Chapter 39 Auction Amidst the clinking of glasses, the entire auction hall was enveloped in a ambiance of...

A grand auction is being held in the magnificent hall.

However, what was being auctioned was not a gemstone artwork, but a girl in a cage.

The dignitaries attending the banquet were impeccably made up, dressed in fine clothes, and wearing masks, staring with great interest at the "goods" on the display stand.

Crystal chandeliers refracted light onto the crystal glasses holding champagne, and the air was filled with the scents of alcohol, cigars, and expensive perfumes worn by women.

Amidst the clinking of glasses and the merriment of the auction hall, an atmosphere of decadent desire pervaded the entire space.

The auctioneer stood before the blood-red velvet curtain, a smile playing on his lips, and gently tapped his gilded gavel.

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight's grand finale auction item—"

The curtain slowly opened, and the spotlight suddenly focused, revealing Yu Tang's slender ankles, lightly secured by silver chains, beneath the glass dome, her skin glowing white in the spotlight.

Yu Tang's eyelashes trembled, and her body shook like a frightened bird.

Her lips were sealed shut, preventing her from making a sound. Her terrified pupils reflected the countless greedy yet utterly disgusting gazes from below the stage.

When the final item was auctioned, the audience fell silent for a moment, then erupted in even louder whistles and cheers.

Champagne sprayed everywhere, and the men below the auction stage had greedy and lewd eyes. Yu Tang became the most expensive sacrifice in this extravagant feast.

"Starting bid: six million!"

Before the auctioneer could finish speaking, the bidding had already begun.

"Ten million." The banker, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, smiled and raised his sign. The emerald ring on his finger gleamed under the light, and his cloudy eyes flashed with an unsettling fervor.

Tivedi was very satisfied with the audience's reaction, as the bid for Yu Tang had broken ten million so quickly. He even started to regret setting the starting price too low.

"Fifteen million." The oil tycoon in the private room spoke lazily, his huge belly almost bursting the buttons off his shirt. His voluptuous female companion beside him giggled and fed him a grape.

Each price increase felt like a hammer blow to Yu Tang's heart; her life or death was now just a series of numbers. She looked at the crowd: luxurious gowns, expensive jewelry, fake smiles… it all felt like an absurd nightmare.

She felt cold all over, so cold. She wished there was some way to kill her; the laughter of these people was more terrifying than death itself. Yu Tang didn't know what her fate held. She tried to break free, but she couldn't.

The auctioneers below the stage had their pupils dilated with excitement, having lost all concept of money; all they cared about were ever-increasing numbers, bidding again and again to experience the thrill of being above all others.

Just when the oil tycoon thought he had it in the bag, suddenly—"fifty million."

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

All eyes turned to the private room on the second floor, where Clinton, the local richest man, was rumored to be the illegitimate son of the President of Malta.

The auctioneer's voice trembled with excitement: "Fifty million once, fifty million twice..."

"Sold." The auctioneer's gavel finally fell, the crisp sound seeming to bring this extravagant celebration to a close.

Yu Tang was in tears, shaking her head frantically. Her wrists and ankles were chafed from struggling, and the red marks had turned into bloodstains.

Police, where are the police? Will they find this place? Will they come to rescue her? Until Yu Tang heard a voice that filled her with despair, the person next to her called the blond, white-skinned, big-bellied man "Sheriff".

The sheriff let out a smirk and said, "Guess how this little beauty will be played to death? Want to make a bet? I bet she'll be torn to pieces."

It turns out that the police had been involved in this auction all along.

Who else, who else could save her… Yu Tang's mind flashed back to that night when she was being chased, and the tall figure who had stood in front of her. But now, how could Yu Chaoxian find her? There were armed bodyguards everywhere outside; even if he knew how dangerous it was, he wouldn't want to come…

Yu Tang gazed at the night outside in despair.

Under the cover of night, helicopters pursued the enemy from high altitude.

This was Ivan's first time fighting alongside Yu Chaoxian, and the safest course of action would have been to wait for Diao Ge's reinforcements to arrive before pursuing them. However, the man in front of him clearly had no intention of waiting.

The locator's trail stopped at an open-air hotel.

A sensual auction has just concluded here.

The rooftop garden on the hotel's top floor features a pool reflecting the city's neon lights, while Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 plays from a record player, its rhythm both exciting and uplifting.

