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Kapitel 35

I turned on my wolf-eye flashlight and led the way, with Fatty bringing up the rear, and Spall Jordan and Marilyn Monroe guarding the flanks. The four of us formed a small square and crept up the stairs.

As soon as we stepped onto the stairs, two living zombies pounced down from the corner. Spall and I opened fire simultaneously, riddling the two guys in prison guard uniforms with holes, and they fell to the ground.

Just as Spal was about to walk over, I grabbed him. Sure enough, the two living zombies wriggled up again like rotten flesh, their heads drooping, and lunged at us with outstretched arms.

Marilyn Monroe was already quite skilled with her gun. She raised her gun, aimed, and fired two shots, breaking the necks of the two zombies in front of her. Only a little bit of skin was left to hold their heads on their necks, and they were about to fall off.

Seeing the two zombies fall, we bypassed the corpses and made our way to the second floor. The fat man fired repeatedly from behind, sniping at the several living zombies that were chasing after us.

On the second floor, there were more than ten rooms in a row. We broke down the doors one by one, entered with guns, and apart from killing a few living zombies, including one with the title of warden, we took a few handguns for self-defense. We found nothing else.

The same was true on the third floor, but these were all dormitories. There was neither the despicable figure of Robert nor any trace of the core hub of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Array in the beds.

I glanced at everyone and said, "Let's go to the detention center and find out what's going on."

We descended from the prison guards' office building and crept into the prison cell. As soon as we entered through the large iron gate, several latecomers pounced on us, but we immediately beheaded them to establish our authority.

Walking along the corridor outside the rows of solitary "reception rooms" in the prison building, we found that almost all the iron doors of the solitary prison cells were wide open, and many were broken, which showed that these living zombies were extremely strong, and it was best not to let them get close.

We walked to the end but didn't find a single living zombie, and knocking on the walls didn't reveal the location of the underground chamber.

We had no choice but to go up to the second floor and walk to the very end of the cell, where we found a living person, or more precisely, a living, conscious criminal.

When we suddenly found him, he was huddled in a corner of the intact iron-doored cell. The fat man pulled back the bolt to shoot him, but the guy panicked and raised his hands, shouting, "Don't kill me! I'm a human, not a zombie!"

This actually startled us. In this prison where staying for two nights could turn you into a living zombie by the evil energy of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Array, it was now midnight, the time of death, and we were surprised to encounter a living human. We were used to seeing zombies as soon as we set foot on Devil's Island.

We stared at him, bewildered. Under the fat man's gun, he walked through the iron gate. We could see that he was a somewhat haggard and weak middle-aged man, with yellow skin, a well-proportioned and tall build, and was quite handsome. He had a capable and shrewd expression, but there was a hint of lewdness between his brows.

I had a bad feeling and became alert, so I asked him who he was.

The man's eyes darted around, and he calmly explained that his name was Yamada Jiichiro, a Japanese businessman who had been sentenced to life imprisonment for drunkenly shooting and killing two Americans. He had been here for three years. He didn't know why, but the people here would become delirious at night, acting like wild beasts, eating corpses—it was extremely terrifying. Therefore, he begged us to take him with us, to please get him away from here; he would thank us profusely.

Marilyn Monroe was the first to feel compassion and discussed with the fat man how to help him escape from this terrifying place.

I hesitated for a moment but eventually agreed to his request, using my gun to unlock the iron gate and let him out. We still didn't find anything suspicious on the second floor, and when we asked the somewhat strange man, he stammered and couldn't give a clear answer.

Could it be that the core of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Formation isn't located in this men's prison? Impossible! The blue aurora borealis overhead is enough to prove that the mechanism is right here.

We continued our search of the first-floor detention cells. Just as we stepped down the stairs, we heard a short gunshot behind us. We turned around and saw Marilyn Monroe angrily pointing a lipstick at the head of the Japanese man, Yamada Jiichiro, and cursing, "You son of a bitch, trying to mess with me? Tell me who you are, or I'll blow your head off!"

The male prisoner was kneeling on the ground, holding Marilyn Monroe's submachine gun in his hand. Blood was gushing from his thigh, indicating that he had been shot.

