I Eat My Own Jealousy Chapter 74.1
Chapter 74 part 1
“The two of you, take that path. If you encounter Jian Ning and Lanno, bring them back to the Queen.” With no time to wait around, Zong Ye decided to split the group. He ordered the two subordinates behind him to search the dead-end path for Jian Ning and Lanno, while he led the others to continue down the route leading to General Horton’s estate.
After walking for another twenty minutes, they reached the tunnel’s exit. A subordinate inspected the small door and found no signs of tampering. The heavy weight in Zong Ye’s heart finally lifted; Jian Ning and Lanno had taken the other route.
“Get ready. Move out.” Zong Ye put on his goggles and tapped the temple frame a few times. A red light swept across his entire body, activating stealth mode. The others followed suit, equipping their goggles and vanishing into the tunnel one by one.
Outsiders couldn’t see them, but they could see each other through the goggles. Zong Ye made a hand signal, and the subordinate in front gently pulled open the small exit door.
The five men filed out of the door, quietly shutting it behind them. They emerged into a kitchen pantry, stacked high with food supplies. Just outside the pantry was the main kitchen. It was just past nine o’clock—breakfast was over, but it wasn’t quite time to prepare lunch, leaving the kitchen completely deserted.
The five of them slipped out of the kitchen without a sound. Zong Ye signaled again, and the group split up to search the estate for anything suspicious.
This particular building seemed to be General Horton’s private residence. With the General absent, the servants appeared entirely at ease, chatting idly as they went about their chores.
Standing in the middle of the freshly cleaned living room, Zong Ye activated a detection device. Before coming, he had considered how to infiltrate the estate. If this truly was the black market headquarters, the surface-level defense network would be overwhelmingly powerful. Even the slightest anomaly or stealth movement would trigger the alarms, which was exactly why he chose the underground route.
The readings on the detector displayed the various performance metrics of the defense network, proving it to be just as formidable as the royal palace’s system. After reviewing the data, Zong Ye was even more certain that this was the black market’s main base.
“Master, there’s something off about the greenhouse outside.” Feiyu had also engaged its stealth mode. It was fast and nimble in the air; in just a short time, it had already swept through this building and the one next to it before heading to the outdoor greenhouse. Zong Ye had just put away the detector and was about to head upstairs when it flew back and whispered softly.
Zong Ye sent a message to the other four through the communicator, then let Feiyu lead the way out the door toward the greenhouse.
The greenhouse doors were closed. Seizing the moment a gardener walked out carrying a watering can, Zong Ye slipped inside.
The interior was immaculately maintained. The plants were lush and vibrant, and the sprawling space felt like a miniature botanical garden. Zong Ye followed Feiyu deep inside until they stopped in front of a particular tree.
The tree looked quite old, with a thick trunk and a dense canopy. Other than that, there was nothing extraordinary about it.
They were deep in the greenhouse. Sensing no one around, Feiyu boldly flapped its wings and hovered beside Zong Ye, saying, “When I was circling around here earlier, I saw someone come out from inside this tree.”
Zong Ye raised an eyebrow and bent down to meticulously inspect the area around the trunk.
His adjutant and the others arrived at the greenhouse entrance, and Feiyu flew back to bring them in. The five men searched the tree and its surroundings top to bottom but couldn’t find a way inside. Just as they were deep in thought, a man dressed as a servant walked toward the tree.
Zong Ye motioned for the others to keep quiet and freeze. Unblinking, they watched the man press a specific spot on the trunk twice, then pull a small chip from his collar. He held it against the spot he had just pressed. A red light flashed from the trunk onto the chip, followed by a soft click. The tree trunk split in half, revealing a hollow interior that housed a platform resembling an elevator.
The man tucked the chip away and stepped onto the platform. Zong Ye waved his hand, and the five men, along with Feiyu, swiftly followed close behind, all cramming onto the platform before the trunk sealed itself shut again.
Once they steadied themselves, the trunk clicked closed, and the platform rapidly descended.
Zong Ye bent his arm to check the communicator on his wrist, which displayed their descent speed and depth.
