Zhu Yao stayed in Li Ban's room for over an hour before returning to her own.
Meanwhile, Li Ban practiced until midnight.
The night outside was deep, and even the Luminescent Moss in the passageways looked feeble.
Right then, a sleepless Li Ban reappeared in the corridor.
With people patrolling the passage, he didn't open his door. Instead, he used Shrinking Ground to an Inch to teleport directly outside.
He intended to take a look around the camp.
In the bandit lair, Li Ban had only found mature rye; he hadn't found where it was grown.
Perhaps the bandits had a secret base for growing rye, or maybe those wolfish bastards only cared about robbing and didn't bother planting.
Although Li Ban had a few theories about how the rye was grown, he couldn't be entirely sure.
As for the camp's supplies, he didn't plan to touch them.
Although he wanted to leave the Recycling Station, Li Ban was no robber.
He first scouted a few passageways on the first floor.
Most of the main corridor doors that had been open during the day were now closed.
However, this didn't deter Li Ban. He could teleport to any place he had previously visited using Shrinking Ground to an Inch.
For places he hadn't visited, he could determine his landing spot simply by judging a door's thickness and the corridor's direction, then teleport right through.
He scouted several corridors on the first floor but didn't find the rye plantation. Even the fat lady's mission desk only had finished wheat flatbread.
Is the rye processed outside and then brought in? But how do they guarantee its security?
Rye and clean water were the most crucial basic supplies in the Recycling Station; Li Ban still leaned toward the idea that they would keep them close at hand.
Returning to the main corridor, Li Ban spotted a rope ladder leading upward.
The plantation isn't likely to be in the upper caves either. But... I'll go up and take a look.
Climbing up to the Second Level of the cave system, Li Ban found the area much smaller than the floor below. Perhaps they feared that having too many people active on the upper level would collapse the caves underneath.
Just as he approached one of the cave entrances, Li Ban suddenly felt a twinge of alarm.
He looked down at the ground.
Although he couldn't see any difference with the naked eye, he vaguely sensed something hidden beneath the surface.
Trusting his instincts and acting out of caution, Li Ban didn't enter that particular passageway.
Even though he knew the good stuff was likely inside.
He decided to check the other corridors first and return if he didn't find anything elsewhere.
Otherwise, he risked accidentally triggering traps or other defensive measures.
Even the bandit leader had been a Priest; Li Ban doubted this camp lacked other Priests.
Moreover, since the camp collected spiritual rhinoceros, they would very likely use spells to lay traps.
He turned around, exited the passageway, and entered the next.
The next corridor had no such setup. Upon walking inside, Li Ban saw just as many doors as in the lower residential area.
This was the upper residential area.
From the looks of it, the rooms were hardly larger than the ones downstairs.
Li Ban turned around, ready to leave.
This was a residential zone, not his target. Furthermore, the camp's upper echelon might include more than one Priest.
To keep anyone from seeing through his spell, it was best to avoid places like this.
But just as Li Ban was about to move, he suddenly saw Vice Captain Hemira leading a man into the passageway. She wore a full set of armor and looked as though she had just come from a battle.
Li Ban stepped aside against the corridor wall, preparing to let them pass.
But at that moment, another person appeared and called out to Hemira.
"Vice Captain!" A man jogged up to the passageway entrance.
Hemira, who had been talking to the man beside her, immediately frowned and looked back at the entrance. "Why did you come up here?"
"I have urgent business to report," the man at the entrance said in a lowered voice, looking highly suspicious. "Couldn't you have said it before the Guard Team was dismissed?" Hemira asked, clearly displeased.
However, the man didn't back down; he just shot Hemira a meaningful glance.
The man beside Hemira immediately said, "Then I'll head back first, Vice Captain."
Hemira nodded. "Go ahead."
After he left, Hemira lifted her chin at the approaching man. "Kent, let's talk inside."
Hemira and Kent entered a room and locked the door.
"Didn't I tell you not to come looking for me, no matter what happens?" Hemira lowered her voice.
She had just ordered Kent to tail Zhu Yao's group. If they encountered the bandits, he was supposed to find an opening to strike in the chaos.
No matter what he had to do, it was best to ensure all three of Zhu Yao's group died there.
But whether Kent succeeded or not, it was best they didn't contact each other for a while.
Because of this, she had even gotten herself a new 'lover.'
Who would have expected Kent to disobey her orders on the very first night and come straight up to the Second Level to find her!
It was fine; a former lover's slight reluctance to let go could be easily explained away.
But the man was disobedient. Even if he succeeded in dealing with Zhu Yao, she would have to dispose of him later.
Kent didn't know that Hemira was already plotting to get rid of him. Only after entering the room did he let his terrified expression show.
"Hemira, this is bad. The bandits have been completely wiped out."