Marilyn Monroe kicked the submachine gun away, then kicked his wound hard again, shouting, "Tell me, who are you?"

The man's face was deathly pale. His lips trembled and twitched a few times. He looked at Marilyn Monroe in front of him with a terrified expression and said dejectedly, "I...I am Kim Han-woo from South Korea."

Kim Han-woo, damn it, isn't he that infamous "White Christianity" lecherous thief leader? So this is the guy in front of me.

The fat man kicked him again, knocking him to the ground. He raised his gun and shouted, "Jin Hanyu, you old slut, you big stallion, how many innocent women have you ruined? I'll shoot you first and then we'll talk!"

I stopped the fat man and asked Marilyn Monroe what exactly was going on.

It turned out that when they were going downstairs, this guy had deliberately lagged behind, suddenly staring intently at Marilyn Monroe with a lecherous look. Marilyn Monroe, surprised, was about to reprimand him, but was instantly captivated and intimidated by the sinister aura in his eyes. She felt a wave of dizziness and drowsiness wash over her, and just as she was about to drift off to sleep, he snatched the submachine gun from her hand and turned to aim it at us from behind. After all, Marilyn Monroe was a seasoned high-level agent with years of experience handling guns—for a high-level agent, a gun is like a second life—and the moment the gun left her hand, she immediately snapped back to reality. In a split second, she swept him to the ground with a powerful kick, swiftly pulled out her lipstick, and fired a shot, hitting him in the groin.

Lipstick, gun—that's when Fatty and I realized that the lipstick Marilyn Monroe was holding was actually a tiny, secret, Thai-made pistol used by high-level agents. It could only fire one bullet at a time and was specifically designed for self-defense and life-saving in emergency situations.

I suddenly realized what was going on, and immediately grabbed Jin Hanyu, coldly demanding, "Who is Haman, the leader of the Brahman sorcery cult in Chiang Rai, Thailand, to you? Speak up!"

Jin Hanyu, who was clutching his groin and wincing in pain, was startled by these words. He immediately feigned a smile and said obsequiously, "So the general knows my master, Haman. I am his only secret disciple. This shameful bewitching spell was taught to me by him. I never expected to offend such a beautiful lady. I'm so sorry, so very sorry. Please forgive my rudeness, for the sake of my master Haman, and let me off the hook. I promise to repay you in the future, hehe..."

Damn it, now I understand why this bastard was able to rape thousands of women—it was all thanks to his wicked and lewd bewitching spells. And Susa's maternal grandmother, that mysterious old woman, was very likely also a victim of Haman's old lecherous spells; it's not entirely her fault.

Thinking of this, I turned to Marilyn Monroe and said, "Kill this lecherous scoundrel and avenge the more than a thousand of our Asian compatriots."

Marilyn Monroe was already seething with hatred, ready to shoot him dead. Seeing this, Jin Hanyu, the spineless coward, kowtowed repeatedly, stammering, "Wait! I know the core of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Formation! As long as you don't kill me, I'll tell you everything!"

Hearing this, I was secretly delighted and winked at Fatty. Fatty stepped forward, cocked his gun with a click, and charged forward, stomping on the guy until he was pinned under his foot. He cursed fiercely, "Pah, you shameless old bastard!" (I was stunned; he actually said something like that. "Bastard" is a colloquial term from the Central Plains, mainly used in rural areas to insult old men for their immoral behavior, implying a father-in-law taking advantage of his daughter-in-law.) "Even when you're about to die, you still dare to spew nonsense! I'll kill you right now!"

The fat man pointed his gun at Jin Hanyu, who was so frightened he almost peed himself. He collapsed to the ground, crying out, "Grandpa, spare me! I really know! I'm the one temporarily in charge of guarding the core hub of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Matrix tonight! Because I know some of the array formation methods in the esoteric sect of black magic, I was unexpectedly valued by Robert and placed here to guard the array gate."

