Chapter 99: A Fearsome Reputation

Hearing Yan Jing's words, Mu Rao's expression shifted, but his smiling facade quickly returned.

"How do I know if what you're saying is true?"

He looked at Yan Jing with a smile.

"You've already worked this out with Mo Nagu, haven't you? You're just waiting for me to walk out that door."

"If you think you can use Xiao Ai and her friend as bait, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I'm not as close to them as you assume, and they aren't nearly as important."

He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Leave. Your cousin Yan Yun did ask me to teach you a lesson so you'd realize just how weak you are and hurry back to the main family. But you're in luck. I'm genuinely busy right now, so I don't have time for this."

Yan Jing smiled.

"By 'genuinely busy,' do you mean sleeping with Miss Yu Ling?"

"I do. Care to join?" Mu Rao said with a smile. "Miss Yu Ling possesses a unique set of skills when it comes to reproduction. I could have her do you the same favor."

Just then, Yu Ling emerged from the bathroom behind the door.

She wore nothing but a bath towel, but surprisingly, a veil covered her face.

"A'Rao, did something happen?"

Yu Ling stepped forward and naturally wrapped her arms around Mu Rao's.

She gazed up at him, her eyes brimming with a clinging affection. A moment later, the two began kissing right in front of Yan Jing and the others, entirely unbothered by their audience.

When their lips finally parted, Mu Rao looked at Yan Jing with an upturned smirk.

"Well? Care to join?"

Still clinging to Mu Rao, Yu Ling turned to glare at Yan Jing. Vigilance flickered in her eyes as she stepped forward, shielding Mu Rao behind her.

If Yan Jing chose to strike now, he would inevitably touch Yu Ling and suffer a drop in his Mental Immunity Value.

On the other hand, if he consumed a Mental Immunity Potion, there was no guarantee he could finish the fight within its fifteen-minute window—and doing so would undoubtedly draw out Dandelion Manor.

Yan Jing stared at the couple.

If he didn't know Yu Ling might be a resident of the desire pathway, it would simply look like Mu Rao had seduced the short-haired girl through his Day Selection Ritual.

But knowing she might be a resident of the desire pathway changed everything.

It was hard to say who was the hunter and who was the prey.

"You really are something," Yan Jing said with a laugh.

His original plan had been simple: if Mu Rao left to save them, Yan Jing would find an opportunity to 'consult' him on a few matters. If Mu Rao abandoned them, it would prove he had already fallen under the influence of desire.

But faced with Yan Jing's verbal trap, Mu Rao had found a perfectly reasonable excuse to stay, delivering it without a single flaw.

While Yan Jing leaned toward the belief that Mu Rao was already being subtly manipulated by desire, looking at the current situation, he couldn't be absolutely certain.

Calm, resourceful, adaptable, and ruthless enough to abandon dead-weight comrades—he truly lived up to his reputation as the leading figure of the Mu Family's new generation.

During this Dungeon run, both Mu Rao and Chen Dalang had showcased the deep foundations and methods of their respective clans. It let Yan Jing see the massive gap between them and an unpolished 'genius' like Lin Mian.

Because of this, Yan Jing decided to raise the stakes in Mu Rao's Dungeon.

Just as Mu Rao and Yu Ling were about to shut the door, Yan Jing threw out one final question.

"I heard your previous Dungeons were all located in a different desire Domain. Why come to the Sun-Swallowing Tower this time?"

"No comment," Mu Rao replied with a smile, giving Yan Jing no opportunity to press the issue further.

The door promptly clicked shut.

"You didn't seem to get the answers you wanted," Lu Miao noted.

"No, that was plenty," Yan Jing said with a faint smile.

Making sure Yu Ling heard those last words was enough.

Shortly after, Lu Miao and Yan Jing prepared to go their separate ways.

"Goodbye, Officer Lu. Thank you for looking out for me," Yan Jing said.

"I wouldn't call it looking out for you."

Lu Miao turned and walked back toward her room. With her back to Yan Jing, she spoke slowly.

"I heard you say earlier that you can choose your own Domains."

"Don't choose Old Sin City next time."

With that, she closed her door.

Out in the hall, An Ze stared at the closed door. Suddenly, he reached out and tugged on Yan Jing's sleeve, gesturing for him to step aside for a chat.

