The Price

In the dark and gloomy cave, the jagged stalactites have taken countless years to form their current appearance.

It was menacing, as if a demon was hiding in the mountain, struggling to break free from the cliff face.

The enormous creature underwater gradually emerged, slowly climbing up the riverbank, reaching a length of six meters.

Only then did Qing Chen finally see its true form; it was a apex predator living underground, the Overlord Salamander.

The salamander's eyes seemed to have degenerated, its blurry and cloudy pupils looking at Qing Chen.

Standing before him, Qing Chen felt incredibly small, as if he were being targeted by a demon from hell.

That fierce sense of oppression was unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life.

Kamiyo Yunhe approached the Overlord Salamander, the ferocious beast in the water did not show any signs of aggression; it simply remained motionless, seemingly having become the pet of this A-rank powerhouse...

The Overlord Salamander was covered in metal chains, like a saddle.

With the Overlord Salamander protecting them, the creatures in the water no longer attack them.

Kamiyo Yunhe patted the Overlord Salamander's rough, black rock-like skin, then turned to Qing Chen and said with a smile, "This is 700 meters underground. Even the life detection equipment of Aerial Fortress wouldn't be able to find you. No matter how powerful the person who rescued you is, there are hundreds of forks in the road and cave entrances along the way. It would take thousands of people three days and three nights to find this place."

Kamiyo Yunhe continued, "By the time they found this place, I had already escaped with you to another exit hundreds of kilometers away. It's funny to think about it; so many important people came to save you, only to end up empty-handed."

Qing Chen calmly looked at Kamiyo Yunhe: "I appreciate your thorough preparation. I think the Kamishiro Corporation is too narrow-minded, revealing so much for my sake alone."

Kamiyo Yunhe shook his head. "I also thought you weren't worth it before. But then so many people came to rescue you, and you showed the potential to be unpossessed, which made me feel that you are worth all those resources."

As he spoke, Kamiyo Yunhe walked over and helped Qing Chen put on his diving gear.

Qing Chen took a step back.

Kamiyo Yunhe and said, "Resisting is useless. Even if you don't cooperate, I will drag you into the water. You won't be able to breathe underwater, and you'll be the one who suffers."

Qing Chen calmly asked, "Does a dead me still have any value?"

"Of course," said Kamiyo Yunhe. "I will take your body back to Kamishiro and cut open your head to see why no one can possess you."

Qing Chen said, "Perhaps their level is too low. Why don't we go back and try? Maybe you can possess me."

Kamiyo Yunhe a smile, "Do you think I'm stupid? Hurry up and leave. You may not know this, but while the whole world is looking for you, Qing Hua and Yang Xuyang have been secretly arrested by us and will soon be transported to the north. If you don't want to drag them down, then come with me obediently."

Qing Chen paused for a moment, then stopped moving.

Because Qing Chen's hands were still handcuffed with finger locks and wrist locks, Kamiyo Yunhe only attached an oxygen tank to him.

Within the Federation, there aren't many places where underwater operations are needed, so the diving equipment isn't much more advanced than that of the Outer World.

This oxygen cylinder can only last for a maximum of two hours.

In other words, Kamiyo Yunhe was confident that he could use the Overlord Salamander to travel 100 kilometers within two hours.

Now, those who want to rescue Qing Chen will truly lose their target.

The wilderness is too vast; the search and rescue team must first determine the search area before carrying out the rescue operation.

At a normal swimming speed, it's about 1 to 3 kilometers per hour. With the flow rate of the underground river, it might reach 20 kilometers per hour.

Who would have thought they could traverse a distance of 100 kilometers in diameter in just two hours?

If the estimation is incorrect, the search scope will also be incorrect.

After donning his diving gear, Kamiyo Yunhe looked at Qing Chen and teased, "Inspector Qing Chen, you seem as calm as ever. Are you already prepared to become a prisoner of the Kamishiro Corporation?"

"Too much nonsense," Qing Chen said calmly. "You're using your words to cover up your inner tension, aren't you? Actually, after you discovered how terrifying the people who rescued me were, you weren't really sure if someone was waiting for you at the end of this underground river, so you got scared."

Kamiyo Yunhe shook his head with a smile. He climbed onto the back of the Overlord Salamander and used alloy chains to secure his body.

He tugged at the rope attached to Qing Chen's wrist, letting the Overlord Salamander crawl back into the underground river step by step.

The underground river was icy cold, and the Overlord Salamander darted through it at incredible speed, its massive tail flapping like a propeller, stirring up the undercurrents.

Qing Chen was thus suspended behind, following the Overlord Salamander forward.

He closed his eyes, feeling himself drifting like a doll in the cold, dark water.

A dead end.

A desperate situation.

The intricate network of this underground river is even more complex than that of a cave. Even if Qing Chen could remember the way he came, the swift current would prevent him from returning the way he came.

Swimming a few meters upstream in a minute would require him to exert all his strength.

Therefore, if he wanted to survive, he had no choice but to give up struggling and let the Kamiyo Yunhe lead him to the next exit.

He was then imprisoned for the rest of his life in a secret military base of the Kamishiro Corporation.

It seems... there's no better way.

But what if Qing Chen never intended to get out alive from the very first second he stepped into the water?

