Chapter 200: Chapter 200: What Are You Hiding

Shen Yan entered the room with a dark expression and turned on the video call function.

Convinced that Lu Jingyu was trying to take advantage of the situation, he had no intention of looking pleased. However, when the screen flickered to life and Xu Qingsui appeared first on camera, his expression softened considerably.

She didn’t say a word. Seeming to be searching for something, she glanced around the room before shaking her head at Lu Jingyu and leaving.

Shen Yan was baffled. Before he could ask what was going on, Lu Jingyu’s face appeared on the screen. The moment he saw the man, Shen Yan’s expression turned ice-cold again—a complete one-eighty from how he had looked at Xu Qingsui moments prior.

"I didn’t realize you were a master of changing faces," Lu Jingyu quipped. Having caught Shen Yan’s shifting expressions, the usually reticent Lu Jingyu couldn’t resist a jab at his romantic rival, regardless of the occasion.

Shen Yan’s face turned livid. "Spit it out!" he demanded coldly. "What extra conditions do you want to add?"

Lu Jingyu paused for a moment, realizing Shen Yan had misunderstood him. He couldn’t be bothered to explain and cut straight to the chase.

"What haven’t you told me?" Lu Jingyu asked, his expression dead serious. He stared at Shen Yan through the screen, his tone laced with displeasure.

Even through the connection, Shen Yan could clearly feel Lu Jingyu’s frustration. Recalling his previous words and Xu Qingsui’s bizarre behavior, Shen Yan finally realized something was wrong.

"This concerns the 27th District. Why would I hide anything? What happened down there?" Realizing the severity of the situation, Shen Yan’s expression grew solemn. He locked eyes with Lu Jingyu through the screen, completely dropping his hostility.

Truth be told, Lu Jingyu didn’t actually think Shen Yan would pull any petty tricks. He had only asked on instinct after hearing Meng Donghua and the others mention it. Now certain that Shen Yan was also in the dark about the mysterious entity, Lu Jingyu gave him a detailed, honest account of everything that had happened since he descended to the third underground level.

As he listened to the description, Shen Yan’s expression grew increasingly grave. Finally, he cupped his chin, falling deep into thought.

The third underground level had been constructed specifically to detain the biological subjects meant for their experiments, and they conducted tests there as well. Therefore, the access records for that floor were highly detailed, and he had truthfully shared everything with Lu Jingyu.

Yet, the mysterious entity Lu Jingyu described was definitely not in their records.

How on earth had that thing snuck in? And what did it mean by helping them clear out all the creatures on the third underground level? Shen Yan’s mind was filled with questions. He was utterly unable to wrap his head around the situation down below.

"Although that thing seems to have been helping us, Qing Sui believes it’s all part of its plan," Lu Jingyu said, sharing Xu Qingsui’s theory when he saw Shen Yan’s bafflement. "Its true goal is to follow us out of here. Once it escapes, the aftermath will be completely beyond our control."

Shen Yan imagined the eerie scenes left in the wake of the mysterious entity, envisioning a terrifying scenario where the 27th District would be left littered with corpses if it broke free. His eyes widened as he stared at Lu Jingyu. "We absolutely cannot let that thing leave the third underground level! At least not until we figure out exactly what it wants."

Lu Jingyu nodded. "So keep a tight leash on your men. Until we figure everything out, you must not open that door under any circumstances!

"Given the current situation, you’re just as clueless about this entity as we are, so we’ll have to figure it out ourselves. Wait for my signal from up there."

Having never wanted to talk to Shen Yan in the first place, Lu Jingyu ended the video call right after saying his piece, not even waiting for a response.

"You—" Shen Yan swallowed his words as he stared at the blackened screen.

Realizing that the situation down below was spinning out of control and could change at any second, Shen Yan grimaced and headed back into the stairwell with a dark expression.

The men waiting outside were still gossiping about what Lu Jingyu had pulled their boss aside to discuss. Seeing Shen Yan return, they all looked at him eagerly. Noticing his foul mood, they immediately assumed Lu Jingyu had taken the opportunity to make outrageous demands for his services.

Several Sentinels, who had received many favors from Shen Yan in the past, stepped forward to stand up for him.

"Boss, there may just be a few of us, but none of us are pushovers. Why don’t we head down right now? We handle the 27th District’s business ourselves; we don’t need outsiders meddling."

"Yeah! We don’t have to put up with their attitudes. Whatever comes our way, we’ll face it ourselves!"

The men grew increasingly agitated as they spoke, cracking their knuckles and gearing up to open the door and head down.

"Nobody move!" Shen Yan barked. His heart was already heavy, and seeing them act so recklessly only fueled his anger.

Everyone looked at him in astonishment; their boss rarely lost his temper like this.

Feeling the surprised gazes of his team members, Shen Yan said in a low voice, "The situation down below has changed. Do not act recklessly, or if something goes wrong, none of us will be able to bear the consequences."

From the gravity in Shen Yan’s tone, the crowd could sense the severity of the problem.

For a moment, everyone fell silent, not daring to speak out of turn. But the silence only amplified their curiosity about what had actually happened.

"Boss, what exactly went wrong down there?" one of them asked.

"It’s hard to say right now, and the people inside haven’t figured it out yet either. Let’s wait for their word first. Hopefully, they can resolve the issue smoothly."

With that, Shen Yan stopped speaking. He stared intently at the door, wishing he could see right through it to witness the situation inside. Seeing this, the others didn’t dare make another sound. Like Shen Yan, they quietly kept their eyes glued to the door.

On the other side of the doors, Lu Jingyu walked out of the room to find Xu Qingsui waiting for him.

Unsure of what exactly the entity was and burdened by the inescapable feeling of being constantly followed, they had worried it might eavesdrop on the call. If the two men managed to come up with a countermeasure, having it overheard would ruin their plans.

That was why Xu Qingsui had gone in first to inspect the room. Even though she couldn’t pinpoint the exact location of the entity, she could use the intensity of that shadowing sensation to determine whether it had followed them inside.

Once she was sure the room was clear, she had left Lu Jingyu inside to handle the call while she stood guard at the door, keeping an eye on the rest of the team to ensure no one else ran into trouble. That way, if anything happened, she would sense it and be able to warn everyone.

Seeing Lu Jingyu emerge from the room, Xu Qingsui quickly looked at him, her eyes brimming with questions.

But as she watched Lu Jingyu slowly shake his head, her heart sank once more.

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