"Cough, cough, cough! ~cough, cough~........."
The vigorous coughing of a stout, muscular middle-aged man filled the entire room, with several coughs so loud they sounded as if his lungs were about to be expelled.
Han Qiuli stood to the side, her face a mask of anxiety.
"Cough, cough!"
After a few more violent coughs, the middle-aged man's eyes sharpened. He directly retrieved a small bottle of dark red liquid from a drawer, unscrewed the cap, frowned, and then drank it down in one gulp.
"Ugh... ugh..."
As the middle-aged man swallowed the dark red liquid, he couldn't help but let out muffled groans of pain, his hand also clenching slightly. Seeing this, Han Qiuli opened her mouth, reaching out her hand as if to stop him from drinking more of the dark red liquid, but she ultimately retracted it, her face filled with helplessness and heartache.
"Cough, cough!"
After finishing the small bottle of dark red liquid, the middle-aged man's cough significantly subsided. With a few light coughs, he stopped altogether.
"Lili, what's wrong?"
The middle-aged man's brows, previously furrowed in pain, relaxed. He looked at Han Qiuli with loving eyes.
"Father, you... that... that's poison... I... I..."
By the end of her sentence, tears welled up in Han Qiuli's eyes.
"Lili, I'm fine. Although the side effects of this No. 1 Enhancement Serum are a bit severe, I'm not going to die yet!"
This stout, muscular middle-aged man, exuding an unspoken aura of authority, was none other than the leader of Tyrannosaurus Base, and Han Qiuli's father, Han Xianxing.
He walked up to Han Qiuli, gently wiped away her tears, and asked again, "Lili, what happened that made you rush to see me!"
"Father, it's like this, just now at the Tyrannosaurus trading hall, Xu Xun..."
Han Qiuli quickly recounted the conflict between Ye Feng and Xu Xun.
"Lili, you're saying Xu Xun went to trouble that young man named Zeng A'niu, and Luo Ming seemed to be on Zeng A'niu's side?"
Han Xianxing looked at Han Qiuli with some surprise.
"Yes, and Father, this Zeng A'niu only came to Tyrannosaurus Base yesterday..."
Han Qiuli reported Ye Feng's situation, including the transaction of sanitary pads, to Han Xianxing.
"This Zeng A'niu is quite interesting!"
Han Xianxing's expression showed a hint of surprise after hearing Han Qiuli's report. Then, he changed the subject, "However, the most important thing right now isn't this Zeng A'niu. Quickly send someone to re-examine the intelligence regarding the Red Bank Ruins!"
"Intelligence on the Red Bank Ruins?"
Han Qiuli was a little puzzled. She had just analyzed and summarized the situation of the Red Bank Ruins with him the day before yesterday.
"Lili, even if this Zeng A'niu truly has someone powerful behind him, I don't necessarily fear them!"
"Besides, you didn't do anything excessive to him. In fact, you even gave him quite a few benefits in the sanitary pad transaction. For now, he's not an enemy!"
"But the situation with Xu Xun might be a bit tricky!"
As if sensing Han Qiuli's confusion, Han Xianxing continued.
"Xu Xun's situation?"
Han Qiuli frowned slightly.
"Lili, the Xu family wants to annex our Han family and monopolize Tyrannosaurus Base. This is almost common knowledge among the mid to high-level personnel of Tyrannosaurus Base."
"And you should know Xu Xun; he's just a good-for-nothing second-generation heir. Without his father, Xu Kuang, he would have died in some forgotten corner long ago!"
"And such a person suddenly showing up at the Tyrannosaurus trading hall, insisting on buying ice-element arcane energy firearms... doesn't that seem a bit strange to you?"
Han Xianxing narrowed his eyes and analyzed.
"Father, now that you mention it, Xu Xun was indeed acting unusually at the time. But he's always been arrogant and overbearing, often doing things like interfering with others."
"Coupled with the involvement of Elder Luo Ming at the time, I was anxious and didn't notice..."
With Han Xianxing's reminder, Han Qiuli suddenly understood.
"If I'm not mistaken, buying ice-element arcane energy firearms was likely Xu Kuang's order."
"As you just said, if it weren't for Luo Ming's involvement, and that Zeng A'niu being new and quite stubborn, refusing to back down and give the firearm to Xu Xun..."
"Otherwise, it would have probably passed without much fuss, just like Xu Xun usually snatching things from others..."
"Lili, go and verify the intelligence about the Red Bank Ruins, especially regarding monsters!"
As he spoke the last sentence, a sharp glint flashed in Han Xianxing's eyes.
.........
At the same time,
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao had left the Tyrannosaurus trading hall and were walking on a bustling street.
Ye Feng was a bit depressed at the moment because he realized he was being followed again.
"Who could it be?"
"Given my previous experiences, it shouldn't be anyone from Han Qiuli's side... The people Han Qiuli sent are very skilled in tracking; I wouldn't have noticed them..."
"My ostentatious behavior at the Tyrannosaurus Base just now... someone got their eyes on me... or perhaps that guy Xu Xun?"
In a moment, many thoughts flashed through Ye Feng's mind.
"Never mind, I'll just catch them and ask."
After a brief deliberation, Ye Feng quickly made a decision.
"Xiao Xiao, let's go!"
Saying that, Ye Feng glanced in the direction of the person following him, his expression sharpened, and then he started to run a bit frantically.
"He noticed?"
The person following Ye Feng was slightly taken aback, then let out a cold laugh and quickened their pace to chase after Ye Feng.
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao weaved through twists and turns, with fewer people around them. Soon, the "hastily lost" Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao entered an alley.
"Kid, you've truly walked into hell's gates yourself!"
"You actually came to my turf?"
At a three-way intersection, as Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao hesitated about which way to go, a male voice rang out from behind them.
Ye Feng turned to look and saw a middle-aged man with a slightly upturned mouth and a spitting snake tattooed on his face, looking quite fierce.
"Little ones, come out, all of you, for Snake Lord!"
The middle-aged man with the snake tattoo roared.
"Bang, bang, bang! ~"
Several loud crashing sounds echoed. The doors of over a dozen shops on both sides of the alley were instantly kicked open, and a group of people wielding clubs, knives, and axes rushed out menacingly.
"Snake Lord!"
"Boss!"
"Snake Lord, you're back!"
.........
Upon seeing the middle-aged man with the snake tattoo, those people immediately went up to greet him.
"What the... what kind of freaks are these guys? Are they brain-dead?"
Ye Feng was stunned by this scene.
According to the middle-aged man with the snake tattoo, this was his base, yet his subordinates, upon hearing their boss's words, kicked open their own doors and rushed out?
"What are you guys acting crazy about, kicking down your own doors?"
The middle-aged man with the snake tattoo said with a furious expression.
"I... I..."
"Snake Lord, that..."
"Boss, just now when I heard..."
.........
The Snake Lord's subordinates stammered, not daring to answer.
"Hey, kid, who are you? Why are you showing up on Snake Gang's territory!"
"Yeah, who the hell are you?"
Suddenly, one of the Snake Lord's subordinates noticed Ye Feng.
"It's that kid, it's all that kid's fault for making me kick down the door!"
"That's right, it's him!"
"Yeah, some unknown kid!"
.........
Once someone started, one after another, all of the Snake Lord's subordinates, without any rhyme or reason, blamed Ye Feng for kicking down the doors.
.........