–Hong Haocheng!- The people who had come with him instantly grew frantic, trying to break free from their scuffles to support him, but they were blocked by others.
Boom! The monster was slammed onto the ground by Lord Zilong.
Zhao Yun pulled out his spear, blood splattering across the surroundings and the shaft, then trickling down the pole toward his hand.
–Let’s move!-
The gaseous Lord Zilong snatched the key guarded by the monster, grabbed Zhao Yun, and in two strides dashed to the ancient door at the back, inserted the key, and rushed into the passage.
A layer of force field quickly sealed the door again.
{Time remaining until force field opens: 99 seconds.}
–Haocheng, are you alright?- Several people ran over.
But Hong Haocheng’s gaze was unfocused.
–Haocheng!- one of them roared, –Don’t you die on us, kid!-
–That bastard from the Xiongying group—just because he’s an old-timer in this world…-
–After all, Haocheng only got here not long ago. To hold his own against him for so long is already amazing…-
Their mournful voices gradually faded as they looked at the boy’s chest—the edges of the ghastly wound were writhing, as if regrowing rapidly.
–Such incredible regeneration!-
At that moment, the force field at the gate silently shattered and dissipated.
Feeling the fresh night breeze, Hong Haocheng’s lifeless eyes shifted slightly.
Before the stunned crowd could react, the blood-drenched boy who had been lying on the ground sprang up like a hare, sword in hand, and shot into the tunnel.
……
Zhao Yun raced through the deep, hollow tunnel.
The air-wave-shaped companion Enightmare twisted into a bizarre humanoid behind him, shadowing him closely.
Zhao Yun halted in confusion, looking at his itchy right arm.
The wound on his right arm, which would have needed months to heal, was rapidly forming deeper muscle connections—it was recovering at an astonishing speed!
–This is…-
Seeing the bloodstains on his clothes, Zhao Yun’s eyes widened.
–This blood… so strange. What kind of blood is this?-
He suddenly thought of something and turned to look at the pitch-black path behind him.
–Could it be that kid obtained a bloodline?!-
{Don’t mind him. Hurry up. As the key holder, I’ve already sensed that another key has opened the channel.}
……
At the door, Morri turned to look at the woman riding the Enightmare motorcycle.
–Thank you. This is far enough. For the rest of the way, I want to go alone.-
–Don’t worry about Yang Zicang blaming me.- The slender woman in the black leather suit said softly, –Men have their responsibilities. For those who enter this world, nothing is more precious than true love.-
She took off her helmet, and her hair instantly cascaded down like a thin waterfall, revealing a face as radiant as the bright moonlight.
–An elegant love story that only appears in comics—happening in this ruined city, happening around me—it moves me deeply.-
She smiled and patted her helmet.
–So you don’t need to worry about your goddess. I bless you both. Go find your true love quickly.-
Morri smiled and handed her a –Wuhua Tianbao-:
–Thank you, but please take it anyway.-
The girl in black leather jacket glanced at the item, then spun her motorcycle around.
–I don’t need your famous ‘Wuhua Tianbao’. You’ll need it more inside. I’m off! Time to find the next person who needs a ride.-
With that, her motorcycle shot straight down the wall from the platform’s edge.
Watching her depart like a nimble night cat, Morri tugged his scarf and turned to face the brilliantly lit but empty antechamber of the grand hall.
–Julia, you’re this strong? You actually cleared this place.-
Clang! A demon-tooth room slammed into the platform behind him.
Morri glanced back and saw, in another set of magic-wheel rooms far away, nearly a dozen figures stepping onto the platform outside their antechamber.
–The Four-Phase Heavenly Team!-
Those figures were unmistakably the top team from City No. 23!
Morri didn’t dare linger; he rushed toward the pitch-black gate ahead.
As he ran, a large eye outlined in shadow suddenly appeared in the sky behind him.
……
A jagged line shot onto a headquarters staff member standing beside Yang Zicang.
–Director Zicang, our General Manager Yan Yi just reported that he’s spotted traces of Mr. Morri.-
Yang Zicang grabbed the man by the shoulders, –Where?-
–He has already reached the entrance of the great hall. Our director, Yan Yi, can, after investing in someone for ten years, gain access to that person’s non-overlapping spatial internal view for the next twenty-four hours.-
The man stammered, –So once Mr. Morri steps out of the Magic Tooth room, he’ll be able to see the images. But maybe after a while, he’ll lose sight of them again.-
Yang Zicang looked up toward the heights of the grinding wheel assembly. Through the force-field walls, he could see the high platform through the gaps between the interlocking magic teeth.
–Damn it—I just need to know what that bastard is up to. You keep an eye on him for me!-
–Sure.- The man accepted the order with excitement.
Kong dong! The room, vast as a grand plaza, trembled slightly.
A giant carpet appeared. A team quickly climbed onto it, and within seconds, the carpet carried them dozens or even hundreds of meters away.
Below was a dense mass of black, crocodile-like creatures. The Paleshade Wyrm soon crunched through their psychic bodies.
Suddenly, Robin Lo’s Moxel broken line shot over.
{Zicang, Julia might be in danger.}
This time, Yang Zicang did not choose to refuse. As long as he knew where Morri was now, a stone had been lifted from his heart. It wouldn’t take long for him to catch up.
But now, if anything happened to Julia—Morri’s most beloved—that man would probably go mad.
[What’s going on?]
Yang Zicang asked tensely.
