He had already mentioned the unusual activity in the sewers while chatting with Piao Zhi Yong that evening.
Piao Zhi Yong had said that the Hunter Association had indeed detected energy fluctuations matching dungeon activity in this part of the sewer system.
But the city's sewers were a maze of crisscrossing tunnels. The Association had sent scouting parties deep into them several times, but none had managed to pinpoint the core entrance of the newly formed dungeon.
Xu Feng didn't want to wait any longer.
The danger was so close to his family, like the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. It left him unable to eat or sleep in peace.
Given his family's current condition, even the slightest mishap could lead to irreversible consequences.
Besides, after breaking through several realms in a row, his perception had improved dramatically.
The faint, chilling presence that had made him feel a hint of danger last night was much clearer now, and the threat it posed seemed far less severe.
He could even roughly tell the direction and distance from which it came.
"Tonight, I'm putting an end to this."
Xu Feng tightened the empty pack on his back, checked his direction, and climbed down into the sewer.
He no longer needed any light source. He could see clearly in near-total darkness.
Even the dim sewers looked as bright as day to him.
Besides, carrying a light would only reveal his position and hinder his movements.
His shoes made a faint patter as they touched the damp stone floor, where a little moss had grown.
He kept his presence concealed and followed the increasingly distinct chill deeper into the tunnels.
"The Octopus Monsters around here... are all gone?"
After traveling three or four miles, he still hadn't seen a single E-Rank Octopus Monster, which made him slightly wary.
But the source of the presence he was tracking was already close.
"This is the place..."
As he reached a right-angle turn, Xu Feng abruptly stopped. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes!
Almost at the same instant, his head snapped backward at an incredible speed!
Whoosh!
A piercing sound cut through the air, passing just beside the tip of his nose!
A gleaming trident stabbed out from what appeared to be a solid stone wall beside him and slammed into the spot where his head had been a moment earlier. Stone fragments flew everywhere!
"Heh."
Xu Feng's reflexes were astonishing!
The instant the trident missed, his left hand shot out like a striking snake. His fingers curled into a claw, brimming with tremendous force, and punched straight through the stone wall!
The muscles in his arm bulged as he yanked hard!
Rumble!
Half the wall collapsed, sending rubble flying!
Through the dust, he dragged a monster out from behind the wall by force!
It was a humanoid creature about two meters tall, with rough, light-gray skin covering its body, bulging eyes like light bulbs, and a constant sheen of viscous fluid on its skin.
Its lower body ended in a pair of feet like an amphibian's, webbed and tipped with sharp claws.
The Lizardman was now flailing its trident in terror, but Xu Feng's iron grip had closed around its thick neck.
No matter how desperately it struggled—even clawing at Xu Feng's arm—it couldn't budge his fingers, which were like cast steel!
Crack!
The sharp snap made one's teeth ache.
Xu Feng remained expressionless and tightened his fingers slightly.
The Lizardman shuddered violently. Its bulging eyes instantly filled with blood, and filthy blood mixed with bits of its organs spilled from its mouth.
Then its head slumped to one side at a grotesque angle, all life gone from it.
[Breakthrough Points + 7]
"A D-class Lower Rank monster. About as strong as an ordinary Wild Bull."
Xu Feng instantly gauged the creature's strength and casually tossed its corpse aside.
His gaze shifted to the space beyond the broken wall.
There, a pale-blue energy vortex about two meters in diameter hovered in place, slowly rotating and giving off steady spatial fluctuations.
Scattered around the vortex were severed limbs and body parts from several Octopus Monsters. Some of them were still fresh.
"So it feeds on Octopus Monsters? No wonder they've all disappeared from the area." Xu Feng understood.
He pulled a book from his backpack: Common Dungeon Features and How to Handle Them, which Piao Zhi Yong had given him.
He quickly flipped to the section on identifying dungeon ranks and carefully compared the descriptions of "portal energy color and fluctuation patterns" with the pale-blue vortex before him.
"Steady color, gentle fluctuations, moderate range... Confirmed: a D-class Lower Rank dungeon portal." Xu Feng reached a conclusion.
An irresistible thought rose in his mind.
The enormous rewards he'd earned from tackling the Brute Bull Underground City tonight were still fresh in his memory.
He had broken through several realms in a row.
Now, a D-class Dungeon he could handle on his own was right in front of him!
D-class Dungeons weren't a dime a dozen. Even Piao Zhi Yong's team only received a suitable assignment about once a month on average.
Of course, the rewards were extremely generous.
Counting the monster materials and the Hunter Guild's payment,
Xu Feng had earned 800,000 tonight, all by himself.
"The benefits far outweigh the risks... I'm doing it!"
After weighing the pros and cons in a flash, Xu Feng's gaze hardened. He didn't hesitate any longer.
He put the handbook back in his pack, took a deep breath, and strode into the pale-blue portal. The swirling energy quickly swallowed him up.
The instant Xu Feng vanished completely inside the portal,
the edge of the once-steady pale-blue vortex rippled ever so slightly. A faint red glow appeared, so subtle it was almost impossible to notice, then disappeared in a flash.
There seemed to be a hint of hesitation and deliberation in that glow.
But in the end, the portal quickly returned to its steady pale blue, as if nothing had happened.
More than ten minutes later.
At the same sewer corner.
"Captain! We found it! The dungeon entrance is here!"
A rough voice, brimming with excitement, broke the silence and echoed through the narrow sewer.
Eight well-equipped people with sharp, practiced movements quickly gathered in front of the pale-blue portal.
They were clearly another experienced hunter team.
"Confirmed: D-class Lower Rank Dungeon, stable energy signature. I've reported the coordinates and rank to the Hunter Association."
A team member holding a portable detector quickly gave his report, then furrowed his brow.
"But... the detector shows signs that a living creature entered recently, yet there's no record of anyone taking or entering a mission for this dungeon in the Association's system."
"Someone's already gone in? And an unregistered hunter, at that?"
The middle-aged man who appeared to be the captain rubbed his chin and fixed a sharp gaze on the portal.
"Probably some lone hunter who got lucky and found this place, then rushed in without thinking. What a reckless fool!"
"Then... are we going in, Captain? According to regulations, if someone's already entered and hasn't reported in..." the deputy captain asked hesitantly.
The team fell silent for a moment.
Then a burly man with a massive battle-axe strapped to his back spoke in a deep, heavy voice. His words carried a note of urgency.
"My daughter... has to get a bone marrow transplant next week. We're still a long way short of the surgery costs.
The reward from this mission means a lot to me."
His words shifted the mood in the team.
Some looked to the captain, silently asking what he thought; others glanced at the man with understanding and sympathy.
The captain surveyed his team, then looked at the steady portal. After a moment's thought, he finally made his decision.
"Get ready to enter."
"Dungeons are dangerous. That guy who rushed in first may already be in trouble, or even...
"We'll go in to complete the mission, and... depending on the situation, we'll lend him a hand if we can.
"We're all hunters. In a place like this, we can't just leave someone to die."
"Yes, Captain!" the team replied in unison, quickly checking their gear and getting ready.
Before long, the eight-person team also entered the pale-blue portal one by one and vanished into the depths of the dungeon.
Before you continue