The air was thick with the stench of blood.
As a child, Ren Yuanhao had accompanied his father to the slaughterhouse and vividly remembered the scene in the pigpens.
The walls of the pens were almost splattered with blood, and dark red blood, mixed with white foam, flowed on the ground. Three or five butchers, with rolled-up sleeves and covered in blood, pinned the twitching fat pigs onto cement slabs to begin butchering them. Blood flowed like a small stream along the gutters into a basin, the腥气 (xīng qì - fishy/bloody smell) overwhelming, tinting even the lights red.
That scene had made the young him feel as if he were in hell, and now, that feeling, like a maggot clinging to bone, climbed from his ankles onto his spine, until it exploded in his mind.
No, that wasn't right. The scene today was even more terrifying, more bone-chilling.
Inside the black-lacquered room, a dozen specially made chains bound about ten naked men and women. Their bodies were covered in bloodstains and red pinpricks from needles. At intervals, sprinklers on the floor would spray jets of water, washing over their bodies and the filth on the ground, such as excrement and urine.
The black paint seemed freshly applied, and the smell of formaldehyde mixed with the scent of blood like a dark cloud hanging over the entire room. These people had vacant eyes, like walking dead, and Ren Yuanhao immediately realized that this immense terror was likely what Liu Yu had called 'hell' years ago.
"DiDi, Ren Yuanhao, the special abilities of these people seem to have been stripped away for the most part. Look, the shackles on their hands are also conduits for nutrient fluid. These people are kept alive by the daily infusion of nutrient fluid and certain drugs. Once their special abilities are completely stripped away, it will be their death."
"Damn it, this is inhumane!"
Ren Yuanhao clenched his fists, his eyes seeming to spew fire. He raised the Cun Xue (Cun Xue) and smashed the surveillance equipment. Just then, some guards rushed in, firing indiscriminately into the air.
The guns spat fire, their sound like thunder from a clear sky. As soon as the naked ability users heard the noise, they immediately became like ants on a hot pan, jumping and dodging frantically, moving left and right. Their listless eyes were quickly filled with a deadening stillness. All the ability users hit by bullets instantly collapsed to the ground, curled up like shrimp served on a table.
Ren Yuanhao, relying on his agile speed and the confusion of the ability users, narrowly avoided the threat of bullets. The white light in his hand shone like snow. A guard who was loading bullets felt a chill in his abdomen. Looking down, his exquisitely made protective suit had been torn open, and bright red blood was continuously seeping out!
"Damn it, it's blood, blood! My belly's been ripped open by this bastard surnamed Ren!"
An older guard clutched his abdomen and retreated continuously, his pupils darting around. The scene before him made him feel as if he were in hell!
"This, this is damn hell, I, I'm not doing this anymore!"
The man had retreated to the black wall, pressing himself against it, about to escape. But the captain grabbed his collar and, without a word, smashed his rifle butt into his head. The guard immediately collapsed like a dead dog.
"Anyone who dares to retreat will be killed without mercy!"
As the captain spoke, everyone's faces changed. They could only brace themselves, stepping over their injured comrades and taking a step forward. A burst of bullets was chambered. Although they feared Ren Yuanhao's sword, they also feared the captain's methods. Just as they were about to pull the trigger, a ghostly white blade once again sliced open their abdomens!
The sliding intestines in their bellies writhed like coiled snakes.
Ren Yuanhao, having made two swift moves, did not have time to feel excited before he heard a heavy footsteps sound from behind them.
When this footstep sounded, the guards trembled and parted to create a path.
"Shit, so much blood, what a waste."
The newcomer was a head taller than Ren Yuanhao, at least two meters tall. His physique was as robust and broad as a wall, his face covered in rough flesh that gleamed blood-red under the dim light. His goatee was as thick as steel needles, and his eyes shone with a dark green light, giving the impression that he could see through a person from skin to bone. When he spoke, his full set of sharp teeth flashed like cold blades!
As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped on the face of a guard who had been struck by the sword, stomping on it with his sturdy sole a couple of times as if trying to crush the man's head underfoot. When that guard looked at the man's body from the corner of his eye, he let out a mournful cry like a partridge, and a smell of urine wafted up, only to be washed away by the rushing water.
"Noisy."
The man crouched down, and a surprisingly large hand pressed onto the guard's head. It didn't seem to require much force, yet the head exploded like a watermelon, spewing brain matter!
The man, with a mouth as wide as a snake's, leaned towards the guard's abdomen and greedily sucked the fresh blood, making beastly gurgling sounds in his throat, which made everyone present's hearts pound. After devouring the blood, the man let out a satisfied burp without even wiping his mouth.
"So satisfying! Alright, who's the bastard disturbing my good sleep? Get out here quickly!"
Ren Yuanhao checked the time. He had less than half an hour before the effect of the secret medicine wore off, and he still didn't know the exact locations of the other two women. He was extremely anxious. As his emotions fluctuated, the man, from somewhere, grabbed an axe and threw it casually, aiming directly at his face!
—Holy hell!
Ren Yuanhao's waist dipped, and his body leaned back with his center of gravity. The axe grazed his nose, the gust of wind sweeping across his face, making it sting.
"Don't dodge. I can smell you."
Ren Yuanhao thought to himself, 'I'll be damned if I believe you.' Just as he was about to straighten up, the axe, which should have hit the wall, returned like a boomerang, aiming for his head again!
—What the hell is this sorcery!
Ren Yuanhao slapped the ground with his palm, and his body immediately spun several times to the right, narrowly avoiding the flying axe. The man did not stop; another axe flew from his hand.
—Damn it! Can that guy really see me?
Ren Yuanhao did the same, easily dodging the angrily swinging axe. However, now both axes were out. As the first axe brushed past his hair, the second axe accurately reached his face. He had no choice but to raise his sword to block. The immense force from the axes pushed his legs back four or five steps. What was even more terrifying was that the first axe was now returning, and in his current state, he couldn't spin around to block it in time!
At this critical moment, the system prompt instantly sounded:
"Ren Yuanhao, apply the secret medicine's effect to the axes!"