Chapter 397 : Chapter 397

Chapter 397: The Secret of the Secret Diggers

"Um... is it really okay for us to be out here?"

After I walked out of the inn with Qiu Ruxin, she subconsciously shrunk her neck and asked me.

"What? Has Lanath Island reached the point where people can't walk on the streets during the day?"

I pushed up my glasses, turned my head, looked at Qiu Ruxin, and asked with a smile.

"It hasn't reached that point, but there are sporadic conflicts between Secret Diggers nearby, which means there are probably more Secret Diggers in this area—maybe in an alley, a corner, on a rooftop, or even in the sewers..."

At this point, Qiu Ruxin didn't know how to continue, but her meaning was clear.

"So, you're afraid of a sudden attack, right? I've put a Protective Spell on you. Don't worry, it can withstand the kinetic damage of common firearms and won't cause you a fatal injury. I also have the Healing Spell. Be a little bolder."

I encouraged her.

Although I could tell Qiu Ruxin was naturally brave, her courage was based on her strength.

If she had the strength, she would dare to kill.

If she had the strength, she would dare to rob the rich.

This was not just words, but a willingness to execute the action.

In contrast, some people with strength hesitate and dare not act.

This contrast showed Qiu Ruxin's "excellent quality."

Yes, the hesitant person was me.

However, I had now gained more clarity.

"These... spells are truly convenient..."

Hearing my reassurance, Qiu Ruxin sighed appropriately.

Her tone carried a hint of longing and desire.

I, in turn, subtly pretended not to notice.

Our purpose in coming out this time was to execute a big job.

The small amount of money we earned from selling scrap was not enough for us to live comfortably in this world.

Whether we could stay at that inn for another night was unknown, and we only had about half a day left today.

We hadn't even decided on a target yet.

Qiu Ruxin didn't know much about this area, so the rest was up to me.

I had considered using the remaining money to go to a place like an internet cafe to understand the local area's layout or recent news, hoping to find a breakthrough.

But a sudden explosion in the distance attracted both Qiu Ruxin's and my attention.

"The plan has changed. We'll go and see what those Secret Diggers are really like," I said, turning my head to Qiu Ruxin.

After all, the people in front of me were alive.

I hadn't had a chance to see them before, so now was the time.

"Eh? But..."

"It's fine. I'll use the Disguise Technique and approach them. You find a safe place to hide for now," I quickly said, then applied the Disguise Technique and headed straight for the battlefield.

Seeing me leave so quickly, a trace of panic flashed in Qiu Ruxin's eyes.

She quickly calmed down, looked around, and found a place to hide.

With her unlucky physique, wandering around would only be inviting trouble.

I arrived directly at the place where the battle was happening.

Calling it a battlefield was an exaggeration; it was just between the buildings of this street block.

Getting closer, I could see the figures moving rapidly among the buildings.

Judging by their speed, their physical fitness indeed exceeded the normal human limit.

Their exaggerated clothes and accessories, which were out of place in this world, also clearly showed they were different from ordinary people.

No wonder Qiu Ruxin said Secret Diggers were hard to imitate.

Their entire outfit would be difficult to put together.

As I got closer, the three figures engaged in the fight also noticed my presence.

Their eyes narrowed slightly as they assessed me.

"Hey! Friend! Help me out! It's too cheap for them to gang up on me!"

Suddenly, the person being attacked by the two others shouted loudly, clearly calling out to me.

"I don't understand. I don't understand at all."

I replied perfunctorily.

Not only did I not understand the gibberish they were speaking, but they also didn't understand what I was saying.

However, I could tell the three of them were split into two opposing sides, with two people cornering the third.

From the tone of the trapped person, I could sense he was asking for help.

Then my choice was naturally... to deal with all three of them!

At this moment, I leaped up.

My powerful physical fitness was perfectly demonstrated.

Using some tricks to gain leverage in mid-air, I shot straight towards the two people ganging up on the other.

"Holy shit! What kind of skill is that? Double jump? Or triple jump?"

"Are you f**king stupid! She's coming for you! Dodge quickly! She's probably a melee fighter!"

The person next to him quickly shouted.

