Chapter 211: You Can Only Enter After Signing a Life and Death Waiver
A shrill ringtone interrupted Lin Yi’s cultivation.
He emerged from the Spatial Domain of his Star River Qi Transformation Technique.
He picked up his phone and glanced at it. It was a call from Wei Nan.
"Hello?"
"It’s already past five. Are we leaving now?"
Wei Nan’s voice was hushed.
As if he was afraid Feng Lei next door would hear him.
Lin Yi glanced at the time on his phone again. It was 5:15 PM.
He nodded. "Yeah. Contact Zhou Qi and the others first. Let’s meet at the cafeteria!"
"Okay!"
After hanging up the phone,
Lin Yi turned to find Xiaoqi. It was sound asleep on his pillow.
It was a completely different sight from its form inside the Spatial Domain.
Inside the domain, the adult Xiaoqi soared through the starry expanse of the Star River.
Its seven-colored streamers adorned the vast, dark Star River with a splash of magnificent color.
But when Lin Yi emerged from the Spatial Domain,
looking at Xiaoqi’s little chick-like appearance,
he just couldn’t connect it with the divine bird from the domain.
Lin Yi quickly changed his clothes.
He then tucked Xiaoqi into his pocket and walked out of the room.
The living room was empty.
Wei Shang and Feng Lei were both resting in their respective rooms.
Seizing the opportunity, he headed for the main door.
When Lin Yi walked out of the dorm, Wei Nan was already waiting for him.
The two exchanged a smile, and Wei Nan couldn’t help but complain, "I really thought we’d be free once we got to university!"
"Who would’ve thought we’d still be sneaking around like thieves!"
Lin Yi smiled and nodded. "It’s mainly because we don’t know Wei Shang and Feng Lei’s true intentions."
"It’s better to be on guard. If we get screwed over by someone, there’s no use crying about it later!"
"Let’s go. We’ll eat at the cafeteria first."
Wei Nan nodded, and the two quickly headed downstairs.
When they arrived at the Zone 1 cafeteria, it was just like it had been at noon.
It was sparsely populated, and they immediately spotted Shen Mengyi, Zhou Qi, and Sun Tao, who had arrived earlier.
After greeting them, Lin Yi and Wei Nan grabbed trays and went to get their food.
A short while later, they returned.
"Those two in your dorm didn’t notice, did they?" Zhou Qi asked with a light chuckle.
Wei Nan shook his head. "They were probably still sleeping when we left."
"That’s good. I also feel like those two are a little off. Especially that guy Wei Shang, he’s a bit too enthusiastic. If you tell me he doesn’t have an ulterior motive, I’ll twist my own head off and let you kick it like a ball!" Sun Tao said, frowning.
This was precisely why they had grown suspicious of Wei Shang and Feng Lei.
"Hurry up and eat. We’ll head straight to Jail City when we’re done."
"By the way, Mengyi, where’s Sister Xue? Isn’t she coming with us?"
Lin Yi looked up at Shen Mengyi.
She shook her head. "She was originally going to come with us, but she just got a call. Said Captain Chu needed her at the Demon Hunting Bureau..."
Lin Yi nodded. "It’s fine. We’ll just go by ourselves then."
The others didn’t say anything either.
Instead, they felt a small spark of anticipation for Jail City.
Although it was a place of exile where the Demon Hunting Bureau locked up captured fiends and beasts,
letting them fend for themselves.
It had been this way for hundreds of years, and the place had slowly turned into a sort of hunting ground.
Xingwu University, Martial Alliance University, as well as Dragon Tiger University and Lanshan University...
...all had students who went there for missions.
It was just that their mission objectives were different.
Over time, it had become the hunting ground for the various universities in the New District.
The group finished their meal as the sky outside gradually darkened.
The nights in Songshan City were brilliant and dazzling.
Neon lights intertwined with the moonlight, making the entire city incredibly bright.
Lin Yi’s group left Zone 1 and headed straight for the school gate.
Jail City wasn’t some hidden place in Songshan City.
Just as Lin Yi and the others walked out of the school gate,
they saw several unlicensed cabs parked outside, their drivers shouting incessantly.
"Jail City, Jail City! Anyone going to Jail City..."
"Students, heading to Jail City? Get in, we’re leaving right away!"
"Leaving now, destination Jail City!"
Lin Yi glanced at them but didn’t linger.
They had already asked Qin Zhaoxue about the route to Jail City.
There was no need to take a bus or a taxi there.
Not far from the university, there was a subway station.
The subway ran directly to Jail City.
Therefore, there was no reason to take a taxi, let alone an unlicensed one.
The group shook off the unlicensed cab drivers and made a beeline for the subway station.
About twenty minutes later, they successfully boarded the subway to Jail City.
...
「That evening.」
7:22 PM.
In dorm 508, Wei Shang emerged from his room, his hair a fluffy, disheveled mess.
The living room was pitch-black; no one had turned on the lights.
He walked out, yawning and scratching his head. "What time is it? How come no one’s out here?"
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—
"Feng Lei? Still not awake? Time to go downstairs and eat!"
Wei Shang first went and knocked on Feng Lei’s door.
Then, he walked over to Lin Yi and Wei Nan’s rooms.
