Chapter 137 Trapped

Zhang Yuanqing's gaze followed the orange cat as it swiftly reached the villa's entrance, squeezed through the iron gate's gap, and disappeared behind the wall.

A few seconds later, trees sprouted from the wall, growing wildly until they reached the height of the second floor.

Flowers bloomed, hanging on the corners of the walls and the tips of the branches, vying for beauty. In an instant, the villa and its courtyard transformed into a vibrant garden.

Guan Ya leaned in and whispered, "Keep the antidote pill in your mouth. It'll be too late to take it once we're inside."

Zhang Yuanqing glanced at his companions and noticed that they were all discreetly taking out the Hundred Flowers Guild's specially made pills and holding them in their mouths.

He looked back at Guan Ya. The veteran driver also had one, her left cheek bulging slightly. It added a touch of cuteness to her bright, oval face, making her look a bit moe.

She was still wearing her usual white shirt, black stockings, and pencil skirt. Her long, shapely legs were strapped with two holsters, and the skirt's zipper was pulled down to the root of her thigh, allowing her freedom of movement. If she didn't mind flashing, she could even do a roundhouse kick without difficulty.

Of course, Zhang Yuanqing suspected she was wearing safety shorts, but he couldn't lift her skirt to verify, so he had no evidence.

"Can this thing protect against a Gu Master's poison?" he asked, as he put the fragrant pill in his mouth.

"Definitely not. Gu Master's poison is not so easily countered, but it can weaken the toxicity enough to prevent it from being life-threatening." Guan Ya's pretty face turned serious, no longer smiling all the time.

"Night Watchers have strong vitality, so you should be the least worried."

Zhang Yuanqing nodded and scanned his companions. Besides the five team leaders, himself, and Guan Ya, there were eight others: two Water Ghosts, two Fire Manipulators, two Earth Elementals, and two Wood Demons.

The professions were evenly distributed to avoid any weaknesses.

In addition, these members were all Level 2 Spirit Adventurers. Level 1 Adventurers were not qualified to participate in this operation.

A Level 1 Lawful profession was probably no different from a chick in front of a Level 3 Consummate Evil profession.

At this moment, the plants stopped growing, and Team Leader Qing Teng whispered, "Action!"

The fifteen Spirit Adventurers moved through the quiet, deserted residential streets, approaching the villa swiftly and silently.

As they neared the villa, Team Leader Qing Teng slowed his pace. Da Ji Ba, along with two sturdy Fire Manipulators, stepped forward. They gripped the door lock of the villa and exerted force silently.

After a brief red glow, molten iron dripped to the ground with a "plop plop" sound.

The three Fire Manipulators stepped back, and Tang Guoqiang, along with two Earth Elementals, entered the villa's courtyard first.

Tanks first, then warriors... Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. Sure enough, Da Ji Ba led the two Fire Manipulators, closely following the three Earth Elementals.

Warriors are followed by mages, then recovery specialists! Zhang Yuanqing mused.

The Water Ghosts and Wood Demons then entered.

Scouts are even worse than recovery specialists... Zhang Yuanqing looked back at Squad Leader and Guan Ya. Noticing his subordinate's strange gaze, Li Dongze leaned on his cane, maintained his elegance, and said in a low voice:

"We scouts must strategize from behind, observing the surroundings."

Squad Leader, you don't have to force it! Zhang Yuanqing decided to cooperate and said in a deep voice:

"Understood. Wards are very important in team battles."

... Li Dongze's face stiffened as he recalled his subordinate's "humiliation" from that day. He glanced at the lush vegetation in the corner. "I'm considering planting you there."

At this moment, the official Spirit Adventurers, holding pistols, arrived at the anti-theft door of the villa's hall.

Because a barrier shielded the villa's courtyard, they didn't need to split up to surround the building. At the same time, given that the enemy was a Level 3 Evil profession, splitting up could easily lead to casualties, so they decided to break through from the front door.

Tang Guoqiang placed his hand on the anti-theft door lock, and the wall connecting to the lock quickly turned into sand, falling with a rustling sound.

He didn't enter immediately but turned to look at Zhang Yuanqing.

The night was the Night Watcher's domain. In the pitch-black environment, the Night Watcher was in his element.

Zhang Yuanqing understood. Under everyone's gaze, he disappeared.

