Chapter 982: The Siege Begins

Author: Sannkyu Onyoku

Chen Ling's eyes flashed with surprise upon hearing this.

It had only been a little over ten hours since he had laid everything bare with Hongxiu. Before this, Hongxiu had been in a state of confusion and indecision. How could she have suddenly become so resolute?

What exactly happened last night?

Chen Ling didn't ask further. Whatever Hongxiu had experienced, it was enough that she had ultimately made this choice.

"Tell me what I should do," Hongxiu said again.

Driving, Chen Ling lowered his voice and replied, "The reason we're in this predicament is that the King of Silver used the power of Borrowed Moon to swap our pasts with those of other people... My past was likely swapped with an ordinary person, and yours with the original Paladin."

"Swapped pasts... then why weren't the names in our memories replaced?"

Hongxiu's memories contained Tan Xin, and Làn Shé's did too. The same name representing different people gave her a sense of disjunction.

"As I understand it, this replacement is like an organ transplant. The core memories and relationships are the organs, and the people we know are the blood vessels... When an organ is transplanted into our body, it essentially reconnects with our existing blood vessels. That's why the names in our memories don't change, but the relationships reconnect to the new 'past'..."

Chen Ling exploited this very point, fabricating the persona of "Chitong" and forcing him to play along. In truth, Chitong was no friend in Chen Ling's memory; he was merely the popcorn vendor from across the factory.

"So, how can we get our memories back?"

Chen Ling thought for a moment. "The simplest way, as the saying goes, is for the one who tied the knot to untie it. If the King of Silver were to intervene, our memories would naturally return... Of course, that's impossible."

Before Hongxiu could feel disappointed, Chen Ling spoke again:

"But besides him, I know someone who can, through a curse, displace memories between different people... This might be our only way to retrieve our memories."

"Where is he?" Hongxiu's eyes lit up.

"He should be in the Tian Shu Realm now."

Hongxiu's brow furrowed slightly.

She pondered for a moment, then answered seriously, "Since the King of Silver isn't here, I can lead you out of the Wu Ji Realm and directly to Tian Shu."

Hongxiu's tone was calm, yet it held immense confidence, as if she held no Thief Saint, Arbiter Agent, or Wu Ji Lord in any regard.

"I don't doubt your strength, Miss Hongxiu." Chen Ling sighed. "But to exchange memories, we first need to bring along the people who hold our memories... Otherwise, who would we swap with?"

"Where are the people who possess our memories?"

"I don't know," Chen Ling paused. "They should have been hidden by the Flame Usurpers."

Hongxiu's gaze fell on the rearview mirror, watching black sedans follow them, moving slowly in the pre-dawn gloom...

"You must have had a plan already, haven't you?" Hongxiu asked.

"Yes," Chen Ling nodded slightly.

"And this plan requires your cooperation."

The vehicle slowly stopped in the wilderness.

Numerous figures converged at a single spot. Huang He's gaze swept the surroundings, quickly locking onto an inconspicuous manhole cover.

"It's here," Huang He said, his eyes lowered. "From here, we can access a complex drainage system. Our previous reconnaissance has pinpointed a general area... The Rat Party is located there."

"Then why don't we just go down and round them all up?" Lan Yu said casually. "There should only be one Seventh-Tier member in this group of the Rat Party. With so many of us, they won't be able to escape."

"Not necessarily. Many of the drainage pipes below aren't recorded on any maps. We can't rule out the possibility of them escaping in the chaos."

Huang He's gaze shifted to Chen Ling.

"Otherwise, we wouldn't have asked Mr. Chen to come along... Mr. Chen, what are your thoughts?"

"You're right. The Rat Party are a cunning and cautious bunch."

Chen Ling spoke in a deep voice. "From what I know of them, they've certainly prepared more covert escape routes beyond the conventional ones, and even deceptive traps to mislead us."

"Oh?"

Huang He raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you think we should do?"

"We absolutely cannot concentrate all our forces in one place. We must split up, and the more dispersed we are, the better," Chen Ling said, pointing to the sewer.

"When the encirclement begins, everyone will form a large net, slowly closing in on the Rat Party's location, but without completely sealing them off... We'll leave them a single escape route, guiding them to flee in that direction, where Miss Hongxiu and I will be responsible for intercepting them, ensuring we catch them all."

"This is too risky. We don't have that many people. If we spread out too much, there will only be one or two individuals at each point. What if we encounter the Rat Party during the sweep and can't hold them?" Lan Yu instinctively retorted.

"That's still better than letting them escape without a trace."

"But..."

Chen Ling actually knew nothing about the Rat Party. In the memories of the ordinary person he'd been swapped with, he didn't even know what the Rat Party was... Yet, these Flame Usurpers seemed convinced he had some connection to them and possessed extensive knowledge.

Given this, Chen Ling decided to leverage their perception, feigning deep knowledge of the Rat Party and offering strategic advice.

In reality, Chen Ling proposed this plan purely to create an opportunity for them to act alone. He and Hongxiu were now on the same side, but the presence of others would restrict their actions.

"If you don't trust me, there's nothing I can do. After all, I'm just a guide... Do as you please."

Chen Ling adopted an indifferent demeanor.

Huang He stared at Chen Ling for a long time before finally making up his mind.

"Just do as he says..."

After all, he was someone Chitong himself had chosen, and judging by the boy's demeanor, he genuinely seemed knowledgeable about the Rat Party. Rather than proceed on their own and shoulder the responsibility, it was better to trust Chen Ling this once.

Soon, the group divided into pairs, forming over a dozen teams, and quickly descended underground.

Naturally, Chen Ling and Hongxiu became a pair. Due to Hongxiu's exceptional combat prowess, they were directly assigned to the deepest part of the underground, waiting to intercept the Rat Party members.

"Would anyone really hide in a place like this?" Hongxiu's brow furrowed slightly as she felt the dark and damp environment around them.

"Leaving aside the light and the smell, the Wu Ji Realm's underground drainage system is teeming with all kinds of bacteria and venomous insects... Living here long-term would undoubtedly cause health problems."

"Who knows? But to be able to decide to establish their base here, the leader of this Rat Party is indeed remarkable."

Chen Ling was about to say something more when a booming explosion echoed from above!

Boom—!!

"...It's started." Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly.