157: Chapter 157 The Mysterious Thief

He spat on the ground and waved his hand, "Retreat!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Dozens of Men in Black retreated like a tide, scrambling to jump into the space-time rift.

In just a few seconds, the cave became empty again.

"Hum—" As the last of the Men in Black vanished, the purple space-time rift rapidly contracted and closed, finally turning into a speck of light that completely dissipated into the air, as if it had never appeared at all.

"Haa... Haa..." Chen Xi leaned against the stone wall, gasping for air, cold sweat soaking his back.

He glanced at Ye Fei, who was equally shaken. They looked at each other, both seeing the relief of surviving a disaster and deep confusion in the other's eyes.

"That was close..." Ye Fei collapsed onto the ground, her voice still trembling. "Who... exactly were those people?"

Chen Xi stared fixedly at the spot where the rift had disappeared, his brow furrowed.

First of all, these Men in Black were well-trained, although their individual strength might not necessarily surpass his own. However, there were a great number of them. This could be considered a significant force Outside the Border. A group this large would have been more than enough to kill a Tier 3 ferocious beast. Why come to steal his python skin?

Secondly, there was this familiar space-time rift... Finally, and most crucially, the Men in Black at the beginning were truly intent on killing him. But the voice that appeared later must have belonged to the person controlling the space-time rift. That must be their master. And why, when holding an absolute advantage, did that master not kill him, but instead order a retreat? There were too many mysteries!

In the dark and damp dead-end of the cave, the air seemed to congeal. Chen Xi stood in place, looking at the empty ground before him, his brow tightly locked. The image of those dozens of Men in Black vanishing into thin air was still replaying in his mind, and the Frost Giant Python skin that had been piled there had disappeared along with them.

"Damn it..." Chen Xi couldn't help but curse under his breath, his fists clenching until they cracked.

That was a full 100 military merit points! Just like that, it had flown away right under his nose? For someone like Chen Xi, who was used to fleecing others and had never been fleeced himself, this was an absolute disgrace.

"Captain..." Ye Fei, behind him, had only just recovered from that suffocating feeling of near-death. She leaned against the wall, her face pale, her voice still trembling. "Have those people... left? That voice just now was terrifying. I feel like if he had wanted to kill us, we would have been dead for sure."

Chen Xi took a deep breath, forcing down his unwillingness and confusion. He turned around and helped the weak-legged Ye Fei up, his tone returning to calm. "They're gone. Although I don't know why, it seems this is their limit."

He glanced at the healed spatial node and shook his head. "Forget it, there's no use dwelling on it. We definitely won't be able to get the item back; the other party came prepared and has an expert backing them. With our current strength, chasing after them would be suicide. Let's head back first."

Chen Xi made a prompt decision. Although he had lost money, at least his life was saved. "Let's go, back to the Adventurer Camp!"

Meanwhile, somewhere Outside the Border, in an unknown, secret forbidden zone. An ancient, pitch-black altar stood on the wilderness, surrounded by a thick scent of blood. Around the altar, a group of believers dressed in black robes were busy transporting the corpses of various high-tier ferocious beasts, using the formation on the altar to refine them.

"Zzzzt—" The void in front of the altar suddenly distorted. A purple space-time rift tore open, and over a dozen of the Men in Black who had just appeared before Chen Xi emerged one after another, looking slightly disheveled. As soon as they landed, they all knelt on the ground in unison, trembling before the figure on the altar who had his back to them.

A man sat there. His entire body was shrouded in a large black robe. It was none other than Black-Robed Shen Ye.

"Mas... Master." The leading thief in black knelt on the ground, clutching his chest, and asked cautiously, "This subordinate... does not understand. We had just controlled the situation and could clearly have eliminated any future trouble. Yet you ordered us to retreat and even left those two alive... If our current whereabouts and plans are exposed, won't it invite a crackdown from the military?"

Black-Robed Shen Ye heard this and slowly turned around. "Exposed?" He let out a raspy chuckle, his voice echoing across the empty altar. "There is no wall in this world that doesn't let wind through. What we are doing will be known to others sooner or later; it doesn't matter when."

He stood up, walked over to that man in black, and looked down at him. "As for why I didn't kill him..." Black-Robed Shen Ye's gaze became complex. "Because... he is the 'Key'."

"The Key?" The man in black was stunned. "Correct." Black-Robed Shen Ye said indifferently, "He cannot die yet."

"If we kill him now, the chain of causality will break, and our plan... will be impossible to execute completely." Saying this, Black-Robed Shen Ye turned around and said indifferently, "Enough, withdraw. Continue collecting materials; we don't have much time left."

"Yes! Master!" The Men in Black, as if granted amnesty, hurriedly kowtowed and withdrew, disappearing into the darkness.

Adventurer Camp. Chen Xi, with Ye Fei, rode a giant wolf at full speed and finally made it back to the bustling settlement before sunset. As soon as he pushed open the camp gate, Li Murou and Su Xiaoxiao, who had been waiting anxiously, rushed up to meet them.

"Captain Chen! Ye Fei! You're finally back!" Li Murou looked the two of them up and down, and seeing that they were just a bit disheveled but missing no limbs, she finally let out a sigh of relief, then asked eagerly, "How was it? Did you catch the thief who stole the items? Did you get the skin back?"

Ye Fei wore a bitter expression and shook her head. "We didn't catch them... Not only did we not get it back, but we almost lost our lives."

"What?!" A cold glint flashed in Su Xiaoxiao's eyes. "There is someone who can threaten you?"

"As long as you're okay, money can be earned again." Although Li Murou felt the pain of those 100 military merit points, she still offered comfort.

Afterward, the group went to Lei Gang's camp next door. Inside a simple tin house, Chen Xi told Lei Gang, Wang Shan, and the others, including Li Murou who had returned earlier, exactly what they had encountered in the cave, as well as the group of mysterious Men in Black and the space-time rift that could be opened at will.

After listening to Chen Xi's description, Lei Gang's expression also turned grave. He rubbed the stubble on his chin and said in a deep voice, "Men in Black... space-time rift... Brother Chen, now that you mention it, I do recall something. Recently in the circle, there have indeed been rumors that a group of strange thieves has appeared Outside the Border."