It wasn’t just Captain Zheng who felt relieved. Director Jin, standing nearby, also let out a long breath.
Damn, that had been a close one.
Zhu Zeyu was recklessly impulsive, but fortunately, his luck was extraordinary.
Who would have thought that one wild slash could actually rescue all those people and resolve Director Jin’s most urgent problem?
Now that the people on Floor B13 had been rescued, those in the Inspection Hall could be saved as well.
This way, not only would there be no need to worry about the Human Alliance losing faith in them, but the Hunter might even be captured without a hitch!
Director Jin felt as though he had come back to life. His heart pounded forcefully in his chest.
In front of him, several rescued players were weeping with gratitude as they thanked Zhu Zeyu profusely.
“You’ve got some nerve, kid!”
“We owe you our lives! I’ll thank you on behalf of my wife and children!”
“Brother, what’s your name? Dinner’s on me…”
Zhu Zeyu had been secretly watching Director Jin’s expression the entire time.
These people thanked only him, completely ignoring Director Jin. The latter had only just managed to calm down, and his expression was beginning to sour again.
“Hey, hey, brothers, don’t thank just me.”
Zhu Zeyu hurriedly cut them off, displaying excellent social awareness as he redirected their attention toward Director Jin.
“You see, it was Director Jin who noticed something was wrong through the surveillance footage and immediately brought people over.”
Zhu Zeyu grinned.
“Director Jin is the one who was most concerned about everyone’s safety.”
The rescued players looked at one another, finally realizing what they had overlooked.
“Thank you, Director Jin!”
“Director, we owe you our lives. We’ll repay you even if it takes—”
Director Jin raised one hand and interrupted their flattery.
“There are still people trapped upstairs.”
He put on a solemn expression and gave Captain Zheng a heavy pat on the shoulder.
“Their situation is the same as yours. They’re trapped inside a dungeon space.”
Now that they had found a solution, Director Jin was no longer anxious in the slightest.
He ordered part of his team to remain behind and seal off the dungeon area, then led the rest—including Zhu Zeyu—toward the elevator at a brisk pace.
“The situation upstairs is extremely serious. I’ve sealed the shelter doors again. The people who weren’t pulled into the dungeon are highly agitated, so we had no choice but to suppress them by force.”
Captain Zheng’s lips had not yet regained their color.
Director Jin smiled.
“Captain Zheng, unlike the situation on Floor B13, there’s a Hunter inside the dungeon in the Inspection Hall.”
Captain Zheng immediately looked as if he had been injected with a shot of adrenaline.
Whenever he thought of his previous encounter with the Hunter, he felt ashamed and furious from the bottom of his heart. His face burned hotly.
“Director, are you certain?”
“I am.” Director Jin’s expression grew grave. “This is no longer simply a matter of rescuing people. We need to capture the Hunter and give the public an explanation!”
Zhu Zeyu could understand that.
Since those people could be rescued, the incident could no longer be considered a major disaster for the Human Alliance.
Director Jin could even use the point about “breaking the dungeon to rescue people” to sing his own praises.
But capturing the Hunter was probably not merely about “giving the public an explanation.” More likely, Director Jin had some personal motives of his own.
Director Jin sighed and began analyzing the situation in a particularly solemn tone.
“This Hunter seems to possess a special ability. Just like last time, he disappeared, and no one inside the dungeon could see him.”
“But”—Director Jin changed tack—“our people have been monitoring the Inspection Hall the entire time.”
“So far, no living creature has emerged from the dungeon. Since both the shelter and the Inspection Hall have been sealed off, there’s a good chance the Hunter is still inside and hasn’t left.”
Of course he was.
Zhu Zeyu calculated silently.
Even if Director Jin believed the Hunter had already escaped, Zhu Yan would gladly show himself and change Director Jin’s mind through sheer force of presence.
Director Jin unconsciously covered his left wrist.
Whenever he thought of that damned Hunter, he suffered phantom pain in his limb.
“Director, rest assured,” Captain Zheng said solemnly. “We’ll do everything we can.”
Director Jin nodded.
“Liu Lei has taken people upstairs. The upper floors are already covered by an inescapable net.”
Zhu Zeyu’s plans were clicking into place.
He didn’t know whether the trap awaiting him really was an inescapable net, but one thing was certain: Jin Rongxu would not escape the lesson waiting for him on Floor B18.
The elevator rose smoothly before stopping at Floor B1.
When the doors opened, Director Jin led everyone through several corridors and back into the front hall.
The players in the Inspection Hall had not been evacuated. Several fully armed soldiers were protecting them while herding them into a corner far from the virtual dungeon.
Zhu Zeyu noticed that some people were quietly sobbing, while others were filming with their phones.
A few players were staring intently in the direction of the virtual dungeon. They were most likely using the video-recording function on the Player Forum.
The middle-ranking official named Liu Lei was there as well.
When he saw Captain Zheng, he hurried over without the slightest surprise. It seemed he had already heard that the captain had been rescued.
“I used an advanced item called 【Inescapable Net】.”
Liu Lei nodded at Director Jin and spoke with striking bluntness.
“Based on our previous assessment of the Hunter’s level, this item is more than sufficient.”
He gestured for Director Jin to look at the ceiling over the half of the hall where the virtual dungeon was located.
Zhu Zeyu followed his gaze.
Against the dimly colored ceiling, thin threads could faintly be seen crisscrossing in every direction.
The threads looked somewhat like transparent fishing line. In the empty spaces between them shimmered rainbow hues, like the iridescent sheen of soap bubbles under sunlight.
This strange “net” extended all the way above the virtual dungeon.
“Don’t let the fact that it isn’t an enclosed structure fool you,” Liu Lei said with a faint smile. “In reality, it can monitor any human or horror creature below Level 12 and create a special field that prevents them from leaving.”
“The Hunter won’t be able to escape this sky once he appears! If he tries to force his way through, the item will attack automatically.”
“When that happens, Captain Zheng can lead the elite squad in and surround him. You’ll only need to provide support.”
Director Jin nodded in satisfaction, and at last, a trace of a smile appeared on his face.
Captain Zheng, meanwhile, patted Zhu Zeyu on the shoulder, signaling for him to follow.
From a distance, Zhu Zeyu spotted the circular pull ring on the floor. He didn’t even bother pretending anymore, immediately looking eager to take action.
“Captain Zheng, should I go over now?”
He rubbed his hands together excitedly.
“You have no idea how amazing it feels to cut through this thing!”
Oh, right.
He still had to put on a convincing performance inside the virtual dungeon, so that the scene of him being “captured” would look believable later.
…
Inside the virtual space.
【Mist】once again condensed into a human form. Leaning lazily against the light fixture on the ceiling, he looked down at the people below.
“Oh, honestly.”
With 【Acting】active, Zhu Yan imitated Qiu Lingxiao’s older brother’s restrained and refined tone to perfection.
“It’s been so long. Have you really not come up with a single solution?”
Below him, the two Alliance players simultaneously opened the Player Forum and began transmitting the news to the outside world.
“He’s appeared!”
“The Hunter is still inside the dungeon. He hasn’t left!”
“Director, what should we do now? He looks like he’s about to make a move and go on a killing spree!”
Reading the information coming in from inside, Director Jin merely smiled with confidence.
“Our people are already on their way. The encirclement is about to begin.”
He raised a hand and gestured.
Not far away, Captain Zheng understood. He led Zhu Zeyu to stop beside the metal pull ring.
“Make sure you keep the Hunter calm and lower his guard. Don’t let him turn invisible again!”
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
