Lin Mo broke into a swift, steady run down the damp basalt corridor, his coat flaring behind him.
Tie Niu kept pace with thunderous strides, his iron-plated boots splashing through the shallow sulfur puddles. Chu Lingxiao moved like a silent shadow at Lin Mo’s side, while Old Master Mo followed closely with apprentice Xiao Song.
The air grew steadily colder and fouler.
They turned into the lowest trench of Sector Five, where the cavern bedrock dipped toward the underground sewer drainage grates. Here, runoff from the alchemy stalls mixed with stagnant canal water, filling the narrow passage with a bitter stench of copper and rotting mold.
No colorful lanterns hung here. Only flickering tallow candles stuck to the wet stone cast long, trembling shadows.
Fifty paces ahead, beside a rusted iron drainage grate choked with black slime, three tall figures stood over a huddled form on the frozen flagstones.
Lin Mo’s [Pure-Heart Eye Lv.3] flared with breathtaking intensity.
Above the huddled figure on the floor shone an Emerald-Gold Halo (Goodness: 96/100).
