<h4>Chapter 1037: Chapter 1044: Dangerous Situation (1)</h4>


    The sudden scream instantly grabbed everyone’s attention. Nanrong Hao focused his gaze and saw a small red snake wrapped around the arm of one of his men. At this moment, the red snake was fiercely biting the man. In just a few seconds, the young man’s face turned a bluish-purple, his eyes lost all luster, and he copsed directly to the ground.


    Witnessing this scene, Nanrong Hao was greatly shocked. Where did that red snakee from? However, what shocked Nanrong Hao even more was the terrifying poison of the red snake, taking his subordinate’s life in mere seconds.


    Just as Nanrong Hao was rmed, he suddenly heard the cries of the crowd.


    As he looked down, Nanrong Hao was horrified to discover that there were more than a dozen red snakes on the ground, slithering towards everyone.


    "Watch out!" Nanrong Hao shouted, quickly swinging his machete and shing at an approaching red snake.


    Perhaps sensing the crisis, the red snake immediately changed direction, darting several meters away, avoiding Nanrong Hao’s machete.


    Before Nanrong Hao could continue his pursuit, he heard the screams of his men around him. In the blink of an eye, two or three people had already been bitten by the red snakes.


    Seeing this, Nanrong Hao had no time to hesitate and hurriedly rushed out of the basement.


    "Stop!" Zhu Hong followed closely behind Nanrong Hao, picking up a machete from the ground and quickly chasing after him.


    Soon, Nanrong Hao charged out of the basement, running directly towards the stairs. However, before he could take a few steps, he saw a wolf with bared fangsing down the stairs.


    After a brief stupor, Nanrong Hao quickly came to his senses. Not daring to move forward, he urgently turned and sprinted back. Behind Nanrong Hao was a straight corridor. The buildings in this area all had basements, with each building’s basement interconnected. Now that the way out was blocked, Nanrong Hao had to find another way to escape.


    ...


    At this moment, Ling Chen was driving on the road, nning to go to the supermarket to buy some groceries and daily supplies, as per his mother’s instructions. Halfway through, the car’s Bluetooth-connected phone rang, and he immediately answered the call.


    "Hello! Fatty, what’s up? Have you found Xiaozhu’s whereabouts?"


    "We haven’t found Miss Zhu, but we discovered something else that might interest you."


    "What did you find? Tell me."


    "We found a falcon in the Old City."


    Falcon?


    Ling Chen raised an eyebrow. Isn’t that Song Mingzhe’s pet? How did it end up in the Old City? Are they... Thinking of this, Ling Chen said, "Fatty, send a few people to check out the Old City. I’ll head there right away."


    With that, Ling Chen hung up the phone and quickly drove towards the Old City.


    Over twenty minutester, Ling Chen finally arrived at the location Hu Fei had mentioned. After parking the car, Ling Chen approached an area with old buildings. Observing the surroundings, he prepared to venture further inside. But at that moment, a man in work clothes called out to him loudly from the roadside.


    "Stop! You’re not allowed to enter."


    Seeing the man quickly approaching, Ling Chen halted and asked when the man got closer, "Uncle, why can’t I go in?"


    The man exined, "These buildings are all at risk, and we are preparing for explosive demolition. Bombs have been set around the buildings, so it’s best to stay out to avoid any idents." As he spoke, the man pointed to a warning sign erected not far away and said, "Didn’t you see the warning over there?"


    Ling Chen nced over and apologized, "Sorry, I didn’t see it earlier. Don’t worry. I’ll just watch from the roadside; I won’t go in."


    "That’s for the best." The man reiterated a few more warnings before walking away.


    "Chen!"


    Shortly after the man left, a few young people called out Ling Chen’s name and quickly approached. Recognizing them without needing to think, Ling Chen knew for sure they were sent by Hu Fei.


    "How about it? Did you find anything?"


    "Chen, all the buildings around here have been rigged with explosives. The police are setting up a protective perimeter over there. I just asked, and they said the demolition will take ce tomorrow morning."


    Another young man chimed in, "When we first arrived, we saw arge bird nearby, but it disappearedter; we don’t know where it flew to. Oh, right! Chen, there’s something else. We ran into some familiar faces by the roadside."


    "Familiar faces?" Ling Chen asked curiously, "Who are these familiar faces?"


    "They are subordinates of Haozi. When I asked what they were doing here, they hemmed and hawed, only saying they were passing by, refusing to say anything else."


    "Haozi’s car is also parked over there, but there’s no one from Haozi’s crew in it."


    Hearing this, Ling Chen frowned slightly. Nanrong Hao was actually here? But how could one Nanrong Hao bring Song Mingzhe into the picture? Thinking it over, Ling Chen took out his phone from his pocket and dialed Nanrong Hao’s number.


    Soon, he heard the system message from the other end, indicating that the phone was unreachable.


    Can’t get through?


    Ling Chen looked at the distant buildings, pondering silently. He had lived in the Old City before, and these buildings all had basements. Since the basements were underground, the phone signal wasn’t very stable inside.


    With Nanrong Hao’s car parked here, he must be nearby. With his phone unreachable, it indicated that Nanrong Hao was likely in the basement.


    This guy... What on earth is he up to?


    With thoughts racing, Ling Chen looked at the young men and said, "You guys stay outside, I’ll go in and have a look."


    Taking advantage of the police not having fully set up their perimeter, Ling Chen swiftly ran into one of the old buildings. Following the stairs, Ling Chen headed straight down to the basement. Observing the pitch-ck surroundings, Ling Chen took out his phone and turned on its shlight, illuminating the basement path as he carefully walked forward.


    Because these buildings’ basements were all connected, they had a vast area and veryplex passageways. When Ling Chen had lived in the Old City, he’d only visited the basement asionally. Back then, there were lights in the basement, making it convenient. Now, due to the uing demolition, all electrical wires had been disconnected, leaving it pitch-dark and catb-like.


    Using his phone’s light, Ling Chen moved through the basement corridors, searching for any sign of Nanrong Hao.


    Since the demolition wouldn’t take ce until tomorrow morning, there was plenty of time, so Ling Chen wasn’t concerned about any immediate danger. The only thing troubling him was why Song Mingzhe would appear in the same ce as Nanrong Hao.


    After wandering in the basement for a while, Ling Chen suddenly heard faint noises not far away, like the sound of footsteps moving around.