Chapter 124: Hidden Route

Let us step back a little in time. While Ye Chen was heading toward the Extraordinary Bureau, Chen Bingfeng and Xu Fan were far from idle.

On the streets, Xu Fan strode ahead, followed by Chen Bingfeng, who remained engrossed in scrolling through his communicator. Instead of sticking to the main thoroughfares of the market district, they were being led by Xu Fan through a maze of narrow, cramped alleyways. It was not that they wanted to avoid the main roads, but they felt that no further clues were to be found there.

Along the dark and narrow alleys, many shops without clear signage operated in secret. The disheveled shopkeepers either offered enthusiastic smiles, watched from the shadows, or peered out with wary eyes. It was rare to see members of the Patrol Bureau in these back alleys; if they were on routine patrol, they usually stuck to the main streets.

"Do you think they might have done it?" Xu Fan asked his teammate in a low voice, but his question went unanswered. The "they" he referred to were the merchants running illicit businesses in the alleys.

When he turned to look, he found his partner completely absorbed in his communicator. Just as he prepared to complain about his teammate’s poor state and slacking off, Chen Bingfeng spoke slowly:

"If you were a shopkeeper here, do you think you could make a move without your peers watching? Everyone here is just trying to scrape by, selling low-quality goods and contraband. Protecting one another is only logical. But to dare to touch a family, to touch children—that crosses a line they wouldn't have the guts to cross. We haven't been walking these markets for just one day; competition among rivals is normal, but haven't you noticed? The people in the market district are unusually united."

Chen Bingfeng’s observation was perhaps incomplete. As Ye Chen would put it, the true unity lay with all the residents of the Outer City. This solidarity was born from the empathy caused by long-term exploitation by the Inner City, and the need to band together for survival. To put it more professionally, it was an invisible confrontation between two classes.

Upon reflection, Xu Fan realized there was truth in that. Suddenly, a head poked out from a shop, looking exceptionally fierce. "You two are old faces," a voice growled. "Don't waste your time here. In this alley, no one would dare kidnap the kid from the Luodan family, nor the other two. If someone did, I’d be the first to hack them to pieces. Now get lost."

"Thanks!" The last word was not spoken, but mouthed. Xu Fan was left speechless, while Chen Bingfeng simply nodded.

Back on the main road, Xu Fan aimed for another alley and was about to dive in when Chen Bingfeng pulled him back. "What are you doing?" Xu Fan asked indignantly.

"What do you think I was doing just now?"

"Slacking off, what else?"

Chen Bingfeng, who was usually the one slacking, gave him a sharp glare. "I was looking at the map."

Xu Fan scoffed, "We've walked these streets and alleys hundreds of times. You're telling me you're looking at a map? What, hoping to find a secret level?"

Ignoring the taunt, Chen Bingfeng countered coldly, "Are you certain you've stepped on every path in this district?"

"Otherwise?"

The next second, the tall Chen Bingfeng turned his thumb downward. The short, stout Xu Fan felt personally insulted. Seeing his partner’s limited intelligence, Chen sighed. "I can tell by your expression you know I'm insulting you."

"Well, obviously. You don't use that gesture to give a compliment, do you?"

"I mean, we've walked every part above ground, but what about below?"

Below ground? What's down there? Rocks? Wait—the sewers? Seeing the sudden look of realization on Xu Fan’s face, Chen felt a sense of relief that he had finally caught up.

In fact, Chen had long harbored a bold suspicion: for someone to vanish into thin air in broad daylight, they would need an Awakening skill, unless they were hiding somewhere everyone else ignored. He knew that the Luodan girl was not an Awakened. So how could it be done? If it were him, he would choose a path no one else traveled, which would feel like vanishing to everyone else. Combined with the testimony of the mutated chimera Zhang Jingye—who, when asked how he had snuck back into the Outer City, had replied, "Can't you just use the sewers?"—it all made sense.

Chen had been searching for the locations of sewer manholes on the map. Xu Fan slapped his palm, marveling, "Why didn't I think of that? Am I that stupid?"

"Well... you're not stupid, just a bit slow on the uptake."

"???"

"Follow me!" Chen broke into a run. Xu Fan’s short legs scrambled to keep up as he huffed and puffed behind him.

Minutes later, they stopped at an alleyway. It was a simple T-junction, and at the base of the "T" sat a manhole cover. The two sides of the "T" were empty storefronts—a perfect visual blind spot.

Chen crouched down and rubbed the edge of the manhole cover, rolling the damp soil between his fingers. "What do you think of the hygiene in our market district?"

"Terrible!"

"Then do you think a cleaner would volunteer to crawl into the sewers to help residents clear out trash?"

"You're dreaming!"

Chen stood up and pressed his foot against the edge of the cover. It flipped open, revealing the ladder leading down. The heavy cover had clearly been opened recently; even a child could lift it now. The two exchanged a look. They had found the right place.

*Thud! Thud!*

The metal cover clanged shut above them, plunging them into darkness. They clicked on their high-intensity flashlights, the beams cutting through the gloom. Aside from thick, black sludge on the walls and foul-smelling wastewater underfoot, there was nothing but trash and an overwhelming stench. Every step echoed through the suffocating space.

The darkness and silence were absolute, save for the reflection of their lights on the stagnant water. The decay and odor assaulted their senses. The tunnel stretched out before and behind them, lost in blackness. Chen had tried to find a map of the sewer system in the database earlier but failed; such records likely resided only with the Construction Bureau in the Inner City, and it was far too late to apply for access now.

"Split up?"

"L-let's stick together!" Xu Fan’s voice trembled in the narrow passage.

They moved to the side, where there was a narrow ledge to walk on alongside the central channel. The duo, missing Ye Chen, began their exploration of the sewers.