Chapter 135: The Underground Market Takes Action

At night, the cavern was dimly lit. After finishing his dinner, Fang Tang lay in bed early, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, he heard a disturbance outside. Instantly alert, he turned on the surveillance camera he had installed outdoors. On the monitor, five people were skulking around his dwelling. They were masked, making it impossible to see their faces, but their builds gave Fang Tang a sense of familiarity. Realizing there were no newly dug tunnels in the cavern, he suddenly remembered the group he had seen earlier that day.

Wrapping himself in a robe and grabbing his Daxia Longque blade, Fang Tang opened the door. The floodlights on the roof illuminated the cavern as if it were broad daylight. The five figures were startled, and a burly man in black, realizing they had been exposed, stopped pretending. They all lunged out from the side, surrounding Fang Tang.

"Not sleeping in the middle of the night? What do you want?" Fang Tang asked lazily, stifling a yawn.

The burly man tore off his mask, revealing a shiny bald head. "Heh, don't be so tense, friend. We're here because we want to make a deal with you."

"A deal..." Fang Tang glanced at their black attire and scoffed, tapping his Daxia Longque. "Does doing business require you to be so sneaky?"

"Ah! We slipped away from our group to avoid letting the boss know about this, that's why we're like this. Don't mind us, friend." The bald man grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellowed teeth.

Fang Tang nodded silently. "What deal do you want to talk about?"

The bald man pointed toward the dwelling and said, "It's not convenient to talk about this here. Why don't we go inside and sit down to have a proper chat? What do you think?"

"I don't think much of it." Fang Tang refused. "Speak up now. I finally found some time to rest, and I don't want to waste it."

The bald man fell silent. "So you're not going to negotiate, friend?" His expression turned cold, and he signaled the other four.

Fang Tang rolled his neck and said nonchalantly, "You want to fight?"

"Get him!" The bald man waved his arms, and all five attacked Fang Tang simultaneously.

Fang Tang curled his lip in boredom. His figure flickered, leaving a long trail of shadow as he instantly darted past the five men. When he stabilized his position, the five men froze in place, looks of disbelief etched on their faces.

As Fang Tang sheathed his Daxia Longque and walked back into his dwelling without looking back, a scream echoed through the entire cavern, followed by the sound of five heavy objects hitting the ground.

Fang Tang turned around in surprise, only to see a familiar figure leaning against the wall. It was Ye Qing!

***

Fang Tang’s lips curled slightly as he looked Ye Qing up and down.

It had only been a few days, but Ye Qing’s soft, wavy hair had been cut into a clean, sharp bob, giving her an air of heroic spirit. However, upon seeing Fang Tang, Ye Qing immediately broke character, a mix of shock and fury rising from the depths of her heart.

*Why! I clearly tried so hard to avoid this devil, so why do I keep running into him here? Is this destiny?*

Fang Tang looked at Ye Qing with a smile. "Yo, isn't this the beautiful Ye Qing? What brings you here? Could it be that you’ve come to return the Soul-Hosting Item?"

"I... I don't have the Soul-Hosting Item!" Ye Qing said cautiously.

Fang Tang gave a flat "Oh," then stepped aside to open the door, saying, "Come in and sit. Let’s have a proper chat about that Soul-Hosting Item."

Ye Qing looked at the dwelling, which felt like a devil's den, and couldn't help but shiver. This was the very house where she had been molded into Fang Tang's shape. The mere thought made her regret everything. *Why was I so brainless back then? Why did I make a deal with this devil? How ridiculous that I even tried to seduce him.*

"Can I not go in?" Ye Qing asked weakly.

Fang Tang chuckled dismissively. "Suit yourself. But there's one thing you should know: you owe me quite a bit. You haven't repaid the debt for saving your life yet."

Ye Qing felt as though she were completely under Fang Tang's control. She took a deep breath and stared at him with determination. "Everything you’ve done for me, I will repay!"

"?" Fang Tang slowly formed a question mark. "Are you looking to take revenge on me?"

Ye Qing was instantly choked with frustration and hurried to explain, "That's not what I meant! I meant that the effort you put into me, I will definitely repay. I absolutely do not want to owe you anything... So, can I not go in?"

Ye Qing looked like a terrified little kitten, extremely cautious. Fang Tang looked at her in surprise; the girl's personality had shifted quite a bit, likely due to her experiences in the Cradle World. It was clear she had been scared out of her wits!

Shaking his head with a sigh, he turned and closed the door. "As long as you remember to pay me back. I have plenty of ways to find you."

Ye Qing shuddered, the memory of that scene in Sector C flashing through her mind.

"Don't worry!" Ye Qing shouted, her voice loud as if trying to bolster her own courage. Then, she quickly picked up her pickaxe, dug a hole in the ground, and jumped into the black mist.

***

After returning to his room, Fang Tang lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"What am I supposed to do now that I'm down one 'partner'? I can't get in touch with the others. It seems there's only Zhao Xiaoxiao left, but that woman holds an even deeper grudge against me—she’s not easy to deal with!"

"Woo?" Yueyue, lying on Fang Tang’s lap, heard her master talking to himself and tilted her head in confusion.

Fang Tang stroked Yueyue’s head and smiled slightly. "The priority is to improve my strength. Everything else can wait."

In a daze, his phone on the bedside table rang. Fang Tang opened his eyes; it was a message from Liu Yiran.

Liu Yiran wrote only one sentence: "The Cavern Store has made its move!"

Fang Tang’s heart skipped a beat, and all his sleepiness vanished. As one of the seven great powers of the Cavern World, the Cavern Store was a behemoth to them. It was a super-faction of unfathomable depth; there was no need to guess what their retaliation would be like—for Fang Tang and his peers, it would be a difficult battle.

However, for Fang Tang, if he had offended them, so be it. Whatever retaliation they had in store, he would face it; he had never been afraid of anything.

"The Cavern Store!" Fang Tang rubbed his face, his fighting spirit soaring. He ruffled Yueyue’s little head, and under her confused gaze, he flopped back onto the bed, falling into a dream in no time.

With her master not wanting to play, Yueyue was quite bored and could only lie at the head of the bed, watching Fang Tang with innocent eyes. Suddenly, Yueyue’s ears twitched, and her gaze turned sharp.

"Awoo!"

Yueyue let out a long howl, startling Fang Tang, who had just entered his dream. Before he could react, he saw that Yueyue was already in a combat stance, baring her teeth toward the door.

This was the second time Fang Tang had seen Yueyue like this, and he suddenly understood.

Another enemy had arrived! And a very strong one at that.

Fang Tang hurriedly donned his Magma Armor, grabbed his Daxia Longque, and darted to the door. Just as he was about to open it, a massive shockwave hit the door. Fang Tang was caught off guard, his arm going numb, and his expression turned grave.

*[This will be the most thrilling battle you have faced in the cavern, even more so than the eighth-rank Fallen one. A single mistake could leave you pounded into pulp. But rest assured, this type of elite evolver has an obvious weakness. Seize the opportunity and make good use of your sixth attempt; you can do it.]*