Chapter 172: An De Lu's Secret

Having learned the exact location of the warehouse, Ji Ming didn't rush to go there, but kept scouting the ground floor of the building.

After all, even though he had a Breath-Holding Talisman to conceal himself, a Suggestion Technique to aid manipulation, and had borrowed a one‑time storage magic transport from Xi Er Wei Ya, he still lacked the ability to walk through walls.

If, during the retreat, someone noticed something amiss and discovered that items in the warehouse had been stolen.

Even if he himself wouldn't be spotted, it would be easy to become trapped and die underground.

He could call others for rescue, but as a Supreme Deity, that would be far too awkward…

Therefore, securing an exit before the operation begins is what makes a competent mover.

Not like those three foolish thieves who fled as soon as the fight started, flaunting the title "Boss" yet unable to block their own exit.

Who would have thought this exploration would actually reveal something to him.

When he went from the fourth floor to the fifth, continuing to check the surroundings for valuables, he suddenly saw a door at the end of the corridor swing open, and a cold‑faced, scarred man stepped out,

Although he was in plain clothes, without a word he could make those shameless mercenaries halt and salute respectfully; he was likely a Captain.

Unfortunately, his vigilance was high, and as he exited he casually locked the door.

Damn, you really blocked the way!

Ji Ming gritted his teeth and lamented the unfairness of the world.

With patrols in the manor so tight, how could a thief possibly slip in? What about the basic trust between people!

Hold on.

Watching his silhouette disappear at the stairwell, Ji Ming glanced again at the door he had come through.

From the perspective of the upper and lower floors, it seemed this spot on the fourth floor was also the office of the man with the eight‑character beard…

Then.

Since the fifth floor was the top, Ji Ming hurried back to the same spot on the second floor.

Before he could get close, he heard a faint, strange sound.

Upon careful listening, it sounded like two… women?

???

Perhaps to sow confusion, or perhaps to intimidate locals, the Mountain Folk mercenaries liked to cloak themselves in mystery.

The larger the team and the higher the rank, the more they hide their heads and tails, never revealing themselves easily.

Thus even today, Sunlight City residents can't say how many are in Mountain Folk Gale or Mountain Folk Hammer, and the list of Captains is full of rumors.

So could there perhaps be a female Captain within Mountain Folk Hammer?

Though not hopeful, Ji Ming stepped forward and tried to push the door.

Unexpectedly, the room's door wasn't locked at all, and he easily pried it open a crack.

From the gap surged a strong, familiar smell of alcohol and a harsh, cheap perfume odor.

…So it was you three bastards…

Ji Ming adjusted his breathing, flashed forward, and slipped inside.

Then he stared at the scene on the desk, stunned.

People can't! At least they shouldn't!

In the scorching, sizzling atmosphere, two Wandering Nightingales, one after the other, skewered a plump pig whose skin had been stripped, and were fiercely stir‑frying it.

And perhaps seeking a better culinary experience, the Jia La Mi between them, though blindfolded and covering his ears, was also earnestly taking part in the work.

Such exquisite cooking left Ji Ming in awe; like a hamster he curled in the corner for three seconds before reacting.

Family, I'm scared—none of these mercenaries are normal!

But they play their games; Ji Ming kept to his own business.

While Jia La Mi's five senses were blocked, the other two Wandering Nightingales busied themselves with cooking, and he rummaged through the office at will.

Soon, he found a finely crafted booklet among the papers they had scattered on the floor.

Opening it, wow, it turned out to be the entire mercenary corps' roster!

Not to mention the exact team numbers; from each Captain's rank down to each mercenary's background, the records were crystal clear and detailed.

This is definitely more precious than a treasury; with it, many schemes against Dean An could be carried out.

But to avoid alerting anyone, Ji Ming didn't take it outright; he photographed each page with his system.

And while delighted, he didn't let the unexpected find cloud his judgment, and he realized another, more intriguing issue.

This thing is the lifeblood of a mercenary corps.

If you were An De Lu, would you hand it to a perpetually drunk, derelict who also drags unknown women into the office for group activities?

So…

Jia La Mi, you don't seem very obedient.

Thus, after a brief thought, Ji Ming formulated a plan and quietly left his office.

Even if the mercenary corps' secrecy is flawless, once they interact with the world, there must be a few external spokespeople.

Therefore, besides An De Lu, who also serves as a part‑time hospital director, there is another renowned Captain—his trusted confidant Xie Er Dun.

According to the roster, the Hammer Mercenary Corps has four Captains totaling over five hundred members.

