Xuan He Yi was furious beyond measure.
He had instructed Xuan Lie to keep an eye on the members of the Proletariat Alliance, but instead, Xuan Lie had succumbed to his peculiar impulses and apprehended them directly.
What could have been a long-term strategy of gradual attrition against the enemy had, thanks to Xuan Lie's rash actions, been propelled forward by a massive leap!
It was a leap that would be incredibly difficult to clean up.
The perpetrators of the previous disturbance at the He Cheng Society had yet to be apprehended.
Fortunately, the classified equipment, supplies, and documents had been transferred to Lie Huang Corporation well in advance.
Just as things had settled down for a few days, this new mess erupted!
It had practically turned the entire Lie Huang Corporation upside down.
Among these children, only Xuan Wei resembled him the most – steady, decisive, with strong methods, capable of keeping secrets.
Xuan He Yi had complete trust in Xuan Wei when He Cheng Society was assigned to him.
Ever since Xuan Wei fell ill,
Xuan He Yi had been forced to elevate Xuan Lang to the position of successor.
But this child was too obsessive, clinging to the matter of the clones and harboring deep resentment over his mother's death.
Even more detestable, he dared to use the clone issue to blackmail Xuan He Yi.
It wasn't just Xuan Lang; Xuan Lie was no easy character either.
Xuan He Yi's heart ached with the desire to kill Xuan Lie at this very moment.
Xuan Lie was practically a carbon copy of his mother – childish, arrogant, ignorant, and stagnant, utterly consumed by his desires.
How much shame he had brought upon the family!
Xuan He Yi was inwardly seething, yet his expression remained calm and composed.
"Master, you don't need to go in person. I can handle it," the old butler said softly from the passenger seat.
Xuan He Yi closed his eyes and sighed gently. After a long pause, he reopened them and said slowly, "If I don't go, that unfilial son will surely kill Xuan Lang!"
"He would still give this old servant some face," the old butler replied in a low voice.
Xuan He Yi sighed heavily and said, "Brother Xun, you've been with me for fifty-eight years. You know what worries me the most."
"Master is referring to Sister Zeng's matter..." the old butler's voice grew even lower.
Xuan He Yi's face once again showed a hint of ruthlessness. "I'm not worried about Xuan Lang dying. I'm afraid he won't die, and that beast will reveal the truth."
"Master, you should have eradicated the root of the problem back then," the old butler's tone remained steady.
Xuan He Yi gradually closed his eyes, offering no reply.
More than ten hovercars lined up, passing through identity verification machines and speeding towards the lower city.
At this moment, Gu Ya was still searching with his head lowered.
Suddenly, a tall man in black appeared in front of him. As soon as he saw Gu Ya, he immediately ducked into an aisle.
Without a second thought, Gu Ya activated his leg thrusters and gave chase.
The tall man's running posture was peculiar, unlike that of an ordinary person, and even Gu Ya's exoskeleton armor couldn't keep up.
After several turns,
Gu Ya began to feel that something was amiss.
This person was only running and had no intention of engaging him in combat. He was likely trying to lure him somewhere.
If it was to the place where Zero Ling's sister was hidden, that would be acceptable. But what if it was a trap?
Yet, Gu Ya dared not give up easily. Even if it was a trap, he had to venture in!
Wu Xuan chased the man in black through a long circuit.
Suddenly, a figure rushed out in front of him, and the two collided head-on.
Both were wearing exoskeleton armor, making it impossible to tell who was who. Wu Xuan asked, "Who?"
"Zeng Lang. Who are you chasing?" Zeng Lang asked.
Wu Xuan thought for a few seconds and said urgently, "Ah, who cares! Just chase!" With that, Wu Xuan casually picked a direction and pursued.
Zeng Lang stood frozen for a moment, then suddenly remembered, muttering, "He seems to be chasing the wrong one. It doesn't matter!"
Liu Feng had been undergoing physical training and had excellent stamina. Now, with the enhancement of his exoskeleton, he quickly caught up to the man in black.
The two immediately engaged in a brawl. Liu Feng subdued him in a few swift moves. He then pulled open the mask and saw that it was a simulacrum.
He slowly stood up and looked behind him. Three aisles stretched out, leaving him feeling lost.
He had been so focused on the chase that he had forgotten how he arrived. Which path was it?
Liu Feng couldn't figure out which way to go, so he randomly picked one and hurried off.
Gu Ya followed the man in black in front of him, turning several corners.
The road surfaces here were new, the iron doors were new, and the spacing was the same. If one had a poor memory, even returning the way they came would be difficult.
Finally, a very abrupt door appeared on the wall ahead, leading directly into the corridor.
The man in black rushed in without hesitation.
Gu Ya followed closely, stepping through the iron door.
