Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97
Of course, none of them were actually a problem with the Fire Ant King’s assistance.
Li Yao lurked for half an hour behind the fan patiently so that the Fire Ant King would have enough time to find a suitable shelter.
Half an hour later, a tiny chip that Li Yao had stuck on his left ear vibrated feebly.
According to the signals that the Fire Ant King and he had agreed on, three short vibrations indicated that the Fire Ant King had found a shelter smoothly.
Although they could have brought more convenient magical equipment for communication, such tools would certainly release intense spiritual waves when complicated information was transmitted.
Therefore, they still chose vibration chips that could be stuck to the ears and the tongue. They had made a deal on hundreds of different code names for different situations. The spiritual waves they released would be minimal if they contacted each other through such feeble vibrations.
Five seconds later, Li Yao took out a sealed metal can and opened the upper half of it softly.
A scarlet mist immediately flowed toward the depths of the ventilation tube as if it were alive.
The scarlet mist would cast most of the insect-type demon beasts in the ventilation tube into a slight sleep state.
Then, Li Yao opened the lower half of the metal can and released three dark red insects.
The first insect had a thick, greasy shell and long antennae.
The second insect was like a spider, except for the twelve colorful, hairy legs.
The third insect appeared to be an enormous dragonfly. The swirl-like stripes on its translucent wings looked like four crimson eyes.
Under the Fire Ant King’s remote control, the three insects crawled forward in the ventilation tube majestically as if they were the kings of insects.
Very soon, rattling noises were echoing deep inside the ventilation tube.
Soon, vibrations were coming over on Li Yao’s ears again, which was a signal that all the insects inside the ventilation tube had been overwhelmed by the Fire Ant King’s ‘insect kings’!
Li Yao crouched and scrambled forward in the ventilation tube. As he expected, he saw thousands of insects lying next to him, not moving at all.
The dense horde of insects, which looked like moss, made Li Yao feel that his head was dizzy. He realized that it would have been impossible for him to break in without the Fire Ant King’s help.
From the fourth alert area on the ground to the third alert area deep underground, the length of the ventilation tube was twelve and a half kilometers.
Li Yao did not hurry to move forward. Instead, he took out another metal cylinder and, holding his breath, unleashed three new flying bugs.
The three bugs were very small, only one third the size of a mosquito, but they were in fact Li Yao and the Fire Ant King’s masterpieces—perfect combinations of biochemistry and the studies of spiritual energy!
Not only were the three bugs under the Fire Ant King’s remote control and sharing their vision with him, a small metal vesicle had been embedded to their stomachs in which one drop of different yet equally ‘marvelous’ venom had been preserved.
They were the keys to the mission.
Li Yao dispatched Neltharion to lead the way for the three bugs while they flew forward in the ventilation tube. After more than half an hour, they infiltrated the third alert area, which was at the bottom of the Eye of Blood Demon.
It was 7:22 a.m.
The third alert area was the living area for the workers of the Eye of Blood Demon, with quite a few spacious cafeterias.
Li Yao and the Fire Ant King did not know which room Jin Zhenyi would be resting in, nor did they have the time to look for him in every room.
However, the cafeterias here were highly distinctive from each other. They were designed for different species of demons. Normally speaking, the Feather Clan would enjoy their food in the No. 3 cafeteria.
That was where Li Yao and the Fire Ant King put their wagers on.
They had bet that Jin Zhenyi had returned to the living area for rest last night and that he would go to the cafeteria in the morning.
The reason was simple. For both the Cultivators and the expert demons, ‘eating’ and ‘sleeping’ were not only the biological needs but also the foundations of their training and work.
A sound sleep and the best food were all the more important now that the big day when the Red Tide Plan was to be activated was coming close so that all the workers would be in their best state.
Jin Zhenyi was a maintainer of the infrastructure. The infrastructure must have been done debugging half a month ago. It was impossible that he would still be catching up to his work right now.
Also, the three satellites were not in a straight line yet. So, the tidal force imposed upon the Eye of Blood Demon was not very strong. Logically speaking, the stabilization system was not likely to crash at this moment.
Therefore, as a maintainer of the infrastructure, Jin Zhenyi should be relatively free right now. The most important thing for him right now was to take a good rest so that he could do his job well tomorrow.
At this moment, it was unlikely that he would have stayed in his workplace and worked twenty-four hours a day. If so, he certainly would have been too exhausted to grit through the real test when the three satellites got into a straight line.
The cafeterias in the Eye of Blood Demon were far from general cafeterias, too. They were advanced restaurants specially prepared for the specialists in all kinds of fields. The best ingredients of food that stored the most abundant spiritual energy made sure that the brains of all the specialists were kept at the most active state.
Based on the files about Jin Zhenyi that Skyfire had collected, the guy was quite fond of having breakfast. When he was teaching in the Thousand Feathers Institute, he would have his breakfast between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. every day.
