Only after Xiao Siyang's entire body had sunk into the ground did Lin Feng finally exhale deeply. He first glanced at Hao Zhengyi, and seeing that the president had already hoisted Hao Wenming onto his shoulder and was walking back, Lin Feng then shifted his gaze toward the two short swords in my hands.
"Things have come to this," Lin Feng said. "Even if you manage to make it out alive, what about Gao Liang, Xiao Heshang, and Hao Wenming? Show some sincerity—let's talk."
I looked over at Gao Liang and Xiao Heshang, both still unconscious on the floor. I wasn't Sun Fatty—I couldn't come up with any clever strategy right now. With no better options, stalling for time was the only play I had. I threw both blades to the ground, looked Lin Feng straight in the eye, and said, "There's my sincerity. Now say what you need to say."
Lin Feng stared at the swords on the floor and nodded. "Two years ago, I told you—I needed a small favor. If it hadn't been for the unexpected mess back then, none of this would've spiraled out like it did."
He paused and glanced down at Gao Liang and Xiao Heshang, who were still lying unconscious at his feet.
"Both Director Gao and Xiao Heshang have been hit by Xiao Siyang's spell. You've seen what kind of man he is—they won't last long. You help me retrieve the Heavenly Principle Diagram, and once we have it in hand, we'll—"
Before he could finish, I let out a cold laugh and interrupted, "Director Lin, aren't you being a bit forgetful? I might not know everything, but I do know how your buddy Qiu Bulao died. If you could lay hands on Director Qiu, then I definitely don't stand a chance. Once you get the Heavenly Principle Diagram, how much of a chance do I have of walking out alive? I'd probably be the first to die, wouldn't I?"
Lin Feng didn't get angry at my accusations. He just stared at me coldly. Once I'd finished speaking, he finally responded in a low, quiet voice.
"You don't have a choice."
He pointed at Gao Liang lying on the ground.
"You have two options: go get the Heavenly Principle Diagram, and maybe you all live. Or don't get it—and Gao Liang and Xiao Heshang will die."
His words made my heart pound violently. I knew he wouldn't dare make a move lightly, but I also didn't want to push him too far. Still, I kept up the bravado and snapped back, "You really willing to let them die? If they're gone, what reason do I have to help you get the diagram?"
"Then let's test that," Lin Feng said flatly. As he spoke, he crouched down and placed his palm on Xiao Heshang's forehead. Then he looked up at me. "That hand gesture look familiar? I'll ask one last time—will you fetch the Heavenly Principle Diagram or not? Though this time, if you answer wrong, no big deal. You've still got… one more chance."
He finished the sentence while pointing toward Gao Liang.
"Fine!" I shouted, glaring at Lin Feng. "I'll get it!"
There was nothing else I could do. It was time to play along—one step at a time. Heaven help me. Sun Fatty, please get back here soon with Wu Rendi and save our asses…
Lin Feng gave a satisfied chuckle and swept his gaze across the crowd he had brought, stopping finally on Hao Zhengyi, who had just walked up beside him. "Can you set up a Prohibition Formation to sever the link between those two blades and Shen La?" he asked.
Hao Zhengyi looked down at the two short swords lying on the ground and shook his head. "Complete severance? No. But I can add some resistance."
As he spoke, a wave of chilling cold spread from his presence. He stepped toward me.
Then, without hesitation, he drew a dagger and sliced open his own left wrist.
Blood gushed out instantly.
Hao Zhengyi let it drip onto the two short swords.
The moment his blood touched the blades, it instantly froze into a layer of red frost, clinging tightly to the metal. Once both swords were completely encased in that bloody frost, his wound closed up, and the frost sealed the cut like a living lock—no more blood flowed.
Hao Zhengyi turned to Lin Feng and nodded. "Until this is over, those blades shouldn't move."
Lin Feng's face twitched when he saw the process. Only when Hao Zhengyi spoke to him again did his expression finally return to normal.
While Hao Zhengyi had been speaking, I secretly attempted to summon the Blades of Sin and Retribution.
They didn't budge.
Only the frost covering the blades showed a slight tremble—some of it began to melt—but almost immediately, the thawed blood was reabsorbed into the surrounding frost, sealing the blades tighter than before.
Lin Feng clearly noticed my quiet attempt. He gave a faint smile. Then, he ordered a few of his men to lift Gao Liang and Xiao Heshang, personally overseeing as they began walking deeper into the corridor.
But before moving, he whispered something to one of his subordinates. The man listened, said nothing, and turned to leave, entering the emergency elevator. The indicator showed he had ascended back to the fourth underground level. What he was going there for—I had no idea.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one confused. Hao Zhengyi's brows furrowed as well. But he didn't ask Lin Feng anything. In fact, he barely looked at him. He just lowered his head and followed quietly.
We walked until we reached the elevator leading to B4—the fourth underground level. There, the group finally came to a stop.
The elevator doors were already open, revealing a heavy dark door at the far end. Inside the elevator stood a man, working with a red-hot metal wire, poking and prying at the sealed keyhole—one that had been plugged with molten lead.
Judging by the scattered lead shards on the floor, it looked like Lin Feng's team had already cracked most of Gao Liang's seal.
Hearing footsteps, the man turned his head and looked at Lin Feng.
"We've pulled most of the lead out," he reported. "But I can't do anything about the lock itself. If you want it open, you'll need to find someone who actually knows how."
