Chapter 636: The Mission’s Hidden Gate

Case solved…

At this moment, Lu Xin’s heart was filled with nothing but resignation and injustice.

All the baffling questions he had before were completely answered in that instant.

No wonder Dracula suddenly hosted an unprecedented offline gathering at the upscale club…

No wonder she so openly offered five million just to attend the party…

So she secretly pocketed that much money…

What left Lu Xin utterly speechless was that after taking all that cash, she even came to Flame City using counterfeit money?

Is this woman insane?

……

……

“What’s wrong?”

Xia Chong also sensed something off with Lu Xin’s mood and asked curiously.

“Nothing…”

Lu Xin’s first impulse was to report Dracula.

He wanted to say that Dracula wasn’t as reliable as Xia Chong thought at all – she had pocketed a hundred million in commissions, casually dished out five million, and even lured people in without spending a dime, that conniving, flat-chested bitch…

But he held his tongue.

For if he admitted that she duped people with five million, it would only further tarnish his own reputation…

Besides, managing to raise five million was already something in itself.

Poor Night Owl – if Lu Xin guessed correctly, he had only come over with fifty thousand…

After taking a moment to steady himself, Lu Xin turned to Xia Chong, his eyes gleaming with hope as he cautiously asked, “So, you hired this, uh, most—most formidable mercenary to help you achieve what objective?”

Xia Chong glanced at him, clearly deliberating whether or not to share the details.

But catching sight of the scalpel, neatly bundled in bandages and lying on the bed without any warning, she threw caution to the wind and said:

“The plan is simple: find the Gate of Hell.”

“Hmm?”

Lu Xin was slightly taken aback, “That’s it?”

“Yes.”

Xia Chong replied seriously, “Based on our clues, we’re convinced that Hell is somewhere in Flame City. Even after extensive investigations, we still can’t pinpoint its precise location or its entrance. Whether it’s an actual place or a gateway to the Abyss, remains a mystery.”

“Now, we’ve received reliable intel: the Gate of Hell is set to open soon…”

“Yet, we know nothing about what Hell truly is or what it’s meant for!”

“……”

Lu Xin listened, then paused before asking, “Isn’t that rather inconvenient?”

“You want to know where Hell’s entrance is, but they’re planning to open it…”

“……”

“Can those really be the same?”

With a hint of reproach in her eyes at his lack of expertise, Xia Chong said, “Flame City proactively opening the Hell entrance is entirely different in meaning from us uncovering its location. In fact, it’s precisely because the entrance is about to be opened that we must find it before they do and uncover why they want to open it.”

“……”

Lu Xin struggled to digest her words and finally nodded, “I guess that makes sense…”

Yet his focus was elsewhere. Regaining his composure, he looked at Xia Chong with a spark of anticipation, “If you’re relying on her to find Hell’s entrance, then what if someone else finds it for you…?”

After a brief pause and suppressing his excitement, he asked, “So, can we split that hundred million?”

“……”

Xia Chong fell silent for a moment before turning to him and asking, “You want in on our share?”

“I wouldn’t phrase it like that…”

Lu Xin explained wearily, “I never knew the Research Institute even had this kind of mercenary mission…”

“Hmm…”

Xia Chong nodded thoughtfully, “The Research Institute’s mercenary missions follow their own strict rules. They factor in mission completion, confidentiality, failure rates, and potential risks. Often, the mission is only open to a select few – others can’t participate even if they want to.”

Seeing Lu Xin’s dejection, she added, “However, given the urgency of this mission and the fact that Dracula hasn’t contacted us or updated her progress, if we complete the objective before her, her commission gets canceled automatically, and we can claim a bonus from the Research Institute…”

Lu Xin’s eyes brightened ever so slightly, “A hundred million?”

Xia Chong replied, “Not necessarily that much, but the sum will definitely be significant.”

“From what I know, the Research Institute has never been troubled by money…”

“……”

“Smack!”

Lu Xin clapped his hands lightly and asked, “So, what’s the plan?”

Xia Chong’s eyes widened, “You want to help us?”

Glancing at the scalpel bundled up like a mummy in a military uniform, Lu Xin said, “You’re all my friends.”

