116: Chapter 116 The Chess Player Appears, Spiderwebs Vanish
Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen: The chess player Appears, Hiding in the Web
That rat's shrill scream was like a red-hot iron, branding itself deep into my soul. It wasn't just a sound, but a ripple reaching the depths of the soul, representing the passing of life. I jerked my head up, and a cold despair instantly swept through my body. Lin Qingzhi's aura was faint, her vitality like a candle flickering in the wind.
She is my only "chessboard."
My compound eyes, flashing with an eerie purple light, stared fixedly at the ruins not far away. Where the Mutated rat had fallen, a slender figure was struggling to crawl.
It was her!
Chen Fei!
My Demonic Power core gave a sudden throb! It was an unbelievable shock, a mix of pity for life and a profound, strategic consideration.
She's still alive?!
Under Night Crow's all-destroying offensive, she had actually miraculously survived. Her body was pinned under twisted steel frames, broken and battered, but that faint spark of life was like a single candle flame in the dark, stubbornly flickering.
She is an agent of the Dragon Soul Bureau. She is one of Lin Qingzhi's few "companions" on Blue Star.
If I could save her, what would it mean?
It would mean a "bridge" to establish direct contact with the Dragon Soul Bureau, an... identity that could rationalize all my future "outrageous" actions!
At this moment, my brain began to operate frantically at a speed exceeding that of light.
Save her! I must save her!
But how?
Although Night Crow had already left, there were still remaining Xuantian Alliance lackeys within that bloody Chemical plant, performing the final "clean-up" work. Their auras were mixed and chaotic, carrying a hint of cruel triumph.
"Hiss—"
A Xuantian Alliance lackey at the Essence Rank Initial Stage appeared like a ghost. Holding a cold, glinting dagger, he slowly approached the direction where Chen Fei lay. There was no trace of pity in his eyes, only a numb, cold indifference toward a dead object.
He saw Chen Fei. He saw those faintly twitching fingers. He raised his dagger, preparing to deliver the final fatal blow.
There were only a few seconds left.
I didn't hesitate for a moment.
My spiritual power, which had become incredibly powerful after breaking through to the Demon Rank, instantly enveloped the entire area like an invisible net.
I no longer looked for mosquitoes or moths.
I locked onto something tougher, something more suited for moving through these ruins... the Cockroach.
"All subjects, heed my command!"
My will, like a divine oracle from the highest heavens, quietly echoed deep within the ruins.
The next second—
Several mutated cockroaches, each about the size of a walnut, their oily carapaces shimmering in the gloom, received my command. They didn't rush directly at the Xuantian Alliance lackey. That would be too risky and too foolish.
Following my precise instructions, they took an extremely hidden and tricky route, noiselessly crawling into a pile of rubble... right beneath the lackey's feet.
"Squeak... squeak..."
Their tiny limbs forcefully shifted the rubble, producing an extremely faint, barely perceptible sound.
The sound was like a small stone inadvertently rolling down from a height.
However, in the dead silence of the Chemical plant late at night, and under the highly tensed nerves of the Xuantian Alliance lackey, this tiny sound was infinitely magnified.
"Who's there?!"
The lackey stiffened abruptly, and his hand holding the dagger paused in mid-air. His eyes, which had grown somewhat cloudy from lurking in the dark for so long, scanned the direction of the sound with vigilance.
In that instant, his attention was completely... captured by those few insignificant cockroaches.
Now is the time!
Almost the moment he turned his head, I transmitted my will to Chen Fei.
"Crawl! To the right, the Drainage ditch!"
Chen Fei's hazy consciousness received a sudden jolt. She didn't know where the voice came from, but the intent was exceptionally clear. It was an unquestionable command from the depths of her soul.
The instinct for survival made her burst forth with her last bit of strength. Her blood-stained fingers clawed at the ground, and her body moved in an extremely slow, agonizing posture, inch by inch, toward the... Drainage ditch hidden deep in the ruins.
Her fingernails carved streaks of bright red blood onto the rough concrete floor. Her body twitched slightly from the intense pain, but her eyes were fixed on that direction, filled with... hope in the midst of despair.
"Damn it, there's nothing!"
The Xuantian Alliance lackey cursed as he withdrew his gaze. He hadn't found anything unusual. Those cockroaches had already retreated back into the darkness according to my orders, as if they had never appeared. He simply assumed the wind had moved the stones.
He turned his gaze back toward Chen Fei.
However, those few seconds of delay were enough to change everything!
Chen Fei's figure had already just managed to crawl to the edge of the Drainage ditch!
Her fingers had already touched the cold, damp wall of the ditch!
"Damn it!"
A flash of annoyance crossed the lackey's eyes. He stepped forward quickly, raising his dagger high and stabbing downward!
However, it was too late!
The moment his dagger fell, Chen Fei's body suddenly dropped, and her entire person seemed to be swallowed by the earth, completely disappearing into that pitch-black, bottomless... Drainage ditch!
"She escaped?!"
The lackey's eyes widened in disbelief. He looked at the narrow, foul-smelling Drainage ditch, then at the dagger in his hand, his face filled with anger and frustration. He slashed at the mouth of the ditch in a rage, but hit nothing.
I hovered in mid-air, quietly watching his embarrassed, clown-like performance with my purple-flashing compound eyes.
Success.
I hadn't acted directly, hadn't exposed my existence, and hadn't even let Lin Qingzhi sense my actions.
Using only a few cockroaches and a few seconds, I had completed a perfect and ingenious... rescue.
I, Mo Wen, am no longer that parasite who only knows how to scrape by.
I am the... chess player of this game!
At this moment, my Demonic Power core gave a slight, satisfied... quiver.