“What’s up with you today? If you continue acting so unruly, I’ll have to punish you heavily once we get back,” snapped the plump woman beside Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu gritted her teeth and did not dare to make another sound. Xia Fei’s words had renewed her hope for life as if it was no longer impossible for her to return to Earth and to her family’s side, yet the plump woman’s words were like a splash of cold water that brought her back to reality.
That otherworldly fairy sister to the side smiled. “It’s nothing that serious. Yu’er is still young. She won’t be able to withstand your intimidation.”
The plump woman hurriedly nodded and retreated to the side as if she was very afraid of that young woman.
The young woman held onto Xiao Yu’s hand. “We’re heading back. There’s something here that’s making me feel unsettled.”
Xiao Yu was of course unwilling to leave. She had finally seen Xia Fei, and though they were only just friends, the bond they shared was as close as family. After all, the two had been through thick and thin together during the assessment, and she never did forget how protective and concerned Xia Fei was toward her, which she could not help being reminded of her days living back on Earth.
With tear-filled eyes, she turned and looked back very unwillingly. Helpless, Xiao Yu followed that woman and left the arena venue as the other black-robed women followed closely behind.
Xia Fei shifted his eyes and discovered that Xiao Yu and her troupe were about to leave. He could not refrain from yelling, “Don’t go! I’ve been waiting for you!”
In order not to draw any attention with his words, Xia Fei intentionally pointed toward Butcher as he yelled this. This made everyone think that he was shouting at Butcher, but only Xiao Yu knew that Xia Fei’s shout was actually for her.
Lowering her head and staring at the ground, powerless, Xiao Yu said in her mind, ‘Big brother Xia Fei, I really can’t wait for you this time, but knowing that you’re alive is enough. Goodbye.”
Seeing Xiao Yu and her group leave the stands made Xia Fei all the more anxious. Bloodthirsty Screech was sounding more shrill as Xia Fei brandished it in his hands, charging toward Butcher as if he had gone insane.
Spinning the longsword in the air at an angle, he went straight for Butcher’s two legs.
Butcher did not use a weapon to block the strike but instead leaped up to avoid the blow. Before he could even get his foot, Xia Fei followed up with another attack, his assault as relentless as torrential rain.
*Ping ping ping!*
Xia Fei’s attacks had all sought for where Butcher was standing, but each and every time the man managed to dodge the attacks, causing each of the slashes to land on the metal flooring. In the blink of an eye, several cracks appeared on that thick metal flooring.
Butcher shot a cold stare at Xia Fei after evading the last attack, the veins on his forehead throbbing. His expression was becoming more serious as well. He did not understand whether this was Xia Fei really trying to kill him or this was all part of the act.
The audience were all ebullient, getting up from their seats as their eyes remained glued on the fight in the arena. The match had already been exciting enough, and they were now all dazzled after seeing Xia Fei threw a series of non-stop attacks all under one minute.
Xia Fei’s eyes slowly turned toward the center of that one spot. It was merely a brief glance, yet Butcher did a slight pause and nodded surreptitiously.
Xia Fei and Butcher both slowly moved their feet, neither throwing out an attack abruptly.
The moment the tip of Xia Fei’s foot entered that center of the arena, Butcher suddenly held his greataxe in two hands and pounced on Xia Fei.
However, unlike the attacks Butcher made before, his axehead was now wreathed in an intense flame.
“His fire ability! Butcher is attacking for real now!” excitedly cried someone in the audience.
Lava Glass gave off a glaring glow even as the temperature around surged unbearably.
“Take this!” Butcher’s arm muscles rippled, the flaming axehead being dragged behind him. Strength gathered from his leg and traveled up to his waist before finally reaching his two arms.
The greataxe drew a beautiful crescent arc in midair as it came crashing down vertically.
This was Butcher’s strongest attack, and he had also exerted all his strength to it.
This attack, which he had given his all, produced an extraordinary effect. When that greataxe slammed onto the ground, a meter-long fissure immediately appeared on the metal flooring, even shattering the granite foundation beneath.
Naturally, this strike did not land on Xia Fei. Everyone watching saw that slim figure slip away in the fire as Xia Fei darted away some twenty meters from that point.
With the tip of his sword at the ready, Xia Fei gripped the sword handle above his head as he stared fiercely at Butcher.
“Thunderfury!” Xia Fei bellowed, his Bloodthirsty Screech shooting right out for the ground like a laser.
The effect from this attack was even more shocking than Butcher’s previous attack. The longsword thrust past the metal alloy floor to the granite and buried itself deep under the ground.
It was like a megaton blast had exploded as sparks, debris, and dirt went flying in every direction; even some of the spectators were struck by the random flying objects, which left them bleeding, showing just how wild that attack had been.
The crowd in the stands instantly hid under and behind their seats to take cover in fear. Only a small portion noticed the laser fencing in the sky seemingly weakening, flickering like a dimming lightbulb.
It was over a dozen minutes later when someone poked their heads out to look at the center of the arena, only to find that Xia Fei and Butcher had already stopped fighting and were actually standing together. Butcher was slamming his greataxe viciously into the ground, digging out Xia Fei’s Bloodthirsty Screech before handing it back to him.
“We’ve finally succeeded.” Butcher glanced at the flickering laser array, a sign that its power source was being exhausted. He would be free once the last of this energy was spent.