Since he has already met three of them, the final one must be the man famed for his stoic silence and rigid seriousness.

Unlike his colleagues who have already clocked out or are already indulging in pleasure, he is still working overtime at this hour.

After all, lately An De Lu seems to have gone mad, spending a fortune on procuring all sorts of weapons and gear.

And not only did he buy three batches in succession, the latter two were purchased almost without negotiation, continuously.

Good heavens, even a well‑funded corps can't sustain such reckless spending!

So he is repeatedly correcting the ledgers to be able to call a halt when needed.

But the all‑night work was exhausting; as he wrote, he paused and began flexing his fingers.

Nevertheless, this pause doesn't matter; for some reason, the idle Xie Er Dun always feels a hollow emptiness inside, as if something big is about to happen…

Furrowing his brow, he thought for a moment, then hurriedly unlocked the drawer and pulled out a long bunch of keys.

He counted them one by one… Fortunately, they're all still there!

Only then did he sigh in relief, put them back into the drawer, and resumed his desk work.

Pocketing the key that Sheldon had personally handed him, Ji Ming turned and prepared to leave.

But on second thought, he turned back.

Since it's a violent organization with aristocratic elements, the mercenary corps naturally revels in precious ornaments that signal status or rank.

Even the most old‑fashioned Sheldon can't escape the custom, so on his left hand lies a hefty gold ring engraved with what appears to be a family crest.

Ha, it's you—my final puzzle piece!

With it secured, everything is set, and Ji Ming arrived at the entrance leading underground.

At first he wondered how many goodies this mercenary corps actually had, and how the basement could have three levels dug out.

Little did he know that the first and second underground layers were far from mere supply warehouses.

They contained all sorts of shooting ports and shelters, rough yet livable cramped quarters, and stairs to the next level that were disconnected and required a long trek to locate…

Ji Ming knows places like this too well; this is clearly an underground fortress!

It was probably set up for a fighting‑and‑retreat strategy after the mercenary base was attacked and the troops fell on the back foot.

Dean An, Dean An, you really are a cunning rabbit with three burrows.

Nevertheless, for Ji Ming this is actually a great boon.

Since this is a fortress, it must house extremely abundant weapon and food stores; otherwise it would just be a cage that starves people to death.

Moreover, following that line of thought, given An De Lu's temperament, this underground fortress surely has other exits, making it easy for him to abandon his subordinates and slip away.

Then.

Could this exit become my future entrance?

After all, constantly disturbing the mercenary brothers on the job is too much; from now on, zero‑cost purchases should be done more quietly.

So Ji Ming quickened his pace, and after being forced to tour the entire two‑level underground fortress, he finally reached the so‑called third underground layer.

Compared with the previous layout, this level is markedly taller, with wide, thick nailed iron‑wood doors lining both sides, resembling a giant's bedroom.

Nevertheless, Ji Ming didn't rush to open a door; he first inspected the entire corridor of this level, and only after confirming no one was present did he approach the first door.

"Incredible, what's this blind‑box opening feeling?"

He muttered a line, set the combination, and jammed a thick key into the lock.

With a crisp "click", the great door shuddered, then slowly swung open under his full push.

No sniffing needed; the fresh scent of sun‑dried grain wafted out.

Stepping inside, sacks lined the left, while stacked wooden crates formed a high wall on the right.

Ji Ming inspected them one by one and found they were mostly dried flour and bread.

"Not bad, very pragmatic, Dean An."

He nodded with satisfaction, clasped his hands then spread them, and a dark‑swirling portal materialized in mid‑air.

As a standard for high‑level elites, storage magic can transfer the user, but it demands a great amount of magical power.

If the user's incoming magical power can't keep up with consumption, the storage space will keep shrinking until it vanishes.

Fortunately, Ji Ming has an almost limitless energy supply in the dungeon; as long as the initial space is large enough, there's no fear of it shrinking!

But he didn't overdraw; instead, he haphazardly tossed a huge pile of dry rations in, then moved toward the next door.

Pat—, bang!

Prising open a massive wooden crate nailed with spikes, Ji Ming sparked a flame.

Beautiful, this little chamber is filled with premium sausages and smoked meat!

More delightful than zero‑cost purchases is a zero‑cost blind‑box, and every box is packed, with surprises everywhere.

He kept that rhythm: lock one, open one, take one—well‑trained and fully prepared.

But he never emptied them, nor grabbed greedily; after moving just a layer he stopped.

The purpose was to give the impression, "Oops, I only took this little bit; they probably won't notice."

During this, he also discovered a herb storage, not only grabbing a slew of raw medicinal ingredients to be bagged, but also successfully concocted eye drops.

