Chapter 102: The Counterattack Plan

Chen Qi looked at the three people behind him:

"I'm going down there. Take care of yourselves—if you need to go to the hospital, go to the hospital."

The three nodded obediently.

Though they desperately wanted to cling to his coattails, they were badly wounded, and managed to restrain that intense urge to accomplish something great alongside a big shot.

If not for this big shot being present just now, they would absolutely have been slaughtered—reduced to less than nothing.

The level of bloodshed of these Kin-Eaters was something they'd heard of before.

Having just been saved by this big shot, they naturally didn't dare follow along and cause trouble.

The only pity was that they hadn't managed to add the big shot as a friend.

"Big shot, be careful."

"Big shot, stay safe."

"Big shot, if there's ever anything you need me for, please feel free to command us—I'm the type who loves being commanded."

"Me too."

"Me too."

After expressing their thanks, the three continued bandaging themselves.

Chen Qi turned back to look at the tunnel, frowning slightly.

It was like a naturally formed underground passage, completely lacking the rectangular straightness of modern architecture.

This was the entrance to the Kin-Eaters' underground headquarters?

Chen Qi let out a breath, and carefully followed the Morning Star, descending into the depths.

It was very dark, and also very cold and damp. From time to time, he could hear the sound of insects crawling.

Chen Qi switched on his phone's flashlight, shining it ahead while checking the group chat.

In the group chat:

Ox Warrior: "Uncle Seabird's amazing! The fight against that white-robed guy—he's already gaining the upper hand!"

Succubus: "Anyone want to come with me to find that Prisoner and form a ten-man Avengers squad? That guy's a monster too!"

Wood Mage: "Ice-phase exclusive item for flower-phase item—anyone want to trade?"

...

Based on the current discussion in the group, their plan was succeeding so far.

Their leader, the white-robed man, was being held in check, while the other players pursued the remaining organization members.

From what was happening in the group, the Kin-Eaters' members were scattering like ants, barely putting up any resistance.

No resistance at all, huh...

Chen Qi muttered to himself, vaguely feeling that something wasn't right.

With the added stealth of the Mist Walker's Cloak, he moved like a silent ghost, quietly descending underground.

Continuing forward...

There it was!

Chen Qi looked at the door before him.

He estimated they had to be at least five hundred meters underground by now!

Without abilities from the Wandering Ones, it would be extremely difficult to build large structures at such depths.

Chen Qi carefully pushed open the rusty door and entered the Kin-Eaters' base.

The base exuded a chilling, sinister air, like an unfinished, abandoned underground parking lot.

Chen Qi cautiously surveyed the place.

No clear paths. No clear landmarks.

The terrain was far too complex.

In the group, many players had chosen to move in groups of four to avoid getting lost and separated.

Chen Qi was the type who easily got lost in open-world games—without a map to guide him, he would quickly be hit with the questions: "Where am I? Where is the place I'm supposed to go?"

Fortunately, he had the Morning Star.

After all, his goal was to cause trouble. And if you're going to cause trouble, you might as well go for the most rewarding trouble.

Wherever the Morning Star pointed, that was the direction.

Chen Qi took a deep breath, sensing the direction of the Morning Star, and continued forward.

"Lovingly advancing with caution, careful not to step on any traps..."

Chen Qi mimicked the text style of New Sun in his head, following the Morning Star all the way.

Gradually, he noticed patches of red moss growing on the walls around him, and he could also see traces of bullets.

Along this long stretch, he hadn't seen a single enemy player—not even a single person.

Chen Qi looked at the group chat.

Everyone was already discussing tactics, beating the Kin-Eaters back step by step! What a lively scene!

Some people had even arranged to go karaoke together after tonight was over.

Chen Qi sensed the Morning Star's position, looked at the desolate scene before him, and couldn't help but wonder.

Are we even playing the same instance?

The Lantern Shadow Fox poked its head out from under Chen Qi's clothes, its fluffy little head nudging against Chen Qi's chin.

"Master, where are we going?"

"To get ourselves something nice. Little Lantern, go back in for now."

Chen Qi stopped in his tracks. He was very close to where the Morning Star was guiding him.

It was an underground room. Outside the room, red moss was growing continuously.

From Chen Qi's right eye, a white dove flew out and entered the red-mossed room.

Using the dove's vision, he scanned the room. Inside was a study, with various ancient, worn bookshelves packed with books.

These weren't ordinary techniques—these were books from the world of New Sun!

Books from the New Sun world weren't cheap.

Unexpectedly, by sheer chance, he had stumbled into a place where the Kin-Eaters stored their books.

Chen Qi used the white dove to confirm the room was safe, then entered the study, scanning the books one by one.

"Intermediate Spirit Vision..."

"Iron Body Six Forms—not bad. Though I won't learn it myself, it should be sellable."

"Meditation Art—can consume mental energy to restore mana. Pretty decent, though a pity it can't be used in combat."

...

Although the laws of the New Capital prohibited one person from holding too many books, that didn't matter to players.

In every player headquarters, there were small libraries. With the aid of the Earth Printer, books were sold in bulk.

It was said that some schools had even started selling books from the New Sun game.

Chen Qi didn't rush to collect these books.

He had his Traveler's Box. Once he confirmed there was no danger, he could take an entire bookshelf at a time.

Chen Qi sensed the Morning Star's position and walked deeper into the room.

Suddenly, he heard some sounds—faint sounds.

They were weak, yet dense, coming from behind the bookshelves.

Chen Qi stopped. Under the effect of the Mist Walker's Cloak, he was essentially in stealth mode; his footsteps made no sound.

The voices behind the bookshelf carried obvious urgency and anger.

"When is Boss White Robe going to make his move? Let those reckless fools witness the might of our King!"

"Don't rush. We need to wait—wait for a moment when they think they've won."

"Will we win? They still have elite players supporting them from behind..."

"What's there to fear? Do they have support and we don't?"

"We mock them every day online. The Butcher, the Web Shadow, the Phantom—all of them have fallen out with us. Who's going to help us?"

"Right, and why is there still no word from Brother Prisoner and that white silhouette guy? Brother Prisoner isn't dead, is he..."

"Dead? Careful—when Brother Prisoner comes back, he'll beat you to death. Brother Prisoner is a madman who dared to board the Weaving Train!"

...

From the other side of the bookshelf, voices continued to drift out.

Chen Qi listened carefully. Behind this bookshelf, there were at least twenty people.

The Kin-Eaters had been founded before the open beta, and a number of twenty was already terrifying.

Besides that, he could also hear a low, deep breathing sound coming from behind the bookshelf.

Chen Qi calmed himself, analyzing their words.

From this conversation, he learned that the reason the Kin-Eaters fled at the sight of people was to prepare for a counterattack!

And they seemed quite confident about it.

Hiss...

Chen Qi didn't move. It seemed he had accidentally wandered into a major gathering spot of Kin-Eaters players!

And he could feel that the Morning Star was right behind that bookshelf.

As expected of you, Morning Star...

The moment he drew near, he could also feel the Morning Star beating abnormally fiercely.

That meant the thing it was guiding him toward was extremely rare.

Chen Qi looked around. The red moss was growing at a visible rate along the rusty bookshelves.

At that moment, an unexpected line of text from the New Sun game popped up.

(End of chapter)