Camp Incidents After S-Rank Clearance

The surroundings shifted, and Ji Xun found himself free from the bizarre secret room.

It was a magical experience, like teleportation; stepping through the distorted light portal led to another world.

Just as he was about to observe his environment, he found himself surrounded by thick fog with extremely low visibility.

The air was also filled with a strong smell of sulfur.

While Ji Xun was trying to figure out where he was, he heard a familiar and urgent voice by his ear: "Quick, follow me!"

The person who had arrived was Chu Jiu, who had exited the Alternate Dimension earlier.

What Ji Xun didn't know was that at the same moment his settlement page achieved an S-rank evaluation, a major upheaval occurred outside the Alternate Dimension.

For treasure hunters, every Alternate Dimension was a treasure trove.

This [Shelter 407] found within the Demon Cross ruins was particularly known for its high-yield treasure spaces.

Naturally, there were explorers.

Not far from the space, a temporary camp was set up with a blazing bonfire.

Dozens of people from the Blackwater Mercenary Group were stationed there, along with one to two hundred treasure hunters preparing to enter the space next.

In a tent at the corner of the camp, the leader of the Blackwater Mercenary Group was respectfully guarding a young man in a suit. The bald captain, who had emerged alive, was currently reporting something to this Fourth Young Master Cao, Cao Yu.

After exiting the Alternate Dimension, Cao Yu's tightly knit brows had not relaxed.

He had just received a B-Class clearance evaluation, which was far from meeting his expectations.

His mind was constantly replaying the final Clown game within the space, wondering how he could have made different choices for a better outcome.

Although a loyal old servant had died, it wasn't entirely without value; at least precious information was obtained.

It was now confirmed that the "T-Class Cataclysmic Object" was indeed inside the space, and he was determined to obtain it by any means necessary!

The bald captain was still rambling on about his experience leading two mercenary squads from the first floor of the bunker all the way to the end: "Young Master, those monsters were too ferocious. If we hadn't had enough firepower..."

From this guy's perspective, he had no idea how Ji Xun and the other person managed to survive until the end.

It seemed like pure luck; every time monsters appeared, his Blackwater Mercenary Group charged forward, while those two hid far away, thus avoiding the monsters' attention.

In his view, without them drawing the monsters' aggro, those two would have absolutely no chance of surviving until the end.

Of course, even with some vague suspicions, he couldn't say anything at this moment.

He only exaggerated how heroic his Blackwater Mercenary Group was, encountering all sorts of terrifying Calamities along the way, and reaching the end not by any other means but solely through his own brilliant command and strategy, and the bravery of his teammates.

Finally, the bald man couldn't forget to add: "Alas, what a pity for my brothers."

"..."

After listening to the bald man's account of clearing the space, Cao Yu's confusion only deepened instead of being resolved.

He had personally triggered the hidden main quest of this space; how could he not know its dangers?

Logically, except for the people who followed him, no one else should have survived.

But he hadn't expected that in this almost certain death scenario, a few people had actually managed to survive.

This bald man's account was quite detailed, mentioning encounters with the A-Class [Curse Gambler] and the mysterious A-Class Calamity on the fourth floor, and how many people died along the way – all of which he had anticipated.

However, when he heard about the broken wall in room 2013, Cao Yu felt something was amiss.

The wall could be broken?

He had previously used a secret method recorded in his family's inheritance archives to find the passage to the laboratory, which allowed him to directly enter the central control room of the bunker.

So, there was such a thing as breaking through walls?

His train of thought suddenly opened up.

After listening, Cao Yu asked, "You're saying that when you entered, the wall in room 2013 was already broken?"

"Yes."

The bald man still couldn't understand why there was a hole in the wall of room 2013.

Everyone had tried, and the walls were unbreakable.

Yet, that particular room's wall was broken.

He was also quite shrewd, not dwelling on things unrelated to his own contributions.

But the more Cao Yu pondered, the more he felt something was wrong.

Since the hole was in room 2013, there was no reason they wouldn't have encountered the [Fallen Witch] in room 2012.

He then asked, "Didn't you encounter that [Fallen Witch] on the second floor?"

This question also made the bald man feel strange: "No, no."

Could she have been killed?

A thought flashed through Cao Yu's mind, but he immediately dismissed it as him overthinking.

Since the mercenaries hadn't killed her, how could those two lone individuals have the ability to hunt down the Fallen Witch?

