Chapter 236: Investigation

Upon hearing this, Ye Qingfeng did not hesitate; he hugged Ies and sprinted off, with Victoria’s team following behind him.

After observing along the way, Victoria’s main combat strength lay with Ailian and Leikain, both capable of one-shotting Hollows of Elite rank and below.

As for Kelin and Lina, though slightly weaker, they could still easily handle the lowest-grade Hollows.

Once safety within the Hollow was assured, the remaining issue was route planning—perfectly resolved by Ling and Zhe, who both possessed Immortal Spirit.

Ye Qingfeng ensured Ies’s safety and followed Ling’s directions as they pressed forward.

Let’s be honest, winning by being protected really is awesome!!

Even so, countless Hollows kept charging at him one after another—he simply couldn’t understand it!

The five of them acted as if they’d been forewarned that he was the protected target, all attacks locking onto him alone.

Fortunately, Victoria’s team blocked them all; Ailian even mustered rare energy—moved~~!

As Ye Qingfeng stepped down the stairs, a distant iron door was slowly closing.

It would fully shut in about five seconds—he could make it if he ran, but what good would it do if he went in alone?

He couldn’t just leave them outside.

He was weak and helpless himself, plus he had a defenseless little Bambu in his arms.

Leikain, however, knew none of Ye Qingfeng’s thoughts; his mechanical legs began emitting cold air, his feet slammed into the ground, and he charged toward the iron door with a fierce expression.

“Hey! Wait—don’t rush!” Ye Qingfeng shouted urgently.

Leikain, undoubtedly a Wolf Xi person, had maximum execution power.

Before Ye Qingfeng’s words had even finished, Leikain abruptly halted—just barely dodging a Hollow’s attack. The Hollow paused for an instant, noticing his back, then decisively struck from behind.

This advantage is mine!

Leikain’s furry ears twitched slightly, as if sensing the wind behind him; without turning, he delivered a sharp back kick.

The Hollow collapsed, severely wounded...

“My lord Ye, what...”

Leikain was about to ask for clarification when he noticed the others lagging behind—and the iron door now fully sealed.

“I understand.”

Leikain silently accepted Ye Qingfeng’s suggestion and turned to say:

“I recommend a temporary withdrawal. Please let the Ropemaker rest; Victoria’s household will investigate the cause of the power outage and find a way through here.”

“Understood,” said Ling.

After a brief farewell to the group and Ye Qingfeng, she severed her connection with Ies.

“Alright, while the Ropemaker rests, let’s begin our investigation,” Leikain immediately ignored Ye Qingfeng beside him and directed Victoria’s team into action.

“Kelin will do her best!”

“Understood.”

“Tch! So annoying...” Ailian grumbled, then immediately shifted tone, volunteering, “I’ll take our guest, Qingfeng, to rest!”

“You’re just trying to slack off. Go help Lina and Kelin investigate—I’ll take care of Lord Ye.”

Leikain bluntly exposed Ailian’s true motive, speaking without mercy.

“Fine, fine...”

Ailian muttered irritably and left with Lina and Kelin for the investigation. Once the three were fully gone, Leikain turned his gaze to Ye Qingfeng.

“Ailian’s just like this—please don’t mind her.”

Noticing Leikain’s polite tone, Ye Qingfeng tugged at his lips.

With Ling, he’d been all, “Ah, dear Ropemaker, please rest, blah blah.”

But with him, it was this overly courteous demeanor... excessively so.

Leikain hadn’t been like this before—it was only after learning of his connection to Ailian that his attitude plummeted like a rollercoaster drop.

As far as he knew, Leikain and Ailian had no real relationship—one was a Shark Xi person, the other a Wolf Xi person—was he some kind of “wolf-shark”?

“No problem,” Ye Qingfeng offered a fake smile. “During my stay at Ailian’s place, I became very familiar with her lazy and impatient nature. Besides...”

“That’s one of Ailian’s charms—I’d actually prefer she bother me more.”

A tic appeared on Leikain’s forehead; his toes unconsciously pressed harder, and the floor finally cracked under the pressure with a loud bang.

He couldn’t even recall the last time he’d been this angry—if he’d been younger, he’d have already kicked him across the room.

“Surely, Mr. Leikain wouldn’t make a guest stand here indefinitely?”

Watching Leikain take deep breaths, Ye Qingfeng was surprised—he hadn’t expected these words to hit so hard.

But he only meant to give a little retaliation; outright breaking ties would be no fun. He immediately dropped the smirk and said warmly:

“Ahem! If you’d like to talk, how about we wait until after this mission? Standing here isn’t productive—let’s find a place to rest.”

Seeing Ye Qingfeng drop his teasing demeanor, Leikain’s anger instantly vanished.

After all, it wasn’t a big deal—if Ailian chose this, he’d support her.

But before that, he needed to understand better; Ailian was still young, possibly still naive in matters of emotion—it was only right to vet him.

“Lord Ye speaks wisely. Follow me.”

Leikain stepped aside, gesturing for him to proceed.

“You’re too kind. Let’s go together.”

“Understood. This way, please.”

The atmosphere, moments ago tense and hostile, now felt strangely harmonious.

How strange...

Leikain led the way ahead; Ye Qingfeng followed, carrying Ies. Soon they found a resting room and sat down in turn.

After a few casual words, Leikain claimed he’d go assist with the investigation and rose to leave.

“By all means.”

Watching Leikain depart, Ye Qingfeng gladly relaxed, lying down and pulling out his phone to browse the internet.

As soon as he opened the page, a notification popped up: “No network available.”

He remembered! There’s no signal inside the Hollow!

What now? Can’t use his phone, and to save battery, he’d even turned Ies off.

So he couldn’t do anything at all!

He couldn’t sleep either—Hollows might strike at any moment...

Ye Qingfeng sighed helplessly, but he’d prepared for this—he pulled several time-killing items from his spatial backpack.

Lying on the sofa, yawning, he passed the tedious hours.

After over an hour, footsteps approached; Ye Qingfeng instinctively looked up as a giant shark pushed the door open.

Her face was exhausted, swaying as she shuffled toward him.

“Move over~ Let me rest a bit!”