The terrace was covered with ivory-white marble. Clinton lay on a velvet chaise lounge, the wine beside him as red as blood, his hand moving in sync with the rhythm of the music, completely immersed in the musical feast.

After all, his feast has only just begun.

Yu Tang, who was brought in, stood by the pool, next to a girl who was still breathing but whose eyes were open. The girl was naked, her hands and legs were dislocated, and she died in a twisted and undignified posture.

The bodyguards nearby, unfazed, dragged the girl away.

Clinton leaned back in his chair, cigar smoke swirling around him, his white, vampire-like fingers gently brushing against Yu Tang's bloodstained wrist. Her wrist trembled constantly, like a pitiful quail.

Fortunately, he released her quickly. Yu Tang also briefly slowed her breathing as he let go.

A soft scent lingered on Clinton's arm, like the fragrance of roses. He loved roses. He was obsessed with them.

Clinton was unusually excited when he saw Yu Tang crying; his eyes were trembling. He licked his lips and said, "Little Rose, you're worth taking a pill for."

He bit into a capsule and swallowed it. The man's face contorted, his cheeks flushed red, and his excited limbs twitched, his bones creaking.

Yu Tang tried her best to think of a way out, and she pleaded, her voice choked with sobs, "Can you... let me go? You can have as much money as you want, just don't hurt me..."

"Let you go?" Clinton then stroked the gun beside him, as gently as if caressing a young girl's leg, but his words were cruel and heartless. "Poor little Rose, do you think I'd spend fifty million to buy you? I'll give you three minutes to escape. If you can get out, I'll let you go..."

"Really?" Yu Tang's legs went weak, but she had only one thought in her mind, the only thought that supported her body, was to run!

You have to run away to survive!

Yu Tang naively believed Clinton's words and ran towards the other side.

Clinton covered his eyes in disappointment, slowly cocked the gun, and his cold, mechanical voice was extremely clear in the night: "Little Rose, you really want to escape? It's rare that I like you so much, I even wanted to build you a golden cage to keep you."

"Since you want to run, then I'll have no choice but to first pierce your leg, then break your kneecap, and keep you alive like this. What do you say?"

Pervert! Madman!

Yu Tang shook her head and ran forward desperately. There was a light in the distance—it was the direction of the door!

With his eyes covered, Clinton took a step toward the door. Seeing this, Yu Tang quickly changed her mind and tiptoed behind him, hiding behind a huge vase.

The vase looked like some kind of sacrificial object, and the eye-like pattern depicted on it caused Yu Tang great unease, as if no matter how she tried to escape, she could not escape this eye.

A brutal, bloody massacre is about to unfold, accompanied by music. Clinton, in a fit of rage, cocks his gun and fires, his footsteps quickening as he passes the vase where Yu Tang is hiding.

Yu Tang covered her mouth and saw Clinton move away from the vase, continuing to walk forward as if he hadn't noticed her. She breathed a sigh of relief through her tearful eyes.

"Little Rose, where are you?" Clinton asked in a seductive voice. "I'll give you a reward if you come out, okay? Do you prefer your left or right hand? Although I want to strangle you first, I still want to play with you for a while."

Hunters have unique senses, and he is very good at locating objects by sound.

Clinton suddenly walked backwards, as if he could see people clearly even through a blindfold, and Yu Tang's heart was pounding with tension beneath the rapid piano rhythm.

The soaring music suddenly subsided and fell silent, and a soft, hoarse voice suddenly emerged from behind Yu Tang.

"Poor little rose, you're here."

Yu Tang's breath caught in her throat; her lip was bitten raw, and her mouth tasted of blood. Every heartbeat felt like a countdown to the end.

"Bang!" The gunshot became the perfect drumbeat, and the thrill of the killing was vividly displayed on Clinton's twisted body. He fired the gun casually, enjoying watching the girl's panicked figure flee.

Yu Tang was like a frightened and timid rabbit. Run, run, where else can you run to?

Clinton's maniacal laughter filled Yu Tang's ears, and no matter how much she covered her ears, she could still hear it.

"Bang—!" Another shot was fired, and the bullet landed at the girl's feet.

The smell of gunpowder filled the air around her, and Yu Tang stumbled and fell to the ground. She still wouldn't give up; she would crawl out, even if it meant crawling.

She cannot give up.

