Leike stopped.
Without warning.
The writhing gray humanoid ahead froze, every tentacle going rigid at once.
The Pipe Network passage fell silent.
Even the sound of footsteps vanished.
Klaus's hand was already resting at his waist.
Leike's voice came from the body composed of flesh worms.
It was as steady as before.
But his tone had changed.
"Klaus."
"I smell danger."
All four of them stopped at once.
Klaus said nothing. He merely raised his chin slightly, signaling for Leike to continue.
Leike's tentacles pointed toward a fork ahead. All the flesh-worm "fingers" straightened simultaneously, as though drawn by something.
"More than one."
Leike's voice paused.
"At least three, all ahead."
He tilted his head again.
"No, there are two more behind us."
Five.
Three in front and two behind. They were surrounded.
The Pipe Network passage was so quiet that they could hear liquid flowing deep within the Copper Wall.
Then someone spoke from the darkness.
"It is an honor to meet you, Deputy Chief Klaus."
The voice came from ahead.
It carried a distorted Echo, as though two people were speaking at once, their voices slightly out of sync.
Three figures emerged from the darkness.
They were the same kind as the things that had attacked Lu Yuan before. Their skin flickered as they continuously blended into their surroundings, their outlines appearing and vanishing.
Lu Yuan's pupils contracted slightly. As expected, they were from the same group.
But these three had not completely turned invisible.
They had revealed themselves willingly.
The one in the middle was a little taller. The colors rippling over his body were denser and faster than those of the two beside him.
He looked at Klaus.
"I need the stone in your possession."
There was a trace of negotiation in his tone, as though