352: Chapter 353 One shovel shatters the spatial anchor point, meals provided but no pay? The air smells so good!

As Shi Gu followed Lin Qi back inside the barrier, his mind was still processing what had just happened.

A Space Anchor meticulously buried by their former colleague—Abyssal Fang's masterpiece—had been wiped out by this young man with a single poke of a shovel.

The entire process took no more than three seconds.

Shi Gu had been with the Church for six years and had seen Abyssal Fang set up anchors with his own eyes. That guy took at least half an hour of precise calibration for every anchor, and he had to coordinate with the tidal cycles of the Law of space; not a single deviation was allowed. The result? Three seconds.

He looked down at his iron-gray armor—it was slowly retracting beneath his skin.

"Walk faster." Lin Qi didn't even turn his head.

Shi Gu jogged a few steps to keep up.

Returning to the core area, Instructor Su Qing was already waiting at the entrance of the command center. Her gaze swept over Shi Gu; she said nothing, merely stepping aside to clear the doorway.

Lin Qi entered the command center, and Instructor Su Qing followed him in.

Shi Gu stood at the door, unsure whether to enter or retreat.

"You come in too," Lin Qi's voice drifted out from inside.

Shi Gu stepped inside. The command center wasn't large: a table, a few chairs, a projection terminal hanging on the wall, and a few crates of Federation military rations piled in the corner. It was so crude it didn't look like the command hub of a "God Kingdom."

Lin Qi sat in a rocking chair with Instructor Su Qing standing beside him. Zhang Wei had slipped in at some point, holding a cup of plain water.

"Tell me about Abyssal Fang." Lin Qi looked at Shi Gu.

Shi Gu thought for a moment and found a chair to sit on. The chair looked a bit small under his two-meter frame, letting out a creaking sound.

"Abyssal Fang... how should I put it? He was the first person the High Priest recruited. At least three years before me."

"What was his strength three years ago?"

"He was already at fourth-turn Peak back then. Now? I'd guess at least half-step Law level. He's the closest to the High Priest and received the most resources. What the three of us got combined probably isn't as much as what he got alone."

Zhang Wei interjected from the side, "Doesn't that mean he's stronger than the three of you put together?"

Shi Gu glanced at him. "Though that's a blow to my self-esteem, it's pretty much the truth."

"When was the last time Abyssal Fang appeared in the mining area?" Instructor Su Qing asked.

"About a month ago. The High Priest sent him out to perform a 'Sowing Preparation' mission; I'm not clear on the specifics. Abyssal Fang isn't a talker and didn't interact much with us. He only listens to the High Priest."

Lin Qi tapped the armrest. "The High Priest is dead. Is his contract broken too?"

"Theoretically, yes." Shi Gu nodded. "But Abyssal Fang is different from us. The three of us were bound by contracts to work—essentially just employees. Once the boss died, we were free. But Abyssal Fang... he truly believes."

"Believes in what? The Throat of Devouring Heaven?"

"Not in that mouth. He believes in the High Priest." Shi Gu rubbed his bald head. "Abyssal Fang used to be a fugitive. His space-type talent was so strong that the Federation labeled him a high-risk abnormal individual. The High Priest saved him, gave him a place to hide, and gave him power. To Abyssal Fang, the High Priest was his everything."

The command center fell silent for two seconds.

"So what you're saying is—" Zhang Wei said cautiously, "this Abyssal Fang won't just behave because the contract is broken; he'll come looking for revenge?"

"If he knows the High Priest is dead," Shi Gu said.

"He will know," Jimie's voice came from outside the door.

Everyone turned their heads. Jimie stood by the doorframe, her pale face particularly striking in the evening light.

"There is a Soul Resonance Line between Abyssal Fang and the High Priest. It's not a contract, but a mark he voluntarily allowed the High Priest to leave in his Soul. The moment the High Priest died, that resonance line broke. He definitely knows by now."

Lin Qi leaned back in the rocking chair, his eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"A half-step Law level space-type expert, skilled in long-distance jumping and trap setting, currently on the verge of a rampage after losing his master."

He ran through this information in his head.

"Interesting."

Zhang Wei's face turned pale. "Brother Qi, can you not say 'interesting' about this kind of thing? Can you give a normal person's reaction? Like 'this is tricky' or 'we need to be careful'?"

"It's not tricky," Lin Qi said. "No matter how strong a space-type is, they need a landing point. I've dismantled one of his anchors; as for whether there are others within the scope of Tianhai City, we'll know after a sweep."

"A sweep takes time," Instructor Su Qing said. "And Abyssal Fang might not have only set anchors in Tianhai City. If he opens a passage further out on the periphery of D-3—"

"Then I'll flatten the passage along with him the moment he comes out."

Instructor Su Qing didn't speak further. She knew Lin Qi wasn't just posturing—with the Domain perception range of the Tongshen Realm combined with D-3's Leyline Network, no spatial fluctuations could escape his monitoring.