She's so young, about to take the college entrance exam, hasn't even experienced university life yet, hasn't cured her brother, hasn't made plans to travel with Mo Fei, and hasn't even treated Yu Chaoxian to a meal after she starts working... There are so many unfulfilled wishes.

She didn't want to die!

Clinton fired shot after shot at the feet of the fleeing Yu Tang, enjoying the girl's anxious panting and fearful cries.

"Little Rose, twenty seconds left, nineteen, eighteen..." Yu Tang fell into the pool. The momentary weightlessness made her feel as if she were experiencing a cold death.

Yu Tang was afraid of drowning, so she swam desperately towards the shore, but would swimming to the shore lead to a way out?

No one knew what kind of bizarre survival was unfolding in the rooftop garden a hundred stories high. Clinton's voice, like a demon's, kept echoing in Yu Tang's ears.

Now Yu Tang could only look at the railings around her. If she couldn't escape, she would rather jump than suffer such inhumane torture.

She struggled to climb out of the pool, her strength waning, it seemed she was truly facing death. Yu Tang thought, if only she could die with her brother.

The shadow of death loomed over her, tears streaming down her face, and she was sobbing that she could barely make a sound. Her vision blurred.

She was starting to lose her senses; was it the darkness of the night, or was she about to die...?

A helicopter hovered over the terrace in the inky night sky.

All sound was drowned out by the hum of the propellers. Clinton's bodyguards noticed the danger immediately and raised their guns to fire, the muzzles of their guns flashing in the night.

The rotor blades whipped up a fierce wind, and Yu Chaoxian sat suspended at the cabin door, holding a sniper rifle. Through the scope, groups of bodyguards fired into the air.

idiot.

It would be a miracle if a submachine gun meant for close-quarters self-defense could hit a helicopter.

Ivan heard Yu Chaoxian's command through his communicator: "Maintain order."

A bullet pierced his throat and the spent cartridge fell through the air. As the bodyguard leaned back, Yu Chaoxian had already moved the camera, and the three bodyguards fell to the ground one after the other.

The man's next command came through Ivan's communicator: "Clear, move laterally to the right."

Ivan in the driver's seat: "Roger that."

Without warning, Yu Tang's pale, bloodless face appeared in Yu Chaoxian's scope. Her wet clothes were wrapped around her body, her hair was stuck to the side of her neck, her eyes were already red from crying, and there were bloody marks on her neck, wrists, and ankles.

Clinton, wearing a bathrobe, raised his gun and aimed at Yu Tang's slender, fair ankle.

The world suddenly fell silent, the wind ceased, and Yu Tang's heartbeat and breath were all compressed into the scope and fell into Yu Chaoxian's eyes.

In the pitch-black night, only Yu Tang's color remained.

With a light touch of his index finger on the trigger, the barrel of the gun and Yu Chaoxian's pupils formed a deadly straight line. The scope passed past Yu Tang's side and aimed at Clinton's right hand as he raised his gun.

Ivan, in the driver's seat, coordinated with Yu Chaoxian's sniping to maintain his position.

Yu Chaoxian held his breath and took aim.

At the same time, Clinton aimed at Yu Tang's ankle and placed his finger on the trigger.

The trigger was pulled "Shoot—"

The bullet pierced the wind barrier with a muffled thud, and red blood splattered in the night.

The gun slammed to the ground, and Clinton's heart-wrenching screams echoed from the terrace as blood gushed from the black hole in his wrist.

It was him! Yu Tang looked up abruptly. Yu Chaoxian, dressed in a black shirt, was almost blending into the night. A cold glint flashed from the sniper scope in the man's eyes, piercing the darkness.

Yu Tang's lips, pale from the water, parted slightly, her voice barely audible. She seemed to know perfectly well that the sniper's eyes were also fixed on her.

At that moment, Chen Diao's voice came through the communication channel: "Entering the mission area."

When Chen arrived, he saw that Yu Chaoxian had only pierced one of the other man's arms. He couldn't help but be surprised. When did the boss become so merciful? How could someone like that be spared a life without having his brains splattered?

Mickey, who was in charge of fire control, was equally surprised, but he never questioned his boss's decision. His boss must have had other plans for doing this. He set up the M230 chain gun and opened fire on Clinton's men, leaving the bodyguards covered in blood.

This machine gun is fine for taking down tanks and armored vehicles, but using it on these fodder would be a complete waste. But what can you do when the boss is in the arms business? He has plenty of money and weapons.

