Translator: CinderTL
Moments later, a fully armed squad of warriors stormed into the underground space.
It was unmistakably a police team.
"So fast?" Everyone was surprised.
Jiang Ye thought to himself, It seems the police were already waiting nearby. This mission was truly extraordinary.
"Director Zhang."
The police captain was a burly man whose qi prowess rivaled even Zhang Jianwu's.
He shook hands with Zhang Jianwu, smiling. "This time, we owe a great debt to your schools."
At this, everyone present understood the truth.
This mission had been a joint operation between the police and several schools, orchestrated to capture the two near-second breakthrough "big rats."
After all, experts of this caliber, possessing the "shadow evasion" technique, had exceptional counter-surveillance capabilities.
Even genuine second breakthrough experts would struggle to apprehend them.
The police captain noticed the bound Wan Yaoyang and asked, "Is he also from the Hidden God Organization? He looks quite young."
Zhang Jianwu immediately began explaining the situation.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ye played back the earlier recording.
After hearing the full account,
The captain immediately ordered his men to take Wan Yaoyang away.
Turning to Jiang Ye, Zhao Qingli, and the others, he said, "You kids took a big risk too. You can handle the cleanup here."
"We police won't be fighting you over the spoils."
Zhang Jianwu chuckled, "Officer Wu, you're generous."
He waved at Jiang Ye and the others. "What are you waiting for? Start looting! First come, first served!"
Before the words had even left his mouth, Lin Yushu had already charged forward.
Jiang Ye, Zhao Qingli, Wang Zi'ang, and the others quickly followed suit.
The underground cave kiln still contained many unexplored rooms. They hadn't had time to search them earlier.
"Jiang Ye."
Zhao Qingli caught up, her long, pale legs striding purposefully. She murmured, "Thank you for earlier."
She was referring to when she had fallen and Jiang Ye had turned back to help her up.
Without that, Jiang Ye would have escaped long ago.
Jiang Ye smiled. "What's there to thank me for? If the roles were reversed, you wouldn't have hesitated to save me either, right?"
Zhao Qingli paused, then replied coolly, "I'm the class monitor. Of course I would save you."
Despite her words, she glanced away awkwardly.
Wang Zi'ang, watching from the side, was stunned. 'Holy shit! Jiang Ye looks so unassuming, but he's a natural flirt!'
Jiang Ye, oblivious to Wang Zi'ang's thoughts, said in a low voice, "Let's split up. Whoever grabs it first keeps it."
"Alright."
Zhao Qingli and Wang Zi'ang quickly separated.
Jiang Ye sprinted toward a nearby room and began searching.
The room was mostly filled with junk and trash.
Clearly, the Hidden God Organization had known this base was compromised and had already moved anything of value.
What remained were items they hadn't had time to take, mostly of little worth.
After some digging, Jiang Ye managed to find a few unopened vials of potions.
Not all were Dragon Ascension Potions; there were also Male Dragon Potions and Great Dragon Potions, all of which could aid in cultivation.
Leaving the room, Jiang Ye immediately rushed to the next.
But luck wasn't always on his side. Some rooms were piled high with garbage, containing nothing of value.
"Hmm?"
As Jiang Ye searched the fourth room, he suddenly noticed something unexpected.
"What's this?"
He picked up a black goat hairpin from the floor.
The hairpin looked familiar.
"Xia Qing?" Jiang Ye remembered the missing classmate from Class Nine.
But many people wore the same hairpin, so it didn't prove anything.
As Jiang Ye continued searching, he found a photo of Xia Qing in the room.
"Xia Qing was indeed taken by the Hidden God Organization!"
Jiang Ye's heart sank.
He hadn't seen Xia Qing since her disappearance. Now, he had found clues related to her in the Hidden God Organization's hideout.
But this might not be bad news.
Xia Qing had her own room here, suggesting she was likely still alive and had integrated into the Hidden God Organization.
Jiang Ye didn't know whether this was good news or bad news.
"I should keep searching," Jiang Ye muttered, moving to the next room.
Half an hour later.
Jiang Ye's backpack was overflowing with medicine bottles.
"Twenty bottles," he counted, his heart swelling with satisfaction. "At market price, that's sixty thousand yuan!"
This mission had been incredibly worthwhile.
His extra income alone had reached sixty thousand yuan.
Not to mention the mission rewards he'd receive upon returning to school.
He had never been so wealthy before!
However, a sharp pain in his shoulder quickly snapped him back to reality.
During the operation, everyone had sustained injuries to varying degrees.
Jiang Ye, in particular, had a gruesome knife wound on his shoulder.
And this was with Zhang Jianwu, Cang Haisong, and other top-tier experts nearby.
Without their presence, they likely wouldn't have survived.
"Combat missions are truly perilous," Jiang Ye thought grimly. "I need to focus on cultivation and achieve my first breakthrough as soon as possible. Only then will I have a chance of defending myself against such dangers."
With his backpack slung over his shoulder, he hurried back.
Moments later, Jiang Ye returned to Zhang Jianwu and presented Xia Qing's photograph.
"Director, I found this belonging to a Class Nine student here," he reported, sharing his earlier discovery.
Zhang Jianwu took the photo and glanced at it.
"Xia Qing?" he murmured, shaking his head. "Based on your account, she may have already been assimilated by the Hidden God Organization."
Jiang Ye nodded, his voice low. "Should we report this to the police and try to rescue her?"
Zhang Jianwu shook his head. "Reporting it is one thing, but even if we find Xia Qing, she won't be the same person anymore."
Jiang Ye froze.
He suddenly remembered the Hidden God Organization's most terrifying ability: assimilating humans into the Shadow Clan.
This assimilation wasn't just physical.
It was a complete conversion of the mind.
If Xia Qing were still alive, as Zhang Jianwu said, she would no longer be herself.
For some reason, a heavy feeling settled in Jiang Ye's chest.
"Alright, don't dwell on it," Zhang Jianwu said, shaking his head and patting Jiang Ye's shoulder. "Focus on the present, protect yourself, and that's enough."
Jiang Ye nodded.
By now, the others had begun to gather around them.
"Did you all finish searching?" Zhang Jianwu asked, glancing around.
Everyone nodded.
Seeing this, Zhang Jianwu was about to call for the team to withdraw when Zhao Qingli suddenly spoke up. "Director, Jiang Ye is injured."
Zhang Jianwu turned to look at Jiang Ye.
With his sharp eyes, he had noticed Jiang Ye's injury long ago, but since the young man showed no reaction, he hadn't bothered to ask about it.
"Is it serious? Let me see," Zhang Jianwu said.
Jiang Ye shook his head. "It's nothing. It's almost healed."
"Hurry up," Zhang Jianwu glared at him, scolding, "If the wound gets infected, it could affect your College Entrance Examination."
Jiang Ye finally took off his backpack.
Earlier, he had wrapped the shoulder strap around the wound.
As he unwound the strap, Zhang Jianwu's expression immediately changed.
(End of the Chapter)
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