Chapter 351 – The Curtain Lifted

Evening soon descended.

Before the evening glow could drape across the clouds in the sky, a continuous stream of off-road vehicles and armed helicopters kept arriving, making the wasteland around the mirage increasingly bustling.

Nearly all high-Rank teams from Tianfeng City had gathered here on this day, accompanied by official military forces, nearly filling the entire Northern Wasteland area.

Throughout the day, people could be seen everywhere in this wasteland, forming crowds of varying sizes, creating an unprecedented lively scene.

It must be said, such a densely populated sight appearing in the Wilderness Danger Zone outside the Base City was truly remarkable.

This wilderness danger zone, regarded as a forbidden deathland by ordinary people and cautiously avoided by average Professionals, now completely lost its usual peril under the assault of these powerful Professional teams, instead being trampled upon freely.

Many cunning Phantom Demons dared not appear, while those bold enough to emerge all met unfortunate ends—dismembered and exploited as materials, crushed by these powerful Professionals.

If such a scene could appear anywhere in the continent’s heartland, humanity might drive the Phantom Demons from their homes and reclaim dominion over the land.

Unfortunately, achieving this level of control over the wasteland required the collective assault of nearly all high-Rank Professional teams from Tianfeng City—a concentration of power unavailable elsewhere.

Thus, this was but a fleeting brilliance.

Yet at least for this day, this moment, this wasteland had been arrogantly marked as a Forbidden Land by humanity. Not even Phantom Demons dared appear—any animal emerging would be treated as a feast, skewered over fires for a satisfying meal.

And so, the mirage hovering mid-air like a dark city gradually descended toward the earth under the watchful eyes of all Professionals and even the military.

Only when evening arrived and dusk approached did the mirage finally make contact with the ground.

“BOOM!”

The next second, a thunderous roar echoed between heaven and earth.

The moment the dark city touched the ground, it seemed to solidify into substance, crashing into the earth with a resonating impact as it merged with the land.

Yes.

The mirage resembling a dark city had fused into the ground.

In response, the earth trembled continuously, shaking violently as if a solid city had forcibly squeezed its way inside.

“Fall back!”

“Retreat quickly!”

“Don’t get caught in it!”

Some nearby teams watched in horror as the quaking ground stirred up swirling dust clouds, expanding outward like a sandstorm that suddenly rolled toward them from all directions, engulfing the sky and earth. They screamed hoarsely, urging Professionals to scramble into off-road vehicles for evacuation.

“Commander!”

“Co…Commander!?”

Su Ming’s group, driven by Feng Qing’er and Tong Xinyao’s curiosity, had also approached relatively close to the mirage. Seeing the raging sandstorm sweeping toward them, they panicked instantly.

“Move!”Without another word, Su Ming scooped up Tong Xinyao in his arms, causing the young girl to let out a startled gasp. Instinctively, she clung tightly to him, her delicate face flushing a deep crimson in an instant.

Holding the bashful little girl, Su Ming leaped onto the off-road vehicle, followed closely by Feng Qing’er, who was chattering excitedly.

Chi Qian and Mu Yan immediately jumped into the front seats of the vehicle, one on each side. Chi Qian directly started the engine and drove the off-road vehicle, speeding outward at full throttle.

One after another, the off-road vehicles raced against the sandstorm, but unfortunately, some of the slower ones were caught in the whirlwind and vanished without a trace.

It was unclear how much time had passed before the sandstorm finally subsided.

At the center of the storm, right in the middle of the wasteland, a pitch-black hole had appeared.

The hole was massive, with a diameter of nearly a thousand meters, and its bottom was invisible. It seemed as though the earth had been pierced by an unseen force, exuding an eerie aura and a terrifying demonic presence.

“Roar…”

“Howl…”

Beast-like roars echoed from within the hole, signaling to everyone the kinds of creatures lurking inside.

The off-road vehicles that had been speeding away gradually came to a halt, one after another.

Trembling with lingering fear, they stared at the enormous hole, stunned for a long while.

Then…

“The entrance has opened!”

“The Hidden Realm has appeared!”

“Hurry! Let’s go!”

“Quick!”

The very same off-road vehicles that had desperately fled moments ago now raced back at breakneck speed. Spurred by the shouts of the Professionals, they turned around and sped toward the entrance like the wind.

Even in the sky, armed helicopters flew over, hovering above the dark hole.

The helicopter doors soon swung open one by one, and figures dressed as Professionals leaped out, plunging into the hole below.

One after another, off-road vehicles pulled up near the entrance, and people rushed forward. After a flurry of anxious chatter, they mustered their courage and jumped into the hole.

Their urgency made it clear that they had been instructed to enter the Hidden Realm as soon as the entrance opened, lest the Phantom Demons inside gather at the entrance, making it impossible to get in later.

“C-Commander? Are we really going to jump down?”