He entered the entrance hall quickly. To guard against any possible ambushes, he deliberately spun and jumped, making a cool entrance. In Night Roaming state, he could cover all sounds anyway.

Zhang Yuanqing stopped at the junction of the entrance hall and the living room. His gaze, which could see through the darkness, slowly swept across the living room. The villa's living room was spacious. In the center were sofas and coffee tables for guests, on the left was an open kitchen and dining table, and on the right was a staircase leading to the second floor.

The ceiling of the living room was extremely high. The internal layout of the villa was a "回" shape. Standing on the railing on the second floor, one could look down at the living room on the first floor.

After being promoted to Level 2, his Night Roaming time was extended to 30 seconds, but it was still not enough to carefully inspect the living room. After initially determining that there was no danger, Zhang Yuanqing exited the living room and reappeared in the official Spirit Adventurers' field of vision.

"No one on the first floor, don't know about the second floor," he said in a low voice.

Tang Guoqiang decisively said, "Action!"

With that, he took the lead into the living room, and the others entered in an orderly and well-trained manner.

Just as everyone entered the dark living room, they suddenly heard a "snap," and the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling lit up, bringing light and illuminating the scene inside the villa, as well as the official Spirit Adventurers who had infiltrated the villa.

The official Spirit Adventurers felt a chill in their hearts.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, ladies and gentlemen!"

On the railing of the second floor appeared a man of medium build with a thin face, slanted eyes, and sword-like eyebrows. It was none other than Heng Xing Wu Ji.

The Gu Master leaned on the railing, looking down at the official Spirit Adventurers on the first floor, a mocking smile on his lips:

"Fifteen Lawful Spirit Adventurers, tsk tsk, you really think highly of me. To catch me, you've gone to so much trouble. However, who can say for sure who the hunter and the prey are..."

Before he finished speaking, Guan Ya, holding twin pistols, interrupted him with gunfire.

The first bullet left a deep bullet hole in the wall on the second floor, and the second bullet predicted Heng Xing Wu Ji's rolling dodge trajectory and successfully hit him, resulting in a crisp metallic sound.

Heng Xing Wu Ji pressed himself against the wall, stubbornly finished his lines, and laughed wildly:

"I like adventure, I like trampling on the rules. The reputation of hunting fifteen Lawful professions is worth the risk to me. Enjoy the killing feast I've prepared for you..."

The ceiling above his head exploded, and shards of glass rained down.

The spacious living room was once again plunged into darkness.

Amidst the sound of glass shards falling, Zhang Yuanqing heard a faint "buzzing" sound, light and dense, as if countless mosquitoes were vibrating their wings.

Then, Li Dongze's warning sounded:

"Above us!"

Da Ji Ba and two Fire Manipulators took a deep breath, puffed out their cheeks, raised their heads, and exhaled the air from their lungs. With a "whoosh," flames suddenly expanded, illuminating the dark living room.

Countless sparks fell, and the air was filled with a pungent, burning smell.

These falling black specks were some kind of poisonous insect. The smell after burning was acrid and unpleasant. Zhang Yuanqing inadvertently inhaled a few mouthfuls and felt dizzy.

The official Spirit Adventurer squad fell into a small commotion. Not everyone could see in the dark.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

Flames roared, and three Fire Manipulators burst into flames, dispelling the darkness and bringing light.

Everyone looked around the living room, and what they saw made their scalps tingle.

On the living room floor, many strange insects had appeared at some point. There were wriggling worms with ferocious mouthparts, insects resembling locusts, palm-sized spiders, and some that were simply unidentifiable. They all had one thing in common: they were brightly colored.

The flames flickered, bringing light but also creating swaying shadows and limited illumination. Under such circumstances, it was difficult to ensure that they would not be attacked by poisonous insects.

Zhang Yuanqing's heart stirred. He bent over and rushed to the open kitchen, and with a snap, turned on the lights on that side.

Such a large living room couldn't possibly have only one chandelier for lighting.

"Well done!" Bai Long, carrying a black longsword on his back, breathed a sigh of relief and shouted, "Smash the faucets, we need water."

Zhang Yuanqing did not hesitate and punched a faucet, bursting it. To his surprise, there was no fierce jet of water. Instead, large streams of clear water gushed out of the broken pipe, flowing in the air as if alive.

The stream of water swept across the ground, across the sofa, across every corner of the living room, and also swept away the various types of Gu insects. Finally, it condensed into a water ball the size of a water tank in mid-air, with countless Gu insects wrapped inside, floating up and down.

