Chapter 155

Chapter 155

The city's fire seed has been stolen.

Ordinary people cursed in panic. Without the fire seed, their world would be left with only bitter cold—where would humanity find any hope?

"I heard that Lady Pattaya has one; it was left to her by her father."

"Didn't they say it had already been destroyed?"

"That's a lie; she should hand it over!"

"Yes, she should hand it over!"

Somehow, a name emerged, and then the masses were swept up by an invisible force, their meager strength converging into a massive wave.

Ji Xinghai, standing at the city gate waiting to enter, pondered deeply.

The fire seed might not have been stolen, but someone wanted it to appear as if it had been.

The turmoil caused by the theft of the fire seed extended beyond this. Now, patrol guards filled the streets, stopping anyone unfamiliar for questioning, and taking away those deemed suspicious.

Ji Xinghai had a merchant pass, but he was still taken away, along with his sled and sled dogs.

Whether or not he was guilty didn't matter; what mattered was creating an illusion of diligence for those above, and preparing some scapegoats for venting anger.

Well, even the Squidfolk have the troubles of working stiffs.

Ji Xinghai, roughly thrown into prison, stood by the air vent, watching as one by one, humans crying out in innocence were brought in.

The Squidfolk had special methods for identification. Despite many Squidfolk being among the crowd, none of those arrested were Squidfolk; they were all human NPCs.

Humans were unaware of the existence of the Squidfolk, but the Squidfolk had thoroughly studied humans and were even beginning to replace leadership positions.

This was quite interesting.

"Aren't you from this city?"

Ji Xinghai turned around. There were seven others in the cell with him. The one who spoke was a drunkard, reeking of vomit, with hazy eyes and yellow teeth, looking deranged.

The others occupied different corners, silent and ignoring the drunkard who had been there from the start.

"Don't worry, our mayor is a good person; you'll be out soon." He belched, giggling, though there was nothing amusing about what he said.

"He's a great man, running the largest orphanage in the kingdom. Unfortunately, those children weren't lucky enough."

Saying this, he collapsed onto the straw pile, snoring as he fell asleep.

Ji Xinghai tilted his head slightly as the information passed through his mind in a cunning manner.

This person seemed to have hidden meanings, trying to lure someone to the city's orphanage to trigger a side quest. He guessed that such mission-oriented NPCs wouldn't be the only ones, given that the students caught were not the only ones.

But he didn't like being led around. These fragmented clues felt like bones thrown to a dog. The instance treated him like a dog.

Tch, let those who want to be led go ahead.

Inside the instance, students were passively receiving clues, while outside, viewers were discussing the existence of the Squidfolk.

Many students encountered NPCs, and once they took out the fire seed, these NPCs received signals and followed them. The students weren't foolish; they feigned cooperation to gather information without revealing their true intentions. However, so far, only Ji Xinghai had encountered Squidfolk.

Viewers were unsure if this was an exception or a common occurrence.

However, triggering plotlines wasn't an exception; many students encountered NPCs actively providing clues, guiding them to explore the underlying story.

It must be a complex story hiding many secrets.

The task was merely to deliver the fire seed to the Holy City of humanity. It seemed that finding where the Holy City was would suffice, but given the scale of the joint examination of the thirteen academies, such an exam was too simple.

At least for now, the existence of the Squidfolk seemed to be a trap.

Ji Xinghai could easily spot anomalies among the crowd, but others might not possess such abilities. No other students from the Hungry Academy had discovered anything.

Thus, Ji Xinghai had avoided many detours and had a significant advantage in this instance.

"Should we infiltrate the enemy camp to gather information and uncover the truth, then complete the task?"

"Perhaps we should start with the orphanage? I think the mayor is suspicious."

"The initial conspiracy against Lady Pattaya is also intriguing. Ji has many directions to investigate; maybe he can uncover the truth about the fire seed here."

People from the International Command Unit speculated this way, while those from Jiu Zhou wore mysterious smiles.

By now, it was already three in the morning inside the instance, and the guards keeping watch over the prison had fallen asleep, snoring loudly.

Ji Xinghai, leaning against the wall with closed eyes, opened them and walked to the door. With a single pull, he broke the metal lock, stepped out, and gently closed the door behind him.

His figure disappeared into the darkness, moving silently like a ghost.

In this resource-scarce world, the prison had few torches for lighting. Perhaps the Squidfolk had special night vision, so they didn't prioritize lighting, but they didn't expect someone else to have similar abilities.

Ji Xinghai walked past the sleeping human guards without making a sound, not even stirring the air.

Half of the guards were Squidfolk, and half were human. He passed these sleeping guards and headed outside.

The guards at the entrance were still awake, struggling against sleep as they drank and chatted. Ji Xinghai made a slight noise to attract one of them. A Squidfolk approached, looking around, and a head silently dropped from the ceiling, two hands reaching out.

Ji Xinghai reached out and snapped its neck, then gently laid the Squidfolk on the ground after it fell without transforming.

Death did not cause them to revert to their original form; no wonder no one had discovered them yet.

One, two, three... The guards were lured and defeated one by one. Among them were both humans and Squidfolk. They finally realized the situation and prepared to counterattack, but Ji Xinghai appeared behind them with a stolen curved blade, its edge white and razor-sharp.

In the dimly lit prison, he was the Grim Reaper wielding a scythe, reaping lives. The audience was thrilled; they saw the Ji Xinghai from the first instance, his eyes beautiful yet cruel—truly a born hunter.

