163: Old friends in the cage, the scoundrel returns.

In the photo, the girl wearing half-rimmed black glasses… was Liu Ting.

Xia Xin’s breathing suddenly hitched.

In her memory, Liu Ting was a very honest girl, who would feel guilty for half a day even if she accidentally stepped on an ant.

And now?

She was like a piece of pork on a chopping board, branded with a 'fresh and tender' label, hanging in a cage, waiting to be sold.

Creak.

The metal wine glass in Xia Xin’s hand was forcefully crushed out of shape.

“Shh—don’t give us away.”

Lin Keke, using the action of picking up a wine glass, gently nudged Xia Xin’s arm.

“Sister Xin, don’t be impulsive. The two bouncers on the left are watching your bow.”

“We’re here to be hunters, not prey.”

Xia Xin suddenly snapped back to reality.

As a disciplinary committee member, she was used to maintaining order.

But in this broken world, so-called order was a joke.

Only power was the sole truth.

“I know.”

Xia Xin picked up her whiskey and took a sip.

The spicy liquid burned down her throat, slightly dispelling the coldness in her hands and feet.

She adjusted her sitting posture, returning to her image as a scribe.

At this moment.

The lights in the hall suddenly dimmed.

A pale spotlight shone on the central stage.

The host was a Clown in a tuxedo.

His face was painted with exaggerated greasepaint, and his wide, grinning mouth was as red as if he had just drunk blood.

“Distinguished guests! Greedy beasts!”

“Welcome to tonight’s—Carnival Feast!”

The Clown’s sharp voice pierced everyone’s eardrums through the amplifier.

The crowd erupted.

Whistles, cheers, and table-banging sounds rang out in unison.

“Without further ado! Let’s welcome tonight’s ‘appetizer’!”

With a loud shout from the Clown.

The iron fence behind the stage slowly rose.

Several iron cages were pushed out.

Each cage held three or four ragged girls.

They huddled in the corner, trembling.

Even from this distance.

Xia Xin could clearly see Liu Ting’s pale face.

Her glasses were long broken, with only one frame hanging on her nose.

Her school uniform was torn to shreds, almost completely naked, revealing large areas of blue and purple bruises.

“Please… don’t…”

“I want to go home… I want my mom…”

The faint whimper had just drifted out when it was drowned by the deafening sound waves.

No one could hear the wails of ants at this moment.

The spectators below were flushed with excitement, waving black gold coins like waste paper.

“Starting bid! Each—ten thousand black gold coins!”

The Clown waved his small hammer, dancing with excitement.

“These are all university students who have read books! Tender skin, polite, and they can scream!”

“Whether bought as pets or rations, they are top-grade!”

“Twelve thousand!”

“Fifteen thousand! I want the one with glasses!”

“I’ll bid twenty thousand! Save the long-legged one for me!”

Bidding voices rose and fell.

Gentlemen in suits loosened their ties, drooling at the corners of their mouths.

How could those eyes belong to humans?

They were clearly a pack of hyenas who had smelled blood,

wishing they could rush onto the stage right now and devour those girls, skin and bone.

Xia Xin gritted her teeth, her jaw trembling.

Her shuriken was at her waist; in just one second, she could slit the Clown’s throat.

But then what?

Dozens of guns would point at them, and both she and Keke would die.

Endure.

She had to endure!

A sweet, metallic taste spread in her mouth—it was her bitten lip.

“Don’t look.”

Lin Keke suddenly stood up, blocking Xia Xin’s view.

She maintained her feigned arrogant posture, her voice imbued with an unprecedented cold hardness.

“We’ve got the intel, let’s go.”

“But…”

Xia Xin gritted her teeth.

“No buts.”

Lin Keke grabbed her wrist, with surprising strength.

“We can’t save them. But the Captain can.”

“Trust the Captain.”

These four words seemed to possess some magic.

They calmed Xia Xin’s almost out-of-control emotions a little.

That’s right.

That man.

The man who always wore a wicked smile, yet could trample all his enemies underfoot.

If it were him… he would surely be able to overturn this hell, right?

