Feeling the chill against his neck, Wu Xin nearly wet himself. He raised his hands in a reflexive jerk, his voice stuttering.
“Don’t... don’t, don’t, don’t...”
The person who had suddenly appeared beside him and so “friendly” pressed a metal blade against his throat was, of course, “Bai Feifei.”
“What’s the matter? What were you muttering just now? Trying to be snide?” Xu Mo asked, lightly dragging the blade across Wu Xin’s skin.
“No... no, I was just saying that my ability comes with a heavy price. I’d rather not waste it if I don’t have to.”
Wu Xin spoke with extreme tension. He didn’t doubt for a second that the woman in front of him might lop his head off at any moment.
“Bai Feifei.” Wan Qianhong arrived at their side, reaching out to press down on “Bai Feifei’s” wrist.
This time, however, her eyes held a hint of inquiry.
Because of “Bai Feifei’s” previous displays of seemingly omniscient insight, Wan Qianhong had been deeply impressed. Seeing her act now, Wan Qianhong actually began to suspect that something might be wrong with Wu Xin.
But Xu Mo said nothing. He simply retracted the dagger, which morphed and folded back into an exquisite bracelet around his wrist.
“Pay attention. If something makes me unhappy, don’t say it. If something makes me unhappy, don’t do it!”
Seeing that “Bai Feifei” wasn’t pointing out a specific problem with Wu Xin and was instead just acting like a bully, Wan Qianhong’s mouth twitched.
She turned to Wu Xin and offered a comforting word.
“Please forgive her. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Please, go ahead and use your ability.”
Wu Xin nodded obediently at once. He silently recited his Word Soul, and finally, looking visibly drained, he pointed out a path.
“That way. The fluctuations of blood qi and energy are relatively the strongest there.”
The group set off again. Bai Feifei’s footsteps faltered for a moment before she steadied herself and followed the others.
To save time on control, Xu Mo had returned the body to her.
As Bai Feifei walked with the team, she heard Xu Mo’s voice in her mind.
“Keep an eye on that guy, Wu Xin.”
Hearing Xu Mo’s voice, Bai Feifei turned slightly serious. “What is it? Do you think there’s something wrong with him?”
So far, Xu Mo’s use of her body to kill hadn’t targeted anyone innocent, so she tentatively viewed him as a “good Evil God” who honored their agreement.
“No,” Xu Mo said decisively. He didn’t really have any memory of this small fry.
“I just don't like the look of him.”
Bai Feifei: ...
“What’s with that reaction? I’m an Old-Timer, you know.”
“Sometimes you just have a gut feeling. The fact that I don’t like the look of him is already a great sin on his part.”
Bai Feifei was speechless, but she didn’t want to argue with an Old-Timer. She simply nodded to show she understood.
...
The East District group continued forward. Through the cracks in the collapsed mine tunnels, they occasionally saw things like human bones.
Some of the bones didn’t look like normal remains at all; they had been polished until they were smooth, with holes drilled through them and strings attached.
They looked like finished ornaments.
Under what circumstances would someone use human bones as decorations?!
The group fell silent, grimly collecting these items as evidence before continuing.
Now was not the time to be overwhelmed by fury for the victims. The mine was vast, and they had yet to find the source of the anomalous fluctuations. There was still much to investigate.
In the middle of the heavy silence, the atmosphere suddenly grew hot.
Literally hot.
The temperature seemed to jump several degrees in an instant, making the narrow passage feel stifling.
Suddenly, Wan Qianhong’s expression changed drastically. She roared at the Scavengers around and behind her:
“Everyone, scatter! Now!”
The East District team stopped in unison and instinctively crouched.
In the next second, a series of thunderous booms echoed in their ears.
Boom! Boom!
The sound came from the wall to their left. It didn’t sound like an explosion, but rather like something was collapsing.
Then, after one final, massive crash, the corridor wall beside them simply exploded!
Everyone ducked low, frantically dodging flying rubble, as a boisterous laugh rang out.
“Hahahaha! I knew it! I knew with this much commotion, there had to be something good down here!”
“This coal mine isn't bad. We, the Rangers, will take care of the containment for you. No need to thank us.”
That exaggerated voice was unmistakable to anyone who had heard it before—Aries Hong Jiu!
The Rank 68 Aries executive of the Rangers.
He clearly didn’t care about the layout of the corridors. Relying on sheer brute force, he smashed through several paths, soaring over everyone’s heads like a fireball.
A few Scavengers who didn’t duck in time had their eyebrows singed!
Before anyone could react, the rocks of the surrounding corridor walls writhed, transforming into stone shackles that bound Hong Jiu’s burning body.
A raspy, furious voice echoed in everyone’s ears at the same time:
“Aries, put that down. That S-rank Containment Object belongs to Dawn City!”
The sand and stone on the ground twisted and stacked, forming a humanoid shape that became Li Gui.
The moment he spoke, before Hong Jiu could even respond, Wan Qianhong turned pale and couldn’t help but cry out in shock.
“What?!”
“An S-rank Containment Object from Dawn City? How could something like that be in this coal mine!”
As a disciple of a Prophet, Wan Qianhong understood many things about Dawn City.
What did an S-rank sequence object represent? Even a Prophet would find it difficult to manipulate such a thing. If they pushed it too far, they could even be killed by the object’s backlash!
In the entirety of Dawn City, there were only two S-rank sequence objects. They were usually kept under seal in the most high-security vaults of the Inner City.
They were Dawn City’s ultimate taboos. How could one possibly be in this coal mine?
Li Gui frowned slightly and glanced at Wan Qianhong among the ruins. He seemed somewhat surprised to run into her here.
However, he didn’t say anything. After a brief look, he shifted his gaze back to Aries Hong Jiu.
“Hahaha! Well said! How could one of your Dawn City sequence objects end up here?!”
Hong Jiu laughed heartily. With a surge of strength, all the stone shackles binding him exploded!
Rate on N.U.
