Chapter 61: Chapter 56: Bloodshed
The night shift at the Law Enforcement Team’s eastern district remained brightly lit, with incessant bustle within the building and the sound of cursing spilling out.
The detention rooms were packed to brim; the captured criminals could hardly fit.
Patrolling security personnel outside the Law Enforcement Team building heard the cursing and whispered among themselves, “Don’t be fooled by the fierce swearing of those bastards, they’re all secretly delighted, probably made a fortune from this raid.”
“That’s for sure. They say that Narrens spent half an hour searching a single house and came out still savoring the experience. What takes that long to search?” asked someone nearby.
“Frisking, perhaps.” They seemed disgruntled about missing out on the operation.
“Looks like when the captain gets back, we’ll have to think of something to send his way.”
As they conversed, three figures appeared from the darkness in the distance.
All three were fully armed, encased in Battle Armor, their faces obscured.
The one on the left carried a cannon, and the other two had guns as well.
Just by their gear, the security personnel began to wonder, who really belonged to the Law Enforcement Team?
Their own equipment seemed rather shabby in comparison.
“Run…”
They decided instantly, not even considering resistance, and turned to sprint toward the Law Enforcement Team building.
Who the hell were these people? Just last night they had stormed Chairman Tyrone’s house.
Were they planning to raid the Law Enforcement Team today?
After spending the entire day apprehending suspects, their quarry had now boldly arrived.
Well, that solved the problem of having to look for them.
Xu Mo fired his gun, the purple Lightning Chains lighting up the dark night with dazzling brilliance, piercing through the bodies of the fleeing men, who fell without a chance to retaliate.
Xu Mo glanced at the weapon in his hand, a piece looted from Councilman Tyrone, powered by Source Power Blocks.
But having pillaged Councilman Tyrone’s house, they were entitled to a bit of extravagance today.
Someone in the Law Enforcement Team building noticed the disturbance and stepped out to look, only to see several figures standing outside, one of them blasting away with a cannon.
“Boom…”
With an explosive sound, that man’s body was sent flying and the Law Enforcement Team’s building itself trembled.
Alarm bells sounded, and inside, people stopped their frantic work to grab their weapons.
“Boom, boom, boom…” Ye Qingdie fired successive shots, shattering the entrance door and windows above, where someone attempted to take cover for a shot and was instantly blown to pieces.
After a round of bombardment, the three of them walked into the interior.
Xu Mo entered first and immediately picked up a Lightning Gun to sweep fire. Back to back, the three covered three directions, leaving the Law Enforcement Team’s lobby decimated after their salvo. Some people hid under desks, trembling and even wetting their pants.
Such audacious thugs were unheard of.
Blasting their way into the building?
To them, Xu Mo was just a thug, but Xu Mo didn’t consider them a legitimate Law Enforcement Team either.
These people were but the ‘Company’s’ executioners.
The so-called City State Council and the Law Enforcement Team were nothing more than puppets bred by ‘big shots,’ just as Councilman Tyrone dubbed them ‘the Company.’
The essence of the Underworld was an underground factory.
The so-called Law Enforcement Team was just that in name.
They weren’t even a core institution of the Council, only there to oppress the common people.
As Xu Mo had learned, the City State Guard, both in terms of authority and equipment, were ranked above the Law Enforcement Team.
Moreover, there were other covert organizations.
The purple Lightning Chains pierced right through desks, clearing out those hiding underneath. Xu Mo headed left, while Ye Qingdie and Xiao Qi went upstairs to continue the cleanup.
As for Shadow, he stayed outside keeping watch, their roles clearly defined.
After going upstairs, Xu Mo burst open the detention room doors of the Law Enforcement Team building. Though not all those detained were necessarily good people, he needed chaos. The more disordered it was, the harder they would be to find.
The freed inmates, exhilarated at the takedown of the Law Enforcement Team, joined the mayhem, turning the entire Law Enforcement Team building into a complete mess.
While the prisoners were still causing chaos, Xu Mo and his comrades had discreetly withdrawn. Patrol reinforcements had arrived but were swiftly dealt with.
Another sleepless night ensued.
Law Enforcement Teams from other districts arrived to quell the chaos, but everyone had already scattered, and things were turbulent outside.
The imprisoned criminals vented their fury by rampaging everywhere, dragged into the situation without a clue why.
This time, the chief Law Enforcement Team didn’t issue an order to pursue the thugs.
They seemed to realize a harsh truth: the Law Enforcement Team was simply no match for these thugs.
Even if they found them, they were likely facing a ruthless purge — not just the search members, but the Law Enforcement Team building itself had been taken down.
This matter was better left to the City State Council and the City State Guard to worry about.
The Law Enforcement Team couldn’t handle it anymore.
As for the blockade, with the power the thugs had shown, could the central city’s defenses really hold them back?
If the thugs wanted to leave, they could probably break out at any moment.
The next day, the City State Council established a special investigation bureau to look into the two violent incidents. All departments were to cooperate quietly, rather than making a big show of searching, as it would only alert the suspects.
They needed to locate the thugs and carry out a targeted capture, aiming for a quick and decisive end.
At the same time, the Council and all major locations dispatched elite members of the City State Guard, enforcing stricter security.
They were curious to see just how long a mere few thugs could continue their rampage.