A bodyguard returning from the restroom stepped into a pool of blood. Overwhelmed by fear, he turned and ran, but the moment he lifted his foot, he lost his balance and died with his eyes wide open.

Chen Diao looked at A Jin, who had fired the shot, with an appreciative gaze. This kid always had more bullets than words.

Ivan had already brought the helicopter close to the terrace, and Yu Chaoxian, carrying a gun, descended along the rope.

Yu Tang, who was on the ground, was pulled into a familiar and warm embrace.

The smells of gunpowder, blood, and the faint fragrance of a girl's hair filled his nostrils—the real, warm, and alive Yu Tang. The man's heart pounded wildly in his chest, the thumping sound deafening. This sensation was both unfamiliar and perplexing to Yu Chaoxian.

"It's alright, Tangtang." Yu Chaoxian rested his chin on her hair and soothed her with his large hand along the back of her neck.

Yu Tang was so weak she could barely stand, and only Yu Chaoxian's arm supporting her prevented her from slipping. Yu Tang's body was still trembling slightly with fear; she couldn't control her body's instinctive reactions to terror.

A moment later, Yu Tang suddenly realized that Yu Chaoxian's trembling body temperature was seeping through her clothes, and she wasn't the only one shivering.

Yu Chaoxian was afraid.

His chest heaved violently, and Yu Tang could feel it even through his clothes. The hand gripping her waist was so strong that it almost hurt her.

Perhaps Yu Chaoxian no longer disliked her as much as before, and realized that she was one of his few family members, which is why he was behaving so unusually at this moment. After all, blood ties are the strongest bond, binding them together forever.

Yu Tang lost the will to speak. She mimicked his actions, soothingly stroking the back of the man's neck with her other hand, as if afraid of being abandoned again.

Yu Tang, who was suffering from extreme neurasthenia, did not notice that the moment she touched him, all the muscles in his body tensed up.

For a fleeting moment, she vaguely felt a gentle touch on her forehead, a touch that vanished almost instantly. Yu Tang wondered if it was just her imagination.

Yu Chaoxian picked her up and, staring at her surprised expression, asked, "Were you afraid I wouldn't come?"

At first, Yu Tang was hesitant to even think about it, after all, it involved risking her life. But when she actually saw Yu Chaoxian arrive, she didn't seem surprised at all.

Chen Diao coughed, and his voice came through the communicator: "Boss, that guy on the ground is still lying there. What should we do with the people from the auction?"

Having lost too much blood, Clinton is trying to minimize his presence and slowly crawl outwards.

Yu Chaoxian felt that Chen Diao's eyes were no longer needed and could be gouged out, but he had to speak at this moment.

The roar of the helicopter continued in mid-air, and Yu Chaoxian tightened his grip even more: "Leave no one involved alive."

Yu Tang suddenly grabbed his wrist and said, "Let all those girls go."

The auction venue has been transformed into a ballroom, occupying an entire floor. With all the lights in the houses turned off, the light on this floor appears extremely luxurious and dazzling.

The helicopter landed on the rooftop. Mickey and Ajin arrived at the floor where the ball was being held. Mickey nodded to Ajin, and the next second, Ajin cut off the power, plunging the entire floor into darkness.

Mickey and Ajin pulled down their night vision goggles and put away their rifles, replacing them with MP5 submachine guns.

Ah Jin and Mickey stood side by side, each holding two submachine guns. Although Ah Jin was young, he fired without blinking.

Shell casings flew, bullets pierced flesh, screams and gunfire mingled like the most magnificent waltz. Corpses fell one after another, Mickey and Ajin lay motionless in pools of blood, the smoke filling the entire corridor.

The sweeping attack was completed; not a single person was spared.

Ajin flicked the blood beads off her hair, her amber eyes cold and indifferent as she faced the blood and the corpses scattered on the ground.

When he reported "cleared" over the communicator, the white smoke from the muzzle of his gun had not yet dissipated, two minutes earlier than the time Yu Chaoxian had given him.

Mickey glanced at Ajin; the kid's cold face really did have a bit of a boss's air about him.

In just three minutes, the lives of these hypocritical people came to an end.

There's a perfect phrase: "a beast in human clothing." It's the perfect way to describe these so-called upper-class people. In life, they all look respectable and are impeccably dressed, but when they die, their bodies are riddled with bullets. No matter how expensive a custom-made item is, it can't withstand a single 9mm bullet.

