Chapter 48: Meticulous Defensive Arrangements and Orderly Mechanisms

With a clear goal in mind, they proceeded with defined tasks.

Before long, they arrived outside a small courtyard and immersed themselves in the process of search.

As Ji Chang led the wolf spider along the side of the road towards the direction of the public restroom, he suddenly caught sight of a mark in the soil outside the road.

"Hmm?"

Ji Chang raised an eyebrow and made a soft hum, instinctively urging the wolf spider closer.

"What's the matter, Brother Ji?"

Huang Mang, who was scanning around, noticed the wolf spider stopping and couldn't help but look at Ji Chang, asking.

"Look there!"

Ji Chang pointed to the soil at the wolf spider's feet, signaling Huang Mang to look.

"This looks like... the traces left by a stick inserted into the soil, but it seems quite orderly!"

Following Ji Chang's gesture, Huang Mang noticed two shallow rows of marks on the soil, extending along the side of the road towards the east.

And to the east was the direction of the public restroom!

Though the marks were faint, they were still clearly visible.

"Could this be left by Gao Xiang?"

Huang Mang looked at Ji Chang with skepticism.

"Gao Xiang's supernatural power can stretch and retract his body, and it has a range of half a meter. Judging by these marks... they're still fresh, so it's likely Gao Xiang left them!"

After carefully observing the marks on the soil and pondering for a moment, Ji Chang nodded.

Hearing Ji Chang's explanation, a faint excitement surged within Huang Mang, and he clenched his fist.

"Let's go, we'll find out once we get there!"

Subsequently, Ji Chang urged the wolf spider to swiftly follow the traces in the soil towards the direction of the public restroom.

At the same time, Ji Chang issued instructions to the wasps that were following them.

"It seems Brother Ji has found a clue!"

As the wasps changed direction in flight, Chen Lingxue, who was investigating various threads and traces on the wasp's back, suddenly displayed a joyful expression.

...

"Brother Ji, what's the situation now?"

Several minutes later, when Chen Lingxue and the others arrived near the public restroom following the wasps and saw Ji Chang, she quickly asked.

By this time, Ji Chang and Huang Mang had already been observing the area for a while.

Leading the wolf spider to the entrance of the public restroom, Ji Chang had originally intended to go in and investigate directly. However, he discovered that there were a dozen or so figures swaying at the entrance of the restroom.

These individuals were busy carrying something.

From a distance, it looked like some kind of grass seeds.

These people's strength seemed not to be strong, roughly at the level of the first layer of spiritual power.

Aside from them, there were also several burly men at the second layer of spiritual power, holding various types of weapons in their hands, constantly driving away those who were carrying the grass seeds.

Faintly, murmurs of complaints could be heard.

Regarding the various weapons held by the burly men, Ji Chang initially thought they were wooden sticks or other wooden weapons.

But upon Ji Chang's careful observation, he realized that all these weapons were made of metal.

Moreover, these weapons had distinct designs, including knives, swords, clubs, axes, hooks, and forks.

They appeared quite handy.

Given this, Ji Chang couldn't help but be curious.

Even after shrinking down, such handy weapons could still be produced?

Soon, Ji Chang realized that perhaps there were individuals with extraordinary powers similar to metal manipulation.

Soon, Ji Chang realized that there might be individuals possessing extraordinary powers related to metal manipulation, similar to how Huang Mang could merge with materials he touched and alter their shapes.

However, the main reason Ji Chang didn't rush in wasn't due to that or fear of those people's presence. It was because at the entrance of the public restroom, there were two thick metal walls, forming a connection on both ends and leaving a passage for people in the middle.

Looking from Ji Chang's perspective, he could faintly discern moving figures behind that passage.

Clearly, there were guards.

Ji Chang, who had just arrived at the restroom and observed this situation, couldn't help but be astonished. After all, it had only been five or six days since he had shrunken down until now, and achieving this level of preparedness truly impressed him.

Mature defensive installations and orderly mechanisms!

At least compared to their writing desk-like houses, these defenses were leagues ahead.

But currently, Ji Chang was certain about one thing: Wang Lingling must have been brought here by Gao Xiang.

In light of this, for safety's sake, Ji Chang intended to wait for Chen Lingxue and the others to arrive before discussing a plan.

"Brother Ji, let's just charge in directly. I could easily break down their walls with a single punch! If anyone dares to stop us, I'll crush them!"

Feeling anxious about Wang Lingling being here, Huang Mang spoke urgently.

"Huang Mang, don't be hasty. Even if we want to attack, we need a comprehensive plan!"

Having gained a basic understanding of the situation from Ji Chang's brief explanation, Chen Lingxue thought for a moment and said, "Considering the current circumstances, there's likely a capable leader here. If Wang Lingling is indeed here, they must have some preliminary knowledge about us. If we recklessly charge in, they might use Wang Lingling's life as leverage."

"But... what should we do then? We can't just stand here doing nothing!"

Huang Mang's frustration showed in his voice.

"While a direct assault isn't advisable, we might be able to infiltrate. We can assess the situation inside first before executing a rescue."

Ji Chang paused and continued, "However, the only problem now is Gao Xiang; he knows us! If Gao Xiang isn't present..."

Just as Ji Chang was speaking, Zheng Haiyu suddenly tugged at Ji Chang and exclaimed, "Brother Ji~! Look quickly, that's Gao Xiang!"

Following Zheng Haiyu's voice, Ji Chang and the others quickly looked up.

At that moment, a figure walked out of the restroom's entrance. Then, the figure's size suddenly increased until it stopped at a height of about half a meter.

Although the figure grew in height, its width remained the same as when shrunken down.

It looked like a slender piece of bamboo, about half a meter tall.

Just as Ji Chang and the others spotted Gao Xiang, he walked with large strides towards the middle of the road.

The direction he was heading was toward Zhou Jun's grandfather's courtyard.

"Hehe, it seems my plan can be put into action!"

"Squad leader, you guys wait here! Mangzi, let's go!"

Ji Chang gave Chen Lingxue and the others instructions, then rode on a wasp with Huang Mang and flew towards the courtyard.

...

Gao Xiang, now transformed into a bamboo-like form with increased height, walked briskly with long strides.

In no time, he arrived at the entrance of the courtyard.

However, his speed wasn't slow, and the wasp Ji Chang rode on was even faster.

Under Ji Chang's direction, the wasp flew directly over the wall, landing at the courtyard's entrance just before Gao Xiang entered.

"Gao Xiang!"

Huang Mang, on the wasp's back, saw Gao Xiang come in and shouted in a burst of anger.

Seeing the wasp hovering in mid-air, Gao Xiang couldn't help but stare for a moment. Then, excitement flooded his face as he exclaimed, "Ji Chang, Huang Mang! It's so great to see you guys! Wang Lingling asked me to call you for help. Over there, in the restroom, Liu Qing injured her leg and can't walk, and Wang Lingling can't carry her. So..."

Before Gao Xiang could finish speaking, Huang Mang yelled again, "To hell with you and your call for help!"

Without further ado, before Ji Chang could even react, Huang Mang transformed into a metallic form, leaped off the wasp's back, and raised his iron fist, slamming it towards Gao Xiang!