With the investigation bureau established and various departments involved, they drew a conclusion based on witnesses’ reports.
It wasn’t long before they speculated that these thugs might match the descriptions of the four fugitives who had broken out of the black market and destroyed the Mecha a year prior, potentially the same wanted individuals from the incident a year ago.
Lacking photographs of the suspects, they had no way to track them down, and finding the four fugitives, if they were in hiding, would be next to impossible.
So, the other side had been hidden for a year without any news.
But now, they seemed to have reappeared.
And when they did, it was a shock to the heavens, as they barged into a Councilman’s home to behead him and broke through the Law Enforcement Team.
What more did they intend to do?
No one knew, but the Council had to be cautious and dispatched elite investigators.
Mission level: S-class!
As the instigators of this turmoil, Xu Mo and his companions went back to the tavern to catch up on sleep.
Invading the Councilman’s house, overpowering the Law Enforcement Team, they had been driven to such actions out of sheer necessity.
Wasn’t running a small tavern difficult enough?
For Xu Mo at present, the most important things were to find Mia and Yaoer, as well as to earn money for cultivation and improve himself.
The search shifted from the open to the shadows, and the main city area lifted its lockdown, seemingly relaxing all of a sudden, which puzzled many.
But those in the know understood that it was because the thugs’ strength had reached a certain level, rendering ordinary pursuit and interception meaningless.
This was an easing in the open but a tightening behind the scenes.
Xu Mo didn’t concern himself with these matters. The informed were basically eliminated, and even if someone had their eyes on him, they couldn’t escape his perception.
Capturing him would not be an easy task.
In this period, Elsa visited the tavern daily to have a few drinks and casually chat with Xu Mo.
She stopped short of displaying her feelings, as if she wasn’t the same person who had an emotional breakdown that day.
Elsa’s fondness for Xu Mo was obvious to Ye Qingdie and the others.
Thus, they often teased Xu Mo about giving him time off, suggesting that if he wished, he could surely win her over.
However, Xu Mo had no such intentions.
During this time, he participated casually in two Gold-level competitions, winning first place in both and smoothly collecting Diamond Arena points.
…
The Arena.
Stands that could hold tens of thousands of people were jam-packed, the roar of the crowd vibrated eardrums.
This was the first Diamond-tier match of the year, and when the competing fighters emerged, the entire Arena shook as if hit by an earthquake, filled with frenzied cheers.
Those who qualified for the Diamond competition were the cream of the crop in Gold-level events, which earned them Diamond points.
The first-place winner of a Diamond competition could take home a prize of two hundred thousand Federation dollars—a fortune in the Underworld.
Of course, compared to the earnings of a single Diamond match, it wasn’t much.
The fighters only got a small fraction.
In the stands, Xiao Qi stood up again, legs spread, hands cupped around the mouth, shouting, “Are you here to fight…”
“Pff!”
Before he could finish, Sister Butterfly kicked him over, nearly making him tumble forward.
“Sister Butterfly,” Xiao Qi got up, looking at Ye Qingdie with a wounded expression. She crossed her arms over her chest, face full of disdain.
Too embarrassing!
“Sister Butterfly, ever since Xu Mo came along, you’ve changed,” Xiao Qi said, with a hurt look towards Ye Qingdie.
“Get lost!” Ye Qingdie ignored his nonsense.
In the Arena, Xu Mo watched the fighters emerge from different directions, everyone’s gear different, even as the Arena itself provided equipment suitable for Diamond-tier matches.
“I wonder if there’s anyone in the Diamond Arena who poses a threat to me,” Xu Mo thought to himself.
The Diamond competition must be considered top-tier combat power in the Underworld, featuring the elite of the elite.
Xu Mo caught sight of a familiar figure, Caesar.
His strength was not weak, having won first place in a Gold-level event and now had acquired Diamond points as well.
The competition began!
Caesar also noticed Xu Mo. This time, he did not seek Xu Mo out but instead charged at another competitor.
The opponent was burly, donning a dark mask, draped in hefty Battle Armor, gripping a War Axe, somewhat similar to Caesar.
Caesar leapt into the air, his War Axe swinging down at his similarly outfitted adversary, intent on eliminating him first.
The man looked up, emotionless eyes beneath the dark mask, raising his War Axe and unleashing a thunderous blow that collided with Caesar’s.
“Bang…”
A giant boom, and Caesar was sent flying away.
“Such incredible power,” Caesar reeled internally. Was this the caliber of a Diamond fighter?
“Boom.”
The figure stamped down, the ground vibrating intensely beneath him, charging toward Caesar like a Monster, his twin-axe hands hacking down fiercely.
Caesar lifted his War Axe to meet the blow, arms trembling, palms nearly splitting as the Axe struck the ground.
His face turned pale with shock, hands raised, he declared, “I concede.”
But the eyes beneath the opponent’s mask stayed fixed on him, War Axe raised again.
Caesar’s expression changed dramatically—usually, conceding in the Arena meant the opponent would stop, unless they were bloodthirsty.
This time, he faced a bloodthirsty opponent.
Caesar turned and fled toward the exit, aiming to escape the Arena, which would be the only safe place under such circumstances.
“Splurt!”
The fleeing Caesar was beheaded, even his helmet and mask split open, blood spraying out, silencing some of the crowd’s cheers while inciting others into a frenzy.
The first Diamond competition saw blood.