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Everyone soon found the underground cave.

There was a huge cave at the foot of a massive mountain.

Standing at the entrance of the cave now, the dense forest blocked the moonlight, rendering the place pitch-black.

Danny Jay immediately walked up to Gu Xiaoxi with a smile and said, "I’ll protect you!"

A twitch tugged at the corner of Gu Xiaoxi’s mouth, "Better watch out for yourself!"

Although she had never seen him use magic, it was clear that this guy must be pretty strong.

"Let’s go!" Jing Rui wanted to lead the way, proceeding with caution.

However, at that moment, Mi Xi stepped in front and said, "I’ll take the lead; just follow behind."

With that, everyone cautiously entered the cave.

Darkness!

Only the faint light from their flashlights flickered in the darkness.

It was not easy to navigate inside the cave, and suddenly two bats flew out, startling everyone.

Right then, another beam of light appeared not far behind them.

Turning around, they saw Quan Shaoqing, Ai Xiang, Yun Xiao, and Tang Yisheng approaching with great strides.

Frowning, Gu Xiaoxi recalled instructing Wu An to find Ai Xiang without revealing her whereabouts.

Unexpectedly, not only had her location been disclosed, but they had also found this place.

"Shaoqing?" Jing Rui frowned, "How come you are here?"

She looked at Gu Xiaoxi, clearly puzzled.

Since she only saw Gu Xiaoxi, she thought it was a solo mission for her.

Quan Shaoqing stepped forward and respectfully greeted, "Aunt Jing."

His gaze toward Gu Xiaoxi, however, was extremely cold, "Going off on your own, I’ll deal with you when we get back."

Gu Xiaoxi pursed her lips guiltily.

Yun Xiao had a helpless expression; this matter wasn’t Wu An’s fault.

Having one less person in the team, Quan Shaoqing had pressed him until he couldn’t keep the secret.

"Alright, now that you’re here, let’s all stick together. Everyone, be careful," Jing Rui instructed. The most important thing now was the rescue mission!

Suddenly, the five-person team expanded to nine members.

Gu Xiaoxi obediently returned to the team, walking behind Quan Shaoqing.

There was no helping it; rank and position were everything.

After all, he was the boss.

As they continued onward, the noises inside the cave grew increasingly loud.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

The deeper they went, the louder the sounds became.

"It’s bats, everyone keep your voices down. Don’t provoke them!" Jing Rui reminded everyone.

Everyone held their breath, looking at the dense swarm of small bats on the roof of the cave.

"Could Gu Feng be hiding in there? How can anyone live in such a place?" Danny Jay held his nose; the smell was truly unbearable.

Jing Rui’s expression was grave, "He was able to escape from the International Alliance’s high-security prison. Never underestimate this man; he surely has many malevolent creatures at his command."

Yun Xiao quietly sidled up to Gu Xiaoxi and asked in a low voice, "Could Gu Feng be here?"

"He might be. If he’s not, there’s no danger. But if he is, then we’re on the right track," Gu Xiaoxi said with a serious expression.

She stole a glance at Quan Shaoqing. He was poker-faced, showing neither happiness nor anger.

Anyway, he had been quite angry earlier - so let him punish her if he wants to!

She wasn’t afraid!

The group continued to move forward, the increasing number of bats and their repulsive smell made breathing difficult for everyone.

It seemed the cave was deep; after walking for about four or five minutes, they encountered a fork with three paths.

Jing Rui looked around and then back at Mi Xi, "Which way should we go?"

Shaking her head, Mi Xi said, "Each path is equally dangerous."

"Roar!" Just then, a huge roar reverberated, shaking the ground and the mountains.

Immediately after, countless bats flew out of the cave they had passed through, swarming towards them in an attack.

Everyone was startled.

"Where did that roar come from?" Jing Rui quickly pulled out the weapon she carried.

"There’s something in here!"

At this point, no one was in the mood to care about what was inside the cave; they only knew that countless bats were surging toward them.

Their sharp claws and sheer numbers sent shivers down everyone’s spines.

Gu Xiaoxi immediately deployed her dagger, continuously slashing at the bats.

Tang Yisheng also unleashed vast swathes of fire magic, burning the attacking bats.

Ai Xiang kept shooting the bats with her weapon relentlessly.

A fierce battle erupted in the cave.

