Chapter 86: The Surprise Attack of Bug Tactics

Three seconds before the alarm sounded, Shen Yan’s fingertip was still pressed against the last grain of rice residue in the wall crack.

Just as the recursive instruction written in blood was embedded into the tail of the logic, the entire Rune Wall suddenly trembled, as if the System had been jammed by something. He didn’t let go; instead, he dug his fingernail deeper into the crack by half a notch—success. This wasn’t a false alarm; the main control array had truly been fooled by his “nerve twitch” command.

A piercing screech erupted, red light swept across the dungeon ceiling, and the broadcast’s mechanical voice repeated: “Spiritual Power Fluctuation detected in Prison Block C! All guards assemble immediately! Repeat, assemble immediately!”

Footsteps surged from all directions, mingling with the scraping sound of dragging chains, the clashing of armor, and Spell Incantations. Shen Yan leaned against the corner of the wall and took a breath, a saw-like dull pain emanating from his ribs, but he grinned.

“Buddy, your Firewall really can’t withstand stress testing.”

He slowly rose, supporting himself against the wall, and glanced toward the prison door. The two guards who had just escorted Luo Li away indeed turned back and rushed toward Block C, not even sparing him a glance. This was the advantage of information asymmetry—the enemy always assumed the most dangerous threat was a living person, not someone nearly dead suddenly resurrecting.

But he knew the real Window was only two minutes.

Beyond that time, the System would automatically verify vital signs, and the Feigned Death Protocol would be exposed.

He moved to the prison door, tore a small piece of Silver-Thread Soft Armor from his sleeve, stuffed it into the lock, and gently pried it. Click—the Restriction Seal loosened. This old-style Demon Clan Mechanism was designed to prevent brute-force breaches, not Physical Exploits.

The door opened a crack; the corridor outside was empty, only the distant alarm still howling.

He slipped out, hugging the wall and turning right, stopping at the seventh floor tile, crouching down to feel the seam. Embedded there was a fragment of a Star-Shattering Token replica, which he had secretly scraped off during his last escort. He scraped away the surface grime with his fingernail and whispered a Command.

The ground trembled slightly, and the ventilation duct cover slowly lifted.

“Welcome to the Automatic Escape Navigation System. Current route: optimal enemy avoidance path.” He muttered to himself, “Friendly Notice: risk of collapse ahead. Please fasten your safety belt.”

He crawled inside and reached back with his hand.

Soon, faint footsteps came from the corner. Luo Li arrived.

The shackles on her wrists had been replaced with ordinary iron rings, clearly downgraded temporarily amid the chaos. Seeing his outstretched hand, she paused for half a second, then stepped onto his knee, leveraging the force to flip and climb into the duct.

“You really dared to act.” She whispered, “What if the System didn’t respond?”

“Then it means my Code wasn’t written provocatively enough.” He crawled forward while saying, “But look, it responded, and quite excitedly.”

The duct was narrow, forcing them to crawl side by side. Shen Yan supported himself with one hand while quietly reaching back with the other, hooking her wrist. She didn’t shake it off, only snorted lightly: “Don’t touch my tail.”

“I didn’t touch it; you brushed against me yourself.”

She gritted her teeth but didn’t refute.

Midway through crawling, the duct suddenly emitted a groan of metal twisting. Ahead, a support beam broke, causing the entire structure to sag half an inch. Several Rune Threads hung down, shimmering faintly blue in the dim light.

“Detection Net.” Luo Li frowned. “Touch it and we’re exposed.”

Shen Yan stopped, bit his finger, and quickly drew a series of symbols on his palm. Before the bloodstains dried, he channeled spiritual energy into them, forming an extremely thin oscillation field. As he advanced, the field spread like ripples on water, causing the rune threads to tremble slightly and shift a few millimeters like strings, just enough for the two to slip past.

“Low-frequency resonance interference, specially designed for disobedient sensors,” he said proudly. “Version 0.9, not yet released, still in internal testing.”

“Do you usually spend all your work time thinking about this stuff?” she couldn’t help asking.

