Chapter 59 Departure and Arrival

Compared to the chaos and noise of the west side of the bridge, the east side was exceptionally quiet.

Li Chenqiu and his two companions crossed the forest and traversed the flat ground, finally arriving at the east side of the long bridge.

Halu’s leg was injured, so he had been supported by Zheng Kang the entire way. This had severely slowed down their pace, and only now did they reach the edge of the abyss.

Li Chenqiu walked to a spot just a single step away from the abyss and stopped, lifting his foot to kick a stone down into it.

There was a dead, suffocating silence; the stone vanished like a pebble dropped into the vast sea, failing to produce even the faintest sound.

"Looks like it's pretty deep," Li Chenqiu muttered under his breath, then raised his gaze to look toward the other end of the bridge. Yet, despite his extraordinary eyesight, he could make out nothing at all.

A thick fog shrouded everything, taking on a faint, eerie crimson hue beneath the red moon, making it appear exceptionally bizarre and sinister.

Li Chenqiu turned his head to the other two and said, "The people from the Underworld and the New World have probably already crossed over. Let's not waste any time either."

Halu hesitated for a moment before saying, "How about we just stay on this side of the bridge? Who knows what might happen over there, and having us tag along will only hold you back."

"No need," Li Chenqiu replied decisively in a firm tone. "You won't hold me back. Let's go!"

Without giving them a chance to respond, Li Chenqiu stepped directly onto the long bridge.

Zheng Kang exchanged a glance with Halu, and with a helpless sigh, followed closely behind.

The moment all three of them stepped onto the long bridge, a low, bubbling sound echoed in their ears once again.

Li Chenqiu stopped in his tracks, lowering his gaze to look ahead.

A few seconds later, crooked, crimson little characters slowly materialized.

[All participants have set foot on the Divine Path, fulfilling the conditions to leave the Nether Realm. The red moon points west, marking the direction of the altar; pointing north is the portal to leave the Nether Realm. Please make your own judgment.]

Rumble~

Just at that moment, a deafening roar erupted from behind the three of them.

Halu was the first to react, turning his head to look back.

What came into view was a clockwise-spinning black vortex, nearly five hundred meters in diameter, completely occupying the entire bridgehead.

"This..."

The suddenly appearing behemoth startled Halu so badly that his whole body trembled. If Zheng Kang hadn't been supporting him from behind, Halu probably would have collapsed to the ground.

Li Chenqiu walked up to the edge of the vortex, looked it up and down with curiosity, and turned to the other two. "Since the exit has appeared, you should hurry up and leave!"

"Thank you so much! I, Halu, will remember this kindness, and once I get out, I will definitely come to express my gratitude in person!" Halu nodded at Li Chenqiu with deep gratitude.

Li Chenqiu waved a hand dismissively. "No need, I..."

"How can that do? Saving a life is not some trivial favor, how can we not repay it!" Halu interrupted Li Chenqiu excitedly.

Zheng Kang, standing nearby, also urged, "That's right! To you, little brother, this might seem like an insignificant matter, but it truly saved our lives. This debt must be repaid!"

Li Chenqiu gave the two of them a peculiar look and explained, "What I mean is that a formal visit isn't necessary. If you really want to repay the favor, you can just wire money to my bank account. I'm quite poor, which is why I took a part-time job as a security guard on the mountain just for a few hundred bucks."

A dead silence fell over the area. Six imaginary crows flew across the heads of Halu and Zheng Kang.

"Uh... money?" Halu asked uncertainly, as if he hadn't heard Li Chenqiu clearly.

"Yes, exactly. Money. The amount is entirely up to the sincerity of your Public Security Bureau," Li Chenqiu replied with a smile.

After freezing for a moment, Halu realized it was true and said, "Oh... alright, then money it is."

Hearing this reply, Halu's image instantly elevated in Li Chenqiu's mind, and the chill in Li Chenqiu's eyes faded slightly, replaced by a touch of softness.

Just as Li Chenqiu was about to say something, his ears suddenly twitched.

"Huh?" Li Chenqiu raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting past the two of them toward the west side of the bridge.

Just a moment ago, his ears had faintly caught a series of overlapping screams and shouts.

Noticing the change in Li Chenqiu's expression, Zheng Kang asked with concern, "What is it? Did something happen?"

Li Chenqiu shook his head casually. "Nothing much. You guys should get going. Staying here a moment longer means a bit more danger, so don't waste any time."

"Alright, little brother. Aside from us, another young woman from the Public Security Bureau entered. If you happen to run into her on the bridge, I hope you can give her a hand. Our Public Security Bureau will be endlessly grateful!" Halu grasped Li Chenqiu's hand, speaking with utmost sincerity.

Li Chenqiu gave Halu a reassuring look. "Definitely. As fellow humans, I won't just stand by and do nothing."

"Many thanks!"

"Thank you!"

After expressing their gratitude, the two of them supported each other and stepped into the vortex.

...

North Huangshan, Gonghuo Plaza

Soldiers moved in pairs, carrying stretchers to clear the bodies from the plaza.

Before the blood-red portal that merged with the clouds, Yeyou stood with a worried expression, a distinct, swollen bump resting prominently on her forehead.

Just before, right as Yeyou was about to charge into the blood-red portal, an invisible barrier seemed to materialize before it, bouncing her back to the ground with a loud thud.

"Sigh, when is this bump ever going to go down?" Yeyou muttered gloomily, reaching up to touch her forehead.

It wasn't that she cared about her appearance, but rather that she found it deeply embarrassing.

At that moment, a soldier trotted up to Yeyou. "Officer, we've searched everywhere. There is no sign of Disaster Water 096."

"Did we find anything at the location where the satellite phone distress signal was sent?" Yeyou turned her gaze toward the soldier.

"Based on the traces left at the scene, we can confirm that Disaster Water 096 engaged in combat with other Awakened. As for who won, who lost, and where Disaster Water went, we don't have a definitive result yet."

Yeyou nodded thoughtfully and ordered, "Collect blood samples, send them to the pathology department, and log all the genetic data into the DNA database."

"Understood," the soldier replied crisply, then turned and trotted away.

Yeyou gazed deeply at the blood-red portal. "Could it be inside?"

Since it wasn't on the mountain, this was the only possibility she could think of.

Before Yeyou could ponder further, ripples spread across the surface of the blood-red portal, and two battered figures limped out from within. It was none other than Halu and Zheng Kang.

"Yeyou?" the two exclaimed in unison, looking surprised.

"How did you two end up in this state?" Yeyou stepped forward with concern, relieving Zheng Kang of the burden of supporting Halu.

Halu smiled wryly. "It's a long story. Let me catch my breath and I'll tell you all the details. By the way, why didn't you go in? And what's going on with that bump on your head?"

Yeyou's expression turned awkward as she brushed it off. "I bumped into something by accident, it's not important. Tell me about what happened to you guys first!"

...

Meanwhile, on the bridge in the Nether Realm

Li Chenqiu stood before the vortex, gazing quietly ahead.

His extraordinary eyesight allowed him to see the fleeing crowd, as well as the raindrops continuously falling from the sky.

Li Chenqiu knew very well that this was the work of Extreme Water, and his doppelgänger had arrived.