Chapter 252: Underground Market Evolvers
Brother Jie was so frightened by Xu Huo's gaze that he stepped back, stammering, "Xu, Xu Young Master... it wasn't me who said this, it was Young Master Yang who let it slip."
"Yang Chao?" Xu Huo frowned, pointing his chin at the car beside him. "Lead the way."
Brother Jie quickly got into the car, simultaneously signaling his men with a gesture. His subordinates lifted the thin, tall man and carried him away, starting the car and leaving first.
Xu Huo sat in the back, kicking the front seat. "Drive faster. Dawdling like this, it'll be dawn by the time we reach Longxing."
"Yes, yes!" Brother Jie stepped on the gas, and the car roared as it accelerated.
It was already past ten o'clock at night when they arrived at Longxing. Unlike other places, this was the liveliest hour. The area outside was packed with all kinds of luxury cars, and the cheers of the crowd were deafening, occasionally mixed with shouts and curses.
This was the front area for boxing matches. Brother Jie led Xu Huo inside.
Previously, behind the boxing ring was a place for card games and resting, but today it was pitch black as they walked in. All the lights were off, but that didn't hinder Xu Huo. He could still see the remodeled card room—the tables and chairs had all been cleared away, replaced by a massive iron cage with electricity running through it.
As soon as they stepped inside, the door behind them slammed shut. Brother Jie locked it while saying, "Xu Young Master, you can't blame me for this. You brought it on yourself."
Xu Huo glanced at him in the darkness without stopping him, then turned around to look at the people on the elevated platform across from him.
"Xu Huo, it's been nearly ten years, and you're still this reckless." Accompanied by the voice from the platform, a spotlight shone down from above the iron cage, focusing entirely on Xu Huo.
A platform, suspended twenty meters above the iron cage and completely detached, encircled the entire cage. On it, people gathered in small groups, all casting intrigued glances at Xu Huo. Some even whistled.
Yang Chao stood at the best spot, tilting his head to light a cigarette from a flame offered by a bodyguard. He blew out a puff of smoke smugly before saying, "Last time, you had quite the moment here. Didn't expect to become a caged beast today, did you?"
"There hasn't been a proper player fighting in my ring yet. You've come at the right time. Put on a show for us."
Applause rang out from the platform as the onlookers jeered, urging the fight to start.
Xu Huo glanced at the passages connected around the iron cage and raised his voice. "Yang Chao, ten years ago in that race, you were right behind me. What happened afterward? How did Xu Zhi die?"
"If you want to know, beat these evolvers first." Yang Chao touched the scar on his forehead, pulled out a remote control, and the gates on all four sides of the iron cage rose simultaneously. Six people, their hands and feet bound with heavy iron chains, walked out.
Rapid breathing, accelerated heartbeats, and saliva dripping from the corners of their mouths—all of it unmistakably marked them as evolvers. These people had clearly been starved for quite some time, and as soon as they came out, they stared at the others in the cage, drooling.
"Bang!" The chains on one evolver fell to the ground, and the next second, he lunged at the nearest guardian, biting through the other's throat in one go!
Blood sprayed out, and immediately, the other evolvers pounced. Three or four of them crowded around the evolver who had been bitten to death, tearing into the fresh flesh with hands and teeth. Two of them ate and vomited simultaneously, then vomited and ate again, as if eating wasn't driven by instinct but forced by something.
A thick, bloody stench mixed with a foul odor spread. The cheers gradually faded, replaced by the sound of vomiting, and people began fleeing the platform one after another.
"Hey! Don't just focus on eating!" Yang Chao slapped the iron bars and shouted at the people below. "Whoever can bite a piece of flesh off that guy, I'll remove one of his electric shock devices!"
The several evolvers, faces covered in blood and tears and snot, all turned to stare at Xu Huo. Their necks, wrists, and ankles were all fitted with metal rings, and their bodies bore surgical scars. Needless to say, they were all fitted with electronic devices.
"I don't want to fight you..." A man who had been standing in the corner, clutching his arms tightly the whole time, swallowed hard and said, "Yang Chao installed something in our hearts. You're a player, right? Save me. I've never eaten a human..."
Xu Huo put on his glasses, quickly scanned the layout around the iron cage and the positions of the bodyguards on the platform, then swept his sword to knock back the first evolver who lunged at him. He also threw out a chip he had grabbed on the way in, smashing the spotlight above. The light went out instantly!
"Turn on the lights! Turn on the lights now!" Yang Chao roared in the darkness. As the external floodlights came on, the people on the platform realized that the electrified iron cage had been cut open. Several evolvers were climbing out, and Xu Huo was nowhere to be seen!
"Damn it! Hurry up and—" Yang Chao raised the remote control high, but before he could finish shouting orders to the bodyguards, he felt a weight on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw a long sword pressed against it. The bodyguards who had rushed over with stun guns and tranquilizer guns aimed their weapons behind him but dared not move.
Xu Huo took the remote control from his hand, turned it off, and tossed it down.
As the remote hit the ground, the several evolvers who had climbed to the top of the iron cage suddenly grabbed onto the platform's framework and flipped up onto it!
"Ah!!!" The first scream kicked off the chaos. Though the evolvers were still dragging chains, their physical abilities were far beyond ordinary. The platform was full of regular people, and in the pandemonium, the bodyguards with guns were the first to be attacked.
One after another, people rolled off the platform. The onlookers who had been entertained by the sight of humans eating humans just minutes ago had now become prey themselves, with bloodshed unfolding right before their eyes.
"See this?" Xu Huo said. "This is what happens when ordinary people try to control evolvers. And these are just a few evolvers."
Feeling the blade edge pressing closer to his neck, Yang Chao forced himself to stay calm. "You think there are no players here?"
Before he finished speaking, Xu Huo sensed someone approaching from behind. He swung his sword back in a counterattack, hearing only the sound of wood splintering. A man in a trench coat landed lightly on a railing ten meters away, smiling at him. When Xu Huo turned back, Yang Chao had already been taken away by a bare-chested strongman who had appeared on the platform.
"Get him! Take him alive!" Yang Chao shouted from a distance.
Xu Huo swept a cold glance, spun the lighter in his hand, and snapped it several times in succession. Flames erupted on all three players, including the nearby bodyguards!
As the fire broke out, the three players quickly retreated. At the same time, the automatic sprinklers of the smoke alarm system began spraying water. But the fire spread rapidly, impossible to extinguish in a short time. As the flames grew, not only the spectators on the stands but even the bodyguards began to flee.
Tranquilizer darts kept flying toward him. Xu Huo showed no mercy—whoever fired, he set on fire, all while walking steadily toward Yang Chao.
Yang Chao's face twisted with fear as he hid behind the players, retreating backward into the room.