Chapter 1837: Counter Surveillance
"Alright, stick close to me and don’t wander off," Ye Shikai instructed, leading Zhang Ting through the place. This was an "underground casino." Typically, not just anyone could enter; identity verification was required. However, Ye Shikai naturally had his ways to handle this and even brought Zhang Ting along.
"By the way, do you know what Huo Hua looks like? If we don’t have a photo, with so many people here, how will we know which one is Huo Hua?" Zhang Ting asked back.
"The mole didn’t provide a photo, but he mentioned that Huo Hua is a man, and a fat one at that, very fat," Ye Shikai said calmly. Zhang Ting scanned the surroundings; though there were many people, there weren’t that many who were fat.
"Additionally, Huo Hua often comes here and is considered a regular. If that’s the case, he must be sitting in the middle of the table," Ye Shikai said calmly.
"That’s true, I’ll quickly look around," Zhang Ting nodded in agreement. With that, she left. The place was quite large, with hundreds of people, so the two split up to search, increasing efficiency.
Ye Shikai searched for a while and finally found a "suspicious target." At a long table, a man wearing a white T-shirt and a black baseball cap was playing with chips in his hand. His outfit was quite ordinary and nondescript, but he was indeed quite fat, making him easy to spot in the crowd.
Ye Shikai walked over to him and sat nearby. An unfamiliar face was bound to draw attention here, but since those allowed in were verified, they weren’t worried and just thought of him as a newcomer.
Ye Shikai held the chips he exchanged for, but his eyes were on this "suspect" beside him. With every bet placed, he followed suit.
The man was quite lucky, winning three rounds in a row, quickly doubling his chips. Ye Shikai just watched quietly from the side, winning quite a few chips himself by following, but his focus was not on this.
"De Ge’s luck is good today," a woman suddenly said next to him. Ye Shikai immediately perked up. She called "Huo Hua" as "De Ge." If said consecutively, it would be Howard, a foreign-sounding name. However, Ye Shikai didn’t rush to conclusions, as he wasn’t yet certain whether the man beside him was indeed "Huo Hua."
"Not bad, not bad, but just an appetizer. Today, I’m going to sweep the floor,"
Ye Shikai remained silent on the side, still betting along with him. He had both wins and losses, and over an hour later, he only gained a bit.
"What’s going on? Today seems to be cursed. Is there something wrong with the feng shui here?" De Ge was starting to get anxious and complained.
"De Ge, you come here every day. It’s never changed; maybe you’re just having an off day,"
"Sigh, my luck’s bad today. If I keep playing, I’m bound to lose. Alright, I’m leaving," De Ge said, throwing down his cards and leaving with his chips. Ye Shikai also left the table on the pretense of going to the restroom. There were many people around, and Ye Shikai couldn’t afford to be careless, fearing he’d lose track. But he didn’t dare make it too obvious; if this "De Ge" was truly "Huo Hua," he’d surely have had anti-tracking training, and even here, he would remain vigilant.
"Where did Zhang Ting go?" Ye Shikai said anxiously. He needed to closely track his target without any slack, but Zhang Ting was nowhere to be seen. She was unfamiliar with the place, and if something happened, Ye Shikai wondered what he’d do. He took out an earpiece, trying to contact Zhang Ting, but got no response. Perhaps the equipment here blocked signals, or Zhang Ting might have already left...
Before Ye Shikai could find Zhang Ting, De Ge had already walked out the door. Ye Shikai tried to remain inconspicuous and followed him out. Outside was a bustling food stall area, noisy with foot traffic. Ye Shikai nearly lost his target, following until De Ge turned into an alley.
As soon as Ye Shikai entered, De Ge slowly turned around, and their eyes met. It seemed... Ye Shikai had been discovered.
"You punk, I noticed you back at the poker table, and you still dared to follow me here. Do you even know whose territory this is?" De Ge said coldly.
"Alright, since I’ve been discovered, let’s be straightforward," Ye Shikai gestured. Being discovered was his mistake, but there was nothing he could do. It seemed like De Ge was the "local tyrant" here, noticing that Ye Shikai wasn’t ordinary from the poker table.
"I’m here to find someone named Huo Hua. That should be you," Ye Shikai said coldly. He wasn’t afraid of an ambush — ambushing a Body Integration Realm expert wasn’t an easy feat. Besides, there were people more than thirty meters away; if a fight broke out here, it would be hard to contain.
"Ha ha, I can’t believe you know that name. Someone must have tipped you off," De Ge did not deny it. As expected, he was the "Huo Hua" Ye Shikai was looking for, the one who bought 300 capsules through the mole.
"I have some business with you. You’d better be straightforward,"
"That depends on whether you have the capability," Huo Hua clapped his hands, and men in black rushed out, blocking Ye Shikai’s retreat.
"And her, if I’m not mistaken, should be your accomplice," Just as Huo Hua finished talking, a few men brought out a woman. Ye Shikai took one look, and wasn’t it Zhang Ting? But her mouth was gagged, and she couldn’t speak, no wonder there was no response earlier. It turned out she had been discovered and captured, but that was inevitable. These people were cultivators, even if only at the Out-of-Body Stage, or not even there, but defeating an ordinary person was easy for them.
This was a problem. Zhang Ting was in Huo Hua’s hands, and if he acted, Zhang Ting would surely die. There it was, Ye Shikai was now at a disadvantage.
"Impressive, impressive, truly capable. In that case, I’ll take her and leave right away. How about that?" Ye Shikai said calmly.
"You snot-nosed kid, dreaming too big. Your partner is in my hands — what makes you think you can negotiate with me?’
"With this." As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Shikai’s figure appeared in front of Huo Hua, a dagger already to his throat.
"So, your partner’s life is in your hands, but your life is in mine. If you’re not afraid, with just one command, you can both meet on Huangquan Road," Ye Shikai said coldly. "I’ll give you another option: you release her, I’ll release you, and then leave here."