Chapter 92 - 87: Now Let’s See Where You Run!

Chapter 92: Chapter 87: Now Let’s See Where You Run!

Ninth District.

Police lines were drawn around the blast site. Armed vehicles from the Guard Team blocked every intersection, and searchlights illuminated the entire ruins as brightly as day.

Victor’s boots crunched over shattered glass as he stared expressionlessly at the charred, unrecognizable corpses before him.

Two investigative androids crouched amid the rubble. Hair-thin probes extended from their fingertips, piercing the corpses to collect samples. Their optical sensors emitted a faint blue glow, projecting translucent, slowly rotating 3D holographic scans in the air that analyzed the bodies layer by layer.

"Analyzing biological samples... DNA from three human remains detected, all identified as Dusk People, lacking any noble lineage traits... Biological genes of target S717 have not been detected."

Victor raised his eyes. "So she is missing, not dead?"

An android turned to him. "There is no residual tissue, no blood traces, and no bone fragments belonging to her."

"Lock down the Ninth District. Block all exits, passages, and sewer covers. Don’t let a single rat slip out. Retrieve all nearby surveillance footage and find her!"

"Do we need to issue a Federation arrest warrant?"

Victor fell silent for a few seconds. Originally, his suspicion toward Yin Zhen had been one percent, with his trust at ninety-nine percent. After Ian was captured, his suspicion of Yin Zhen had spiked to ninety-nine percent, yet he still harbored that one percent glimmer of hope in his heart.

"Not for now."

At eight o’clock the next evening, in an inconspicuous cafe in the West District.

Since the Guard Team had locked down the Ninth District, the Abyss Bar was forced to close its doors. Consequently, Nan Jiamu and Yin Zhen had arranged a new meeting place.

RING. Yin Zhen pushed the door open, triggering a chime from the wind bell above.

There were no other customers in the shop. Nan Jiamu sat in the innermost corner facing the entrance. She wore dark casual clothes without any disguise, simply sporting the appearance of Amelia from the Red Corpse World.

Yin Zhen noticed that Nan Jiamu’s eyes were severely red and swollen. The woman was clutching her chest over her heart while wiping the corners of her eyes, looking exactly as if she had just wept bitterly.

Seeing the lingering traces of the curse brought a modicum of calm to Yin Zhen’s churning emotions. Hearing the noise, Nan Jiamu stood up and sized up Yin Zhen as she approached.

She sported bright, short red hair and a weathered mechanical mask that obscured half of her face. Dressed in a black hoodie and jeans, she looked clean and sharp—without a single superfluous item on her person.

"Blossoming Prosperity?" Nan Jiamu asked.

Yin Zhen sat down opposite her. "Where are the items?"

Nan Jiamu sat down as well but didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she carefully scrutinized Yin Zhen. The mask concealed the latter’s expression, leaving only a faint glimpse of her pitch-black eyes underneath—calm, cold, and utterly devoid of emotion. Yet, faintly, Nan Jiamu could sense a trace of hostility.

"Aren’t you going to ask who I want you to kill first?"

"It doesn’t matter. If I can’t kill them, I’ll refund you."

"The target is S704, the one I put a bounty on in the forum. The operation time hasn’t been set yet. I won’t make an appearance when it happens. Additionally, there are a few others participating in this operation. We must ensure it’s absolutely flawless."

At that moment, a waiter walked over with a tray and set down three cups of coffee. Yin Zhen stared at the three cups and furrowed her brows.

"Did you invite someone else today?"

Before Nan Jiamu could speak, the wind chime at the door rang again. With her keen senses, Yin Zhen immediately caught a familiar scent. Before she could even turn her head, a person sat down beside her.

"Let’s see where you can run to now."

Adeline was wearing a long black trench coat, her platinum-blonde hair draped over her shoulders. She wore a face mask, and her exposed, blood-red pupils were locked onto Yin Zhen.

Yin Zhen secretly relaxed her tense body. "Why would I run?"

"Because you have a guilty conscience!"

"I do not."

"Then take off your mask."

"Do you want to die?"

"Do you dare to kill me?"

Watching the two of them, Nan Jiamu picked up her coffee and took a sip. "So you two know each other here as well."

"We don’t!" they blurted out in unison. Their eyes met—one sneering, the other curling her lip.

Resisting the urge to curse out these two posers, Nan Jiamu set down her coffee cup. She picked up two identical kraft paper bags from beside her, placed them on the table, and slid them over to Yin Zhen and Adeline respectively.

"This is your payment. Paying you upfront shows my sincerity in this collaboration. Everything is for the Ancient Abyss."

After Bai Qiang had shared the "Overture of War" with her, Nan Jiamu became clear on Bai Qiang’s stance. Furthermore, when crossing over this time, the system had broadcasted Blossoming Prosperity’s battle achievements, proving that she was also a guardian of the Ancient Abyss. This was the fundamental reason why Nan Jiamu was willing to trust the two of them.

