Chapter 57: The Figure at the End

A glimmer of light gradually appeared in He Lu's dim eyes, and he cried out in pleasant surprise, "Zheng Kang?!"

Li Chenqiu looked back and saw a thin-faced young man walking over with a limp.

The young man looked as though he had just crawled out of water, his wet, sticky hair plastered against his scalp in strands, and the horizontal blade in his hand was stained with blood.

This person was none other than Zheng Kang, who had previously been swallowed whole by the giant.

"Is he also from the Administration of National Unification?" Li Chenqiu asked in a deep voice.

"Yes." He Lu nodded excitedly, grabbing Li Chenqiu's arm and struggling to stand up.

Hearing this, Li Chenqiu gave the two of them a faint glance, a flash of imperceptible killing intent flickering in the depths of his pupils. However, after a moment of thought, he dismissed the idea.

If he killed these two, the Administration of National Unification would certainly send even more formidable personnel. It would be better to keep them around, hiding in plain sight while simultaneously confounding the enemy's investigative direction.

Soon, Li Chenqiu helped He Lu over to Zheng Kang.

"Are you alright?!" He Lu grabbed Zheng Kang's arm in agitation. "I'm sorry, it's my fault you got eaten by the giant..."

"This isn't Uncle He's fault; I was just being careless myself. Fortunately, my superpower excels in defense, so the giant couldn't do anything to me." Zheng Kang forced a weak smile.

Li Chenqiu raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the headless corpse. A bloody crater had now been torn open right where its stomach was.

"Phew~" He Lu let out a sigh of relief. "As long as you're fine, as long as you're fine."

"Uncle He, I'd like to ask, what are these..." Zheng Kang glanced around with a blank expression, then inadvertently sized Li Chenqiu up, his eyes full of curiosity.

He Lu gathered his thoughts and explained, "It's a long story. Earlier..."

...

In the time that followed, He Lu recounted everything that had happened from the beginning.

Zheng Kang's expression shifted from initial bewilderment to skepticism, then to shock, and finally to complete stupefaction.

"Ah?" Zheng Kang took a few steps back, looking Li Chenqiu up and down.

He had clashed with the giant himself, and that kind of strength was simply not something a First-Seal practitioner could contend with.

Looking across the entire Federation, probably only those one-in-a-billion geniuses equipped with terrifying numerical-value mysterious artifacts could manage to annihilate the giants completely.

"Don't be too surprised, I just took advantage of a trick," Li Chenqiu said with modest humility.

"Uh... alright." Zheng Kang nodded with a dazed expression.

"By the way, you guys..."

Just as Li Chenqiu was about to ask about the disaster water, a series of rumbling, intestinal-蠕动-like sounds echoed before him.

He Lu and Zheng Kang experienced the exact same thing.

The three of them exchanged glances, then turned to look ahead.

A few seconds later, eerie, wriggling small red characters materialized out of thin air.

[Congratulations to all for gathering the five keys. The direction of the altar is clear, await further notice.]

By the time Li Chenqiu finished reading the final character, the small red characters dissolved into the air, vanishing without a trace.

Simultaneously, the moment the red text disappeared, Li Chenqiu turned his gaze toward the red moon. In the nether realm of fate, he felt something in that direction calling out to him.

He Lu turned to look at Li Chenqiu, then at Zheng Kang. "Do you guys also feel like there's something extremely magnetic in that direction?"

Hearing this, the other two nodded without looking back.

"There's no time to lose, let's hurry over there..."

Before Zheng Kang could finish speaking, He Lu grabbed his arm and scolded, "Go over there for what? To throw your lives away?

What state are you and I in right now? I'm half-crippled and you're quarter-crippled. What do we have to fight those Awakened ones if we run into them?"

"But..." Zheng Kang pressed his lips together in lingering resentment.

"Right now, Xiao Ye's whereabouts are unknown, and we can't even guarantee our own survival. What do we have to compete, and what do we have to stop those Awakened ones?" He Lu's face turned gloomy.

Zheng Kang said nothing and silently turned his back, evidently accepting He Lu's decision.

Having convinced Zheng Kang, He Lu looked at Li Chenqiu and said earnestly, "I, He Lu, will remember this kindness. If I can leave this place alive, I will surely repay it. You... the Awakened are deceitful, you must be careful."

Hearing this, Li Chenqiu's brows involuntarily lowered.

This was hardly good news for him. The current situation remained unclear, it was uncertain whether the mirror-images mentioned in the rules would appear, and nobody knew where the exit was. Everything in the Underworld seemed shrouded in mist.

All Li Chenqiu could do was keep these uncertain variables close to his own side, judging their life and death based on the evolving situation.

Therefore, he could not let these two leave his field of vision. If they insisted on leaving, he would be forced to resort to murder.

Realizing this, Li Chenqiu shook his head, his eyes filled with determination. "I won't leave you behind here. Right now, there are probably only the three of us humans left in the Underworld; everyone else is an Awakened.

The chances of the two of you surviving without me are far too slim. So come with me, and I will protect your safety."

"This..." He Lu hadn't expected Li Chenqiu to say this, and his eyes widened involuntarily.

Standing to the side with his back turned, Zheng Kang also turned around with a look of astonishment upon hearing these words.

A flicker of hesitation crossed He Lu's eyes, but he ultimately shook his head. "Forget it, following you will only drag you down. You..."

"Protecting you is just a matter of convenience; it doesn't count as dragging me down. Don't waste time, let's go together!"

Ultimately, under Li Chenqiu's persuasion, He Lu and Zheng Kang nodded in agreement.

The trio set off together in the direction of the red moon.

...

...

This was a flat plain, devoid of undulating hills or unusual trees.

Yet calling it a flat plain was not entirely accurate, because the middle section of this land was cleanly severed by a long, deep abyss. Its cuts were smooth, as if sliced open by some sharp instrument.

Near the left side of the abyss stood a bridge resembling a city wall, connecting the eastern and western banks.

The bridge was a hundred meters wide and over ten thousand meters long, flanked by stone-brick railings. Its surface was paved with bluestone bricks, stretching across the abyss like a wooden stick.

As time slowly drifted by, a group of people appeared on the eastern plain. These individuals were precisely the Awakened from the Underworld and the New World.

Under Li Chenqiu's coercive pressure, Horse-Face and Shen Yuanguo had temporarily set aside their past grievances and joined forces.

"The altar should be across that bridge. Are we crossing?" Horse-Face's expression was grave. As he spoke, he periodically scanned his surroundings, remaining vigilant for the sudden appearance of Li Chenqiu.

Shen Yuanguo shook his head, speaking with a hesitant tone, "The other side of the bridge is covered in thick fog, and we can't see anything. If we rush over blindly, will we run into danger? How about we wait for Li Chenqiu to cross first, and then follow?"

"Have you ever considered whether Li Chenqiu might block us at the far end of the bridge after he crosses?" Horse-Face retorted. Seeing that Shen Yuanguo remained silent, he added, "Let's cross. At the very least, we can seize the initiative."

With that, Horse-Face took the lead and led the Underworld contingent toward the bridge. Despite harboring lingering doubts, Shen Yuanguo gritted his teeth and followed behind.

Compared to unknown dangers, he feared the known entity of Li Chenqiu far more.

Meanwhile, amidst the boundless thick fog at the far end, a lean figure leaned lazily against the railing, as if waiting for something.

Had Li Chenqiu been present, he undoubtedly would have found this figure intensely familiar.