Endless Debt-Chapter 972 - 63: Tunnel Boring Machine

Two figures sprinted down the dim corridor, as the scene resembled a disaster movie. As they advanced, the corridor behind them collapsed section by section, with huge stones constantly falling and dust following their footsteps, as if they would be swallowed by the ruins if they slowed down even a bit.

"I remember this was just an infiltration mission! What are you doing!"

The person with the black hood ran with extra effort, leading ahead, then turned back and shouted like a ghost.

"This is improvisation! Do you understand improvisation!" the other shouted.

"Your improvisation is tearing this place down?" the black hood screamed, "With your kind of infiltration operations, you’d be fired in the Crow’s Nest!"

"Someone like you, kicked out of the Crow’s Nest, has no right to criticize me."

"I’m not criticizing you," the black hood said, "I’m teaching you how to be an intelligence officer, alright!"

The two descended down a spiral staircase, and as they stepped off the stairs, another rumbling collapse echoed, as the entire spiral staircase was buried by debris.

The black hood paused for a moment, glanced at the smoking ruins behind him, then looked at his partner who was still spreading the disaster, shaking his head, and muttering, "I feel you’ll never learn what infiltration means in your lifetime."

Bologue completely ignored Palmer’s words, raised his hand, and waved. A sudden violent trembling sound came from the corridor, followed by screams. Those enemies, who had yet to meet them, were nailed to death by spikes protruding from the walls.

"Palmer, sometimes you need to change the way you think."

Looking at Bologue’s serious demeanor, Palmer asked, "What way of thinking?"

Bologue spoke his twisted reason, "As long as no one alive sees us, isn’t that the perfect infiltration?"

"Huh?"

Bologue reached the intersection, hesitating on which direction to take, while Palmer muttered beside him.

"Since we’re gathering intelligence to deal with the King’s Shield Guard, why not just turn the infiltration mission into a surprise attack, right?"

Palmer sighed, "That’s what you’re best at."

"I don’t want to, but there’s no choice," Bologue shook his head, "Plans always fall behind changes."

Up till now, Bologue still couldn’t figure out how the King’s Shield Guard discovered them. Every move he made was cautious, and he didn’t understand where it went wrong... nor was it necessary to figure it out.

Palmer paused for a moment, wanting to ask something, but as the words reached his lips, he couldn’t say them, as if he had forgotten.

Such an awkward scenario continued for a few seconds before Palmer tried hard to recall that name.

"What about Church?"

"Church?"

Bologue was also stunned for a moment, then realized he had just forgotten about Church.

This feeling was too strange... increasingly strange.

Clearly, he remembered Church, yet for a moment, he seemed to have forgotten about him again.

Was it Church? Did Church do something?

"Church will hide himself well," Bologue trusted Church’s mysterious concealment, "All we need to do is create more chaos, then find a way to break out."

Church’s mysteries were plentiful, and after this operation, Bologue hoped to understand why.

Bologue was always like this, having curiosity he shouldn’t have had.

"Is that all?" Palmer was not foolish, "Since just now, you’ve been acting like you’re searching for something... what exactly are you searching for?"

Bologue was slightly surprised, "You noticed?"

"Do you think I’m stupid?"

"Sometimes that’s the case."

"What?"

Bologue didn’t give Palmer time to react, he raised his hand and gestured at his abdomen.

"Can you see it?"

Palmer found Bologue inexplicable, "See what?"

"A black umbilical cord, it’s on my abdomen, constantly extending outward," Bologue said, "It’s an umbilical cord, linked to the Devil... It’s the first time it’s been so evident, I want to know what’s at its end."

Mentioning the umbilical cord, Palmer seemed a bit anxious, "The end? It can’t be anything good."

"I think so too," Bologue expressed his inner thoughts to Palmer, "but this time it’s different. I have a strange stirring inside, like something at the end of the umbilical cord is calling me."

Palmer’s expression turned serious, and he questioned, "Are you serious? Bologue."

