Chapter 105: [Underground] (Second chapter for today, more to come later!)

The air-raid shelter was dark and damp. After a few people got out of the car, Chen Xiao, Phoenix, and the four suited men followed closely behind, all heading inside together.

Each of the four men, dressed in suits, had put on detectors, and each held a long electromagnetic rifle resembling an automatic weapon—reminiscent of something from "Men in Black," though their appearances and demeanors fell far short of that image.

The shelter resembled a spider’s web, but with their detectors activated and night vision turned on, they navigated the maze with ease. Phoenix seemed especially familiar with the layout, casually announcing every turn and straight path as they advanced.

"Before coming here, I memorized the layout of this shelter," Phoenix said with a slight smile.

They walked for over ten minutes until they reached a circular iron hatch, just large enough for a person to enter. The hatch was rusted, clearly untouched for a long time.

"This is the most secret path to Yaksha’s hideout. The other routes are too dangerous; he’d detect us before we could get close. With Yaksha’s abilities, I’m not afraid of him, but if he uses his teleportation to escape, I can’t guarantee I’d catch him," Phoenix explained, casting a somewhat apologetic glance at Chen Xiao. "So, I’ll have to trouble you to crawl through this tunnel with me."

She was right—the path ahead literally required crawling.

The heaviest of the suited men produced iron pliers and snapped the lock on the hatch. A wave of moldy, foul air immediately wafted out.

"This is the oldest underground pipeline in the city; it’s been abandoned," Phoenix said with a bitter smile, then told the four men, "You don’t need to come in. Wait here."

The heavyset man frowned. "Miss Phoenix... I’ll come with you. I..."

"No, it’s better not," Phoenix cut him off immediately. "I appreciate your kindness, but... it’s better if you stay out."

The man looked disappointed. "I understand—we can’t help you with our powers..."

Chen Xiao found this odd. Weren’t these four men supposed to be legendary figures in the supernatural community? Each was a master of unique abilities. So why was Phoenix so insistent they stay behind?

Phoenix offered no explanation, and Chen Xiao didn’t press the matter. The two of them crawled into the sewage tunnel. Despite Phoenix’s pristine and beautiful appearance, she seemed entirely unfazed by the filthy environment, staying close to Chen Xiao with her usual gentle smile.

"Chen Xiao... everything I’m doing now is for one goal: your growth," Phoenix suddenly said, out of nowhere, once they were alone in the tunnel.

Though abrupt, Chen Xiao sensed an unprecedented solemnity and earnestness in her words.

They moved forward for quite some time until Phoenix suddenly signaled him to be silent and pointed ahead.

There was a faint bend in the tunnel, and the ground seemed to rise slightly. A faint light filtered through.

Chen Xiao listened carefully and heard faint noises—someone moving ahead.

Phoenix gently took Chen Xiao’s hand, and their bodies lifted slightly, floating silently forward to avoid making noise on the ground and alerting anyone inside.

As they approached, they hid behind the bend. Phoenix smiled slightly and gave Chen Xiao a look that said: this is it.

She pulled out a small mirror from her pocket and carefully extended it around the corner. Through the mirror, Chen Xiao finally caught a clear glimpse inside.

There was a light—dim and weak, a low-ultraviolet lamp barely illuminating the space.

The first person Chen Xiao saw was Poisonous Alice.

Alice sat on a worn iron platform, her face grim.

The room was about several dozen square meters, slightly drier than the damp tunnel, but the air was still foul and murky. Alice frowned deeply, clearly unhappy.

Scattered around were several rusted iron platforms—probably control nodes for the sewer system, long rusted and useless. Alice sat on the outermost one.

Inside, Chen Xiao saw Yaksha.

He sat quietly on a metal platform. What shocked Chen Xiao was that he could see Yaksha’s face.

Yaksha held a bundle of black cloth, wrapping himself as if bandaging a wound. He had wrapped the cloth up to his chest, leaving only his neck and face exposed.

Under the faint light, Chen Xiao got a clear view of Yaksha’s face, and his heart skipped a beat.

What a face!

The simple word “ugly” didn’t suffice; it was profoundly disturbing.

His skin was paler than that of an albino, carrying a tragic pallor. His nose and mouth looked as if they had been severely cut vertically by a sharp instrument years ago, almost splitting his nose and mouth in half. Though healed, the scars gave his face a grotesque and terrifying aura.

He was extremely thin, frail-looking, almost sickly pale.

What surprised Chen Xiao most was that Yaksha had no hair—no eyebrows, no facial hair, his scalp and brow completely bald.

Especially his eyes.

Chen Xiao’s first thought was: degeneration.

Indeed, Yaksha’s eyes seemed atrophied, as if he never used them. They appeared as mere faint slits, heavy eyelids drooping limply to obscure any eyeballs.

