Chapter 984: Chen Ling and Fang Liang at Night

"Hey!! You haven't finished washing the dishes, where are you going?"

The restaurant owner watched Jian Changsheng run out the door and immediately chased after him. Before he had taken a few steps, a manhole cover plummeted from the sky and crashed loudly in front of him. A cold sweat instantly drenched his back. He paled, retreated, and could only watch Jian Changsheng from a distance.

Jian Changsheng arrived at the sewer entrance. A roaring sound, like crashing waves, continuously echoed from below, interspersed with bursts of raging fire.

"Is someone fighting... Could it be..."

Jian Changsheng looked at the pitch-black opening, seemingly hesitant. The Boundless Domain was currently the Silver King's territory. For such a large-scale conflict to occur, the opposing party's background must not be simple... It was highly likely to be the Rat Clan, as mentioned by Jiang Xiaohua. After all, according to him, they were the only ones in the domain capable of challenging the Silver Government at the moment.

"Could it be such a coincidence? Am I finally having good luck?"

Jian Changsheng clutched the pendant around his neck, suddenly realizing that the manhole cover attack might not have been bad luck, but rather a stroke of fortune? Regardless, he decided to go down and see. Jian Changsheng took a deep breath and leaped directly into the opening, descending into the underground passage. Low rumbles continuously echoed from above.

At the lowest level of the underground drainage system, Chen Ling and Hong Xiu exchanged glances and nodded slightly.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Hong Xiu asked again.

"I'll be fine."

Chen Ling stretched his limbs. "You be careful too, don't get discovered... Do you have what I gave you?"

Hong Xiu took a playing card from her pocket and lightly flicked it. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"It's fine. The Twilight Society has taken the blame for so much, one more won't hurt."

"Then you be careful."

Hong Xiu's figure blurred, then she directly broke through the solid stone wall above her head, moving towards the chaotic passage. Chen Ling, meanwhile, took another secret staircase, circling his way upwards. Using his Mystic Eyes, Chen Ling could observe every detail even in the pitch-black passages. He cautiously scanned his surroundings at every fork, only advancing quickly once he confirmed there were no Usurpers. From the very beginning, Chen Ling's goal was not to encircle and annihilate the Rat Clan. On the contrary, he wanted to save as many of them as possible and obtain information about the past from them... With Chen Ling's current strength, it was naturally not enough to lead the Rat Clan through the encirclement, as there were many strong individuals among the Usurpers, and two Thief Sages guarding the area. To rescue the Rat Clan, he would have to use more covert methods...

Chen Ling turned through several more junctions. His peripheral vision caught a glimpse of ruins, and a faint light flashed before his eyes. He stopped amidst the debris, his hands pushing aside the scattered rubble. A lifeless body was revealed before him... Judging by the clothing, this was definitely not a Usurper; it was likely a member of the Rat Clan. Chen Ling glanced at the person's face, then forcefully tore at his own chin with his fingertips. In an instant, his entire appearance transformed into that of the corpse, and he slowly rose from the ruins.

"This makes things much easier."

Fang Liangye sprinted through the dim passage, led by Wu Duo. At this moment, Wu Duo's eyes were red-rimmed. She repeatedly looked back, seemingly worried about Du Lan's safety...

"Don't get distracted," Fang Liangye reminded her at the right moment. "Du Lan is holding off the Thief Sages for us, so we should seize the chance to escape. Keep observing your surroundings and watch out for enemies."

Wu Duo snapped back to attention. After a deep look at Fang Liangye, she nodded slightly. "...Mhm."

"Where exactly is this 'door' you mentioned?"

"We're almost there... It's just ahead. That passage leads directly to the very bottom. If we follow the underground river, we can get out of this area."

"The very bottom... underground river..." Fang Liangye mused thoughtfully.

Wu Duo was about to say more when her poisonous insects suddenly sensed something. She sharply turned her head towards a certain direction.

"Wu Duo!"

A voice came from that direction. Several figures were running along the passage, also heading towards the "door." Fang Liangye recognized them; they were also members of the Rat Clan. Among them were the individuals who had previously treated the residents of the Boundless Domain in the underground clearing. These people were not high-ranking; most were third-tier, with a few fourth-tier. Although their ranks weren't high, they didn't seem overly panicked when faced with the Usurpers' encirclement, as if they were already accustomed to it.

"That's great, you're all safe!" Wu Duo's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally relaxed a little when she saw them.

"The moment the explosion went off, we ran straight here. The Usurpers couldn't catch up to us," one of them said, patting the shoulder of another young man beside him. "On the way, we also ran into Jia Chen. This guy was disoriented from being chased by the Usurpers, running around the passages like a headless chicken..."

"Jia Chen" stood awkwardly to the side, covered in dust and looking as if he had just been through a fierce battle. This "Jia Chen" was none other than Chen Ling, after using his 'No-Phase' ability. After disguising himself as a member of the Rat Clan, Chen Ling had been moving through various passages. He didn't know where the Rat Clan members were, so he just looked around everywhere. As a result, he encountered these individuals who were fleeing towards the "door" and naturally "joined" them.

"Running around the passages...?"

Fang Liangye's mind stirred. He looked at Chen Ling with caution. "Shouldn't all of you Rat Clan members be very familiar with the routes here? After an attack, you should head straight for the 'door.' Why would someone run around like a headless chicken?"

As soon as he said this, everyone's gaze turned to Chen Ling.

"Well, Jia Chen, he just now..."

The Rat Clan member who had just patted Chen Ling's shoulder was about to explain for him, but Chen Ling spoke up proactively, "I wasn't running aimlessly. The Usurpers stole my 'sense of direction' while they were chasing me." Chen Ling met Fang Liangye's gaze with an open expression.

"Then how did you escape the Usurpers' pursuit?" Fang Liangye pressed again.

"It's a bit strange, actually," Chen Ling paused. "I was already caught by two Usurpers, but then suddenly someone appeared... That person seemed to have a grudge against the Usurpers and immediately started fighting them... I took the opportunity to escape."

Hearing this, Fang Liangye increasingly felt that the man was talking nonsense, but before he could speak, Chen Ling continued:

"Oh, right... The person's collar seemed to have a playing card tucked into it."

Fang Liangye's heart skipped a beat. His subtle change in expression did not escape Chen Ling's Mystic Eyes. Chen Ling secretly observed this ordinary-looking person mixed among the Rat Clan, and a surge of doubt rose within him... For some reason, the intuition of his current body told him that Fang Liangye was far from ordinary.