The Rescue Plan

In the darkness, a shadow silently followed.

Kent sat on a large rock for a while, his eyes showing a look of deep thought. Though he didn't believe that Ling Qingxun was lying to him or had any reason to deceive him, something about the situation didn't seem right.

So, when Ling Qingxun returned to the valley, Kent summoned his shadow beast, Bajie, and quietly followed her.

Bajie's true form was a mass of black mist, capable of turning into a shadow. Kent had once tested Bajie's "Shadow Stealing" ability by having him follow a male classmate for a week, without the classmate noticing anything unusual about his shadow.

Thus, Bajie was nearly impossible to detect. Even if spotted, Bajie could easily escape by flying, and who would expect a shadow to be a beast?

"It's a pity that Bajie doesn't have the ability to share sight. It would make things much easier, almost like having long-distance vision," Kent thought, rubbing his hands. At this moment, all his drowsiness vanished. After a moment's hesitation, he decided to follow.

During his practical assessments for the Patrol profession, Kent had scored high in stealth and reconnaissance. He was confident that, with enough caution, he could sneak into the valley and investigate. With Bajie leading the way, he could avoid the hidden sentries.

After sneaking for more than a kilometer, a larger valley appeared ahead. Kent glanced toward the entrance, noticing a cave carved into the side of a twenty-meter-high mountain wall.

According to Ling Qingxun, this was a hidden watch post with three shifts of two people each.

There were about twenty-five criminals in total, led by Qin Jianxuan.

Bajie's reports revealed that Ling Qingxun hadn't entered through the main entrance but had instead chosen to move along the mountain, using his wall-passing ability to avoid the watch route.

Kent furrowed his brows. He didn't dare enter through the main entrance either, since it was equipped with hidden thermal sensors, infrared scanners, and traps.

After some thought, he decided to use the Earth Control Spirit Pearl to create a tunnel inside the mountain.

To minimize noise, Kent took a longer detour, checked Bajie's location, and carved out a tunnel that was two meters high and one and a half meters wide. He then sealed the tunnel entrance with earth and stones, leaving only a small gap wide enough for a single person to pass.

Since he needed to suppress the noise, Kent worked slowly. It took him about three minutes to cut through the mountain, finally reaching Bajie's location.

This was an abandoned cave, and when Kent stepped out, he saw several lanterns hanging in the darkness, faintly illuminating the valley.

Thanks to the dim light, he could make out the valley's layout. It was filled with crude wooden houses—about ten of them. The largest one occupied around 100 square meters, while the others were around 50 square meters. On the right side of the valley, there were three additional caves.

According to Ling Qingxun, each cave contained a different group of captured female mercenaries. The first group was newly captured, the second consisted of the most beautiful, and the third was for those who were tortured, with cells designed for those who resisted.

In total, there were around sixty women in the caves, some recently captured and others imprisoned for years. More than a hundred women had died here, their bodies forgotten.

It was now around three in the morning, the lowest point in the guard rotation.

Kent instructed Bajie to scout the activity in the wooden houses while he stealthily made his way toward the three caves, blending into the darkness along the walls.

The entrances to the caves were secured with iron gates, locked from the outside.

The first cave contained the recently captured female mercenaries. From the faint light of a single oil lamp inside, Kent saw that they were huddled in the corners, pale and emaciated, with tear-streaked faces. It was clear they hadn't been fed for days, their clothes were torn, and some showed signs of having been violated.

Kent clenched his fists in silent anger. These young women, full of life and beauty, had fallen into the hands of these scoundrels. They deserved nothing less than to be eradicated.

The second cave was different. It contained beds, living necessities, and even several dressing tables. The women inside seemed to have adapted to their grim situation, numbed into a kind of survival instinct. Their expressions in their sleep varied—some wore faint smiles, others were fearful, and some were completely emotionless.

Ling Qingxun lay on the farthest bed, just having fallen asleep.

Kent sighed. He knew this was a forced surrender. They were trapped in a hellish place, and any hopes or dreams they once had were impossible to realize. Their only comfort now was sleep.

At the entrance to the third cave, Kent was taken aback. Inside was a torture chamber, filled with cruel instruments. In an iron cage, about ten women lay bruised and bloodied, their clothes torn, their bodies marked with the signs of abuse. Some were waking from nightmares, their screams echoing in the air.

Deeper inside, Kent noticed the skeletons of women, a grim reminder of the fate awaiting those who defied their captors.

Kent's fists tightened, his body shaking with rage. A murderous intent surged through him. The sight of these innocent women suffering like this made him want to tear apart every last one of these criminals.

He had never planned to stay out of this, but seeing it with his own eyes made it feel like a responsibility he could no longer ignore.

However, it was deep in the night, and he was in an unknown forest. If he tried to rush to Chang'an, nearly a thousand miles away, it would only waste his energy and time, possibly making things worse.

"I can't make a move too hastily. With my current strength, even if I wipe out these criminals, it will be nearly impossible to take all these women and escape. They might catch up with us, especially with Qin Jianxuan's imperial-level Sky-Eating Eagle King. I can't outrun them," Kent muttered to himself.

He sighed, feeling both frustrated and helpless. Suddenly, a thought struck him. Ling Qingxun had mentioned that the reason the women didn't attempt to escape was not just because they couldn't, but also because each time one tried to escape, the others would be killed. The criminals had implanted tracking devices or injected tracking blood, so escaping was pointless.

But there was a way. Kent could move all these women to a safe place where no one could find them, and then he could figure out how to escape. The Earth Control Spirit Pearl would allow him to hide them underground.

Though it was risky, Kent was confident that with luck on his side, he could save every one of the female mercenaries.

The key was that Qin Jianxuan and his men did not return to the valley within the next hour.