35: The Heir

"It's here."

Chen Feng muttered to himself.

The cold red light of that patrol drone, like a hungry vulture, locked onto the writhing, barely human-shaped "survivor" on the ground.

"The perfect opportunity to be 'discovered' has presented itself."

He mobilized the last trace of precisely calculated strength in his body and stumbled forward a few steps. Each step felt like treading on knife edges, full of despair and struggle.

Then, as if the strings of his body had snapped completely, he threw himself forward in an extremely realistic manner. His heavy body hit the rubble-strewn ground with a dull thud, and he went silent.

The drone's hum circled overhead for a moment, as if confirming the target's life status.

Finally, it turned around, transformed into a streak of red light, and flew away at high speed... "Quick! Move faster! The stretcher!"

A flurry of rapid footsteps and gruff shouts approached from a distance.

Chen Feng squinted through a slit of his eyes; in his vision, a tall, resolute figure was striding toward him. It was Reno.

When the Guard Team captain saw Chen Feng lying motionless on the ground, his footsteps noticeably faltered. On his scar-covered face, his perennial indifference cracked for the first time, and a complex mix of shock, confusion, and even a trace of awe he hadn't noticed himself flashed through his eyes.

"Captain, it's Number 734! He's still alive!" a Guard shouted in surprise after checking Chen Feng's breath.

"Shut up!" Reno growled, cutting off his subordinate's clamor.

He didn't say another word. He simply knelt down, personally checking the gruesome but non-fatal wound on Chen Feng's arm, then glanced at the filth and tattered clothes covering his body.

Reno's gaze grew deeper.

"Put him on the stretcher," he ordered in a tone that brooked no argument. "Take him back to the temporary medical station as fast as possible! No, take him directly to the Supervisor's office!"

"The Supervisor's office?" The subordinate was stunned.

"Execute the order!"

"Yes!"

Chen Feng felt himself being lifted carefully. He relaxed his body completely, allowing himself to fall into a "coma," while his mind coldly analyzed Reno's reaction.

'He saw through it... but he won't say anything.'

The perfect witness.

When Chen Feng "slowly woke up," the strong smell of a mixture of cigars and cheap alcohol made him cough violently.

He found himself lying on a soft sofa, and his surroundings were Bachm's luxurious yet cluttered office.

Documents were torn to shreds and scattered across the floor. Expensive wine bottles lay askew, dark liquid staining large patches of the carpet.

The owner of the office, Bachm, was pacing back and forth like a beast trapped in a cage, his eyes bloodshot.

Hearing movement from the sofa, he whipped his head around.

"You're awake!"

Bachm let out a roar that didn't sound human and rushed over like an out-of-control heavy truck!

"Speak! What exactly happened?!" He grabbed Chen Feng's tattered collar, nearly lifting him off the sofa, spit flying into Chen Feng's face. "Kruger! Fisk! Where are my people?! Where did they all die?!"

"Ah—!"

Chen Feng seemed frightened out of his wits by the roar, letting out a shrill scream. He flailed his hands wildly as if trying to push away some invisible monster.

"Don't come near me! Don't come near me! Monster! It collapsed... everything collapsed!"

His performance had begun.

"Useless trash! Look at me!" Bachm was even more irritable because of his crazed appearance, but he didn't dare to actually kill him; this Number 734 was his only clue now.

"Lord Supervisor?" Chen Feng's eyes seemed to regain a hint of clarity. He saw the person in front of him and then, as if grabbing a lifeline, he clung tightly to Bachm's fleshy arm, his whole body trembling violently.

"It was them! It was Kruger and Fisk!" he shouted incoherently with a sob. "They stole my map! They said it was their credit! They didn't listen to my advice and insisted on rushing in!"

"Map? What map?!" Bachm's eyes lit up instantly, greed overwhelming his anger. "A treasure map?!"

"I don't know... I don't know anything about a treasure..." Chen Feng shook his head in terror, his eyes losing focus again. "I only know it was very dangerous there! And then... then it collapsed! Like the end of the world! Rocks were falling everywhere! I was... I was blown away... by a gust of wind..."

As he spoke, he gestured with his hands, as if returning to that terrifying moment.

"I fell into a crack... it was so dark... so cold... I thought I was dead..."

Bachm endured his impatience and listened to his nonsense. These words perfectly matched the facts he had seen from the surveillance logs—"large-scale unexplained geological activity in Sector B"—and the collective disappearance of Kruger and the others' life signals.

His last shred of doubt about Chen Feng vanished in this seamless performance.

"And then?!" Bachm pressed, "What did you see down in the crack?!"

"Crystals... glowing crystals..." Chen Feng's voice was filled with fear, as if recalling an inescapable nightmare. "A huge cave... there were blue crystals everywhere... and... and monsters..."

As if remembering something even more terrifying, he screamed again: "A huge monster! Crunch... crunch... its legs were like scythes! It was eating rocks! No! It was eating people!"

"Enough!" Bachm barked at him, but the Supervisor's face was no longer filled with anger, but with uncontrollable ecstasy.

Glowing crystals! A massive cave! And guarded by monsters!

Wasn't this the standard setup for a legendary treasure?!

"You... you're never going back to that godforsaken place again, right?" Bachm's voice suddenly turned gentle, like he was coaxing a child.

"I'm not going... I won't go even if it kills me..." Chen Feng shook his head frantically, tears and snot flowing. "Lord Supervisor, I beg you, don't make me go back in! It's hell! It's hell!"

This "retreat to advance" posture completely dispelled all of Bachm's doubts.

What kind of lies could a terrified piece of trash tell?

Bachm felt completely reassured and a sinister smile appeared on his face. "Good, very good! You're a hero, Number 734! You've discovered immense wealth for the company! I'll give you the best treatment!"

Half an hour later, Chen Feng was lying in the most high-end single dormitory in the mining area.

The bed was as soft as clouds in the sky, and the climate control system kept the room as warm as spring. Outside the door stood two Guards personally dispatched by Bachm, ostensibly for "protection" but actually for surveillance.

Bachm personally tucked him in and said in an almost fatherly tone, "Rest well, child. Once you're better, you'll take me inside. Remember, you're the only living map. As long as we get the treasure, I promise you'll get everything you want."

"Thank you... thank you, Lord Supervisor..." Chen Feng responded in a weak voice.

When the office door closed, isolating him from the outside world.

Outside, the faint sounds of Bachm's crazed roars and orders could be heard.

"Move all the heavy drilling equipment to the entrance of Sector B!"

"engineering team! Twenty-four-hour shifts! Dig out the collapsed area for me!"

"No matter the cost! No matter how many people die! I must get in within a week!"

Chen Feng lay on the comfortable bed, quietly listening to it all. The fear and numbness on his face slowly faded, replaced by a bottomless calm.

He knew that he had finally won the most precious thing for his next step.

Time and space.