Strongest Soldier King

After several confrontations with the Reincarnation Killers, Luo Zheng knew these guys were ruthless, cautious, and tough to deal with. The chemical factory ahead might be another huge trap, just like the valley. Recklessly entering would surely lead to death. With less than two hours until dawn, there was no way to infiltrate the chemical factory the same way he had penetrated the valley. Just as Luo Zheng was worrying, he heard there was a way in and asked in surprise, "Really? Safe?"

"Not certain, but I think it's worth a try." The owner quickly said, "That chemical factory was originally my family's business, but then I sold it to a Westerner. I know there's a concealed drainage channel in the chemical factory, which I secretly built back then to dodge sewage fees." As he spoke, the owner seemed somewhat embarrassed.

Luo Zheng couldn't care less about those details and asked eagerly, "Is it still there?"

"It is. The drainage channel connects to an underground river. When I sold it to the Westerner, to prevent it from being exposed, I remodeled the factory's drainage outlet into a toilet," the owner said quickly.

"Quick, take me there." Luo Zheng was thrilled and urged him on, glancing at the night sky that would soon brighten, his mood lifted substantially. However, when he thought of Lan Xue and the others whose fates were still uncertain, his mood became heavy again.

"Get in the car," the owner called out. Luo Zheng didn't ask any questions and jumped into the Ferrari. The owner drove without turning on the lights. In the pitch-black night, turning on the lights would expose them. He carefully circled around to the other side of the chemical factory and, after turning off the engine, pointed to a depression ahead. "There's a river there, the entrance is over there."

"Let's go," Luo Zheng urged, delighted. After getting out of the car, the owner took a flashlight from the trunk. The pair hurried forward under the cover of darkness. Ten minutes later, they reached the bank of the river. The owner, familiar with the path, led the way, not daring to use the flashlight. A few minutes later, they arrived near a mound with lush grass and weeds.

The owner pulled aside the healthier-looking grass to reveal a dark hole, about a meter in diameter. He plunged in first, followed by Luo Zheng, who turned on the flashlight. Bending over, they moved cautiously forward in the dark. The drainage channel didn't have much water in it—mostly feces and the like—the stench was overpowering, making it difficult to breathe.

Luo Zheng held his breath. To rescue Lan Xue, he could endure any hardship. Seeing the owner ahead covering his nose and moving quickly without complaint, he felt a bit of admiration. The drainage channel was dark and cool, with startled rats scurrying about, but thankfully the path was not difficult.

Ten minutes later, the owner leading the way suddenly stopped, crouched down, and turned off the flashlight. He pointed ahead, and Luo Zheng looked up to see a mesh of welded metal bars with slight water flow dripping down from it. The owner whispered, "This wire mesh isn't fixed, it can be moved aside from above. If you go out, you'll be in the toilet."

"I'll do it," Luo Zheng whispered. He moved sideways, slowly straightening up and pushed on the wire mesh with his hands. It easily moved aside, which made him very happy. Controlling the force and speed to avoid noise, it didn't take long for Luo Zheng to slide the wire mesh to one side and look outside. Indeed, it was a toilet. He was in a small basin with wastewater flowing from other troughs into the basin, where it filtered through the wire mesh, leaving solid waste behind and the water flowing into the drainage channel below.

Quite a shot, Luo Zheng sighed, making sure there was no one in the toilet before pulling back and signaling the boss to go back first. Then he quickly climbed up, reaching the toilet door and pulling out his pistol. He listened carefully for a while, but all was quiet outside. Startled, Luo Zheng slowly cracked the door open.

To his shock, outside was a huge workshop filled with equipment and quite a few armed militants grouped together, sleeping. It was difficult to estimate the number of people. Luo Zheng hurried to the window next to the toilet. The window was high, so he jumped up, his hands gripping the windowsill, and slowly stuck his head out to look. Outside was grassland, and a hundred meters away there were several patrols with live ammunition and hunting dogs.

Seeing this, Luo Zheng felt a surge of fear in his heart. It was fortunate he hadn't tried to sneak in from outside, or he would have certainly been discovered. It seemed this place was where Lan Xue and others were held, but where exactly could they be detained? Going out directly was impossible. There were too many people outside, and he was outnumbered and outgunned. He had to think of another way.

Luo Zheng couldn't help but look up and saw a ventilation duct. His eyes lit up, and he immediately crawled into the toilet stall below, stepped on the toilet, and slowly pushed open the vent cover. Climbing onto the grid, he carefully restored the cover to its original place before cautiously crawling forward.

Soon, a junction appeared ahead. Luo Zheng made a note of the workshop layout and carefully crawled toward the bend. The duct spanned the workshop, and he moved very slowly and quietly, not daring to make a sound. After passing through the workshop, another horizontal duct appeared, and Luo Zheng chose a direction to continue on. Before long, a small vent emerged. Looking through the vent down into a small office, someone was sleeping on the sofa.

Luo Zheng continued to crawl forward, checking through small vents into five rooms in succession. People were present in each one, but none were the ones he sought. When the duct came to an end, Luo Zheng paused thoughtfully, then turned around to continue crawling back through the transverse duct and along the previous path to the other side.

Not in one room, not in two rooms, Luo Zheng controlled his anxiety as he crawled slowly. In perilous circumstances, with opponents as experienced and formidable as the Reincarnation Killer Organization members, any noise could expose him and bring a deadly threat.

The end was soon in sight, and Luo Zheng crawled forward with a mindset of not overlooking anything. Repeated disappointments left him somewhat despondent, but the vent was not very big. Luo Zheng stuck his head out for a glance, then suddenly his eyes brightened, and he was overcome with elation. It was Lan Xue and others, along with Ghost Hand, Mountain Eagle, and Snow Leopard; not one was missing. They were tightly bound and seemed to be sleeping heavily.

That was fantastic, Luo Zheng took a deep breath, subdued the excitement in his heart, and forced himself to calm down. After carefully observing for a while, the room looked like a darkroom with no windows, just an iron door. Since the door was locked and the people were tied up, escape was considered impossible.

"Finally found them," Luo Zheng let out a relieved sigh and began contemplating rescue methods. Outside were the patrol teams, and outside the room was the workshop full of armed militants. Safe withdrawal wouldn't be easy. It seemed the only option was to retreat the way he came in. The question was whether Lan Xue and the others could move normally and whether they were injured?

Thinking this, Luo Zheng was preparing to observe when the iron door suddenly opened. In walked a man with a beard, carrying an AK47, followed by two others. The three of them carefully glanced at Lan Xue and the rest inside, and muttered something. Luo Zheng was startled, his gun aimed and ready to fire if he had no choice but to fight his way out.