The two of them quietly got up, preparing to leave while everyone was focused on the auction.

Just as they reached the exit of the private room area.

From the most luxurious VIP room next door, a burst of arrogant laughter suddenly erupted.

The voice was extremely penetrating, utterly triumphant!

“Hahaha! Good! Very good!”

“Manager Liu Sheng, I’m very satisfied with this batch of goods!”

Xia Xin and Lin Keke’s steps paused simultaneously.

This voice… was too familiar!

They would recognize him even if he turned to ash!

It was Wang Ce, who had tried to rob them at sea and then fled with his tail between his legs!

The two exchanged glances.

Then, with unspoken understanding, they pressed against the wall and moved a few steps towards the private room.

Through the half-drawn curtain.

They could vaguely see the scene inside.

Wang Ce was sprawled on the leather sofa, hugging two bunny girls.

He was swirling a red wine glass, his face flushed.

He was already drunk and high.

Across from him sat the bowing and scraping Manager Liu Sheng.

“Young Master Wang has excellent taste!”

Manager Liu Sheng bowed, smiling like an old chrysanthemum: “This batch of goods was carefully selected from the ruins, original stock, very clean! Specially reserved for you to try something new.”

“As long as I can please that Lord, what are a few human lives?”

Wang Ce suddenly gulped down a mouthful of wine, his eyes sinister.

“Hmph, at this auction, I must acquire the ‘Divine Spark Container’!”

“As long as I offer it to that Lord… I can gain even greater power!”

“Then…”

Wang Ce suddenly smashed his wine glass to the ground.

Glass shards splattered!

“I’ll personally peel off that Chen Du’s skin! And those women on his ship…”

“Hehe… I’ll capture them all! Throw them into cages! I’ll torture them to death one by one!!”

Hearing this.

A golden light in Lin Keke’s eyes suddenly flickered.

What big talk!

He wants to touch the Captain? And them?

Did this guy forget how he knelt on the deck begging for mercy back then?

“Who’s out there?!”

The bodyguard in the private room suddenly became alert, looking towards the curtain.

“Oh no!”

Xia Xin’s heart jumped.

They were discovered!

Before the bodyguard could turn his head.

The cold light in Lin Keke’s eyes extinguished with a snap.

Her body went limp, and she collapsed bonelessly into Xia Xin’s arms.

She hooked her arm around Xia Xin’s neck.

“Oh, honey~ It seems there’s no one here~”

She deliberately made her voice overly sweet and seductive.

Her legs gave out, causing her to bump Xia Xin into the nearby wall.

This act was exactly like two drunk women stumbling around.

The bodyguard rushed out to look.

He saw two well-dressed women embracing each other.

One of them was even rubbing her face into the other’s chest.

“Damn it! Are you blind?”

Seeing that it was two drunk women, the bodyguard lowered his gun.

His face full of annoyance: “If you want to fool around, go to the bathroom! Don’t you dare loiter outside Young Master Wang’s door! Scram, scram, scram!”

“Oh, why so fierce~”

Lin Keke mumbled with a thick tongue, pulling the stiff Xia Xin and stumbling out.

Until they completely left this area.

The two women slipped into an empty corridor.

Lin Keke finally let go, leaning against the wall and panting heavily.

She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, and the golden light in her right eye quickly faded, returning to its original black color.

At the same time, her transformation state was also lifted.

“Scared… scared this baby to death! Good thing I had Second Sister, that pervert, to train me!”

She patted her chest, returning to her slightly goofy Lin Keke self.

“That shout just now almost drained my MP!”

Xia Xin looked at her, her emotions complex.

Who would have thought that this chuunibyou girl, who usually only knew how to eat and cosplay, would be so reliable at a critical moment?

“Wang Ce is here too.”

She straightened her disheveled collar, her voice icy.

“And classmates from Modu Medical University…”

“It’s going to be lively now.”

Lin Keke took out a miniature camera from her bag and carefully put it away.

“Let’s go, Sister Xin.”

“Let’s go back and gather our people!”

“Let the Captain bring the sisters along and teach these bastards a lesson!”