CHAPTER 196: CHAPTER 196: THE IMPRISONED STRONGMAN

Ye Chen looked at the man and said, "You’re a heartless character. What’s your name?"

"Sir, my name is Wu Hao!" Wu Hao laughed awkwardly, with a flattering expression on his face.

Ye Chen nodded and said, "Lead the way!"

"Sure, sure, this way, sir!" Wu Hao stood up and gestured towards the stairs.

Ye Chen and the four others walked forward, and Wu Hao quickly ran ahead to lead them.

Lin Nuoyi whispered, "It seems the internal relations within the Cyan Alliance aren’t very good."

Yu Nian laughed softly, patting Lin Nuoyi’s back: "What? Did you think you could find Gold in a pit of filth? The Cyan Alliance is a nest of snakes and rats, full of treacherous and ruthless people. Discussing feelings and comradeship with them? That’s like playing a lute to a cow."

Lin Nuoyi pouted and said, "Oh."

Ye Chen advised Lin Nuoyi, "So, you need to be careful with this. In the future, the Star Alliance will be entirely under your management. Make sure no such issues arise within the Star Alliance."

"Ah!"

Lin Nuoyi said in surprise, "All left to me? Isn’t that a bit difficult? I don’t even know how!"

Ye Chen laughed, "No, you can learn even if you don’t know. It’s fine. I’ll figure out a way to communicate with Huo Yu to see if he can join our Star Alliance as well. After all, Brother Huo Yu is also an elder of the Cyan Alliance and was once in a high position in an agency. He has experience in management. These organizations are all about understanding people’s minds and tactics, scheming over how to manipulate the lower-tier members’ psychology daily."

Lin Nuoyi finally showed a slight smile, laughing awkwardly, feeling much less pressured.

Before long, led by Wu Hao, they arrived on the fourth floor.

Wu Hao bowed and smiled, "Master Ye Chen, we have arrived."

Ye Chen looked at the hotel-like fourth floor, frowning slightly.

The layout before them was similar to an ordinary hotel.

Zhu Qiang noticed Ye Chen’s confusion and said, "Brother Chen, health clubs are all set up like this. Haven’t you been to one?"

Ye Chen shook his head. He really hadn’t. In his previous life, his world was monotonous every day, and besides, he never had the financial means.

Zhu Qiang gave Ye Chen a surprised look, jokingly saying, "Didn’t expect Brother Chen to be a good man, still a young bachelor. Never been to a place like this, not even Iron Bull, right?"

As Zhu Qiang spoke, he patted Iron Bull on the back.

Iron Bull scratched his head awkwardly.

The fourth floor had a long corridor with individual rooms on either side. The end of the corridor was pitch black, making it unclear what lay beyond.

Wu Hao hurriedly led the way in front, opening one room after another.

Ye Chen and the others looked inside the rooms; each room was differently decorated, each with a unique style.

Without exception, each room housed a young and beautiful woman.

These women were all extremely haggard.

Wu Hao laughed awkwardly, "Master Ye Chen, you know that the Black Shadow is extremely lecherous; these women were all imprisoned by him. There are fifty-seven rooms, each with a woman. When Black Shadow got bored with one, he had us replace her with a new one!"

Ye Chen looked at Wu Hao’s sycophantic face and shook his head inwardly.

This Wu Hao changed his tune quickly; he was just calling Black Shadow his boss, but now he kept calling him a dog.

Wu Hao continued, "Master Ye Chen, I know you are the leader of the Star Alliance. All these women are Pet Tamers with Level 7 skills. Although their level isn’t high, they have a lot of potential for growth. To my knowledge, the room at the very end holds five people with Tier Five Divine Level pets, and one extremely high-level Tier Six Ultimate Venerable Pet Tamer!"

Ye Chen’s stern face showed a hint of joy.

He hadn’t expected the Pet Tamers held here to be of such high quality.

Wu Hao laughed awkwardly again, "Black Shadow is so lustful that he can’t take his eyes off beautiful women. There are rules in the alliance that Pet Tamers above Tier Four Legend level must join the Cyan Alliance, but Black Shadow flouted the rules and imprisoned them instead."

Ye Chen nodded and released all the women.

More than fifty women, upon learning that Ye Chen and his group were from the Star Alliance to rescue them, were overjoyed.

Knowing that Black Shadow had been killed by Ye Chen, each one of them requested to join the Star Alliance.

After experiencing this, they fully understood how weak they were and how important it was to join a faction.

Wu Hao suddenly spoke mysteriously, "Master Ye Chen, I have a big secret to tell you. We have a powerful individual imprisoned here, Level 14, Tier Six Ultimate Venerable Pet Tamer!"

Ye Chen’s eyes brightened, staring at Wu Hao.

Wu Hao laughed awkwardly, "Master Ye Chen, please follow me."

At the end of the corridor, Wu Hao turned on a light, revealing a hall with a hot spring inside.

Wu Hao went to the hot spring, pressed a switch, and the water swiftly drained, exposing the bottom of the pool.

Wu Hao jumped down first, waving for Ye Chen, "Master Ye Chen, come down!"

Ye Chen and the others jumped down as well.

Wu Hao approached the hot spring wall and pressed another switch.

With a rumbling noise, a hole appeared in the wall, opening into a room.

Wu Hao entered and turned on the lights.

The room was revealed to be a cell, with a man shackled by dozens of iron chains.

Ye Chen came to the man, observing him.

The man seemed about thirty-five, tall, with broad shoulders. Standing up, he would be at least two meters high.

The man sat on a chair with his hands behind him, tightly chained.

His wrists, shoulders, waist, thighs, ankles, and even his neck were bound with thick chains.

The man’s hair was messy, looking extremely dirty and disheveled, with a stubbly face.

Suddenly, the man lifted his head, looking at Ye Chen.

Ye Chen noticed that despite the man’s disheveled appearance, his eyes were incredibly clear, without a hint of muddiness.

Wu Hao laughed at the side, "Boss Ye Chen, this is the former leader of the Orange Dragon, Zhang Yuzhen, Level 14, Tier Six Ultimate Venerable Pet Tamer. As you might know, Black Shadow has a grudge against Zhang Yuzhen. After chaos erupted, both acquired Tier Six Ultimate Venerable pets, prompting numerous fights between them. But Black Shadow, as an elder of the Cyan Alliance, held more power than Zhang Yuzhen. When Black Shadow reached Level 15, he hurriedly captured Zhang Yuzhen with his men."

"Then, he was kept imprisoned here, subjected to daily beatings!"

Wu Hao spoke up, tearing off Zhang Yuzhen’s clothes, revealing his body covered in scars, both new and old. The sight of the numerous wounds would send shivers down anyone’s spine.

Wu Hao continued, "Zhang Yuzhen was once a prominent figure in Qing County, and in the early days of the chaos, he founded his own faction. However, he was too kind to stand a chance against the ruthless Cyan Alliance, and all his subordinates were wiped out by them. Now, he’s also caught by Black Shadow, imprisoned here."