Evolution - Chapter 150
Chapter 150
In the underground auction house, where signals were blocked and all surveillance was forbidden, men and women shamelessly unleashed their desires, frantically bidding on the night’s final item.
Amidst the fierce bidding, someone suddenly raised the price by twenty million, their voice, altered by a scrambler, shouting, “One hundred and twenty million!”
The lively atmosphere on the floor fell silent.
Seeing no one else raise the price, the auctioneer slowly brought down the hammer.
“One hundred and twenty million, going once!”
“One hundred and twenty million, going twice!”
“One hundred and twenty million, going three times! Sold!”
Hearing the word “Sold,” a man in a VIP box upstairs stood by the window. He wore a half-mask that revealed only his chin, and his well-manicured hand stroked the meticulously groomed goatee beneath it. A self-satisfied smile touched his lips, thoroughly pleased with his purchase.
His gaze fell upon the stage, where a beautiful boy with pointed ears, seemingly an elf, had skin so fair it seemed to glow. He was locked in a cage, his body half-naked, his limbs bound by fine silver chains, presenting a fragile beauty that made one want to break it. His emerald eyes were filled with numbness as he stared blankly at the brilliant crystal chandelier on the ceiling, oblivious to the astonished, greedy, or cruel gazes from below.
The host on stage announced the end of the auction in an exaggerated tone, adding suggestively, “The items you have won will be delivered to your rooms shortly. We wish you all a wonderful night!”
With the auction concluded, the attendees rose from their seats with delighted expressions, their steps light as they headed for their rooms. Even the guards at the entrances visibly relaxed.
Upon receiving the order to move, Ji Changqing and her team of five covered each other as they infiltrated from their hiding spot, making their way into the area of this underground world used for detaining, cleaning, and packaging the “goods.”
That’s right—detaining, cleaning, and packaging. Here, both the auctioned items and the non-auctioned ones selected for a night of pleasure would be collected from their cells by designated staff. They would be taken to be bathed and perfumed, then dressed according to the clients’ requests before being delivered to their rooms for their enjoyment.
The five of them moved quickly. Any armed personnel they encountered were taken down with a single, merciless shot. They weren’t afraid of snipers hiding in ambush, either—they dodged when they could and took the hit when they couldn’t. With the latest version of the micro-armor, they were well-equipped to seize control of all access points in a short amount of time.
When the enemy saw that their large-caliber firearms were ineffective, they even threw several micro-bombs.
With lightning-fast reflexes, Ji Changqing kicked them back, watching several small fireworks bloom in the distance.
Although the micro-armor offered excellent defense, it couldn’t completely negate an attack. A few gunshots wouldn’t cause serious injury, but they still hurt. And as for micro-bombs? They might not kill you, but couldn’t they still injure you? At the very least, you’d be sent flying and cough up blood, as if hit by a heavy punch.
They fought their way from the packaging area, through the bathing and perfuming area, all the way to the detention area. Ji Changqing gave a hand signal for her teammates behind her to get ready, then swiped the access card they had acquired to open the main door.
The moment the door opened, a figure shot out like a bolt of lightning, crashing straight into Ji Changqing with an almost tangible malice. A sharp pain suddenly pierced Ji Changqing’s heart. Her first instinct wasn’t to dodge, but to reflexively kick out, sending the person flying. She raised her hand, about to follow up with a shot, when she sensed something was wrong. Looking up, she saw the person who had fallen to the ground was the thin, delicate, pointed-eared boy, clad only in a bathrobe.
“Don’t move!” Ji Changqing instinctively clutched her chest and pointed her gun at the boy.
However, the pointed-eared boy seemed to realize his mistake. Recalling the faint sound of gunshots he’d heard before making his move, a flicker of hope rose in his eyes, and he obediently remained still.
Besides, the earlier struggle had nearly exhausted all the magical energy he could muster. He wouldn’t be able to attack again for a while. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have resorted to a close-quarters charge to close the distance for what he intended to be a decisive blow.
Ji Changqing scanned her surroundings. Aside from the cages holding the “goods,” there were several bodies in the auction house’s work uniforms lying scattered in a nearby corridor.
She had her teammates watch the fiercely vigilant, pointed-eared boy while she went to inspect the three bodies. She confirmed they were dead, all killed by a puncture to the heart, without exception.
This was trouble. Ji Changqing frowned instinctively and reported into her wireless comms earpiece, “We’ve found a boy who appears to be an elf.”
The pointed-eared boy shot her an angry look. Nonsense! Elves were genderless before they came of age!
The commander on the other end seemed to suck in a sharp breath, hissing as if from a toothache. “Hold your position and keep an eye on him. The patrol army will be there in ten minutes, max. I’m reporting this up the chain. The Foreign Affairs Department should send someone to handle it.”
Ji Changqing and her team didn’t release the captive “goods” yet. After all, there were only five of them in this initial breach. If they let everyone out and the “goods” lost control, it would be difficult to manage the situation. They could shoot down criminals one by one, no problem, but these were victims who needed to be protected at all costs.
