Chapter 123: Collapse, Joyful Digging

Black shop, oh, black shop!

It’s bad enough to be heartless, and I could even overlook your clumsy tricks. Being shameless and sleazy is barely tolerable, but could you at least be a little professional? Maybe tidy up your money-making lair, check it for safety, do some repairs? What’s with these random cave-ins? Truly, you’re rotten to the core.

Bian Changxi sat on the sofa, full of complaints, propping her chin up as she played with Milk, her gaze occasionally flickering to the communicator. What she was really thinking, only she knew. Lao Qian, Jiang Chunlin, and a few other tunnel leaders were all tied up, tossed onto the ground and stacked like a pile of logs. Chu Hao and the others had already woken up and were moving around in the outer tunnel to warm up, though they still felt weak. Some were muttering about how to torment Lao Qian and his cronies, others pondering how to escape.

Honestly, most were leaning toward the former.

Earlier, Lao Qian had pretended to let them go, but secretly ordered the old, weak, women, and children to launch a sneak attack. Who would guard against those pitiful, frail folks who looked like they barely had a breath left? Even if you weren’t as soft-hearted as Chu Hao, you’d kick or shove them aside, or wave a knife at them. But those people were clearly trained—just a swipe with a blade, and as long as it broke the skin, the victim would drop instantly.

Five people were taken down in an instant.

But the rest weren’t easy targets. Realizing things had gone south, they didn’t hesitate. With a machete, a tornado, a pair of iron fists, a streak of dark flame, plus Bian Changxi’s vines and Milk’s claws and teeth, the world seemed to turn upside down. Lao Qian’s group barely had time to react before they were utterly defeated.

After their victory, Bian Changxi and the others didn’t dare linger, nor did they bother settling scores. They each carried someone—sometimes even two at a time—and rushed for the tunnel exit. Who could have predicted—a cave-in!

The collapse was strange, too. It didn’t bring down the whole tunnel, just sealed off both ends with over ten meters of rubble—impossible for people to clear by hand. They tried the safety passage to another tunnel, but it was the same. So, except for those who managed to escape at the last second or were crushed to death at the exit, everyone else was trapped like fish in a barrel.

With no gaps in the tunnel, the air grew thick and suffocating—especially with over three thousand people inside. Bian Changxi had Lao Qian’s former subordinates, the ones who seemed timid and honest, manage the crowd. But the news was grim: from afternoon to nightfall, hundreds of sick people had already died, and some of the particularly frail couldn’t hold on.

“Thump, thump, thump—” Two people from the original tunnel rushed to the door. “Something’s happened! They’re going to suffocate all the old and young!”

Bian Changxi sat up straight, her expression turning serious. Chen Guanqing glanced at her, waved for the others to leave, then said to the group, “There’s only eleven of us. They have thousands. We can’t control them.”

It was true. Whether people lived or died wasn’t up to them, nor was it something they could handle—they could barely protect themselves.

Bian Changxi nodded. “Is everyone ready?”

Chu Hao and the others stood up, nodding solemnly. “That drug was potent, but with your wood powers helping us clear it out, Miss Bian, we’re just a bit weak now. We’re good to go.”

Part of why they’d waited so long was to let these five recover. With half their team down, not only would their fighting power be affected, but just carrying people would have been a huge burden.

Chen Guanqing went out and called in about a hundred of the most destructive ability-users they’d selected earlier. “Just like we planned. In a moment, use your powers where I point. Ten people per team—when one team’s done, the next follows immediately. Don’t waste a second. No matter what happens—whether the ceiling collapses or you’re injured—unless we say stop, you keep going. Our lives depend on this.”

“Understood!”

These people, men and women, young and old, were chosen for their abilities, not their age. They were all skin and bones, but now they straightened up as best they could, eyes shining with nervous determination. They understood how dire things were—this had been explained and drilled into them. They knew what they had to do.

The thought of escaping this sunless place and seeing a better life made their hearts burn with hope.

Lao Qian, tied up like a pretzel, sneered bitterly. “You still think you can escape? Who gets out alive when a mountain collapses on you?” Truth be told, the cave-in had terrified him too. But after his plan failed—especially after brute force failed—he knew he’d lost not just the promised supplies and benefits, but maybe even his own way out. He was so bitter he wished everyone here would die with him.