Early this morning, Robert led a large CIA team out, saying they needed to capture three notorious tomb raiders as soon as possible and retrieve the two rare treasures they possessed. These treasures were to be placed in two other array points by the last night of next month, activating the Yin-Yang Five Elements Matrix as early as possible to prepare for America's world unification. Everyone would then have a chance for promotion. Because of my poor reputation and reluctance to appear in public, I was temporarily appointed as the guardian of the array's core.

The fat man pointed his gun and shouted, "Where is the entrance to the hub? Tell me now!"

Kim Han-woo obediently pointed and said, "It's under the bed in my cell. I met you when you were just coming up from underneath."

Damn, it's so confidential, no wonder the island is full of zombies, yet this guy is living a vibrant life. I was too careless; I should have realized this much earlier.

The fat man grabbed Jin Hanyu and dragged him upstairs like a dead dog. Marilyn Monroe used her toe to hold a submachine gun against Jin Hanyu's back, following closely behind. We headed straight for Jin Hanyu's cell.

Once inside the room, Spall Jordan flipped over the only bed, revealing a dark, gray-white door underneath that matched the surrounding floor.

Spall was about to pull the handle of the hidden door when I stepped forward to stop him and ordered Fatty to grab Jin Hanyu to open the hidden door.

With a long face, Jin Hanyu lay obediently on the hidden door like a stray dog with its tail between its legs. He carefully turned the brass handle on the hidden door while listening to the sound of the spring turning behind it, sweating profusely with caution. After about two minutes, there was a soft click, and the hidden door slid back automatically, revealing a silver-gray steel ladder on the ground.

According to Jin Hanyu's explanation, the lock spring inside the secret door contains a liquid bomb, which could blow up the entire prison if not handled carefully.

Spall stuck out his tongue, regretting his rash actions with lingering fear. He angrily grabbed Kim Han-woo, lifting him like a chicken, and pressed his Swiss Army knife against the man's back, yelling, "Come on, get down!"

Kim Han-woo led the way, with Spall close behind him, and we filed down one by one. After about thirty meters, as we approached the heart of the earth, Kim Han-woo stopped. He reached out and pressed a small button at the bottom of the steel ladder, and the ladder slowly extended horizontally for about five meters, connecting with another parallel steel rail. It snapped shut, forming a suspended, silver-gray steel skybridge.

As the lights came on all around, we realized that there was a stagnant pool of water under the overpass. Ripples spread across the dark surface, and suddenly, huge crocodile tails appeared.

Damn it, this place is clearly a den of wolves and tigers, with so many insidious traps.

We were all terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. If it weren't for Jin Hanyu, that spineless coward, leading the way, even if we found the axis of this matrix, we probably wouldn't have been able to get past these two hellish gates at the entrance.

Volume 3, Yin Yang Five Elements Array, Chapter 69: Who Will Prevail?

We looked around and saw a silver, globe-shaped room in front of the skybridge, with the skybridge leading directly to the door. This underground space, excluding the crocodile pool below the bridge, was quite spacious, clearly hollowed out from the ground and supported entirely by steel frames and concrete. Above the deep crocodile pool, there was only this one steel staircase skybridge, at the end of which stood the globe-shaped house.

Spall held a Swiss Army knife to Kim Han-woo's back and followed him closely as we walked.

Just as they were about to reach the globe room, Kim Han-woo suddenly stumbled, as if he had tripped on the overpass. Spall took two steps to catch him, but Kim Han-woo reached under his foot and pulled out a thin-bladed dagger. With a swift motion, the dagger pierced Spall's instep, dragged him to the ground, and held the knife to his throat.

Things took a sudden turn. The overpass was too narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time, and Spall's burly body kept blocking our view, making it impossible to aim at Kim Han-woo on the ground. By the time everything was settled and Kim Han-woo had subdued Spall, we were hesitant to act rashly.

Jin Hanyu pressed the knife against Spall's throat, tightened it slightly, drawing a line of blood. He looked at us with wicked eyes and laughed triumphantly, "How about it? Why don't you drop your gun?"

As he spoke, he dragged Spal's burly body back to the door, and with his other hand, he lewdly kneaded the hostage's chest, and even said in a damn sweet voice, "What a strong man! I haven't tasted male beauty in a long time."