Blossoming Prosperity was an exceptionally capable lone wolf, and Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence refused to play second fiddle to anyone. Therefore, Nan Jiamu didn’t bring up the idea of forming a team again. As long as their stances and goals were aligned, this transactional method of cooperation was just fine.

Yin Zhen and Adeline reached out and pressed their hands onto their respective kraft paper bags. The bags vanished beneath their palms, stowed safely away into their game inventories. Yin Zhen took a glance. An image of a Clapperboard appeared in one of the slots. She felt no guilt and accepted it with a perfectly clear conscience.

Nan Jiamu then handed two communication wristbands to the pair. "Turn on your wristbands once every day at midnight. Once the operation’s time and location are confirmed, I’ll notify you in advance. If you have any other needs, tell me now, and I’ll do my best to fulfill them."

Yin Zhen spoke up first. "What is the Identity of the Black Domain Walker on this side?"

"It’s not Julian," Adeline answered directly, seeing right through to what Yin Zhen truly wanted to ask.

Both she and Yin Zhen had immediately suspected Julian. However, after crossing over this time, Yin Zhen hadn’t yet had the chance to investigate whether Julian had dropped dead before seeing Ian get captured, forcing her to flee in a hurry. Adeline, on the other hand, had personally verified that Julian was still alive. After all, given his status, if he had truly died, Old Saint would definitely have covered it up first for the sake of the company.

Adeline continued, "Aside from collecting my payment, I came here in person today to tell you both something else. The ancestors of the three major families are going to be awakened. I’m afraid they really do possess a way to open the gates to the Ancient Abyss from here."

This was the follow-up quest to Adeline’s current round of the "Overture of War." It had been triggered after she gathered a bit of intel from Old Cavendish.

During her recent crossovers, Nan Jiamu had been solely dedicated to killing Zoe and nurturing the protagonist group. As a result, her exploration of the surrounding relationships and the world was far less than that of Yin Zhen and Adeline, which was why she hadn’t managed to trigger these events.

Adeline glanced at both Yin Zhen and Nan Jiamu. Perhaps because they had once fought Quentin together, her aversion to cooperating had diminished significantly.

"Since things have come to this, there’s no point hiding anything anymore. Have you two ever heard of ’Chi Hai’?"

Yin Zhen’s fingers twitched slightly, drawing Adeline’s gaze. However, Yin Zhen went back to playing a statue, offering no reaction whatsoever.

"I’ve seen that name in the classified files of Saint Biological Research," Nan Jiamu said.

Adeline nodded. "The Source of the Blood Plague outbreak in the Red Corpse World began twenty years ago. Three reckless youths went deep-sea diving for treasure, only to dredge up a crimson skeleton. They called this Chi Hai the ’Blood Ancestor.’ The three of them claimed to hear the Blood Ancestor’s call, promising to bestow them with Strength and immortality. Then, the three divided and devoured this Chi Hai.

"The world-building of Chi Hai has a mix of theology in it; it’s not purely sci-fi. After the Chi Hai was devoured, the world plunged into eternal night. Under the blood moon, ninety percent of humanity fell into a deep slumber and awoke as Vampires. Only ten percent were immune, and they gradually awakened Extraordinary Abilities.

"Those three who consumed the Chi Hai are revered as the ancestors by the three major families. They spent a decade accumulating resources and quelling global turmoil before founding the current Eternal Council, standing toe-to-toe with the Eastern Federation across the coast. About five years ago, these three were gravely injured by the leader of the Rebel Army at the time and fell into a deep sleep.

"If, upon awakening, they really do open the gates to the Ancient Abyss directly from the Red Corpse World, I’m afraid that our combined Strength wouldn’t be enough to fight them. That is, unless that Rebel Army leader can be resurrected or has some successor... Wait! Did I just stumble upon the main plotline of this world by sheer luck?"

Adeline’s eyes grew brighter and brighter as she suddenly whipped her head toward Nan Jiamu. "Does that S704 you want to kill have some Special relationship with that Rebel Army leader? Without us interfering, was S704 ultimately destined to walk the path of opposing those three ancestors?"

Nan Jiamu pressed a hand against her chest, enduring the aftershocks of a throbbing pain. "More or less. Right now, as long as we kill S704, those three will be destroyed along with this world. S704 is the key."

Adeline was a smart person. Without Nan Jiamu needing to explain the details, Adeline could already figure out the gist of it. It was just that the reward for her quest was tailored exactly to her needs, and she didn’t want to give it up.

Adeline shook her head. "No, we can’t place all our chips on S704. If an accident happens on your end and we miss the best window to prevent those three from waking up, the consequences will be severe. I need to take a trip to the hidden underground laboratory of the Saint Group. Amelia, you must help me with this!"

Yin Zhen sat silently on the sidelines, watching the two of them exchange pointed looks. She wondered if this suddenly emerging "side quest" was the Plot Kill at work, forcibly pushing the protagonist, Nan Jiamu, right in front of the ultimate villain of the Red Corpse World. It was just a pity that the summoned Third-class writer refused to let her read the manuscript!