As long as Lin Qi was in D-3, this place was an iron fortress.

The problem was—Lin Qi couldn't stay in D-3 forever.

"Alright, let's put this matter aside for now." Lin Qi stood up from the rocking chair. "Let's resolve the immediate issue—the placement of the three of you."

He looked at Shi Gu and Jimie. "D-3 currently has twelve Law Creature patrol units with a combat power cap at Second Transition Peak. All three of you are fourth-turn level; joining the patrol sequence would be a waste of talent."

"Then what do you want us to do?" Shi Gu asked.

"Guard the house. When I'm not here, you'll cooperate with Instructor Su Qing and the Law Creatures to form D-3's defense system. The division of labor is simple—Shi Gu is responsible for the front line, Jimie for long-range suppression and area denial, and Abyssal Fang will handle underground warnings once he recovers."

"Understood," Shi Gu answered bluntly.

Jimie didn't make a sound but gave a slight nod.

"Also—" Lin Qi turned to Zhang Wei, "arrange a place for them to stay. Clear out those empty rooms on the west side of the core area."

"Brother Qi, those rooms are the warehouses for my stock—"

"Is your stock more valuable, or are these three combatants?"

Zhang Wei shut his mouth.

Shi Gu got up to follow Zhang Wei to see the rooms, but stopped at the door and looked back at Lin Qi.

"I have a question."

"Speak."

"Do you really only provide food and no salary?"

"Food and housing provided. Not enough?"

"It's enough, but..." Shi Gu scratched his bald head, "back in the Church, we at least had a monthly quota of Law Crystals."

Lin Qi looked at him for three seconds.

"Every breath of air you take in D-3 contains high concentrations of essence. Do you know how much this kind of air is worth outside?"

Shi Gu froze for a moment. He had indeed felt it from the moment he entered D-3—the air was permeated with a refreshing energy, and with every breath, he felt his pores slightly opening. This concentration of essence environment couldn't even be matched in the Church's mining areas.

"Zhang Wei, do the math for him," Lin Qi said.

Zhang Wei perked up. "On it! According to the price of bottled essence air on the Federation black market, the air concentration in the D-3 core area is roughly equivalent to—" He tapped quickly on his terminal, "about 3,200 Federation Credits per person per day of breathing. That's 96,000 a month. For four people, a year would be—"

"Alright, alright." Shi Gu raised his hands. "I won't ask anymore. Food is fine, just food is fine."

He pulled the reluctant Zhang Wei and walked out quickly.

Jimie followed them out as well.

Only Lin Qi and Instructor Su Qing remained in the command center.

Instructor Su Qing stood by the window, still clutching that golden token.

"Boss."

"Hmm?"

"Do you trust them?"

Lin Qi knew she was asking about Shi Gu and Jimie.

"Whether I trust them or not isn't important," he said. "When I'm in D-3, they can't make any waves. When I'm not here, with you watching them, plus twelve Law Creatures and the Leyline Array—the cost of them trying to cause trouble far outweighs the benefits."

"That's a rational judgment. I'm asking about your intuition."

Lin Qi thought for a moment.

"Shi Gu is simple. You can tell just by watching him fight—head-on, no tricks. A person like that won't have overly complex thoughts. Jimie is a bit cold, but she's with Shi Gu; if Shi Gu doesn't rebel, she won't either. Abyssal Fang—"

He paused.

"Abyssal Fang is just a dog."

Instructor Su Qing put away the token. "And what about Abyssal Fang?"

"Abyssal Fang is different. He was sincerely following the High Priest. Now that the High Priest is dead, he'll either go mad, seek revenge, or both. But regardless of which—"

Lin Qi patted the entrenching tool leaning in the corner.

"He has to find me first."

Instructor Su Qing didn't press further. She understood Lin Qi's style—guard what needs guarding, dismantle what needs dismantling, and leave the rest to strength.

"Go to sleep," Instructor Su Qing said.

"You've said that several times now."

"Because you haven't gone yet."

Lin Qi shook his head helplessly and walked toward the temporary dormitory in the back.

Before pushing open the door, he suddenly remembered something. "By the way, are the interrogations of those thirty-seven prisoners finished?"

"Most of them are. Useful information has been compiled and placed in the shared folder on the terminal. There are three die-hards who refuse to say anything."

"I'll handle them tomorrow."

"Okay."

Lin Qi entered the dormitory and closed the door.

A hard bed, a military blanket, and a pillow.

He lay down and stared at the ceiling for a while.

What was spinning in his mind wasn't the matter of Abyssal Fang, nor the prisoners.

It was the unfinished sentence the High Priest said before dying—

"The Sowing Ceremony is not as simple as you think. Activating all seven seeds is only one of the conditions. The true descent requires..."

Requires what?

He had shattered before he could finish.

Lin Qi closed his eyes.

The landmines of this world appeared one after another. After clearing this one, there would be another.

It didn't matter.

He had his shovel, anyway.