The three comrades were worried sick about Number 325.
Only Lin Xiaosu was different from them.
Because Lin Xiaosu had seen with his own eyes that Number 325 was already dead...
The two killers had carried his corpse on their backs, leaped up, and gone straight into the deep pool without ever resurfacing.
This was something conventional investigative methods could never uncover.
By normal logic, anyone coming down from the cliff would naturally follow the valley by the pool to somewhere else. Who would have imagined they had entered the deep pool?
Could there be some secret base hidden in this completely wild pool?
Lin Xiaosu landed by the pool, pretended to inspect the surroundings, then gently shook his head. "No traces!"
"No traces? How could there be none?" Chang Ye's heart jolted. "The traces above were obvious. Down here, apart from this pool..."
Lin Xiaosu's gaze fell upon the water.
The surroundings were very quiet. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the pool.
"Don't you find it strange?" Lin Xiaosu said. "The water from above rushes down so fiercely, so the volume must be enormous. Yet this pool hasn't overflowed."
"An underground river!" Chang Ye said. "You suspect Number 325 jumped off the cliff after being wounded and was swept away by the underground river?"
"That's possible!" Lin Xiaosu said. "How about we go underwater and take a look?"
"Let's go!"
Chang Ye and Number 88 simultaneously pressed their fingers to their waists. Strange helmets suddenly rose around their necks, enclosing their heads.
Lin Xiaosu did the same.
Hidden Dragon warriors were all well-rounded fighters on land, sea, and air.
The Hidden Dragon uniforms themselves had diving capabilities. Once the helmets were activated, they became oxygen-supplying diving suits capable of staying underwater for five hours.
Lin Xiaosu's imitation dragon armor had the same function.
They entered the water. Number 88, at the front, began to emit a hazy glow that guided those behind him.
It was very dim underwater, but the entrance to the underground river, swirling as it swallowed vast quantities of water, was still clearly visible.
A figure slipped past him, then turned back and gave him a smug smile. Lin Xiaosu was startled. Xinyue!
Damn!
Xinyue wasn't even wearing a helmet. She swam freely through the water like a fish...
What kind of freakish gene was that?
Passing through the unfathomable underground river with the raging current was a serious test of courage.
Although Lin Xiaosu showed no fear throughout, his face inside the Hidden Dragon suit had gone somewhat pale.
He had seen the two killers bring Number 325 into the entrance of the underground river, but he had no idea what lay inside.
A hand reached over from the side, soft and gentle.
It grasped his hand.
Lin Xiaosu turned slightly and saw Chang Ye inside her Hidden Dragon helmet. She gave him a faint smile. It was far cleaner than Xinyue's smile, pure comfort.
The two of them held hands as they slipped into the dark river.
As the current spiraled violently, they rounded seven or eight bends in an instant. With a splash, they surfaced from a gloomy cave, and the underground river became an open river.
Obvious footprints appeared along the riverbank.
The moment he saw them, Number 88's face darkened. "They're human footprints, but they aren't Number 325's!"
"His injuries on the cliff weren't caused by wild beasts. They were caused by people!" Chang Ye said as well.
"Move! Follow the footprints and see who these people are!" Number 88 took the lead, heading along the riverbank.
There was a cave entrance ahead. The moment they emerged from it, they saw a village outside.
It was a village that looked very old.
The brick-and-tile houses were badly dilapidated.
It was cut off from the outside world and had no electrical facilities.
But there were people.
An old woman sat before a dilapidated house doing needlework. On the hillside ahead were seven or eight vegetable plots filled with lush greens, peppers, and cucumbers, brimming with the atmosphere of rural life.
An old farmer rested his hoe against the ground and cocked his head at them.
"There's actually a village here." Chang Ye looked around.
"It's normal for there to be a village. There are always people in the mountains who can't bear to leave their homeland," Number 88 said.
"I'll ask him whether he's seen any strangers..." Xinyue said.
Lin Xiaosu stepped forward. "I'll do it!"
"Damn it, you're even competing with me over asking directions? There aren't any points for that," Xinyue snapped.
Lin Xiaosu said, "I grew up in the countryside. I'm best at dealing with old farmers."
Xinyue stopped. She had no way to argue with that reason...
Lin Xiaosu slowly walked toward the old farmer, who looked back at him. Everything seemed harmonious.
"This village is pretty old. It's been around for over a hundred years, right?"
The old farmer nodded gently without speaking.
Lin Xiaosu said, "Where are the villagers?"
The old farmer grinned and pointed. "There. Some went up the mountain, some went down to the river. They're busy scraping out a living. That's all there is."
Chang Ye followed his finger and indeed saw people scattered across the hillsides.
Lin Xiaosu said, "I'm asking about the real villagers, not you bandits."
Chang Ye and Number 88 both jolted inwardly.
The old farmer slowly raised his eyes, which were clouded over. "Y-you... I don't understand what you mean. I'm just a farmer..."
Lin Xiaosu gently shook his head. "Killing villagers and taking over their ancestral homes, disguising yourselves as villagers to commit crimes—bandits do that sort of thing all the time. But you could at least do some homework and learn how to be real farmers. Sorry, your disguises are full of holes..."