“Besides, I have business in Flame City—but not for another thirty hours…”

“……”

Not far away, the scalpel on the military cot mustered a thumbs-up toward Lu Xin.

His eyes grew a little moist.

“This mission could be extremely dangerous…”

Xia Chong hesitated and murmured softly.

Lu Xin looked at her with a defiant expression as if he feared no danger…

“No, you might not understand…”

Xia Chong explained in a low voice, “Among the three of us, one is severely injured and another is heavily contaminated.”

“Even the Negative Zero Unit can do little to help us in this matter. So if we’re to try and complete this mission ahead of schedule, we must brace ourselves for extreme risk.”

“If we fail, we risk our lives, and more importantly…”

She paused briefly, “we might alert the enemy and shatter our already slim chances of success.”

Hearing her grave tone, a sinking dread filled Lu Xin’s heart.

It was clear that Xia Chong was speaking earnestly and had thought things through.

Her worry wasn’t about what would happen to her after the mission; she was more concerned that a rash move could ruin everything.

With that in mind…

Lu Xin quickly gathered his thoughts and said, “Tell me your original plan.”

He was already convinced that he was more reliable than Dracula, after all.

That’s a person who, even when tasked with a hundred million mission, still had to resort to counterfeit money!

……

Perhaps moved by the sincerity in Lu Xin’s eyes or stirred by his sudden excitement – and recalling how well he had performed during the capture of Hell’s Messenger – Xia Chong, after some hesitation, decided to give it a try and shared their original operational plan:

“Actually, our plan is very simple: infiltrate the Flame Building.”

Glancing at Lu Xin, she explained in detail, “We don’t know where Hell is or what form it takes. But one thing is clear – Hell is linked to Flame City. Moreover, regardless of its exact location, there is bound to be some connection to the real world. We can’t track down an elusive existence, but we can find its tangible counterpart.”

“Since Hell was designed by Flame, its ties to the real world must also be connected to Flame.”

“And all of Flame’s secrets are hidden within their Headquarters Building.”

“So once we infiltrate the Flame Building, we might uncover some crucial clues…”

“……”

Listening to Xia Chong’s grave explanation, Lu Xin fell silent for a long moment.

Then, with a strangely perplexed expression, he remarked, “That’s it?”

The mission isn’t as hard as he had expected – it’s almost too simple…

Since it’s been confirmed that the secrets lie within the Flame Building, why overthink it?

“Honestly, I think we should at least give it a try…”

With a sincere expression that barely masked his excitement, Lu Xin said, “Infiltrating a heavily guarded building is challenging, but I have experience. Back when we were in Heichao City and encountered that high-security base, I managed to get inside alone and secure critical evidence…”

“Through the entire process, I wasn’t detected…”

“……”

Xia Chong, somewhat surprised, glanced at Lu Xin and said, “So you really do have a knack for this…”

Lu Xin nodded, “Yes.”

“But please believe me, these two situations aren’t the same.”

Xia Chong pondered for a moment before saying seriously, “Flame, as a world-class powerhouse, wields technology that rivals even the Research Institute, backed by vast funds and resources. The building they constructed—a marvel of cutting-edge technology—is one of the most secure, flawless, and impenetrable in the world.”

After a pause, the solemn Xia Chong added, “…admittedly, that technology is basically useless to me.”

“I can use alternative entrances to bypass that building altogether.”

“……”

Lu Xin was taken aback, “If it’s useless, why the sudden change in tone?”

“But that’s the problem.”

Xia Chong, with a trace of dejection, said, “My companions are now injured, and the Negative Zero Unit, due to their own issues, can’t enter the Abyss. So if we want to infiltrate the building through the Abyss, we must forgo their assistance.”

“The bigger issue is…”

She paused before lowering her voice, “Although I never tried to break in, I did observe from afar.”

“Even within the Abyss, the Flame Building is shielded by some mysterious force…”

“When I got close, I only managed a distant glance.”

“But that one glance gave me a premonition – if I got any closer, I’d be done for…”

“I suspect it was the presence of a divine force…”

“……”

“Approaching the divine?”

Sensing the faint fear hidden in Xia Chong’s voice, Lu Xin fell silent and then looked up at her.

Flashing a warm, reassuring smile, he said, “So, when should we set off?”