Holy crap, I'm going to throw up. Damn it, this guy is also gay.

The fat man cursed angrily, "Fuck your ancestors, you old pervert, release Spal right now, or I'll shoot you right in the ass."

Just then, Spall's face flushed with rage. He suddenly rolled over, his throat slashed by a short knife, and blood gushed out. Amid our screams, Spall grabbed Kim Han-woo, kicked off, and fell sideways into the crocodile pool that was more than ten feet deep.

As the two fell into the pool, dozens of large crocodiles leaped out of the water, grabbed Jin Hanyu below, and tore him apart, devouring him alive. Amidst Jin Hanyu's pitiful screams, poor Spal was also swallowed by the crocodiles.

Enraged, the fat man threw down two grenades, which sent the crocodile carcasses flying and disappearing underwater.

Marilyn Monroe was in tears, heartbroken. The fat man stepped forward and gently patted her shoulder to comfort her. Marilyn Monroe leaned on the fat man's shoulder and didn't lift her head for a long time.

I remained silent for a moment, then took out a tissue and handed it to the fat man. I walked past them and headed towards the globe room. I gently touched the doorknob, then gently pushed the door open. Inside, the room was bathed in silvery light, radiating countless rays of light.

In the blinding light, I discovered that the entire room was depicted with images of stars and celestial phenomena. Correspondingly, at the very center of the room, on a steel table designed with a Yin-Yang and Five Elements array, sat a huge steel sphere. The sphere was decorated with world geography and ocean currents in the form of a globe, and countless beams of cold aurora shot from tiny holes all over its surface, illuminating the stars and celestial phenomena on the walls of the room, creating a dazzling and spectacular display.

On the five acupoints of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Array, namely Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, are marked in order: Metal acupoint is guarded by the Sun God Stone, Wood acupoint is guarded by the Spirit Gathering Purple Jade, Water acupoint is guarded by the Ice Essence Jade Marrow, Fire acupoint is guarded by the Evil Blood Mandarin Duck Treasure Blade, and Earth acupoint is guarded by the Soul-Capturing Pearl.

I stepped forward and gently lifted the steel ball, discovering that what emitted thousands of aurora-like rays was clearly the Ice Essence Jade I had gained and lost in the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. The two metal boxes had already been opened, and the thumb-sized Eight Treasures Perfume Bottle inside had its stopper removed. Wisps of cold air refracted into thousands of aurora-like rays through a glass-like layer covering the bottle opening, creating a chilling atmosphere that filled the room with fragrance.

At that moment, the fat man and Marilyn Monroe also came in, and were stunned by this strange sight.

I gently put the bottle cap back on, felt a chill from the cold, then put two more metal boxes on top, placed the metal boxes in my small bag, and put them together with the Soul-Capturing Pearl and the Sun God Stone.

I turned and walked out of the room, swinging my gun to smash the Yin-Yang Five Elements array, inlaid with gold, silver, and diamonds, onto the table, turning it into a jumbled mess. Fatty then joined me in overturning the steel table, and the room was instantly a chaotic mess, no longer resembling its former state.

Before leaving, Marilyn Monroe planted several time bombs in the room. We quickly ran out of the hole along the steel ladder, planted time bombs in the cell, and ran all the way out of the men's prison.

Then, I looked up and saw that the aurora clouds above the prison had vanished, leaving only corpses scattered on the ground as a testament to the cruelty of the situation. We ran back to the cliff edge and silently bid farewell to the fallen Spall Jordan. Marilyn Monroe was the last to stand on the cliff, raised the rocket launcher, and fired three shells into the men's prison. Amidst the smoke and fire, the bombs planted in the underground chambers exploded one after another, flames shooting into the sky and deafening roars echoing. Alcatraz Island seemed to have fallen in the explosions.

We quickly jumped onto the yacht, sailed away from Alcatraz, and circled around the sea, eventually returning to Fisherman's Wharf.