Most likely, they just got lucky and didn't encounter her.

After all, this Alternate Dimension restricts entry to only Card Master Apprentices. Those hunters from the lower city wouldn't be able to defeat the strength of that Fallen Witch.

The only logical explanation is that two lone individuals, through some stroke of luck, stumbled upon a breach in the wall and managed to survive until the end?

That's not right either.

No monster within the laboratory behind the wall would be manageable for two lone individuals.

Could it really be that the bald man was right about them getting incredibly lucky and dodging everything?

Cao Yu felt something was off.

An image flashed through his mind, and he recalled the final moments earlier. The two of them hadn't drawn their guns until the very last second. That kind of composure definitely wasn't luck.

Or perhaps he had misjudged them, and they were just a pair of ill-fated lovers?

Cao Yu couldn't quite figure it out for a while. He glanced at the bald man in front of him and asked coldly, "Is that all you have to say? Anything else?"

Seeing the expression on the young master's face, the bald man suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. But since he had said everything he needed to, he replied, "No, that's all."

Cao Yu waved his hand dismissively, giving an order to someone unseen, "Kill him."

Since he had said everything he needed to, he was no longer of any value.

At this, the bald man's face changed drastically, instantly realizing what was happening.

This young master was killing him not for any other reason, but because he had overheard the secret.

That Mechanical Clown had said that this Alternate Dimension contained an ancient Cataclysmic Object, an Epic Source Card!

"Young Master..."

He was about to beg for mercy, but before he could even speak, a line of blood appeared on his neck.

In an instant, his head was severed, and blood sprayed three feet high.

A mist of blood erupted, and only then was a transparent figure visible for a fleeting moment.

These were the Governor's Mansion's hidden guards.

"..."

The leader of the Blackwater Mercenary Group, Yu, standing nearby, glanced at the human fountain before him and swallowed hard, cold sweat instantly drenching his back.

At this moment, he didn't dare to speak up for his subordinate. He only prayed that he hadn't heard any secrets he shouldn't have.

Even though their Blackwater Mercenary Group had over a thousand members and was considered a decent mercenary group in Sinless City.

In front of this person, their complete annihilation would be a mere word.

Cao Yu had ordered the bald man killed without even looking at him directly, only muttering to himself, "Strange, where exactly did things go wrong?"

This bald man was the only other survivor of the space besides himself, and he had to die. The secret of the Epic Source Card absolutely could not be exposed.

With the intelligence from the bald man, Cao Yu had a comprehensive understanding of the entire layout of the Alternate Dimension in his mind.

He also guessed that perhaps because he had taken a shortcut, he had missed some crucial clues to breaking through, which caused him to be stuck at the final moment.

He was also thinking that next time he went in, he would send people to try the path of breaking through the wall from room 2013, to see if they could find any key clues.

More mercenaries had been dispatched to guard the vicinity of the Shelter 407 exit, along with several Card Master captains. Since no one had emerged for so long, he was certain that those two individuals had died inside.

Cao Yu couldn't think of any other possibility.

What if...

There were no "what ifs."

No matter what, they were just two Card Master Apprentices.

With that thought, he waited in the camp.

He waited for a few more hours until the Alternate Dimension restarted and the portal would condense again.

But he never expected that one of the lone individuals inside was no ordinary person.

Because of this oversight, a major change had occurred!

Time slowly passed, and the fog outside the Demon Cross camp grew denser, with visibility reduced to only a few meters covered by the campfire.

Although this ruin was perpetually shrouded in thick fog, it always felt like the fog today was even thicker.

This made Cao Yu feel somewhat agitated.

He wasn't sure if it was the damp air and the pungent volcanic ash that bothered him, or something else.

If it weren't for that T-Class Cataclysmic Object, why would he have come to this godforsaken place frequented by people from the lower city?

However, it was at this moment that someone suddenly shouted from a distance.

"Huh? Commander, something's wrong! The portal to the 407 Alternate Dimension has disappeared!"

"How is that possible! How could it disappear?"

"..."

Instantly, the entire camp erupted in a frenzy.

The Fourth Young Master Cao heard the news and abruptly slammed his chair, his face turning ashen.

Although he couldn't believe it, he guessed what had happened: those two individuals had cleared the Alternate Dimension just now!

He roared, "Find that person!"