Chapter 560: Crisis Arrives (Two-in-One)

Old Sin City.

Hearing this name, Yan Jing's expression remained placid, but Fear Bird's little finger twitched.

It was a minuscule movement, yet Yan Jing still sensed the Hermit's gaze dart toward Fear Bird.

Fear Bird's expression quickly smoothed back into calm nonchalance. "That place split off from the Eerie Capital."

"Back then, Sin City underwent a mass migration and split into two. New Sin City ended up in the Eerie Capital. I didn't expect the remaining portion to survive, let alone find its way back."

"Legend has it that a lot of good things were left behind. Many people in New Sin City are likely still searching for them."

"The Domain's value isn't as low as one might imagine. The New Sin City crowd is probably just keeping a low profile to avoid a bidding war."

The Hermit nodded. "Good. This information is valuable."

"The first mission sets out the day after tomorrow. Mo Yinling, over the next two days, you'll be in charge of scheduling the voting for this Domain. See if you can wring some benefits for our station from them."

"Understood."

Fear Bird nodded, her expression entirely normal.

"Then there's the remaining Domain."

The Hermit rested his head on one hand and tapped the table with the other, seemingly muttering to himself. "Although the current distribution system is relatively fair, just, and transparent, the autonomous will of the distributed Domain is also crucial."

"It accounts for a large proportion."

"The higher-ups in the Land of the Hidden World have still put some pressure on me. After all, the Land of the Hidden World's initial goal was the Earth Revelation."

Everyone around the table shuddered inwardly at those words.

They knew these words were directed at them.

"I'm old."

The man sighed. "I didn't join any organizations in my youth, so I missed the boat for the Divine Revelation. As for the Heaven Revelation—"

The Hermit bared his teeth in a grin. "My luck was a bit poor. I missed out on this great era."

"Look at you little ones. All of you are so young, changing by the day. How could I possibly compete with you?"

"The best I can do is contribute to the Domain."

The Hermit chuckled at his own words.

The others remained entirely silent.

His meaning couldn't have been more obvious.

The Hermit didn't want the news leaking out.

"The Luo Family has absolutely no designs on the Domain War."

Luo Zheng spoke first, making his stance clear.

He had no choice. Having already blundered and handed the note to the Hermit, he was effectively tied to the same rope as the man.

No, it was more accurate to say he was a grasshopper tied to the Hermit's rope.

Therefore, he was the quickest to answer.

Once he finished, the others immediately chimed in with their own guarantees.

The Hermit listened and nodded, but his gaze ultimately landed on Wuhe and Yi Ji.

"Did you two report the news to your families at the time?"

Before Yan Jing could open his mouth, Wuhe nodded. "I am truly sorry, Lord Hermit. I didn't know you were at the station, so I already spoke up ahead of time."

Hearing this, the Hermit didn't grow angry. Instead, he chuckled.

"Quite honest of you."

"It's fine."

"I promised your mother I would take good care of you. She shouldn't make things difficult for me again."

Wuhe nodded but lowered his head. Yan Jing caught a glimpse of his face clearly darkening.

It was obvious that the Hermit was using their lives as a threat.

But that wasn't Yan Jing's main concern.

He looked at the Hermit, waiting for his next words.

"Where is that ship?"

'Just as expected—'

Yan Jing's gaze remained calm.

The worst-case scenario had come to pass.

If the man in front of them reached the Cat Ship early, he would definitely force the people on board to sign some kind of contract or guarantee. At the very least, he would seize some leverage.

Only then could he ensure the crew wouldn't turn on him in the end.

Once that happened, they would lose all initiative.

Now, everything depended on Fear Bird's reaction.

"It's at spatial coordinates roughly minus 77, plus 88. It's heading toward the space station at a moderate speed."

Fear Bird spoke, giving the ship's previous location.

More importantly, she specified its direction of travel.

This was a very clever move.

She knew Yan Jing could switch identities and return to the ship.

Which meant he could change its course.

If it were any other Domain, deviating from its established route might result in being swallowed by Chaos.

But the Cat Ship had been designed specifically to navigate through space. That was its advantage.

And everything she said was the absolute truth. Even Luo Zheng would only think she was being accurate.

The Hermit nodded.

"Which means it will arrive around the morning of the day after tomorrow."

"A bit slow—"

"The Domain distribution begins the day after tomorrow."

"All right, meeting adjourned."

He stood up and headed straight up the stairs, ignoring everyone else.

Yan Jing's expression remained perfectly normal as he drank his tea, acting as if nothing had happened.

