As soon as he stepped out of the warehouse doors, Hao Zhengyi could no longer hold on. His legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees. With both hands on the ground, he opened his mouth and vomited a mouthful of dark blood. After coughing up the blood, his complexion actually looked a bit better, but he had no energy to care about that. His face twisted with terror as he stared into the empty air inside the warehouse and stammered, "Dragon…"
Hao Zhengyi's sudden change left me stunned. Everything had happened so abruptly that I didn't catch what he'd said at first. I repeated it, confused, "Deaf? You've gone deaf?" But just as I finished speaking, I suddenly felt the air at the entrance shift.
Countless streams of air twisted together, forming a hazy shape that was neither snake nor python. This current surged toward the door, as if it intended to lunge out and tear Hao Zhengyi apart. But each time it reached the frame, it seemed to be stopped by some invisible force. After several failed attempts, the serpent-like transparent current retreated. I thought it might be coming for me, but unexpectedly, it veered far off course, brushing past me with a sharp whoosh and floated behind my back.
"A real dragon?" I stared wide-eyed at the strange stream's receding form until it vanished into the center of the warehouse. I remembered there had been a strange skeleton in that spot when I came in last time. Walking closer now, I saw that the skeleton was still there—but its appearance had completely transformed. It had become long and slender, with a horned, flat-snouted serpent skull mounted on top.
When did they swap in a different skeleton? Could Wu Rendi have come in? But I quickly dismissed that thought. If Wu Rendi had been here, he would've noticed right away that the Blades of Sin and Retribution were missing. Since he never came looking for me, it meant he hadn't been inside since giving me the warehouse key.
As I examined the new serpent-like skeleton more closely, I suddenly noticed that several of its parts were identical to the original bones I'd seen before. And it seemed to emit a faint, almost imperceptible resonant hum—as if it held a kind of apprehension toward my presence.
I instinctively stepped back several paces, and the resonance faded away. At that moment, Hao Zhengyi, clutching his chest, cautiously stepped back into the warehouse. But he only dared to stand by the doorframe, ready to bolt at the first sign of danger.
"Shen La! Don't touch it!" Hao Zhengyi whispered urgently. "You're standing on a sutra scroll—pick it up and spread it over the dragon bones!"
His reminder jolted me. Sure enough, underfoot lay a thin piece of silk cloth. It was clearly specially made—though aged, there wasn't the slightest sign of decay. The surface was densely covered with tadpole-like script. If I hadn't worked at the Bureau, I wouldn't have recognized it as an ancient Sanskrit Buddhist scripture.
Following Hao Zhengyi's instructions, I laid the sutra over the skeleton. The moment it touched the bones, the strange resonance vanished. A moment later, once it was clear nothing would happen, Hao Zhengyi slowly stepped inside, his eyes twitching involuntarily as he looked at the now-covered skeleton.
Watching his lingering dread, I couldn't help but ask, "That skeleton—is it really a dragon?"
"It's a dragon bone and a dragon soul," Hao Zhengyi replied, pulling out his phone and snapping a few pictures from various angles. He then pointed to the single horn atop the skull and added, "Strictly speaking, the creature this belonged to should be called a Jiao. One horn means it's a Jiao; two horns make it a dragon. But this one died right on the cusp of transformation. So calling it a dragon isn't wrong."
After that, his gaze swept across the warehouse, making a full circuit. "Sharp eyes, I'll give you that. Nothing less than a treasure for the ages makes it in here." He sighed, then suddenly turned cold. The gleam of all the precious items around him meant nothing now. Fixing his eyes on me, he said flatly, "Once you find the Heavenly Principle Diagram, head upstairs."
I still felt bitter about letting them get the Heavenly Principle Diagram so easily. Sun Fatty and the others should already be aware of the situation and rushing back. But under the current circumstances, there was little I could do besides buy some time. I looked at Hao Zhengyi and said, "You're not going to take another look around? Even I can tell there are treasures here far more valuable than the Heavenly Principle Diagram."
Hao Zhengyi gave me a faint, mocking smile. "You're no Sun Desheng. Laying traps isn't your forte. Be careful you don't dig your own grave trying to dig a pit for someone else. Right now, every ounce of effort should go into protecting Gao Liang and Xiao Heshang. Don't end up losing both the troops and the commander's wife. You really don't have much time left."
That last sentence shattered any hope I had of stalling. Resigned, I walked over to the shelf near the door and pulled down the half-scroll of the Heavenly Principle Diagram, tossing it to Hao Zhengyi. "This is it. You and Lin Feng were both from the Bureau—you're not going to turn around and kill your hostages now, are you?"
Hao Zhengyi unrolled the Heavenly Principle Diagram, scrutinizing it. Once he was sure it was genuine, he looked up at me with a strange expression in his eyes and said, "That's not for you to worry about. What you can do is focus all your strength on keeping those two alive. Leave the rest to fate."
With that, he turned and walked toward the warehouse exit. As he went, he said, "If I were you, I'd just stay here. You've handed over the Heavenly Principle Diagram, and Gao Liang and Xiao Heshang's fate is out of your hands now. Going upstairs won't change a thing."