In contrast, his ears were large and prominent, giving him an almost alien appearance.

Perhaps, like a bat, he relied on sound for navigation, so his ears had become highly developed. Their broad contours allowed him to catch more sound waves.

Chen Xiao noticed Alice sat fewer than ten steps from Yaksha. Although she kept her head lowered, Chen Xiao caught her cold gaze silently fixed on Yaksha. There was no trace of trust or warmth between them—only chilling coldness, mixed with fear, hatred, and hostility.

"Are you looking at me?" Yaksha suddenly said coldly.

"...No!" Alice panicked and instinctively turned away, but then realized Yaksha was blind and couldn’t see her posture. Gaining courage, she glared back.

"I know you’re looking at me... even if I can’t see," Yaksha sneered, his voice carrying the familiar chilling coldness Chen Xiao recognized. "You little viper, don’t think you can hide anything from me!"

"I—I’m not," Alice stammered, trying to steady herself. "You’re my boss now. How dare I..."

"I’m not your boss," Yaksha said coldly. "And you’re not my comrade! I have no comrades and don’t believe in such things. You’d better remember this clearly: our relationship is that I am your protector—and your master! Understand, little viper?"

His voice was defiant and lonely, but tinged with cruelty.

Alice’s eyes flashed with anger but mostly fear. She shrank back, hesitating before saying, "Yes! I will remember."

"Hmph! Comrades? Such a ridiculous word..." Yaksha pointed to his ghastly face. "You fear me. You fear this face, don’t you, little viper? This scar on my face was left by so-called comrades! So you may call me master, or call me freak, monster, or abomination—but don’t even think about comrades! If I can protect you, I can just as easily kill you!"

When he said "freak," the skin where his eyebrows should be twisted slightly, his voice filled with deep self-loathing and bitterness, but even more so with venomous hatred.

"I—I will remember," Alice quickly whispered.

"This time’s failure was because I didn’t expect those three old freaks to intervene," Yaksha said coldly. "Hmph, just killing an ordinary person stirred up several supernatural experts."

"Do you think the client knew in advance..." Alice hesitated to ask.

"I never care about that! As long as the client can pay, I don’t care about anything else," Yaksha sneered.

Chen Xiao’s mind stirred at the mention of a client and murder.

Murder? Of Little Red Robe?

Chen Xiao couldn’t understand. Little Red Robe was a notorious underworld figure—how had he gotten entangled with supernatural beings?

Or was this somehow connected to the old man from the Xu family? Previous events suggested the old man had ties with supernatural organizations...

"Little viper, don’t worry," Yaksha finally wrapped the black cloth around his head and said calmly, "I’m your master now, and you’re my slave... Hmph, I used to have two slaves, but the Tyrannosaurus is gone now—I will cherish you! I’m always careful with my possessions! Ha ha ha!"

He paused, then his tone grew dark and sinister, a cold laugh escaping him. "Little viper, I know you hate me, but I know your fear even more! Ha ha ha! It’s wonderful—you hate me, yet you need my protection! Without me, you’re doomed! The Black Knight’s enemies and those who want you dead would tear you to pieces! Ha ha ha..."

Listening to his cold, twisted laughter, Chen Xiao could only think: this man’s mind is sick.

Alice dared not speak, only stealing fearful glances at him.

More than once, she had wanted to kill this terrifying man but deeply regretted it...

Yet, besides this infamous monster in the supernatural world, she seemed to have no one else to protect her.

She stared intently at Yaksha, repeatedly considering: this space is cramped; maybe she could cut her flesh, let her blood flow, then light a small fire to burn it. Perhaps the toxins in her blood, vaporized in the air, could kill this monster...

But she dared not! Simply dared not!

Yaksha’s chilling laughter went on for a while before abruptly stopping. Then his sharp voice rang out: "Who’s sneaking around? Show yourselves!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiao felt his heart race.

They’d been discovered!

Just as he was about to step forward, Phoenix tugged on his sleeve. As he hesitated, a cold voice echoed from another sewer passage at Yaksha’s hideout.

"Hmph, Yaksha really is Yaksha. Blind as he is, his ears are still so sharp!"

Chen Xiao’s heart jumped. Besides them, someone else was here?

He glanced at Phoenix, who showed no surprise at all, her expression calm, even winking at him.

Chen Xiao resumed peeking through the mirror and saw two figures slowly emerge from the entrance of that sewer passage.

Two men, walking side by side, clad in old-fashioned suits and wearing vintage hats with wide brims that shadowed their faces.

As soon as they appeared, a chilling, icy aura swept over the area.

Chen Xiao’s eyes brightened.

These were the two strange men who had come to the café at night to request a contract—and they seemed to know Gong Gong!