Full-Time Public Enemy

However, Chen Gu remained silent, letting them guess as they pleased.

"Regardless, we must face unprecedented danger and difficulties!" said Benjamin, glancing around. The ruins remained unchanged, as did the murals, only now no iron-thread worms burrowed out from them.

There were a total of three bodies on the ground, and Benjamin breathed a sigh of relief. The loss was still severe, but it was much better than the five who had died in the mental illusion.

One of the bodies was Andrei's. He had massive wounds in his chest and abdomen, his internal organs shattered—injuries possibly inflicted by the insect's legs or tentacles.

Andon crouched beside him, clenching his teeth as he reached out to close Andrei's wide-open eyes.

Just a few minutes prior, as everyone descended, Andrei had been secretly fuming, vowing to make Chen Gu pay once they were below. He never anticipated being among the first to die upon arrival.

Andon stood up and shot Chen Gu an indifferent glance. In the mental illusion just moments before, he had "witnessed" Chen Gu's High-Energy Combat Art prove utterly useless against the insects, leading to Chen Gu's swift death at the hands of the Insect Race.

How infuriating that it was merely an illusion! Still, there would be plenty of opportunities ahead for his wishes to come true!

"Everyone, be careful."

Benjamin reminded them, unwittingly reverting to the common Star State habit of assuming leadership.

Benjamin scanned the area back and forth with a spotlight before finally choosing a direction. "Let's start from here." He chose this path because the murals in this direction continued, unbroken, into the depths of the darkness.

Andon said in a sinister tone, "I propose that Team Leader Chen Gu take the lead. His Mecha combat abilities are extremely powerful, and before, when we broke out from the swarm, he also told us to follow him."

Having said this, Andon also gave Chen Gu a malicious grin.

Benjamin smiled slightly, raising his hand. "I agree."

Then, the two of them looked at Charles, pressuring him to take a stance. Charles had already given up on Chen Gu—or rather, Chen Gu had courted death by choosing to come down alone. He had already written Chen Gu off as dead and naturally didn't want to offend Benjamin and Andon for his sake. So, without hesitation, he also raised his hand. "I agree too."

Chen Gu's gaze swept over them, filled with an unfathomable meaning.

Andon and Benjamin, however, thought, He wants to disobey orders! They signaled their teammates, who stepped forward, surrounding Chen Gu in a threatening manner.

A hint of mockery appeared in Chen Gu's eyes, and then he flashed a faint smile. "Fine, I will take the lead." After speaking, without waiting for any reaction from Andon and the others, he strode into the darkness ahead.

Behind Chen Gu, triumphant smiles spread across Andon's and Benjamin's faces.

The situation is stronger than any individual; he has no choice but to follow our arrangements! 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

They deliberately took their time arranging their formation behind him, assigning roles like, "You cover the rear," and "You provide support from the left." Only after Chen Gu had walked several dozen meters ahead, creating some distance, did they finally start moving together.

Chen Gu quietly activated his Radiation Field, gaining precise awareness of everything within a radius of over two hundred meters.

Then, facing the darkness ahead, a cold smile touched Chen Gu's lips. Just as I expected, he thought.

The murals on the stone wall continued, evolving from that celebratory scene into depictions of hunting, agriculture, warfare, and so on.

「More than ten minutes later」

They entered a shattered underground hall.

It was unclear what this area had originally been used for. Now, it was littered with peculiar, broken stone instruments, and multiple ceiling collapses had made the terrain extremely complex.

Chen Gu called out to those behind him, "Follow me closely, don't get lost."

A distinct sneer came from behind him, but no one actually followed closely. Andon and Benjamin were determined to use Chen Gu as a guinea pig; if there were any dangers or traps, Chen Gu would be the one to trigger them, and they absolutely would not come to his rescue.

Chen Gu paid them no mind, moving swiftly ahead and vanishing from sight after a few turns.

Andon and Benjamin's expressions changed. "Quick, catch up, don't let him get away!"

The group immediately accelerated. After rounding a few bends, they were relieved to see Chen Gu still ahead. However, Chen Gu was still moving quickly and vanished again in short order.

This time Andon and Benjamin were convinced. "The kid is trying to escape!"

"Hurry, keep up!"

The underground hall was vast, hundreds of meters across. Its complex, winding terrain took them only a few minutes to traverse. At the far end of the hall stood a giant stone archway, mostly collapsed, and it was here that Andon and Benjamin finally caught up with Chen Gu. Andon bellowed, "Stop running! If you don't cooperate with us, you're guaranteed to die alone down here!"

Chen Gu turned and counted them—not one was missing. However, the feedback from his Radiation Field painted an entirely different picture.

Charles did a headcount and said to Benjamin, "Everyone's present."

Benjamin nodded, his gaze somewhat sinister as he looked at Chen Gu. "Let's go. You still lead. Don't get more than thirty meters ahead of us."

Chen Gu smiled faintly and stepped through the collapsed stone archway.

Behind the stone archway, a long corridor stretched out, gradually narrowing. Bizarre carvings appeared on its walls, exuding an incredibly ominous atmosphere.

Upon exiting the corridor, they were suddenly confronted by the sight of countless immense stone sarcophagi!