An Unexpected Gain

The moment Xie Xie saw the metal tag in Lin Yu's hand, his expression visibly darkened. He then said to Lin Yu in a low voice, "If it's them, then we're in trouble."

Lin Yu lightly nudged Xie Xie's arm and said, "We're tied to the same rope now, so stop keeping us in suspense, Young Master Xie."

Xie Xie said, "This pattern is the emblem of Old Jack, a pirate group operating at sea. The Federation has fought them for over a century without managing to break them up—honestly, it hasn't even shaken them much. Their members are extremely scattered and operate in small groups, but they're exceptionally vindictive. If they suffer a setback somewhere, they'll retaliate against that place again and again."

"And the time span of those retaliations is highly unpredictable. They might keep it up for a very long time, or launch multiple retaliations in quick succession."

"At their peak, they once slaughtered a Federation councilman—and publicly flayed him alive at sea."

The corner of Lin Yu's mouth twitched. The Federation in Soul Land 3 really was a universal scapegoat—anyone who needed one could use it.

Every organization acted as if it were nothing.

Lin Yu casually tossed the tag aside and said to Xie Xie, "Then we definitely can't stay here any longer. Hurry up and study the map. Finding a way out is what matters."

Xie Xie nodded and looked over the map again. "Honestly, this won't be easy. To determine the map's orientation, we still need to go down there and figure out exactly where we are."

Lin Yu looked at Xie Xie speechlessly. "Have you lost your mind? Can't you smell all the blood around here?"

Xie Xie immediately hesitated, looking rather troubled. "But if we don't go down and confirm the direction, we'll just be crawling around blindly. We won't know where we're going at all, and this map will be useless."

Lin Yu looked at Xie Xie helplessly, then glanced at the dim surroundings. Asking him to judge directions in this environment really was difficult. He waved a hand and said, "We definitely can't go back into an area where those people are already prowling to confirm our direction. Let's crawl forward. According to what this lousy map shows, there should be several more compartments like this ahead."

Xie Xie nodded and led Lin Yu onward. They stopped at a ventilation opening. After observing it, Xie Xie found that the room beyond was relatively clean and tidy, with no smell of blood and no one in sight.

Only then did he cautiously begin moving. He silently cut through the metal screws on the vent cover with the Light Dragon Dagger, while Lin Yu used the vines of the Jade-Scaled Seven-Extinction Flower to wrap around the cover and keep it from falling and making a loud noise. Then, using more vines to secure Xie Xie around the waist through a layer of thick clothing, he slowly lowered him down as if casting bait.

After Xie Xie and Lin Yu climbed down, Lin Yu left behind one vine from the Jade-Scaled Seven-Extinction Flower, embedding it into the wall as a climbing rope that could pull them back up in an emergency.

Xie Xie first tested his soul communicator. When it still could not connect, he turned to look at the layout map hanging on the wall nearby.

After comparing the two rough maps, Xie Xie said, "Looks like we came down here for nothing. We were crawling in the right direction to begin with. If we just keep going forward, we'll reach the emergency exit."

Lin Yu scratched his head, then stretched his arms. "Nothing we can do about that. Let's get back up and keep crawling. It'll be bad if someone comes in later."

Just as the two of them climbed back up along the Jade-Scaled Seven-Extinction Flower's vines and were about to temporarily secure the vent cover again with vines—

The door suddenly swung open without warning. Two men in black threw a box into the room, grumbling, "This thing is damn heavy. If we didn't need it for the ritual and couldn't put it into a soul storage device, we'd have packed all of it away already and wouldn't have to go through all this trouble."

Another evil soul master said to his companion, "Hurry up. If we delay things, the boss won't spare us. Come to think of it, today was really risky. We have to finish the required number of killings before the Federation's mecha patrol arrives, then complete the ritual."

After saying that, the two continued cursing and complaining about their boss's oppression before slamming the door shut.

Lin Yu glanced at the item below. After hesitating for a moment, he gestured for Xie Xie to climb down first, then slid down the vine himself.

Lifting the heavy black cloth, Lin Yu saw white dragon bones and a box stuffed into the center of the skeleton.

He hesitated briefly, then raised the storage bracelet in his hand and, amid Xie Xie's anxious urging, stored it away.

The instant it was inside, Lin Yu did not hesitate at all. He flipped back into the ventilation duct, secured the vent partition again with vines, and quickly crawled forward after Xie Xie.

As he crawled, Xie Xie asked Lin Yu, "You really value money over your life. What were you thinking? Weren't you afraid they'd suddenly come back?"

Lin Yu laughed. "I already had you crawl away first. Besides, if we hadn't run into this, we could've crawled through the vents and escaped with a clear conscience. But now that we know they're going to use it for some evil ritual, we can't just stand by and do nothing, can we? Anyway, all it takes to ruin their ritual is putting it into a soul storage device once."

"Then why did you take it with you?" Xie Xie asked in confusion.

"We're already here. Wouldn't leaving empty-handed be too much of a loss? Those evil soul masters have committed countless atrocities, so I'll consider this thing interest paid to yours truly." Lin Yu grinned.

Xie Xie looked at Lin Yu speechlessly. "Isn't that still valuing money over your life?"

Lin Yu shoved Xie Xie and said, "Stop talking nonsense and hurry forward. If they really catch up to us, after what we've done, getting burned alive won't be enough."

At that, Xie Xie sped up as well. After they had crawled roughly three or four hundred meters, furious roars suddenly rang out from below.

The two did not dare delay. They immediately quieted their movements and wriggled forward as quickly as possible, no longer caring about bumping into each other.

Just as they landed in the emergency escape passage, the sound of mechas shouting came from outside.

"We are the Eastsea City Mecha Brigade. I am Brigade Commander Guang Biao. Terrorists inside, listen up! Disarm and surrender immediately, or our mecha brigade will launch indiscriminate attacks!"