Two minutes later, the platform came to a halt. The space before them suddenly opened up. Researchers in white lab coats and soldiers in uniform bustled back and forth along a silver corridor.
“Has the new batch of energy stones arrived?” a middle-aged man wearing glasses asked hurriedly as he walked alongside a female researcher in a white coat.
The female researcher replied, “They’ve arrived. Should we extract the energy fluid and administer it to the test subjects immediately?”
The middle-aged man shook his head. “Not yet. The First Prince is here. He wants to see Test Subject 10. Take him there.”
The female researcher acknowledged the order, parted ways with the middle-aged man, and walked down the left corridor.
Zong Ye gestured, and the four men followed the female researcher in unison.
As he trailed behind her, Zong Ye swapped out the chip in his communicator. This new type of chip was freshly developed by the Academy of Sciences and was still classified, completely unannounced to the public. Communicators equipped with this chip could connect without relying on standard signals. Even deep underground, as long as they were within a certain depth, they could communicate regardless of how severe the signal jamming was.
However, this chip had one flaw: it could only connect with other communicators equipped with the same chip. Jian Ning and Lanno’s communicators only had standard chips, which was why they couldn’t be reached when the signal was blocked.
Once the chip booted up, Zong Ye sent a message to Colin at the wedding venue, asking if Russell was still there. If he was, he instructed Colin to find a way to verify if the Russell at the wedding was the real deal.
Following the female researcher through the corridor, they arrived at an office door. She knocked and entered. In the split second before the door clicked shut, Zong Ye caught a clear glimpse of Russell’s back.
At the same time, Colin’s message came through: “The one at the venue isn’t Russell. It’s an imposter played by one of his aides.”
Zong Ye’s fingers moved rapidly as he replied: “The black market headquarters is directly beneath General Horton’s estate. Russell is here. Bring your men. The giant tree at the very back of the greenhouse is the entrance.”
After sending the message, Zong Ye made a hand signal, splitting the four men into two teams. The adjutant took one subordinate and a portable camera to record the entire facility. Zong Ye and the remaining subordinate stayed behind to guard the area, waiting to subdue Russell once Colin arrived with the army.
No sooner had the adjutant left than Zong Ye’s communicator buzzed with a new message. It was from the subordinate he had sent to the crossroad to find Jian Ning and Lanno. It contained only two lines: “Marshal, we searched all the way to the end of the path. There is no sign of Prince Lanno.”
Zong Ye’s heart tightened. Suddenly, the closed office door in front of them swung open. The female researcher and Russell stepped out. Simultaneously, a message from Colin popped up: “We’ve arrived. We found the greenhouse entrance and are moving in.”
Without another second of hesitation, Zong Ye deactivated his stealth device, revealing his figure. He lunged forward, subduing Russell and shoving him back into the office. His subordinate swiftly grabbed the screaming female researcher and dragged her inside as well.
“Russell.” Zong Ye pinned him against the desk, only to realize the man was trembling violently. Even without being held down, he wouldn’t have been able to stand up straight.
Something was wrong. Zong Ye grabbed his chin and forced his face up, seeing nothing but deep, primal terror and panic in his pupils. Out of pure reflex, Zong Ye reached behind the man’s ear and felt a thin, soft membrane. Peeling it off, the person in front of him transformed into a complete stranger.
It was a trap. Zong Ye’s face darkened. He immediately activated his communicator to warn his adjutant and Colin. Suddenly, the optical computer screen on the desk crackled with static, and a silhouette sitting on a sofa appeared on the screen.
“Marshal Zong Ye, how do you like the surprise I prepared for you?”
“General Horton.” Recognizing the figure on the sofa, Zong Ye released the stranger on the desk, staring blankly at the screen. “You and Russell knew I was coming all along. You set this trap on purpose?”
“You sent people to investigate Russell, and you secretly dispatched agents to Planet Rhine. I certainly wouldn’t overlook such a perfect opportunity like this wedding. I’ve been guarding against you from the start.” General Horton leaned back into the sofa, a look of smug satisfaction on his face. “You’re not the only one who knows about the underground passage.”