After finishing his words, Sun Fatty laughed so hard that his whole body shook, his fat wobbling uncontrollably. I was baffled about what was so funny when, almost unconsciously, Sun Fatty moved closer, laughing wildly as he muttered through his teeth in a low voice, "If Lin Feng dares to leave the Crow's range, you just kill him…" After saying this, he seemed to lose control of his laughter, drifting farther away from the protective zone guarded by Yang Jun and me.
Lin Feng's already bloodless face turned an iron blue, but his cautious nature—after all, he had endured over thirty years of hidden survival in the Bureau—kept him restrained. Watching Sun Fatty nearly laugh himself to death, Lin Feng sneered coldly, leaking out words with a broken breath toward Sun Fatty: "Humph, scoundrel, take good care of yourself. Next time we meet, I'll skin you alive!"
Lin Feng's threat remained unfinished; he was about to continue insulting Sun Fatty when Hao Zhengyi's face suddenly appeared from behind Gao Liang, his smile half mocking, half serious as he said, "Are you just helping him stall for time?" Lin Feng paused, immediately catching Hao Zhengyi's meaning, and stopped speaking—only shooting a fierce glare at Sun Fatty.
That tactic failed. Sun Fatty quickly stopped laughing and swaggered back to where Yang Jun and I stood. Looking at Hao Zhengyi, he said carelessly, "Director Hao, I'm telling you, we've got the Heavenly Principle Diagram and I'm not planning on keeping you around. Just let Chief Gao go, take the Heavenly Principle Diagram, and leave. I'm no host—won't detain you a second longer than necessary."
Hao Zhengyi smiled faintly in response, "It's time for us to leave too, but why don't you take care of Director Wu's restriction first? Don't worry—given Chief Gao's weight, we couldn't move him even if we wanted to."
"No way." Before Sun Fatty could respond, Yang Jun interjected, "Only Yang Xiao can解除 this restriction. If you want it lifted, wake Yang Xiao first."
Hao Zhengyi shook his head and turned his gaze to Yang Jun, speaking coldly, "This isn't a marketplace. There's no room for bargaining. You have only one option: lift the restriction and let us leave. If not, Gao Liang will die, and you might not be able to stop us."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Lin Feng emitted several dissonant syllables from his mouth. Although out of tune, this spell was clearly not dependent on intonation. After the last syllable, several Soul Husks that had been lying on the ground suddenly rose and began to gather around.
The situation shifted instantly. One Crow was already a headache, and now several Soul Husks joined in. If Xiao Siyang and Lin Feng recovered fully, the battle would spiral out of control. Luckily, Hao Zhengyi's group showed no intention of reviving their other unconscious comrades—clearly, those others were cannon fodder from the start.
The only advantage on our side was that Lin Feng and the others could not stall indefinitely. When Wu Rendi returned, it would spell disaster for them. So Sun Fatty wasn't in a hurry. Waiting for the enemy to form their ranks, he feigned a yawn, covering his mouth and whispered in my ear in a low voice, "Forget Hao Zhengyi. If you get a chance, take out Lin Feng first…"
Sun Fatty's suggestion surprised me. I had thought to save Gao Liang, we should immediately kill Hao Zhengyi first—striking before they had time to react, to rescue Gao Liang amid the chaos. With the Blades of Sin and Retribution in hand and Yang Jun as the main force, we had some confidence. But killing Lin Feng first risked Hao Zhengyi immediately targeting Gao Liang. I didn't understand Sun Fatty's reversal. Still, strategizing was his strength, and this wasn't the time to question. Whatever the Deputy Director said, we'd follow.
Just as I focused my attention on Lin Feng, Sun Fatty pulled out a cigarette without asking anyone and lit it himself. Taking a drag, he looked at Hao Zhengyi and said, "Honestly, there's no need to make this so complicated. You can leave the same way you came in. If that's too much trouble, I can open the elevator—you can just take that."
Sun Fatty's words barely finished when Hao Zhengyi's face twisted into a strange smile. He looked at Deputy Director Sun and said, "We were planning to leave the same way we came. But unfortunately…" Hao Zhengyi's words trailed off, leaving Sun Fatty puzzled. "What's unfortunate?" Sun Fatty asked casually.