In reality, besides planning to switch to Wen Xu to steer the ship off course, he was also calculating the Hermit's speed in his head.

Earlier, the group had effectively traveled at full speed, taking about half a day to find the space station.

Assuming the ship remained stationary, and the Hermit was ten times faster than them...

That meant he would find the ship in one or two hours.

Even if the ship deviated from its route and fled at top speed, they could only buy half a day at most.

The ship was too large of a target.

He didn't think he had any way to completely hide a Domain's tracks from a Tenth Tier existence.

'I need to make a trip—'

"Excuse me, are there rooms here where we can rest?"

He looked up at the group.

"The second floor. Sister Liu, give Young Master Yi and Fifth Young Master their room keys."

Tang Zai spoke, looking at Liu Han, who had resumed reading her newspaper.

Liu Han didn't look up. Two cards resembling credit cards materialized directly in front of Yan Jing and Wuhe.

The power of Space.

Yan Jing caught the fleeting spatial fracture.

Out of the five great Domains, only the Train was associated with Space.

Sure enough, the uniformed woman before him hailed from the most mysterious of the five great Domains.

"Thank you."

He grabbed the room key and stood up.

"Not the one in the corner."

Just as Yan Jing walked toward the stairs the Hermit had taken, Liu Han, whose head was still bowed, spoke up to warn him.

"That's Lord Hermit's private space. The stairs leading to our resting quarters are behind the bookcase,"

Tang Zai clarified, pointing the two of them in the right direction.

Shortly after they found the correct stairs and went up, Fear Bird also stood and walked toward the bookcase.

"What's wrong, Yinling? Did one little mission tire you out?"

When speaking to Fear Bird, Tang Zai dropped the polite attitude she'd shown Yan Jing and Wuhe, turning instantly sarcastic. "Don't tell me those Domain hicks actually beat you into the dirt?"

She laughed. "Next time you put on an act, do a better job. At least wipe the dust off the back of your knees."

Hearing this, Fear Bird glanced back at her pant legs before shooting Tang Zai a vicious glare. She then stormed up the stairs to the lounge, looking for all the world like she was flying into a rage from humiliation.

It wasn't until she reached the top of the stairs that the anger on her face dissipated, replaced by a much more genuine chill.

This was, of course, a deliberate flaw she had left.

An added layer of cover to explain why Luo Zheng had concealed the truth earlier.

If you didn't want someone digging for answers, you fed them the illusion that they had already guessed the truth.

The moment she turned the corner at the top of the stairs, she saw Yan Jing waiting by his door.

Yan Jing tapped his ear, signaling that he had already soundproofed the area.

"Aren't you afraid someone else would come up first?"

Fear Bird muttered, exasperated.

Yan Jing smiled. "You performed well just now. It made me decide to trust your capabilities. Besides, if it had been someone else, I could have ducked into my room a second before they arrived."

"Heh, don't forget who you're talking to."

Fear Bird sneered. "These little brats—and that so-called Hermit. If I were at his Tier, I'd swallow him whole in ten minutes flat."

"Don't let your guard down." The smile faded from Yan Jing's face. "He might have already seen through us. His title alone reveals a few things. Hiding is likely his ability."

"Weren't you the one who said you weren't afraid of the Tenth Tier?" Scolded by Yan Jing, Fear Bird grew annoyed and grumbled under her breath.

"I've decided to head out."

Yan Jing's expression was calm. "But even if I advance to the Ninth Tier, I won't actively provoke a conflict with him."

"No one knows what kind of tricks these old monsters possess. I don't want to become a public enemy right after touching the core circle."

"I know, I know." Fear Bird sighed.

All he did every day was criticize her.

Her expression turned serious. "You heard what that guy said. Besides the Cat Ship, they're planning to make a move on Old Sin City."

"Yes."

Yan Jing nodded. "But the good news is that he clearly isn't interested in Old Sin City."

"What should I do?"

Fear Bird had just received some 'authority' to fleece others on the Hermit's behalf.

Although she would be heading to the Heavenly Kingdom the day after tomorrow.

But it at least bought some time.

"Do whatever he ordered you to do. Aside from that—"

Yan Jing paused. "Probe into the attitudes of the various factions regarding this vote."

"Focus on those above the Second Level Domains. If possible, see if you can get your faction to cast an autonomous vote."

"That's no easy task—"

Fear Bird sighed, feeling immensely pressured.

"The last part doesn't matter too much."

Yan Jing said mildly, "Voting usually doesn't require First Level Domains to intervene. It would just be ideal if they did. You wouldn't want the other sliver of your consciousness to end up in danger, would you?"