The next day, we still couldn't contact Shirley Yang. I knew something was wrong. According to Jin Hanyu's testimony, Robert had led a large group of men searching everywhere yesterday, clearly determined to capture us and seize the Soul-Capturing Pearl and the Sun God Stone. However, after the battle on Devil's Island last night, their formation was broken, and Robert must be furious, wanting to hunt us down and wipe us out. Shirley Yang had been monitored and followed by several CIA agents yesterday, and she was likely already in Robert's clutches, to be used as a hostage to lure us into a trap, where he would kill us and steal the treasure.

They are now in a dilemma: should they obediently deliver the treasure to the door to exchange for the hostage Shirley Yang, or should they hide and wait for an opportunity to rescue Shirley Yang?

After racking my brains for a long time, I finally agreed with Fatty and Marilyn Monroe to launch a preemptive attack, blasting our way through to destroy the remaining formations of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Array, completely eliminating the four acupoints on the turtle's feet, and fundamentally resolving the evil crisis in downtown San Francisco. This way, Robert would follow us, wear us down, and might even kidnap Shirley Yang and hide inside one of the acupoints.

That evening at dusk, we eagerly slipped into the acupoint on the left foot of the tortoise-elephant, inside an old dock near Fisherman's Wharf. This was the location of the wooden cave, and the treasure it held was the very same spirit-gathering purple jade that Thai agent Kote was trying to retrieve—a sacred object of the esoteric Buddhist tradition.

We fought our way in, used the Soul-Capturing Pearl to destroy the large number of underground spirits summoned by the Spirit-Gathering Jade, retrieved the Spirit-Gathering Jade, and quickly destroyed the eye of the wooden cave.

Afterwards, we headed to the Fire Cave, located underground in an abandoned mining area near the Bund. We didn't need to worry about the Gold Cave and the Earth Cave, because the treasures guarding these two caves were still in our possession. Destroying the other caves would naturally cause these two caves to collapse on their own.

The abandoned mining area where the fire pit is located was originally state property, but due to the limited mineral reserves, it had long been abandoned and desolate. We encountered Robert in the mine's underground tunnels. This madman had become a loner and was wanted by the CIA.

It turns out that Robert had secretly placed his spirit coffin at the eye of the Yin-Yang Five Elements Formation from the very beginning, hoping that a hundred years later, he would enter the Yin-Yang Five Elements Formation and that in the end, the one who would truly rule the world would not be the high-ranking officials of the US government, but his descendants.

Unfortunately, this secret was recently discovered by a CIA agent. Seeking credit and revenge, the agent immediately reported it to the National Security Agency. The Agency was furious upon hearing this and, using the Alcatraz bombing as a pretext, framed Robert, an alleged double agent, claiming that Robert was responsible for the terrorist attack. They demanded an immediate global arrest warrant for Robert, and that anyone who concealed him be considered an accomplice and severely punished.

Like a lost dog, Robert kidnapped Shirley Yang, who had fallen into his hands, and fled into the nearby Bund mining area under the cover of night.

At that time, Fatty, Marilyn Monroe, and I were taking the elevator down to the bottom of the shaft. As soon as we stepped out of the elevator, Fatty and Marilyn Monroe were shot by Robert and fell to the ground.

Suddenly, the headlamps overhead blazed on, blinding us. I ducked back into the elevator, while Fatty and Marilyn Monroe tumbled into a corner of the tunnel—the situation was extremely dangerous.

Then came the sound of a rolling cart; Shirley Yang was tied to a small mine cart and slid along the tunnel tracks to the light. She hadn't been seen for a day, and she looked utterly wretched, disheveled, eyes closed, and extremely haggard.

The fat man clutched his injured lower back and shouted, "Old Hu, don't fall for it, or you'll lose, and we and Shirley Yang will be finished!"

My eyes immediately filled with tears, and I understood what Fatty meant. I shouted loudly to Shirley Yang, "Yang, Yang, what's wrong?"

Shirley Yang kept her head down and did not respond.

