Chapter 43: Chapter 39: Suppression
The next morning, many people started migrating away from the area, not everyone dared to resist.
The department store’s doors were tightly locked; Master Batu had already left this controversial place with Mia and others.
Xu Mo had practiced with a war saber all night yesterday, using people for practice.
Walking on the street, he draped a black coat over his battle armor, and, with a backpack slung over his back, his youthful face did not attract attention.
At that moment, the street was filled with a strange atmosphere, the Law Enforcement Team and warriors in black and white armor were everywhere. Xu Mo felt scrutinized as he walked, as if any slight move would lead to his immediate elimination.
Bodies were everywhere on the street, and seeing all this made Xu Mo feel somewhat surreal, as if he had arrived in a human purgatory, evoking in him a strong sense of nausea.
The so-called ‘Law Enforcement Team’ seemed more like executioners.
“Thud, thud, thud…” Distant streets carried a tremor, making the ground shudder; Xu Mo could feel the vibrations from afar.
He looked in the direction of the vibrations, another group was approaching.
In the forefront, there were several steel monsters.
“Mecha?” Xu Mo stared, these steel monsters had massive mechanical bodies. Though they weren’t humanoid mechas, they moved forward on four mechanical legs, appearing somewhat clumsy but filled with a sense of power. They were slow, but each step caused the ground to tremble.
On such a mechanical shell, firearms would likely be of no meaning whatsoever.
Behind the steel monsters, there were armored warriors following the monsters, with another group of people behind.
The ground kept trembling, and Xu Mo stared ahead; he was near the black market now.
He saw half the steel monsters and a large group slowly turn and head toward the inside of the black market, while the other half continued forward, causing Xu Mo’s pupils to constrict.
Was this to suppress the power of the black market?
He continued walking forward, intense noises coming from his side as steel monsters and the suppression team passed him by. People like Xu Mo were sticking to the walls on both sides of the street, afraid to become clear targets.
“Such steel monsters, ordinary people probably have no ability to resist,” Xu Mo felt a bit sorrowful inside, indeed as Master Batu had said, the suppression power was growing stronger.
The locals of the Underworld didn’t have advanced weapons, technology was constrained.
But now, the city-state had begun deploying heavy mechas to suppress the riots, the resistance would likely be quickly crushed.
Xu Mo approached the black market, his senses spreading toward the inside. After the steel monsters entered the black market, they directly fired at both sides of the street.
“Boom…” The cannon fire collapsed the buildings; the last night’s suppression mission had not gone smoothly, thus heavy mechas were deployed.
“Boom, boom, boom!”
The terrifying firepower soon flattened both sides of the street, and one could faintly hear the pitiful howls of people caught inside, torn limb from limb, with some not having enough time to react before being reduced to nothing.
The people following the heavy mechas entered the black market, and the Law Enforcement Team also went in.
After a round of cannon fire suppression, the area near the black market’s entrance had been cleared; they continued forward.
The steel monsters entered the black market, leveling everything in their path, turning the black market into a field of ruins.
Amidst the buildings, children’s cries were heard, and women tremblingly held their children.
“Continue the clearing operation.” A mechanical, harsh voice issued, followed by another round of cannon fire, blood splattered everywhere.
Suddenly, intense vibrations emanated from the black market, not from the heavy mecha cannon fire, but explosions of bombs that buried the heavy mechas in the ruins.
The ‘Armored Warriors’ were also severely blasted, and the people behind them looked around, seeing many armed with guns charging toward them.
“Beasts.”
Someone was furiously roaring, screaming, shooting wildly.
Xu Mo stood outside the black market, the scene in the distance becoming less clear, but he could vaguely see the fierce battle. The area outside the black market was also sealed off; although it was a hub of criminal activity, it also housed the lower-class locals of the black market, but clearly, this was an indiscriminate slaughter.
They wanted to completely level the black market.
Those ‘big shots’ ruled the Underworld, treating the people of the Underworld like ‘beasts.’
Mere labor was no longer enough to satisfy them.
Genetic experiments, massacres, who knows how many sins remained undisclosed in the darkness.
Qin Zhong’s plotting had uncovered a corner of the darkness, but his purpose was definitely not pure. For his ‘purpose,’ idealists like Ye Qingdie fought relentlessly.
The group fighting in the black market at this moment also had many idealists like Ye Qingdie, deceived, perhaps?
And others in the black market were paying the price with their lives for Qin Zhong’s ‘plans.’
The resistance powers like the bombs in the black market were clearly something Qin Zhong had long planned for; what was he really trying to do?
Moreover, Qin Zhong must have been planning for a long time.
This round of attacks on the black market lasted a long time but failed to break through. Several heavy mechas fell, some blown up by bombs, others falling into well-prepared traps. The battle inside grew increasingly brutal.
They had underestimated the resistance forces of the black market; this was a long-planned operation.
Inside the black market, a casino.