"Are you threatening me right now?"

Fear Bird's eyes widened. "We've gone through life and death together for years! Do you really need to say that?"

Yan Jing was somewhat speechless.

What was she even talking about?

From what he could recall, his interactions with the bird standing before him had been strictly limited to tying her up, electrocuting her, and whipping her—

Forget it, there was no point bringing it up.

"That's all."

Yan Jing opened his room door, preparing to end the conversation.

"How long will you be out this time?"

Seeing that Yan Jing was about to leave, Fear Bird seized the last second to ask.

"I'll be quick."

Yan Jing's face remained impassive.

He had to advance to the Ninth Tier before the Hermit found the Cat Ship.

Therefore, time was exceptionally precious right now.

After all, this time was different from the past.

This entry into the Great Curtain would very likely be his last.

And someone was still waiting for him inside.

Thinking of that elderly figure within the Great Curtain, even Yan Jing couldn't help but sigh.

Fear Bird felt pressured only because she hadn't experienced the pressure he was under.

"Then what do I do after finishing the investigation?"

Seeing Yan Jing about to close the door, Fear Bird felt a sudden, inexplicable wave of panic and spoke up again.

She didn't know why.

With Yan Jing by her side earlier, she hadn't felt overly panicked even when facing a Tenth Tier. It was the feeling that, no matter what happened, someone had her back.

Yet now, watching Yan Jing's figure gradually disappear, she felt an inexplicable dread.

"Do your job well. Don't be afraid."

Yan Jing spoke softly.

"If you run into trouble over there, I'll come. I have to make a trip to the Heavenly Kingdom sooner or later."

"Clack."

The door clicked shut.

Musing over Yan Jing's final words, Fear Bird inexplicably felt much more at ease.

"That's more like it—"

She pursed her lips, the corners of her mouth unconsciously turning up into a slight smile.

"I've gone through life and death with this guy, after all. At least he still remembers some of my good points—"

Cat Ship.

Yan Jing's true body opened his eyes in bed, looking at Wen He, who was lying next to him, clutching his clothes.

He reached out and gently rubbed Wen He's cheek.

"Little Jing— Little Jing—"

Wen He clearly hadn't fully woken up yet. She grabbed Yan Jing's clothes even tighter, her body subconsciously shifting toward him as she curled up into a ball like a kitten.

If this had been any normal day, Yan Jing would have been delighted to see this scene.

He might have even relished this kind of moment.

But the current situation was far too urgent.

He woke Wen He up and gave her some instructions.

"A Tenth Tier is coming?"

Wen He woke up completely, her brows furrowing. "Go on ahead, Little Jing. I'll keep watch over things here."

Whenever something critical happened, Wen He always knew how to prioritize what was important.

"Yeah, I'll be fast. Sister Wen He, try to think of a way to stall for time."

"Okay."

Wen He nodded forcefully.

It wasn't as if she hadn't seen a Tenth Tier before.

She had even seen that river, so she didn't feel there was anything to be afraid of.

Still, watching Yan Jing's figure slowly dissipate, Wen He felt her heart tighten.

She carried some trauma. She always felt that if Yan Jing left her, he would never return.

"You can do this, Wen He. You can do this—"

Wen He gave herself a pep talk, then quickly located the idling Wen Xu. Using his name, she began coordinating the Ninth Tiers and making preparations on the ship.

Meanwhile, an immense distance away from the Cat Ship, a figure with his hands shoved in his pockets was hurtling forward at a speed completely imperceptible to the naked eye.

A faint smile played across the Hermit's face.

Today was turning out to be an incredibly good day for him.

First, the few tasks he had delegated for his own Domain had been sorted out, and there were even a few unexpected bonuses.

No matter what, he was dead set on seizing this newly arrived Domain.

He had even prepared an absolute ability specifically for this.

Once struck by this ability, all the newly born children in this Domain would be reduced to existences known as 'inferiors.'

And as the superior existence, the Land of the Hidden World and all its inhabitants were 'superiors.'

As long as this ability was unleashed, the people on this ship would have no choice but to agree to join the Land of the Hidden World, whether they wanted to or not.

As for resistance—

He hadn't even considered that possibility.

If the other side had a Divine Envoy...

They would at least be a First-class incomplete Domain.

They wouldn't have been reduced to needing distribution.

Besides, with a Divine Envoy, there would naturally be no need to flee the Great Prison.

And beneath a Divine Envoy—

He smiled.

Even the strongest Ninth Tier was no different from an ant.

[Dungeon Settlement in Progress...]