Chapter 117: Farewell to the Half-Orc Once More
Two hundred meters away, on the third floor of a shopping mall.
Tang Mubai stood by the window, gazing out at the street below, his heart filled with cold fury.
"So quickly dead? That’s a bargain for you!"
His plan was simple.
He had intercepted the footage of Lin Jinliang brutally torturing women and posted it online.
No other actions were taken.
But such a video was explosive in itself. The internet had already been ablaze since last night.
After a night of viral spread, by this morning, nearly half of Red Maple City knew Lin Jinliang’s true nature.
The brothers and parents of the women Lin Jinliang had abused and killed immediately stormed his residence, but finding no one there, they scoured the streets.
When Lin Jinliang finally appeared, they all rushed at him madly, showing no restraint in their attacks.
It could be said that everyone who had seen the video—except for a small number with disturbed minds—wished nothing more than for Lin Jinliang’s death.
This was evident from the slow arrival of the Anwu Bureau officers trying to stop the chaos.
They too hoped Lin Jinliang would die, but were bound by official regulations and had to intervene.
Those who attacked Lin Jinliang to death were taken away, but it was merely a formality; they would be released soon after.
Of course, Tang Mubai no longer cared about what happened afterward.
Lin Jinliang was dead, and the task assigned by Luo Lianxin was complete.
Next, he would head to the Youxing Tower’s underground parking lot, third level, to inspect the foundation of the teleportation array.
Tang Mubai had already retrieved the black crystal iron box from the bank early that morning.
Since he was just carrying the box, he hadn’t brought along the three keys.
With the black crystal iron box in hand, he came to the hotel where Lin Jinliang lived, waiting for him to appear.
This spot had been chosen by Tang Mubai the day before.
Lin Jinliang was a notable figure, so tracking his whereabouts was easy.
Now that Lin Jinliang was dead, the matter was naturally settled.
...
Carrying the black crystal iron box, Tang Mubai drove to Youxing Tower.
He parked on the second underground level, holding the box.
He quickened his pace, searching the entire second floor but couldn’t find an entrance to the third underground level.
He paused to think: a place housing an array foundation would surely have some defenses.
Perhaps the entrance to the third level wasn’t on the second floor at all, but somewhere else.
Maybe on a middle floor of the tower, or a hidden corner nearby?
Tang Mubai returned to the surface, pushed his sixth sense to the limit, silently focusing on the third floor entrance, narrowing his eyes slightly as he followed the sensation.
A few minutes later, he reached the topmost floor of the tower, forced open a tightly sealed door, and stepped into a spacious office, facing a wall adorned with a mural.
His eyes scanned the room, then he approached a large eagle statue.
Behind it was a protruding handle which he pressed gently, then slowly turned.
Click, click, click...
The mechanism stirred, and the mural-covered wall began to slide open, revealing a silver-white elevator inside.
He pressed the button to open the elevator doors—
Swish!
The doors parted, and Tang Mubai stepped in.
Glancing at the floor indicator, he saw a basement third level.
The entrance to the underground third floor was accessed via elevator!
Grinning, he pressed the button, closed the doors, and began descending.
From the top floor all the way down to the underground third level.
Ding~
The elevator stopped as the arrival bell chimed.
Swish!
The doors opened to reveal a crowd of men and women, armed and grim-faced, looking disheveled and hostile.
They crowded outside the elevator, wary yet alert as they stared at Tang Mubai.
“What are you? Where’s Lin Jinliang? Why isn’t he here?” demanded a burly young woman at the forefront, her gaze piercing and voice hoarse.
“Lin Jinliang?” Tang Mubai remained calm, his eyes sweeping over the group as he replied coolly, “Lin Jinliang had an accident. He asked me to come…”
“Whether he comes or not doesn’t matter. Where’s the array plate? Did you bring it?” the burly woman interrupted roughly, her eyes scanning Tang Mubai and finally settling on the black crystal iron box with excitement.
“The array plate is inside the box,” Tang Mubai answered evenly.
He sharpened his hearing and listened to the heartbeats of these people.
In the next moment, his heart leapt in shock.
These guys were all half-beasts!
Listening closely, he recognized the familiar rhythm.
Half-beasts!
The thirty or so men and women blocking the elevator all bore half-beast traits!
Looking past the crowd, Tang Mubai could see a larger group gathered in the spacious underground area behind them.
Were these the remnants of the half-beasts from the failed plan two nights ago?
Where had they entered the underground third floor from?
If they had come through the secret elevator in the top-floor office, as Tang Mubai had, it was impossible no one noticed.
There were simply too many of them!
More than thirty at the elevator alone, and even more behind.
Tang Mubai wasn’t sure if there were others in different corners, but conservatively, their numbers exceeded one hundred!
Over a hundred half-beasts entering Youxing Tower and descending by elevator without detection was impossible.
Unless they had come through another passage!
This underground space beneath the parking lot must have other entrances!
Tang Mubai’s visit this time was just reconnaissance, so next time he wouldn’t have to search blindly.
What he told Luo Lianxin was true.
He planned to go to the half-beast territory to hunt them down.
Recovering lost life force in the city was too slow.
Hunting half-beasts directly would be much easier and more efficient.
However, to use the teleportation array to reach the half-beast tribe, full preparation was essential.
A way out was mandatory; the array plate inside the black crystal box had to be well protected.
Secondly, to bolster his insurance, Tang Mubai needed to refine and restore several layers of his secret “Two Instruments Sword Qi.”
After all, he had no idea what awaited on the other side of the teleportation array.
It might lead straight into the half-beast tribe, possibly guarded by a lord-level half-beast.
No matter the situation, as long as he had enough confidence to face it, there would be no problem.
Until the “Two Instruments Sword Qi” was fully restored, Tang Mubai would not activate the teleportation array.
Unexpectedly, this reconnaissance mission led him to encounter the half-beast remnants gathered here.
As for why the half-beasts were here, it was easy to understand.
They were using the teleportation array to return to the other side!
They had come through the array, and if they used it again to retreat, the Anwu Bureau, the Governor’s Office, and the military in Red Maple City would never find them.
Most importantly, from the burly young woman’s words, Lin Jinliang was involved too!
It seemed Yue Shengke and the half-beasts had long planned a retreat.
If that failed, they would rely on Lin Jinliang—who had no official ties to the Red Lake Group—to assist.
The half-beasts had been waiting here for Lin Jinliang to arrive with the array plate to activate the teleportation array.
Unfortunately, Lin Jinliang, possibly fearing exposure, never went to the bank to get the array plate yesterday.
He intended to go today, but it was already too late!