Chapter 482: Layers of Confusion
Meng Chao’s heart instantly leapt into his throat.
Zhou Chong whispered by his side, “It’s fine. The secret police implanted the most advanced biochemical chips in the two robbers. The raw materials were taken from crystalized neurospheres and the periosteum of the monster brain. They won’t be discovered by metal detectors.”
Just as he said, after some rustling sounds, Big Brother Knife snorted softly and said, “Come in.”
The two robbers were finally relieved. They quickly said, “Thank you, Big Brother Knife! Thank you!”
Then came the sound of a door closing and locking.
Based on the sounds, the door was very thick. Some kind of armor might have been installed in it. It had at least three locks and might have high-voltage electricity circuits and explosives in it.
Based on the t.i.tle they used to refer to the man and the characteristics of the person’s voiceprint, the handler’s ident.i.ty was found immediately.
[Chen Hao, former member of Poison Scorpion. He’s in charge of the betting pool at the periphery of b.l.o.o.d.y Claw Coliseum and offering loans. He’s a smart and forthright person, and he has wide connections in the lair.
[A year and a half ago, he worked with someone to tamper with the betting pool so that he could gain profit, which infringed upon the profit of Poison Scorpion, and he was punished according to gang rules.
[Originally, the action of harming the interests of the gang for one’s own gains should have led to his death, but someone powerful begged for mercy, so only his arm and leg were crippled. Then, he was chased out of Poison Scorpion and left to his own devices.
[Chen Hao paid for bladed limbs that give off a cold, metallic shine, then continued earning a living in the depths of the lair. That’s how he came to get his nickname Big Brother Knife.
[But since he had angered Poison Scorpion and been crippled, it was impossible for him to thrive as well as before. At most, he could only wander about the Three Unmanaged Areas, which are located between the territories controlled by the gangs and take the sc.r.a.ps left by the gangs. He had to live at the bottom of the entire gray food chain in the lair.
[However, over the past few months, he suddenly started spending extravagantly. Quite a number of gang members saw him using a lot of money in the black market to buy monster materials worth cities. Someone also saw him treating old friends, who are all the backbones of various gangs, to meals.
[Some people suspect that Chen Hao has found someone to support him. But since his actions never infringed upon the interests of the gangs, no one was interested in digging to the bottom of things. Curiosity kills the cat in the lair, and it might even kill its entire family.]
The information was transformed into neural signals through the wireless network in ten minutes and displayed on Meng Chao and the veteran hunters’ retina.
Along with it were a few blurry pictures.
Chen Hao was a middle-aged man with a thin body and a slightly hunched back. He gave off the fierce presence of a scimitar.
His gloomy gaze and the huge scimitar that replaced his entire right arm and looked like the G.o.d of Death’s scythe caused him to give off an air that isolated him.
There was also a video. In it, he leaned against the corner of a wall and limped forward like a water snake.
Zhou Chong pondered over this and said, “Chen Hao had joined Poison Scorpion for more than ten years. He was originally a lackey in charge of delivering betting chips to the people at the periphery of the coliseum, but he worked his way up to become the manager of the betting pool.
“He knew a lot of people, and there were all sorts of good and bad people among them. He also knew every nook and cranny of the lair. If I were the mastermind, I would use someone influential in the lair to act in public for me.”
At that moment, a new voice came from the underground room.
One of the two robbers asked, “Big Brother Knife, when are you going to take us to the boss?”
This question caused all the veteran hunters to perk up.
The boss the robbers mentioned might be the mastermind who sent them the emails, gave them the drugs and equipment, and gave them instructions to complete the entire crime.
Meng Chao’s heart raced. He knew that the boss they mentioned was likely to be the Supernatural Ent.i.ty Vortex!
Big Brother Knife scoffed coldly. “What? Are you in a hurry to meet the boss?”
“Of course.”
The other robber did not hear the warning tone in Big Brother Knife’s words and said foolishly, “The boss is just too amazing. His plan helped us make the secret police run around in circles. Even though some of our friends were captured, we managed to leave so many superhumans in such a pathetic state despite our status. Even if we got shot down, it would have been worth it!
“We want to meet the boss to thank him personally and ask him what the next step of the plan is. We can’t wait to eat more Deification Capsules and fight to our hearts’ content!
“Speaking of which, when is the launching date of the next plan and where will it happen? Right now, the guard outside is very tight, and the warehouses and labs of the big companies have all increased their defense systems. It would be difficult for us to do anything for a period of time!”
“This isn’t something you should be asking. Knowing too much won’t do you any good,” Big Brother Knife said coldly. He then stopped talking for a while, but then could not help but add, “It doesn’t matter even if the guard is tight outside. Just take care of yourselves. We might have a major operation soon.”
“Soon?” The two robbers were dumbfounded.
