Chapter 596: The Club's Kitchen
Xiao Zhang and Guan Zuhong started making phone calls to summon people. Abel looked excited, as if he couldn't wait any longer. Xu Huo remained as calm as ever and said to the hesitant Huang Junjie, "If you don't want to go, get off the car yourself."
The headquarters of the First Association was in Yang City. With both the president and vice president kidnapped, how could the players of the First Association just sit idly by? In the end, Huang Junjie made several phone calls to notify the association.
"No one willing to come?" Abel asked.
Huang Junjie's expression darkened, and he angrily shoved his phone into his pocket.
Whether intentionally or not, Abel comforted him, "It's understandable to have considerations. After all, there are so many people in the association."
As they spoke, the car arrived outside the Tao Le Club. As soon as it stopped, two men who looked like security guards immediately walked over, shouting from a distance for them to go elsewhere.
Xu Huo got out of the car and said, "I'm here to deliver goods."
The security guard looked at him suspiciously. "Wasn't a delivery just made? ... I've never seen you before. Are you new?"
Hearing this, Xu Huo didn't hold back. With a wave of the Crimson Sword, one man's head fell to the ground. The other, seeing this, grabbed a prop from his waist and charged forward, but he was only a few steps away from Xu Huo when a suddenly generated ray sliced him in two.
The people getting out of the car behind him could only follow along to clean up the bodies. Huang Junjie, cooperating with Abel to load the corpses into the car, looked at Xu Huo, who had sliced open the club's back door from a distance, and said, "In two months, he's gotten a lot stronger."
Abel nodded. "Back in the Headchopper Instance, we had to join forces just to deal with one player."
This wasn't the time to lament personal gaps in strength. Brother Liang's side had already sent five players, led by a long-haired woman. She asked, "There are a few more people on the way. Where's Brother Liang?"
"Still unclear." Xiao Zhang had already explained the process of Brother Liang's disappearance to them during the previous call. He was most likely not at the Tao Le Club. If he hadn't been killed, then he must have entered a Random Instance, leaving no clues for now.
"Simple," the female player said, cracking her knuckles. "Go in, grab a few people, and force them to talk. Someone will know about the other strongholds of the Twin Serpents."
Brother Liang's group had been keeping an eye on the Twin Serpents because of their missing companions, but they hadn't found any major leads. Now, this was likely a big fish. They had found the location, so asking anyone was better than asking the parties involved.
The car drove into the club with the people inside.
The Tao Le Club was built on an artificial lake. The main leisure area was in the center of the lake, while the buildings around the lake were mostly for staff activities. After the car entered, a staff member walked out. "Why is there such a strong smell of blood? Didn't I say not to send anything that isn't fresh over here?"
Xu Huo rested one hand on the steering wheel. "Just got a call saying they wanted to add more dishes. Maybe today's guests have a bigger appetite. Where should I deliver it?"
The staff member pointed towards the kitchen area and then said, "Can't you guys clean up a bit when you do the work? How are we supposed to serve it on the table if it's all sloppy?"
Xu Huo let out a scoff. "It's not like you're eating it."
With that, he stepped on the gas and drove off, following the lakeside road to the back kitchen. From a distance, they could smell the aroma wafting out. Xu Huo turned off the engine and got out. He nodded to Huang Junjie and the others who were getting out of the car behind him, and they immediately dispersed to surround the kitchen.
Xu Huo, Abel, and Xiao Zhang went straight into the kitchen. There were about a dozen people inside, all busy as bees. When the three walked in, no one paid them any attention, brushing past them like a gust of wind.
The kitchen was making normal food, but Xu Huo still caught a whiff of blood. He walked through the kitchen to a small door at the back. Just as he was about to open it, someone finally came over to stop him. "Who are you? How did you get in?"
With the effect of "Opposites Repel," the newcomer was immediately flung three meters away. Xu Huo turned around and kicked open the small door. He leaped into the room in one swift move, raised his gun, and shot the chef who was holding a cleaver and chopping bones. He then flipped the cutting board over—bloody bones and meat scattered all over the floor, startling the two assistant cooks nearby into knocking over their buckets. The dark-colored liquid, along with the cooked meat inside, spilled out completely!
"Ugh...!" Xiao Zhang turned his head and retched, but once he bent over, he couldn't straighten up again. The person Xu Huo had just pushed aside was clearly also a player. He raised a rusty chopping knife high and swung it down at Xiao Zhang's head!
"Watch out!" Abel quickly shoved the frozen, immobile Xiao Zhang out of the way while raising a giant cross to block the blow. However, the opponent's strength was clearly greater than his. Using the knife to press down on the cross, he forced Abel back step by step.
Abel's prop could only last for a few seconds. Just as the cross dissolved into foam, he sidestepped the chopping knife and produced a glass bottle in his hand. "Holy Water Baptism!"
With a "hissing" sound, the liquid poured from the bottle splashed onto the player's face, rapidly corroding his flesh. The chopping knife fell to the ground, and the player clutched his face, screaming in agony.
Xiao Zhang, now free, rushed over, picked up the knife, and sliced off the player's head!
With two people dead in a row, everyone in the kitchen, whether they were players or not, reacted. Aside from a few timid ones who turned pale and ran out, the rest chose to surround them!
"As expected of the Twin Serpents' people." Xu Huo walked out of the small door. Using his traits "Straight Line Distance" and "Forced Forgetting," he strung the remaining people together and tied them up with "Hurt Others, Not Self" in just a few seconds. After a few dazzling flashes of his shadow, everyone turned around to see him standing at the kitchen door. With a turn of his hand, now wearing a sparkling diamond glove, the rope binding the people transformed into razor-sharp blades, slicing them all in half at the waist!
The dozen or so people tied together fell like a row of cut chives. Two others managed to save themselves with props, but before they could react, Abel and Xiao Zhang pounced on them to finish the job.
Thus, aside from the two people inside the small door, everyone who hadn't managed to run out was dealt with in the kitchen.
After the killing, Xu Huo retracted his prop and casually called the two people out from inside the door.
The two crawled out. Seeing the messy pile of corpses on the floor, they couldn't even be bothered to vomit. They knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy from Xu Huo and the others.
The people outside had also taken care of the few who had run out. Huang Junjie walked in, glanced at the blood covering the floor, then looked away and said to Xu Huo, "We caught one alive."
Xu Huo nodded, and the three captives were dragged into the kitchen.
Huang Junjie said to them, "You are all ordinary people. I believe you were forced to work here. But you don't need to worry anymore. The players in the club can't threaten you any longer. We will rid the people of this evil. You just need to tell us clearly how many people are in the club, how many players, and how many D-level players. Also, have you seen these two people?"
(End of Chapter)