Bian Changxi glanced at him, then looked up at the rocks overhead. “Haven’t you noticed? Since this afternoon, you and your cronies have gotten a whole size thinner.” Ignoring his shocked expression, she said, “They’re useless now. Drag them out.”

She’d finally figured out something crucial after using these people as bait all afternoon.

Lao Qian wasn’t stupid. Suddenly realizing something, he shouted, “Save me! If you leave me here, Gu Xu won’t let you off!”

Everyone froze. Even Bian Changxi was stunned for a moment. “Gu Xu? You and Gu Xu are…?”

Lao Qian straightened up, trying to look confident. “I work for Gu Xu. Catching you was his order.”

“Oh—” Bian Changxi nodded slowly. “So that communicator was from him too?”

“Of course!”

“Amazing, truly amazing.”

She said “amazing” twice, then suddenly lashed a vine at a corner of the concrete ceiling.

With a bang, the hard concrete caved in, rubble tumbling down, and her vine darted into the gap. The thick vine split into countless thin tendrils, struggling to burrow through the rocks and soil. Bian Changxi gripped the end, face cold and focused, energy flowing through her like water. The third-tier green core in her hand quickly dimmed.

Chen Guanqing and the others saw she’d started and hurriedly tossed Lao Qian and the rest of the useless ones out, then took up their positions as planned.

Suddenly, the ceiling trembled, as if something massive was shifting inside the mountain. Bian Changxi’s eyes lit up. “Found it! Over there—you guys!”

She’d found something at her three o’clock, but pointed the others in the opposite direction.

Chen Guanqing immediately blasted a swath of black fire at the spot, melting a huge chunk of the concrete ceiling. “Hit here!”

In an instant, fire, ice, earth, wind, even lightning powers were unleashed, a dazzling array of colors. Chunks of ceiling crashed down in a spectacular display.

Bian Changxi ignored them, focusing on restraining the deeply buried, massive thing.

She’d always felt something was off about this place: the unnaturally lush bamboo outside, no standing water, no attacks, energy being mysteriously drained, the white-green object she’d seen under the bridge pier… All of it made her suspect there was something big here, probably a plant—maybe those bamboo, or something controlling them.

And when they’d tried to escape, both ends of the tunnel had collapsed, as if on purpose, to trap their group here.

That wasn’t something Lao Qian could have done, or even attempted.

So their real enemy was something unknown, unseen, yet everywhere. She’d spent a lot of time pacing the tunnels, finally realizing that Lao Qian’s office was the spot with the strongest pull. Among the survivors were engineers and people who’d built the tunnels—they confirmed that the soil above this area was the thinnest.

After discussing, they’d tried digging out the blocked exits first, but if they hadn’t dodged in time, they’d have been crushed by another collapse. So they had to try finding another way out from here.

The plan was simple: Bian Changxi would find and hold off the thing, while everyone else dug a new passage. They didn’t know what was outside, but anything was better than suffocating in here.

Bian Changxi was shocked by the massive, root-like thing she’d found.

How big was this thing? Its roots were tangled and sprawling—her vines couldn’t reach all the way around. She had to channel her energy into the soil, circling the edge for ages without making a full loop. She could feel her energy draining fast.

And she sensed the thing wasn’t even awake yet—like a newborn, still developing, not having absorbed enough energy. Her energy was instantly sucked away at the edge, and countless tendrils reached out, absorbing energy from everywhere.

From people in the tunnel, from distant plants and animals—it was like a giant black hole, endlessly devouring everything.

Suddenly, maybe because the digging vibrations reached it, the giant ball swelled, then shrank, its roots writhing as if about to awaken. The ground shook violently, rumbling with anger.

Bian Changxi immediately locked down several of the reaching tendrils, channeling a huge surge of energy through her vine like a live wire. She grunted, barely managing to hold it back.

Chen Guanqing saw her face turn deathly pale and guessed she couldn’t hold on much longer. He shouted for everyone to hurry.

Bang!

George blasted through the topsoil with a column of air. Amid the falling dirt, they saw the starry night sky, the shadowy outlines of bamboo, and cold, fresh air rushed in, swirling through the cramped space.

ps:

I’m not saying anything, I’m silent—see you all next chapter, I’m outta here~~"