Chapter 203 - 202: A Great Contribution

Chapter 203: Chapter 202: A Great Contribution

The KTV seemed to be doing good business. Waitstaff could be seen walking back and forth with trays of drinks and fruit.

Huangfu Miaomiao pressed herself against the black baseboards, carefully moving forward as she observed her surroundings.

The private rooms were sealed too well for her to slip into. Fortunately, the KTV had its own ventilation system. She just had to find an exhaust vent, and she could follow the ducts into a room.

She waited until the coast was clear in the hallway, then secretly slipped into an exhaust vent.

She lost all sense of direction as soon as she entered the ventilation duct. It was pitch-black. All she could do was follow its path and enter a random private room.

The room was empty. Huangfu Miaomiao continued her skulking through the darkness, heading for the next room.

She crawled through the ducts for what felt like ages, slowly figuring out the layout. However, the rooms she found were either empty or occupied by ordinary customers. She hadn’t found a single player.

’But I’m sure I saw that tall, skinny woman come in.’

’Could there be a back door? Was coming to the KTV just a feint, and she actually slipped out through another exit?’

’Doesn’t that mean all my work tonight was for nothing?’

The thought made Huangfu Miaomiao feel utterly lost and helpless, and she subconsciously quickened the pace of her search.

She scuttled in and out, bustling through the colorfully lit KTV, exiting one exhaust vent only to enter another. Even Feng Ling, watching on the screen, could feel her panic.

"It’s strange that she can’t find the target," Feng Ling said. "Even if the KTV has other exits, only employees would know where they are. The fact that woman could walk in so openly suggests she most likely has accomplices inside."

The words had barely left her mouth when the video feed froze in place.

Huangfu Miaomiao’s camera was aimed down at a group of people gathered in a private room. It was a large room, with a dozen or so people by a rough count, yet not a single one was holding a microphone.

"They must be Alien Species." Feng Ling pointed to one of them and looked at Li Qing with a faint smile. "Look at that one. See how he’s moving? Doesn’t it look like he’s operating a virtual screen?"

The man’s fingers were tapping and poking at the air. He would occasionally chat with the person next to him, looking perfectly composed.

Li Qing watched with a frown. "...Yeah, it must be."

After a moment, the feed went dark as Huangfu Miaomiao pulled back into the duct. After a brief moment of total blackness, the video showed the lit hallway again, capturing the door of the room.

A metal plaque on the door read: Violet.

"Our Little Skeleton is pretty thorough. Smart enough to pull back and check the room name," Feng Ling said, amused.

Xu Yiming couldn’t help but ask, "Are all the people in that room Alien Species? There are so many?"

"Let’s keep watching," Feng Ling said, her lips curving into a smile.

Next to the Violet room was Red Rose. It was also filled with people, and they also weren’t singing.

Next, Huangfu Miaomiao checked the Lavender room, the Datura room, and the Tulip room—

Each room held anywhere from three or four people to over a dozen.

Xu Yiming counted in his head. "...It’s almost forty people. If we treat her filming the room name as a secret code, the total number of Alien Species in these rooms is already over forty."

The amused look on Feng Ling’s face gradually gave way to a grim expression.

It wasn’t that she was afraid of their numbers.

Rather, it was because the abilities granted by Cards were strange and unpredictable. The more Alien Species Huangfu Miaomiao found, the higher the chance she would run into one with an Investigation Ability.

Feng Ling said to Xu Yiming, "Get the truck to the KTV entrance."

The truck was currently at Green Square, not far from the KTV. It was only a three-minute drive.

Meanwhile, Huangfu Miaomiao’s own heart was pounding at the number of players.

She’d been anxious when she couldn’t find them, but now that she had, she couldn’t help but be afraid.

’She had been with Feng Ling during the Mengjia Hotel operation. There hadn’t been nearly this many players back then. Even with help from Zhou Diao and the Special Attack Team—even with Su Yuqing using a rocket launcher—they had thrown everything they had at the problem. And despite all that, Feng Ling had barely escaped with her life.’

’Now it felt like they were in a similar situation all over again.’

’Wasn’t this KTV just another player stronghold?’

Filled with trepidation, Huangfu Miaomiao continued along the duct. She was almost at the last private room, and she still hadn’t found the tall, skinny woman.

Faint voices drifted from up ahead.

’It sounds like that woman from before...’

Huangfu Miaomiao slowed, her nerves stretched taut, terrified of making a sound and being discovered by the players below.

The people in the room were mid-conversation.

"...It’s probably not fake. The fact that they could say the administrator is black means this player has definitely seen Crow."

"What a pain. The trade is delayed until tomorrow? We’ve been held up this long just to kill a single Crow, and it’s all your fault, you psycho!"

"My fault? I wasn’t the only one on that operation!"

"Then whose fault is it? If you hadn’t been too slow to act, letting Crow get away, would we be stuck here wasting our time?!"

"The others couldn’t stop Crow either! If just a few more people had made a move, Crow would be long dead!"

"...Alright, that’s enough. Stop fighting. Fisherman has been exposed, so he can’t go out. Whether the trade is successful or not, starting tomorrow, you two are in charge of finding Crow. Don’t disappoint Xing Guang."

...

The more Huangfu Miaomiao listened, the more her heart pounded. ’Isn’t Xing Guang the person Feng Ling has been looking for?’

’In other words, the people talking in this room are the core members of this player stronghold!’

She moved to the edge of the vent and carefully poked the camera out a few inches—

Five people were sitting below—three men and two women. The tall, skinny woman was one of them.

’Found her!’

Huangfu Miaomiao thought to herself, ’I’ve really done it this time! A major contribution!’

Just then, one of the five people below suddenly threw his head back, his gaze shooting upward, cold and sharp!

Huangfu Miaomiao jumped in fright and scrambled back into the duct. A second later, BANG! The ceiling and the duct were split open as one!

Caught completely off guard, Huangfu Miaomiao’s black form tumbled to the ground along with a severed piece of the duct!

A cold glint of light flashed as another blade sliced down! She had no time to tell if it was a knife or a sword. She fled in terror, scrambling desperately up the wall and diving into the fractured ceiling with all her might!

"After it! That thing was eavesdropping!"

The murderous words reached her ears. Huangfu Miaomiao trembled, her mind reeling in chaos. Pure terror sent her scrambling frantically through the ducts.

Ceiling panels were constantly being smashed open! Ducts were constantly being sliced apart!

Her pursuers below seemed to have X-ray vision; no matter where she hid, they found her instantly!

More and more players joined the hunt!

Some slashed with blades, some stabbed with spikes, and others used claws to rip down huge chunks of the ceiling, leaving her nowhere to hide!

Huangfu Miaomiao was on the verge of frenzy!

She fled nonstop, desperately searching for any crevice to hide in. She didn’t know if she was injured, nor could she tell how many people were after her!

She ran! She fled without daring to stop!

"Grab that thing!"

"Kill it!"

"Don’t let it get away!"

’Help!!!’—

Huangfu Miaomiao burst through the glass revolving doors in a blind panic. The road before her was suddenly bathed in a brilliant light, followed by the piercing shriek of a car horn right next to her!