166: No matter how skilled you are in martial arts, you're still afraid of a kitchen knife!

Ye Chen opened his eyes suddenly, turned around, and pulled Bai Shanshan toward the corner of the storage room.

"What's wrong?" Bai Shanshan was taken aback by his sudden movement.

"There's something underneath."

Ye Chen explained calmly, then stopped in front of a ceramic rice jar.

This rice jar stood out among the surrounding paper boxes and empty buckets.

Ye Chen seized the edge of the jar with one hand and applied a little force.

The jar was pushed half a meter away, revealing a concrete slab underneath.

Bai Shanshan immediately stepped forward, crouched down, and tapped it lightly with her knuckles.

"Thump, thump..."

It was hollow!

The two exchanged a look, and Ye Chen joined his fingers together and pried it upward.

The next second.

The concrete slab was lifted!

A foul, fishy stench mixed with a cold draft rushed out from the dark entrance below, choking Bai Shanshan to the point where she almost coughed out loud; she quickly covered her mouth and nose.

Ye Chen frowned deeply; the smell was nauseating.

Below the entrance of the secret passage was a set of concrete stairs extending into the depths.

The two followed the steps down.

The stairs were not long, about a dozen steps, and they quickly reached the bottom.

Before them was a narrow passage that could only fit one person at a time, with rough walls and a dim, yellow incandescent bulb hanging overhead, and that unpleasant odor became even more intense.

Ye Chen's expression darkened as he stepped into the passage first.

Bai Shanshan endured the sickening stench, gripped the gun at her waist, and followed closely behind.

The passage was not long, and the two quickly reached its end.

Their field of vision suddenly opened up.

The scene before her made Bai Shanshan's scalp tingle instantly, and her stomach churn!

This was a slaughterhouse of fifty or sixty square meters!

Several stainless steel long tables were lined up, and on the tables lay a corpse that was no longer human!

Bai Shanshan understood immediately what had happened here.

Ye Chen's eyes were cold as he walked toward a door on the far side.

There was an iron door there, currently tightly shut, but a faint whimpering sound could be heard from inside.

"There are still people alive in there."

Bai Shanshan snapped out of it and followed Ye Chen to the iron door.

Ye Chen reached out, grabbed the doorknob, and applied a little force, snapping the lock right off.

He pushed the iron door open, revealing a cell that reeked of excrement!

With the light filtering in from outside, five people could be seen inside.

Three men and two women.

They were chained by their hands and feet like livestock, fixed to iron rings on the walls.

Everyone's eyes were filled with fear and despair.

One of the girls looked only in her early twenties; her formerly pretty face was now covered in filth, and her eyes were unfocused...

But when Bai Shanshan saw her face clearly, her pupils shrank, and she cried out, "Lin Wei?!"

This girl was the missing person she had been ordered to find in Hong Kong City!

Hearing someone call her name, Lin Wei's unfocused eyes suddenly snapped into focus.

When she saw the two of them, a strong desire to survive erupted in her desperate eyes.

"Help... help me! Save me!"

The other four also seemed to have grabbed onto a lifeline, struggling violently and crying for help.

"Help! They kidnapped us!"

"They want to kill us! Turn us into meat!"

"Please, let us out! They are devils!"

...

Bai Shanshan's heart ached, and her anger burned fiercely.

While quickly stepping forward to try and examine the structure of the chains, she asked urgently, "How were you captured? What is going on here? Tell me quickly!"

Lin Wei was sobbing so hard she couldn't catch her breath, speaking incoherently.

"I came to eat with my friend. After we finished eating and came out, we were gagged and dragged in here in the back alley."

"My... my friend was killed by them."

Just as her voice trailed off...

Suddenly!

A burst of hurried footsteps came from the direction of the passage they had just come from!

Ye Chen and Bai Shanshan looked over.

They saw it was Fu Yi, along with a dozen butchers holding boning knives.

As soon as that group entered, they blocked the doorway tightly.

The dozen or so butchers spread out in a fan shape, surrounding Ye Chen and Bai Shanshan, along with the five hostages in the cell, in the middle.

Fu Yi, who was leading them, still wore that amiable, money-making smile on his face.

"I guessed you were cops; I was right!"

Bai Shanshan's expression turned cold. She aimed her gun at Fu Yi and shouted sternly, "How did you find us?"

She was suspicious in her heart.

When they came in, she and Ye Chen had been very careful, avoiding all lines of sight in the front lobby, and their movements were as light as cats; logically, they shouldn't have been discovered.

Fu Yi sneered disdainfully, raised his hand, and pointed to a small black dot in the corner of the passage ceiling.

"Do you think we'd go to such trouble without any means?"

"From the moment you climbed into the backyard, the surveillance cameras captured everything clearly."

"Every corner down here has eyes."

Ye Chen: "..."

Bai Shanshan: "..."

Fine, fine, fine!

Carelessness leads to failure!

They were so focused on guarding against people that they completely forgot about surveillance equipment.

But soon, Ye Chen smiled.

"It's good that there's surveillance equipment."

"Doesn't that provide the evidence to arrest you?"

"It saves us from wasting our breath."

Fu Yi's face darkened, and murderous intent surged in his eyes.

"Talking big! You're on the verge of death and still thinking about evidence?"

"Kid, I don't care which branch of the police you're from. Since you've broken into my business today and seen things you shouldn't have..."

He paused, the muscles on his fat face twitching, his voice like a viper flicking its tongue.

"Then don't even think about leaving here alive."

"It just so happens that the supply of goods has been a bit tight lately. You two look young, your meat must be tender."

