Players, Please Board the Train

Brother Jie was so frightened by Xu Huo’s gaze that he stumbled backward, stammering, ”Young Master Xu... this wasn’t my idea, it was Young Master Yang who revealed it.”

”Yang Chao?” Xu Huo frowned, then gestured toward the nearby car with his chin. ”Lead the way.”

Brother Jie quickly scrambled into the car while secretly signaling to his men. His subordinates carried away the tall, thin man, started their vehicle, and drove off first.

Xu Huo sat in the back seat and kicked the front seat. ”Drive faster. If we keep dawdling like this, it’ll be dawn by the time we reach Longxing.”

”Yes, yes!” Brother Jie stepped on the accelerator, and the car roared as it sped up.

By the time they reached Longxing, it was already past 10 PM. Unlike other places, this was actually the peak time for activity here. The outside was packed with various luxury cars, and the excited shouts and cheers were deafening, occasionally mixed with angry curses.

This was the area for underground boxing matches. Brother Jie led Xu Huo further inside.

Previously, the area behind the boxing ring had been for card games and resting, but today when they entered, it was pitch dark with all the lights turned off. However, this didn’t hinder Xu Huo, who could still see the renovated card room. All the tables and chairs had been cleared away, replaced by a massive iron cage that was electrified.

As soon as they entered, the door behind them closed. Brother Jie locked it while saying, ”Young Master Xu, you can’t blame me for this. You brought it upon yourself.”

Xu Huo glanced at him in the darkness without stopping him, then turned to face the people on the elevated platform opposite.”Xu Huo, it’s been almost ten years, and you’re still this reckless.” As the voice sounded from the high platform, lights above the iron cage switched on, all focusing on Xu Huo.

The viewing platform circled the entire iron cage, suspended twenty meters above it and completely hanging in midair. Small groups of people stood on it, all casting interested glances toward Xu Huo, with some even whistling.

Yang Chao stood at the best position, tilting his head to light a cigarette from the flame offered by his bodyguard. He blew out a smug puff of smoke before saying, ”You were quite impressive last time you were here. Never thought you’d become a caged beast today.”

”I haven’t had a proper match with a real player here yet. Your timing is perfect—put on a show for us.”

Applause erupted from the high platform as the spectators urged them to start quickly.

Xu Huo glanced at the passages connected to the large iron cage and called out loudly, ”Yang Chao, during that car race ten years ago, you were following behind me. What exactly happened afterward? How did Xu Zhi die?”

”Want to know?” Yang Chao touched the scar on his forehead and pulled out a remote control. ”Defeat these Evolvers first.” The gates on all four sides of the iron cage simultaneously rose, and six people with thick, heavy iron chains shackling their hands and feet walked out.

Their rapid breathing, accelerated heartbeats, and drool dripping from their mouths all indicated their status as Evolvers. These people seemed to have been starved for quite some time, as they immediately began staring and drooling at the others in the iron cage.

”Clang!” The chains fell from one Evolver’s body, and the next second he pounced on the nearest Evolver, biting through his throat!

Blood sprayed out, and then the other Evolvers rushed over. Three or four people gathered around the dead Evolver, tearing at the fresh flesh with both hands and teeth. Two of them vomited while eating, then continued eating again, as if their feeding wasn’t driven by instinct but forced by something else.

The heavy smell of blood mixed with a foul stench spread through the air. The cheers gradually died down, replaced by successive sounds of vomiting as people began fleeing the high platform.

”Hey! Stop just eating!” Yang Chao slapped the iron railing and shouted at the people below, ”Anyone who can bite a piece of flesh off that guy gets one of their electric shock devices removed!”

Several Evolvers with blood-covered faces, tears, and snot streaming down turned simultaneously to stare at Xu Huo. Their necks, wrists, and ankles were all fitted with metal rings, and some parts of their bodies showed surgical marks. Needless to say, these were all electronic devices.

”I don’t want to fight you...” A man who had been tightly hugging his arms in the corner from the beginning swallowed saliva and said, ”Yang Chao implanted something in our hearts. You’re a player, right? Save me, I haven’t eaten people...”

Xu Huo put on his glasses, quickly scanning the layout around the iron cage and the positions of bodyguards on the high platform. He swept his sword to knock away the first Evolver who pounced at him, then threw the poker chips he had casually picked up when entering to shatter the spotlight above. The lights instantly went out!

”Turn on the lights! Quick, turn on the lights!” Yang Chao roared in the darkness. When the external lights came on, people on the high platform discovered that the electrified iron cage had been cut open. Several Evolvers were climbing out, and Xu Huo had already disappeared!

”Damn it! Get me...” Yang Chao raised the remote control high, but before he could finish shouting orders to his bodyguards, he felt a heavy weight on his shoulder. He glanced sideways and saw a long sword resting there. The bodyguards who had rushed over at the commotion aimed their electric shock guns and tranquilizer guns at the area behind him but didn’t dare move.

Xu Huo took the remote control from his hand, turned it off, and tossed it downward.

As the remote control hit the ground, several Evolvers who had already reached the top of the iron cage suddenly hung from the high platform’s framework and flipped up onto it!

”Ahhh!!!” The first scream marked the beginning of chaos. Although the Evolvers still wore chains, their physical abilities were far beyond what they used to be. The high platform was filled with ordinary people, and in the confusion, the bodyguards holding guns were the first to be attacked.

People continuously tumbled down from the high platform. The spectators who had been watching human cannibalism for entertainment just minutes ago had now become prey themselves, with bloody scenes unfolding right before their eyes.

”See?” Xu Huo said. ”This is what happens when you try to control Evolvers using ordinary methods. And these are just a few Evolvers.”

Feeling the sword blade pressing closer to his neck, Yang Chao forced himself to remain calm. ”Do you think there are no players here?”

Before he could finish speaking, Xu Huo sensed someone approaching from behind. He swung his sword backward and heard the sound of wood shattering. 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 burly man who had appeared on the high platform at some point.

”Capture him! Take him alive!” Yang Chao shouted from the distance.

Xu Huo swept a cold glance around, flicked the lighter in his hand several times, and three players, along with several nearby bodyguards, all burst into flames!

As soon as the fire started, the three players quickly retreated. Simultaneously, the automatic sprinklers from the smoke detectors began spraying water, but the fire spread rapidly once ignited and couldn’t be extinguished quickly. With the fire raging, not only the other people on the viewing platform but even the bodyguards began to flee.

Tranquilizer darts kept shooting toward Xu Huo. He showed no mercy—whoever fired at him, he set them on fire—while moving toward Yang Chao’s location.

Yang Chao’s face showed fear as he hid behind players while backing toward a room.