Once the hidden door opened, the torchlight revealed the steps clearly.
The hunchbacked, one-eyed old man stood to one side, no longer looking at Qin Ran or Stanbeck, as though he had fallen asleep.
But Qin Ran could see that his muscles were taut, ready to unleash the strength he had gathered.
Qin Ran knew perfectly well that if he stepped onto the stairs behind the hidden door, he would be greeted by the old man's ferocious attack, along with the deadly traps beyond.
In The Distribution of Navia City's Underground Forces, Qin Ran had read a detailed account of the organization before him: Oak Hand.
It might not have been the strongest gang in all of Navia City, but it was certainly the most vigilant.
That vigilance was precisely what had allowed it to grow quietly for twenty years amid the tangled web of Temple factions.
Compared with a truly established power, twenty years made it little more than a fresh sprout. In Navia City, however, surviving that long was no easy feat.
After all, Greenstone, the largest gang in Navia City, had been founded less than five years ago.
In fact, most people believed that if Oak Hand had wanted to become the city's largest gang, Greenstone would never have stood a chance.
But none of that concerned Qin Ran for the moment.
As though insulted, Qin Ran suddenly stepped forward, lowered his head, and stared at the hunchbacked, one-eyed old man as he asked in an icy voice.
"Since when did Oak Hand become so rude?"
As he spoke, Qin Ran let a trace of killing intent seep out.
There was no demonic power or power of Original Sin behind it, only his own presence.
Even so, it sent the hunchbacked, one-eyed old man stumbling backward.
In