The Devil’s Cage

The speedboat was cruising rapidly through the extensive underground sewers. The stench that assaulted Kieran’s face made him frown, but it didn’t stop him from observing his surroundings.

Although he couldn’t map the underground sewers together with the streets on the surface, Kieran remembered which direction the speedboat was cruising towards since the moment he stepped onto it.

Not leaving any details that he could grasp was already one of Kieran’s habits.

Vrooom!

The motor of the speedboat was echoing throughout the sewers, the light at the front of the boat was the only light source, it flashed over the dirty waters as the speedboat sped through. The tall and muscular man with the mask was driving the speedboat while Jorge held tight to the rail on the other side, shrinking himself into a ball in the darkness.

“After the speedboat went off, it didn’t slow down at all.”

“This masked man isn’t just familiar with the place, it’s definitely not his first time doing this.”

“Which means this man has brought people down here more than once.”

“Receiving a guest every time the storm comes… This is a nasty habit.”

Kieran sat across from Jorge; one of his hands was holding the rail behind him, and his face looked heavy.

The power the mastermind displayed had somewhat exceeded his expectations.

At the same time, Kieran believed there must be only a handful of people who possess this kind of organizational power.

And those that had a beef with him? Only Noroid Church.

“Could it really be Noroid Church?” Kieran wondered, his eyes unconsciously turned to the masked man driving the speedboat.

The mask the man was wearing was a very traditional white mask; there were no other patterns on the surface, just two holes for the eyes, and even the opening for the nose and mouth were sealed, thus causing the man’s breath to sound slightly heavy. However, what concerned Kieran more were the calluses on the man’s fingers, palms, and the back of his hands.

There was a bulging spot at the man’s back, and judging from the contour of the object, it must be a handgun.

At the man’s trouser leg, a strap of the belt was showing, and even if his calf was covering it up, Kieran could tell there was a short knife there.

In addition to the silence and the meticulous nature of the masked man, Kieran quickly determined his identity.

“A soldier!”

“A secret hideout underground and soldiers…”

“If Noroid Church is added into the mix, this will be interesting.” Kieran squinted his eyes and sized up his surroundings even more carefully.

He knew, if he weren’t wrong, a big scene would be waiting for him at the end of this boat ride.

After all, the mastermind did mention ‘delight and excite’ before.

Kieran didn’t know about others, but cruising through the underground sewer in a speedboat wasn’t that much of a delight to Kieran.

As for excitement?

If the garbage and filth that passed by the speedboat endlessly were considered excitement, then it was fascinating.

Kieran had never seen that much garbage and filth floating on the water; they were like lotus leaves floating on a lake, floating away in big groups.

Another turn later, the speedboat gradually slowed down.

The masked man skillfully threw the rope on the rail at the shore, tying the boat tightly with the rope with the minimal light in front.

“Please.”

The masked man jumped on shore, spoke the second time, and it was exactly what he said the first time.

Kieran stepped up while Jorge was trembling as he followed Kieran.

The masked man then knocked on the wall in front of him.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

The heavy and rhythmic knocks were obviously secret codes of sorts.

After the knocking stopped, the massive concrete wall of the sewer opened up from the inside.

Kieran clearly heard the sounds of a spring contraption moving and the flowing of electric current powering up the mechanism.

The wall then revealed a metallic room before Kieran’s eyes. All sides of the room were metallic, and right in front was a door while the ceiling had a sprinkler of sorts.

The thick smell of disinfectant in the room rushed into Kieran’s nose the moment the ‘room’ was opened up.

“A disinfection room?”

Kieran raised a puzzled brow before following the masked man inside. Jorge slightly hesitated but eventually followed, and when the three of them entered the room, the sprinkler over their head started the disinfection process.

Liquid was sprayed on them, it was harsh on the nose and burning. After a full minute, the disinfection process finally stopped, and the door in front of Kieran slowly opened up.

“Please come in.”

Unlike the rough and stiff voice of the masked man, a soft and pleasant voice came from the other end of the door.

Beyond the door was a hall decorated with extravagant gold and crystals that looked extra lively, a row of maids with black and elegant outfits, holding various items in their hands were bowing at Kieran.

Their heights were almost the same, their faces were gorgeous, and the most captivating part was their eyes: bright and pure.

As though the maids weren’t tainted by the filth of the world.

Kieran glanced over the row of maids and walked in with vigilance.

The maids, however, smiled at Kieran’s vigilance. Then, the maid standing at the forefront strode over and helped Kieran take off his wet shirt. The other maids who held the blower quickly got to work as well; two more maids with clean outfits and shoes joined the others and helped Kieran change into a new set of clothes.

Then, another maid put a mirror as tall as Kieran himself in front.

Kieran saw himself through the mirror, he was wearing a long black robe and leather boots.

The outfit was somewhat strange to a modern world, but when Kieran wore it, it suited him perfectly, as though he was meant to dress this way.

On the other hand, the masked man and Jorge weren’t that lucky.

Despite both of them standing there, the maids turned a blind eye at them, as if they didn’t exist. However, the altered voice spoke again through the masked man’s mobile phone.

“Very nice. It’s much better than I expected.”

“Now then, let us carry on.”

After the voice spoke, the maids bowed toward Kieran again before walking into a small door beside the hall.

A while later, three connected doors were pushed in by the maid who had blow-dried Kieran’s hair before.

“Three doors, one of them is open.”

“I hoped you can find out which one.”

“It seems familiar, doesn’t it?”

“That’s right, it is the little game you played back in Rain City TV Station—I want to use my way to find out whether or not you are what you present, a real ‘shaman.’

“I bet the viewers in front of the screens are dying to know, right?”

“I’ll give you a minute to think. The time starts now.”

The voice from the mobile phone spoke again.

“The middle one.”

Without a second thought, Kieran gave his answer right away.

The most direct result after he unlocked the seal of his Constitution was his Stamina. Kieran was not restricted in using [Tracking] for an instant and risking depleting his Stamina, thus allowing him to have more ground to do things.

“Astounding!”

“It is the middle one!”

It was hard to tell whether or not the voice was surprised. A giant screen then slowly came down from the ceiling, showing the maid who blew Kieran’s hair opening the middle door.

Then, the screen changed, it changed to a scene showing Mei Huasheng being tied up on a pillar.

“This is your reward and of course… Punishment!”

The moment the voice subsided, the maid who blew Kieran’s hair exploded!

Bang!

Blood and flesh splattered from the bursting.

Her head rolled over to Kieran’s feet, the brightness in her eyes swiftly faded away, only the blank expression that she had when she was alive was left on her face after death.

“Now, let us begin the second stage!”