pawnshop she knew.
The jewelry fetched a considerable sum, which completely alleviated Xu Huo's financial pressure. So, as they left the pawnshop, he suggested they go eat a good meal.
Although the mute woman had found the items, she felt she had no right to dispose of them. Whatever Xu Huo said, she accepted without question.
The two found a nearby restaurant, ordered several good dishes, and ate until nightfall. After paying the bill, they happened upon a limited-supply ice cream vendor, and Xu Huo bought two.
The nightclub owner had already entered the knife boss's hotel. The manager of the frozen food processing plant also arrived with two players. The two groups entered a private room on the top floor.
The obese manager clearly disliked this environment. He wouldn't even sit on the chairs in the knife boss's establishment. Only after the accompanying players thoroughly disinfected a chair and covered it with expensive silk did he reluctantly sit down. He immediately cut to the chase, "Just say what you want. I don't have all day."
This behavior displeased both the nightclub owner and the knife boss, but the feeling was fleeting. They couldn't and didn't dare show it too obviously in front of the fat manager.
"Manager Dian is indeed a man of few words." The nightclub owner awkwardly complimented him before making his request: "I'd like to purchase a batch of weapons through you."
If it weren't for the weapons, Manager Dian wouldn't have come here at all. He lifted his eyelids and swept a glance at the man across from him. "How many are you planning to buy? A small deal isn't worth my trip."
The nightclub owner named a number, but Manager Dian wasn't satisfied, so he remained silent, not responding.
Forced into a corner, the nightclub owner had to double and redouble the original number, gritting his teeth until he met Manager Dian's expectations.
Manager Dian was very pleased. He contacted someone right there, asking them to prepare the goods, and promised to complete the handover within three days at the latest.
With the deal done, the atmosphere immediately relaxed. Manager Dian prepared to leave, but the knife boss spoke up to detain him, clapping his hands toward the door.
Six women, in pairs, carried in a young woman wrapped in luxurious silk fabric.
"These three were raised here from childhood. Since the age of five, they have never had any contact with any man." The knife boss smiled at Manager Dian. "They were bathed and perfumed before coming up. I wonder if Manager Dian finds them to his liking."
Manager Dian became interested. He lifted the fabric one by one, examined them, and finally chose one. "I'll take this one. Have her sent to the factory first."
The knife boss signaled the two women carrying her to withdraw. He then looked at the remaining two. "And them..."
Manager Dian stroked the woman's delicate skin and laughed. "I'll gladly accept them. Prepare a clean room."
"Also," he pointed to the two players beside him, "my two brothers here prefer fair-skinned boys. Arrange something for them."
"No problem." The knife boss readily agreed.
All three parties were satisfied, and the meeting concluded.
As for the woman who had been selected, she was immediately sent to the frozen food processing plant by the knife boss's men. However, on the way, the Rebel Army, who had been lying in ambush, replaced them. The Rebel Army then drove the car to the factory.
Just as Xu Huo was about to take the mute woman back, chaos erupted at the processing plant. First, there was a commotion, and then the workers, shouting "Cannibals! Cannibals!", scrambled to flee.
Beast-like roars echoed from within the factory. Soon, several grotesque figures burst out. They had lost their minds and bit anyone they saw—failed evolution attempts had a certain chance of turning people into man-eating monsters. This wasn't new in the game, but for ordinary people, it was a catastrophe, especially since these evolvers had already killed many people before coming out.
Three minutes later, the alarm at the frozen food processing plant blared.