His words made my heart skip a beat. What did he mean by that? Was Lin Feng planning to kill Gao Liang and Xiao Heshang even after getting the Diagram?
No matter what, I had to go up. I didn't have the Blades of Sin and Retribution, but with the Seed's power, I could at least hold out for a while. Even if Sun Fatty and the others didn't make it back in time, I'd make sure to drag a few down with me.
Staring coldly at Hao Zhengyi's retreating figure, I said, "Whether I go or not—that's my call!" By then, Hao Zhengyi had reached the door. He turned back and gave me a glance.
"That's up to you…" he said, then stepped outside.
After stepping out of the warehouse, we saw someone approaching from a distance—it was none other than Sun Fatty, who had gone looking for Guangren in frustration. Guangren was still seated on the ground with his head down, showing no signs of anything unusual. When Sun Fatty came over and caught sight of the Heavenly Principle Diagram in Guangren's hands, he said, "Just to be clear, this thing counts as something we found together."
Hao Zhengyi ignored him and continued walking toward the exit. Fatty followed behind, chattering nonstop. "Fine, when we cash it in, I'll give you thirty percent. No? Forty? Alright, fifty, but not a dime more."
I trailed between the two of them, but something felt off about both Hao Zhengyi and Sun Fatty. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, though, and with Gao Liang and Xiao Heshang still weighing on my mind, I had no time to dwell on the details. We reached the staircase, and as before, I went up first, with Hao Zhengyi and Sun Fatty stepping in my footprints close behind.
As soon as we returned to the third basement level, Lin Feng was already waiting at the top of the stairs. Before we had even fully emerged, he asked directly, "Where's the Heavenly Principle Diagram?"
"I've got it," Hao Zhengyi said, raising the scroll in his hand. Before Lin Feng could speak, another voice rang out from the air beside him: "Hand it over."
As the voice finished, a figure materialized beside Lin Feng—it was Xiao Siyang, the same man who had subdued Gao Liang and Xiao Heshang earlier.
Before Xiao Siyang's demand could even settle, another familiar and biting voice cut through the tension: "Better give it to me instead. And while you're at it, someone explain who the hell did this to my dog?"
Everyone on the fourth basement level turned toward the source of the voice, their expressions shifting dramatically. From the entrance of the dark chamber, a man sauntered in casually. Clad entirely in white—white hair, white clothes, white shoes—he cradled the unconscious form of YinBai in his arms. That arrogant expression, that unmistakable disdain for all present—who else could it be but Director Wu Rendi?
The moment Wu Rendi appeared, Xiao Siyang tried to activate a Descent Technique and flee. But for reasons unknown, the spell—once infallible—refused to manifest no matter how desperately he tried. He cycled through multiple escape techniques, all to no avail. Eventually, drenched in sweat, Xiao Siyang gave up, backing away step by step, hoping to avoid drawing Wu Rendi's attention.
With Wu Rendi's arrival, all of Lin Feng's subordinates looked utterly stricken. One of them collapsed on the spot, mumbling, "We're dead… we're all dead…" Another turned on Lin Feng, shouting, "You told us he wouldn't come back! You said Director Wu wouldn't show! That's the only reason we agreed to this! What now?!"
Even Lin Feng himself looked terrified. When he heard the accusations, he gritted his teeth and growled at Wu Rendi, "It's not that big a deal. At worst, we vanish into oblivion and never reincarnate. Let's rush him together. If we're lucky, maybe one or two of us will make it out."
Clearly unhinged, Lin Feng's pathetic attempt at rallying the troops fell completely flat. No one moved. Nearly half the group's eyes glazed over, whispering to themselves in horror: "Oblivion… never reincarnate…"
Wu Rendi let out a cold laugh. "Well said. Let's see it then—come at me together. Let's find out which of you actually makes it out. And if you can't… then stay behind and become dog food for mine."
By then, I was the first to emerge from the stairwell. The situation had flipped in an instant, and fearing Lin Feng might lash out like a cornered rat, I immediately ran over and propped up Gao Liang from where he lay. Fortunately, Lin Feng had no mind to trouble him anymore, allowing me to half-carry, half-drag the Bureau Chief to Wu Rendi's side.
Once I reached Wu Rendi, I said, "Director Wu, next time could you please show up a little earlier? One more minute, and we'd all be dead meat."
He gave me a look but said nothing. Reaching out, he lightly brushed his hand across Gao Liang's face. The Bureau Chief jolted as if struck by lightning, then slowly opened his eyes. Upon realizing who stood before him, a trace of disbelief flashed across his face.
"Yes… Director Wu really should've come earlier." This comment came from Hao Zhengyi, who had followed me up the stairs. When he saw Wu Rendi, he paused in astonishment, as though looking at something utterly inconceivable. But then his eyes narrowed slightly as he observed Wu Rendi and Gao Liang's reaction.
Then, he added coldly, "Because no matter when he returned, you all were already done for. Isn't that right—Yang Xiao?"