But after more than ten minutes of knocking, only a bleary-eyed Feng Lei had emerged.
There was no sound from Lin Yi and Wei Nan’s rooms.
"Hey, what time is it now?"
"It’s half past seven..."
Wei Shang said with a yawn from the sofa.
"Half past seven? How did we sleep so long? Where are Lin Yi and Wei Nan? Hurry up and get them for dinner!" Feng Lei said in surprise.
Wei Shang shot him a look. "Already tried. Probably not awake yet!"
"Not awake?"
Feng Lei glanced back at the two closed doors.
The next moment, a sudden realization dawned on Wei Shang as well.
The two of them walked toward Lin Yi and Wei Nan’s separate rooms.
After knocking for a long time, they still received no response.
Wei Shang panicked. He exchanged a look with Feng Lei.
"They’re not in their rooms?"
"Don’t tell me they’ve already gone to Jail City?"
Instantly, a cold chill ran down their spines.
"This is bad! Quick, let’s check the cafeteria!"
With that, Wei Shang and Feng Lei rushed back to their own rooms.
They grabbed their jackets and sprinted toward the cafeteria.
When they arrived, their eyes swept the cafeteria like minesweepers.
They searched for any sign of Lin Yi and Wei Nan.
The result, naturally, was that they were nowhere to be found.
The Zone 1 dorms didn’t have that many people to begin with, and even fewer students came to the cafeteria to eat.
It was obvious at a glance who was there and who wasn’t.
Feng Lei and Wei Shang searched the cafeteria two or three times but couldn’t find a trace of Lin Yi or Wei Nan.
When the two of them walked out of the cafeteria and stood under a streetlight,
Wei Shang was on the verge of tears. "It’s over, we lost them... If Old He finds out about this, he’ll probably chew us out again!"
Feng Lei glanced at him. "Getting chewed out is the least of our worries. If Lin Yi and the others really have gone to Jail City, we’d better pray nothing happens to them. Otherwise, we’ll be in big trouble..."
"Hey, I fell asleep, but how did you fall asleep too? If even one of us had been awake, we would’ve heard them leave, right?"
"How should I know? I just lay down on my bed and inexplicably fell asleep. Is that my fault?"
"Stop talking! Let’s go to Jail City right now. Maybe we can catch them before they go in!"
"Right, to Jail City now..."
After briefly blaming each other,
they immediately ran straight for the parking lot.
A moment later, a small black sports car was seen roaring as it sped out of the school gates.
...
「Forty-some minutes later.」
Jail City Subway Station.
Lin Yi, Wei Nan, and the other three emerged.
"Holy shit, this is Jail City?"
Wei Nan stared in utter amazement at the brightly lit city before him.
His face was a picture of shock.
Ever since they first heard the name ’Jail City,’
they had subconsciously pictured it as a desolate wasteland.
They assumed the only people who came here were students like themselves, on missions.
But who would have thought—not only did the subway have a ’Jail City Station,’
but when they came out of the subway,
they found a place that looked like a quaint, ancient town.
Exiting the station, they stepped onto a path paved with bluestone slabs.
There were no cars here. Both sides of the road were lined with shops.
The shop signs mostly bore words like ’Pills,’ ’Weapons,’ ’Armor,’ and ’Restaurant.’
If it weren’t for the university students in modern clothing walking the streets,
they would have truly felt like they had traveled back in time.
"Why do I feel like I’m here on vacation?"
Zhou Qi said, looking around in surprise.
’Is that an inn up ahead?’
Lin Yi also found the environment novel.
It was completely different from what they had imagined. The feeling was... like stepping into a real-life game world.
Except the surroundings were filled with students from various universities.
Most of them were likely here on missions as well.
The shops were bustling with people coming and going, and business seemed to be booming.
Under the night sky, Jail City exuded an even more ancient charm.
The five of them didn’t linger.
They continued straight ahead along the bluestone path.
Soon, they arrived at a city gate.
In front of the gate, some students were in the middle of a discussion with someone.
The people they were talking to were a few middle-aged men.
They seemed to be the staff in charge of this place.
Lin Yi and his friends waited for a while, until the students ahead of them finished their discussion.
The gate was opened, and they were let inside.
Lin Yi and Wei Nan’s group then walked over.
"Xingwu University?"
Before any of them could speak, a middle-aged man sized them up.
He had directly stated which university they were from.
Lin Yi smiled and nodded. "Yes, we’re from Xingwu University."
"You just enrolled and you’re already here for a mission? Do you know anything about Jail City? Once you step through this gate, you’ll have to bear the dangers yourselves!"
"If death or injury occurs, we are not responsible. Have you thought this through?"
After the staff member finished speaking,
Lin Yi and his friends exchanged a glance.
Wei Nan said with a smile, "Sir, we wouldn’t have come if we hadn’t thought it through. Open the gate and let us in!"
The middle-aged staff member shot Wei Nan a look.
"Fine, if you want to go in, sign the death waiver. Whatever happens inside has nothing to do with us.
Whether it’s death, injury, or disappearance, you are solely responsible!"
"Only after you’ve signed the death waiver can you enter. Otherwise, go back where you came from!"
Wei Nan was speechless.