Chapter 121: Hidden in Plain Sight

Whoosh!

A scorching blade of flame slashed out, engulfing the seductive woman. Simultaneously, another flame blade darted toward the white-haired old man, who was scrambling to his feet in an attempt to flee.

"No!"

*Thud!*

With a muffled groan and a scream of despair, the seductive woman and the white-haired old man perished one after the other.

[Vitality +286]
[Vitality +277]

The reclamation prompts flashed by. Tang Mubai sheathed his Flame Bone Blade and channeled his "Cloud-Rolling Hands." With a surge of blood-energy, he struck out with consecutive giant palm imprints, finishing off the orcs that had been injured but not yet killed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Ah!" "Roar!" "Awoo!"

Muffled thuds, screams, and roars echoed incessantly for a time. A few minutes later, all noise ceased; every orc hiding in the underground space had been thoroughly exterminated.

[Vitality +176]
[Vitality +181]
[Vitality +169]
[Vitality +185]
[Vitality +172]
...

With over a hundred orcs dead, the reclaimed vitality was converted into lifespan. Tang Mubai glanced at the system panel and saw an increase of 2,191.4 years!

Indeed, hunting orcs was one of the best ways to increase one’s lifespan. Unfortunately, barring any surprises, the orcs in the city had likely been wiped out. Even if a few were hiding in other corners, they wouldn't last long. If he wanted to continue hunting, he would have to go to the orc territories.

...

Retrieving the black crystal iron box, he held his breath and searched for the teleportation array among the piles of orc corpses. Soon, Tang Mubai discovered the base of the array in the northeast corner.

It was a circular structure, embedded one meter deep into the ground and roughly five meters in diameter. Its interior was crisscrossed with intricate patterns, surrounded by interconnected grooves. In the very center lay an oval cavity the size of a wok lid; clearly, this was where the array disc was placed.

Beyond the cavity, four raised iron hemispheres were distributed at opposing directions within the base. Tang Mubai twisted the shells of the hemispheres and lifted them; inside each, as expected, rested a silver-white stone the size of an infant's fist.

Energy stones!

The operation of a teleportation array required energy. While the array disc served as the starter, the actual transmission of the array consumed energy, which was drawn from these stones. Tang Mubai had only seen pictures of energy stones online; this was his first time seeing them in reality.

Seeing them now, he didn't even need to use his perception to clearly sense the waves of pure energy emanating from the four silver-white stones. A martial artist’s speed in absorbing heaven and earth energy to convert into blood-energy was far too slow. If one could freely absorb energy from these stones, the speed would be extraordinary.

Indeed, the energy within these stones was the very energy that permeated the world. It could be absorbed directly by humans and non-human beings alike, but it was notoriously difficult to find. If a deposit were discovered, humans and non-humans would swarm it in a frenzy. On the open market, a single energy stone the size of an infant's fist cost as much as one million. Despite the high price, few were willing to sell.

With the aid of his system, Tang Mubai didn't particularly care for these four stones—especially since he noticed that they were less than half-depleted. The other half had undoubtedly been consumed while powering the teleportation array. He intended to use the remaining energy for several more trips.

...

After inspecting the teleportation array, Tang Mubai walked through the underground space to search for another exit. With so many orcs gathered here, there had to be a second way in and out. Guided by his sixth sense, he found the other exit in less than half a minute.

This exit was located in a small partition on the south side of the underground space. Upon entering, he saw a two-meter-high tunnel leading toward the surface. Carrying the black crystal iron box, Tang Mubai followed the passage, turning, twisting, and walking straight for about half an hour before stopping beneath a hole covered by a circular iron plate.

He didn't rush out, instead carefully sensing the situation above. Certain that no one was there, he pushed up the iron plate and moved it aside, then vaulted out, leaving the underground tunnel.

Looking around, he found himself in a basement. He carried the box up the stairs and pushed open an iron door. The bustling noise of the city immediately flooded in from all directions.

It was a vacant room with some clutter piled in the corner; the front and back windows were open, keeping the air circulating. Tang Mubai listened to his surroundings, and once he was certain it was empty, he headed to the door and stepped outside.

Outside was a quiet alley. After walking about thirty steps, he reached the street corner. A familiar building came into view not far to his right: the East District Branch of the Bureau of Public Security!

The second exit of the underground space was located right beside the Bureau of Public Security building. The straight-line distance was less than a hundred meters!

"They really know how to pick a spot," Tang Mubai chuckled.

With the exit so close to the Bureau, it was a classic case of "the darkest place is right under the lamp."

He shook his head. Tang Mubai didn't linger at the alley entrance; he turned back to the basement and destroyed the second tunnel section by section. The orcs needed an exit, but he did not. On the contrary, leaving the passage open posed a security risk. He could simply use the elevator from the top floor of the Youxing Building to reach the underground space.

The Youxing Building was registered under Luo Lianxin's name, but since she was dead and had no heirs, the property rights would soon be seized by the authorities. All Tang Mubai had to do was ensure he was the first to rent out the top-floor office when the time came. Until then, he could use it as he pleased. As for the change in ownership, he just needed to keep Xu Dalu informed.

As for the orc corpses in the underground space, they still needed to be cleared. The process was simple: Tang Mubai specifically left half of the second tunnel to stack the bodies. Once all the corpses were moved into the passage, he sealed the entrance and filled the partition with soil and gravel.

With everything settled, Tang Mubai took the elevator back to the top floor, placed the black crystal iron box in his car, and drove to a clothing market to buy a pile of discarded old clothes, as well as a dozen bottles of air freshener. He returned to the underground space to scrub away the blood and refresh the air before finally heading back to the restaurant.

After lunch, he returned home to his quarters and went online to search for forbidden zones with Yin-sha or Ice-sha energy near the 38th Domain.

Due to the orc riots, all schools in Red Leaf City were closed for a week. His young cousin was staying home, and for the past two days, she had been running around the four buildings of the quarters with Xiaodong and Xiaoxi. Today, he had expected the same, but when Tang Mubai arrived home, he saw the little girl lying on the sofa, looking sulky, her short legs kicking in the air.

"What's wrong?" Tang Mubai set down the black crystal iron box and asked with a smile.

"Brother, you're back."

Hearing his voice, the little girl scrambled off the sofa and looked up at him with a round, pleading face. "Brother, Auntie is leaving. I don't want her to go."

"Auntie Fang is leaving?"