467: Miscalculation in the plan

“Damn it!”

Shen Bei stood his ground, somewhat annoyed, watching Thunder King Ye Leng being completely consumed by the green flame.

Not even a speck of dust remained.

After a brief analysis, Shen Bei could only draw one conclusion: Thunder King Ye Leng lighting the blood-red ancient lamp was likely an attempt to perish together with him.

If he had teleported away, Shen Bei would have been teleported too, rendering it meaningless.

One could only say that Thunder King Ye Leng's scheme had failed.

Shen Bei had broken free from the abstract forbidden world, while Thunder King Ye Leng himself had gone to Hell.

“Damn it!”

The more Shen Bei thought about it, the angrier he became.

Originally, he had intended to obtain clues about the Mind's Eye Potion from the Sheepskin Assassin, and then dismantle the Apocalypse Cult.

After Lei Wang appeared, Shen Bei prioritized Ye Leng.

This guy was an executive in the Apocalypse Cult.

The Sheepskin Assassin was, at most, an Advanced member.

Presumably, Thunder King Ye Leng had more intelligence.

Therefore, killing the Sheepskin Assassin was irrelevant.

Who would have thought…

It would end up like this.

Shen Bei’s entire night had been a waste of effort.

The intelligence provided by Two Headed Vine was useless!

The clue was once again broken.

It was truly maddening!

Shen Bei sighed.

What else could he do? No one is perfect; everyone makes mistakes.

He bent down and picked up the blood-colored ancient lamp.

He examined it carefully for a while.

Its external structure indeed conformed to the style of the Caves.

It was engraved with inscriptions and lines, but Shen Bei couldn't understand them.

Although Shen Bei had studied the language of the Caves, or rather, his only gain at the Martial Arts University was learning the language and customs of the Caves.

But he still couldn't understand the inscriptions.

How should he put it?

It was like the difference between simplified Chinese characters and oracle bone script.

Simplified Chinese characters evolved from oracle bone script; understanding simplified Chinese characters doesn't mean one can understand oracle bone script.

It was the same for Shen Bei looking at the inscriptions.

He put it away.

If he couldn't understand it, someone else surely could.

Professor Gu Xinrou was the first person Shen Bei thought of.

Compared to gaining no intelligence, there were still some achievements; at least two scourges were eliminated.

At the same time, Shen Bei still felt a lingering fear; the abstract and forbidden world had greatly exhausted his physical strength.

Fortunately, the world finally lifted the “Gestalt collapse”; streetlights no longer resembled giant monks, trees no longer resembled tombstones, and the darkness after closing his eyes was merely darkness. Everything seemed to have been reset by an invisible finger pressing the Universe’s backend reset button, returning to normal, which was moving.

The emotion of surviving a disaster surged like a rocket from Shen Bei’s heart, but then, Shen Bei again felt a strong doubt: the “Gestalt collapse” that had acted on his consciousness just now was clearly aimed at making him completely lose control.

However, something seemed to have changed midway, as if the executioner who was about to execute a prisoner suddenly received a phone call notifying him to change the verdict, instantly reversing his situation.

Shen Bei pondered for a while, but couldn't figure out what the change was, so he could only return his attention to the present.

Shen Bei shakily held onto a tree trunk to keep himself upright.

Shen Bei's posture now was undeniably disheveled, no less so than a shaggy dog just pulled out of the water.

In fact, if there were others watching him at this time and place, Shen Bei wouldn't be so disheveled; he would definitely try to maintain his usual cool and confident demeanor, but there was no one else around anyway.

After sorting out his feelings, Shen Bei checked his body to see if he had suffered any after-effects in the abstract forbidden Domain.

Upon checking, Shen Bei was truly startled.

A section of his trouser leg had mysteriously disappeared.

It looked as if something had devoured it, and there were obvious low-temperature burn marks on the edge of the fabric.

“This is truly dangerous!”

Shen Bei gasped.

If he hadn't woken up in time, he might have suffered the same fate as Thunder King Ye Leng, with both his Soul and body gnawed away by the green light like jelly, completely disappearing from this world.

“Things from the Caves… truly mysterious and unpredictable.”

First the golden kettle, then the blood-colored ancient lamp.

It was a little scary.

Then, Shen Bei removed his mask disguise and ran towards the urban area.

Besides the Sheepskin Assassin and Thunder King Ye Leng, there was also a woman he had knocked unconscious at the scene; if she could remember anything, that would be excellent.

Soon.

Shen Bei’s body, cutting through the air, quickly returned to that sparsely populated street.

By this time, a large number of police officers and paramedics had appeared on the street.

“Who goes there! No entry!” an officer shouted.

Shen Bei pulled out his Military ID and flashed it in front of the police.

Originally, Shen Bei did not have a Military ID, as he had not joined the Military.

But Zhuang Bifan was his good brother.

When Bai Wei wasn't home, he was like a monkey in the mountains.

Treating him to a drink, this was truly undeniable, but a document for Shen Bei was produced even though there was no record of him in the archives.

The Rank was not low; he was a company commander…

The officer immediately straightened his back: “Please, please come in!”

Shen Bei looked around the scene; many buildings had collapsed, and various Military personnel and rescue teams were digging for survivors.

Shen Bei sighed, what a disaster.

After searching for a while, the woman was placed on a stretcher, waiting to be transported to the hospital.

Shen Bei walked over in a few steps. He shook the woman who had been knocked unconscious earlier.

He said, “Wake up.”

The woman seemed to be caught in a nightmare and wouldn't wake up.

Shen Bei didn't indulge her; he simply took out a bottle of water and poured it directly on her face.

Only then did she wake up.

“Do you remember what happened before?” Shen Bei asked without delay.

She was dazed for three seconds, her face turning pale: “I seem to… seem to have followed a stranger here, that man was wearing sheepskin… but I treated him as a very trusted friend, yet he was clearly a stranger…”

Shen Bei knew immediately that this woman knew nothing either, making his trip in vain.

“That man is a key wanted criminal by the local public security, nicknamed ‘Sheepskin Assassin’; he hypnotized you in some way,” Shen Bei continued. “But now, you are safe.”

“Then, who are you?” she asked nervously.

“That’s not something you should know,” Shen Bei said in a deliberately firm tone. “You can go home now.”

“Tha-thank you. How can I repay you?”

Shen Bei was not interested in her repayment, only in intelligence, so he left directly.

…

Shen Bei didn't go home immediately; instead, he first sprayed himself with mosquito repellent to cover the smell of blood, then went into the Beijing Martial Arts University’s public bathhouse to wash off both the mosquito repellent and the blood smell.

By the time he returned to the dormitory, it was already half past eleven. As soon as he opened the door, Jian Tong’s suspicious eyes scrutinized Shen Bei up and down, and she sniffed: “Where have you been?”

“The bathhouse,” Shen Bei replied very naturally.

“But you haven’t changed your clothes.”

“I forgot to bring a change of clothes.”

“Is that so?” Jian Tong carefully looked at Shen Bei’s hair, then wrinkled her nose and sniffed, as if confirming he had washed, and nodded with a stern face.

But she still seemed a little uneasy, and immediately turned and said, “Hand in your homework tonight.”

Shen Bei: …

This little vixen, she suspects he went out to fool around, huh?

He was truly speechless…