Then, several firearms materialized out of thin air behind him.

The deep muzzles immediately spat out countless tongues of fire toward me.

"Taste my Spell Firepower Suppression!"

I was slightly surprised to see him suddenly produce so many firearms.

Was this the method of these Secret Diggers?

The next moment, countless bullets burst out.

Each bullet, like a tracer round, dragged a long, colored trajectory.

I felt that even without a Protective Spell, I could simply dodge them with my physique.

Even the densest net of fire is useless if you can't aim accurately.

"Damn it! This person is too fast! Be careful!"

He frowned tightly.

His other hand produced a pair of grenades.

He bit down with his teeth, and the safety pins of the grenades were instantly pulled out.

"Pah... Eat my fragmentation grenades!"

He spat out the pins, then yelled loudly, and two dark objects flew in my direction.

"They're actually grenades."

I looked at the somewhat familiar projectiles.

Indeed, lethal weapons designed by professionals tend to have similar external shapes to a certain degree.

But the next moment, the two grenades suddenly vanished when they were close to me.

Then, with a crisp clatter, the two grenades hit the ground right next to the thrower's feet.

With the jingling sound, the man subconsciously looked down at his feet, his pupils shrinking.

Two terrifying explosions immediately echoed around him.

Boom—Boom—!

Countless shrapnel pieces and the shockwave of the explosion erupted.

I looked at the instant Teleportation Spell I had used.

This method was indeed perfect for dealing with those who underestimated me.

Let him taste the flavor of being blown up by his own grenade!

It was no surprise that the explosion I heard this morning was caused by this guy.

I would consider this revenge for interrupting my meditation this morning.

With the explosion, the other man's companion let out a sharp cry of alarm, likely shouting the person's name.

But as the smoke cleared, a "shield" constructed from hexagonal, pale blue modules completely encased the man.

The previous explosion seemed not to have caused him much harm.

"Damn it... I was tricked. That was my most precious single-use activation shield!"

The man let out a sorrowful wail, as if he had lost something invaluable.

Seeing that his teammate was fine, the first man also reacted, but he was utterly defenseless against my surprise attack.

A fierce punch pierced his abdomen, and the invisible shockwave tore the fabric on his back.

"I hit a bit too hard."

After dealing with this guy, I shook my fist and said calmly.

The good news was that he wasn't dead yet.

The bad news was that he was probably close to it.

Then, I restrained this man, who was curled up on the ground and unable to move, with a Restraint Spell and a Silence Spell.

Then, my gaze fell upon the man holding the exaggerated firearms.

At this moment, the man quickly recovered from his grief.

He immediately looked as if facing a formidable enemy when he saw my gaze lock onto him.

Just as he turned around, a black Spirit Cat leaped into the air and launched itself toward his face.

"Aah—!"

With a heartbreaking scream, an eagle soaring in the sky also dive-bombed, targeting the man who had retreated far away.

With two Summoning Spells, I shouldn't fail.

The man who had shouted at me earlier subconsciously swallowed.

He finally realized something was wrong and turned to run.

He had run into a powerhouse!

This was no longer a situation where he could call the other person for help.

He was afraid he would be killed and robbed too!

Just as the man was about to flee, he turned around and saw my figure behind him.

"Gh... Ghost!"

"Three is just right."

I ignored his cry and immediately subdued him with a Silence Spell.

His hoarse yell was abruptly cut off.

He even thought he had lost his voice due to extreme shock.

But the next moment, an invisible force bound his body, making him immobile.

The reason I could appear so quickly behind this man was the Teleportation Spell.

Although the Teleportation Spell consumed a fair amount of magic power, it was convenient.

As long as the target was within the visual range, there was no need for a pre-set Teleportation Marker.

This was the optimal way to use the Teleportation Spell.

At this point, I lightly clapped my hands, signifying the end of the work.

I remembered Qiu Ruxin saying that these Secret Diggers had a bounty on their heads.

I wondered if I could collect it, and where I could even collect it.

But more than the bounty, I wanted to extract some intelligence from them to gain a deeper understanding of the Secret Diggers' secrets.

I was now certain they were invaders from another world, even if their bodies seemed... to belong to this world.