"What did you say?" Hemira's first reaction was utter shock, but she quickly narrowed her eyes at Kent. "How do you know the bandits were wiped out? I just received word that when Zhu Yao's group returned, their Tricycle barely had a scratch on it. There were no signs of a large-scale battle at all. Those cowardly bandits never even made a move."
Kent said, "Zhu Yao's group really didn't clash with the bandits, but for some unknown reason, the entire bandit gang was slaughtered by someone else."
"I followed Zhu Yao's group from a distance and watched them enter the Swing Forest with my binoculars. But even after waiting until they rode their Tricycle out of the woods, I didn't see the bandits strike. I figured I'd go check on the bandits, but..."
Hemira grabbed Kent by the collar. "The bandits didn't come out, so you went to check on them? You know where their lair is? Are you a bandit too?"
Seeing the murderous intent erupting in Hemira's eyes, Kent hurriedly explained, "No, Vice Captain! I'm not a bandit. I just stumbled across their lair by accident."
Hemira didn't believe him at all. Her hand clamped around Kent's neck. "Do you take me for an idiot?"
Kent struggled, already feeling like his neck was about to snap. He could only croak hoarsely, "The camp chief... the camp chief..."
Startled, Hemira seemed to remember something and slowly loosened her grip.
"Speak honestly. If you try to fool me, I'll make sure you die in the line of duty today."
Kent clutched his neck, a flash of resentment passing through his lowered eyes.
"Vice Captain, the camp chief actually knows the bandits' location too. This isn't the first time a monster wrapped in iron chains has appeared near the Swing Forest. It's just that the place is very far from us. After the camp chief sent a small squad to investigate, he ordered us not to speak of it."
Hemira crossed her arms over her chest. After a deep breath, her voice shifted from furious back to icy.
"Keep talking. How were the bandits wiped out?"
Kent knew this matter he had accidentally let slip was now considered settled.
"Alright." He rubbed his neck. Hemira's arms and legs had all been replaced; her strength was absolutely beyond what a normal human could achieve. "I originally just wanted to go over to the bandits and see why they hadn't made a move. Or, rather, to give them a reminder. But I saw corpses halfway there. When I got closer, the gates to the bandit lair were wide open. I didn't dare go inside, but from the outside, I saw a lot of bodies in the fortress and the caves."
If there were any bandits left alive, even if they didn't collect their companions' bodies, they should have at least closed the gates, right?
Otherwise, were they just waiting around for someone to finish them off?
The fact that they didn't even have time to close the gates could only mean one thing: there was no one left!
Hemira's expression shifted constantly, her mouth twitching. It was hard to tell whether she was shocked by the bandits' annihilation or puzzled by the camp chief's previous indifference toward them.
The room was dead silent for about ten minutes. Suddenly, Hemira looked up and grabbed Kent by the collar again.
"We're going to the Swing Forest. Right now!"
"What?" Kent found this unbelievable. "But the sun has already set, and the main gates are locked."
Being dark is exactly what makes it convenient.
If they waited until dawn and other factions near the Swing Forest discovered the bandit lair was empty, there would be nothing left for them.
As for whether to report it to the camp chief?
The exterminated bandits had surely had their lair cleaned out by whoever killed them. What could possibly be left?
If the camp chief found out, her only reward would be the credit for reporting the news.
And she'd even have to split that half-and-half with Kent.
Thus, Hemira hurriedly brought Kent along. Using her authority as Vice Captain of the Guard Team, she requisitioned a Tricycle, opened the camp's gates, brought a bag of Luminescent Moss, and set off on the road to the Swing Forest.
Kent pedaled the Tricycle with all his might.
It wasn't that the Recycling Station lacked animals, but most of them eventually mutated into monsters, and the few that remained weren't of much use anyway.
He had heard that camps closer to the Rift were already attempting to tame and ride monsters.
How was that any different from being a bandit?
Everyone was just struggling to live a little longer in this hopeless world.
The illumination from the Luminescent Moss grew increasingly faint in the wide-open spaces, forcing Kent to be incredibly careful just to keep the Tricycle steady.
The Tricycle is so heavy today!
Kent glanced back at Hemira, who sat in the cart, deep in thought.
Did this woman swap out her limbs again? Why does she feel even heavier than before?
Just as they neared the Swing Forest, Kent suddenly heard a faint voice. "This is far enough."
That wasn't Hemira's voice.
Just as he tried to look back, he heard an explosive bang inside his head.
And then, he knew nothing more.
Li Ban returned to the camp just as the sky began to lighten.
—
No need for anyone to open the door, no need to show ID; he smoothly made his way right into his room.
Even though Hemira was the Vice Captain of the Guard Team, in the face of a pseudo-6th Tier Priest in peak condition...
She was absolutely nothing.