The explosion underground was, of course, the work of Ji Xun.
Having anticipated someone coming, he took extra precautions by planting bombs not only upstairs but also in the morgue.
The morgue's structure is enclosed, like a can.
This is completely different from the open space upstairs.
Here, there's nowhere to hide even from a grenade.
Bullets cause limited damage to spell card users, but a demon-breaking bomb with a thousand times more power is another matter.
Just moments ago, after Ji Xun noticed someone entering the basement through the storage box, he decisively detonated the pre-arranged demon-breaking mechanical bombs.
Previously, there was only one bomb upstairs, but here there were three.
Giving the intruder no time to react, green fire instantly engulfed the entire morgue.
The terrifying energy seemed to shatter everything in the morgue, turning everything it touched into dust in the eerie green fire.
Even though Ji Xun's storage cabinet was lined with explosion-proof armor plates, it almost instantly turned to ashes.
Fortunately, he was wearing heavy armor.
This was the "Excellence Shining Silver Quality" armor worn by the third-level Frost Knight Captain he encountered in the maze.
The armor was engraved with spells for shock absorption, magic resistance, physical resistance, and hardness enhancement, among others.
Its defense was extremely strong.
And at the moment the explosion occurred, the directional bomb Ji Xun had pre-placed at the bottom of the storage cabinet also detonated, blasting through the floor.
The instantaneous pressure from the morgue explosion found an outlet, and Ji Xun shot down into the dark underground like a cannonball.
Then came two thuds.
He crashed through two more floors, landing in a pile of rubble.
...
This was why Ji Xun wasn't in a hurry to escape.
He had already prepared an escape route.
The mortuary of Squad 18 was in an ancient ruin, but the morgue wasn't at the lowest level.
It was just on the second basement level.
After starting his job yesterday, Ji Xun had carefully observed the surroundings and discovered a huge space beneath the morgue.
He broke through the concrete-sealed stairwell to see, finding an underground mall-like space with high ceilings and multiple levels. At the deepest point, there was a pit of unknown depth.
Such abandoned underground spaces were normal in the city of Sinless.
Ji Xun landed heavily on the floor.
From the morgue to this floor was about thirty meters high, and the explosion's impact was about as expected.
Though his internal energy and blood were churning, he was unharmed.
Ji Xun got up, stored his armor, and quickly dashed into the darkness.
It was pitch black around him, but the night vision potion allowed him to see the outlines of the surrounding buildings.
Since he had been discovered, he couldn't take the remaining third of the [Secret Silver Medium] with him.
If he chose to flee now, he could easily abandon the medium and use the complex underground structure to escape quietly.
However, Ji Xun didn't do that.
His strength wasn't the same as it had been on Dark Rain Street.
Heh...
As long as there's a chance, life would be boring without taking risks!
Ji Xun didn't go far but watched from the darkness.
Not long after the explosion blasted through the floor, a figure jumped down through the hole.
"Still alive, huh."
Seeing the height of the figure, Ji Xun recognized the person as the middle-aged doctor from the Yanbian Clinic.
The guy's cloak was now in tatters, with only a few scraps covering him.
But due to the explosion and burns, his skin was charred in large patches.
"He must be in the [Square 3 - Plague Doctor] job sequence..."
Seeing the skin color, Ji Xun roughly confirmed the guy's job sequence and felt even more eager.
Since he's not an agility-type spell card user, there's a real chance!
With spell power overflowing instead of a protective spell seal, it means he's a second-level spell card user.
If he were third-level, Ji Xun would have run.
But since he's only second-level, Ji Xun had other thoughts.
Having lost tens of thousands on a few bombs, he felt it was wrong not to recoup something.
And although the guy wasn't dead, he looked badly injured.
In the darkness, Ji Xun tilted his head, his eyes gleaming.
For some reason, seeing this guy reminded Ji Xun of those meticulously skinned corpses in the cellar. It was as if he glimpsed the hidden demon in the other man's heart—a twisted soul seeking spiritual fulfillment through so-called artistic endeavors.
This doctor was far from simple.
An enemy who could resonate with you always made one eager to test their mettle.
A sly smile crept onto Ji Xun's lips.
"Let's see what you're made of."
A plan formed instantly in his mind as he quietly set a few jumping mines underfoot.
He had spent a fortune on high-grade ammunition precisely to deal with enemies beyond his ability to handle alone.
Ji Xun's [Shadow Stealth] ability was now highly proficient; in this dark environment, he was nearly impossible to detect unless he wanted to be found.
The doctor had to rely on the scent to find the medium.
The initiative was Ji Xun's.
The darkness concealed many deadly traps.
...
The "Plague Doctor" Heisen scanned his surroundings, his eyes glimmering green. He couldn't see anyone, but he smelled the medium.
Oh, and the scent of a ridiculous conspiracy.
A sneer appeared on his face.
The man might be interesting to dissect—his skin would make an excellent offering to the gods...
But the more flamboyant the tactics, the weaker the opponent likely was.
It didn't matter, though.
To him, anyone below third-level was killable!
This was the confidence granted by his power.
However, finding someone in the dark was troublesome...
The doctor tilted his head, his eyes gleaming menacingly. Without hesitation, he suddenly charged in one direction into the darkness!
...
Even Ji Xun, hidden in the darkness, didn't expect the guy to charge headfirst. Surprised, he thought, "So brave?"
Shouldn't he at least probe first?
But before he could think further, a series of "clang, clang, clang" sounds of safety pins being pulled echoed in the darkness.
A cluster of jumping mines was launched into the air.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
The man moved incredibly fast, triggering a chain of explosions almost instantly.
