Capital ring. Li Mo took a very enjoyable bath together with several beautiful women before heading into the living room to turn on the most advanced 745-inch 3D TV. The man with the pencil-parted mustache moved with grace, handing over a glass of champagne with a single ice cube in it to his young master.
Li Mo was in an excellent mood today. He pulled the menu and opened an extra secure TV connection, smiling as he watched the introduction being aired.
It was early morning, but in many places across the Alliance, a good number of people were waiting for a fresh and exciting bout to begin, which was none other than the final match in the Blood Matrix, featuring Xia Fei going up against Butcher.
Any fan of the Blood Matrix would know Butcher’s name. With a battle record of 273 wins and 0 losses, enough to be included in the not-very-long history of the Blood Matrix, the gladiator was very calm when fighting yet also exceptionally cruel when killing his opponent, satisfying plenty of people’s lust for blood and gore.
Today, the famous fighter Butcher was going to take on a fight with an opponent, who was also somewhat famous: a cadet in the Heaven Execution Training Camp of the Adjudicator Union, Xia Fei. He was also the holder of the double max point in this year’s Golden Finger Cup, with many believing that Xia Fei could have very well emerged as the overall champion of the tournament had there not had been any unexpected accident. Unfortunately, this man, who had yet to be crowned the champion, fell into the claws of the Blood Matrix, so even the most optimistic viewer did not believe that he would be able to escape from the notorious Blood Matrix, for none had ever managed to do so before.
Li Mo watched the introduction play out on his display screen, excitedly drinking his champagne in one gulp. “Hook has done even more amazingly than I could’ve imagined this time, pitting Xia Fei against Butcher. I’ll get to watch with my two eyes as he gets tortured to death; this is just too enjoyable—too awesome!”
The mustached man was pursing his lips. “Young master, Xia Fei is ultimately still a member of the Adjudicator Union. If they learn that one of their own gets killed in such a manner, it will be as good as declaring war against them. Besides, doing it in such a semi-public stage, I’m afraid that Hook will be subjected to the relentless investigation of the Adjudicator Union after this.”
Li Mo handed his glass to the mustached man, a clear indication of wanting more wine, even as he said, completely unbothered, “So what? Hook will be the one shouldering the blame if anything goes wrong; what has it got to do with us? Even if the Adjudicator Union wishes to pursue the matter, they’ll only trouble Hook. We only spent a bit of money and got to witness such an exciting match. It’s simply too cheap. It’s like what father said: ‘There’s nothing one can’t do with money.’ Xia Fei , oh Xia Fei, you made the mistake of being a pauper when you dared to go up against high society so openly, not even knowing that a little pinky of mine is enough to kill you.”
The mustached man nodded. “Young master’s right. I’ve managed to very cleanly accomplish this task you assigned to me, not leaving even a piece of evidence that can trace this back to us. Even if Hook manages to guess that we’re the ones behind this delivery, he’s got no proof. Besides, him being bold enough to do a live broadcast of this match is proof that he’s ready to burn bridges with the Adjudicator Union.”
…
Over by the Adjudicator Union’s department of weapons and equipment, Thuram was anxiously pacing back and forth in his office. His blond secretary who never left his side was standing dejectedly in a corner, not even daring to breathe.
…
The table’s communicator was ringing, its purple indicator light indicating that it was a confidential communication coming from the Union’s core department.
The blond secretary hurriedly walked over, wanting to take the call, but he did not expect for Thuram to actually be a step faster than him. He dashed over and pushed the button, his voice impatient. “How is it? Any news?”
An old man, with a thorn bird tattoo on the left side of his face, appeared on the screen. His eyes were sharp like daggers, his stern face gaunt and his cheeks sunken.
The old man shook his head. “We’ve been on the case of the Blood Matrix for many many years, yet we’ve simply been unable to obtain any first-hand information. You can hurry us all you want, but our hands are simply tied.”
Thuram slapped the table with force, his two eyes lit up with rage.
“Raksha, don’t f*ck*ng tell me your hands are tied! Xia Fei is related to that maddog Qin Mang. Both of us will be in deep trouble if he learns about this situation. You’re the g*dd*mn department head for the classified investigation department; who the hell would I turn toward if not you?!” Thuram swore in his anxiety, disregarding the relationship he had with the old man over so many years.
Raksha’s face turned pale. He knew very well how deeply etched the name Qin Mang was in his heart. He sighed. “I think it’s best if you come clean to him. I truly can’t be of any help this time. The Orange warrant has already been sent out several hours ago. My men have already done all they could; if you’re still dissatisfied, why don’t you seek Nicholas’s executive department to see if they have any solution?”
Thuram reached out and tugged open his uniform, instantly tearing it into two as he used excessive force in that simple action. With his thick chest hair exposed, he barked, “Do you think I would f*ck*ng turn to you if Nicholas had any idea on what to do?! Raise that warrant to the highest level. No matter what, you must get me that person back, ALIVE!”
Raksha shook his head. “Sorry, the highest warrant will need the President and the Committee of Elders’ unanimous approval. I don’t have the power to do that.”
More angry expletives would not solve the problem. Turning off the screen, Thuram sighed as he sat down in his chair. “Connect me to Qin Mang.”
On the screen, Qin Mang appeared to be sunbathing on a sunny beach in Hawaii presently. He had rapidly gained back his body mass thanks to the good food and regained about seventy to eighty percent of his vigor from before. However, his skin was several tones darker than what he used to have and also much more energetic compared to before.
