The air in the impoverished district seemed thick with a mixture of damp and decay.
The houses here were low and dilapidated, crammed together at crooked angles.
Sewage flowed through the streets.
The three young men stopped at the back door of a building that looked like an abandoned warehouse.
They glanced around warily.
Only after confirming that no one had followed them...
Did one of them step forward.
He knocked on the battered wooden door in a specific rhythm: three long knocks and two short ones.
Creeeak-
With a grating screech, the door opened.
The three seemed to exchange some sort of password with the person inside.
Then they swiftly slipped in.
The wooden door was shut tight once more.
Behind them, at the corner of an alley not far away...
Cui Ciyou appeared like a ghost, without stirring so much as a breath of wind.
He silently watched the newly closed door, his black eyes as deep as the night.
"So this is... the Rat's Nest?"
He murmured to himself, his gaze quickly sweeping over his surroundings.
The warehouse was built of brick and timber.
Though run-down, it was still fairly sturdy.
Several long, narrow windows sat high along the side of the warehouse to let in light.
Most of the glass had already shattered, leaving only rust-covered frames.
Cui Ciyou crouched slightly.
A moment later, he scaled the wall without a sound.
In a few quick movements, he reached the roof.
He lowered himself, hiding his figure perfectly in the shadow of the roof ridge.
He peered inside through a broken skylight.
The warehouse was larger than he had imagined, and... somewhat tidier, too.
The floor had been swept, and goods were stacked neatly in the corners.
There was even a partitioned living area with simple beds,