Chapter 297: Capture
Black Blood Colosseum was different from the legal monster colosseums in the world outside. But then again, most of the colosseums in the lair were built indoors.
They were not that big, but that also meant that the spectators were really close to the monsters. There was usually only a high-voltage electrical net separating the spectators and monsters.
The smell of blood and sweat meshed together with money, desires, and death. The resulting smell could stir up anyone’s emotions.
The arena in Black Blood Colosseum was a metal cage suspended in the air by dozens of thick metal chains. All the seats were designed to surround the metal cage.
And the best VIP seats were right under the cage.
That way, when the monsters were killed, the blood and organs that spilled out of them would spill on the spectators’ faces.
When Meng Chao and Lu Siya stepped into Black Blood Colosseum, they heard loud cheers from the audience.
A monster resembling a giant ape stood in the cage. It was more than three meters tall, and its fur was snow white. It lifted a feline-type monster and, with a loud crack, broke its spine. Then, it brought it to its mouth and bit into it. Once it tore a b.l.o.o.d.y hole, it ripped the monster in half.
Then, it tossed the mangled corpse to the side of the cage.
Bright electrical arcs instantly shone around the cage to electrocute the corpse until it let out cracking sounds and smoke rose from it.
“This Iron-armed White Ape is a monster from Black Bone. Recently, it has won three consecutive matches. Many people place their bets on it,” the Poison Scorpion member explained softly.
“How is it?” Lu Siya asked Meng Chao quietly.
Meng Chao squinted and observed it for a long time.
“The frequency of the dilution and shrinking of its pupils is clearly higher than that of normal white apes. Its limbs are trembling as well. White foam is coming out of its nostrils, and it has a pinkish hue. It should be caused by using too much strength; its alveoli should have burst.”
Meng Chao thought about it and said, “These are all signs of a monster being injected with too many stimulants or drugs that cause it to go berserk. If I dissected this Iron-armed White Ape now, its lungs would be similar to those of the three biochemical pets who went out of control.”
“So, it means that we’re at the right place.” Lu Siya’s eyes lit up, and she asked, “Where is the preparation room for Black Bone Fighting Squad?”
“It’s over there, in the bas.e.m.e.nt.” The Poison Scorpion member hesitated for a moment before he asked, “Should we notify Black Bone of this?”
Lu Siya thought about it for a while before she said, “Not now. Once we find the person, we can discuss this further. Otherwise, they won’t admit to it.
“You don’t have to go. We don’t want any trouble between Black Bone and Poison Scorpion. We’ll go and take a look, then decide on what we should do.”
Meng Chao and Lu Siya strode to the bas.e.m.e.nt.
At the end of the corridor, they ran into a few built guards, which stared at them with wariness.
Lu Siya thought about it and brought Meng Chao to the first floor.
It was the hall to buy tickets and bargaining chips. The management here was relatively lax.
Lu Siya asked Meng Chao to serve as her sentry while she went to the backdoor. She found a corner where there was no one around before she placed her hand gently on the floor and started chanting.
As spirit energy ripples spread out, her palm gradually fused into the floor.
Lu Siya was a mine explorer. She could “scan” the structure of the rock strata underground through the feedback given to her by spirit energy ripples. She could read the alignment of the crystal mines with it.
This also meant that she could “scan” the internal structure of a building based on the different tremors from the walls, pillars, and foundation.
She a.n.a.lyzed the situation carefully and said, “We have to go to the southwest corner of the building. There are a few really huge s.p.a.ces over there. The walls, ceiling, and floors have been strengthened in unique ways. There are steel plates carved with runic symbols and other defensive measures in them. They should be there to prevent monsters from fleeing.
“Also, the location coincides with the spot we saw just now. You know, the end of the corridor with the really tight defense.
“If my guess is correct, that should be the preparation room for the monster fighting squads.”
As she spoke, Lu Siya removed her sungla.s.ses and earrings. She sucked in a deep breath, and her face instantly turned stark pale.
Meng Chao knew that she had just used her talent as a Spirit Sensor to search for information on the bas.e.m.e.nt in the southwest corner.
However, due to the stimulation from the Red Radiance Jades increasing her ability, she could not use her talent at will and control it properly. Every time she gathered information from her target, a large amount of other unnecessary information would surge into her brain, such as the crowd shouting at the top of their lungs, the stench of blood gushing out of the monsters’ bodies, and other such details.
“Are you okay?” Meng Chao supported her with familiar movements.
“I’m fine. I just wanted to listen closely to the voices in the preparation room.” Lu Siya narrowed her eyes and listened for a while with her ear turned in that direction. “I was right. I can hear a lot of monsters rubbing their claws and gnashing their teeth. They’re also scratching at the walls. I can also hear the sounds of the chains binding their limbs knocking into each other. There’s a lot of growling too. That is indeed the place where the monsters are locked.
“Wait. There’s a set of footsteps. They belong to a human, but sound really strange.
“He or she is clearly a human, but those footsteps are really heavy and stiff. They’re like... mechanical prosthetics!”
Lu Siya and Meng Chao exchanged a glance.
Without a doubt, there was a person with a set of mechanical prosthetic legs in Black Bone’s monster preparation room.
