“Where is it?!”
Both men roared at the same time. Stunned by the other’s reaction, they fell into a grim, uneasy silence. The air around them became unnervingly still.
Deep down, both of them knew the truth: an S-rank Containment Object with a broken seal was not something either of them could handle.
When time and space had been slowed down ten thousand-fold just moments ago, they had clearly seen that even their own movements were agonizingly sluggish. They had been utterly helpless.
Aries Hong Jiu had already finished his mental calculations. At the speed he was moving, it would have taken him roughly ten hours to close the distance and grab the Crown of Time Lag.
By then, it would have been a question of how many days his body could hold out, and whether he could survive long enough for the Rangers or other powerhouses to come to his rescue.
But now, that thing had actually vanished into thin air right before his eyes!
Li Gui was equally bewildered. He pushed himself up from the ground and looked at Hong Jiu with a cold sneer.
“Hehe, it seems there are some sneaky rats hiding among the Rangers after all.”
“I thought it was just you, Aries Hong Jiu, leading the team this time. Now it seems you have other friends waiting in the shadows to back you up!”
Li Gui was implying that another powerhouse from the Rangers had used some hidden method to suddenly snatch the Crown of Time Lag away.
“Bullshit!” Hong Jiu barked back. “Who do you think you are? Sneaking around? Do you think you’re important enough for the Rangers to hide their movements from you?!”
The tension between the two was thick enough to cut with a knife. They traded insults, testing each other, both secretly wondering if the other side really did have a hidden expert lurking nearby.
Only Bai Feifei knew that the true expert was a completely different entity.
The Crown of Time Lag that everyone had been fighting over was currently sitting quietly inside her storage ring, showing none of the terrifying presence expected of an S-rank Containment Object.
Shaken by the recent time dilation, no one was in a hurry to start fighting again. Instead, everyone cautiously retreated, huddling close to their respective teammates.
The sheer sense of powerlessness they had just experienced had given every witness a taste of true despair.
“Is everyone alright?”
Wan Qianhong flashed back to Bai Feifei’s side and asked.
“We’re okay,” Bai Feifei replied. She lowered her head slightly, hiding the blood-red tint in her eyes as she deactivated her Slaughter God Mode.
Wan Qianhong looked at Bai Feifei with a hint of suspicion. While they were under the influence of the Crown of Time Lag, she had been keeping a close eye on Bai Feifei’s direction.
She had the strange feeling—an illusion, perhaps—that Bai Feifei had actually moved a split second before the time dilation effect wore off...
Seeing that Bai Feifei seemed fine, she turned to the others from the East District.
“S-rank Containment Objects have a massive mental influence. Everyone, get out your best Cognition Filters and put them on immediately.”
“Those who aren't strong enough should consider withdrawing. Especially you—can you still keep going?”
She directed the last question toward Ye Yu.
“I’m not hurt. Bai Feifei has been protecting me this whole time,” Ye Yu said quickly, her eyes constantly darting toward Bai Feifei beside her.
Wan Qianhong frowned slightly at Ye Yu’s behavior, feeling a strange flicker of annoyance, but she didn't say anything. She simply sighed.
The danger level beneath this coal mine had far exceeded her expectations. It was not something she had the power to resolve.
If the Crown of Time Lag hadn't suddenly vanished, they probably would have been wiped out!
Even if her teacher came to rescue them, most of the Scavengers here wouldn't have lasted that long.
“Is this... the power of an S-rank Containment Object? It’s terrifying. Why would something like this suddenly appear here after being in the Inner City?”
Yang Shuo stood to the side, his upper body bare, speaking with lingering fear.
“But how did it just disappear like that?...”
On the other side, through their verbal sparring, Hong Jiu and Li Gui had more or less confirmed that the Crown of Time Lag hadn't been taken by the other’s side.
After all, anyone capable of breaking through the effects of time dilation and snatching an S-rank Containment Object in an instant would have to be far stronger than either of them.
If it were one of their own people, there would be no reason to keep up the act.
This meant there was likely a hidden powerhouse beneath the coal mine who had claimed the object.
That expert was likely a third party, belonging neither to Dawn City nor the Rangers.
But who could it be?!
It would have to be someone at the Prophet-level to pull off such a feat without anyone noticing.
An expert of that caliber wouldn't be afraid of Hong Jiu or Li Gui. If they didn't show themselves, it was either out of disdain or because they had more important things to attend to!
The question was: what could possibly be more important than an S-rank Containment Object?
The more they thought about it, the more unsettled they became. Both men were frowning deeply, looking as if they’d seen a ghost, unable to come up with a single logical explanation.
Once all other possibilities were ruled out, a name they had both heard recently suddenly flashed through their minds.
——The Masked Hermit Society!
The organization that claimed the Rangers had a narrow-minded philosophy and boasted about containing the corpses of Evil Gods of the Old Days.
Hong Jiu’s eyes lit up as if he had finally grasped the truth.
Given the organization’s arrogant goals, it was bound to be filled with top-tier experts! It was perfectly reasonable for them to snatch the Crown of Time Lag without being detected.
Moreover, Bai Feifei had claimed to be a member of that organization.
Since such a massive energy fluctuation had erupted in this coal mine, it was entirely logical that she would have signaled her organization to send an expert to investigate!
Everything clicked!
Li Gui reached the same conclusion, his eyes wide with disbelief.
He had previously dismissed the idea, thinking the Masked Hermit Society was just a bunch of nonsense made up by that ill-mannered woman, Bai Feifei.
He thought only an idiot would believe such a thing. But now, there seemed to be no other explanation.
By some unspoken agreement, Hong Jiu and Li Gui stopped their arguing. Their necks turned stiffly as they both stared directly at Bai Feifei in the crowd.
Bai Feifei: !?
Feeling the intense gaze of two Edgerunners fixed upon her, Bai Feifei found it difficult to even breathe.
She was currently harboring a very guilty conscience. While others were guessing, she knew for a fact that S-079, the Crown of Time Lag, was right there in her possession!
Seeing the looks Hong Jiu and Li Gui were giving her, she thought she had been caught.
How did they find out?! Containing that crown was the work of the Evil God!
Could it be that they could sense its aura coming from her storage ring?
Finally, among the group of people whose thoughts were all at cross-purposes, Hong Jiu was the first to speak. He addressed Bai Feifei with a strained voice:
“I say, friend... what you guys did just now was a bit unfair, don’t you think?”
Rate on N.U.