“Too much overtime, gotta find some fun.”

Before the words faded, a violent tremor shook the ceiling. The entire pipe segment swayed fiercely, screws flew off, and dust rained down. Shen Yan reacted swiftly, pressing her beneath him as his back slammed against a broken iron edge. Blood instantly soaked through his clothes.

“Cough…” he grunted but still managed a laugh. “Don’t panic, I already marked this bug in the test log.”

She looked up at him, her cat ears twitching. “Are you really not afraid of dying?”

“I am,” he wiped the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. “But I’m more afraid of you being dragged back for another interrogation.”

She froze, her pupils contracting slightly.

The next moment, a faint light appeared at the end of the passage.

The exit had arrived.

Carefully, the two slid down to the ground, landing amidst the ruins of an abandoned outer hall. Moonlight slanted across scattered rubble, and distant prison alarms still echoed, but this area was no longer within the core surveillance zone.

Shen Yan steadied himself against a broken pillar, about to speak—

A sharp whistling sound pierced the air!

A black arrow shot from the shadows, aimed straight at his throat, moving so fast its trajectory was almost invisible.

Luo Li reacted almost instinctively, flipping over to push him down as nine fox tails unfurled, sweeping out like a barrier. The tip of one tail ignited with demonic fire, tracing a blazing arc through the air. The arrow collided with the flames, instantly bending before embedding itself in the ground, just three inches from his face.

The two lay among the ruins, breaths mingling.

Shen Yan stared at the arrow, slowly sitting up.

Three small characters were carved on the arrow’s tail—Xie Wujiu.

His pupils constricted.

“So he’s been involved all along… Not just Shadow Erosion, even the Demon Clan has been infiltrated.”

Luo Li propped herself up, her tails still wrapped around his waist, her tone icy. “Next time, don’t make me block things for you again.”

Yet after saying this, she didn’t loosen her hold. Instead, she pulled him deeper into the shadows.

Shen Yan looked down at the arrow and suddenly laughed. “You think if he knew I’m holding his personally signed delivery right now, he’d regret not coating it with poison?”

“You still have the mood to joke?”

“How else do you survive?” He pulled out the arrow, gripping it tightly. “Besides, look—this just gave us directions. Whoever left their name is the next one to deal with.”

She stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out to touch the back of his neck.

“You’re bleeding.”

“Minor injury.”

“Shut up.” She tore off a strip of cloth from her waist and roughly pressed it against his wound. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning—you deliberately triggered the alarm, right? It wasn’t about escaping at all; it was about luring the snake out of its hole.”

Shen Yan didn’t deny it.

“Sometimes, the biggest vulnerability isn’t the system—it’s human nature,” he said. “They thought I was hiding, but I was fishing.”

She sneered. “Are you so sure Xie Wujiu is really the mastermind?”

“Not sure.” He leaned against the broken pillar, catching his breath. “But I’m certain someone doesn’t want us leaving the dungeon alive. And whoever could slip a Poison-Tempered Arrow under the elders’ noses must either hold high authority… or has been waiting for this day all along.”

Wind swept through the ruins, stirring up scattered leaves.

In the distance, the outline of a massive ancient tree emerged from the darkness, its branches stretching like dragon claws, faint patterns of light shimmering across its surface.

“The Sacred Tree area,” Luo Li whispered. “Beyond that lies the Forbidden Land.”

“Then we head to the Forbidden Land.” Shen Yan tightened his grip on the bloodstained arrow and stood up. “After all, we’re not exactly good people anymore.”

She glanced at him and finally nodded.

Side by side, they moved forward, their figures gradually blending into the darkness.

The moment they stepped into the first shadow of the trees, Shen Yan suddenly halted.

He looked down and saw the Demon Clan Ancient Script symbol on his palm glowing faintly, as if responding to something.

He said nothing, only pressed that hand gently against his chest, as if confirming something.

Luo Li noticed the change and turned to look at him.

He raised his eyes, his gaze steady.

“Let’s go,” he said. “This time, I’ll lead the charge.”

(End of Chapter)