"Ji is like the best agent, but doesn't he want more clues?"

"Keeping these guards around is more harmful than beneficial. There are too many of them, and we still don't know what abilities the Squidfolk possess. With the enemy in the open and us in the dark, direct confrontation isn't suitable."

"Ji's goal isn't to kill; it's to leave here."

The prison was built with mud bricks and had locked wooden doors instead of bars. Those who hadn't fallen asleep wouldn't notice anything unusual unless they stuck their heads out through the ventilation windows.

Even if they did peek, it wouldn't matter. It was so dark outside, and most suffered from night blindness, so they wouldn't see anything.

But the large number of dead guards eventually drew attention. One guard pulled on a long rope, causing the copper bell attached to it to ring incessantly: "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Ji Xinghai looked at the blade in his hand, which was now dull. He switched to a new one and, before the main force arrived, used bone-dislocation techniques to slip through the ventilation window.

He climbed onto the roof and left before the guards noticed.

A few minutes later, he appeared on another nearby building.

The wind blew his hair and long scarf, and he held a burning ember. The flickering light seemed to be guiding him, particularly highlighting one spot.

After noting the location, Ji Xinghai placed the ember in a dowry box and ran toward that direction.

Since he had been taken away upon entering the city, Ji Xinghai hadn't really seen much of it. Now, as he leaped across rooftops of varying heights and shapes under the moonlight, he realized how crowded and chaotic the city was.

Mountains of filth, layers of strange wooden houses, and pools of sewage all indicated that the population far exceeded the city's capacity.

The inhabitants lived like insects in the dark, unable to see without torches, and often went to bed early.

Under the moonlight, the clusters of houses stood silently, resembling disordered tombstones.

Of course, not all areas were like this. As Ji Xinghai moved closer to the center, the houses became larger, the streets cleaner, and the lights denser.

Beyond an invisible high wall lay the wealthy district, where residents enjoyed spacious parks, clean pools, and elegant balls well into the early hours of the morning.

But in the brightest area, soldiers faced an angry crowd.

Outside the compound walls, people holding torches surrounded the mansion, demanding the fire seed.

Inside the compound, many well-dressed 'nobles' gathered around a woman dressed in fine robes, as if she were armored for battle. Soldiers in black iron armor stood like a dark cloud, awaiting orders.

Retreat or fight.

Ji Xinghai paused to observe. Both inside and outside the compound, there were humans and Squidfolk, and it didn't seem like the upper echelons were entirely controlled.

Did these people know about the existence of the Squidfolk?

Did they know but accept it?

Or did they not know and didn't care to find out?

He shook his head and took out the ember again. The flames burned more intensely, seemingly telling him: "There's gold ahead, go!"

Ji Xinghai resumed his search for the fire seed and soon reached one of the tallest buildings, a spire-topped religious structure. He crouched on the rooftop, blending into the darkness.

From the rooftop, he could see a seven- or eight-story building shaped like a bamboo shoot, constructed layer by layer with stone, having no large windows and a smooth surface.

On each side of the building were three- or four-story watchtowers, each manned by two archers on high alert.

The fire seed was inside that building, but every few meters, there were guards holding torches and weapons, and every five minutes, a patrol of tall, sturdy soldiers passed by.

Together with the archers hidden in the watchtowers, even a bird flying overhead would be detected.

The security was tight.

This thought crossed his mind.

The corners of the watchtowers were enclosed by stone walls, creating a relatively sealed environment. Beyond the stone walls was a freely growing green space. Yes, it was grass, trimmed short like a crew cut.

Because the plants were low, anyone standing on the watchtower could see everything below.

Beyond the green space was a small river circling the area. Though not wide, it was enough to deter unwanted visitors.

Beyond the river, the surroundings were more casual, with various buildings of different sizes besides Ji Xinghai's current location.

Should he force entry?

He estimated how many enemies he would face if he tried to enter forcibly and what tactics they might use.

Archers on high alert, four patrols, and guards near the building—all these needed to be dealt with. Moreover, most of these weren't humans but Squidfolk, and Ji Xinghai had never directly confronted such creatures, unsure of their capabilities.

It wasn't that he couldn't handle them, but if things escalated, reinforcements would arrive, and his energy would be drained.

He was already hungry; expending more energy would only make him hungrier and more irrational.

His goal was to enter the building, not to kill.

Ji Xinghai deliberately forgot those memories of hunger-induced madness and didn't want to relive them. Thus, direct entry against overwhelming odds was not an option.

What about disguising himself?

He glanced at the closed gate and shook his head again.

Disguising required too much preparation, which he didn't have.

After eliminating these options, his choices were limited.

"4:42." He glanced at his watch. It wouldn't be long before the servants had to get up for work, marking the start of another day. He couldn't wait until then; the night was long and fraught with possibilities.

Ji Xinghai quickly slid to the ground. He took a few steps and scooped up a handful of loose soil, mostly free of pebbles. Then he summoned the insect nest, and various species of insects each occupied a corner, all watching him with their glossy black eyes. He felt countless tiny minds connecting with him, awaiting his command.

For a moment, he felt like the king of the insects.

Ji Xinghai, who had indeed been a part of an insect race before, belched. He had no intention of being the king of insects again.

"Dig a tunnel within half an hour from here to beneath that stone building. Try not to make any noise or alert anyone. If you do alert anyone, kill them."

The swarm of insects vanished into the darkness. Ji Xinghai, hidden in the shadows, looked at his mission watch and began counting down.