Chapter 639 - 396: Destruction, Seizure

Chapter 639: Chapter 396: Destruction, Seizure

Xie Mingke clearly didn’t know about Han Ning’s incredible display of power within the Jade Pagoda Village ruins.

Otherwise, she never would have asked such a question.

Hearing the calm in Han Ning’s voice, Xie Mingke didn’t press the matter. She fell silent for a moment, apparently looking up some information.

After a minute, she finally spoke. "According to our intelligence, the Eternal Spring Association’s current president, Liang Tie, isn’t in the Ludao City District. At most, there are some Tier Seven Extraordinary Beings within the city."

"Is that all?"

"That’s it..."

"This is all the Foreign Affairs Team has?" Han Ning was speechless.

"If the Foreign Affairs Team could uncover everything, these illegal organizations would have been shut down long ago," Xie Mingke said, her expression unchanging.

"Fine."

In the dessert shop across from the luxurious courtyard.

It was nearly noon, so the shop had few customers. Han Ning sat like any other patron, eating dessert while talking to Xie Mingke.

After hanging up, Han Ning thought for a moment before summoning Egg Pancake, whose body could change size.

His Spiritual Power was being disrupted by something mysterious. To be safe, he decided to have Egg Pancake sneak in and investigate first.

"It’s all up to you, Brother Bing."

HISS~

Egg Pancake flicked its tongue and transformed into a tiny, earthworm-sized dragon. It moved along the street and slipped into the courtyard.

Now he could use Egg Pancake’s vision to survey the terrain without putting himself in harm’s way.

It slipped in from behind the main residence. The courtyard actually had two gates, one in the front and one in the back. A small, guardhouse-like room was built by the back gate, with a constant stream of young men in plain clothes going in and out, sometimes wandering into the courtyard.

In addition to these occasional patrols, hidden surveillance cameras were concealed in every corner of the courtyard.

As long as Egg Pancake was fast enough, it would just appear as a fleeting black line on the surveillance footage. Han Ning didn’t believe these unofficial guards would be that vigilant.

HISS...

It flew close to the ground, skimming silently along the edges of the property. It avoided the wandering guards and hovered over a drainage grate.

’Too bad Egg Pancake can’t turn invisible. Otherwise, with an invisibility-type Soul Technique, it could have just waltzed right in.’

’I can feel the surge of Extraordinary Power underground. Head down.’

WHOOSH~

The tightly sealed drainage cover popped open under the influence of an unknown force, revealing a pitch-black, foul-smelling opening.

The opening was slightly larger than a cell phone, allowing Egg Pancake to enter with ease.

It dove into the courtyard’s sewer system. Once its body was completely inside, the cover that had fallen onto the grass levitated and sealed the opening again. No one noticed a thing.

Guided by Han Ning, it navigated the dark, narrow sewer pipes until a round, faintly glowing opening appeared in its perception.

Egg Pancake flew cautiously to just below the opening. Peering through the grate, it glanced around above. Once it confirmed no one was there, it quietly used its Power to lift the cover and slip out.

Dim light spilled in. A toilet, a sink, and a tiled floor came into view. This was clearly a bathroom.

The bathroom was a closed-off space. Only a small exhaust fan mounted on the wall was WHIRRING, expelling the stale air from the room.

’It seems to have reached some kind of basement. It shouldn’t be far from where the Extraordinary Beings are.’

Han Ning focused all of his attention on Egg Pancake.

After confirming no one was outside, Egg Pancake pushed open the bathroom door.

The light outside was still very dim. Beyond the door was a short, two-meter-long hallway, and past that, it could faintly make out a spacious hall.

A single, dimly lit lamp hung from the ceiling of the vast space.

Egg Pancake flew up to the lamp. Using the light it cast downward, it surveyed the entire hall below.

Even though the room was very dark, the basic furnishings of the hall became roughly visible to Han Ning.

But when Han Ning saw what was actually in the hall, his brow furrowed slightly.

The hall’s furnishings were spartan, almost like a war-torn shelter. The walls and floor were just a thin layer of cement. In the middle of the room, five simple wooden cots and two large wooden tables were scattered about.

White takeout containers were strewn across the two large wooden tables, many still containing leftovers.

On four of the five cots lay four emaciated, listless men—some curled up, some on their backs, some sitting up.

Their ages varied from young to middle-aged, but regardless of age, all of them were pale and looked completely drained of energy.

One look at their symptoms told Han Ning that their vitality had been drained by some means. He had seen this kind of thing many times before.

But what surprised Han Ning the most was that on the last remaining wooden cot, there lay a small girl!

’No... wait, that’s not a little girl.’

When he got a closer look, he saw that large, yellowing leaves were growing on the "little girl’s" body.

A nearly withered, flower-like object sat atop its head, and its body was wrapped in three pear-shaped leaves. The leaves were so yellowed that at first, Han Ning had mistaken them for some kind of faded yellow cloth.

’A Miss Green Leaf... hmm? It has a familiar scent about it.’

Miss Green Leaf was a type of Wood Type Soul Beast that strongly resembled a human.

The familiar scent on the "little girl" was so faint that Han Ning only noticed it when Egg Pancake drew closer.