Chapter 224: Comrades Are the Greatest Danger

The Source Crystal shook violently in the shockwave, its surface light flickering, and finally with a light "pop" it vanished like foam.

"Just as I thought it was a fake!" Lu Mu spat out a mouthful of dust that fell in, then deftly dodged a falling ceiling fragment.

Bai Mu Yun had regained mobility, the illusion on his face stabilizing, but his expression was terrifyingly grim.

He quickly scanned the surroundings, searching for Ying Duo's trace and any possible exit.

"Take that way!"

He pointed to a wall that had collapsed halfway in the explosion, revealing a sloping maintenance tunnel below.

Lu Mu nodded, about to follow, when a rapid "beep‑beep‑beep" alert sounded from the Party Status bar in the corner of their view.

【Team Channel】Ying Duo: Ten seconds left, I'll detonate the remaining bombs together.

"Now!"

The two wasted no time, bursting forward at full speed into the maintenance tunnel.

Just as their silhouettes disappeared into the tunnel, after only a brief moment inside.

Boom—!!!!!!!!!

A roar ten times more violent than all previous explosions combined erupted from behind them.

Even though they were deep inside, the building's violent shaking and groaning from the blast still reached them.

Bai Mu Yun and Lu Mu, even after sprinting dozens of meters, were slammed by the trailing shockwave, grunting as they fell forward and rolled together.

A few seconds later, the tremor eased slightly.

Lu Mu coughed, scrambled up from the ground, wiped his face, and looked at the collapsed rubble and twisted metal that completely blocked the tunnel entrance behind him, his heart still racing.

"Damn… if we'd been a step later, we'd both be ash."

Bai Mu Yun also got to his feet; now he couldn't care about his fastidiousness—after rolling on the ground, his clothes were instantly declared ruined, and he immediately glanced at the Party Status bar in his view.

Ying Duo's status still showed green "Healthy," but the position marker… seemed to be moving rapidly, its direction indiscernible.

"Where did that kid run off to?" Lu Mu also noticed Ying Duo darting across the mini‑map.

"He probably has his own escape route."

Bai Mu Yun said in a low voice, beginning to survey the maintenance tunnel.

Ying Duo's new ability seemed to turn himself into a piece of data that merged directly into the energy flow; with that alone, his escape skill surpassed theirs.

Instead of worrying about Ying Duo's whereabouts, they should worry about themselves.

"With such a commotion, the Supervision Bureau and the Church will arrive soon."

Moreover, it's likely that as soon as they were trapped by that Rune formation, the Church had already dispatched people here.

The tunnel was long, and the massive energy conduits on both sides continued to hum.

The two hurried along the tunnel, staying alert for any pursuers or new traps.

"Xiao Bai," Lu Mu suddenly called, his voice sounding muffled in the cavernous tunnel.

"What do you think… who set this up? The Church? The Supervision Bureau? Or… the Dome itself?"

Bai Mu Yun was silent for a few seconds.

"The coordinates came from Ying Duo, but the source was that design draft," he said slowly.

"The draft was supposed to fall directly into Co‑Absorption's hands, but Ying Duo intercepted it, handed it to the Supervision Bureau, and then transcribed another copy for us."

Why does this trap look like a half‑finished product? Because the mastermind never expected that a bunch of Little Ghosts who burst onto the scene would successfully bring the draft back.

"You mean the draft itself was flawed?" Lu Mu's eyes sharpened. "The draft was fake from the start? Was it bait deliberately luring us here?"

"The likelihood is high," Bai Mu Yun nodded, "but if so, the problem is even more complex—who knew the draft was fake? Who knew we'd obtain it?"

A series of questions pointed to a chilling possibility.

Their actions had always been under the watch and calculation of one or more unseen entities.

Everything about that base felt authentic, unlike the clearly half‑baked traps here; that base had truly been tempered by the passage of time.

But speaking of time…

Isn't that exactly the current Pope's specialty?

"And Ying Duo that kid…" Lu Mu clicked his tongue, "His ability is too obscure, turning into energy that drills straight into machines… it's unheard of, tell me…"

Bai Mu Yun gave no reply.

Because he didn't know either.

Bai Mu Yun only knew that Ying Duo's original name was "Yang Yixie", his parents were both from the Dome, apparently they had reached some agreement with the higher‑ups, and that agreement was linked to his brother Yang Yichen.

After that, he arrived at Tianmian City, received a still‑experimental potion, and once its effect was confirmed, he infiltrated Mitra Academy under the identity "Ying Duo".

"First, find a way out and contact the higher‑ups," Bai Mu Yun finally said. "Tonight's incident must be reported in detail, and an examination of Ying Duo must be arranged promptly."

The two quickened their pace; ahead in the tunnel a faint light appeared, seeming to lead to another exit.

———————————————

On the other side, using the Teleport skill, Ying Duo had already slipped back to Mitra Academy.

Thanks to Luo Jinyou's habit of staying overnight in the infirmary, their dormitory was now completely empty.

He controlled a small robot, detonated Explosives, and even under the suppressing effect of the Rune was teleported here; after a smooth combo, Ying Duo's blue energy was completely drained.

What they had just reached was not an "Air Train Power Core" at all.

Yang Yixie opened his backpack, retrieved the energy‑restoring potion and began force‑feeding it to Ying Duo, while not forgetting to analyze the current situation.

The contents of that "design draft" were problematic........

It was very likely that someone inside their Church deliberately leaked the draft, aiming to lure people from the Dome to investigate and then fall into this trap.

Although Ying Duo's explosion was unexpectedly effective and the timing decisive, for the Supervision Bureau rooted in Tianmian City it was already enough for them to react at the first sign of the Mutation.

Not to mention the massive explosion; Ying Duo even saw people from other dorms poking their heads out of their rooms out of curiosity, even though Mitra Academy was essentially on the opposite ends of Tianmian City from the blast site.

Those who didn't know thought some place was holding an event and even set off fireworks.

Yang Yixie looked at the mini‑map and panned the view to where Bai Mu Yun and the others were.

Unlike the peaceful days he enjoys here, Bai Mu Yun and Lu Mu are almost encircled by a swarm of tiny red dots.