It's Alive

"Wisely and swiftly, you chose to retreat, call for reinforcements, and buy time, clawing your way onto the sole path of survival." "Your life has once again been preserved!" "Rating +1." "Current overall rating +2." This message quietly surfaced in Ye Huan's mind. His overall rating for the day had already reached 2. He wondered what kind of reward he would draw during tomorrow's settlement. Ye Huan felt a mix of joy and worry. Joy, because the tier of the reward was bound to increase. Worry, because life was already this difficult, and on top of that, he still had to figure out what gift to give Xia Luoning next. He fell quiet. This was all An Qi's fault. An Qi had crossed the line. True, she had crossed the line from the very beginning. But now, her actions showed zero regard for the rules, resorting to utterly unprincipled and ruthless extremes. Did she truly revere that "Great Being"? No. From the moment she bypassed the Cult and did everything she could to kill him, it proved she was no devout believer of the Great Being. The entity had explicitly ordered them to keep quiet and avoid internal strife. Yet as a Cardinal, she brazenly disobeyed? A woman who stopped at nothing, had no faith whatsoever, and was single-mindedly bent on eliminating threats. Hiss— Looking at it from that angle, she was quite a formidable figure in her own right. Her capability was just slightly lacking, that was all. After all, she was only eighteen or nineteen years old. She had grown up entirely in the mining district, having never seen the outside world or received proper guidance. A sudden chill struck Ye Huan's heart. She was already a Cardinal. Hampered by her background and past experiences, the way she handled things was indeed somewhat clumsy. Yet if she were given the opportunity, given enough time to grow— Someone so venomous, completely devoid of a bottom line, willing to murder even the companion she had grown up with— What kind of monster would she eventually evolve into? "Why am I suddenly feeling a bit of empathy..." Ye Huan murmured under his breath. He had begun to feel a pressing urge to kill An Qi. Just as An Qi wanted to kill him. Was there any way to completely eliminate the threat posed by the Black Tide Cult? "Hey, Little Ye, have you eaten yet? We've just served dinner. Want to grab a bite with us?" a colleague called out. Upon a crude iron table, piping-hot dishes had just been laid out. Eight dishes, a dry pot, and a soup. Quite a feast. The Bureau of Investigation's benefits were indeed generous. Ye Huan walked over with a smile, sat down on a small folding stool, and squeezed in with everyone, demonstrating his attitude through action. He had already eaten dinner at Su Haisheng's home. However, a meal was a prime opportunity to chat and draw closer to people. Having just arrived today, he didn't want to seem too naive or standoffish. Once they became familiar with one another later on, it wouldn't matter whether he ate or not. Furthermore— These investigators were all in their thirties and forties, bearing exceptionally formidable auras and ferocious expressions. Shidu level? More than that. The auras on several martial artists were remarkably close to that of the black-clad "Teacher." Probably Jiuyao level. Ye Huan even suspected they were the most elite martial artists in the entire Bureau of Investigation. After all, what was happening in the mine was terrifying. No one knew what other dangers might arise, yet these men were stationed right here, conducting deep investigations. "Little Ye is only eighteen, yet he already appears to be in the Shidu realm. Tsk, tsk." "The Bureau Director is quite something, picking up a security guard who turned out to be a martial prodigy. I'm starting to admire the director's eye." "Hahaha!" Everyone chatted and joked casually, without the slightest malice. Ye Huan joined in the banter, quickly blending in as cups of liquor clinked one after another. An eighteen-year-old at the Shidu realm. And handpicked by the Bureau Director himself. Having earned a Third-Class Merit a few days ago, he had delivered another massive boon to the investigation team today. He felt rather like a lucky charm. —Sometimes you just hoped luck was on your side, hoping for good fortune. And this kid had walked right in carrying that luck. While the drinking was in full swing, a burly man in military uniform pushed the door open, stepped inside, and asked, "Heard you guys got a newcomer. Care to spar a few rounds?" The room went quiet for an instant, before everyone chimed in at once: "Get lost—we're not fighting you guys tonight!" "This kid is currently being hunted by assassins. If he gets ambushed during a spar, can you take the responsibility?" "Scram! Tomorrow, your grandpa here will play with you all you want." "Beat it!" Two or three men even stood up and shoved the soldier out the door. "Everyone is under extreme mental stress every day, so fighting is a way to blow off steam," a young investigator named Liu Le explained. Ye Huan nodded. The meal continued. They ate while conversing, trading jokes and ghost stories, which helped Ye Huan relax somewhat. Another twenty minutes passed. Xu Ping abruptly pushed open the door and entered, calling out three names: "Lao Zhang, Lao Li, Xiao Jia. There's a situation. Take your gear and head down into the mine." The three set down their chopsticks, rose, and departed immediately. Xu Ping called out two more: "Liu Le, Zhao Fei, keep your eyes glued to the surveillance feeds. Maintain constant communication with the team underground. If you spot anything abnormal, report to me at once." "Yes, sir!" The two hurried to their feet and seated themselves before the surveillance monitors. "The situation isn't looking good. Everyone else, patrol the mining area. Stay vigilant, move in pairs, and fire a flare immediately if anything happens." "Yes, sir!" The rest stood up, put on various pieces of equipment, and prepared to head out for patrol. Ye Huan also rose, intending to follow along. "Little Ye, you don't need to go. Those assassins might still be lurking outside. Prioritize your safety," Xu Ping said. "Understood!" Ye Huan sat back down at once. Xu Ping cast another glance around, saw that everything was properly arranged, and only then exited the room. Inside the room. The lively and cheerful atmosphere from a moment ago turned cold and solemn in an instant. Liu Le and