At that moment, the casino table was piled high with various weapons, many of which were heavy artillery. After the incident erupted, Qin Zhong had immediately incited the public to overturn the Valen Armory, and a large number of weapons had been plundered and brought here.
The black market was full of people, and many of them were reckless, desperate for money.
So, while the casino tables were stacked with firearms, the fighting arena was piled high with Federation coins.
Of course, this money didn’t belong to Qin Zhong. It was the casino’s, which should have been turned over, but now it served as his tool.
Qin Zhong stood upstairs, clad in combat armor, wearing a mask. On either side of him were others in armor, holding guns. These men were his trusted followers, raised like Ye Qingdie and the others from an early age, some trained personally by him, others not.
Watching those charging out with guns, a cold smile appeared beneath Qin Zhong’s metallic mask.
“Men die for wealth as birds die for food,” it has always been so.
Compared to those driven by greed, he preferred followers like Ye Qingdie, who were ‘loyally devout’ and had their own beliefs.
Born in darkness, seeking light.
But they had been wrong from the start. The underworld would never have light; behind the darkness, there was only deeper darkness.
This was a place untouched by light.
What a pity!
…
The number inside the black market was increasing, as the team suppressing the black market had penetrated deeper, leaving fewer people guarding the entrance.
Xu Mo put on his helmet, his senses permeating inside as he moved closer to the entrance of the black market.
He seemed to hear a movement; the people in black and white armor inside turned around.
“Hiss…” The dark War Saber traced an arc, instantly slaying a line of people, Xu Mo didn’t stop, charging forward against the bullets.
The sabre’s light flickered, blood splattered, and several heads were severed by the War Saber as Xu Mo continued to run towards the inside of the black market.
Instead of heading to the central battlefield, he sprinted through the remote paths toward Black Market No. 425, his senses spreading out at full strength, his brain scanning everything clearly within a one-kilometer radius.
“Pfft…” A figure just emerging ahead was instantly decapitated by the War Saber, blood splattering.
Xu Mo continued to dash forward, delving deeper into the black market. This area hadn’t been attacked by the heavy firepower of the Mecha, but the Law Enforcement Team had entered this side for a clearing mission.
The blade light flashed at different locations, the dark War Saber stained red with blood.
Outside the abandoned factory, Ye Qingdie and the others were also being surrounded and attacked. A group shot wildly at the facing storefront, while Ye Qingdie hid inside.
At that moment, a figure appeared on the rooftop, his left arm a mechanical arm, shooting out stunning flashes of lightning, piercing through the armor of one person below and fatally wounding them.
Others reacted, shooting at the rooftop. The figure swiftly dodged, continuing forward in his armor toward the direction of the shop.
Right then, another figure sprinted from behind, apparently hearing the noise, as a few people turned around.
A dark war sabre fell, and a head flew off instantly; those in the front turned as well, but a blue lightning beam hit their heads, killing them instantly, and the group was swiftly cleared.
The figure from the rooftop landed, looking warily at the oncoming figure.
To his surprise, it was Xiao Qi.
“Who are you?” Xiao Qi aimed the gun in his hand at Xu Mo, who looked back at him. By now, Xiao Qi had undergone profound modifications—his arms were no longer humanoid, but completely mechanical.
Ye Qingdie also stepped out, looking towards Xu Mo.
“It’s me,” Xu Mo spoke, causing both Ye Qingdie and Xiao Qi to flinch.
“Xu Mo?” Xiao Qi’s voice carried a hint of excitement, looking at Xu Mo he said, “Did you also get new gear?”
“Your body?” Xu Mo looked at Xiao Qi.
“Doctor’s latest technology, cool, isn’t it?” Xiao Qi grinned brightly, though Xu Mo felt somewhat sad as he looked on; the young Xiao Qi was no longer fully human but rather half human, half mechanical.
But, being alive was already quite good.
“Cool,” Xu Mo nodded with a slight, melancholic smile.
Xiao Qi was only fifteen.
“Brother Xu Mo, I owe you thanks. Sister Butterfly spent all the remaining Federation coins on me,” Xiao Qi said as if it didn’t bother him, still smiling, “Where did you get this battle armor from? It looks awesome.”
“Let’s talk inside,” Xu Mo responded, and Ye Qingdie nodded. They went back inside the abandoned factory.
Inside the factory, Xu Mo opened his backpack, revealing two sets of battle armor he had obtained the day before.
Ye Qingdie and the others recognized one set as Secretary Jin’s, and they looked at Xu Mo with some surprise. Both sets were exceptional Set Armors that could enhance their combat power significantly.
Ye Qingdie looked at Xu Mo, feeling a trace of sorrow in her heart, but she smiled and asked, “Xu Mo, how do you want Sister Butterfly to thank you?”
Xu Mo looked up at her, “Can I feel it again?”
How could I have mistaken it!
“Of course,” Ye Qingdie paused, then replied with a smile.