164: Chapter 164 You think he'll let you off the hook?

Figures began to gather on the street.

Bai Xiao had already summoned her subordinates one after another, and the Skinny Monkey Man had also sent out emergency recall messages to his men active in the secret realm outside the Stronghold.

D-Class Ability Users converged from all directions, their numbers growing until they gradually filled the open space in front of the building. At a rough glance, there were already forty or fifty people.

The Skinny Monkey Man sat leaning against the threshold. Although he had taken some potion, a dull ache still persisted throughout his body.

He watched the growing crowd before him, but his face showed no relief; instead, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

Bai Xiao leaned against the other side of the doorframe, a nearly finished cigarette between her fingers. Noticing his expression, she raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?"

The Skinny Monkey Man looked up at the sound, his expression stiffening as he shook his head. "Nothing."

He said that, but the anxiety in his heart only continued to grow.

He scanned the forty-plus people gathered before him again, but his mind uncontrollably replayed the scene of Gu Changming in action.

That overwhelming speed and power—he hadn't even seen clearly how the man had moved—and the sheer confidence the man had when he told him to go call for backup.

His heart suddenly constricted.

No... this still doesn't feel reliable.

Even including his men who were currently rushing back, the two sides combined would probably only amount to about a hundred people.

Plus himself and Bai Xiao, two C-Classes... could they really take him down?

If anyone had told him before that two C-Classes and a hundred D-Classes with this kind of strength couldn't beat another C-Class ability user...

Skinny Monkey's first reaction would have been to slap them across the face to wake them up.

But now, he truly doubted whether this group of people would be anything more than lambs to the slaughter.

Once the seed of doubt was planted, it spread rapidly.

The more he thought about it, the more uncertain he felt, and fine beads of cold sweat even began to break out on his forehead.

Slap!

The Skinny Monkey Man suddenly slapped his thigh and stood up from the threshold.

Bai Xiao looked over, her gaze questioning.

"This won't do," the Skinny Monkey Man shook his head. "I think we should find more people."

Bai Xiao didn't speak, merely raising an eyebrow again.

A trace of imperceptible panic flashed across the Skinny Monkey Man's face as he explained:

"It's not that we can't take him... it's just that if we pull more people to our side, we'll have more bargaining chips in our hands."

"Otherwise, you know what those other guys are like. There's no guarantee they won't try to sit back and watch the tigers fight, waiting for us to clash with Su Wan so they can swoop in and pick up the pieces."

Bai Xiao thought for a moment, then crushed her cigarette butt against the doorframe.

"You have a point. So, who do you want to find?"

The Skinny Monkey Man turned his head, casting his gaze toward the east.

"Let's find Tan Hu and his group," he said deeply. "His strength is about the same as Su Wan's, and he was also the most opposed to Fang Shouzheng's proposal..."

...

East District.

The Skinny Monkey Man and Bai Xiao walked one after the other down the street at a brisk pace.

However, the closer they got to the core area controlled by Tan Hu, the more they felt something was off.

It was too quiet.

Eerily quiet.

The two exchanged a glance and then quickened their pace, heading toward the building with the prominent metal dome where Tan Hu usually stayed.

Just as they rounded a street corner and reached the street where the building was located, the scene before them made them both come to a sudden halt.

The street was a mess. Lumber and metal parts were scattered everywhere.

Several windows facing the street were shattered, the glass shards glinting piercingly in the sunlight.

There were obvious impact dents and charred scorch marks on the walls, as if a brief but exceptionally intense conflict had taken place.

Then, their eyes were involuntarily drawn to a building in the center of the street.

That was the hall Tan Hu's subordinates often used for meetings. There were originally two imposing metal beast statues at the entrance; now, one of their heads was missing, and the other lay toppled on the ground.

The doors to the hall were wide open, and there seemed to be quite a few people gathered inside.

The two exchanged another glance and then walked toward it.

Arriving at the entrance of the hall, they looked inside.

The hall was packed with people, every single one of them bruised and battered, bearing traces of blood or contusions.

Some were leaning against the walls groaning, others were silently applying medicine to themselves with their heads bowed, and some were simply slumped on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling.

The air was thick with the smell of potion, blood, and a heavy sense of despondency.

At that moment, a voice filled with deep irritation came from the side: "What are you two doing here? To laugh at me?"

The Skinny Monkey Man and Bai Xiao turned their heads simultaneously.

Tan Hu was leaning against an intact pillar on the side of the hall, his face pale and his forehead covered in cold sweat.

A large hole had been torn in the clothing over his abdomen, revealing several puncture wounds from a long blade.

Seeing his wretched state, the Skinny Monkey Man's pupils constricted sharply as if he had guessed something.

Bai Xiao, however, hadn't quite processed it yet. Looking at the wounds on Tan Hu's abdomen, she instinctively asked, "What happened to you? Who did this?"

Tan Hu let out a snort from his nose and gestured with his chin toward the Skinny Monkey Man, whose face was also covered in blue and purple bruises.

"What do you think? Same person as him."

Bai Xiao's gaze immediately shifted to the Skinny Monkey Man.

The Skinny Monkey Man's eyes darted around rapidly as he asked in a raspy voice, "That guy... he came to you too?"

Tan Hu nodded, a movement that seemed to agitate his wounds, causing the corner of his mouth to twitch.

He looked down at the wounds on his abdomen, a trace of undeniable lingering fear and dread flashing in his eyes.

"Yeah..." He caught his breath and looked up at Skinny Monkey and Bai Xiao, his tone carrying a hint of dejection. "I suggest you two stop struggling and just admit defeat."

The Skinny Monkey Man swallowed hard, his eyes flickering violently.

Then, he spoke urgently, "No, we still have a chance! If you bring the other bosses from the East District over as well, and we all join forces, I don't believe—"

Before he could finish, a heavy metal door on the side of the hall opened with a creak.

Following that, three figures emerged. One of them had a left arm that was unnaturally twisted.

Another had a deep gash on his forehead, blood matting half his face, his eyes unfocused.

The third was completely unconscious, being carried out by two subordinates with his arms hanging limp.

Seeing the three of them, the Skinny Monkey Man instantly lost his voice.

He recognized all three; they were the other bosses who controlled the remaining areas of the East District.

Tan Hu bared his teeth in a distorted smile and then spoke: "There's one more, currently lying inside needing a Healer for treatment."

He looked at the Skinny Monkey Man, whose face had turned deathly pale and whose lips were trembling slightly, his tone gaining a bit more mockery.

"You think... he only spared you? Just so you could go find help?"

The Skinny Monkey Man and Bai Xiao froze completely, a chill rushing from the soles of their feet to the tops of their heads.

Five? All five C-Classes of the East District, plus all the D-Classes under them, had all been taken down?

"He took out all of you... by himself?" Skinny Monkey still asked in disbelief.

"..."

But the only response he got was Tan Hu's silence.

This wasn't exactly something to be proud of, but since he didn't open his mouth to deny it, his attitude was already clear.