Chapter 975: Wuji Underground

Under the maid's guidance, Chen Ling, holding a thick stack of questionnaires, arrived at Chi Tong's office door.

“Please come in,” the maid said, opening the door for him.

Chen Ling straightened his collar, head held high, and walked into Chi Tong's office with an air of righteousness, like an orator about to enter a debate. Seeing his posture, Chi Tong's eyelids twitched, and a headache began to set in.

“Chi Tong,” Chen Ling began, his tone like someone addressing an old classmate. “Last night I stayed up late organizing the current medical situation in the Wuji Domain and summarized about fourteen key points...”

“Stop!”

Chi Tong immediately cut Chen Ling off. “I have another very important matter to discuss with you. You don’t need to go into such detail... just be concise. We can discuss the specifics later.”

Chen Ling hesitated for a moment, then nodded:

“Simply put, I believe the current distribution of medical resources in the Wuji Domain is extremely uneven, both geographically and in terms of time allocation. Under long periods of high-intensity work pressure, even if residents fall ill, they don't have time to see a doctor... The few hospitals that offer night consultations have insufficient and inexperienced doctors on night shifts...”

“Alright, I understand,” Chi Tong said, waving his hand.

“The second issue is easy to handle. I'll issue an order today for hospitals to adjust doctors' shifts. As for the shortage of medical resources, there's nothing we can do; after all, there are only so many surviving doctors in the domain, and we can't conjure more.”

“Then why not open the domain so sick residents can take a train to other domains for treatment?”

As soon as he spoke, the entire office fell into a dead silence.

Chi Tong stared intently at Chen Ling, his eyes narrowed, an unreadable expression on his face.

“That is absolutely impossible,” Chi Tong stated, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

Chen Ling sensed the shift in atmosphere and didn't press the matter. He hadn't expected the Usurpers to agree to this idea; after all, if the Wuji Domain were completely opened, all its residents would scramble to flee, and the other major domains might seize the opportunity to directly attack Wuji.

He had said that precisely to provoke Chi Tong's refusal, which would then logically lead to his next request.

“Alright,” Chen Ling sighed. “In that case, I'd like to look through records from the early days of the domain, or perhaps from the Great Catastrophe period... During that time of disaster, our medical resources must have been even scarcer, and I'd like to learn how we solved those problems back then.”

Chen Ling made this request, naturally, to find evidence of his own existence.

After all, he was among the first victims after the Red Star's arrival, and he believed the relevant departments would have kept records... but he wasn't sure if those records had been destroyed during that turbulent period or which base they were currently located in.

“Medical records from the Great Catastrophe period?” Chi Tong raised an eyebrow in surprise, apparently not expecting Chen Ling to make such a request.

“That scope is too broad; where would I even find them for you? Moreover, we only took over the Wuji Domain later. Most of the original items from the Wuji Base were lost during the schism and turmoil of the Sorcery Association. We don't have them here.”

Even though Chen Ling hadn't held much hope, he still felt a sense of disappointment upon hearing that reply.

Chi Tong looked at Chen Ling, then changed the subject:

“However, I know where they might be...”

“Where?”

“If such records exist, they are likely in the hands of the remnants of the Sorcery Association,” Chi Tong slowly stated. “Now... they are also known as the ‘Rat Pack’.”

Wuji Domain, underground.

A dull ache emanated from all over his body. Fang Liangye groaned, slowly opening his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a grid-like skylight. Dripping rain flowed down the shaft, falling from the dim ceiling into a drainpipe with a cascading roar, like a waterfall.

“It hurts so much...” Fang Liangye clutched his head, his mind flooded with jumbled memories.

“Mr. Fang, you're finally awake.”

A voice sounded from nearby.

Fang Liangye looked back to see a young man with black hair and a black robe slowly walking towards him. Mysterious symbols were engraved on the palms of both his hands.

“You are...” Fang Liangye's eyes were filled with confusion.

“Nice to meet you. I am Duran, leader of the Rat Pack,” Duran said calmly. “Wu Duo, the one who contacted you at the Human Rights Union, is our witch.”

“The Rat Pack... Human Rights Union...”

Fang Liangye murmured the two names, finding them very familiar but unable to recall where he had heard them.

“It's alright if you can't remember. Mr. Ji said your memory was affected by the Spirit Theft Path and might be a bit chaotic... However, he has used a healing ritual to repair your mind and stabilize your soul, so at least your mental state won't be abnormal.”

“Spirit Theft Path...”

Fang Liangye's face suddenly turned grim, as if he had remembered something.

He then asked, “Did you rescue me from the Silver King?”

“The Silver King? No, we don't have that much power. We merely rescued you from the detention center,” Duran replied truthfully.

Fang Liangye nodded slightly. He sat back on the bed, absentmindedly, lost in thought.

“In any case, Mr. Fang, please rest well first. This is one of our strongholds, and it's relatively safe for now.” Duran glanced at the time. “Wu Duo is still busy outside and will be back in about two more hours. You two are quite familiar with each other, so you can slowly recall your lost memories...”

“...Okay.”

Duran turned and walked into the shadows.

Once Duran was out of sight, Fang Liangye couldn't sit still. He got up and paced around the dim underground space, muttering to himself:

“The Silver King really did tamper with my memory... But they actually managed to rescue me from there. This 'Rat Pack' seems to have some strength...”

“Hmm... something doesn't feel right... My head hurts so much...”

Fang Liangye tried to recall more, but then felt as if there were gaps in his memory. Beads of sweat once again trickled from his forehead.

“No matter what, I need to find a way to contact the Twilight Society first... I wonder how Zou Wei and the others are doing, and if they've successfully reached the Tianshu Domain?”

“But we just caused quite a commotion in the Tianshu Domain, so security there should be very tight... Still, with Senior Bai Feng around, evading the search shouldn't be difficult.”

The sweat on Fang Liangye's forehead became thicker.

As certain memory fragments flashed through his mind, the vividly remembered corpses he had personally slain made his face instantly turn pale. He clutched the edge of the bed with both hands, lowering his head and violently throwing up.