Finally, after ransacking a dozen storage rooms, he arrived at the one Ba Zi Hu mentioned.

Unlike elsewhere, to prove "himself" and the underground plain thief were the same, he emptied this room's supplies before leaving.

And since this is the fortress's storehouse, there must be more than one armory.

Swords, spears, halberds, longbows, powerful crossbows—Ji Ming examined them all.

Even in one small alcove, a genuine bed crossbow sat, its dark lacquer glinting with a dim sheen, exquisitely beautiful.

"Damn, Classmate An, you're up to no good—how could you still hide such dangerous items? Confiscated!"

Gradually, the magical space's arsenal became a dazzling array.

If you combine this with the dungeon's stock, arming over a thousand players would be more than enough.

And all of this, entirely thanks to the currently clueless Sunlight City benefactor An De Lu.

—'Code: Sun Moon' beta‑stage chief sponsor, truly living up to the name!

"Weird, I took less, yet there's still so much left…"

Even ten points of stamina couldn't endure this pressing, and after half a day of diligent hauling, Ji Ming wiped the fine sweat from his forehead.

But around a corner, the long corridor abruptly halted, ending rather abruptly.

And there was nothing here, only two oddly looking massive iron doors, extremely eerie.

Although that familiar ominous feeling didn't appear, Ji Ming still shivered slowly.

He took a deep breath, sent a message to everyone in the underground city, and decided to go have a look anyway.

He first opened the door on the right; amidst the whooshing wind, a faint smell of earth blew over him.

Beyond the door lay a long, dark narrow path that sloped upward all the way—likely the underground exit he had imagined.

…But if this side is the underground exit, what could the other side be?

There was no need to recall; all kinds of terrifying rumors about An De Lu surfaced in his mind.

He had a premonition that opening this door would reveal the truth of it all.

He adjusted his condition, lowered his mental expectations, and Ji Ming rubbed his hands together.

Whether it was psychological or real, the door handle here was unusually cold.

And when he inserted the key, he felt the lock was unusually smooth.

Even stranger, this door had a sound‑proofing effect, because as he pushed it open…

In an instant, chaotic, rustling sounds filled his ears.

Those were wails, gasps, roars…

Fleeting and elusive, seeming to be there and not, they sounded unlike anything of this world!

Therefore, beyond the door was not a room but a stairway continuing downward.

…Thus Place: Dixiaseng…

Ji Ming's face sank as he descended the steps, walking a long time before finally setting foot on level ground.

In design, this place closely resembled the third floor, except that the wooden doors on both sides were replaced by a series of iron railings.

He quietly approached the nearest one and peered inside…

After calmly observing for a moment, he let out a soft sigh and then went to the opposite chamber.

Thereafter followed silent observation and pausing, but his speed of movement clearly increased.

Some areas he merely glanced at before hurrying away, afraid the scene would imprint itself in his memory.

Moreover, perhaps without even realizing it himself, his breathing was growing heavier and heavier.

Until ten minutes later, Ji Ming returned to the third floor with a blank expression.

He debunked the rumors; all the tales about An De Lu were false.

Because they described it as too light!

If Ji Ming hadn't visited the memorial hall, he would have doubted whether these were actions humans could perform.

Even now he felt his soles were somewhat sticky—a layer upon layer of thick blood‑stain that had built up over the years.

After sealing the heavy iron door, Ji Ming walked all the way to the exit leading up from the third floor before stopping.

"Damn it."

He kept feeling around on himself, only then remembering that this other world had no such thing as cigarettes.

Even if he were in the real world, he had no smoking habit, so he had no cigarettes on hand.

He rummaged through boxes for half a day and finally found a withered Hua Zi cigarette that a client had given him two months earlier.

He instinctively tried to ignite it with Ignition Technique, but then recalled he was in the real world and had to search for a lighter instead.

In the end, with no other option, he boldly lit it using the gas stove.

Yet when he clumsily clamped the cigarette between his lips, he took only a slight puff before bursting into uncontrollable coughing.

"I'll fuck your mother!"

He could only curse harshly, then stubbed out the Hua Zi with force.

After catching his breath, he returned to Yangyue World.

【Upper God, Your Excellency, I just noticed you suddenly went offline—may I ask…】

【It's fine, you all can disperse; I'll handle this alone.】

He pulled a gold ring from his pocket, and Ji Ming left clear yet unidentifiable human footprints at the entrance of Thus Place: Dixiaseng.

【I have a great idea to cause internal chaos among them and spark a wave of blood!】