Chapter 575: Close By
Five minutes later, Meng Chao climbed into a cage containing some monsters.
Since the diameter of the drainage pipe was large enough to allow an adult man to crawl in, anyone could imagine just how huge the monsters contained inside the cage were.
Meng Chao minimized his breathing and heartbeat. He also closed his pores to the point that no air escaped them. He stuck close to the wall and tiptoed forward.
With the help of the dim light, he saw two monsters lying at the center of the huge cage. They were Demonic Black Mountain Bulls, which were larger than elephants, had long fur, and horns covered in spirit tattoos.
These superbeasts were between Grade 2 and 3. They were brutal and fearless. When they were angry, even if their stomachs were cut open, they would still fight. They would not stop until the very last drop of blood flowed out of their bodies.
They were Nightmarish Beasts that even Hell Beasts did not want to provoke in the wild.
They were also superstars in monster coliseums, because they could always provide exciting fights.
Fortunately, once the lair entered the highest state of emergency, all the monsters locked in the coliseums were either given or injected with large amounts of tranquilizers. They also wore electromagnetic shackles and muzzles that locked their limbs and mouths. The bulls were sleeping at that moment.
Meng Chao did not wake the two Demonic Black Mountain Bulls.
He looked around and noticed that the underground space was about the size of a football field. It was filled with cages of all sizes, which had different monsters.
Most of the monsters were sleeping, just like the Demonic Black Mountain Bulls.
They had dozens of thick, semi-transparent tubes stuck on them, which were injecting tranquilizers nonstop to ensure that the superbeasts with powerful physiological parameters and energy would remain obedient and not cause trouble.
Aside from the tranquilizer, there were also metal bars with warning signs that read “Danger! High voltage”. As flies hit them from time to time, Meng Chao could hear cracking sounds and see brilliant, blue sparks.
The flies disappeared without a trace in the blue sparks. They turned into smoke.
The defense system was used to suppress the monsters.
Fortunately, the Demonic Black Mountain Bulls were huge. There was also a lot of space between the cages, so it was easy for Meng Chao to move.
Meng Chao lurked beside a high voltage set of bars and calmly observed the CCTVs and the layout of the guards.
The monsters were all used for fighting, so they were biochemically modified and had electromagnetic shackles and even explosive collars. The level of danger they posed was far beneath that of wild monsters.
Hence, the lair did not arrange a lot of guards to keep watch over them.
Meng Chao easily found the blindspot of the guards’ field of vision.
When two guards turned their heads away at the same time, he moved forward like smoke.
He found a few sets of fighting suits and hooded cloaks worn by the guards in the lounge beside the cages, which helped him change out of his smelly clothes.
Once done, Meng Chao pulled his hood over his eyes and strutted down the corridor away from the cages.
Of course, he was still on guard and listened to signs of breathing, heartbeat, and footsteps around him.
When he noticed someone getting close to him, he immediately searched for a place to hide.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, he did not want to meet up with anyone.
Mutual Gold Coliseum was a business conducted by the gangs, and it never had an overly strict organizational system.
The spirit energy magnetic field interference caused by the explosion in Leprosy Village also crippled the communication channels between the gang members.
Even though the gangs had already elected Red Brows Su Lun and Phantom Bear Xiong Wei as the highest and second highest commanders, they still had to rely on shouting to pass their orders.
Besides, explosions had occured at the borders of the lair. A lot of the elites were sent over to put out the fires and stop the abnormal beast’s attack. Everyone was in a panic, which made the openings in the coliseum’s defense even more obvious.
Meng Chao climbed up two floors.
He found a few indoor arenas that were used as temporary warehouses. They were filled with weapons, ammunition, and survival resources brought from the outside world and gathered by the gangs.
It could be said that it was the ballast that ensured the stability of the lair.
After taking a few twists and turns, Meng Chao understood the general layout of the coliseum.
He returned to the floor with the monster cages and found a large elevated platform.
When the coliseum was open for business, the monsters that weighed dozens of tons or even more than one hundred tons would slowly be lifted by the large elevating platform. Then, they would be displayed in the large open-air arena in front of a few hundred thousand spectators.
Meng Chao believed that the open-air arena was the most important gathering place for the gang members because it could accommodate a few hundred thousand people even when the lair was already packed.
The people he wanted to find had to be there as well.
The movements of the elevating platform were too obvious, so he would not use it.
There were huge gears at the sides of the elevating platform, which were connected to steel ropes that were even thicker than his thighs. They led straight to the surface.
Meng Chao climbed up the steel ropes like the amalgamation of an ape and a gecko and soon reached the top.