"Kill them for me!"

"Chop them up! Clean them up!"

The dozen or so butchers roared in unison, like beasts released from a cage, waving the boning knives in their hands and lunging at Ye Chen and Bai Shanshan!

Bai Shanshan's face changed drastically. Just as she was about to raise her gun to shoot, her arm suddenly went limp, as if all her strength had been sucked away in an instant; she couldn't even pull the trigger!

"Wha... what's going on?!" She looked at Ye Chen in horror.

Ye Chen frowned slightly and reached out to support her.

Seeing this, Fu Yi's fat face immediately revealed a triumphant, sinister smile.

"Hahaha! Two idiots!"

"Did you really think my kitchen at Restaurant Name was a place you could come and go as you please?"

"From the moment you stepped into this slaughterhouse, the colorless and odorless 'Muscle-Relaxant Powder' has been floating in the air!"

"Without my antidote, even an elephant would be reduced to a puddle of mud if it came in here!"

He sneered, watching Ye Chen still standing steadily. Although he was supporting Bai Shanshan, he didn't seem to be completely drained like her. He was slightly surprised but didn't pay too much attention.

He just assumed Ye Chen had better physical fitness or had inhaled less, so the drug was taking longer to take effect.

"What are you still standing there for?!"

Fu Yi roared at the dozen or so frozen butchers, "While his drug hasn't fully kicked in yet, chop him up for me! Keep the woman; she looks like she works out often, we can play with her first!"

"Kill—!"

The butchers no longer hesitated, their eyes flashing with ferocity as they lunged again!

The bald butcher in the lead had muscles twitching on his face, his cleaver bringing a whistling wind as he slashed straight at Ye Chen's neck!

Bai Shanshan was half-embraced by Ye Chen. Seeing the blade descending, she closed her eyes subconsciously.

However—

Just as the blade was about to touch his skin!

Ye Chen moved!

His arm holding Bai Shanshan's waist was as steady as a rock. He didn't dodge or evade, but simply kicked out.

"Bang!!!"

The bald butcher didn't even have time to scream; the cleaver flew out of his hand, and his whole body flew backward, crashing into the slaughtering table.

The table surface dented inward.

Knives and bone fragments scattered all over the floor!

The bald butcher didn't even let out a moan; his head tilted to the side, and he died on the spot!

Silence!

Dead silence!

The butchers behind who were howling and rushing up froze again in unison, their faces filled with shock!

The sinister smile on Fu Yi's face also froze, his small eyes widened round: "You... how are you okay? My 'Muscle-Relaxant Powder' can even take down a master of internal energy! How is it possible that you are completely fine???"

Ye Chen slowly put his leg down and said calmly.

"Oh, you mean that?"

"Maybe it's because I'm a martial artist?"

"Impossible!" Fu Yi shrieked, "Even a martial artist would have their internal energy stagnated and their movements hindered after being hit by my 'Muscle-Relaxant Powder'. You... it is absolutely impossible that you are completely fine!"

He had received this drug from 'that' person; the effect was strange and bizarre. It had helped him silently take down several troublesome martial artists, and it had never failed!

Hearing this, Ye Chen's interest deepened.

"It seems this drug of yours isn't the common stuff circulating on the market."

"To be able to get this kind of drug, I'm afraid you have someone behind you, don't you?"

"Confess honestly, who gave you the drug? Who is your superior? Besides this shop, are there any other strongholds?"

"If you tell me, I can let you die a bit more painlessly."

"You're courting death!!!" Fu Yi's fat body trembled with anger, and he roared at the group of butchers, "You guys, all of you, get him! Together! Hack him to death! Whoever hacks him to death, I'll reward a million!!!"

Under heavy rewards, there must be brave men.

Although there was still fear in the eyes of the remaining butchers, it was overwhelmed by greed and ferocity.

They looked at each other, then brandished their knives and weapons, surrounding Ye Chen from different directions!

This time, they learned their lesson; they didn't fight alone anymore, but tried to use their numerical advantage to attack Ye Chen and Bai Shanshan simultaneously, making it hard for him to defend both ends!

Ye Chen looked at this group of desperadoes and shook his head helplessly.

"Obstinate."

Before the words fell, he moved.

But this time, he didn't use his feet.

Instead, his free left hand reached out as fast as lightning, grabbing Bai Shanshan.

Then.

He used Bai Shanshan's hand, raised the muzzle—

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

After several consecutive gunshots, the three butchers in the lead had blood flowers bloom on their foreheads almost simultaneously, and they fell backward!

Ye Chen didn't stop, his wrist turning slightly.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two more gunshots, and the two butchers on the left who were trying to sneak an attack had holes bloom in their chests, falling to the ground with screams.

Fast!

Accurate!

Ruthless!

Every shot hit its mark!

Every bullet was like an invitation from the Grim Reaper, precisely harvesting lives.

The remaining butchers were completely terrified; their charge came to an abrupt halt. One by one, they stood frozen in place, their faces as pale as paper, their hands holding the knives shaking like chaff.

They were just thugs who liked to fight; when had they ever seen such a terrifying scene of headshots?

No wonder a saying was widely circulated.

Even the highest martial arts fear a kitchen knife!

This gunshot was much fiercer than a kitchen knife!

Seeing this, Ye Chen moved the muzzle to Fu Yi and asked calmly.

"Boss Fu."

"You say..."

"Should I shoot your left eye with this shot, or your right eye?"

"Or..."

He lowered the muzzle slightly, pointing at Fu Yi's fat crotch, "What do you think, how about shooting here?"