Number 88 and Chang Ye's eyes both turned icy.
Under their sharp scrutiny, the people in their sight began to reveal subtle details that seemed out of place.
Yet the old farmer before Lin Xiaosu wore a baffled expression. "Bandits? There are no bandits here. The villagers are dirt poor. What could anyone rob?"
Even now, he looked exactly like a farmer.
Lin Xiaosu lightly tapped the ground with his toe. "What is this old man doing here? Digging a pit to bury a body?"
Chang Ye's bone-chilling gaze suddenly shot toward the old farmer's hoe.
There was fresh soil on the hoe.
There was also a freshly dug patch of earth on the hillside.
It looked like a vegetable plot, but it could just as easily have been used to bury a corpse.
Suddenly, the old farmer raised his hoe.
The moment it rose, dust filled the air!
The dust blocked Lin Xiaosu's view, while the hoe came straight for his head.
Whoosh!
A bullet spun out of the dust and struck the old farmer's wrist with precision. The hoe flew from his hand, and he suddenly performed a huge flip, diving off the cliff.
Before he hit the ground, a figure flashed through the air like an eagle taking flight.
A slender palm slashed down at an angle, striking the old farmer squarely in the neck.
The old farmer crashed to the ground. Chang Ye planted one foot on his back, her hair flying loose. This image was completely different from her usual refined lady's appearance, with every strand of hair perfectly in place as she moved gracefully through the city.
Number 88 leaped down, formed his hand into a dragon claw, and plunged it into the fresh soil beneath his feet, reaching more than two feet deep.
With a bang, he hauled up a corpse.
As dirt scattered away, everyone's expressions changed at once. The corpse wore tattered Hidden Dragon armor. It was unmistakably Number 325!
The quiet mountain village suddenly erupted into turmoil, as though Lin Xiaosu's gunshot had completely thrown it into chaos.
Number 88 stared at his comrade's corpse in his hands, his face as solemn as still water.
"Subdue them all!" The moment those four words were spoken.
Number 88 was the first to leap down the slope, charging toward a stream below. Beside it, two people dressed as villagers changed expression at the same time.
Whoosh!
A carrying pole flew from their hands, stabbing toward Number 88 in midair.
Number 88 kicked downward. The carrying pole became a spear and pierced one man. The Dragon Scales in his hand shook, releasing a shrill whistle through the air. Pfft! It pierced the man's neck.
The other was caught off guard by the carrying pole and fell into the stream. The instant he touched the water, Number 88 tapped off the ground and slid past like he was skimming over the waves. Pfft! He stomped on the man's head, sending him sinking into the stream. Lin Xiaosu's divine eyes saw clearly that there was brain matter in the water.
His eyes suddenly widened.
They were really killing them?
At the same time, Chang Ye flowed like water and suddenly appeared on the opposite hillside.
Two men on the slope who looked like farmers suddenly sprang up. Their hands no longer held firewood knives, but gleaming daggers. Yet elegant Chang Ye suddenly turned into a wisp of smoke. As that smoke rose, a streak of silver flashed with it, sweeping across their necks. The two fell at the same time, their heads severed from their bodies.
Xinyue cried out, "They're really killing them? Are these people even villagers?"
"Isn't that obvious? Look at their skills. Do they look like villagers?" Lin Xiaosu raised his gun. Whoosh! A figure fell from a large tree above. He too was dressed as a villager, but he was holding a sniper rifle.
Xinyue shot into the sky, lunging straight at the old woman above.
The old woman seemed rather slow-witted. Despite the battle raging below, she had continued doing needlework at the door.
The moment Xinyue pounced, the old woman suddenly stood. As she rose, the stool beneath her flew through the air and smashed toward Xinyue. At the same time, she raised a needle case in her hand, its faint light flickering...
Xinyue's body blurred, vanishing completely beneath the needle case.
The old woman's figure also blurred and vanished.
The two figures fought spectacularly before the broken house, but to ordinary eyes, they were nothing but two whirlwinds spinning at high speed.
Only Lin Xiaosu remained standing where he was, but he fired seven shots in succession.
Those seven shots took out three snipers hidden in the forest.
With his godlike, unerring marksmanship, seven shots should theoretically have taken down seven people. But these snipers were no ordinary snipers. They were all Gene Persons. One of them dodged three of Lin Xiaosu's shots before being taken out by the fourth. His ability to evade bullets while lying down was no weaker than Xinyue's.
Bang!
With a tremendous crash, the white-haired old woman was kicked flying by Xinyue. Her head struck the rock behind her, sending red and white matter spilling out.
Xinyue locked onto the bamboo grove to the left with a glance and laughed. "Hehe, the forest is this young lady's favorite battlefield!"
She lunged forward...
Number 88 shouted from below, "Xinyue, get inside!"
Along with his shout came the collision of two figures. Number 88 had engaged an expert, and the two tumbled across the stream in combat.
Xinyue said, "I'll clear this battlefield first!"
She charged into the bamboo grove. It was as though a tornado had swept through it, sending everything into chaos...
Before you continue