Chapter 231: Return to the Nest

"If you can find the 'vital gate' of this barrier, count me as having lost; otherwise, just stay here obediently."

"'Vital gate'?" Lin Yu's brows were nearly twisted into a hemp rope. "Where is it?"

Xiao Chengzhou ignored him, just standing there grinning eerily.

"Don't listen to his nonsense!" Xuanyuan Qing said. "This bell can sense energy; it can definitely find the 'vital gate'!"

She closed her eyes and began to "communicate" with the bell.

"Follow me!" Xuanyuan Qing suddenly opened her eyes and pointed in a direction.

The three followed the alley and continued running forward.

On the walls on both sides of the alley, various patterns began to "grow": crooked characters, strange symbols, and some shadowy people...

"These things, why are they moving?" Qin Tianluo's voice changed.

Lin Yu also noticed that the patterns were indeed moving, and the faster they moved, the faster they went.

"Not good!" Lin Yu's heart skipped a beat. "These things are sucking our strength!"

He could feel the strength in his body "whooshing" outward.

"Run!" Lin Yu shouted, grabbing Xuanyuan Qing and Qin Tianluo, and rushed into the depths of the alley.

But it was too late.

The walls on both sides of the alley collapsed, revealing black holes.

From the holes, a swarm of men in black surged out, surrounding them tightly.

"This time, we're really done for..." Qin Tianluo smiled bitterly.

"Done for my ass!" Lin Yu stiffened his neck. "Fight them!"

He clenched his fists, and the strength in his body began to surge up again.

A chaotic battle was about to begin.

But they didn't know that this was just the beginning.

This small broken alley was just a lead-in.

The real "big show" was still to come.

The silver bell rang incessantly, like a death knell.

The three ran wildly along the alley, and the men in black behind them were like dog-skin plasters, impossible to shake off.

"Where are we running to?" Qin Tianluo was nearly out of breath.

"Outside the city, the courtyard!" Xuanyuan Qing gritted her teeth and said an address.

That was what the silver bell told her; Yan Nanshan was there.

After many twists and turns, they finally shook off most of the men in black, rushed out of the alley, and dived into a small path.

"This place... why do I feel like I've been here before?" Lin Yu panted, looking around, feeling a bit familiar.

"Don't dawdle, hurry up!" Xuanyuan Qing urged him.

The three followed the small path all the way east.

It was dark, and the lights on the side of the road were dim.

"Here." Xuanyuan Qing stopped, pointing to a dilapidated courtyard ahead.

The courtyard gate was closed, with a lantern hanging above it, faded, swaying back and forth in the wind.

"This place, why is it so creepy?" Qin Tianluo shivered a bit.

"No nonsense, go in first." Lin Yu pushed open the courtyard gate.

In the courtyard, it was pitch black, and there wasn't a soul.

"Yan Nanshan?" Lin Yu tried shouting.

No one answered him.

"Strange, this bell clearly pointed here..." Xuanyuan Qing was puzzled.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded, coming from inside the courtyard.

A familiar person walked out slowly.

Yan Nanshan!

Still the same attire, black robe, holding a gun in his hand, the gun gleaming with blue light.

"You finally came." Yan Nanshan's voice was unhurried.

"You... you aren't with those 'men in black'?" Lin Yu was a bit confused.

Yan Nanshan shook his head: "I've been waiting for you."

"Waiting for us?" Qin Tianluo was even more confused. "Waiting for us to do what?"

"Because you are the hope of the 'Insurgent Army'." Yan Nanshan said slowly.

"Insurgent Army?" Lin Yu and Xuanyuan Qing were both dumbfounded, looking at each other.

"This 'Zero-Return Game' is messier than you think." Yan Nanshan began to explain. "The Zero-Returner doesn't want to destroy anyone; it wants to pick out some 'newcomers' who can use Void energy."

"What?" Qin Tianluo nearly jumped up. "What is all this?"

"It's true." Yan Nanshan nodded. "The Zero-Returner feels that this territory is beyond saving and must be 'restarted'."

"The key to the 'restart' is to find people who can play with Void energy."

"So, it made this 'game', letting us fight each other inside, and whoever is strong stays?" Lin Yu's voice changed.

"Exactly." Yan Nanshan said. "Only by passing this 'game' can you become a 'newcomer' and enter the 'new world'."

"Then... what do we do?" Xuanyuan Qing didn't know what to say.

"Rebel against it!" Yan Nanshan said quite simply. "We can't be its puppets; we have to decide for ourselves."

"How to rebel?" Qin Tianluo asked.

Yan Nanshan fished a key out of his bosom and stuffed it into Lin Yu's hand: "This thing can open the 'door to the real world'."

"Real world?" Lin Yu held the key, feeling it heavy in his hand.

"Yes." Yan Nanshan said. "This 'game' is fake; the real world is still waiting for us outside."

"As long as we find that 'door', we can go back and mess up the Zero-Returner's plan."

Lin Yu clenched the key, feeling a fire burning in his heart.

But just then, outside the courtyard, it suddenly became chaotic.

"Not good!" Yan Nanshan's face sank. "They've found us!"

As soon as the words were out, the courtyard gate flew off directly.

A swarm of men in black rushed in, surrounding the courtyard.

Who would be leading them?

"You can't run, Lin Yu."

Same face, same voice, just as cold as a thousand-year-old icicle dug out of Siberia.

The key was stuffed into Lin Yu's pocket, and he didn't care about the discomfort; he just wanted to smash that face in front of him to pieces. Rules, games—to hell with them all!

Gold and black energy surged out of his body like a wild horse, and the surrounding air twisted and deformed.

"Qing-girl, Old Qin, hide far away!" Lin Yu's voice was low and hoarse, each word squeezed from the depths of his throat.

Xuanyuan Qing and Qin Tianluo didn't talk nonsense, obediently retreating to Yan Nanshan's side.

"Brother Yan, why bother?" "Another Lin Yu" sighed, the tone sounding fake, nauseatingly hypocritical.

Yan Nanshan didn't respond, just staring straight at Lin Yu.

"Kill him." "Another Lin Yu" waved his hand lightly, and those men in black rushed toward Lin Yu like they had been injected with chicken blood.

Lin Yu didn't dodge at all, rushing forward to meet them.

A punch exploded, the air burst, and the unlucky ones in the front were blown into fragments flying all over the sky, like fireworks set off during the New Year.

But there were too many men in black, like leeks in a leek field—cut one batch, another grew, endless.

As he fought, Lin Yu felt something was wrong; the gold and black energy in his body had a sign of losing control. ===== CHAPTER 232 =====