Chapter 57 Turmoil

West of Sin City.

In one particular block, armed thugs brawled in the streets. Every second, someone would scream and collapse, only to be hacked to pieces by the surrounding mob. Others hurled lit bottles of flammable liquid into the crowds, bursting into sprawling patches of fire upon impact. Shouts and roars, the whistling of sharp blades tearing through the air, the clash of metal, and the crackling of roaring flames—the scene was one of extreme, bloody chaos.

Through a window opening on a slightly elevated floor nearby, a masked man with a lithe physique silently observed the riot through binoculars, his eyes indifferent.

More than ten seconds later, he pressed the microphone near his mouth. “A large number of guards have appeared. They’ve surrounded this block. There are about… three hundred of them.”

Two seconds later, a voice replied through his earpiece. “Copy that. Sharp Blade, continue monitoring the scene. Intervene and cause disruptions if necessary. Keep those guards pinned down there.”

“Copy that,” Sharp Blade replied.

He watched for a few more seconds. As the large squad of guards moved in, the criminals seemed ready to stop fighting, put their hands on their heads, and crouch down.

The next second, he drew a silenced pistol without hesitation and fired at a burly man who was raising his hands and shouting something at the guards.

THWIP.

SPLAT!

Blood sprayed from the side of the burly man’s head. His body slumped, and he collapsed dead on the ground.

A second later, a minion who was trying to stand up fell. Another second later, two more people dropped in quick succession.

This unexpected development stunned even the guards. Several squad leaders roared, ordering their men to hold their fire.

But it was too late.

“The guards are trying to kill us!”

“Fight them to the death!”

“Run for it, brothers!”

The numerous thugs had already been in the middle of a bloodbath. They had only given up their resistance out of fear when the guards arrived. But now, seeing people gunned down consecutively even after surrendering, their taut nerves instantly snapped.

Some roared wildly and lunged at the guards, while others fled in panic. The scene immediately dissolved back into utter chaos.

Tonight happened to be another open tournament at the Death Madness Tower.

On the giant cruise ship, many neatly dressed, elegant, and polite passengers disembarked. They made their way from the ship into the pier building to enter the island, filing into sightseeing buses one after another.

The vehicles started up consecutively, forming a long snake-like procession heading toward the Death Madness Tower.

They hadn’t traveled far when a guest suddenly let out a soft exclamation. Pointing at a massive swarm of black dots flying out from the direction of the Death Madness Tower, he asked, “What are those?”

A guard nearby saw the black dots and a flash of confusion crossed his eyes. He answered respectfully, “That is the Zero Point Consortium’s armed drone array. They are deployed on regular patrols every day to eliminate any unstable elements on the island. But why are they…”

He caught himself in time, refraining from questioning the drones’ unconventional launch. This was something the security drone team was responsible for.

However, amidst the curiosity and bewilderment of the guests and guards, they saw more than half of the massive drone fleet flying rapidly in their direction. In just one minute, the drones arrived near the pier.

The dense, dark flight array lowered its altitude and hovered near the exposed sightseeing buses. The blinking red lights and built-in gun barrels began to make everyone feel uneasy.

“Guard… what is going on?” someone began to ask.

The next moment, the muzzles of hundreds of drones spat fiery snakes!

RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

Gunfire, screams, cries for help, and desperate flight. The entire port was plunged into a sea of blood.

An even larger number of drones flew toward the cruise ship itself, unleashing lethal strikes on every detected lifeform along the way!

It could be said that all of Border Prison Island had now plunged into a terrifying state of chaos.

Inside the Death Madness Tower.

At the same time, massive numbers of drones smashed through the windows. They roamed in packs through the corridors and office areas, as well as the Death Madness arena in the first-floor annex. They ruthlessly launched attacks on all moving targets.

Alarms blared throughout the entire building.

Under the furious, abusive reprimands of the executive president, the frantic head of the security center scrambled to mobilize the guards. However, half of their personnel had already been deployed to suppress the riot in Sin City, and over a third of the security force had been assigned to escort the VIPs from the cruise ship. Right now, the only guards inside the Death Madness Tower who still possessed genuine combat capability were the elites tasked with guarding the underground laboratory.

Gritting his teeth, the head of security picked up the phone and called the executive president of the Death Madness Tower—he himself didn’t have the clearance to mobilize the laboratory’s security force.

On the top floor of the Death Madness Tower, in a spacious and luxurious executive office.

Simon’s face was livid as he said coldly, “I authorize you to mobilize the covert unit. But after this incident is over, you will resign in disgrace.”

The next moment, he slammed the phone down and spat a vile curse.

“Bullshit!”

Beside him, a Caucasian young man with long, wavy burgundy hair noticed this. He lightly rested his hand on the swift sword at his waist and asked in an elegant tone, “President Simon, do you need me to step in?”

Simon took a deep breath and waved his hand. “This series of simultaneous events is highly unusual. I’m terrified of dying, so just focus on protecting me.”

He forced a smile and glanced at the young man. “Felt, you are a member of a noble bloodline yourself. Your life is equally precious. There’s no need to put yourself in danger over these incidents.”

The young man asked softly, “What about Ya Lie? He possesses extraordinary strength. He could be of great use in a situation like this.”

Simon’s eyes lit up, and he sneered. “An untamable feral dog scavenging for scraps, a guy forever unfit for the grand stage. Yes, we can certainly arrange for him to do some work.”

Felt nodded calmly, but a trace of disdain flashed in his eyes.

He thought to himself, “Simon, Ya Lie is a powerful warrior. You, the one who looks down on him, are nothing but a weakling who relies on power and money.”

Meanwhile, Simon had already picked up his phone again and dialed Ya Lie’s number.

“Hello…” The call connected, and Ya Lie’s slightly hoarse voice came through the speaker.

Simon’s expression was cold and ruthless. “Ya Lie, move out immediately. Eliminate all suspicious personnel and potential threats inside the Death Madness Tower!”

“Alright, alright~ I’ll slaughter every last threat.

“You can just relax, Mr. Simon~”

Somewhere in a corridor inside the Death Madness Tower.

A Blade Master, wearing a guard’s uniform and a standard-issue mask but wielding a katana, was casually placating the man on the other end of the line. At the same time, he slowly withdrew his katana from the throat of a speechless guard.

The guard’s terrified eyes gradually grew vacant as he slid limply down the wall and collapsed to the floor.

Ya Lie hung up the phone. With a gentle flick of his right wrist, he shook the blood off his blade.

Behind him, more than a dozen broken bodies were scattered across the length of the corridor. Every single one wore the uniform of a Zero Point Consortium guard. Every single one clutched a submachine gun. And every single one wore a face full of despair.

Humming a little tune, Ya Lie took a few steps forward, only to see another fully armed guard emerge from the corner at the end of the corridor.

The guard spotted him at the exact same moment and swiftly raised his submachine gun. “Guard! Put your hands up! Report your ID number!”

Ya Lie looked at the man with an amused gleam in his eyes. “That gear… You’re from the special unit guarding the laboratory, aren’t you…”