The person entering the Corpse Nest this time was none other than the Captain of Yan Huang's Special Ops Team One and the contemporary Guardian of Yan Huang: Qinglong!
Accompanying Qinglong was the super-support, Dead Rope.
The duo had originally intended to arrive by plane, but after their transport was swarmed and destroyed by flying variants mid-flight, they were forced to cover the remaining distance on foot. Upon entering the nest, Qinglong lived up to his reputation, steamrolling through the biological fortress and carving a literal straight line toward the center of the hive.
Ren Kurogane, wandering through the corridors, immediately sensed the massive disturbance.
This timing... Qinglong must have arrived.
He instantly pivoted, racing toward the center of the nest. This was the perfect opportunity to acquire Qinglong's blood! If he missed this chance, he'd likely have to wait until the massive battle in the capital, and by then, the world would be a chaotic free-for-all among God-level entities. Without pushing his strength toward the Super-God tier, Ren felt a deep sense of insecurity.
He had developed a severe case of "insufficient firepower phobia."
On the other side, Qinglong reached the heart of the nest only to find it empty. There was no sign of the Corpse King, nor even a single high-level variant.
"Where is everyone?" Dead Rope asked, puzzled.
"Dammit! This was a setup!" Qinglong's face twisted as the realization hit him. "The Corpse King deliberately built this nest to lure Yan Huang's top combatants into one spot, while he likely used the opportunity to slip out of H City long ago!"
It was the only logical conclusion. They had fallen for one of the oldest tricks in the book: luring the tiger away from the mountain. It was infuriating.
Just then, Ren arrived, finding himself in a silent standoff with Qinglong and Dead Rope.
"Huh? The King isn't here?" Ren was genuinely confused. Just moments ago, Long You had sent Erduo and Ghost Stick to infect him; why wasn't the man himself in his own throne room?
It's not like Qinglong already flattened him, right? Is he that fast? Besides, the Corpse King is essentially a perfect lifeform; he shouldn't be that easy to kill.
Qinglong, meanwhile, was eyeing Ren with similar suspicion, wondering if this unknown God-level powerhouse had already finished the job. But he dismissed the thought; if Ren had killed the King, Command would have intercepted the energy signature.
As the two groups compared notes, they reached a mutual conclusion: the Corpse King had bolted.
"Seriously? The King has no dignity? He ran before the fight even started!" Ren grumbled. But reflecting on it, the King had fled without hesitation when facing Ren and the Immortal Master previously. The current situation was even worse for him: Qinglong didn't have Alzheimer's and wouldn't drop the ball mid-fight.
Combined with Ren—a stable God-level combatant—the King's decision to run was actually the only rational move. Faced with two God-levels, one of whom could briefly burst into Super-God strength, only a fool would stay behind.
"Fine. If you find any trace of him later, give me a shout," Ren said. "I'll bring my brother to back you up."
"Understood. Thank you," Qinglong replied.
"Of course, I'm not doing this for free!" Ren grinned, reaching into his pocket. "Qinglong, how about you let me draw a vial of your blood for 'research' purposes?"
Sensing Ren's predatory gaze and seeing the oversized medical syringe in his hand, Qinglong felt an uncharacteristic shiver run down his spine. He grabbed Dead Rope and turned to leave instantly.
"My blood contains state secrets! It is not for public distribution!"
His voice echoed in the wind, but his silhouette was already long gone.
Ren sighed, put away the syringe, and left the nest. With the guardians of the three gates dead and the King missing, staying there was pointless.
Where did I go wrong?
Feeling a bit unsatisfied, Ren departed H City and headed for the neighboring L City.
At that same moment, deep within the sewers of H City, the Corpse King was making his getaway with his "valuables" and his captive "auntie" in tow! He had abandoned the massive nest and his remaining protectors to their fate; staying behind would have meant certain death.
L City
The moment Mu Tiancai arrived, he called his parents to report his safety. They had been worried sick since H City's communications went dark. Ren's parents were there too, anxiously asking for news.
"Don't worry, Uncle, Auntie—Ren is fine! He sent me ahead to set up the company. Once he's back, we're going to make it big!" Mu Tiancai said with a cheerful smile.
Ren's parents finally relaxed. They knew their son well; back in middle school, he had convinced them to invest in real estate, and those holdings now ensured four generations of their family would never go hungry. He had started companies in college and made millions. Even after spending a fortune on Mu Tiancai's legal defense, the family still had a solid foundation. If Ren was thinking about business, he was definitely okay.
"That brat! He couldn't even call his own mother to say he's safe!" Ren's mother grumbled playfully before handing the phone back.
After Mu Tiancai's mother added a few more motherly warnings and told them to come home soon, the call ended.
Mu Tiancai didn't go home immediately. He went straight to apply for an online business license. Usually, this process involved layers of bureaucracy and took months, so he wanted to start the clock early.
However, things were... different this time.
The moment he swiped his ID at the service center, the director himself appeared. With a beaming smile, the man practically forced the license and various permits into Mu's hands, insisting that if there were ever any problems, Mu should look for him personally. His name was Mr. Guang.
Mu Tiancai was stunned. He had never experienced such a bizarrely efficient bureaucratic encounter in his life.
Leaving the hall, he decided to set the mystery aside and ask Ren about it later. His second task: leasing equipment! Specifically, a massive amount of servers and storage. Ren had been very specific about needing high-capacity hardware.
When Mu reached the provider, someone was already waiting at the door. The moment they saw him, they practically tripped over themselves to welcome him.
"Hello, hello! Mr. Mu, right? I'm Wang Yang, the owner here! You can just call me Little Wang!" A portly middle-aged man extended his hands with a fawning smile. Mu was still confused but shook hands politely.
"Hello. Is there a problem?"
"Not at all! I heard you and your friend were starting a tech firm, so I've prepared the best hardware we have! It's ready for delivery whenever you want! I'm telling you, this is top-tier stuff—even the top universities rent from us!"
Amidst a flurry of flattery, Mu Tiancai walked away with a fleet of high-end servers. The only problem: he hadn't even rented an office yet. Where would the stuff go?
"No office? Brother! Leave it to me! One hour—no, thirty minutes! I'll find you a place you'll love!"
Wang Yang sat Mu down with some tea and sprinted off. In less than fifteen minutes, he had used his connections to secure a lease on an entire office building and brought the landlord over to sign the contract with Mu.
In a state of total bewilderment, Mu Tiancai watched their new company come into existence. Standing on the roof of the building, he felt like he was in a dream.
It's... done? Just like that? I remember Ren running around for two months just to get our last company off the ground.