Xia Fei’s arms were shuddering slightly. Thunderfury was a second-tier technique of his psychokinesis, and every time he used it would result in severe backlash. At the moment, his arms were in great pain as if he was on the verge of losing all sensation in them.
“What are we going to do next?” Butcher’s two eyes were shining. Freedom was a harmful plaything. Those who did not have it would lay down their lives just to obtain it. Faced with his impending freedom, the emotions that Butcher was feeling could no longer be described with just the word ‘excitement’.
Xia Fei looked around and saw that there were still hundreds of captive warriors in cells. They were rubbing their hands with anticipation as they stood before the laser fence. Even a fool could tell that the lasers blocking their freedom were weakening by the second.
“THOSE WHO WISH TO BE FREE, FOLLOW ME AND BUTCHER IN KILLING HOOK AND HIS MEN!” Xia Fei roared as he raised his fist in the air.
“KILL HOOK!”
“KILL HOOK!”
“MASSACRE HIS WOMEN AND OFFSPRING!”
With all their suppressed emotions coming to a head at that moment, hundreds of warriors answered Xia Fei’s call to arms.
“You have a better reputation here; lead these men and leave none alive,” Xia Fei said in a grave voice.
Butcher nodded. “Leave it to me. I’ve long since been waiting for this day.”
The audience was all frantically evacuating like a receding tide while feeling panicky. After all, these people had all treated the warriors trapped in the Blood Matrix as entertainment, so who knew what might happen now that they were all freed?
Hook’s face paled as he muttered to himself, “They… They… destroyed the power system.”
“Lord Hook, what should we do! The energy capacity in the reactor core is rapidly declining; it’s already under fifty percent. The laser defense will most likely collapse in just a few minutes.”
“Lord Hook, quickly give us the order! There are people who have started fleeing.”
Hook’s underlings were all pleading beside him. These were all his diehard loyalists, while those who used to fawn upon him had already disappeared without a trace the moment they saw that things had gone awry.
Hook only gathered his senses after several seconds passed, stammering the order, “Send for the guards to come and defend the place… Kill… Kill the deserters.”
After giving that command, Hook stood up and took the secret passageway leading back to his compound. His forehead was drenched in a cold sweat. Hook knew what the consequences would be given how he had usually treated these warriors as sacrificial lambs for his enjoyment. He was afraid that these men would not give up until they made sure that he was dead.
Xia Fei kept his Bloodthirsty Screech into his spatial ring and looked out into the distance.
He wanted Hook dead, but it was even more important for him to find Xiao Yu, for that had been his wish all these years.
The laser array did not disappear for the longest time, and Xia Fei’s mind was in a state of chaos; every second that passed felt like an eternity.
Several minutes later, that bright red laser finally ran out of energy and dissipated. Xia Fei did not even hesitate as he went dashing out immediately, leaping to the stands some twenty meters above.
“Xia Fei.” A man wearing a green cloak came running toward him from the side
Xia Fei hurriedly duck to the side vigilantly as he laid out a defensive formation with his Celestial Moon.
It was only upon a closer inspection that he realized this newcomer was Chen Dong.
Xia Fei burst out laughing. “Why are you here, you maniac?”
“That’s a long story. I was actually quite worried about you earlier.” Chen Dong chuckled, sighing in relief now that he was sure that Xia Fei had truly gotten himself out of that sticky predicament.
“I still have very important things to do; follow me,” Xia Fei said.
“Alright.” Chen Dong nodded as he followed Xia Fei to rush out of the Blood Matrix as fast as they could.
The streets were empty, most likely because the people had all fled home after knowing that the Blood Matrix was minutes away from descending into pandemonium.
“Do you know where the spaceport is?” Xia Fei asked urgently.
“Yeah, there’s one to the south and the north of this city,” Chen Dong answered.
“Okay, I’ll go south while you go north. Stop every ship that is taking off; don’t let even a single one depart!” Xia Fei cried.
“Why?” Chen Dong was puzzled.
“Don’t ask why. I’m looking for a girl. In any case, just do as I instructed. Immediately send out your Ice Dragon into the air if you discover anything. I’ll rush over the moment I see it,” Xia Fei said.
Without waiting for Chen Dong’s response, Xia Fei sprinted off, leaving just one final statement: “Remember, her name is Su Ruoyu!”
…
*Crash*
The latest high-definition video system had been smashed into smithereens by Li Mo. The wine glass in hand had also been angrily tossed to the ground, the golden liquid within spilling, its fragrance spreading in the air.
The mustachioed man did not dare to say a word even as Li Mo thrashed everything in the room.
“Just what is Hook f*ck*ng doing! To have actually allowed Xia Fei to escape like that, what a bunch of garbage! F*ck*ng imbeciles!” Li Mo yelled furiously, the good mood he had going moments ago now turning into rage.
“Find men to get Hook killed; I don’t ever want to see his face again!”
The mustachioed man said softly, “Young master, I doubt Hook will be able to live even if we don’t make a move. After all, a good majority of the warriors in the Blood Matrix have been backstabbed by him. Now that they have attained freedom, they will surely be looking to settle their score with him.”
Li Mo glowered at him. “You also guaranteed that Xia Fei would be dead, but look what happened!”
The mustachioed man lowered his head, not daring to say a word.
“Xia Fei!” Li Mo angrily flipped a table, pointing up to the sky as he cursed, “You’d better watch yourself; this isn’t over yet!”