The members of Azure Mercury had also driven their off-road vehicle back to the entrance. Feng Qing’er was the first to arrive, but as she stared into the seemingly bottomless dark hole, she couldn’t help but feel a shiver of fear.

It wasn’t just Feng Qing’er—even Chi Qian, Mu Yan, and Tong Xinyao hesitated, unable to take the leap.

After all, they were girls, and their courage faltered at such a moment.

Even Su Ming was reluctant to jump directly into the hole, let alone the others.

However, sensing the intense demonic energy surging from the depths of the entrance, Su Ming finally spoke.

“Let’s jump.”

Remembering that he could fly after Demonization, Su Ming decided to take the risk and jump.

“Understood.”

Chi Qian and Mu Yan exchanged a glance and were the first to nod in agreement.

“Let’s just jump!”

Feng Qing’er, being the tough one, steeled herself and stepped forward.

“I… I can’t do it!”

Only little Tong Xinyao, a delicate and tender Sorcerer, burst into tears on the spot, declaring she couldn’t bring herself to jump.Making a sorcerer with poor physical abilities play such a thrilling game was truly challenging for her.

“Yao Yao, come with me.”

Su Ming straightforwardly scooped up Tong Xinyao once again, lifting her into his arms.

Tong Xinyao was startled, quickly closing her eyes and clinging to Su Ming’s neck as she nervously pleaded.

“G-Gently… please! Commander!”

Her tense demeanor and softly whispered pleas with closed eyes might have led an observer to mistakenly think Su Ming was doing something inappropriate to her.

Holding Tong Xinyao like this, Su Ming arrived at the cave entrance.

Without another word, Su Ming immediately jumped down, causing Tong Xinyao’s screams to echo through the air.

“Wait…!?”

“Commander!?”

Mu Yan and Feng Qing’er exclaimed in surprise, quickly following after them.

Chi Qian remained at the rear, glancing at the now chaotic wasteland while gazing toward the army still stationed at the outermost perimeter, silently thinking:

“I hope everything goes smoothly.”

With this thought, Chi Qian also jumped into the cave entrance.

One Professional team after another rushed toward the cave entrance, continuously jumping inside in an endless stream, creating a rather peculiar scene.

……

Meanwhile, in a deep mountain forest not far from the wasteland.

Blood flowed across the ground, gradually staining the flowers, grass, and trees red.

Corpses of Phantom Demons lay scattered on the ground, all with torn flesh and some even cut into several pieces – their deaths extremely gruesome.

These were Phantom Demon groups that had detected the commotion in the wasteland and hidden here.

However, these Phantom Demons still couldn’t escape their dismembered fate, becoming fertilizer for this land.

The perpetrators seemed to disdain even collecting materials from these Phantom Demons, gathering instead in this deep mountain forest.

They all wore black robes and black clothes with masks, not only concealing their entire appearances but also emitting exceptionally vicious and ruthless auras.

This was an atmosphere that would never appear around ordinary Professionals.

Those with such an aura were invariably great villains – either having committed atrocities or perpetrated evil deeds, certainly not kind-hearted individuals.

If any Professionals were here and saw these people, they would definitely exclaim:

“Underground Professionals!”

That’s right.

This deep mountain forest was gathering numerous Underground Professionals.

The leader stood at the edge of a cliff, gazing into the distant wasteland.

“Has it already manifested?”

A voice as clear and melodious as a lark’s song emerged from the person, making listeners feel physically and mentally soothed.

The one speaking with such a voice was undoubtedly a young girl.

A girl not very old, probably only seventeen or eighteen years old.

The girl was exceptionally beautiful with delicate features, fair skin, and shoulder-length medium hair fluttering in the wind – like an elf appearing in the mountain forest, inevitably stirring hearts.

Yet facing this young girl, those vicious Underground Professionals waited respectfully around her, not daring to breathe heavily, their eyes filled not only with admiration but also deep reverence.

Beside the girl stood two figures.

One wore black robes and clothes identical to the other Underground Professionals’ attire, yet emitted a subtle but powerful aura, clearly incomparable to ordinary Underground Professionals.The other figure was burly and robust, with minimal concealment in his attire. Like the young girl, he traveled light, yet the aura he exuded was far more formidable than the other’s.

“Finally manifested. I’ve grown impatient waiting.”

The middle-aged man’s eyes gleamed with sharp intensity.

Had Longyao City’s top elites been present, they would have recognized this burly man’s identity.

He was the Vice Captain of the underworld’s largest mercenary organization—『Sin』.

He was a Seven-Star Hunter.

He was the foremost architect of Sin, intent on unleashing the Spirit Demon Abyss King to bring the horrors back into the human realm.

At this very moment, he had reappeared with the Underground Professionals of 『Sin』.

Right here, under the watchful eyes of Tianfeng City.

(End of Chapter)