Zhao Fei stared unblinkingly at the surveillance screens. Ye Huan had also lost his appetite for food and drink. He simply pulled up a chair and sat beside Zhao Fei, observing the footage on the monitors along with them. "Water ingress in the mine?" Ye Huan asked in surprise. "It's been going on for several hours. Our men are down there with equipment, racing against time to explore a secret tunnel," Zhao Fei said. "I've been in the mines for so many years, yet I've never heard of any secret tunnels," Ye Huan said, shaking his head. "These underground secret tunnels are the biggest nuisance. They might lead to a tomb, they might lead to a monster's lair, or they might awaken some dormant ancient species," Zhao Fei said. "If it's an ancient species, we're all done for anyway, so there's no need to be nervous at all," Liu Le joked with a grin. "Screw off. Don't jinx us like that," Zhao Fei glared at him. "Just a small joke." Liu Le shrugged. Ye Huan sat beside them without saying a word. This Zhao Fei looked to be around forty-five or forty-six, while Liu Le was only in his twenties, not much older than himself. It was clearly a veteran-guiding-a-rookie arrangement. He himself had also been assigned by Xia Li to carry out missions under Song Fushan's wing. It seemed to be a tradition within the Bureau of Investigation. Ye Huan watched for a while and found that the feed only produced steady sounds of rushing water, heavy breathing, and coordinate reports. Aside from that, there was nothing. Though tense at first, it grew dull over time. "Why was Captain Xu so serious? What on earth happened?" Ye Huan couldn't help but ask. Zhao Fei replied, "You're one of our own, so there's no harm in telling you—there are a few experts on the military's side who are always competing with us for routes and excavations." "Just now, they snatched another newly discovered secret tunnel, which made Captain Xu furious," Liu Le added. "Our people have gone down. If they run into each other, a brawl might break out." Ye Huan couldn't help rolling his eyes. That was it?! Here he had thought some monumental catastrophe had occurred! Excuse me, but I'm going to sleep. Ye Huan pushed several chairs together in a row, using them as an impromptu cot, and lay down to rest. He fell asleep shortly after. As it turned out, seizing the time to sleep had been the right call. Three hours later, a tremendous din woke Ye Huan up. "You're fine, you can keep sleeping," Liu Le said without turning his head. "What happened?" Ye Huan asked. "The military transported another batch of soldiers over," Liu Le said. —So the noise outside had been transport trucks. Quite a few of them had arrived. "Did they fight? Did we win?" Ye Huan asked with a yawn. "No fight broke out. Their people took a different path from ours, so they didn't run into each other at all," Zhao Fei said. The rumble of arriving trucks continued outside. Rain was falling. The patter of raindrops grew steadily heavier. Amidst the wind and rain, voices could faintly be heard shouting orders, coordinating troop movements, and dispatching trucks. The clamor showed no sign of stopping. "Just how many soldiers did they bring? Is there really a need for this?" Ye Huan murmured. "Lantie City is a vital source of resources for the empire, possessing extremely rich and varied mineral deposits. The empire truly has very few large-scale resource hubs like this," Zhao Fei said. "The entire city of Lantie was built because of these mineral reserves. Based on proven deposits, mining for another thirty years won't be a problem," Liu Le said. "As long as the higher-ups have half a brain, they'll place great importance on Lantie City—even if our city is just a small place," Zhao Fei added. —After staring at the monitors for three or four hours straight, chatting a bit now was a welcome relief from the mental monotony and fatigue. Ye Huan checked the time on his phone. 10:07 PM. Almost tomorrow. Hang in there! The rain outside was pouring heavily now, and the shouting was loud. Sleeping was out of the question. Ye Huan forced himself up, grabbed two bottles of water from the table, handed them to Liu Le and Zhao Fei, and sat down beside the two. Compared to patrolling outside or exploring deep underground, the monitoring room was the safest place to be. Yet the responsibility of surveillance was immense; it required complete concentration. "The water in the mine is already waist-deep. Aren't they pulling back yet?" Ye Huan asked. "No worries, this camera is on Lao Li. He's a Jiuyao-level expert. Even if things go south, he could dig through the soil and climb out on his own," Zhao Fei said. Over the surveillance screen, Lao Li's voice suddenly crackled to life: "The water ahead is getting deeper. I'm going to shine the high-power flashlight now. Keep your eyes peeled for the feed." "Copy that, understood. Proceed with the operation," Zhao Fei responded. On the monitor, the pitch-black mine shaft was illuminated as bright as day. The water was indeed very deep. Deep in the tunnel ahead stood a stone door, carved with intricate and bizarre patterns. "New underground secret passage discovered, Lao Li!" "There's a stone door ahead, be careful, Lao Li!" Liu Le and Zhao Fei called out warnings at the same time. "Alright, I'm heading over now to see what's going on with that stone door," Lao Li's voice sounded. The camera feed shifted slowly, drawing closer toward the stone door. Suddenly, Ye Huan caught sight of a line of text flashing across the screen. What? What was that just now? More importantly— Should he say something? "What was that just now!" Ye Huan blurted out. "What? What did you see?" Liu Le asked. "Can you rewind the footage?" Ye Huan stood up and called out loudly. "Xiao Liu, I'll stay on the live feed. Split the screen and review the footage with Ye Huan. Also, Lao Li, hold your position and standby. Do not move," Zhao Fei said in a grave voice. "Understood," Liu Le said. "I've stopped. Waiting for your confirmation," Lao Li's voice came through. The screen on Liu Le's side began to replay. The footage from that fleeting instant appeared before their eyes once more. "Stop," Ye Huan said. The video froze. Sure enough. Hovering above a patch of stone wall was a line of prominent characters: "Skull Collector." There was text. Text signified an identity. Which meant that whatever was on that stone wall possessed an identity. It was alive.