Bologue was silent for a moment, he nodded, but then soon he negated, "No, you’re right."

Even though Palmer hadn’t said a word, Bologue understood his meaning, "I’m the leader, I have to be responsible for the action group, for the entire operation."

Bologue couldn’t divert the entire action group’s will because of his personal matters.

"Let’s go," Bologue glanced at the umbilical cord, "Find a way out of here."

Palmer grudgingly complained, "It’s really one misfortune after another."

The temporary action group’s first operation met with continuous incidents, Palmer started to doubt if he had bad luck, but fortunately, Bologue didn’t say anything about it, as if even if they were lucky, it wouldn’t make things much better.

You just have to get used to it.

Just as Palmer thought Bologue would choose a path at the intersection, Bologue raised his hand and with a booming collapse, the rocky surface above shattered, a stone staircase extended down, and Bologue, feigning a gentlemanly manner, gestured a "please" to Palmer.

Faced with such bizarre scene, Palmer couldn’t react for a moment.

Bologue said, "What are you stunned about!"

"Huh? Isn’t there a Void Realm here?" Palmer quickly walked up the stairs.

"There is a Void Realm, but it’s clear the King’s Shield Guards are also having a tough time, their Void Realm is far inferior to the Cultivation Room."

Bologue modestly added, "But I’m still under the Void Realm’s coverage, my command is quite strenuous, otherwise I’d totally bring this place down."

Due to the Void Realm’s presence, Bologue’s command speed and command distortion were greatly restricted. Every time he destroyed a building, Bologue had to consume a lot of Ether, even though he was a Negative Power User, he couldn’t indulge recklessly.

Palmer asked, "Are you sure you have the Narrow and Sharp tendency?"

"I have the Narrow and Sharp tendency," Bologue continued clearing the path, "but as long as your Tier is high enough, and the Ethereal Amount can support it, that’s fine."

"Damn!" Palmer described, "You’ve really become a shield machine!"

Amid Palmer’s screams, Bologue crashed through another wall, surging through to the upper level, while the enemies guarding the corner completely couldn’t anticipate that Bologue wouldn’t take the usual path.

After ramming through several walls, Bologue and Palmer arrived at a spacious area, Bologue glanced around, as if in a vision, the walls full of scratches and cracks were covered with a layer of flame, a bonfire ignited in the center of the Stone Hall, surrounded by many people warming themselves and sharing drinks.

Bologue blinked, the bonfire and crowds disappeared, displaced by an emptiness filled with dust, saturated with a cold meaning.

Rubble rolled at Bologue’s feet, its collision echoes reverberating in the vast Stone Hall, Bologue let out a long sigh, dispersing those dust filled with history and vicissitudes.

"I’ve been here, this is the Stone Hall of the Fog Abyss Fortress," Bologue introduced like a guide to Palmer, "Back then, we gathered here to celebrate, celebrating our capture of this fortress, precious liquors and cigarettes were handed out, each holding one..."

"Since you’ve been here, do you know the way out?"

"Yes."

Bologue nodded, back then he left from here, then marched to the battleground of the Holy City.

To Palmer, this was a rare good news. After a series of wild breakthroughs, they finally found the way out.

Just as the two moved to pass through the grand road in front of the Stone Hall and pushed open the heavy, dilapidated door, neat and uniform footsteps sounded from outside the stone door, as if a troop was marching outside. The consistent sound gave Bologue a sense of temporal dislocation, but after a brief daze, he realized the crisis of the situation.

"Looks like there’s no way to avoid it."

Bologue glanced down at the dark umbilical cord on his abdomen. Unnoticed, another umbilical cord slowly emerged, connecting all the way towards beyond the stone door.

Upon careful observation, Bologue could still see an almost invisible cord connecting him and Palmer together.

All things related to the Devil would be linked as one by the dark cords.

With a booming sound, the stone door swung open, revealing the shadowy troop nearby.

Facing the orderly line of Silent Ones, Palmer felt his heart skip a beat.