Soon, Yu Chaoxian's instructions came through Mickey's earpiece.

Yu Chao first draped his coat over Yu Tang and said to Mickey, "Take her to the hotel, and you stay with her the whole time."

Hearing that she would be left alone again, Yu Tang immediately hugged him tightly. The only person here she could completely trust was her nephew, Yu Chaoxian; blood ties were the most reliable. Therefore, after her brother fell into a coma, Yu Chaoxian became her first choice.

Yu Chaoxian ruffled her hair: "I'll be back soon, you wait for me obediently."

Yu Tang lowered her head and had no choice but to let go.

Yu Chao glanced at the helicopter, then left Chen Diao and Ivan behind, leaving Mickey and Ajin with Yu Tang. Inside the cabin, Yu Tang saw the familiar Ajin, who handed her a thermos, which eased some of Yu Tang's unease.

Yu Chaoxian picked up the gun Clinton had dropped from the ground, sat down on the velvet chaise lounge where Clinton had just been sitting, casually placing his long legs, exuding a relaxed and composed air.

He didn't look like someone who had just killed someone; he looked more like a young nobleman on vacation.

Clinton, who was crawling awkwardly on the ground, was blocked by Chen Diao's foot.

“I’ll give you money, however much you want, go and kill him…” Clinton still hoped to bribe Chen Diao with money.

Chen Diao raised his foot and slapped him across the face.

Yu Chaoxian fiddled with the gun with great interest: "Answer my question, and I'll consider sparing your life."

Clinton's eyes lit up: "Really?"

Yu Chaoxian asked, "Who arranged this auction?"

Clinton cursed in pain, but had no choice but to answer: "Yes, it's that damn Tivedy, Tivedy of the Indian underworld!"

Speaking of the Indian underworld, Yu Chaoxian had a vague recollection: "Tivedi of the Indian Three Brothers? Where is he?"

The Indian underworld had done business with the Yu family before, and Yu had crippled their hands and eyes with a switchblade. Yu Chaoxian quickly realized that Yu Tang's kidnapping was not an accident, but a premeditated plan.

They were spared before, but instead of living well, they insisted on courting death. Yu Chaoxian will not grant their wish.

Clinton immediately betrayed Tivedy: "He's the owner of this hotel, on the basement level!"

Upon receiving the information, Chen Diao turned and left. Clinton felt much less stressed after seeing Chen Diao leave.

"P-Can you let me go now?"

“Letting you go isn’t impossible,” Yu Chaoxian smiled, becoming a stunning beauty in the night. He spoke softly and slowly, “I’ll count to three. If you can crawl out of here, I’ll let you go.”

Clinton, who rarely sees the sun, is so thin that a single gunshot wound left him unable to get up, and the gunshot wound to his wrist had almost made him faint from the pain.

His vision blurred, and Clinton, panting heavily, frantically crawled on the ground, using both hands and feet, toward the door that Yu Tang had been unable to escape through.

"Three..." Yu Chaoxian cocked the gun with his long, clean fingers and began the countdown, "Bang—!"

A 20-gauge bullet struck Clinton's left foot. "Ah!" Clinton screamed in pain as his left foot fell into the pool, instantly turning the pale blue water red. What the hell is the 2 and 1?!

Clinton, still unwilling to give up, continued to climb ashore, veins bulging on his neck, desperately searching for a glimmer of hope.

Yu Chaoxian sat on the recliner, adjusted the position of the gun, and then fired a shot at Clinton's right foot, deliberately avoiding any fatal spots.

"Your dead life is worthless, it doesn't matter." Yu Chaoxian cocked his gun, looking down at the crawling insect on the ground. "But my aunt almost died at your hands. Although I believe in fairness, an eye for an eye, can your worthless life compare to my aunt's?"

"Don't you like shooting?" He smiled and fired another shot.

Clinton cried out in anguish, his legs already beaten into a bloody pulp, blood splattering everywhere.

Mickey reported through the communicator that Yu Tang had been safely taken to the hotel and a doctor had been found to see her. Yu Chaoxian wasted no more time.

The Symphony No. 5 on the record player had been played countless times, and Yu Chaoxian was already tired of it.

The last two bullets, one was used on the record player, and the other pierced Clinton's sunbeam.