There was only one thin layer of steel separating him from the surface.
The steel plate was not stuck in place. There was a crack in the middle, and it could be controlled by gears to open slowly to the sides. Then, the monster that was rising to the top would be revealed.
Since huge, violent beasts would often eagerly crash into the steel plates, the two steel plates were a little uneven. They could not be shut tight.
Through the crack, Meng Chao could see that the open-air arena was filled with gang members in motorized armor, and they were all armed to the teeth.
They were like soldiers being reviewed. All of them looked fierce and murderous.
Then, Meng Chao heard a voice from the VIP seats at the side of the arena. It had great projection, and the words used were very effective in stirring up emotions.
“The lair is at its most critical stage right now! If we still care about the difference between the gangs, we will only end up dead!
“Be it Golden Tooth, Black Bone, Poison Scorpion, or the other gangs, we’re all comrades connected by blood. We were born in the lair, and we’ll die in the lair, this is our destiny!
“It doesn’t matter whether the outside world has given up on us or not. We’ll never give up on ourselves, our parents, spouses, children!
“Don’t forget, human civilization revolved around gangs decades ago, during the dark era when zombies roamed, monsters appeared, order collapsed, and morality died! We signed an agreement with each other, and this is why we managed to pass down the flames of our civilization, even though it was tough!
“Today, let us rekindle the glory from decades ago and tell Dragon City that the gangs can do the things the mega corporations can do!”
The speaker spoke fervently, so it was no wonder why the gang members became motivated when they heard it. They beat the weapons in their hands as much as they could, making themselves sound like an army of thousands.
But when Meng Chao shrank his pupils and adjusted his angle to observe the speaker, he found himself so disgusted that he felt as if he had just swallowed a fly who flew out of a public toilet.
He knew that person.
Even if that person was reduced to dust, he would recognize the scummy scent on him.
Red Brows Su Lun.
The human traitor who willingly abandoned himself to evil and became a shameless puppet of the monsters…
…Wait, who was the person standing to Su Lun’s left?
Meng Chao felt his heart skip half a beat.
He saw a person who should definitely not be present.
Even though she wore an awesome, heavy motorized armor, her chest plate was puffed out, and the emblem of Sky Pillar Corporation was on it. Her legs were longer than Meng Chao’s, even though he was already 180cm tall. She had the ghost of a smile on her face, an aggressive gaze, and an invasive presence… All of it pointed to someone Meng Chao was incredibly familiar with.
“Lu Siya?” Meng Chao mumbled to himself. “She had stayed in her father’s company to handle the mining bases that Sky Pillar Minerals had opened. Didn’t those places get attacked by monsters? Why did she suddenly come to the lair?
“Hasn’t she always cared about the return rate of missions? The mission of protecting the lair is tough and thankless, so she should scoff at it, right? She should be staying at the borders of Dragon City and fighting the monsters happily so that the media would talk about her!
“Could it be that she has been affected by me after staying with me for so long? Was she indirectly influenced and slowly understood the happiness of doing good things and not boasting about them? Does she now know the joys of contributing to Dragon City?”
No matter what, since Lu Siya was one of the reinforcements, then things were much easier.
By the looks of it, the outside world did not completely believe that he had killed Bullet Xue Rui and Rattlesnake Xiang Wei.
That was why they sent Lu Siya over to listen to his explanation.
Meng Chao felt delighted.
However, when he moved his gaze to Red Brows Su Lun’s right, he frowned a little.
Phantom Bear Xiong Wei was a special class fighter whose strength was second only to that of Saber Jin Wanhao in Golden Tooth Lair. Killing was nothing to him since around twenty years ago, and he was a fierce man who could stop a baby crying at night. Even though Meng Chao did not know whether he had reached the peak of Heaven Realm, it was obvious that now that he had killed that man’s son, the stimulation would be enough for him to end up beaten to a pulp.
Meng Chao started thinking hard. ‘How should I shake off Red Brows Su Lun and Phantom Bear Xiong Wei so that I can talk to Lu Siya alone and tell her the truth?’
Perhaps because Men Chao found hope in Lu Siya, he became so excited that he forgot to control his breathing and heartbeat.
Since he was baptized by Red Radiance Jades and Blue Origin Crystals in the past, he immediately released a unique presence that was barely noticeable.
The others might have been unable to detect this presence, but as a Spirit Sensor and someone who was also baptized by Red Radiance Jades and Blue Origin Crystals, Lu Siya was slightly stunned and blinked in surprise.
The Queen Bee cast an unfathomable glance at the crack where Meng Chao hid.