The scene around Ji Xun shifted, and he found himself out of that bizarre sealed chamber.
It had been a miraculous experience, like teleportation through space and time. Stepping through the distorted gate of light had brought him into another world.
Just as he was about to survey his surroundings, he found that dense fog blanketed the area, reducing visibility to almost nothing.
The air was also thick with the pungent smell of sulfur.
As Ji Xun wondered where they were, a familiar, urgent voice sounded beside his ear. "Come with me, quick!"
It was Chujiu, who had left the Alternate Dimension ahead of him.
What Ji Xun did not know was that the moment an S-rank evaluation appeared on his settlement screen, a drastic change had occurred outside the Alternate Dimension as well.
To treasure hunters, every Alternate Dimension was a trove of riches.
Shelter 407, discovered within the Demon Cross Ruins, was particularly famous as a high-yield treasure space.
Naturally, it drew no shortage of explorers.
Not far outside the space stood a temporary camp, its bonfires blazing.
Dozens of Blackwater Mercenary Group members were stationed there, along with one or two hundred treasure hunters preparing to enter the space next time.
Inside a shed at the edge of the camp, the Blackwater Mercenary Group's leader stood respectfully beside a young man in a suit. The Bald Captain, who had emerged alive, was reporting something to Fourth Young Master Cao, Cao Yu.
Since leaving the Alternate Dimension, Cao Yu's tightly furrowed brows had never relaxed.
He had just received a B-rank clear evaluation, far below his expectations.
He had been dwelling on how the final clown game should have been chosen to produce a better solution.
Although a loyal old servant had died, at least his death had not been entirely without value. They had obtained valuable intelligence.
Now that it had been confirmed that the "T-Class Cataclysmic Object" was inside the space, he would obtain it no matter what methods he had to use!
The Bald Captain was still rambling on about how he had led two mercenary squads all the way from the first floor of the bunker to the end. "Young Master, those monsters were unbelievably savage. If we hadn't had enough firepower—"
From his perspective, he had no idea how Ji Xun and Chujiu had survived to the end.
It seemed they had merely been lucky. Every time, the Blackwater Mercenary Group had charged ahead to fight the monsters, while those two had stayed far away and avoided drawing their attention.
From his point of view, without them drawing the monsters' aggro, those two could never have survived until the end.
Of course, even if he had some vague suspicions, he could not mention them now.
He merely embellished how brave the Blackwater Mercenary Group had been, how they had encountered all manner of terrifying calamities along the way, and how they had made it to the end through nothing but his bald-headed command skills and his teammates' courage.
At the end, the Bald Captain did not forget to add, "Sigh, what a shame about the brothers."
"..."
After hearing the Bald Captain's account of clearing the space, Cao Yu was not enlightened. Instead, the confusion in his eyes only deepened.
He had personally triggered the Hidden Mainline of this space. How could he not know how dangerous it was?
Logically, apart from the group that had followed him, no one else should have survived.
Yet a few people had actually survived that near-certain death scenario.
The Bald Captain had given a detailed account: encountering the A-Class Curse Gambler, encountering the mysterious A-Class Calamity on the fourth floor, how many people had died along the way... all of that was within Cao Yu's expectations.
But when he heard about the hole in the wall of Room 2013, Cao Yu sensed that something was wrong.
The wall could be broken through?
Previously, he had used the secret method recorded in the family's inherited archives to locate the route into the laboratory, allowing him to enter the bunker's central control room directly.
So breaking through the wall had been an option too?
His train of thought suddenly opened up.
After listening, Cao Yu asked, "You're saying that when you entered, the wall in Room 2013 had already been broken open?"
"Yes."
Even now, the Bald Captain had not figured out why there had been a hole in the wall of Room 2013.
Everyone had tried it. The walls could not be broken.
Yet that particular room had been breached.
He was clever enough not to dwell on anything unrelated to his own merits.
But the more Cao Yu considered it, the more something felt off.
If the hole had been in Room 2013, there was no reason they would not have encountered the Fallen Witch in Room 2012.
He asked again, "You didn't encounter that Fallen Witch on the second floor?"
The question struck the Bald Captain as strange as well. "N-No."
Had she been killed?
The thought surfaced in Cao Yu's mind, but he immediately felt that he was overthinking it.
