The voice rang out, eerie and abrupt.
Almost no one noticed when the guy who had been standing in the shadowed corner, his presence practically nonexistent, moved like a ghost and appeared behind Qin Guan in an instant, seizing the hand that was lunging toward him in a sneak attack!
The man was still unwilling to give up and shouted in bluster, “Let go!”
He then struggled with all his might, apparently still trying to continue the attack.
However, Lu Chuan was far stronger than he had expected. His fingers only seemed to rest lightly on the man’s wrist, looking as though he had barely used any force at all, yet no matter how the man struggled, he could not move even the slightest bit.
Lu Chuan lowered his head, eerie red light flickering in his eyes.
“Sneak attacks from behind aren’t nice, you know.”
“None of your business. Let go of me!”
Seeing that the other man showed no remorse, Lu Chuan said nothing more. He slowly turned his palm, and with a crisp series of cracking sounds, the man’s forearm twisted and folded like a dead branch, mangling itself on the spot!
“Aaaah… !!”
The scream echoed throughout the entire floor. In the distance, quite a few people had already turned to look.
Qin Guan looked back at the gory scene and could not help frowning.
“Lu Chuan!”
“Okay~”
Hearing the faint anger in his voice, Lu Chuan raised his hands in surrender, shrugged, and put on an innocent look.
“I just wanted to teach him a lesson.”
However, by now their actions had clearly gone beyond the scope of a “lesson” and crossed the Foundation’s bottom line: “No attacking companions in the Atrium.”
As the man collapsed to the ground, howling in pain, the crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger, and people started whispering among themselves.
“Hey! What’s going on over there?”
“Why are they fighting? Isn’t there a rule against fighting in the Atrium?”
“I don’t know, but judging by his clothes, that guy is from the Foundation.”
“Who are they? How dare they attack someone from the Foundation?”
“I’ve never seen them on the live stream. Probably just some nobodies from who knows where.”
“Haha, then they’re in for it! Everyone knows the Foundation fiercely protects its own. Just wait and watch the show!”
The crowd closed in from all sides. Qin Guan had no time to think. He yanked up his cloak to cover his face and ordered Lu Chuan in a low voice.
“Move!”
He was in such a hurry to leave not because he was afraid of trouble, but because he did not want to linger too long in a crowded place or stir up too much of a commotion.
Floor 701 was packed with people, and many Foundation members lingered there. If someone passed the message to that person, things would get troublesome…
Speak of the devil. Just as Qin Guan was pushing his way through the crowd and about to make a clean getaway, a tall, striking figure blocked his path.
The man wore a standardized vanguard team combat uniform. Unlike the riffraff from earlier, his uniform fit better and looked far more high-end, clearly custom-made from special materials.
By now, however, his uniform was covered in dust and bloodstains. Even the slender sword at his waist was dripping blood, drop by drop. He had clearly just come out of an instance.
What you fear most is what happens.
Qin Guan sighed and looked up, meeting a pair of blond, blue eyes.
The newcomer was none other than the chief captain of the BM Foundation vanguard team, Lin Xiao.
“Look! It’s Lin Xiao!”
“Ooooh, Captain Lin, look over here! Look at me!”
“Heh-heh, this guy not only attacked a Foundation member, he even ran right into Captain Lin! Let’s see how he dies!”
The blond, blue-eyed man ignored every one of those voices, keeping his gaze fixed on Qin Guan.
“You finally came out.”
Qin Guan sighed and took a resigned step back, putting distance between them.
“To prevent you from harboring any unrealistic fantasies, let me state this in advance: I am not hiding from you. Or rather, there is no real relationship between us at all. Do you understand?”
“Why do you keep refusing me?”
Talking to a brick wall.
Qin Guan grumbled inwardly.
Just as he spotted an opening and was about to slip away, several other vanguard team members rushed up from behind like wailing mourners and surrounded him and Lin Xiao.
“Boohoo… Captain! It’s this guy! He’s the one who not only killed Third Brother, but also crippled our big brother! Captain, you have to stand up for us, Captain!”
“That’s right, Captain! You have to stand up for us!”
Only then did Lin Xiao pull his gaze away from Qin Guan. As if he had only just noticed, he frowned and glanced at the mangled mass of flesh on the ground, then spoke.
“What happened here?”
The people beside him embellished the story with extra details, then added emphatically:
“It’s all that person’s fault! Captain Lin, you have to punish him severely! Only then will it show the prestige of our BM Foundation!”
Who would have thought that Lin Xiao would simply let out a cold laugh after hearing that? “Heh. Since when did the Foundation’s prestige become something for the likes of you to dictate?”
The people nearby panicked instantly. “No, Captain… that’s not what I meant…!”
But Lin Xiao waved dismissively, cutting him off. Despite having such a gentle, strikingly beautiful face, the words that came out of his mouth were cold to the bone.
“You tried extortion and failed, yet now you turn around and falsely accuse someone else.”
“In my eyes, people like you are the true scum of the Foundation.”
Stepping past Qin Guan, Lin Xiao drew his long sword in a reverse grip. His posture was elegant, the taps of his leather boots sounding against the floor as he walked slowly toward the group.
Those men sensed that something was wrong and immediately panicked.
“Wait, Captain! What… what are you doing!”
“This is the Atrium…! According to the rules… you can’t kill anyone!”
Lin Xiao flashed a dazzling smile.
“Who do you think made that rule?”
Before the words had even faded, the man’s head flew high into the air. In an instant, a mist of blood sprayed outward, like a rain of red.
The entire crowd fell silent. No one dared make another sound.
This was the BM Foundation vanguard team.
They were not only the main force in instance exploration; in the Atrium, these people also enjoyed supreme privileges and even served functions similar to those of an enforcement squad.
When necessary, they even had absolute authority to execute so-called heretics.
“Those who tarnish the Foundation’s reputation or harm the interests of their peers shall be killed.”
Lin Xiao parted his thin lips and recited the words in a low voice, as though chanting a hymn. The blade edge turned sharply, pointing at the remaining accomplices, who were shaking with terror.
“Captain… no! I was wrong! I won’t do it again!”
“Spare me, Captain! Captain!!”
The men screamed, their voices tearing at their throats.
However, how could Lin Xiao’s blade edge possibly stop for a few insignificant nobodies? He strode forward without hesitation. At this moment, his blade edge represented the blade edge of the entire Foundation; anything or anyone standing in his way would be labeled rebellion and eliminated without mercy.
Except for that one person.
Just as Lin Xiao’s blade edge was about to fall, a lean, striking figure stepped in front of him. At that moment, everyone saw that cold, aloof, peerlessly beautiful face.
The man’s smoke-purple eyes seemed to hold sharp ice crystals within them, a perennially frigid chill that would not melt even when brought beside a blazing fire.
Qin Guan sighed and looked directly into Lin Xiao’s eyes.
“There’s no need for that.”