Even without being released, some were already wailing, while others screamed hysterically, “Save me!” “Let me out!” “Help me, I’m begging you!”
Seeing this chaotic and undignified scene, one could easily imagine how much worse it would be if a group of long-tormented people with no special training were suddenly set free. A desperate stampede for survival would be a terrifying outcome.
The five of them had sustained some minor injuries. Thanks to the micro-armor, they were mostly impact wounds. Ji Changqing felt a dull ache in her left side; based on her experience, she likely had a cracked rib.
They paid their minor injuries no mind, remaining vigilant as they swept the area again, clearing out any remaining auction house personnel.
They even rooted out someone who was pretending to be one of the “goods.”
It couldn’t be helped. The “goods” were all chosen for their looks—people who could make a living off their faces. The people who worked for their lives in this auction house were inherently different, and makeup alone couldn’t bridge that gap.
There was one, however, whose looks made him hard to distinguish. If it weren’t for the thick malice radiating from him—almost as strong as that of the pointed-eared boy who had been ready to die with his target—Ji Changqing, a walking good-and-evil detector, would have missed him.
“Could this be a big fish?” one of Ji Changqing’s teammates asked with a grin, looking at the man who had been dragged out, his face a mask of convincing panic.
After fighting side-by-side for over seven years, they were used to Ji Changqing’s unique constitution. Anyone she singled out was almost never innocent.
Someone this good-looking who worked for the underground auction house, if not one of the “goods,” had to be a key figure.
Before ten minutes had passed, they heard the low, rhythmic sound of marching boots and sporadic gunfire. It seemed the main force of the patrol army had the situation largely under control and were entering in waves.
Their mission this time was supposed to be simple: assist the patrol army in rescuing hostages from a group of space pirates. Who knew it would take such a divine turn?
They had pried a piece of information from the pirates, which led them straight to this underground auction house.
So, they hadn’t submitted their mission report yet. The two objectives aligned perfectly, and they had detoured to pick this melon as well.
The patrol army’s response was swift. The auction house staff, the guests, and the “goods” all had to be dealt with. The dead had to be taken away, bodies and all. Every person’s identity had to be verified, and they had to be arrested and escorted separately. The “goods” needed their families contacted and psychological counselors arranged. It was a whirlwind of activity.
The sky gradually turned from black to gray, then from gray to white. The sound of gunfire slowly faded. The support units responsible for escorting the rescued victims had already left. As for the special forces, except for the seriously wounded who were taken for treatment, those with minor injuries remained at their posts, providing security for the forensics team collecting evidence and tracing clues.
Only when they too were about to withdraw did the long-silent voice of the operation’s commander come through their earpieces: “Area secure. Prepare for extraction.”
Ji Changqing let out a long breath, leaning against a wall to slowly stand up. She and two equally battered teammates supported each other as they emerged from their hiding place.
The three of them looked at each other’s disheveled state, then remembered the numerous so-called socialites they had seen among the guests that night. The thought of the military merits and contribution points they would earn brought smiles to their faces.
A teammate’s elbow happened to bump Ji Changqing’s injured ribs, making her grimace in pain.
Oblivious, he said, “Heh, your promotion to Lieutenant Colonel is a sure thing this time!”
Ji Changqing chuckled. “We’ll have to wait and see about that.”
Her teammate patted the micro-armor component on his wrist. “We have this guy to thank for the past few years. Our casualty rate has finally dropped.”
Ji Changqing smiled without a word.
Back then, before her family leave ended and she returned to Muyun Planet, Yu Zhiyao had worked frantically to modify a purely defensive version of the micro-armor. She had spent a huge amount of her personal merit and contribution points to buy it for Ji Changqing to take with her. On its very first mission, it played a crucial role, saving her life.
Her squad leader was a sharp and insightful man. After learning the details, he immediately reported it to the corps commander. He was ecstatic—if this could be rolled out to their entire unit, it might just cure the chronic problem of them never being at full strength!
Because of this, Ji Changqing had enjoyed a special family benefit, all thanks to Yu Zhiyao. When the corps commander learned that Yu Zhiyao was leading the research project, he immediately gave his full support. Whatever materials or personnel were needed for the research, the special forces would provide!
He even submitted an application to have the entire project team transferred to Muyun Planet.
That year was the longest they had ever spent together—a full two months!
Over the past seven years, aside from that one family leave and the two months Yu Zhiyao spent on Muyun Planet, they had only seen each other twice more. One of those times was when they had all used their accumulated leave from several years to return to Blue Star together.
Just as she was thinking of Yu Zhiyao, her comms device, its signal no longer blocked, chimed with an email notification. She looked down and opened it. In just a few seconds, the expression on her face froze.
The email was brief. It was a composite image of several photos: her parents, her sisters, and Yu Zhiyao.
Each person was in a separate, crystal-clear photo.
Beneath the image was a line of blood-red text: If you want them to live, do as we say.
Her hands clenched into tight fists, and her eyes turned scarlet.
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