Hao Zhengyi gave a cryptic smile and said, "It's unfortunate you came back. Do you really believe there was no ambush on your way here, Deputy Director Sun?"
Sun Fatty laughed bitterly, "Honestly, that's hard to believe." Hao Zhengyi smiled back, then continued: "Lin Feng, Uncle Xiao Siyang, and I all come from the Bureau. This trip isn't about revenge or mutual destruction. We've taken what we needed. Just lift the restriction here and let us leave safely. Chief Gao will be returned to you without a single hair missing."
No sooner had Hao Zhengyi finished than Yang Jun cut in, "Only Yang Xiao can解除 the restriction. If you want it lifted, you have to wake him up."
Hao Zhengyi ignored him, eyes still fixed on Sun Fatty. "Deputy Director Sun, aren't you the only one who can解除 this restriction?"
Sun Fatty glanced at Hao Zhengyi in surprise, "What else do you know?"
Hao Zhengyi met his gaze calmly: "Not much, just some guesses. This is the fourth underground level—not quite Director Wu's territory yet. Given Chief Gao's character, he wouldn't leave any loose ends. He should know how to解除 this restriction. Deputy Director Sun, you're Chief Gao's successor. If anything happens in the Bureau after Chief Gao's gone, surely he would have told you how to handle this."
Sun Fatty blinked repeatedly, silent for a long while. Just when I thought his eyelids were twitching, he suddenly stopped blinking and pulled a small porcelain vial from his pocket. Weighing it in his palm, he looked at Hao Zhengyi and said, "Director Hao, you know better than anyone what will happen if Chief Gao gets hurt…"
At that last word, Sun Fatty's face twisted fiercely. He flipped the vial in his hand, and with a sharp "crack," smashed it on the ground right before everyone's eyes. A faint yellow smoke rose briefly but dissipated without a trace.
At the moment the smoke appeared, a fierce sense of oppression swept in from all directions. The air seemed to be sucked away, giving an almost suffocating feeling. While others fared better, Sun Fatty's legs suddenly gave out and he collapsed to the ground. His face turned bright red as if he were about to suffocate.
Fortunately, the oppressive sensation came and went quickly. Before I could drag Sun Fatty away, the suffocating feeling vanished without a trace. After gasping on the ground for quite some time, Sun Fatty was finally helped up by me.
As the pressure lifted, a dark shadow appeared beneath Xiao Siyang's feet, and his legs were already sinking into the ground. Xiao Siyang stretched out his hand toward Hao Zhengyi and said, "Put the Heavenly Principle Diagram here!" Hao Zhengyi exchanged a glance with Lin Feng, then reluctantly took out the Heavenly Principle Diagram, preparing to hand it to Xiao Siyang.
Just as Hao Zhengyi pulled out the Heavenly Principle Diagram, Gao Liang—who had been standing guard in front of him—suddenly opened his eyes and shouted loudly, "Keep the Heavenly Principle Diagram!" Gao Liang was soaking wet all over. With a roar, he spun around abruptly and lunged to snatch the Heavenly Principle Diagram from Hao Zhengyi's hands.
No one had expected Gao Liang to awaken at this moment. When Sun Fatty smashed the porcelain vial earlier, everyone's attention was on him, and no one noticed the frost on Gao Liang and Yang Xiao had already melted away—although Yang Xiao's frost was denser, with much still clinging to him as he regained freedom.
"Attack!" Sun Fatty shouted, swinging his arm to reveal a compact palm-sized stun pistol from his sleeve. He sprayed bullets wildly at Hao Zhengyi's figure, but Hao Zhengyi was shielded by Gao Liang, leaving no clear shooting angle.
Meanwhile, Lin Feng and Xiao Siyang had already closed in on Hao Zhengyi, and Gao Liang was about to face imminent danger.
I stretched both hands forward; the two Blades of Sin and Retribution flew back into my grasp like lightning. The moment Lin Feng's Blade of Sin was drawn from his chest, he let out a howl and nearly collapsed. Remembering Sun Fatty's words, I charged at Lin Feng with the two blades. Seeing the situation turn grim, Lin Feng turned and fled.
Yang Jun dashed toward Xiao Siyang from behind, grabbed him, and once again slammed him down headfirst onto the ground.