Since the mercenaries had not killed her, how could those two lone hunters possibly have the ability to hunt a Fallen Witch?
Most likely, they had simply been lucky enough not to encounter her.
After all, the Alternate Dimension only allowed Card Master Apprentices to enter. Those hunters from the Lower City could never have killed a Fallen Witch of that strength.
The only reasonable explanation was that those two lone hunters had somehow gotten lucky, accidentally broken through the wall, and survived until the end?
That did not seem right either.
None of the monsters in the laboratory behind the wall were something two lone hunters could handle.
Could it really have been as the Bald Captain said—absurdly good luck, avoiding every danger?
Cao Yu still felt that something was off.
A scene flashed through his mind. He recalled that at the very end, those two had not even drawn their guns until the last moment. That composure could never have come from luck.
Or perhaps he had truly misread them, and they were just a pair of star-crossed lovers?
Cao Yu could not figure it out for the moment. He glanced at the Bald Captain before him and coldly asked, "Is that all you have to say? Is there anything else?"
Seeing the expression on this young master's face, the Bald Captain suddenly felt that something was wrong. But he had already said everything he needed to, so he replied, "N-No."
Cao Yu casually waved a hand and gave an order to someone unknown. "Kill him."
Since he had said everything he knew, he had no further value.
The Bald Captain's facial expression changed drastically. He instantly realized something.
This young master was killing him for no other reason than that he had heard that secret.
That Mechanical Clown had said this Alternate Dimension contained an ancient Cataclysmic Object—some kind of Epic Source Card!
"Young Master—"
He had just begun to beg for mercy when a line of blood appeared across his neck.
In the next instant, his head hit the ground, and blood sprayed three feet into the air.
As the blood mist surged forth, a transparent silhouette became visible in the air for a split second before vanishing.
It was a covert guard from the Governor's Mansion.
"..."
Beside him, the Blackwater Mercenary Group's leader watched the human fountain before him, swallowed hard, and felt cold sweat instantly cover his back.
He did not dare say a single word on behalf of his subordinate. He could only pray that he had not heard any secret he should not have.
The Blackwater Mercenary Group might have over a thousand members and count as a respectable mercenary group in Sinless City.
But before this man, their total annihilation would take only a single sentence.
Cao Yu ordered the Bald Captain's death without even sparing him a proper glance. He merely muttered to himself, "Strange. Exactly where did things go wrong?"
The Bald Captain was the only survivor from the space besides himself. He had to die; the secret of the Epic Source Card could not be allowed to leak.
With the intelligence from the Bald Captain, Cao Yu now had a comprehensive understanding of the entire Alternate Dimension's layout.
He also guessed that perhaps because he had taken a shortcut, he had missed crucial clues to breaking the situation and had thus been stalled at the final stage.
He intended to send people through Room 2013 next time to try the route through the broken wall and see whether they could find any key clues.
Additional mercenaries and several Card Master captains had long been deployed to guard the area near the exit of Dimension 407. Since no one had emerged after so long, he was certain those two had died inside.
Cao Yu could think of no other possibility.
What if—
There was no what if.
No matter what, they were only two Card Master Apprentices.
With that thought, he waited in the camp.
He waited for the Alternate Dimension to reset in a few hours, when the portal would condense again.
But he never imagined that one of the lone hunters inside the space was no ordinary person.
That single oversight led to a major change!
Time slowly passed, and the fog outside the Demon Cross camp grew ever denser. Visibility was limited to only a few meters illuminated by the campfires.
Although the ruins were shrouded in thick fog year-round, today's fog somehow felt even heavier.
It made Cao Yu increasingly restless.
He did not know whether it was the damp air and the choking volcanic ash that irritated him, or something else.
If not for that T-Class Cataclysmic Object, why would he ever come to this godforsaken place meant for Lower City trash?
Then, at that moment, someone suddenly shouted in the distance.
"Hey, Commander, this is bad! The portal to Dimension 407 has disappeared!"
"How is that possible? How could it disappear?"
"..."
The entire camp erupted into chaos.
Upon hearing the news, Fourth Young Master Cao shot to his feet, slamming his hand against the chair. His facial expression instantly turned livid.
Though he could hardly believe it, he immediately guessed what had happened: those two had cleared the Alternate Dimension!
He roared, "Find them!"
Before you continue