"What is it, Mr. An Ze?" Yan Jing asked, looking at the suddenly secretive man.

"Did you know the boss has taken a liking to you?" An Ze whispered.

"Hm?" Yan Jing blinked in confusion.

"The boss rarely talks, but on the way to find that guy just now, she said a lot to you. Did you notice?"

Yan Jing nodded. "Yeah. It's the first time I've heard Officer Lu speak that much."

An Ze pursed his lips and patted Yan Jing on the arm.

"Knowing her as I do, there's only one reason she'd say that much to you."

"She thinks this is the last time she'll ever see you."

After speaking, An Ze sighed.

"Sir—I'll just call you that. Even though I don't hear much inside information, I've followed the boss for a long time. From her passing remarks alone, I can tell that Old Sin City is about to undergo a massive upheaval."

"When that time comes, the several Domains of Old Sin City might all face shifts. The great historical migration might even repeat itself."

"Forget about you humans—even we might not be able to save ourselves."

"The boss spoke to you so much because it's highly likely she feels she won't be able to see you again. She was treating it as your final conversation."

"..."

"Sir," An Ze said, looking at Yan Jing. "Among the Inner World Residents, I belong to the group that doesn't hate humans. And among the humans I've met, you're the type I feel rather favorably toward."

"But humans are humans. After you leave the Inner World this time, it'll likely be very hard for us to meet again."

"I wish you all the best, sir."

With a wave of his hand, An Ze turned and walked away.

As he watched An Ze's retreating back, a strange feeling welled up in Yan Jing's heart.

He had always felt that whether he was the Cameraman or his original self, he was ultimately still just himself.

He could leave the Dungeon today, drop back in at any time tomorrow, and meet up with this group of friends.

But perhaps from the perspective of Lu Miao and An Ze, it was completely different.

In their eyes, he was just a human player; the day would inevitably come when he left the Dungeon.

Perhaps it was just as An Ze said: Old Sin City was about to undergo an upheaval, and everything would change. After he left the Dungeon here, he would go to the next Dungeon, while Lu Miao and the others would embark on a new journey alongside Old Sin City.

After that, they would never see each other again.

"May everything go well."

"For us all."

He spoke the words softly, then turned and headed for the stairs.

Right at that moment, he happened to cross paths with Mo Nagu, Mu Wan, and their group coming from the opposite direction.

Were they here to hunt him?

He narrowed his eyes as the Weird Energy around him slowly mobilized.

At the same time, dark light bloomed around Mo Nagu. He watched Yan Jing vigilantly, the phantom of a savage beast's head flickering in and out of existence behind him.

He appeared to have taken some injuries; his arms were covered in blade marks, slowly oozing blood outward like fish scales.

Mu Wan's expression shifted. She grabbed Mo Nagu and hastily called out to Yan Jing.

"We don't want any trouble! We aren't here to hunt you!"

With that, the group gave Yan Jing a wide berth, looping around him as they walked to the other end of the corridor.

As they walked, they kept glancing sideways to ensure Yan Jing wasn't chasing after them.

Only when Yan Jing finally disappeared into the stairwell did Mu Wan breathe a sigh of relief.

Beside her, Mo Nagu finally let out the breath he had been holding, his tightly wound body suddenly relaxing.

Instantly, the cuts along his arms ripped open one by one like bursting scales. The slow ooze of blood turned into an outward gush.

Mu Wan sighed. "We shouldn't have provoked Fan Jue. Having us beside you only dragged you down."

"I wouldn't call it being dragged down. Fighting is the only thing I know how to do; if I can't even do that right, then I've failed in my duties," Mo Nagu said.

"Fortunately, that guy didn't have any murderous intent just now."

The tension in Mu Wan's voice was palpable. "Otherwise, we probably would have been left dead right there."

"After Stage A, I tried looking into his identity. Thinking about it now still surprises me."

Recalling the utterly miserable corpses they had just seen in the stairwell, a chill crept into Mu Wan's heart.

"Fortunately, he didn't have any murderous intent just now," she repeated, then let out a soft sigh.

"One thing is foreseeable: he is going to rise to prominence in Ling'an."

The abandoned son of the Ling'an City Yan Family. After this battle, he would bear a fearsome reputation.