From the shadows deep within the tunnel came Robert's sinister laugh. He said, "You want the Evil Blood Twin Swords? I'll give them to you. You want the fragments of the scriptures? I'll give them to you. You want the herbal heart sutra of the Kiliki native shaman? I'll give them to you. You want to rescue Miss Shirley Yang? I'll give them to you. Now I have nothing left. What do you want? Tell me, and I'll give you everything. Are you satisfied now? Why did you still come to hunt me down, making me a scapegoat, determined to kill me? You pack of jackals, you despicable scoundrels who betray their benefactors!"

As he spoke, he threw out the Slanted Blood Mandarin Duck Swords, two antique-looking scrolls, and the herbal sutra that Shirley Yang had given to the old professor at Columbia University—the same one written by the indigenous shaman. It seemed that the deranged Robert had learned the evil Yin-Yang Five Elements Formation from these two fragmented scrolls.

In my anger, I shouted, "Then what did you do to Yang Xuanwei?"

Robert, deep in the tunnel, seemed stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, saying, "Yang Xuanwei? What Yang Xuanwei? That arrogant, foolish entrepreneur? He's long dead, buried somewhere in the yellow sand, somewhere far away. Poor thing, he died with his eyes wide open, looking at his only daughter, the descendant of the prophet, the beautiful Miss Shirley Yang, who has contracted a terrible, strange disease. She's going to die too, you're all going to die, die with me—"

"What the hell are you spouting?" the fat man yelled, grabbing the front of me.

You still don't believe me, do you? Fine, you bunch of grave-digging brats, let me tell you. Hu Bayi, Shirley Yang, and Wang Kaixuan, right? Actually, I've been watching you for a long time. Do you know why Ah Xiang, who's skilled in psychic abilities, immediately bled from her eyes and fell off the Golden Gate Bridge when she saw you and Fatty Wang? You don't know. Do you remember how you returned to San Francisco from the Kunlun Mountains glacier? You can't remember, can you? Do you know why you've been digging graves repeatedly without dying for the past six months? You don't know. Let me tell you, it's because the three of you died once before, shedding your old bodies and taking on reborn bodies from the alternate dimension of the glacier black hole in the Kunlun Mountains of the ancient Jingjue Kingdom. That's why you scared Ah Xiang, who can communicate with spirits, to death, and you don't remember anything before or after your deaths. It's you three monsters who ruined my unparalleled achievements. The times are against me, what can I do?

Upon hearing this, a roar went through my mind, and memories flashed vividly through my mind. I remembered being trapped inside the ice coffin in the Kunlun Mountains with Fatty and Shirley Yang, falling and falling, into a bottomless black hole with no end in sight. We just kept falling, seeing no end, only endless darkness. We screamed and fainted one after another, and then we returned to San Francisco. I remember that moment, I felt my soul instantly leave my body, floating in the black hole, drifting towards the bottomless darkness…

My mind grew increasingly muddled, chaotic, and painful, as if it were about to explode. I dropped the gun, rolled on the ground, and howled. I saw Fatty was in the same state; we were like two hedgehogs bumping into each other under the lamplight, completely disoriented. Only Shirley Yang remained motionless, head bowed, tied to the small mine cart.

At that moment, perhaps only Marilyn Monroe was frightened by us.

I struggled to crawl towards the small mine cart, and vaguely heard Robert's eerie voice say again, "Don't struggle anymore, kids. It's fate. You and I are destined to die here tonight. I've already had a doctor perform a biopsy on Shirley Yang's limbs, confirming that her body is the same as yours, with abnormal blood type and physical abilities, containing the peculiar gene molecules of the Jingjue Ancient Kingdom's Black Tumor Serpent. Want to know why you subconsciously resist remembering your past, why you don't want to contact your Chinese families? It's the Black Tumor Serpent's genes at work. Haha, interesting, interesting. Although your limbs can regenerate, you will definitely grow black tumors on the back of your heads like the serpent, and you might even become a Jingjue serpent yourself, haha... Tonight, I will rid the world of this scourge and kill you three serpent spirits who are about to take shape."

As he spoke, Robert's menacing figure suddenly appeared behind the small mine cart. He disappeared into Shirley Yang's silhouette, slowly raising his gun to pull the trigger at the back of her head.