Chapter 4177 - 4196: Compared to Catching People, the Truth Matters More

"Two Level 9 Martial Artists, any pressure?"

After learning the situation, Lin Chen turned his head to Qiu Chan, seeking her opinion: "Go deeper or retreat?"

Qiu Chan pondered: "Since they’re colluding with people here, if we go back to find someone else, there’s no telling what might slip through, and these people could be notified, then we might find nothing in our investigation."

"Aren’t they going to send us in? We might as well go in and investigate first, and then talk once we have evidence..."

Lin Chen reminded: "We might be able to uncover the truth after we go in, but since there are two Level 9 Martial Artists suppressing here, we definitely can’t beat them. In the end, it’s basically about running away."

"Outside we can move freely and find puppets, but once we go in, we become prisoners, losing any freedom and being monitored constantly, making investigation much harder."

"Once we alarm them, even if we go find people and come back, there might be nothing left here..."

Qiu Chan fell into deep thought; it’s truly hard to decide.

Soon, Qiu Chan made a decision.

"These two Level 9 Strong Persons, whether now or coming prepared, are difficult to catch; finding out the truth is more important than capturing some people."

"Only by understanding what they’re doing can we take corresponding measures in the future..."

Lin Chen understood, nodding: "If investigation is the priority, then there’s no problem."

Lin Chen pointed at "Captain Zhou": "He’ll send us down, but once below, we’ll need to adapt to the situation as it unfolds."

Qiu Chan nodded: "Alright!"

"Captain Zhou" took out two shackles, operated them briefly, and handed them to the two: "I’ve modified these shackles; they look the same on the surface but have no actual function."

"Everyone who is sent down must wear shackles; not wearing them would attract a lot of attention..."

Qiu Chan took the shackles, checked them, confirmed they were fine, and then clasped them around her own neck.

After Lin Chen put them on, "Captain Zhou" led the two out the door, meeting up with the other two at the entrance, escorting them down towards the mountain cave.

This area is located under the Big Mountain; it appears to be a normal mining company, but once you really enter, you find the scale inside far exceeds expectations.

Walking hundreds of meters, they arrived at a vertical elevator.

Standing at the entrance were two guards, their strength evidently being Level 8 Martial Artists.

To have Level 8 Martial Artists guard the elevator proves the importance of what lies beneath.

"Isn’t it too early to deliver goods, what’s the deal with these two?"

"Captain Zhou" replied: "These two were tourists from another planet, passing through here, snapping photos everywhere, so we conveniently took them, anyway, waiting for the next batch to send together."

One of the guards nodded: "Leave these two; you send them down."

"Alright!"

The elevator opened; "Captain Zhou" led the two into the elevator, and once closed, it plummeted rapidly.

Zhao Qing estimated at least a thousand meters of descent before the elevator slowed down and finally stabilized.

Are we digging to the Earth’s Core?

The elevator door opened; "Captain Zhou" led the two out where someone was waiting, evidently knowing he was bringing people.

Below ground, there wasn’t the imagined mining equipment or working scenes; everywhere were metal devices, resembling more of an underground base.

The two were brought to a room; the guide coldly stated: "Behave and stay inside; don’t try anything, or you’ll be executed immediately."

Lin Chen feigned panic and asked: "What are you going to do to us?"

A strange smile appeared on the guide’s face: "Sending you to a wonderful New World, where you’ll have an entirely new life."

Lin Chen pursued: "What New World? We didn’t plan anything, we’re just passing through; please release us, we swear not to tell anything..."

The guide impatiently said: "You’ve come this far; there’s no turning back, go in."

"Captain Zhou" inquired: "When’s the next batch arriving?"

The guide casually replied: "One week later."

"Captain Zhou" nodded, turning briskly to leave, taking the elevator back to the ground.

Before the two could escape, he had to continue staying here; if Lin Chen and his group decided to flee, they would use a token to notify her beforehand to escape together, or she would escape by herself, then meet up later.

Replacing a core personnel below crossed Lin Chen’s mind, but they had no chance to interact with core personnel; surveillance was everywhere with no dead spots, plus there were many powerhouses below, making silent and traceless replacements hardly achievable.

Moreover, having replaced "Captain Zhou" before, if Charming Erosion vanished or Captain Zhou was gone or dead, it would definitely cause significant changes; the two of them were the most probable variables, making further investigation challenging.

Being underground, although hadn’t gained anything thus far, but since the subsequent "Goods" were scheduled to arrive in one week, might as well wait to see what’s actually happening.

Since they’re here, let’s be at ease.

Qiu Chan evidently shared the same thought, so the two obediently stayed.

Most crucially, Lin Chen could clearly sense the outside coordinates and positioning, meaning he could leave here in one second if he wanted.

The room was incredibly spacious, at least the size of a soccer field; besides the bathrooms in the corners, it was completely empty.

No table, no chair, not to mention bed-like items.

Lin Chen and Qiu Chan sat by the wall corner, silently waiting.

At mealtime, someone opened the room door, tossing two energy cookies and a bottle of water to them; Lin Chen intentionally probed for information, but received no response from the other party.

Lin Chen didn’t rashly use Divine Sense to explore surroundings, given Divine Sense exploration is actually another form of energy manifestation, detectable by high-tech instruments.

Thus, one quiet week passed before a new batch of "Goods" arrived.

The room door opened; a dense crowd lined up to enter the room, which was originally empty, suddenly filled with people.

Lin Chen scanned the crowd and secretly marveled; it must be at least five hundred people.

As per information previously obtained, these people were either beautiful young females or robust warriors, their faces all filled with panic, evidently fearful of the future.

Being the first existing individuals, naturally, Lin Chen and Qiu Chan attracted everyone’s attention, soon causing someone to inquire if they understood the situation here.

Lin Chen explained his and Qiu Chan’s "background," leaving the crowd noticeably disappointed.

Lin Chen sought information from everyone but found no one knowing their intended destination.

Seems the outside captors were also unaware of their destination; they only caught people and delivered them to "Captain Zhou," who then sent them underground, completely severing outside information through two levels of handoff.

After some panic, everyone sat down.

Lin Chen and Qiu Chan sat in a corner; Lin Chen softly asked: "If we’re sent to an unknown place, should we go?"