“You called just at the right time. I was just thinking of talking to you. I don’t intend to continue staying in the library on Hek, so I can return to the capital after some time.” Qin Mang was sipping on a drink as he laughed. It was around the late evening back on Earth, and the yellow intermingling with the impending night sky made for an extra lovely backdrop.
Thuram furrowed his brows. “You’ve made a deal with those guys never ever to go back to the capital ring. Have you forgotten about that?”
Qin Mang smiled. “I didn’t say that I’m returning to the capital ring itself; I’m just going to be somewhere decent nearby, which will let me open a library. If I’m not mistaken, Xia Fei will soon be devoting the core of his development heavily to the capital, and after so many years, it is time for me to head back and take a look.”
Thuram was quiet for a good while, uncertain on just how he should broach the topic of Xia Fei.
“What’s wrong with you? Do you have something to tell me?”
Thuram nodded. “Yes. Something happened to Xia Fei.
…
Sunset Villa. Xia Fei’s sudden disappearance had thrown Avril’s heart into a mess, but she still continued with her daily life, with all the servants getting a feeling that their young mistress had matured quite a bit.
The existence of the Blood Matrix was not considered a secret to many people. Be it people in the military or major warrior organizations, many had tried to unravel this mystery. As the owner of the eleventh largest business in the Alliance, which possessed a fleet and an independent security system, Avril’s family wielded an exceptional amount of power, and with how the Blood Matrix relied on the interplanetary internet to broadcast the fights, even Starlink Corporation had an understanding toward the Blood Matrix, which was not any less to the military or peacekeepers.
Pang Xing had overseered every aspect of Sunset Villa ever since he became the head butler of the place. Though his title was just that of a butler, the actual power he wielded would place him among the top ten individuals in the Jian family. There were plenty of high-level leaders in the company who would still have to conduct themselves in accordance to his approval.
He was well aware of Avril being worried about Xia Fei, so Pang Xing had taken it upon himself to secretly mobilize the company’s security department to search for any news related to Xia Fei’s whereabouts. Several minutes ago, Pang Xing got a call from them, telling him that they found information pertaining to Xia Fei, but despite how much Pang Xing had let his imagination run wild, he never could have thought that Xia Fei would find himself caught in the Blood Matrix in just two days.
…
Staring at the image on the screen for many minutes, Pang Xing covered his face as he rubbed his cheeks.
“Who else knows about this?” Pang Xing asked somberly.
“We just got our hands on this information, so there’s not many who should know.”
“Suppress it for now. Don’t inform the master or the patriarch yet.”
“That’s… not good, is it? After all, the patriarch talked about this before, ordering us to report back to him once we get news.”
“I’ll explain to the patriarch myself. In any case, don’t let the young lady know about this before the conclusion of this tonight. Everything else, we can talk about tomorrow,” Pang Xing said in a firm tone.
“Understood. We’ll act according to your orders and suppress this news in the meantime.”
Pang Xing nodded, ordering, “Send the video signal to my room using an encrypted channel.”
His mind was blank as he strode out of the security room with a gloomy expression. At the moment, the one he was most worried of was not Xia Fei but rather Avril. He had no idea how she would be able to take such a blow.
Making his way up to the second floor’s small, drawing room, Pang Xing peeked through the gap in the door to find Avril and an etiquette teacher telling her about the rules to the various places. The patriarch’s birthday will be coming in several days, and there’ll be countless distinguished guests arriving by then. As the heiress of the Jian family, it will of course be her responsibility to welcome them all.
In the past, Avril hated etiquette, music, and art lessons the most, nor did she like to join such superficial and hypocritical dinner parties, but that all had changed. A servant who usually maintained a decent relationship with Avril asked if something had caused this change in her interest toward learning all these etiquettes.
To which, Avril softly responded with blushing cheeks, “I’ll be the mistress of the house when I marry Xia Fei in the future. I can’t possibly embarrass him… That’s why, even if I don’t like it, I have to learn such things properly.”
Pang Xing recalled this scene and felt even more sorrow and grief. He feebly leaned against the wall as he mumbled to himself, “Just how am I going to break this news to you, young mistress?”
……
No matter how anxious everyone outside was, none of it would change the circumstance that Xia Fei was presently in.
As the time came, the laser fence in front of him automatically turned off, while beside him, Butcher extended a hand in a welcoming gesture, saying, “Let’s go. At the end of the day, we are still warriors, and we need to maintain the dignity we have no matter the situation.”
Xia Fei nodded and took several steps forward to enter that circular arena in the Blood Matrix.
The crowd, which numbered in the tens of thousands, went wild, excitedly waving the tickets in hands, screaming Xia Fei’s and Butcher’s name.
Xia Fei looked up at the strong fluorescent lamp and then at the stands. All he saw were the gleeful faces of the audience, which had contorted into something unearthly. They were looking forward to an exciting match and were even more anticipating the ground to be sprayed with fresh blood.
…
Hook sat in the most prominent of seats, a massive throne gilded in gold, which befitted a king.
His face showed traces of mockery mixed with jubilance as if telling Xia Fei that he was merely just a tool for the former to extricate enjoyment from.
Xia Fei was scanning the crowd when, all of a sudden, he spotted a very familiar figure on the left end of the stands, seemingly knowing the person.
Xia Fei began to tremble as if he had been electrocuted. He was in shock.
