After Susan and Zacro reached an agreement and replenished their states, they left the Snake Lair.
"Gambler, betting small to win big, deeply entrenched..."
Zacro murmured to himself, rubbing a coin, while checking the items left by the Black Snake.
When he walked up to a large cage, he couldn't help but frown.
"What kind of goods were originally in this cage?" he asked the submissive Black Snake subordinate beside him.
"Boss, this... it's a Ghoul," the other party stammered in reply.
Zacro frowned:
"Who was it sold to?"
"It... it hasn't found a buyer yet. Currently, it's being used for experiments."
The subordinate dared not hide anything, spilling everything he knew like beans.
As Zacro listened, his frown deepened.
He hadn't expected the Black Snake's people to actually dare to attempt a 【Limb Reattachment】 surgery using a Ghoul.
They wanted to combine this evil creature with volatile steam.
Originally, 【Limb Reattachment】 surgery was widely considered a sacrilegious procedure.
But he hadn't expected that there were always people even crazier.
"Whose idea was it?" Zacro asked again.
"It... it was a task assigned from above," the subordinate replied, "They even sent a strange doctor, who is still in prison."
Zacro pondered for a few seconds, then ordered:
"Release him, and tell him that Crazy Rat has completely taken over Black Snake."
"Yes... Yes!"
After issuing the command, Zacro continued to inspect the goods, and it wasn't long before someone brought good news.
The original Tie Shu leader, the heavily tattooed strong man, walked in, carrying a strange humanoid creature.
"Big Brother, I caught a very timid Ghoul. The Black Snake's people said it was cargo."
The heavily tattooed strong man threw the Ghoul onto the ground; every time steam rose from his gauntlet, the latter would tremble.
Zacro raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.
"So timid, is it really a Ghoul?"
He observed the Ghoul for a few seconds; its crimson eyes stared at his mechanical leg with extreme tension.
At this moment, the Black Snake's subordinate also brought the doctor out of the cell.
The Mad Doctor was short, with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, his left eye small and narrow, but his right eye socket was embedded with a scope, magnifying his cloudy eyeball to the size of a goose egg.
"You're the new person in charge?"
The Mad Doctor's tone was arrogant,
"As long as you let me continue my experiments, I will forgive your offense. Who rules Black Alley makes little difference to us."
"What are you researching this for?" Zacro asked with interest.
The Mad Doctor chuckled sinisterly:
"Hehe, you should be able to guess."
"For war?"
The Mad Doctor continued to smile, neither nodding nor denying.
Zacro was silent for a few seconds, then replied:
"You can continue your experiments, but the results must be given to me first."
The Mad Doctor frowned, about to refuse, but then saw Crazy Rat's people gradually surround him.
The Mad Doctor had no choice but to compromise:
"Alright... But you have to help me find a 'black kid.' He has an unusually high compatibility with the potion and is a very important subject. What was his name? Oh, I think it was 'Manba.'"
Zacro paused, a smile playing on his lips, and he chuckled deeply:
"You're lucky, I'm looking for him too."
.......
After handling various matters, Zacro finally had time to rest.
In the dim room, he didn't lie on the soft bed but leaned against the cold corner to rest.
The days of fleeing had made him accustomed to this discomfort. It allowed him to sense danger instantly and unleash powerful kicks.
The darkness was silent, only his breathing and heartbeat echoed.
After an unknown period, a strange noise abruptly pierced his mind.
"Buzz—!"
Zacro immediately opened his eyes.
Immediately after, continuous screams came from outside.
Zacro frowned and flicked the coin in his hand.
It landed heads up, but the moment it hit the ground... its rotation was somewhat sluggish.
Zacro was silent for two seconds, retrieved the coin, and kicked open the door!
Outside, red light flickered, and the smell of blood drifted through the tunnel.
"Boss! Save me!!"
A subordinate saw him and rushed over in a panic.
"Boom—!"
Suddenly, a blur flew out from the side, tearing that person in half instantly.
In the darkness, a pair of blood-red eyes stared intently at Zacro.
Zacro recognized those eyes!
It was that Ghoul!
But at this moment, its gaze was no longer timid, but full of aggression.
Its physique was also no longer as gaunt and emaciated as before; its muscles were taut and bulging, with veins creeping crawling over them.
On its hunched back, a volatile steam core hissed out bursts of white mist.
Its fangs and claws had the texture of tempered steel.
"Hiss-ho-ga-ga..."
A horrifying sound, as if from deep within its throat, rang out, and the Ghoul launched a sudden attack on Zacro.
"Clang—!"
Metal clashed, sparks flew.
Zacro precisely planted a kick on the Ghoul's right steel claw.
"Roar!"
The Ghoul roared, its muscles bulging, and its left claw followed closely.
Zacro had no time to think, quickly retracting his leg to defend; he heard a muffled "ding" sound, and his body recoiled, his steel leg leaving several meters of scratches on the ground.
"Hiss—!"
Steam billowed, the Ghoul roared in pain, and charged again.
"Clang—! Clang!!"
After multiple clashes, although Zacro wasn't at a disadvantage, his expression grew increasingly serious.
Because his "luck" hadn't triggered even once yet!
"Thud—!"
The Ghoul's steel claw struck the side of his iron leg, and the reverberating shock actually caused the internal gears to stop for half a second!
The Ghoul opened its mouth wide, clearly intending to cripple his thigh!
But at this critical moment, a gunshot rang out, and a silver bullet struck the Ghoul's lower jaw.
"Roar!!"
The Ghoul roared in pain, but surprisingly, it decisively turned and fled.
While Zacro was momentarily stunned, a figure in a trench coat swiftly darted past, chasing after the Ghoul.
Things changed too quickly; he only vaguely saw a pair of golden, upright beast ears, and eyes as crimson as the Ghoul's!
"Big Brother!"
The voice of the heavily tattooed Tie Shu came from the other side; he emerged disheveled, clutching his severed left shoulder,
"It was that damned doctor who let the monster out!"
Zacro frowned, pushing himself up from the ground:
"Who was that person just now?"
"What?"
Tie Shu was stunned, having seen no one else.
Zacro fell silent, his face grim as he clenched the coin in his hand.
This time, he didn't toss and play with it as he usually did.
.......
On the other side.
The Ghoul, having burst out of the Steel Snake Lair, sniffed the air and chose the direction with the strongest putrid smell to flee.
Sophia, with a silver gun in one hand and a silver sword in the other, followed closely behind it.
As her heart pounded, her eyes grew deeper crimson, and a wild aura rose from her.