The Modern Martial Immortal-Chapter 13: The Fiendish Lair

Qingyu Industrial Park was an area formed by several mid-sized residential zones merged together.

When Yaoguang arrived outside the perimeter, he realized that it was strictly patrolled. Not only that, but the patrols had clearly been organized by professional military personnel. Numerous sentry posts and observation points were positioned along the perimeter. Anyone unaware of the truth might have mistaken this place for a military restricted zone.

"Looks like I need to finish this quickly. If I stir up too much noise, there will be significant trouble," Yaoguang murmured after observing for a moment.

Relying on his grandmaster-tier physique, which was at the peak of the human body, and also thanks to his keen senses, he closed in rapidly.

At the same time, he activated his Perception secret technique to search for the daemons.

The radius of Perception depended on the cultivator’s qi and blood. Since he had yet to reach the human limit, his Perception radius fluctuated around forty meters.

Such a range could easily cover most of Yulong International, but it was too small for Qingyu Industrial Park.

Once he infiltrated the industrial park, he immediately sensed something unusual.

He focused his mind again and detected two individuals whose qi and blood were abnormally distorted.

And he had only scanned less than one-fifth of the entire park.

"Another daemon lair?" Yaoguang was slightly surprised.

He had already hunted more than ten daemons. Almost all of them acted alone, each occupying its own territory and hunting humans as food.

But in just the last couple of days, he had found three daemons in Yulong International, and there was more than one here as well.

Recalling the satellite image he had studied earlier using his phone, Yaoguang laid out a Perception route and began probing section by section.

Because Perception did not rely on sight, his reconnaissance progressed smoothly.

As he moved through the park, he soon discovered that this place was far from simple. Armed guards moved through the park with rifles in hand, while bodies hung from the rafters of the indoor basketball court like discarded puppets. Across the compound, workers who were starved to the bone lay collapsed in the corners, and from the deeper rooms echoed shrill, hopeless screams.

Yaoguang had seen similar scenes before while hunting other daemons. None of it surprised him.

"There's no doubt. It's indeed a daemon lair," he said as he looked at the terrifying scene before him.

Hours later, he stepped into one of the main buildings. By then, he had fully mapped the entire industrial park.

Counting the ones from Yulong International, there were three daemons in total.

"I already suspected that daemons who can disguise themselves as humans and manipulate humans using social structures must belong to an organized, hierarchical society. I simply encountered lone operatives before, not formal units," he said with a calm expression, clearly having anticipated this possibility.

Suddenly, footsteps approached from behind. He immediately stepped forward and slipped into an unlocked room.

Only upon entering did he realize that there were people inside. Five exhausted, poorly dressed workers sat before their computers. When he appeared, all five stared at him for a moment.

Yaoguang said nothing. He moved calmly behind them, as if checking their work. Startled, the workers turned back to their screens and began typing frantically.

When the footsteps faded away, Yaoguang acted as though he had completed an inspection and stepped back out. The entire exchange passed without a word or disturbance.

"Three." He reviewed the three red-dot positions he had sensed. One of them was clearly farther from the main building cluster.

"In that case... I will start with you," he said as he moved within the building.

Feiyu’s surveillance systems were far less advanced than Dayu’s. Or perhaps the ones in charge simply did not trust electronic equipment.

Either way, Yaoguang passed through the building with ease. Before long, he reached a two-story structure separated from the main block by several dozen meters.

He listened briefly, observed through the window, then slipped inside.

Grabbing a doctor’s white coat and a medical mask, he stepped back out. Three guards sat at a table playing cards, a handgun placed casually beside them. They glanced at him but paid no attention.

Following the Perception signal, Yaoguang crossed the hall and entered a corridor lined with rooms. Then, he started briefly looking inside them.

One of them was a crude operating room divided only by a few thin curtains. Several men in white coats were performing a bloody procedure on a body.

Yaoguang withdrew his gaze and continued. He soon stopped in front of another room and frowned.

The Perception signal marked this room clearly, but the room itself was empty.

"On the second floor?" He lifted his head toward the stairwell, but after focusing his Perception for a few more moments, he lowered it again. "No. The basement."

He moved toward the end of the corridor. Pushing open the door at its end revealed a staircase leading downward.

As he descended, he spotted a guard leaning against the wall and scrolling through his phone. Yaoguang glanced at the guard’s position, then used the dim light below to mask his movement. His body blurred forward in a silent dive.

The guard sensed something too late. Yaoguang’s hand was already clamped around his throat, Yaoguang's fingers tightening as jin burst forth.

Crack. His neck was crushed.

The guard died without a sound, and Yaoguang dragged the body into a cluttered corner.

"I need to pick up the pace." He pushed open the next door. A cold, foul stench rushed out, and under the dim orange lights, the underground chamber came into view.

The space spanned at least four hundred square meters, filled with dozens of iron cages stacked in two layers. Inside each cage was one or several naked women, most of them young.

Some lay unmoving, and it was impossible to tell if they were dead or alive; those still conscious stared ahead with hollow, numb eyes. Stripped bare and stripped of dignity, they resembled livestock awaiting slaughter, resigned to their fate. None even reacted to Yaoguang's entry.

He had seen horrors before, but never on this scale. There were easily over a hundred prisoners. Being human too, this sight would stir rage in even the calmest heart.

Forcing down his emotions to avoid startling the captives, he continued through the basement.

At the far end stood another room, where dozens of men were similarly imprisoned. An iron door nearby led to a cramped space packed with tools and torture devices.

He looked forward. According to his Perception, the daemon was just beyond the final door.

The dead guard could be discovered at any moment, so he did not hesitate. Striding ahead, he pushed the iron door.

It did not move. It was locked.

A quick check showed nothing sophisticated, merely an iron bar bracing it from the inside.

He drew his newly purchased short sword, slid it through the gap, and pressed downward.

Bang! A metallic snap rang out. The bar broke, and he immediately shoved the door open.

The sound instantly alerted the figure inside. A grotesque, towering body, over two meters tall, lumbered into the light. Its swollen flesh and twisted face resembled a daemon more than a man. It had clearly only recently inhabited this body and had not yet learned to control its form.

But what mattered was the scene of the room he was in. Even Yaoguang, who had witnessed countless atrocities, felt killing intent surge uncontrollably.

Dozens of people, or rather, corpses, lay nude and butchered. Some had been arranged on cutting tables. Others hung from hooks overhead, drying in the open air. Several corpses had already been marinated and seasoned. This whole scene was like a nightmare.

***

"Human meat. Fresh, delicious human meat. The chief was right. This place is wonderful." The daemon exclaimed.

The daemon’s eyes lit up the moment it saw Yaoguang, excitement rising as if it smelled prey. But before it could act, Yaoguang moved.

At this point, speaking even one more sentence was an insult to humanity.

Kill! This thought was the only thing on Yaoguang's mind.