The shockwaves of the explosions swept through the underground street, illuminating the surroundings with firelight.
Clearly, the opponent wasn't a fool.
Such recklessness must have a purpose.
Ji Xun quickly deduced, "He's trying to force me to reveal myself, isn't he?"
He seemed to understand a part of it but not the whole picture.
The doctor probably knew that if Ji Xun truly abandoned the medium and fled, it would be hard to catch him in this environment.
So he used himself as bait?
But regardless of the doctor's intentions, killing someone always involved risks, for both sides!
Ji Xun didn't escape immediately because he was looking for an opportunity.
And now, there was no better opportunity!
He seized the moment.
Without hesitation, he drew his gun in a flash and fired two shots at the figure advancing through the flames.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
The two shots merged into one sound. Even at a distance of a hundred meters, his skills ensured the bullets hit the figure's knee joints precisely.
The purpose wasn't to wound but to disrupt the doctor's advance, creating a better opportunity for the demon-breaking jumping mines to cause damage.
The plan worked perfectly!
The bullets interrupted the opponent's dodging rhythm, and the figure was engulfed by the explosion, sent flying.
"Got him?"
Seeing this, Ji Xun felt an unsettling sense of success—it was almost too easy.
As if everything should have happened this way.
But as he saw the charred figure flying towards him, Ji Xun's mind raced, realizing something was wrong: "No, this guy is using the explosion to propel himself towards me!"
To close the attack distance!
In that instant, Ji Xun understood completely—the doctor used his body to trigger the mines to shorten the attack distance!
But he couldn't fathom how a second-level Plague Doctor, even if not killed by the demon-breaking bombs, would dare to use such a method.
However, there was no time to think about others.
A deadly threat now loomed over Ji Xun as the man, using the explosion's force, flew directly towards him.
Just as the person was still mid-air, an alert appeared: "You have resisted the mental attack of [Plague Ray]."
Card spell techniques could be cast instantly, and the opponent's counterattack was just as swift as gunfire.
Mysterious system spells were notoriously difficult to guard against.
If it weren't for the Jester Mask, an ordinary person would have been caught by now.
However, the danger didn't stop there.
This was a chain kill move!
The moment the alert appeared, Ji Xun saw the man, who was clearly airborne, suddenly flick his wrist, launching a silver streak from his hand.
Seeing the wrist flick, Ji Xun immediately guessed: A throwing knife?
But like gunfire, if you could catch the opponent's movement, you could predict the trajectory to some extent.
Being a master of throwing knives himself, Ji Xun instinctively twisted his body upon seeing the move.
But just as he made this motion, the silver streak was already before him. Ji Xun's heart raced, "So fast!"
What shocked him even more was what followed.
Despite his timely reaction, Ji Xun was confident he could dodge the knife's trajectory.
Yet, as the silver streak approached within meters, a bizarre scene unfolded.
A flash of silver appeared in his eyes, and suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his thigh. Alarmed, he thought, "Hit?!"
The silver streak had pierced his thigh.
Had he not resisted the mental spell and twisted at the last moment, the blade could have severed his leg bone, crippling his escape.
Ji Xun immediately realized: The knife changed direction!
At that moment, he understood the man's true ace.
It wasn't the mental secret technique or poison, but a throwing knife that could be controlled by thought!
...
**[Relic: Plague Doctor's Scalpel]**
Description: Level I mysterious ancient relic; Sharpness +9, Anti-demon +35%; forged from Rhea God's sensitive alloy, capable of absorbing mental energy to imprint the scalpel, allowing the imprinted user to control its trajectory with mental power.
In an instant, Ji Xun saw the knife's details and was enlightened. It wasn't that he dodged too slowly; the knife could change direction!
Meanwhile, blood spurted from the wound in his thigh.
The wound itself wasn't problematic.
The issue was that the moment it pierced, Ji Xun felt his entire right leg start to stiffen, a strong paralysis spreading rapidly through his body.
His attribute panel already showed the "paralysis poisoning" status.
Ji Xun's eyes narrowed. He swiftly pulled out a syringe from his storage ring and injected it into his thigh.
The paralysis receded almost instantly.
The Frost Knight Corps, being the Governor's guards, naturally had such emergency antidotes on hand.
Then he retreated swiftly, creating distance.
...
Having taken a hit, Ji Xun immediately understood the doctor's chain of actions, realizing, "So he deliberately used the explosion to shorten the attack distance?"
The doctor, unable to locate Ji Xun hiding in the dark, had to expose himself by detonating bombs to lure out Ji Xun.
The doctor knew the exposed vulnerability was fatal, and any opponent aiming to kill him wouldn't miss it.
At that moment, not only did Ji Xun glimpse the doctor's twisted soul, but the doctor also saw through Ji Xun's resolve!
The doctor was certain Ji Xun would strike.
The moment Ji Xun fired, his position was revealed.
The doctor seemed to be blown away by the shockwave but had actually anticipated the explosion's direction, preparing to propel himself towards the firing direction.
Closing the distance brought him into the [Plague Ray]'s range.
A mental attack combined with a throwing knife.
Under normal circumstances, it could kill even a same-tier opponent.
Ji Xun had anticipated that the knife aimed at his leg was meant to capture him alive, but one thing puzzled him.
These anti-demon bombs could lethally threaten even second-tier spell card users.
How could a physically frail plague doctor dare to gamble on a "wound for wound" strategy?
Ji Xun knew that even if he took a knife to a vital area, he wouldn't die because he was prepared.
But for a normal second-tier spell card user, an explosion like that would almost certainly be fatal.
Why was the doctor so sure he wouldn't be killed by the blast?
Ji Xun realized the doctor's body held a secret!