But that was what made their methods terrifying!

Was this consciousness occupation?

And... they seemed to have circumvented the Curse of Misfortune that should be afflicting them.

I didn't know if this was because their bodies belonged to this world or if they had some other method.

But... based on my interactions so far, their individual strength seemed too weak.

They didn't seem to have the self-awareness of world invaders.

Or was it just that their individual strength was weak, but the entire civilization behind them was technologically strong?

Considering this possibility, I needed to be careful.

If I was too reckless... their invading civilization might notice me.

In that case... once I extracted the information I needed, I couldn't leave any survivors.

Having settled this, I lifted the man by the back of his collar.

Including this one and the two I had seriously injured, there were three.

They should be able to provide me with a lot of valuable intelligence.

But before that, I needed to find a place.

I couldn't just interrogate them in the middle of the street, could I?

Although the fighting between these Secret Diggers had scared everyone off the streets, I needed to prioritize prudence.

As for Qiu Ruxin, I wasn't worried about her.

She was not suitable for interacting with these Secret Diggers for now.

As for her wandering off?

She had my Protective Spell on her, so I knew exactly where she was.

She wouldn't get lost.

Carrying the three men, I directly entered an empty residential building next to us.

It was an unfinished building with no interior decoration, so no one lived there.

After entering through the balcony, I tossed the two most heavily injured men aside.

The last guy I caught was still quite energetic.

I figured he would be very cooperative.

After removing the Silence Spell, he slowly recovered from his terror.

"Holy shit... Holy shit... Boss, what is your profession? That skill was too cool!"

I didn't understand the words that came out of his mouth after the Silence Spell was removed.

But from his tone, I didn't hear any terror.

His tone... actually contained awe.

This reaction was very unusual, far too unusual!

At this moment, my expression became slightly grave.

I immediately used the Telepathic Communication Spell, which could only be used on one person at a time, on him.

His words were instantly transmitted to me consciously.

"Boss... come on. Although you're very pretty, I have a girlfriend. But if you really insist... I'm not entirely unwi..."

"If you talk nonsense again, I'll chop you up. Do you believe me?"

I stomped my foot on the ground between his legs.

The powerful force made the entire floor slightly shake.

Although the poor quality of the building contributed to this, the stomping created a sufficient deterrent.

"Ah? Wait! I'm not joking!"

Seeing my serious expression, he finally realized the gravity of the situation.

But after the shock, he also realized one thing: Telepathic Communication!

"Now, I'm asking questions. You answer truthfully."

"Okay! Boss, ask away!"

"You're not from this world, are you?"

I asked after a long deliberation.

From his tone earlier, I suspected he thought I was one of the Secret Diggers.

It seemed they didn't have a very good or convenient way to confirm if someone was a fellow Secret Digger.

But if I didn't reveal my true identity and used an identity as a peer to ask leading questions, I wouldn't get any useful information.

So, I directly revealed the situation.

"Wait... what?"

Upon hearing my question, he was clearly stunned.

A look of shock immediately appeared on his face!

"You! You! You're not... $#&￥!"

"Not what? Speak clearly!"

Even with the Telepathic Communication Spell, I couldn't clearly hear what he said at this moment.

The last part was clearly crucial information.

The words he spoke were like garbled code!

This instantly made me feel like I had plunged into an ice pit.

This meant a higher-level power was restricting him from saying those concepts!

You have to know that I was using Telepathic Communication.

Simply preventing speech couldn't easily block the communication of consciousness...

"You! You're actually... ^*#%! How is that possible! This world... how could it possibly have an existence like this! This world isn't a..."

"You know many secrets, right? Quickly tell me all the information you can, or I'll make you wish you were dead!"

I grabbed his collar and questioned him.

Clearly, he knew many things, but I didn't.

"Hmph hmph... Hahaha! This is too interesting! Is that all you've got? I'll just %&￥# myself! If you don't let me go, I'll just #*$ myself!"

The next moment, the man I was holding slumped over.

His life essence had completely faded...

"What... what is this?"

I looked at the man in my hands in disbelief.

I swore I hadn't used any force.

He couldn't possibly be that fragile, could he?