Achieving Demon Godhood from Unlocking Talents

He then pulled with both arms, grabbing the lower edge of the duct’s opening.

He then flattened his body and used his momentum to slide inside.

Agile as an eel, he applied the techniques of Iron Bone, the 3rd Floor of the Golden Stone Fighting Skill, to move as quietly as possible.

And so, the two of them crawled deeper into the ventilation duct, one behind the other.

"RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!"

The roar of submachine guns and machine guns erupted once more, and Lu Chao could even hear the clatter of spent casings hitting the ground.

The ventilation duct ran along the factory ceiling, over ten meters above the ground. The exit’s location was more or less where the old security guard had said it would be—level with a steel crossbeam, making the crawl only a dozen or so meters long.

The duct was sealed with sheet metal, but after years of disrepair, its outer surface was corroded and yellow with rust. A few tiny gaps had opened up along the welded seams.

The duct was also full of settled dust that puffed up with their every move, creeping into their nostrils and making it incredibly uncomfortable to breathe.

"Have those sons of bitches from the Patrol Department gone nuts? They’re really coming at us hard."

"Don’t worry. We’ve got enough ammo to hold out until our backup gets here."

"Yeah, you’re right. Once we get out of here, I’m gonna have myself some real fun. Hahaha."

The unrestrained laughter echoed through the factory, and both Lu Chao and Yang Wangtao froze simultaneously.

’Backup?’

’These thugs have another card to play?’

Lu Chao’s heart sank. Ahead of him, Yang Wangtao’s expression grew grim, his eyes betraying a new sense of urgency.

Some of their questions were answered in that instant.

No wonder Qiu Shan and his crew were fighting to the death instead of surrendering. Ultimately, it was because they still had hope of escape.

’Is it the Rebels...?’

The speculation surfaced in Lu Chao’s mind as he calmly processed the thought.

After quickly processing the new information, the two resumed their crawl forward.

Along the way, they peered through the tiny gaps in the sheet metal, catching glimpses of the factory floor below.

A single low-wattage tungsten bulb hanging below flickered faintly, barely illuminating a small portion of the factory.

Large pieces of machinery covered in tarps sat on the floor, which was black with filth—a mixture of rust flakes and dust. Scattered around were gasoline barrels, wooden crates, chains, and gears.

On the left and right sides of the factory, a set of metal stairs, each three to five meters high, led up to the second floor.

It was a wrap-around platform built on a steel frame, paved with steel plates and wooden planks. It encircled the factory, leaving a large opening in the middle that made it look like a giant ring.

Several thick iron chains and hooks hung down into the center of this opening, their upper ends wrapped and locked around the steel crossbeams. Following them with his gaze, he saw they were not far from the duct’s exit.

’Is that Qiu Shan and his crew...?’

As his gaze swept down, Lu Chao spotted three figures: one at the main entrance and one at each of the windows on either side.

He felt a slight sense of relief. The ventilation duct was probably positioned in the center of the ceiling, directly above the open area of the second-floor platform.

So, while a few rust flakes occasionally drifted down, no one had noticed in the dim light.

A moment later, Lu Chao’s sharp eyes caught Yang Wangtao raising a hand to point discreetly toward a part of the factory.

He suppressed his curiosity until he had crawled to where his partner was, then he peered through a gap in a welded seam.

He caught sight of the three hostages on the back-left of the steel platform. Their faces were masks of terror. They were bound with hemp rope and their mouths were stuffed with torn rags.

Two men and one woman, just as the intelligence reports had stated. The youngest of them, a little girl, had tear-streaked cheeks.

Then, his gaze shifted again.

Lu Chao looked to one side of the hostages and narrowed his eyes.

A middle-aged man in a white lab coat, presumably the Pharmacist, was in a corner concocting a potion. He had a haggard expression.

And further behind him,

a burly figure who looked like a man-shaped grizzly bear sat on a wooden crate.

It was difficult to see clearly from seven or eight meters away, but Lu Chao had a strong suspicion.

He was about to look away and resume crawling.

"Hm?"

As if sensing something, Qiu Shan, who was sitting on the wooden crate, slowly lifted his gaze.

The tungsten lamp hanging from the steel platform swayed gently, only managing to illuminate a small area around it.

He looked up higher, toward the network of crisscrossing steel beams and the dark ceiling. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but he felt as if the abandoned ventilation duct was vibrating slightly, as though fine particles of rust were trickling down.

His eyes narrowed. He reached down and picked up the submachine gun resting against his leg. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The atmosphere grew strangely quiet. It was as if the two men had locked eyes through the tiny gap in the duct’s seam.

Lu Chao’s heart clenched, and he immediately froze.

Ahead of him, Yang Wangtao keenly sensed the pause and also stopped moving.

HUFF! HUFF! HUFF!

In the sudden stillness, it felt as though Lu Chao could hear his own heart pounding, his own ragged breaths.

Not daring to move, he shifted his eyes.

Below, Qiu Shan was still staring at the duct. He watched it for several long seconds before finally, slowly, lowering his head.

’We’re clear...’

Lu Chao relaxed his gaze and prepared to start moving again.

But then.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Gunshots suddenly erupted. Several bullets tore through the sheet metal of the ventilation duct, punching up toward the ceiling.

Sparks flew. The sudden burst of fire startled the other three accomplices, who were busy suppressing the Patrol Department’s charge. The lanky man mixing the potion on the side staggered, nearly falling over in shock and dropping the glass vial he was holding.

"Boss?"

The bearded man at the left window asked at once, his expression a mixture of shock and confusion.

Qiu Shan didn’t answer. He just stared silently at the rusted, yellow duct seven or eight meters overhead, carefully examining the bullet holes he had just made.