Chapter 135: Have You Sent Anyone to Investigate Underground

Su Xiaoxiao lowered her gaze.
Her silver bangs fell forward。
She asked seriously.

Both Butterfly Night and Su Xiao Zi froze for a moment.
They hesitated before asking:

“Why?
Do you mean… the enemy — the Abyssal Beasts — might be hiding underground?”

“There’s nothing strange about that, is there?
A lot of surprise attacks go beyond what people expect.
When guessing the enemy’s movements, you should be bolder.”

Su Xiaoxiao put on an air of seasoned authority,
like some high-ranking superior.
She climbed onto the bed,
stood on top of the quilt,
so she could look down at everyone from a commanding height.

“Exterminators can instinctively sense the presence of Abyssal Beasts or Bloodkin nearby,
but precisely pinpointing their location is extremely difficult.
Usually, we only lock onto the direction the moment the enemy appears.
If the enemy doesn’t take the initiative to show itself,
figuring out its position becomes nearly impossible.”

“You said people can sense the Abyssal Beasts’ aura but can’t find where it’s coming from.
Isn’t it very possible that the Abyssal Beasts are hiding in a place no ordinary person would think of,
waiting for the perfect moment to strike?
Why couldn’t that place be underground?”

Su Xiaoxiao’s words struck a chord with Butterfly Night.
Indeed, no one had yet considered the possibility that Abyssal Beasts might be lurking beneath the surface.
Tina immediately queried the database —
no such investigation had been launched yet.

Still… there were some doubts.

“But where did those Abyssal Beasts come from in the first place?
After the last battle with the Rose Legion,
we confirmed every enemy was dead before closing the Imaginary Space.
Even if some Abyssal Beasts slipped underground during that time to hide,
leaving aside the question of traces…
everything inside Imaginary Space is completely detached from the real world.
Burrowing into the ground from inside Imaginary Space would be meaningless.”

“Suppose — just suppose —
some Abyssal Beasts were already hidden underground from the very beginning.
Once the Orderly Enclosure was repaired,
they would no longer be able to enter.”

“I’ll contact Headquarters right now.”

Butterfly Night reached for her communicator to report to base,
but Tina and Su Xiao Zi were faster —
they had already submitted the situation update.

Su Xiaoxiao, however, hadn’t stopped thinking.
Buried underground…
What purpose would the enemy have for doing such a thing?

It was very likely Sheffield’s doing —
planting them like landmines inside Tantan City.
But what was the goal?
Perhaps simply to destroy the city?

That didn’t make much sense, though.
Ordinary Abyssal Beasts could be dealt with by average Exterminators without much trouble.
Once Imaginary Space opened, it would be as if nothing had happened.

Unless… the Abyssal Beasts were exceptionally powerful —
strong enough that ordinary Exterminators couldn’t handle them,
and any battle would cause massive collateral damage.

Did the Rose Legion have such powerful Abyssal Beasts that had gone undetected and uneliminated?

Su Xiaoxiao was only hypothesizing based on the conversation she’d overheard between Butterfly Night and Su Xiao Zi.
She hadn’t been to the site herself.

Powerful Abyssal Beasts…
Probably no such thing exists anymore, right?
This assumption doesn’t hold…

If it’s just a batch of ordinary Abyssal Beasts meant to wreck the city,
then it’s not a big deal.
The Exterminators stationed here are more than capable of wiping out this final threat with ease.

It should… be fine, right?

Just as Su Xiaoxiao was about to mentally seal this hypothesis as settled,
another very strange detail suddenly occurred to her.

Right.

The Rose Legion.
Although Vice-Commander Song Ji was personally slain by my hand —
that much is confirmed —
I wasn’t able to kill their Legion Commander, the Blood Dragon King, back then.

When the Rose Legion launched their full-force assault on Tantan City,
the overall commander never appeared.

Where did the Blood Dragon King go!?

The Blood Dragon King itself isn’t actually a Bloodkin.
It was a giant-class Abyssal Beast that, by sheer chance,
received a portion of bloodline power bestowed by a Bloodkin Progenitor,
eventually becoming the terrifying entity it is today.

It loved experiments.
It loved fusing different genes.
There were even rumors it planned to fuse humans with Abyssal Beasts.

Giant-class Abyssal Beasts are classified as high-risk by regulation.
Their bodies can reach a hundred meters tall — equivalent to a thirty-story building —
and they cause catastrophic destruction to urban structures.

Engaging one requires at least A-rank combatants,
and an S-rank Exterminator must be requested for support.

After gaining bloodline power, the Blood Dragon King became far stronger than others of its kind —
so strong that even Bloodkin couldn’t resist it.
It was ultimately entrusted by the previous Rose Legion Commander and inherited the position.

During a past rescue operation in a certain valley,
there had been a battle against the Blood Dragon King.
Its wings were severed,
but it wasn’t killed.

The Blood Dragon King should still be alive.
Or… did the Rose Legion change commanders afterward?
It shouldn’t have happened so quickly, right?

“Um… does anyone know
where the Rose Legion’s Commander went?
During the last attack on the city,
it seems like we never saw it at all?”

Su Xiaoxiao finally asked the question out loud.

Butterfly Night knew the answer immediately and replied:

“According to reliable intelligence,
before the Rose Legion attacked Tantan City,
a mysterious individual single-handedly stormed their territory.
The Blood Dragon King fought it but was defeated and confirmed dead.
Because of that, some at Headquarters have been discussing whether the Rose Legion’s desperate last stand
wasn’t actually the Legion Commander’s intention.
They speculated the mysterious figure might be the true mastermind behind it all.
Afterward, it was confirmed to be Sheffield from the Phantom Squad —
of course, Sheffield is a traitor.
The entire Phantom Squad was wiped out because of him.”

At this point, Butterfly Night’s emotions seemed to surge.
She secretly clenched her teeth;
the tiny motion of her fist tightening didn’t escape Su Xiao Zi’s notice.

“Are you okay?
You don’t look so good.”

“No, I’m fine.
It’s just… when I think about how the legendary Phantom Squad
was ultimately destroyed by a single traitor,
an uncontrollable rage burns in my chest.
That traitor did receive his due punishment,
but the hero who defeated him…
his identity still hasn’t been uncovered to this day.”

“You feel sorry for the Phantom Squad?”

The question came from Su Xiaoxiao.
Butterfly Night’s response was immediate and resolute.

“Of course.
The Phantom Squad was one of the three strongest units in the entire Exterminator forces.
Their captain was the Chief Phantom himself.
They achieved legendary feats.
Just seeing the backs of each member felt like a pilgrimage —
something to look up to with awe.
The Phantom Squad is absolutely the greatest.
No one in the future will ever be able to replace its position!”

The usually calm and composed Butterfly Night,
the moment Phantom Squad was mentioned,
suddenly became like someone whose floodgates had opened.
Her emotions surged;
every word carried overflowing admiration and reverence for the Phantom Squad.

Seeing this junior pouring out such passionate praise for the group,
Su Xiaoxiao felt both flattered and a little embarrassed.
She scratched the back of her head shyly.

“Hey, hey, hey… no, no,
you’re making me feel kinda awkward saying it like that…”

“Hm—?
I wasn’t praising you.
Why do you look so smug all of a sudden?”

“Ah… oh… right, you weren’t praising me…”

Su Xiaoxiao instantly deflated.

There was no helping it.
Her true identity couldn’t be revealed.
Even if it meant disappointing this little fan standing in front of her,
she couldn’t bear to shatter the girl’s hopes so easily.

Perhaps… this too was a form of kindness.