{To track down Morri, I also investigated Julia’s situation. It turns out that Mark of the Four-Phase Celestial Group is right beside that lady.}
–What!- Yang Zicang exclaimed. –Has the Four Phase Troupe already found Morri’s fiancée?-
The remaining people on the blanket saw Yang Zicang’s agitation and couldn’t help but become anxious.
{No, it’s just Mark alone. The Four Phase Troupe finding Julia is dangerous, but still within negotiable limits. However, this Mark is a different story.}
–What do you mean?-
{Zicang, do you remember in City 11 how I used their collective nature to efficiently uncover their deepest secrets?}
Yang Zicang certainly remembered that.
Robin Lo, taking advantage of the fact that they were a team living together day and night and thus roughly knew each other’s secrets, had dug out a lot of private intelligence about the Four Phase Troupe.
–What are you getting at?-
Yang Zicang had long forgotten all about this Mark, only recalling that those days were probably the most mentally painful and anxious ones the Four Phase Troupe had ever experienced.
{Mark has always coveted the position of chief captain of the Four Phase Troupe.}
–Although I don’t know exactly who Mark is, among those people last time, I doubt anyone was worthy of that position.-
{Yes, Mark himself knows that too. So, he plans to skip town.}
A glimmer of doubt flickered in Yang Zicang’s eyes.
Robin Lo continued:
{Before leaving, he plans to take Cheng Yunze’s Moon Angel with him.}
–……–
Yang Zicang felt a chill run down his spine. –You can know this too? He wouldn’t tell anyone about something like this.-
This was the most secret of secrets, yet Robin Lo had managed to discover it!
–{I can use more than just Moxel, don’t forget what I do, hehe. First, I learned that the Moon Angel was first discovered by Mark. Since he couldn’t control it no matter what, he… let Cheng Yunze, who was still an ordinary person, try it. Unexpectedly, it succeeded on the first try.}-
–Good grief, this Cheng Yunze is so lucky it’s maddening.-
–[So, the condition to obtain the Moon Angel is actually that one must be an ordinary person who has not obtained Moxel?]-
–{I don’t know if it’s necessary, but anyway, Cheng Yunze, who was still an ordinary person at the time, obtained the Moon Angel and directly went from a bird gun to a cannon, skyrocketing to become the strongest in the city.}-
–After a pause, Robin Lo continued:-
–{Second, I obtained information from two members of Mark’s team that he used to frequently go to a certain place for a period of time. Later, a friend of Mark’s went to check and found that the stone coffin that once held the Moon Angel was missing.}-
–{Finally, half a year ago, I learned a secret message from Mark himself that he planned to ‘take back’ the ‘treasure’ that belonged to him from Cheng Yunze. Just now, I extracted key information that Mark intends to ‘use the coffin to take back’ the ‘treasure’ that originally belonged to him from Cheng Yunze.}-
–Yang Zicang understood.-
–Mark planned to take the opportunity at the end of the Demon Hero Hall to use the coffin to pack away the Moon Angel, and then directly ‘ascend’ and bolt.-
–What Cheng Yunze has always been grateful for is that Mark gave the opportunity to obtain the Moon Angel to him when he was still an ordinary person. This is a secret that a few old members of the Four Phases Team have kept to themselves.-
––_So that’s how it is, no wonder Cheng Yunze didn’t keep him by his side.—_
Cheng Yunze must have been alerted by what Robin Lo said at the time—directly disposing of this benefactor would have seemed too heartless—so Mark was given the cold shoulder. Sensing the crisis, Mark began to plan ahead, but his moves were caught by –his friend.-
By piecing together the information, the conclusion was easy to reach.
–But…- Yang Zicang frowned slightly, then said telepathically:
[Then why do you say Julia is in danger?]
{Because Mark seems to have found something even stronger than the Moon Angel! Right beside Julia… Bro, this is the intel I dug up on my fourth round of intelligence extraction in seven days.}
The fourth time… Yang Zicang could feel the pain in Robin Lo’s words.
[You spent ten thousand years?]
Robin Lo, unlike himself, had actually been willing to spend ten thousand years to extract information that might not even be successfully grasped.
Yang Zicang was deeply moved. This fat man—who initially only planned to use his own intelligence mining to get promoted to Moxel—was now genuinely helping him.
{It was nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine Chronos, plus one year of virtual-zero Chronos.}
–Thanks, brother. I’ll repay you those ten thousand years later.-
{Forget it, forget it. I didn’t find your Nen ability anyway. Keep those Chronos for yourself.}
Robin Lo said magnanimously:
{Anyway, Mr. Morri’s got a big household and plenty of expenses. He probably doesn’t have much extra lifespan left for you to squander like before.}
–Big household and plenty of expenses?-
–Is it that villa?- Yang Zicang thought. It only cost a few tens of thousands of Chronos per year anyway. Then the young man realized: that’s right, he should also ask Zhu Yin to find a better place for that fat guy in Hub Town.
–All cleaned up! That big centipede is amazing.- Everyone on the flying carpet praised.
Just then, a gust of eerie wind blew, and something resembling a massive eyeball, slightly larger than a basketball, suddenly appeared above their heads.
–What kind of monster is this!- Everyone looked up in astonishment.
I had already written all the battle scenes for Hong Haocheng, and Julia’s side too. But when I looked at it—oi veh… I rubbed my face and decided to change the description approach. In the end, I went with narration. Even though I cut out twenty to thirty thousand words of filler, it feels pretty good. These chapters were ridiculously hard to write… too many characters and too much going on, a real headache — just a mood note.
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