Chapter 71

Far away, Fang Yi followed the group, soon arriving at the underground cave again. This time, with experience, Fang Yi waited for the group to enter, then climbed to the top of the hill above the cave. He silently recited the incantation of the Stone Traveling Technique, and his entire body transformed into a pile of soft soil, merging into the ground.

The sensation of the Stone Traveling Technique was quite peculiar, like swimming underground in the first-person perspective, but the soil offered no resistance. The caster felt as if they had no volume, moving through solid soil and rocks. The soil layer was not very thick, and Fang Yi calculated his mana consumption. When the group below passed the corner, he immediately "flowed" down from the top of the tunnel, dispelling the Stone Traveling Technique as he left the ceiling, landing silently on the ground.

The scale of the cave's interior was larger than expected, gradually sloping downward, leading to unknown places. The tunnel was not dim, and Fang Yi was extremely cautious, closely watching the footsteps of the group ahead—traps were scattered all over the stone floor. Fang Yi tried to match his steps with theirs, successfully passing through the most dangerous trap area in the outer region.

This was quite thrilling! Unfortunately, the group consisted of a bunch of men... Fang Yi hid in the shadow directly below the torch, peeking around the corner. The group led by Karl stopped and knocked on a door to the right.

"Why are you so slow? What time is it!?" A thief-like figure poked his head out of the door, shouting at the group outside.

Karl clearly feared the person in front of him, remaining silent and entering the room with his head down. Fang Yi's eyebrows raised when he heard the voice inside; NPCs wouldn't use phrases like "what time is it," so there must be a player.

Fang Yi checked his Deep Soil Walker amulet, which was still on cooldown, and silently approached the door. He used his level 3 Listening skill but couldn't hear any sound from inside—either there was a soundproofing barrier or soundproof panels.

Fang Yi cursed under his breath, wondering what could be so confidential that they would go to such lengths. After waiting a while and seeing no movement inside, he got up and headed deeper into the cave.

Unlike the entrance, the internal tunnel showed more signs of human construction. Fang Yi explored the cave and soon found a room with unusually strict security. While other areas had patrol guards, this room had a lackey standing guard at the door for a long time. Fang Yi's eyes darted around, thinking something was definitely off.

Taking advantage of the guard's drowsiness, Fang Yi silently sneaked up behind him, skillfully attacking and incapacitating him. He searched the guard's body but couldn't find the key to the large lock. With no choice, he had to pick the lock himself. As he worked on the lock, he thought, "Karl always has so many bodyguards around; it's hard to find a chance to act. What can I do?"

The lock clicked open, and Fang Yi dragged the guard's body, slipping through the narrow opening. He left the body behind the door and looked up, discovering it was a prison! A long corridor led to the end of the room, with thick steel bars lining the walls, indicating about seven or eight cells. The cells held gnolls, trolls... and, of course, mostly humans.

The prisoners behind the bars stood up, their eyes fixed on the bloodstained thief who had sneaked in. Fang Yi thought, "Don't look at me like that; I'll blush." After a moment, a blood-covered human man walked to the cell door and said, "Did you kill the Dark Masked person?"

"I didn't mean to kill him; I didn't know he had such low health," Fang Yi ignored the man and walked to the front of the cells, addressing the prisoners, "I'm looking for Jim, the owner of 'Jim's Warehouse.'"

"I am Jim," the man who spoke first said again.

"Great, I have some questions for you. Who is the leader of Astorian?"

"I am!" The prisoners in the cells almost spoke in unison, the buzzing echo ringing in Fang Yi's ears. Fang Yi's eyebrows raised, and a smile appeared on his face. "It seems the Dark Masked isn't all-powerful. Don't misunderstand; I'm helping a little girl find her father." Fang Yi took out Jenna's ring from his backpack and showed it to everyone.

Inside the room where Karl was.

"The Red Robe Mage Association has made no progress. Their vanguard was destroyed by a group of powerful enemies, and it will take some time to regain their influence there," Karl, revealing the bright green cloak on his back, said with a hint of schadenfreude to the person in front of him.

The person sitting across from Karl was a male rogue player, his tightly pressed lips indicating his current bad mood. His green leather armor looked of high quality, and two short swords were sheathed at his waist, the ornate sheaths hinting at the quality of the weapons inside.

"That's a player guild," the rogue said, his low voice creating a sense of pressure, "the opposing faction must have players doing quests. You need to... " The door was suddenly pushed open, interrupting the rogue. A lackey stumbled in, shouting, "Bad news, that group escaped from the prison!"

"How is that possible?" Karl was shocked, his heart racing as he shouted, "Our mages had an electric barrier on the bars!"

However, the distant sounds of battle and screams shattered Karl's hope. The rogue behind him had already stood up, drawing his weapons and looking down the tunnel. He turned to Karl and said, "Let's go!"

Fang Yi ran through the tunnel like an arrow, shaking his slightly numb left hand. He thought, "Fortunately, the elf dagger's special effect has a high trigger rate; if I got electrocuted a few more times, my health would be at the bottom." The middle-aged man in front of him, carrying a heavy two-handed sword, charged forward without a word, his eyes filled with a mad determination.

It was hard to tell, but the leader of the thief guild, Orlando, turned out to be a pretty boy, and it was clear that this pretty boy was a strength-type warrior! After Fang Yi showed the ring, they quickly reached an agreement. Fang Yi used the elf dagger to break the cell door, and the thieves rushed out, causing chaos in the underground world.

Fang Yi didn't forget his mission, continuously guiding Orlando through the tunnel. The two charged through the enemy's resistance like bloodthirsty beasts, reaching Karl's room in less than a minute, just as Karl and a rogue were trying to leave through the tunnel.

"Karl!!!" Orlando's eyes widened, and he swung his two-handed sword with a roar, sweeping it horizontally to include both people in its range. Both retreated, but Karl was clearly struggling, stumbling from the force of the sword.

"Karl is yours!" Fang Yi quickly said to Orlando, already swinging his dual blades to face the clearly player-controlled rogue.