Yun Xiao could freeze an area in an instant, while Gu Xiaoxi’s dagger struck swiftly, spreading the scent of blood throughout the space.

Moments later, a layer of dead bats littered the ground.

Above them, more bats continued to swoop down relentlessly.

"We can’t get out, the entrance is blocked by bats. We can only move forward!" Gu Xiaoxi shouted.

"But there’s something in this cave, it might be even more dangerous inside," said Danny Jay, who, along with Tang Yisheng, used Fire Magic to carve a path forward.

Quan Shaoqing’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he wielded a weapon with high lethality, continually repelling the bats.

"Take the middle passage!" ordered Young Master Quan.

Without hesitation, Gu Xiaoxi and the others fought off bats as they retreated into the tunnel.

Once they entered the middle cave, the flock of bats outside dispersed.

By then, everyone was stained with blood.

"This is disgusting!" Ai Xiang frowned deeply as she looked at the pitch-black cave.

"Be careful, those sounds just now could be some animal," Jing Rui warned with two scratch marks on her face.

Following Young Master Quan, Gu Xiaoxi and the others lit the area with flashlights.

A while later, they found torches on the ground.

They picked them up without hesitation and lit them. It was clear that someone had been here before.

It was only then they could see the situation inside clearly.

The middle tunnel was several times larger than the previous one, and it looked like a naturally formed limestone cave.

In a slightly lower area, there was an underground river.

"Gaga gaga..." A sinister laughter shattered the tranquility of the environment.

Everyone immediately became vigilant, holding torches while looking toward the source of the sound.

They saw that on the other side of the underground river lay another passage.

And from that passage, some armored troops emerged.

Yes, just armor, no faces, no hands, yet capable of emitting bursts of sinister laughter.

"Chatter chatter chatter... Never thought you would really come. Hahaha... coming to a certain death. Your people are in the deepest part of the cave; if you have the guts, go rescue them! Hahaha..." Gu Feng’s voice echoed throughout the cave.

All eyes darted around, but other than the eerie armored troops, there was nothing.

Where exactly was Gu Feng speaking from?

"Everyone be careful!" Suddenly, Mi Xi called out.

Then, many arrows shot out from inside the armored troops with threatening force.

At this critical moment, Mi Xi stepped forward, and a flash of green light swept from her hand.

A huge protective shield enveloped everyone, and they all felt a warm sensation spreading throughout their bodies.

Jing Rui was astonished to find that the wounds on her cheek were healing.

Although Mi Xi’s Healing Technique only withstood the arrows for three seconds, it was enough time for everyone to react and swiftly dodge.

Gu Xiaoxi was about to dodge to the left when a pair of strong hands pulled her to the right instead.

Perhaps the situation was so dangerous that even Young Master Quan didn’t realize what he was doing.

Instinctively, he protected her by his side.

In such a perilous place, Gu Xiaoxi felt a warm feeling in her heart.

By then, the armored troops had approached them.

Jing Rui fired the first shot, but the bullets had no effect when they hit the armor.

Jing Rui’s subordinates tried slashing with a knife to no avail.

Yun Xiao quickly used her freezing ability, immobilizing them, but it couldn’t stop their advance.

As they examined the armored troops by the light of the fire, they noticed that they all lacked feet.

"Attack with fire! They’re controlled by witchcraft," Mi Xi realized and shouted.

Danny Jay and Tang Yisheng quickly stepped forward, releasing flames together, and screams filled the air.

The armored troops fell to the ground, reduced to piles of scrap metal.

Just as everyone was starting to relax, more armored troops kept emerging from the cave without end.

"This place is too dangerous; everyone be careful," said Mi Xi with a cold gaze.

Since they were all there to rescue someone, none of them would leave.

So, they could only fight with all they had.

Gu Xiaoxi felt secure next to Young Master Quan who was protecting her.

Obviously, there weren’t many armored troops earlier, and they were quickly defeated by the actions of Tang Yisheng and Danny Jay.

But then, even more emerged.

Gu Xiaoxi struggled a bit.

Only then did Young Master Quan realize that he had been hugging her for no apparent reason.

Letting go, he said emotionlessly, "Even though these armored troops are powerful, they move slowly and are not to be feared. Moreover, it’s not suitable for us to stay together. I suggest we split up in three directions; this will make it easier to locate people and will benefit our fight."