Even if a knight is driven to the brink of death, he should die with dignity.

Those who insult a knight will pay with their lives.

Everything has a price.

Qing Chen calculated the time underwater, then opened his eyes. In front of him, only the flare stick in the hand of Kamiyo Yunhe emitted a faint light.

Silver light suddenly shone from the veins in his arms. Hundreds of millions of nanobots absorbed enough bioenergy within the boy's body and then concentrated towards his wrists.

They seeped out from the gaps in the skin cells, covering the wrist lock and finger lock like mercury.

It flooded into the keyholes of the wrist lock and the finger lock.

The little guys hardened, and they pushed against the mechanism in the keyhole.

Two barely audible clicks underwater, and the finger lock and wrist lock opened together.

This is the effect of ubiquitous nanorobots, and also the long-lost freedom.

Qing Chen grabbed the rope that Kamiyo Yunhe had used to pull him, gradually closing the distance between them.

In the darkness of the underwater world, Kamiyo Yunhe's "sixth sense" was weakened, and he didn't even immediately perceive that Qing Chen was approaching along the rope.

When Kamiyo Yunhe realized something was wrong and turned around, he saw that Qing Chen was already within a meter of him!

But then they saw the boy underwater with a bright smile, pulling out a strand of his hair and tucking it between two fingers, sliding it across the oxygen tank on Kamiyo Yunhe's back.

With a clang!

A single hair sliced through the black oxygen cylinder, producing Clash of Metal. A huge gash appeared on the cylinder, and the compressed air was suddenly released, gushing out wildly from the gash.

At this moment, Kamiyo Yunhe finally understood how this young man had killed people before. It turned out that even a thin strand of hair could become the sharpest weapon in the opponent's hand!

Kamiyo Yunhe was unaware that Qing Chen was a knight.

I don't know, even if a knight fights to his last breath, he can still use his body as a weapon!

With Kamiyo Yunhe grabbed Qing Chen's oxygen tank strap, trying to tear the oxygen tank off Qing Chen's back for his own use.

As for whether Qing Chen had an oxygen tank or whether he could survive, he didn't care at all.

But Kamiyo Yunhe discovered that Qing Chen was still smiling in the light of the flare stick.

That radiant smile made him feel uneasy.

The next moment he realized that Qing Chen had already cut his own oxygen tank before he cut his!

This young man wanted to die together with him!

Even so, Qing Chen was still not at ease. He plucked another hair from his head, intending to take advantage of the other party's panic and shoot it towards the face of Kamiyo Yunhe with his Knight True Qi.

But an A-rank is still an A-rank. Kamiyo Yunhe cautiously dodged to the left, but the 'Autumn Leaf Blade' rooted in a hair only managed to pierce the A-rank expert's left arm without even penetrating it.

Just then, Qing Chen loosened the rope, letting himself drift in the underground river's currents, separating from the Overlord Salamander and the Kamiyo Yunhe, and growing further and further apart from each other.

It seems that Qing Chen was forced to go into the water.

However, Qing Chen had already figured out what to do before entering the water.

700 meters underground, even if Yang Yang came, she wouldn't be able to sense his force field, and neither his master Li Shutong, Li Changqing, nor Shadow could save him.

Even if he could breathe underwater, he couldn't find a way out before his Knight True Qi ran out.

Even after killing Kamiyo Yunhe, the Overlord Salamander wouldn't let him go, nor would the ferocious fish in the water.

But it's okay.

He can die here with Kamiyo Yunhe!

Perhaps in other places, ten Qing Chen wouldn't be able to defeat one Kamiyo Yunhe.

But it's different here.

The power of nature is enough to kill anyone.

Thank you, world, for it has both deprivation and gift.

If Kamiyo Yunhe thinks that he can threaten Qing Chen into obediently becoming a prisoner with death, he is being too naive.

Knights never lack the courage to face death!

Their path was inherently intertwined with life and death!

Therefore, Qing Chen calculated the time carefully, and only made his move 30 minutes after Kamiyo Yunhe and he entered the water.

The reason for waiting 30 minutes is that under these circumstances, if Kamiyo Yunhe runs out of oxygen, even if he immediately returns the way he came, he will not be able to survive underwater for half an hour.

This A-level expert will definitely drown in this underground river!

At this moment, Kamiyo Yunhe was furious. He never expected that he, a dignified A-level expert, would be ambushed by a mere C-Class expert in his most triumphant moment, putting his life in danger!

He never expected that this insignificant person in his eyes would have the courage to exchange his life for his.

However, at that moment, the Overlord Salamander opened its huge mouth and spat out a black bag containing the Artificial Gill that Kamiyo Yunhe had hidden long ago.

This technology had already been appropriated by the Time Walker for use in the Outer World. It was an extra preparation that Kamiyo Yunhe had originally made, but unexpectedly it actually came in handy.

He urged the Overlord Salamander to return the way it came to capture Qing Chen.

Even if it means bringing a corpse, we must take this boy back!

However, when Kamiyo Yunhe returned, he was stunned to see that the boy was not going with the flow, but instead using his fingers to grip the stone wall at the top of the underground river, climbing against the current step by step, as if he were climbing a mountain.

Even in this deadly situation, the other side has not given up on a glimmer of hope.

There will be another chapter at 11 PM.