Chapter Thirteen: The Discovery of the Lair

Night had fallen.

Under the crimson moonlight, Lin Lei ventured out once more.

Compared to yesterday, there were far more patrols in the area. These must be the logistics personnel from the Investigation Bureau, as Li Xueshu had mentioned. Each of them was fully armed, rifles at the ready—more than enough to handle low-level aberrations like the corpse-eaters.

Lin Lei deftly avoided the surveillance cameras and patrolling guards, slipping once again into the sewers along the same route as before.

"The Investigation Bureau has begun to guard against corpse-eater attacks, but they haven't started a full-scale extermination yet. I need to seize this window of opportunity and kill as many as I can!"

He quickly arrived at the spot he had marked the previous day.

While patrolling the area, he soon encountered another group of corpse-eaters searching for food in the nearby pipes. This time, however, he faced a dozen of them moving together.

Though his physique had greatly improved and his strength had doubled, he remained, at his core, a mortal, unable to ignore the sharp claws of the corpse-eaters. Facing more than ten at once was still far too risky.

"If only my Gluttony energy were close to reaching eight units again, then I could try dealing with so many at once. But for now..."

He abandoned the large chunk of flesh he had set as bait, hiding motionless in a dark corner.

The corpse-eaters did not immediately devour the bait. Instead, two of them grabbed the meat and darted into the darkness.

The rest continued onward.

Chen Fan’s heart stirred. Seizing the opportunity as the group split, he quietly followed the two that had turned back with the meat.

His movements were light and agile, each step matching the rapid, chaotic footsteps of the corpse-eaters.

Yet he did not rush to eliminate them, but trailed them through various pipes, weaving from one to another.

Soon, he halted.

He stopped before a tall, deep pipe.

Inside, beyond the disorderly steps of the two corpse-eaters, there were additional sounds—soft, rustling cries.

Not just one or two.

"This must be the corpse-eater nest..."

He licked his lips, gazing into the darkness. Faint, scattered light could be seen at the far end of the pipe.

He had suspected the nest was nearby; the corpse-eaters hadn’t eaten the bait immediately, so most likely they were taking it back to their lair.

Yet he did not move forward to confirm this immediately.

Instead, he took out his phone, marked the exact location on the map app, and quietly retreated into the shadows.

He waited three or four minutes. When the sound of footsteps echoed once more in the pipe, the two corpse-eaters emerged.

Chen Fan followed them, and when he was far enough from the nest, he dispatched and devoured them.

Then he returned to the entrance of the nest’s pipe.

He set down his backpack, carrying only the Tang sword, and crept into the darkness.

The pipe was deep; he moved slowly, taking a full minute to reach the end.

Chen Fan’s nerves were taut. If any corpse-eater from the nest emerged—even just one—and encountered him directly, the entire nest might swarm out, and his fate would be perilous.

Fortunately, he made it to the end without meeting any outbound corpse-eaters. The cries grew denser and clearer.

He hid in the darkness, watching.

At the pipe’s end lay a broad open space, packed with shadowy figures kneeling around a totem pole with a fire basin atop it.

Before the totem, one corpse-eater danced a strange and bizarre dance.

Chen Fan swallowed quietly.

He was right—this was the nest of the corpse-eaters.

"Li Xueshu said corpse-eaters possess intelligence, and even their own faith..."

Circles of corpse-eaters surrounded the totem.

At a glance, their numbers exceeded a hundred.

Most were smaller, juvenile corpse-eaters and those with obvious female traits.

Some of the mothers cradled infants.

These infant corpse-eaters resembled puppies more than anything else.

On the outer ring, there was a group of robust, full-sized corpse-eaters, likely the nest’s guardians. They numbered only two or three dozen, but radiated a daunting pressure.

The nest reeked of blood and decay. Lin Lei could see bones gleaming coldly on the ground.

All around, pipes connected outward from the nest.

Lin Lei was in just one of many pipes.

His gaze lingered on the opposite side, where pipes emerged at regular heights.

After confirming the numbers and layout of the nest, Lin Lei immediately turned and retreated.

He didn’t stop until he had exited the pipe. Only then did he exhale deeply, his racing heart gradually slowing.

"With my current strength, storming the corpse-eater nest head-on would be suicide..."

His eyes flickered. He abandoned his previous plan to lie in wait, picking off corpse-eaters one by one, and instead began climbing and crawling through the surrounding tunnels, mapping out the underground network.

Once he found a safe spot with no corpse-eaters, he took out his phone.

He called Li Xueshu.

It was nearly midnight.

“Hello?” Li Xueshu’s voice sounded annoyed and sleepy.

Lin Lei said, "Sorry to disturb your sleep, Xueshu. It's Lin Lei... I need to ask you something. Can you get me some grenades or explosives?"

Li Xueshu didn’t ask what he needed them for, but replied, "I can get them, but I can’t give them to you."

"Not only have you not officially joined the Investigation Bureau, but these items can’t be lent out. Even if you join, without a clear reason and supervision, weapons of this level can’t be casually applied for. Especially since you’ve just awakened, and are obviously emotionally unstable..."

Lin Lei recalled the conversation he’d had with Li Xueshu earlier that day. "Never mind then."

He hung up, opened his browser, and began searching "how to make a bomb".

He scrolled through several pages of news reports—while he found lists of materials, the actual steps and processes for homemade bombs were nowhere to be found.

Without knowing precise materials and procedures, attempting to make one would be courting death.

It made sense. The authorities would never allow such dangerous information online.

Lin Lei closed his phone, thinking deeply. Soon his brows rose.

Bombs were difficult to make without detailed instructions and experience.

But then his eyes gleamed; he recalled a weapon from his previous life—relatively easy to craft, yet deadly...