Who else would it be other than Small Insect, whose legs were crushed and rendered useless?
“What should we do now?” Meng Chao mouthed to Lu Siya. “Do we use Poison Scorpion to negotiate with Black Bone and have them hand the person over?”
“Impossible.” Lu Siya shook her head gently. “Small Insect is Black Bone’s golden goose. There’s no way they will hand him over just because of a single sentence from Poison Scorpion. That’s the same as them ruining their own brand.
“There are just too many ways to make a person completely disappear in a lair. Black Bone just needs to deny it, then throw Small Insect into the depths of the lair to make sure that there is no proof of them keeping him around. Unless we break down the hundreds of buildings here and filter through the hundreds of thousands or even millions of people,, we won’t be able to find Small Insect.
“And if we cause a ruckus, the main instigator and mastermind in Heavenly Works Machines, who is hiding behind Jin Yongqiang, might try to kill us to silence us, and that will be problematic.
“To prevent future problems, we have to capture Small Insect right now and get his testimony as quickly as possible so that we can solve the case.
“... Wait. The door was opened. The person stomping around with the mechanical legs has walked out. He didn’t come out with the monsters but walked out alone into the corridor. Where is he going?”
Lu Siya’s mind raced. She quickly a.n.a.lyzed the structure of the building, and her eyes lit up.
“He went to the toilet!
“The toilets on the first floor and in the bas.e.m.e.nt are at the same location. They’re both at the end of the corridor behind us. Small Insect went to the toilet alone!
“This is a rare chance! We have to seize the chance now and take him without anyone noticing us. This is the only way!”
As she spoke, she jumped up and ran to the toilet.
Meng Chao followed her. “What if we made the wrong guess and the person is not Small Insect?”
While running, Lu Siya said, “Then, I will have to activate my spirit energy magnetic field of a five-star superhuman and apologize to him sincerely.”
“Where are the elites from the abnormal beast research department? We’re already at this stage of the mission, so they should be showing up now, right?”
“They’re here. They’re lurking around the building,” Lu Siya said. “If it’s possible, don’t alert anyone. We want to end the fight in ten seconds. This Small Insect is a vet and a pharmacist. He shouldn’t have a lot of fighting strength. We’re more than enough to instantly subdue him.”
Meng Chao gritted his teeth and asked the third question. “But how are we going to break into the toilet in the bas.e.m.e.nt from the toilet on the first floor?”
“Like this!”
Lu Siya brought Meng Chao to the entrance of the toilet on the first floor.
Meng Chao pushed the door of the men’s toilet open, took a look, came back, and said softly, “There’s someone inside.”
Lu Siya pushed the door of the women’s toilet open and took a look. Then, she dragged Meng Chao inside.
She pressed her hands tightly against the floor of the women’s toilet while chanting. Spirit tattoos showed up on her arms. As spirit energy surged into the floor, she changed the atomic structure of the reinforced concrete. The floor, which had a diameter of more than half a meter, instantly turned into gravel, and a hole opened up.
The toilet in the bas.e.m.e.nt was prepared for the staff of the monster fighting squads. Normal people seldom used it, and at that moment, there was no one in the women’s toilet under them.
They jumped into the hole, and from the women’s toilet on the first floor, they entered the women’s toilet at the first bas.e.m.e.nt floor.
When they pushed the door open and walked out, they were just in time to see the door of the men’s toilet open up. A man with his legs replaced by mechanical legs walked out.
He was on the slightly chubby side, and his skin sagged. His face was puffy and pale. If anyone looked at him closely, they would see that he suffered from slight edema. They could also see traces of cuts left by scalpels and st.i.tches on his face, which made his expression a little unnatural. He appeared to have gone through plastic surgery.
When he saw Meng Chao and Lu Siya walking out of the women’s toilet, he was stunned for a moment before he came to a conclusion as to what they had been doing, and he gave them a lecherous smile.
Meng Chao and Lu Siya smiled a little. One of them stared at his hands, and the other stared at his expression.
“Small Insect, it’s been discovered what you did!” Lu Siya took a step forward and blocked his path. “Jin Yongqiang is already dead, and the next one will be you!”
The man’s expression changed swiftly.
He looked in the direction of the preparation room and forced out a smile. “You got the wrong person—”
“It’s him!” Meng Chao said. “There are traces of corrosion from monster acid and drugs on his fingers. He’s either a vet or a pharmacist!”
“That’s right. Plastic surgery can change your looks, but it can’t hide your expressions,” Lu Siya said. “You’re lying. You’re Small Insect!”
Small Insect screeched. He shoved at them and tried to flee to the preparation room.
Lu Siya smirked coldly. She snapped her fingers, and the floor under his feet immediately became b.u.mpy. He could not control his feet on an uneven surface because it had not been long since he had started using the mechanical legs, and the next instant, he fell face flat on the floor.
Meng Chao stepped on his spine so that he could not let out a single sound.
However, against their expectations, it was not over. Small Insect pressed a b.u.t.ton on his waist, and a piercing alarm rang out in the preparation room at the end of the corridor and from his waist.
Eight armed and built men immediately rushed out of the preparation room and charged at Meng Chao and Lu Siya like hungry tigers.