Chapter 51 Watching with Cold Eyes

Mu Chen quietly watched the scene unfold before him, his heart completely untroubled. In this era, so-called kindness was nothing more than feeding ungrateful dogs; only by looking on with cold detachment could one manage to survive.

However...

His gaze fell upon Chen Rong and her grandson. Those two fools happened to be perfect for making an example of; killing one to warn the hundred could not be more fitting.

"Big Mouth," Mu Chen said in a low voice, yet laden with unquestionable command.

"Growl!" Big Mouth suddenly jerked its head up, a threatening low rumble issuing from its throat as the muscles throughout its entire body tensed, awaiting its master's final directive.

A sudden twist of fate!

Just at the moment when Big Mouth was about to lunge, the young man on the ground who had been struggling just moments before gave a violent shudder and then went completely rigid.

His desperately outstretched hand fell weakly at that instant, striking the cold floor with a dull thud.

The rise and fall of his chest ceased entirely.

Dead!

Within the expansive hall, a dead silence fell instantly, and everyone subconsciously held their breath.

Chen Rong stared fixedly at the corpse on the ground, feeling not the slightest bit of fright or unease. Instead, she let out a heavy breath of foul air, as if a huge burden had been lifted.

"Hah, good-for-nothing. Better off dead, saves wasting food," she spat viciously in a low voice, her face full of disgust.

The corners of Mu Chen's mouth curled into a cold, sharp arc.

It seemed this "chicken" had already died without him having to lift a finger.

Then, how should the subsequent "warning to the monkeys" be staged? His gaze swept indifferently over the rest of the trembling people in the hall.

"Finally stopped making a fuss! Making such a racket!" Chen Rong shrilled, spitting in disgust.

Xiao Hu tugged at the hem of her trousers, looking up with his small face. "Grandma, is he really dead? He won't get back up, will he?" There was no fear in his tone as a child should have, but rather an inexplicable excitement.

"He deserved to die! Useless trash!" Chen Rong cursed, yanking Xiao Hu up. "Good grandson, let's go over there and avoid this dead man's wretched poverty!"

The grandmother and grandson strutted past the corpse as if what lay on the ground were nothing more than an eyesore pile of trash.

The crowd of onlookers scattered in all directions, fleeing as if from a plague.

"Hurry up, let's go! Don't bring trouble upon yourselves!"

"Bad luck! Damn it all, what bad luck!"

Amidst the clamor, people wished they had grown an extra pair of legs, dispersing completely in the blink of an eye.

The vast hall returned to a dead silence, leaving behind only a corpse whose body was still warm and a rapidly congealing pool of dark red.

Mu Chen stood in place, his expression devoid of ripples.

The human heart in the apocalypse was simply nothing more than this.

Greed, selfishness, and cowardice were magnified a countless number of times.

"A rather fine play," he murmured to himself, a cold curve tracing the edge of his lips.

"Growl... whim..."

Deep within Big Mouth's throat came a muffled roar, and its fan-like claws anxiously scratched at the hard ground, gouging out deep marks. Failing to tear anything apart just now had left it bursting with bottled-up anger.

Mu Chen raised a hand, casually patting Big Mouth on its scale-covered forehead. "Quiet down. There will be a time for you to let loose."

No sooner had his voice fallen than a hoarse voice mixed with a hint of surprise reached him from behind.

"Mu Chen? Is it really you? What are you doing here?"

The moment Mu Chen turned around, Wang Jianguo, the property management supervisor, approached him with a fawning smile as if he had just run into his own father.

"Supervisor Wang," Mu Chen nodded slightly.

"Oh, Mr. Mu! What a coincidence, you came to this trading fair too?" Wang Jianguo rubbed his hands, unable to conceal his eager intensity as he probed, "I heard you have quite a few good things on you?"

"Not bad," Mu Chen replied indifferently, his mind not on Wang Jianguo at all as his gaze swept across various parts of the venue.

Chen Jiahe quietly drew closer, lowering his voice. "Pan Guang's people are over there. The atmosphere is wrong."

Mu Chen glanced in the direction indicated. In the corner on the right side of the hall, Pan Guang was surrounded by a group of people, huddling together and plotting something with shifty eyes.

That fellow Xiao Mu was also among them, nodding and bowing to Pan Guang like a begging lapdog.

"There are quite a few people, more than we anticipated," Chen Si's voice also grew solemn.

Indeed, Pan Guang's faction formed a dark mass of at least fifteen or sixteen sturdy men, every single one broad-shouldered and thick-necked with bulging temples, concealing weapons at their waists. They clearly did not look like amiable characters.

"Mr. Mu!" A loud shout burst forth from the crowd.

Pan Guang shoved aside the subordinates blocking his path, striding aggressively toward Mu Chen. The smile on his face was uglier than crying—fake, yet carrying a sinister undertone.

"Boss Pan, I've heard a lot about you," Mu Chen twitched the corners of his mouth, his tone flat and wave-less.

"Not at all, not at all. I heard Mr. Mu had some rare items on hand, and today I finally get to see the real person," Pan Guang reached out a hand. "Care to introduce the beauties by your side?"

Mu Chen did not extend his hand, simply uttering three calm words: "My people."

The atmosphere instantly froze.

Pan Guang awkwardly withdrew his hand, his smile stiffening for a moment before piling back on. "Mr. Mu is quite fortunate."

"Say what you have to say."

"Straightforward! I like that!" Pan Guang clapped his hands. "Then I won't beat around the bush. Name your price for the ability fruit you're holding."

"Not for sale."

"Heh, now this is getting interesting." Pan Guang's smile completely vanished. "Coming to a trading fair without trading, could you be here to mock me?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Mu Chen saw that Pan Guang's subordinates had quietly dispersed, vaguely surrounding them in a circle. Big Mouth emitted a low whine from its throat, having caught the heavy scent of murderous intent.

"Just watching the commotion," Mu Chen replied calmly.

"A commotion?" Pan Guang sneered. "Then you've truly come to the right place today."

He abruptly raised his right hand and violently chopped downward!

In an instant, more than a dozen figures lunged out from the crowd like wild wolves, steel pipes and machetes reflecting cold light as they targeted Mu Chen directly!

"Do it!" Pan Guang roared fiercely.

The entire venue boiled over instantly, piercing screams and cries merging into one. The trading crowd scattered in all directions like headless flies, terrified of being implicated.

"Watch out, Mu Chen!" Chen Jiahe's voice was laced with urgency.

Leading the charge was a bald, vicious brute who swung a heavy iron rod in a wide arc, smashing it viciously toward Mu Chen's head! Mu Chen shifted his stance, and the iron rod whistled past practically brushing against his earlobe, the generated gale causing his eardrums to sting.

"Hack him to pieces!" Pan Guang roared frantically from the rear. "Whoever the hell cuts down Mu Chen, I'll reward them with ten catties of rice!"

Heavy rewards breed brave men, let alone a pack of desperate outlaws! They howled as their offensive grew increasingly frantic.

Amidst the flash of lightning and flint, Xiao Mu also struck from the flank, the cold light of a dagger flashing!

"Mu Chen, pay with your life!" he shouted hoarsely, acting as though he were locked in a desperate struggle.

Yet, as Xiao Mu closed in on Mu Chen's side, the gleaming dagger that should have plunged straight into Mu Chen's ribs gave an imperceptible twitch at the very last second, the blade's tip grazing past Mu Chen's lapel by a hair's breadth!

Simultaneously, his shoulder dropped heavily, slamming viciously into the waist of a thug who had just lunged from Mu Chen's blind spot.

With a miserable shriek, the fellow was sent flying sideways, crashing over a table!