With Lin Feng and Xiao Siyang neutralized, the only problem was the swarm of Soul Husks attacking us, which delayed us slightly. Just as I plunged my sword into the chest of the nearest Soul Husk, I suddenly heard Sun Fatty shout, "Hao Zhengyi! How dare you!"
Following the voice, I saw Gao Liang weakly leaning on Hao Zhengyi's shoulder—a narrow blade protruded from his back…
Time seemed to freeze at that moment, everyone's eyes fixated on Gao Liang. Chief Gao slipped from Hao Zhengyi's shoulder and collapsed motionless on the ground, his eyes wide open but pupils fully dilated. I felt Gao Liang's aura vanish without a trace; lying on the floor was just a bulky corpse whose soul had already disappeared.
Seeing his large body lying lifeless, I couldn't accept it for a moment. Lin Feng had been beaten to a barely recognizable state, and Xiao Siyang's head had almost been shoved into his throat, yet they were still alive and kicking. Why did Gao Liang lose his life after just one stab? Not just me—all present were stunned. Hao Zhengyi's face turned deathly pale as his gaze locked onto Gao Liang's corpse.
The first to react was Xiao Siyang. He suddenly flipped over and stood up, shook off Yang Jun, and rushed to Hao Zhengyi. He reached out to grab the Heavenly Principle Diagram from Hao Zhengyi's hand. Just as he moved, four gunshots rang out sharply: "pa pa pa pa!"
Sun Fatty fired, though his muzzle was originally aimed at Hao Zhengyi. Unexpectedly, Xiao Siyang suddenly blocked Hao Zhengyi. Enraged, Sun Fatty's shots went off target—one bullet hit Hao Zhengyi's shoulder, while the other three struck Xiao Siyang. Although the bullets didn't severely injure him, the impact made Xiao Siyang stumble and fall.
By then, Yang Jun and I had rushed over. Xiao Siyang gritted his teeth and engaged Yang Jun, losing the last chance to seize the half of the Heavenly Principle Diagram.
The gunfire snapped Lin Feng back to reality. He shouted at Hao Zhengyi, "Can't stay! Go!" Hao Zhengyi turned mechanically to glance at Lin Feng; his face was pale as death, and blood was pouring from the bullet wound in his shoulder. Yet the arm holding the wound looked disconnected from his expression—no sign of pain, no word could be uttered despite his trembling lips.
"Still want to leave? Then die here!" Sun Fatty hurled his empty stun pistol to the ground with a distorted grimace and yelled, "Yang Jun, Shen La! Are you dead meat? Want to die or live?" While shouting, he bent down, picked up the short sword that I had knocked from Hao Zhengyi earlier, and charged toward Hao Zhengyi.
Sun Fatty's gunshots had already summoned my soul back. As the shots fell, Yang Jun and I attacked Hao Zhengyi from left and right simultaneously.
Lin Feng did not pull Hao Zhengyi away. Seeing the dire situation, he snatched the Heavenly Principle Diagram from Hao Zhengyi's hand. Although the diagram was now in his possession, Lin Feng lacked the ability to escape. Helpless, he uttered several syllables again.
Several Soul Husks in front of them simultaneously turned and charged toward me. Even with two short swords in hand, breaking through these Soul Husks would still take some effort.
Taking advantage of this, Lin Feng's gaze shifted to the Crow guarding Hao Zhengyi. After a deep breath, he said much more clearly, "Take Hao Zhengyi and leave! If you don't leave now, it'll be too late!" But Crow seemed not to hear him, only staring intently at Hao Zhengyi as if waiting for his command.
Just as Lin Feng's voice dropped, suddenly someone burst out from a corner. Both Lin Feng and Crow had their backs to the newcomer, and it was already too late when they noticed.
The man held a collapsible baton and rushed at Hao Zhengyi. When he reached him, he flicked the baton open, revealing a concealed narrow blade. Without a word, he stabbed it straight into Hao Zhengyi's lower abdomen.
Hao Zhengyi had already caught the attacker's blade barehanded, blood dripping from his fingers. But upon recognizing the attacker's face, Hao Zhengyi gave a bitter smile, released the blade, and instead raised his hands to block Lin Feng and Crow, who were rushing to rescue him.
That blade silently pierced into Hao Zhengyi's abdomen.