Accepting Investigation

When Morgan opened his eyes, he met Gong Qiying's gaze.

"Ah, ah."

He opened his mouth, letting out a strange sound like his throat was being squeezed. His hands waved wildly at the other person, but when he tried to lunge forward, he stumbled as the iron chain around his neck pulled him back. Gong Qiying had chained him up again.

"Interesting. Instead of trying to escape, you're coming towards me?"

Normally, when people wake up to find a terrifying monster standing beside them, they have one of two reactions: either they're paralyzed by fear and run for their lives, or they grab a weapon and fight.

But Morgan... actually belonged to the latter???

His face was filled with deep disgust for the monster. He bared his teeth at Gong Qiying, his hair standing on end, and he kept panting.

Homage to the legend Hajimi.

This behavior didn't match his appearance at all, because he looked like someone who would be very good at running away.

Gong Qiying raised a finger and pressed him to the ground, rendering him immobile. He felt a sudden lack of interest.

He realized Morgan was still an idiot.

Despite his exaggerated movements, Morgan's eyes were vacant, revealing a profound stupidity. He couldn't form coherent sentences, and he'd fit right into a mental asylum.

It was clear his mind had been affected by something, leaving him incomplete.

Was this the price of transforming into a demon?

Gong Qiying pondered. But if the price was this high, why transform into a demon? What was gained didn't match what was lost.

In such situations, there was usually a logical explanation—Morgan and the others were being controlled by a mastermind.

Someone was turning humans into demons and putting them into dungeons for unknown purposes! He reached this conclusion.

This wasn't pure speculation. He noticed that both Ya Yi and Morgan had the same brand on their necks. The brand looked like a coiling serpent, but with crooked things growing from its body—were they horns or tentacles?

Gong Qiying memorized the pattern of the brand. Perhaps it was the mark of some organization.

Why do these organizations always like to put marks on themselves, as if they're afraid others won't recognize them?

Just as Gong Qiying was about to conjure a prison to throw the two dazed individuals into, something unexpected happened!

"Yaa yaa—"

In the blink of an eye, Morgan and Ya Yi's bodies swelled to several times their original volume. Their skin stretched to the point of transparency, allowing their internal organs to be seen.

Before Gong Qiying could react, two Stone Wings immediately shielded him as they exploded.

"Anti-Dungeon! Destroy the dungeon!"

"Bang!" "Bang!"

The gargantuan body of the hero gargoyle was forced back a step, filth exploding everywhere.

Fortunately, after enduring the blast, the gargoyle's transformation time was up.

Gong Qiying (in his hero gargoyle form) "devolved" back into Gong Qiying (in his Godwin form).

"Destroy the dungeon."

He kicked a skull on the ground, belonging to who knew whom, and said, "With just you?"

The final words of Morgan and the other guy left Gong Qiying very displeased. He had felt a sliver of pity for them earlier, but now, only indifference remained.

Was this organization's goal to destroy dungeons? He provisionally concluded that Morgan and his associates were backed by an organization, an evil one aiming to destroy dungeons!

But how would they destroy a dungeon?

As long as there was Mental Power, even if they killed monsters or damaged the scenery, it could be restored.

Soon, Gong Qiying discovered a clue.

After Morgan died...

The dungeon's Mental Power showed no change.

"..."

He fell silent for a moment.

Mental Power was the foundation of the dungeon's operation. If everyone entering the dungeon didn't release Mental Power upon death, then the dungeon would indeed slowly perish.

Regardless of how Morgan and the people behind him achieved this, it was indeed a correct approach, an approach that could destroy the dungeon.

"If I don't find them and eliminate them, I won't be at peace."

He could no longer permit the Anti-Dungeon Organization to exist in this world. He had to send them all to join Morgan.

"But the first thing to consider is, how to drag out the Mastermind."

Gong Qiying felt this matter had to be handled in the outside world. Information within the dungeon was still too limited.

Just then, he suddenly felt his body, which was in the outside world, being touched.

With a thought, his consciousness went over there.

"What's up?" he rubbed his eyes and yawned, feigning just waking up.

The ones pushing him were the workers doing the renovations. One of them, seeing him awake, showed unconcealed excitement and said, "Sir, something big has happened outside!"

"What?" Gong Qiying could vaguely guess what had happened.

"It's the Demon Race!"

Another person gesticulated wildly, saying, "They say they were so huge, covered in all sorts of bizarre things, incredibly terrifying. Luckily, they've all been crippled!"

"Get to the point if you're going to talk," an older worker said. "We only heard about it from others. Apparently, a few demons were suddenly thrown out of Sain Underground City, and they even knocked out the young master of the House of Bede. The whole city is under martial law now!"

"Demon Race?" Gong Qiying said "in surprise." "How, how could there be Demon Race here?"

The workers glanced at each other and said, "We're shocked too. I've lived this long and never seen a live Demon Race before. They say the demons are being escorted to the dungeon now, and they'll pass by the street in front of us, so we wanted to..."

Gong Qiying understood. He waved his hand and said, "Go on, go see. Consider it half a day off."

"Heh heh, thanks, boss!"

The workers rushed off excitedly. Gong Qiying followed and saw the half-dead demons locked in cages. They hadn't transformed into their human forms yet, and their strange appearance attracted a large crowd.

The people here had only seen depictions of the Demon Race drawn by artists in newspapers and novels. This was their first time seeing the real thing, and it was much scarier than the illustrations.

"One is missing," Gong Qiying noticed the number was wrong. One demon was gone.

Did it escape? Impossible. How could it escape under everyone's watchful eyes, especially while heavily injured?

Perhaps it was taken away by the guards, but why wasn't it with the other demons?

The prison cart escorting the demons entered the dungeon, with people watching from behind. They only left reluctantly after the cart disappeared from sight.

The workers greeted him and went to eat. Gong Qiying returned to his shop alone.

However, two guards were standing in front of his shop.

"What are you doing?" Gong Qiying frowned and walked over to ask.

"Are you Mareda?" one guard asked.

"Yes, I am. What's wrong?"

He used the alias Mareda because he worried this world might have magic that could curse or track people by their names, so he decided to be cautious.

"Do you know Tamda?" The guard took out a portrait. The brushstrokes were abstract, but the features were recognizable.

Him?

Gong Qiying recognized the person. It was this man who had sublet the shop to him.

"He's a member of the Anti-Dungeon Organization. The City Lord has issued a warrant for all members of that organization."

"Please come with us for an investigation."