The moment he entered, the iron door slammed shut heavily, plunging him into pitch darkness.
Gu Ya activated the searchlight on his exoskeleton helmet.
The beam projected far into the distance, eventually vanishing into the darkness.
Even the searchlight couldn't reach the farthest end!
Gu Ya felt as if he had fallen into a vast, dark abyss.
He sensed something was wrong and turned to pull the door.
Strangely, behind him seemed to be emptiness.
The door had vanished.
"Impossible!" Gu Ya sighed softly, his voice echoing in the darkness.
Was it an illusion?
This room was so large, how could there be an echo?
The darkness gradually stole Gu Ya's senses. Something beneath his feet seemed to be dragging him forward.
He began to feel an inexplicable dizziness, as if standing in a black hole.
Suddenly, a chilling, ghostly moan came from the darkness.
"Ch-ch-ch..."
Something was laughing, yet it sounded like crying.
It was the same sound he had heard from the clones in the cultivation room that day.
"Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch..."
Gradually, these sounds multiplied around him, becoming increasingly chaotic, mixed with echoes, assaulting Gu Ya's hearing.
It felt as if clones were standing all around him, facing Gu Ya with cold stares, emitting piercing cries.
Gu Ya felt his hair stand on end, a sense of dread instantly flooding his mind.
"Stop laughing!" Gu Ya shouted to bolster his courage.
His voice was instantly swallowed by the chaotic noise.
Suddenly, Gu Ya felt something touching his ankle.
He shone his light down and saw a pair of pale, wrinkled hands scratching his feet.
Immediately, another pair of identical hands emerged from the light, firmly grabbing Gu Ya's feet.
Soon, more and more hands reached out, clawing at Gu Ya's shins and thighs.
Gu Ya had never witnessed such a horrifying sight. Panicked, he leaned back and landed on something soft.
"Ch-ch-ch..."
That soft mass behind him emitted a low, eerie sound.
Gu Ya instantly became enraged. Two red light bands illuminated from his leg exoskeletons.
The light bands shot upwards, passing through his body. As they reached his head, a red light circle instantly appeared on his face.
The exoskeleton armor blasted white steam, and Gu Ya instantly felt filled with power.
He flipped his body, kicked his feet, and flung away the dozens of hands gripping him, soaring into the air.
With a "clang," he hit a hard ceiling.
The height was only about two meters.
At that moment, under the searchlight, more and more hands emerged, like a horde of zombies. Countless hands layered on top of each other, gripping Gu Ya's feet.
The exoskeleton armor's exhaust instantly scorched the first batch of hands that grabbed him,
The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
But those hands did not retreat; instead, more hands clawed their way up.
They were inexplicably unafraid of the searing heat!
Gu Ya, like a bee that couldn't fly away, shook off the hands and flew against the ceiling.
Before he could fly for a few seconds, he slammed heavily into a wall.
Gu Ya looked at it with surprise through his searchlight.
"Is this... light-absorbing material?"
No wonder the searchlight couldn't illuminate the edges; the light was being absorbed.
He shone his light downwards again,
Good heavens,
Gu Ya was utterly horrified.
Below, the ground was densely covered with naked, deformed humanoid creatures.
Some had bald heads, while others had sparse strands of hair on their heads.
They moved on all fours, their pale, ghastly faces turned upwards, crawling towards Gu Ya's feet following the light source. Their eyes reflected the light of the searchlight, and they mumbled the "ch-ch-ch" sound.
The creatures in front were desperately clawing upwards, while those behind climbed onto those in front, stacking up like human pyramids.
It was like a zombie tide.
Gu Ya suppressed his discomfort, punched a pit in the wall, and flew along the wall.
No matter where he flew, the area below was swarmed with deformed and disgusting creatures.
Gu Ya flew back to the spot where he had made the pit, murmuring, "This room is about 500 square meters."
"But where did the door go?"
"And where did that man in black go?"
Just then, all the creatures began to emit an ineffable sound,
Like a baby's babbling, or the cawing of thousands of crows.
The sound reverberated, making Gu Ya's ears ache.
Even with his "pain insensitivity" and the exoskeleton armor's silent mode, he couldn't completely block out the noise.
As Gu Ya was being tormented by the noise, a pair of hands suddenly grabbed his ankle.
Immediately, more hands reached up.
Soon, more and more hands grabbed Gu Ya's exoskeleton armor, using their sharp nails to pry into the minute seams of the armor.
Gu Ya was greatly alarmed. Enduring the noise that felt like it was piercing his brain, he unleashed more intense flames from his feet, dragging a dozen creatures as he flew.
Finally, the exoskeleton armor could no longer bear such a heavy load.
He began to sway precariously.
And below, more alien creatures were waiting for Gu Ya.