"No need for you to pick the lock," Lin Feng said. He turned back to Gao Liang and fumbled around on his body for a moment. Finally, he found what he was looking for—an item wrapped around one of Gao Liang's fingers like a ring: a strand of Dragon Whisker.
Lin Feng slipped the Dragon Whisker off and inserted it into the lock. With a few deft twists of his fingers, we heard a crisp click—the lock was open.
But Lin Feng didn't rush inside. Instead, he stepped aside and looked at me. "You should be familiar with this path," he said. "Go on, you lead the way."
At this point, I saw no need for courtesy. I pushed the door open and stepped into the fourth underground level first. Once I'd confirmed there were no traps or ambushes, Lin Feng followed right behind me. Hao Zhengyi and the others, along with their Soul Husks, all filtered in after us.
We had officially entered the fabled B4 level of the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation.
We walked straight for over twenty minutes. Then someone behind us shouted, "I used to think the Bureau actually had a fourth sublevel—but turns out B3 and B4 are just one big slope! Each takes up half the descent. B4? Bah! Might as well call it Basement Three Point Five."
"Take a proper look," another voice replied. "This tunnel is sloped, yeah. Not steep, but given the size of this level? We've been walking for over twenty minutes and still no end in sight—it's practically another worl—hold up, what the hell is that?"
Everyone turned toward the source of the commotion.
Ahead of us, the hidden chamber that Gao Fatty had once used as a private storeroom was now fully exposed. There had once been a concealed door, but it stood wide open now. All the treasures inside gleamed under the light, catching the eyes of everyone present.
There was no need for me to lead the way anymore. The moment they saw what was inside, the crowd behind us surged forward like ravenous wolves. They stormed the room and began grabbing anything they could carry.
I spat at the sight of their greed and turned to Lin Feng. "They're very good at looting. These guys must be reincarnated from the Eight-Nation Alliance."
Lin Feng pretended not to hear, his face blank as he walked alongside me. But I could guess what was on his mind: there was only one Heavenly Principle Diagram, and to secure help from this crowd, he'd probably promised away every secret relic the Bureau had ever buried.
The looters soon realized something: the deeper they went, the better the treasures got. Once they figured that out, they immediately bolted toward the back, desperate to get there first and snatch any ancient divine artifacts before someone else beat them to it.
Lin Feng, dragging me with him, quickened his pace as well. Hao Zhengyi said nothing, silently tailing us from behind.
Before long, we reached the entrance to the fifth underground level.
Five or six people stood near the stairwell, hesitating.
When they saw Lin Feng arrive with me in tow, one of them pointed down into the pitch-dark stairwell. "There's a staircase here! What's down there?"
I looked into the gaping darkness and replied, "That's Wu Rendi's warehouse. Stuff like the Heavenly Principle Diagram? There's a whole pile of it in there."
Ordinarily, Wu Rendi's warehouse might've made them pause—but now, bloodlust and greed had taken over. Gao Liang's collection had already proven powerful beyond imagination. If his vault held treasures, what unimaginable marvels would Wu Rendi's?
The moment I finished speaking—and before Lin Feng or Hao Zhengyi could stop them—the five or six men charged down the stairs.
They made it about eight or nine steps before something horrifying happened.
Lin Feng shouted, "Stop! Don't go any further! Freeze where you are!"
His voice froze only two of them. The others acted like they hadn't heard and kept descending.
But as soon as they stepped onto the next landing, their bodies began to blur.
At first I thought I was seeing things. But the next moment confirmed that my eyes were fine.
A vortex made of shimmering blades had appeared around their bodies. Their flesh peeled away like flour blown off a table—first their skin, then their muscles—until their disintegrated remains were sucked into the vortex. Within moments, all that was left were skeletons clattering to the ground.
The two who had stopped on the stairs began to tremble uncontrollably.
One of them fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a stack of talismans. He found one with a human figure drawn on it and slapped it onto his chest.
Then, without saying a word to his companion, he took a deep breath, spun around, and bolted back up the stairs.
But the instant his foot touched the upper step, something changed.
His body jerked violently, and the life-saving talisman on his chest burst into ash with a soft fwoosh—no fire, no sparks, just instant disintegration.
Then blood began to pour from his body—first from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, and then from every pore on his skin.
He thrashed wildly, but the more he struggled, the faster the blood came. In mere seconds, he became a walking blood fountain. His limbs twitched for a few more moments, then went still—and even in death, blood continued gushing from every part of his body.
Now only one survivor remained on the stairs.
He, too, had taken out a talisman with a human figure, but before he could use it, he'd already seen the disastrous outcome of his comrade's attempt.
Seeing a man turn into a human blood sprinkler after climbing just one step was enough to break his nerve.
Panicked, he shouted up at Lin Feng and the others, "Help me! I don't want anything anymore—whoever saves me can have my share! Just get me out!"
"Don't panic! You're still unharmed. That means the others must have triggered some kind of Phantom Trace spell. So long as you don't move, the formation can't touch you!"
It was Lin Feng who spoke. His face had gone pale—though compared to his earlier corpse-like complexion, this version looked almost healthy.
After calming the man, Lin Feng turned to me.
"Be honest," he said. "What kind of formation is down there?"
I had to admit—even I was a little shaken by what we'd just witnessed.
After steadying my nerves, I replied, "You think I'd know anything that advanced? I've walked up and down those stairs before and never had a problem. But hey—if you want, I'll go down again and show you."
Lin Feng sneered and said, "Don't even think about it. Try to run, and just imagine what will happen to Gao Liang and Xiao Heshang."