Chapter 52: Chasing the Kill (Revised)

The deafening electronic music seemed to form a substantive shockwave, violently pounding everyone's eardrums.

The dazzling seven‑colored searchlights resembled out‑of‑control poisonous snakes, wildly sweeping and spinning above the swaying crowd, casting the faces immersed in alcohol and rhythm into a bizarre, kaleidoscopic glow.

This place of frenzied revelry, compared to the just‑concluded noble and luxurious underground auction, was clearly two different worlds.

This is the 'Flashy Glory' bar located in District 8 of the Slum, a chaotic underworld paradise where fish and dragons mingle and order intertwines with chaos.

Meanwhile, in the bar's corner, a small storeroom piled with wine crates and cleaning tools, golden eyes slowly opened and scanned the cluttered room.

Yang Yixie had Ying Duo investigate a few glitch spots, and discovered some damaged audio equipment that could be disassembled for parts.

Ying Duo's suit, sponsored by Bai Mu Yun as a gesture of friendship, was still relatively tidy, thanks to the protection of those earlier defensive items; he hadn't been injured in that fierce battle.

He even ended up hitting it off with an NPC...... and got a bit carried away.

Yang Yixie unconsciously rubbed his fingertips; although watching the full‑screen barrage was indeed satisfying, not emptying that NPC's Blood Bar still felt aggravating—apparently the officials had sanctioned it, giving that NPC an invincible buff, right?

Yang Yixie glanced at the status bar, where the countdown for the 【Unlimited Equipment Item Experience Card】 had just reached zero and vanished completely.

A rare feeling of fluke rose in his heart.

If the fight hadn't been forcibly interrupted by an outside force, once the experience card's time ran out, given his current level he would be instantly killed in one blow by that red‑haired NPC, with no suspense whatsoever.

Even being killed by an NPC far above his level wouldn't be a big deal—after all, the level gap is what it is, so there'd be no sense of defeat; at worst he'd lose some experience and drop some gear.

But if circumstances allowed, of course on his first playthrough he'd still rather try to clear it in one life.

Yang Yixie opened the mini‑map; the location showed Ying Duo now in District 8 of the Slum, inside the 'Flashy Glory' bar—an area he had never explored before.

He zoomed out the map, pinpointed the position, then zoomed back in, quickly locating the destination: Dream Illusion Bar.

Although it's unclear how the chaos at the auction house will unfold, his top priority now is to safely return to the base, wait to meet up with Bai Mu Yun, and then settle his mission rewards.

Soon, the system plotted the optimal route to Dream Illusion Bar for him.

A fluorescent arrow visible only to him hovered low in the air, firmly pointing to the small wooden board door of the storeroom that looked as if a light push would open it.

In short, let's get out of here first.

Boom!!!

A deafening blast came from outside the bar, even momentarily drowning out the club's violent music, accompanied by a few short, shrill screams that then cut off abruptly.

【It seems there's some movement outside......】

A System Prompt popped up: 'Is this another plot development?'

Ying Duo paused, then under Yang Yixie's control he turned around, silently climbing onto an empty crate, pressing close to an oil‑stained vent on the storeroom door, and tiptoed to peer outside.

All that could be seen outside the bar was a dim, chaotic street with flickering neon lights, where a familiar NPC silhouette stood proudly on the edge of a low metal roof.

That head of red hair, in the murky light of the Slum, looked like a flame refusing to be extinguished.

————————————————

A few minutes earlier——

Chi Jinan's surroundings still retained the disorienting distortion from the spatial transfer.

The Slum streets beneath his feet were dark and chaotic, hardly different from the auction house ruins—just piles of garbage.

Chi Jinan frowned, suppressing the brief dizziness caused by the spatial turbulence, but the uncontainable fury continued to scorch his reason.

He wanted to kill him.

That golden‑eyed guy......

Only by tearing him apart with his own hands could Chi Jinan quell the violence burning in his heart right now.

However, the Slum's 'hyenas' had an even keener sense of smell.

Chi Jinan's suit was naturally of fine quality, but due to the recent battle with Ying Duo, the clothing had suffered several tears and was still reeking of gunpowder and blood, immediately drawing the attention of ill‑intentioned individuals.

"Hey, kid over there! You look pretty unfamiliar."

Three burly men wearing tattered metal armor and wielding ordinary longswords emerged from the shadows, cornering Chi Jinan under the eaves; they greedily eyed his attire, which clearly did not belong to the Slum.

Because of the many tears, Chi Jinan's suit was now worthless, but this kid surely had something more valuable on him.

"Hand over everything valuable on you, brothers, and we might consider letting you off easy."

Chi Jinan slowly turned his head; those deep, abyssal black eyes held no emotion, only a dead‑cold emptiness.

The spatial turbulence wouldn't sweep someone too far away, and besides, that guy had been right near him just moments ago.

She had left him an opportunity.

He still had a chance to find that person and then kill him.

"Damn it, you're asking to die!"

The leader, enraged by Chi Jinan's blatant disregard, raised his blade high and brought it down with a tearing wind.

Sss——

A soft sound.

Nobody could see exactly how Chi Jinan moved.

The thug's arm, still mid‑air, froze instantly, his pupils dilating wildly as his eyes filled with utter terror and disbelief.

In the next instant, crimson spikes, pulsing like blood vessels, burst forth from his body without warning, instantly transforming him into a gruesome, terrifying corpse.

Those Blood Crystals seemed almost alive, even flinging the twitching corpse aside onto the nearby trash heap.

The heavy body slammed hard onto the metal sheet with a dull 'clang', then slowly slid down, dragging a dark‑red stain across the rust.

The smirks on the other two men's faces froze instantly, their eyes widened, and their greed vanished, leaving only fear.

They turned to flee, but the dark‑red crystal clusters, like living things, spread from the ground, wrapping around their ankles and rapidly engulfing their whole bodies.

Their short cries were cut off as crystals engulfed them; within seconds, only three twitching remnants remained, wrapped in crystal.

Chi Jinan didn't even glance at those insignificant 'works' beneath his feet; his perception spread like countless invisible spiderwebs, radiating outward from him at high speed to scout the surroundings.

Just now, after disposing of those few small fry, he faintly sensed a trace...... of familiar yet loathsome energy residue?

He leapt onto the low metal shed, his sharp gaze sweeping the surroundings, missing no suspicious spot.

Yang Yixie recognized the redhead at a glance; he was the NPC who had just gone berserk in the auction hall and suddenly rushed over to strike him.

He didn't know what that NPC was called, but the red hair was truly unforgettable, and when the other flashed his Blood Bar in front of him, it was a Lv. 49 that he was nowhere near.

Chi Jinan still wore that dust‑stained suit, his black eyes shimmering with a cold sheen in the Slum's murky light.

At his feet were several corpses contorted in strange poses, being swiftly consumed and disintegrated by dark‑red crystals, and he didn't know how those unlucky bastards had incurred the wrath of this lunatic.

Chi Jinan closed his eyes, seemingly perceiving something, as energy continuously surged from his body, searching for the fellow who had dealt him a bitter loss yet, due to spatial turbulence, he could not find at the moment.

At that instant, he jerked his head back, his jet‑black eyes cutting through the filthy, chaotic ventilation gaps among the debris, and he saw a pair of hollow yet familiar golden eyes.

Their eyes locked.

The next second, Chi Jinan's mouth curled into an exaggerated arc, the ruthless smile of a hunter who had finally locked onto his quarry.

His silhouette flickered, merging with the shadows like a phantom, and in an instant disappeared from the rooftop.