The sharper one immediately registered what he meant and immediately said, “I get it. The boss means that we’re going to attack the targets in the lair next, right?”
“That’s right. The black markets, secret warehouses and labs of the gangs must contain a lot of cultivation resources, and among them are plenty of supreme-grade goods worth cities. You might not even find them outside. We’ll be stealing them under the boss’ commands!
“The best thing is that the gangs in the lair have always been very adverse to the outside forces infiltrating the lair. Even if we steal a lot, it’s just the bad stealing from the bad, so they won’t report this to the government!”
“But I heard that the Underground Emperor of Golden Tooth Lair is very powerful,” the other robber said hesitantly. “If we end up being captured by him, our fates will be even worse than if we were captured by the secret police.”
“Jin Wanhao is old. What Underground Emperor? He’s just an old dog who is hiding in the lair while on his dying bed. The boss is able to make the secret police run around in circles, so one measly Jin Wanhao is just a dead dog in front of him!”
The first robber slapped his chest. “Don’t worry, Big Brother Knife. As long as the boss sends word, even if they want us to climb up bladed mountains, jump into pots of boiling oil, or cut Jin Wanhao to shreds, we’ll do it without another word!”
Big Brother Knife was silent for a while.
No one knew whether he was shocked by the robbers’ arrogance or stupidity.
In the end, he said, “Both of you, stay here. You should eat something and restore your stamina. I’ll hand over the goods to the boss and send someone to treat your wounds. Once you regain your strength, you might join the operation at any moment.”
“Thank you, Big Brother Knife,” both of the robbers said simultaneously. “We don’t care about anything. We just need Deification Capsules, a lot more of them!”
Big Brother Knife said nothing.
The soft sound of a door opening and closing came from the other side of the room.
The hunters looked at each other, and they could see the grave look in one another’s gaze.
The most troublesome thing was about to happen. Vortex was indeed going to target the gangs in the lair next.
If hundreds of crimes appeared at the same time in a place like Golden Tooth Lair, there would definitely be a chain reaction. Not only would the gangs descend into chaos, the countless lost people who had been lurking for decades in the lair might make their move!
Zhou Chong spoke quickly. “The other party wants to send the monster materials the two robbers stole to the boss. It’s highly likely that they’re going to use it to create Deification Capsules.
“Mo Lan, Xue Rui, do your best to get close to the target and see where he sends the monster materials!”
The veteran hunters had entered the hornet nest-like underground from the different entrances of the buildings nearby.
Even if the Heaven Realm superhumans had great spatial a.n.a.lysis, navigation, and senses so sharp that they could detect things with their body hair, when they arrived at the dark underground that had winding paths and was as complicated as a maze, they still felt dizzy.
Fortunately, Big Brother Knife had a limp, and to hide it as well as balance himself, he intentionally wore a high-heel boot with steel plates. When he walked, he made a lot of noise, so it was easy to locate him.
Soon, Mo Lan found Chen Hao.
She did not stop. Instead, she increased her speed and brushed past him. During that instant, she set her sights on the bulges under his cloak. They had to be the outdoor survival backpacks, full of stolen goods, that the two robbers brought into the lair.
Xue Rui immediately hid in the dark and observed the direction Chen Hao took from the distance.
Chen Hao did not leave the building.
He went up a spiraling staircase that looked like a shaft to reach the third floor above ground and walked into a room.
Since the staircase was too narrow, only one person could go up and down the stairs. Neither Mo Lan nor Xue Rui dared to follow him up for fear of raising suspicion.
But based on Chen Hao’s footsteps, they could take a general guess which room he went into.
“Should we force our way inside?”
Multi-armed Bear Hong Li was eager to take action.
Man-eating Shark Zhou Chong pondered this for a while, then said, “Wait. We’ll observe for a little longer. The mastermind doesn’t seem like someone who will hide here. This is too close to the first contact point. They’re in the same building.
“Also, we never discovered any components of the Deification Capsule in the underground liquid waste in this area. The ventilation and drain systems here aren’t too good, so it doesn’t seem like it’s a secret pharmacy.
“I suspect that this is just a transfer station. Don’t alert the enemy. We’ll wait and see who’s going to come out from inside.”
Zhou Chong was right.
Soon, there were footsteps out of the room Chen Hao entered.
But it was not one person. Nine people with roller skates and hooded cloaks and goggles jumped down from the window of the third floor. The wheels under their feet created sparks, allowing them to display the agility of apes as they traveled forward in different directions.
They looked as if they ignored gravity and were moving in all 360 degrees through the alleys.
Some people even fired grappling hooks from their wide sleeves and fixed them to the bulges on the buildings to bring themselves to the top of the buildings, which were dozens of meters tall. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared into the depths of the lair.
Meng Chao and the veteran hunters all saw it clearly. The nine roller skaters had bulky cloaks, as if they were carrying huge outdoor survival backpacks.