Michelle and Qin Ze burst into the office. They had rushed over immediately after school. Although their academic performance was good, Ming Yan rarely assigned them missions due to their student status. This time, it was out of necessity, as other senior agents in the Spirit Hunter Guild were either unavailable or didn't know Duan Chen well enough, which might cause trouble for him inside the barrier.
These two were currently the most suitable candidates.
"High school students?" Jun Ci exclaimed.
"Qin Ze, use your luck currency to check on Duan Chen and the others' situation."
"Yes."
Qin Ze took out a coin and silently chanted the names of Duan Chen and the others.
"Are they still healthy?"
Duan Chen had once taught him to avoid words with strong causal implications like "alive" or "dead," so Qin Ze had replaced it with "healthy."
*Clink!*
Seeing that the coin landed on heads, Qin Ze breathed a sigh of relief.
"They're fine!"
"That's good." Ming Yan exhaled.
"Wait, isn't this a bit too perfunctory..." Qin Nanyuan twitched his mouth.
"Sorry, this is my ability," Qin Ze explained, scratching his head.
"Are you all the Captain's disciples?" Jun Ci asked curiously.
"Yes."
"That little sister's ability... is a bit unusual," Du Qingyi said, looking at Michelle.
She blushed, and Du Qingyi immediately apologized, "Sorry, my ability is memory reading, which is somewhat similar to Duan Chen's."
"Are all of you going into the barrier?"
"Of course!"
Du Yu looked at Du Qingyi, "Your ability won't be much use inside, so you're not allowed to go."
"I disagree."
Du Yu narrowed his eyes, "Are you not listening to me, the President of the Spirit Hunter Guild?"
Du Qingyi glanced at him, "Deal with those files in your office first, then talk to me. When you weren't here, I handled everything."
He coughed dryly, his old face flushing. He hadn't expected Du Qingyi to expose his shortcomings in front of so many people.
"Even in my brother's name, I don't think you're suitable."
"Oh?"
"You two... siblings?"
"Nanyuan, don't stir up trouble," Qin Youran said calmly, taking a sip of tea from the table.
"In any case, I am definitely going in."
"Hey!" Du Yu puffed out his chest, his eyes nearly bulging.
"What if it turns out to be useful? Right?"
Du Qingyi remained very calm throughout, as if she had already got her brother under control.
"Damn it!"
Unable to do anything, Du Yu cursed.
"Whatever you want."
A triumphant smile appeared on Du Qingyi's face.
But when they reached the outside of the barrier, they couldn't smile anymore.
The terrifying nature of this blood-red barrier far exceeded their imagination. Judging by the energy flowing from it, it was definitely not something that could be broken.
"I'll send you in, but remember, not a single one of you can be missing when you come out!" Du Yu's eyes were stern.
"That's right," Ming Yan nodded as well.
"Don't worry."
*Voom!*
Du Yu hesitated no longer. Transparent energy burst from his palm, engulfing Du Qingyi, Qin Nanyuan, and the others.
*Voom!*
In a flash, he sent them into the barrier. Although it looked effortless, in reality, his spiritual energy was nearly depleted. Du Yu slumped to the ground, panting heavily.
Inside the barrier.
"This is the inside?"
The sky inside the barrier was black and red. Occasionally, a breeze blew, carrying a scent like blood, making one feel uncomfortable. Under their feet was a slightly hot beach, stretching as far as the eye could see. It didn't seem like a good place.
"Let's walk that way and see if we can find any buildings."
"Okay."
Thus, the group walked for a full ten minutes. Forget buildings, they didn't even see a single living creature, as if only the endless beach and waves remained around them.
In the shadows.
"Heh heh, I didn't expect there to be other spirit energy users here, truly unexpected. I'm not a fool like Old Third. Come on, little ones, have a good stroll in my Void Realm?"
The man had triangular eyes and a hooked nose. Combined with his current expression, he looked particularly lecherous.
Du Qingyi and the others followed Duan Chen's old path, first shattering the sea surface and breaking through the first Void Realm, then the second, and the third, all in the same manner.
"Something's wrong, everyone, stop walking."
Du Qingyi looked at her legs and suddenly felt a chill, as if standing on a cliff, a sense of unease that made her heart palpitate.
"Ah? What's wrong?"
Du Qingyi took a deep breath and spread out her spiritual energy, covering a full kilometer.
*Damn it, why did these people stop walking?*
*Could they have seen through me?*
*Keep walking, I'll see when you can get out of my Void Realm!*
Du Qingyi pinpointed the location almost instantly and signaled to Jun Ci and the others.
"Over there?" She nodded slightly.
"Jun Ci."
"Mm."
With his Light and Dark Dual Guns in hand, Jun Ci fired two shots in the direction Du Qingyi indicated without hesitation.
*Bang! Bang!*
"Holy crap! When did—?" The man turned and ran.
"Where do you think you're going?" Qin Nanyuan sneered. Flames erupted from his hand, coiling around the man's body.
"Hot, hot, hot!"
"It's a heretic," Qin Youran's detector in his hand became slightly hot.
"No, no, no! Let me go!" The man raised his hands in surrender. At the same time, the surrounding Void Realm shattered. The group found themselves in the sea, the water already up to their chests.
"Tch..."
They emerged from the sea and onto the beach, only to find the corpse of the man in the baseball cap.
"Ah! He's dead!"
"How come you... are more scared than us?"
The triangular-eyed man was on the verge of tears. "This is my big brother! Did he also encounter those brats?"
"Which brats? Tell me about them."
The man didn't hide anything and directly described the appearance and build of Duan Chen and his group.
"It really seems to be Duan Chen."
"So you're not with them? I thought you were here to disrupt our Feast Plan like they were!" Jun Ci twitched his mouth. Was he truly foolish, or just pretending to be?
"Do you know which way they went?"
"How would I know? Besides, my third brother and boss were killed by him. Do you expect me to rush to my death?"
Du Qingyi read his memories and found that this person had indeed met Duan Chen. Moreover, there was even a Nia in that group? When did she...?
"What should we do with this guy?"
"Kill him." Qin Youran's words directly sentenced him to death.
"Don't, I still know..."
*Bang!*
Jun Ci blew on the muzzle of his gun and snorted.