Chapter 618: Chapter 517: Subduing the Enemy, Clues, and Smelling Salt

"Cough, cough, cough."

A series of continuous coughs broke the silence in the sewer.

The power of the explosive trap was so great that it destroyed the air purification effect of the previous green bead.

The pungent smell suddenly invaded Song Ping’s nasal cavity, forcing him to crouch on the ground, coughing uncontrollably.

Shen Zheqi glanced at his string of Buddha beads. The previously green bead was still dull and unusable.

"Just bear with it for a while," he said as he got up from the ground.

As soon as Shen Zheqi finished speaking, another earthy bead on his bracelet dimmed.

If they hadn’t used a shield earlier, they would have been severely injured in this explosion.

"Is it...over?" Chen Yuanshan looked at the half-collapsed sewer and then at Shen Zheqi, his expression changing somewhat.

The Shen Zheqi in front of him, and the Xiao Shen who leisurely came to the breakfast shop every day, surprisingly gave him two different feelings.

It was as if the current Shen Zheqi was his true self.

"A hunter wouldn’t put himself in danger unless he is fully prepared to deal with it."

Shen Zheqi looked at the wreckage before him and spoke calmly.

Since he entered the sewer, he had been laying traps along the way.

He suspected that the other party might be a Mutant Walker from the Longevity Company, and Mutant Walkers usually don’t act alone.

So when they fled hastily, it was highly likely they were luring him in.

Thus, Shen Zheqi played along, entered the sewer, and used two Buddha beads as camouflage, silently placing traps and seizing the opportunity to detonate them.

Shen Zheqi is a Tier Eight Spirit Contract Master, and the traps he set were also Tier Eight.

In such a confined sewer space, the power of the explosion was significantly amplified.

Out of the twelve Mutant Walkers, nine Tier Seven ones were completely wiped out in the explosion, and the remaining three Tier Eight Mutant Walkers were also seriously injured.

This time, they were too careless.

They thought they were dealing with an ordinary Tier Eight Spirit Contract Master, not expecting him to be a Great Xia Corps Commander-level powerhouse.

Even among Tier Eights, there is a difference in strength.

A Tier Eight Great Xia Corps Commander is certainly much stronger than an ordinary Tier Eight Spirit Contract Master.

Their carelessness, combined with the unexpected trap attack, led to nearly total annihilation for the Longevity Company.

The only one barely able to move was the sneaky-looking leader, who survived by quickly activating his beast form as a Tier Eight.

But having taken the brunt of the damage, he was in bad shape.

He struggled to push away the rubble and crawl out of the collapsed sewer, only to find Shen Zheqi waiting outside just in time.

"Go." Shen Zheqi commanded in a low voice.

"Yes, sir!" Song Ping, excitedly, raised the black briefcase and swung it at the Mutant Walker’s head as he crawled out.

He delivered blow after blow.

"Stop." After a while, Shen Zheqi raised his hand to halt this brute force method.

The unfortunate Tier Eight Mutant Walker had been knocked out cold by Song Ping with the black briefcase.

He might never have imagined that one day he would be knocked out by a Tier Four administrative Spirit Contract Master wielding a black briefcase.

Song Ping, still somewhat unsatisfied, nevertheless moved aside to make room for Shen Zheqi.

After pulling the unconscious Tier Eight Mutant Walker from the wreckage and searching him, Shen Zheqi soon made a new discovery.

It was a white stone.

It looked more like a crystalline block of salt.

When Shen Zheqi picked up the stone, an unimaginable stench assaulted their noses, so much so that Song Ping and Chen Yuanshan almost retched.

"This is the smell!"

"When we first entered the sewer, this was the smell!" Song Ping confirmed assertively.

"Why would he carry something so foul on him?"

Soon, this question was answered.

The unconscious Tier Eight Mutant Walker, upon having the smelling salt taken away, began to undergo changes identical to those seen in previous mutants!

"This smelling salt can prevent the influence of the Dream Realm, sparing them from desire-induced mutations."

Shen Zheqi looked at the odd white crystal and summarized thoughtfully.

Indeed, as they continued searching the rubble, they found more smelling salts similar to the white crystal.

This completely confirmed his hypothesis.

Shen Zheqi did not stop the Tier Eight Mutant Walker’s mutation process. The moment the transformation was complete, the Buddha beads in his hand rotated once more, revealing a golden "卍" character-emblazoned light gate between them.

Shen Zheqi passed through the light gate, successfully entering the dream world of the Tier Eight Mutant Walker!

...

"Li Yaodong."

"Li Yaodong!"

"Why are you still standing there? Come up and claim your Deformation Potion."

In the vast room, a humanoid silhouette formed from white light spoke coldly.

"Oh, oh!" The sneaky middle-aged man’s name was Li Yaodong, and when he heard the voice, he broke into a wide-grinned ecstasy.

He briskly stepped forward and took the green, crystalline Deformation Potion from the white silhouette.

The vial of the Deformation Potion bore an etched inscription of its model: "No. 001" Deformation Potion.

"I did it! I did it!"

"The No. 001 Deformation Potion, once I inject it, I’ll become a Tier Nine Ultimate Mutant Walker, hahaha!"

Li Yaodong shouted excitedly.

The white light figure nodded in satisfaction.

"You did well this time; everything is proceeding according to the plan I left."

"The Dream Realm is a world I’ve expanded with a Spiritual Energy Body. It doesn’t belong to the original world, meaning even a Tier Nine powerhouse from Great Xia can’t capture any information about the Dream Realm."

"Carry out the plan as predetermined, and the No. 001 Deformation Potion is your reward."

"..."

The Dream Realm amplified Li Yaodong’s desires; his strongest desire was to merge with the No. 001 Deformation Potion. Clearly, obtaining the No. 001 Deformation Potion was linked to this operation.

At this point, Shen Zheqi’s brows slightly raised.

As he wanted to listen further, Li Yaodong in the desire-fueled dream had already successfully injected the No. 001 Deformation Potion.

He began a series of imagined operations, and the part of the mission details vanished like a fleeting moment.

At this moment, Shen Zheqi had a sudden inspiration, manifesting himself within Li Yaodong’s dream.

"Li Yaodong, you’re still too young."

"Do you really think the Longevity Company’s plan succeeded? No, you failed. You couldn’t complete the mission nor obtain the No. 001 Deformation Potion!"

Li Yaodong’s eyes widened suddenly, emotions riling up as he saw Shen Zheqi suddenly appear.

"No! Impossible! How can the plan fail?"

"We completed the sacrifice in the Dream Realm, allowing the great Master of the Dream Realm to descend upon Blue Star. Lord Frog will grant us everything we desire!"