# Chapter 997: Sure
"How dare you!" Brother Xuan shoved the little braided girl behind him. "Unless you don't want to live anymore!"
"Young master, take a look at where you are," the boss said. "We're all players. At worst, we finish this job and go into hiding for a while. The game world is huge—who could catch us?"
As he spoke, he signaled his companions to act. By now, Brother Xuan had searched all his pockets but found no teleportation item, and his face turned ugly. Still, he was smart enough to have sent his location using an item the moment things went wrong.
But it seemed too late. After the boss knocked away another defensive item he pulled out, several flying rope items quickly bound them up. One of the boss's lackeys stepped forward and kicked Brother Xuan to the ground, stepping on his shoulder and slapping his face. "Soft skin, tender flesh—lots of people like you!"
The group struggled in vain, each taking another kick. Brother Xuan, who was cursing furiously, also received several slaps. When he bit the leg of a man who reached for his backside, the lecherous man drew a knife and swung it at his face. "Looking for death, you bastard..."
Before he could finish, an invisible force suddenly slammed him—knife and all—against the wall!
Without high-level defensive items, or rather without any time to use defense, the man hit the wall, spat out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed to his knees.
"Who's there!" The remaining boss and his men stared warily around them. But then, starting from the left, the players surrounding the young ones flew out one by one at half-second intervals, plastered like meat patties against the buildings on both sides of the street. One unlucky fellow hit a sharp object and, in a confused and pathetic manner, cashed in his chips.
"Go! Get out of here!" the boss shouted frantically. But as the two men beside him were slapped left and right, he too couldn't escape his fate. However, unlike the others who were knocked away, he was sliced in half—along with his defensive shield—by a sword that suddenly appeared!
"Why..." The boss looked at the blood seeping from his waist, then raised his head to see the man who had appeared before him. He wanted to ask something, but unfortunately, he died before finishing.
Xu Huo, having removed his invisibility cloak, returned to the young people's side, playing with the item that had been taken from Brother Xuan. He looked down at them. "Kids, you shouldn't run around without an adult accompanying you."
"That's my item!" Brother Xuan stared at Xu Huo in shock and anger.
"It's yours. I'll give it back." Xu Huo tossed the item to the ground and turned to leave. Seeing that the others were still moving, Brother Xuan quickly said, "Don't go! I can give you the item and pay you a high bodyguard fee, as long as you take me to a safe place!"
Xu Huo untied their ropes and picked up the item from the ground. "Where are you going?"
"Brother Xuan, let's go to my place," the buzz-cut young man said. "My dad will send people to handle things."
Brother Xuan's face darkened. He smashed his broken communicator to the ground and stormed off angrily.
Just then, the street lights came back on. The people who had been hiding on the sidelines watching slowly emerged, discussing the events as if they were nothing unusual.
Feeling humiliated by the onlookers, Brother Xuan's expression grew even worse, and he walked faster.
Just as they were about to leave the area, several players landed in front of them. The middle-aged man standing at the front spoke, "Young Master Xuan..."
Before he could finish, Young Master Xuan slapped him across the face. The middle-aged man stopped the companions behind him who wanted to step forward and said calmly, "Young Master Xuan, it's not safe here. It's better to return to the hotel."
"Not safe?" Young Master Xuan laughed bitterly. "I sent you my location right away. Why didn't you wait until I was dead to come? Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You just wanted to see me make a fool of myself, didn't you!"
The middle-aged man frowned, the scar on his right temple twitching. "You shouldn't have avoided us and acted on your own."
"So it's my fault now?" Young Master Xuan's anger flared hotter. "Don't forget, my dad told you to follow me to protect me. If you don't want to do the job, get lost, you ungrateful bastard!"
"Young Master Xuan, Brother Lei didn't mean that..." A young man behind the middle-aged man tried to mediate, but Young Master Xuan didn't want to hear it. He interrupted, "Since you came late, you can still make up for it. All of you—kill everyone on this street!"
"What did you say?" Brother Lei's brows furrowed deeply. "Do you know how many people are here?"
"No, I don't," Young Master Xuan said matter-of-factly. "But I know most of them here aren't good people. They traffic children, torture and kill people, rob and murder. Do they deserve to live?"
"This is Xiaoyang City. The people of Xiaoyang City will handle it. The ones who attacked you won't get away," Brother Lei said firmly. "Young Master Xuan, return to the hotel."
People were still watching the commotion, and the few lackeys kept their heads down, not daring to speak. Young Master Xuan's face was bright red with rage. "Fine, fine. I can't command you, can I... You!"
He suddenly turned to Xu Huo, who was standing in front of a shop. "I'll pay you. Kill all these people for me!"
At that moment, the shopkeeper who had been selling children earlier was pointing at a boy who had been recaptured and stuffed back into a cage, saying, "...It's your fault he ran away. If you want him, you'll have to pay more..."
Xu Huo's hand moved. What he produced was certainly not money: a cold light passed through the throat of the chattering shopkeeper. Blood sprayed in a beautiful arc, some of it splattering onto him.
Flicking the blood droplets off his clothes, Xu Huo turned back to look at Young Master Xuan, Brother Lei, and the others. He smiled slightly and replied, "Sure."
A lighter appeared in his hand. With a crisp click, flames erupted one after another not far away, as fast as fireworks being lit. Clusters of fire bloomed, quickly merging into a sea of flames. Amid the curses and screams, he quickly walked the length of the street and back. When he returned, his clothes were splattered with blood, a few drops dripping from the hem.
Standing in the middle of the street, he looked at those who had gathered or were fleeing and said with a smile, "This is the fire of freedom."
"Someone's attacking!" Young Master Xuan, who had been stunned for a long time, looked at Xu Huo's back with excitement and admiration. Suddenly spotting a player sneaking up from the side, he quickly shouted a warning.
But before that player could get close, he was suddenly trapped inside a cabinet. Then, Xu Huo's figure darted rapidly among the surrounding players, so fast he seemed like an afterimage. But wherever he passed, bodies fell one after another!
Perhaps intimidated by Xu Huo's ferocity and brutality, the lower-level players doing business on this street chose to flee. A few goods weren't worth their lives. After they retreated, those who had been bought and sold as merchandise began to save themselves. Cheers of joy gradually drowned out the sound of burning buildings. Scattered voices slowly converged into a chant:
"Fire of freedom!"
"Fire of freedom!"
"Fire of freedom!"