Bai Long opened his palms and slammed them together.

"Boom!"

The water ball exploded, and water droplets mixed with the corpses of Gu insects splattered all over the living room.

How powerful... Seeing this scene, Zhang Yuanqing sincerely praised him. He thought to himself that he deserved to be called a mage. His skills were flashy. If it were him, facing the current situation, he could only choose the Thirty-Six Stratagems.

After all, the Night Watcher's position in the transcendental stage was as an assassin.

At this time, Li Dongze, as a scout, suddenly raised his head, sensing a dangerous power rapidly expanding on the second floor. He hurriedly issued a warning:

"There's danger on the second floor, four forces..."

The official Spirit Adventurers felt a sinking in their hearts. With their experience, they finally confirmed one thing - they had been ambushed.

From Heng Xing Wu Ji's words, his attitude, and his response, they could see that he had prepared for this capture.

They had been invited into a trap... Although Zhang Yuanqing lacked experience, he wasn't stupid. He glanced at his solemn but silent companions and suppressed the doubts in his heart.

Now was not the time to think about these things.

The sound of "thump thump" echoed in the quiet environment. A tall, humanoid monster appeared on the railing.

It had an extremely ugly appearance, with insect-like sharp mouthparts, a flat nose, amber-colored vertical pupils, a height of two meters, and a dark brown body covered with scale-like keratin, as if wearing a layer of sturdy armor.

Its claws were black and sharp, easily scratching claw marks on the railing.

"My poor insects, bravely sacrificed themselves. They didn't die in vain, because they bought me enough time. Come out, my companions." The humanoid monster spoke in Heng Xing Wu Ji's voice.

On the three sides of the "回" shaped corridor, three monsters slowly walked out.

They were:

A seductive woman with a human body and a spider's abdomen. Her upper body was a delicate, white body, unclothed, with plump, spherical fat exposed. Below her navel was a bloated, fat spider body, with eight iron-like spider legs easily piercing into the floor tiles and walls.

A robust insect-man, standing upright like a human, with blocky abdominal and chest muscles, a backward-bending knee joint, strong leg muscles containing terrible explosive power, and a hard carapace on his back that shone with a green light.

A monster with a human head and a snake body, nearly ten meters long. Its body was coiled in a ball, covered with blue-black scales. Its body stretched out from the railing and spat out its tongue at the crowd below.

These three monsters all had one thing in common: their eyes were filled with violence and lacked human rationality.

"They are all servants of the Cunning Eye Judge. The power of the Fallen Grail tortures them. To survive, they are willing to be transformed by me, hunting you in exchange for merit." Heng Xing Wu Ji laughed.

Servants of the Cunning Eye Judge? Servants like Ou Xiangrong? Zhang Yuanqing only had one "fuck" left in his mind.

Qing Teng, Tang Guoqiang, and others' expressions changed drastically.

"I like your expressions. You all have to die today. No one can keep me here, I said it!" Heng Xing Wu Ji opened his ferocious mouth.

.........

Feng Hua District, an abandoned factory.

Fu Qingyang, wearing a white suit, stood on the second floor of the administrative building, frowning as he looked at the convoy surrounding the factory:

"This factory has been abandoned for many years. There are no traces of human activity. Are you sure Black Impermanence appeared here?"

Behind him were Ling Jun, wearing loose clothes and with messy hair, and a middle-aged man in a white judo suit with a square face.

The middle-aged man frowned, his eyes a little puzzled, "The Hundred Flowers Guild's informant captured it. For safety's sake, I retrieved the surrounding surveillance, and I did find Black Impermanence..."

Fu Qingyang coldly glanced at him, "Black Impermanence can be caught on surveillance?"

The middle-aged man's face changed slightly.

Ling Jun lazily scratched his head and shrugged. "We've been tricked. Black Impermanence deliberately lured us here. No, it's not even certain that it's Black Impermanence himself. But what did he lure us here for?"

Fu Qingyang pondered for a few seconds, and his stern face suddenly changed. "Ling Jun, come back with me."

He jumped straight from the second floor.

Ling Jun was stunned. He had rarely seen Fu Qingyang so panicked and nervous.

......

ps: Recommend a book "Approaching Unscientific", a black technology academic text, with good results, if you are interested you can take a look.