There seemed to be no reason he would change his habit after he arrived at the Eye of Blood Demon.
Li Yao and the Fire Ant King held their breath and waited.
The No. 3 cafeteria was decorated into a primitive forest with the vines of the Gold Crow Woods. All the tables and seats were cages that were hanged on the vines.
The three bugs hid themselves in the middle of the branches and leaves.
At 7:38 a.m., when Jin Zhenyi walked into the cafeteria, Li Yao and the Fire Ant King immediately recognized the old man who had a hawk nose, a gloomy face, and a slightly hunched back.
The two of them were greatly relieved.
However, their target was followed by another member of the Feather Clan, who was tall, muscular, and handsome, with a longsword dangling from his waist. He looked rather tough and seemed to be Jin Zhenyi’s bodyguard.
“Try to eavesdrop Jin Zhenyi and his bodyguard’s conversation. See how he addresses the bodyguard and his attitude toward him!”
At 7:41, Jin Zhenyi and his bodyguard sat down in one of the cages.
The three bugs moved to the vines above their heads without anybody knowing.
Seven kilometers above their heads, Li Yao was rushing forward in the ventilation tube like a giant loach.
At 7:45, Jin Zhenyi connected a biochemical brain to his temples. He read the files in the biochemical brain while he enjoyed his food.
Over their heads, the first of the three bugs quietly pushed out the drop of venom in its stomach.
Transformed by the special rune arrays, the drop of venom was vaporized into vague mist and was breathed in by Jin Zhenyi and his bodyguard.
“Achiu!”
The two of them sneezed at the same time.
While the two of them were sneezing, the second bug and the third bug landed on their hair as quickly as a lightning. Both of them were distracted by their sneezes and did not notice the two bugs at all.
At 7:58, Li Yao reached the end of the ventilation tube.
Right below him was the exit of the ventilation tube—the hospital’s entrance. Compared to the entrance of the ventilation tube, the defense here was much more sluggish. It was just the simplest iron gauze with nothing else.
Li Yao took a deep breath in relief. He slightly adjusted his facial muscles, putting on all kinds of hilarious expressions.
He took out a plethora of treasures from his Cosmos Rings and his backpack.
At first, he sprayed liquids that could change his skin color and body smell. Then, he stuck the fingerprint membranes in which a tiny blood vesicle was stored to his fingers. Following that, he stuck the voice-changing rune arrays to his throat, which could change his voiceprint. Eventually, he put on the simulation lens that would change his iris.
Li Yao’s muscles and bones were gradually turning into Jin Zhenyi’s appearance, too. The bulging muscles gradually withered. Wrinkles showed up on the corners of his eyes. He even boosted the hair follicles inside his body to grow out authentic whiskers before he dyed them iron gray.
The trickiest part was the wings.
Jin Zhenyi had a pair of tiny wings on his back, which was the greatest feature for the Feather Clan.
Although they could not fly with the wings in the underground world, they were able to express their subtle emotions with the opening, closing, and shivering of their wings, just like other demons with their ears or tails.
Li Yao had crafted two hollowed bones with super light metal. Then, he extended dozens of tiny branches from the bones. All the branches could be connected to the muscles on his back through crystal wires.
Then, the specialists of Skyfire covered a layer of flesh cells and skin cells on the metal bones before they implanted the natural feathers on the false wings one by one by comparing the counterfeit to Jin Zhenyi’s picture. They were confident that the wings would not be seen through quickly.
By adjustments to his lats, traps, and triceps, Li Yao would be able to pull the crystal wires neatly and make the artificial wings perform vivid actions.
Thanks to Jin Xinyue, who was a princess of the Feather Clan, Li Yao managed to master the subtle ways of communication with wings among the silver-blood demons in the Feather Clan.
At 8:05, the disguise was done.
At this moment, Jin Zhenyi had finished his breakfast and walked to the gate of the cafeteria with his bodyguard.
“Bug No. 2, inject the venom!”
The second bug, which was crouching inside Jin Zhenyi’s hair, stung into the back of Jin Zhenyi’s head like a mosquito, injecting the drop of venom in its stomach!
The next instant, Jin Zhenyi’s cerebral vessels exploded on a large scale because of the corrosion of the poison!
His eyes bulging, Jin Zhenyi exclaimed and threw up all the breakfast that he had a moment ago before falling over!
His bodyguard reacted quickly enough to catch Jin Zhenyi before he fell to the ground. He examined Jin Zhenyi’s pupils and tested his pulse. Then, he took out a silver syringe from his pocket and injected the drugs into Jin Zhenyi’s carotid artery before he raised his voice and shouted, “Master Jin Zhenyi has been mentally deranged. Somebody call an ambulance!”
