Inside the giant cavern.

The turmoil had already subsided.

The pungent smell of blood mixed with a burning odor permeated the cavern.

The spar crystals relit overhead illuminated the purgatory below clearly.

Hundreds of corpses lay scattered haphazardly on the ground.

There were enslaved Classer, as well as members of the Radiant Alliance specifically responsible for guarding them.

Warm blood converged into streams, slowly flowing across the uneven ground.

The remaining thousands of survivors were driven to the corner of the cavern.

One by one, they hugged their heads and squatted on the ground, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Almost everyone was covered in injuries, and their eyes were filled with numbness and despair.

Zhou Feng stood on high ground, overlooking everything before him.

His face was livid, his chest heaving violently, and the anger in his eyes was almost about to gush out.

"Who can tell me what on earth happened here?!"

His roar echoed in the dead silent cavern.

A manager of the Radiant Alliance walked out from the crowd tremblingly.

He lowered his head, not daring to look into Zhou Feng's eyes, and his voice was shaking beyond recognition.

"Pr… President…"

"Because of the stolen magic crystals, we… we gathered everyone together, wanting to find out who stole the magic crystals from among them."

The manager swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and his voice became even smaller.

"Unexpectedly, there were still… still military personnel lurking among these people, and they… they seized the opportunity to create chaos."

"I don't know who it was, but they dug a tunnel leading to the outside in the upper corridor."

"That person… took advantage of the chaos and escaped from the tunnel!"

After hearing this, Zhou Feng was like an ignited dynamite barrel.

"Trash! Trash! You're all fucking trash!"

He rushed to the manager in a single stride, raising his hand to deliver a loud slap.

"Slap!"

The manager's cheek swelled up instantly, and fresh blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth, but he didn't even dare to let out a hum.

Zhou Feng grabbed him by the collar, his spit almost spraying onto his face.

"I told you to screen strictly! Screen strictly!"

"And you still let military people sneak in!"

"Do none of you want to live anymore?!"

"If you want to die, I can grant your wish right now!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding members of the Radiant Alliance lowered their heads one after another, falling silent like cicadas in winter.

Liu Ziang slowly walked over from the side, a playful smile hanging on his face.

He gently patted Zhou Feng's shoulder.

"President Zhou, calm down."

"Getting angry won't solve the problem."

"Haven't you already sent two level-50 powerhouses to pursue them? Maybe they'll be able to catch that person back soon."

However.

Time ticked away minute by minute.

One hour.

Two hours.

The two people sent out for pursuit still hadn't returned.

Zhou Feng's heart sank little by little.

At this moment, a disheveled figure scrambled out from the entrance of the upper corridor.

It was precisely one of the people sent out to pursue.

Seeing this, Zhou Feng furrowed his brow into a knot, and that ominous premonition in his heart grew even stronger.

"How come you're the only one back?!"

"Did you catch the military personnel? Where is the other person left behind?"

That person dropped to his knees with a thud, his face full of the terror of surviving a disaster.

He shook his head, his voice tinged with a cry.

"Pres… President… Only after we exchanged blows with him did we know…"

"The other party is… is Li Gang, known as the 'A Thousand Miles Startled Swan'!"

"Li Gang?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, not only Zhou Feng, but even the usually calm Liu Ziang changed his expression slightly.

A renowned powerhouse of the Dongning Province military.

That former prodigy.

That person continued, trembling.

"The two of us combined were no match for him alone."

"Old Qian… Old Qian… was beaten to death by Li Gang!"

"I only survived by sheer luck and came back to report!"

"Bang!"

Zhou Feng kicked that person to the ground with one foot, looking like a madman.

"Useless trash! You really are a bunch of useless trash!"

He pointed at that person's nose and cursed furiously.

"Since the other party is Li Gang, you should have let him go even less!"

"Once he returns to the military, not only me, but all of you are going to be finished!"

At this moment, upon hearing Li Gang's name, Zhou Feng was completely flustered.

Like a trapped beast in a cage, he paced back and forth anxiously.

Compared to his loss of composure.

Liu Ziang quickly recovered his calm instead.

After all, their Liu Family only secretly participated in the Secret Realm matter.

On the surface, everything was led by the Zhou Family.

Even if the military held them accountable in the future, their Liu Family could plead complete ignorance and shift all responsibility onto the Zhou Family.

Liu Ziang walked to Zhou Feng's side, his tone plain.

"President Zhou, being anxious is useless. You'd better think of a solution."

"Once that Li Gang reports to the military, your Zhou Family is likely to suffer."

He glanced at this messy cavern, a flash of disgust crossing his eyes.

"As for exploring the ruins, I think we should end it here for now."

"I'm taking my people back to the hotel to rest first."

"When your Zhou Family has handled the trouble, come notify me again, and our cooperation can still continue."

Speaking of this, Liu Ziang seemed to remember something and added a sentence.

"Right, if Old Fu comes out from the Secret Realm, remember to have him come find me."

"I wonder what he discovered; it's been so long without any news."

Zhou Feng's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

He understood that Liu Ziang was preparing to extricate himself and act as an outsider.

Yet he dared not have any complaints.

He could only forcibly squeeze out a smile that was uglier than crying.

"Young Master Liu is right, take care on your way."

Half an hour later.

Zhou Family old residence, study.

After hearing Zhou Feng's report, Zhou Ting's face was surprisingly calm.

He picked up the teacup, gently blew on the floating tea leaves, and even sighed with emotion.

"This Li Gang is quite a character."

"Not only did he steal so many magic crystals in full view of everyone, but he even managed to retreat completely unscathed."

"He truly is the former prodigy of Dongning Province."

Seeing his old father so composed, Zhou Feng's hanging heart also settled down by half.

He hurriedly stepped forward and asked eagerly.

"Father, what should we do next?"

"Once this Li Gang returns to Jiangning City, I'm afraid it won't be long before military people come to arrest us!"

Zhou Ting put down the teacup, gently tapping the tabletop with his fingers, making a soft clatter of 'du-du'.

"What is there to panic about."

"If the military wants to make an example of our Zhou Family, they also have to speak of evidence."

"It's impossible to listen only to that Li Gang's one-sided story."

He lifted his eyelids, and a shrewd light flickered within those seemingly turbid eyes.

"Go back immediately and seal off all passages leading to the Secret Realm for me, including the one Li Gang escaped through!"

"Don't leave a single trace!"

"As long as the military doesn't know the specific location of the Secret Realm, there is nothing they can do to us."

He paused and continued.

"The biggest flaw in this might be the tens of thousands of magic crystals in Li Gang's hands."

"We can only bite the bullet and refuse to admit it."

"It doesn't matter if the magic crystals are lost; as long as the Secret Realm is still in our hands, everything else is insignificant."

"The current period is not suitable for continuing to explore the ruins."

"Arrange hiding places for all related personnel in the Radiant Alliance who know about the Secret Realm."

"After some time, when things calm down, we will explore it secretly again."

Hearing this, Zhou Feng's heart settled greatly, and he nodded repeatedly.

But he still asked hesitatingly.

"Then… what about those thousands of people we captured?"

A piercing cold gleam penetrated from Zhou Ting's calm gaze.

He picked up the teacup and took a gentle sip.

"What else can we do?"

"Could it be that we keep them and wait for them to expose us in the future?"

Zhou Feng's body trembled violently, a chill rushing straight from the soles of his feet to his crown.

Looking at his father's calm and unperturbed face, he finally understood his father's meaning.

He lowered his head deeply, concealing the terror in his eyes.

"Understood."