With a warehouse full of supplies, I stood alone as king in this chaotic world, gun in hand.

After walking for a short while, two secret passages forked ahead, and Bei Chenyan turned and walked to the right.

Nangong Wu shone her flashlight into the hidden passage on the left. "That passage over there, could it lead to that underground river?"

"Yes, Cao Li went to scout that side," Bei Chenyan said.

They followed the secret passage for about a mile, until they reached the end, where a stone wall blocked their way.

Nangong Wu first checked it with a flashlight. The stone wall on this side, like the underground silver vault on the other side, was made of quartzite.

"Once we pass this stone wall, the palace should be on the other side, right?"

"Mm." Bei Chenyan nodded slightly.

Nangong Wu then took out a geological scanner to examine the condition of this stone wall.

The screen shows that the quartzite is also 1.1 meters thick, but only 0.5 meters deep.

"The quartzite is a little over three feet thick and only one and a half feet deep."

"Then let's dig!" Bei Chenyan said.

Nangong Wu mentally produced digging tools.

The two picked up their tools and got to work.

The ground was paved with bluestone slabs. They first pried open a few bluestone slabs, moved them to the side, and then dug the soil.

It took them nearly an hour and a half to dig a five-foot-deep pit, and then another five feet deeper into the quartzite rock.

"Try it, see if you can pry open the bluestone slab inside?" Nangong Wu said to him.

The floor of the silver vault was paved with quartzite slabs, about a foot thick, and there were things on top of them that were difficult to pry open.

The secret passage and the ground were paved with ordinary bluestone slabs, about half a foot thick, which should be able to be pushed open.

"It should be possible, I'll give it a try first." Bei Chenyan took the shovel and dug about a foot deeper until his body could pass through the quartzite wall.

He pressed his palms against the bluestone slab and suddenly exerted force.

In that instant, the bluestone slab loosened.

"Almost there." Bei Chenyan exerted more force, and the bluestone slab was pushed up little by little before being suddenly pushed open.

This bluestone slab was only about two feet wide, too small for Bei Chenyan to fit through, so he broke off another one.

This time it was much easier; I pushed the bluestone slab aside in a couple of moves and climbed up.

Seeing that he had already gone over, Nangong Wu followed and climbed over from under the stone wall. Bei Chenyan helped her up.

The two stood there for a while, and seeing that there was no movement at the other end of the secret passage, they walked forward.

"Let's be careful." Bei Chenyan walked ahead.

Nangong Wu switched to a mini flashlight, its beam illuminating the ground as she followed behind him.

The two walked about half a mile along the dark passage before they came to steps leading uphill.

Bei Chenyan stopped and whispered to her, "We should be at the exit."

"Could the exit at this end be in the emperor's study or his bedchamber?" Nangong Wu wondered.

"Not necessarily, but it must be in a very secluded place." Bei Chenyan drew his pistol, attached a silencer, and chambered a bullet.

He took a step and carefully climbed the steps.

After climbing twelve steps without finding any danger, I turned a corner and there were fifteen more steps leading uphill.

After the two climbed the steps, they finally emerged from the secret passage and reached the surface, but it seemed they had entered another secret passage.

Nangong Wu turned off her flashlight and stood with Beichen Yan for a while longer, but they didn't notice anything unusual.

Nangong Wu turned on her flashlight again to check the situation and found that the two sides were uneven stone walls.

"This should be an artificial hill," Bei Chenyan said softly.

"You mean this secret passage is in a cave inside the artificial mountain?" Nangong Wu understood.

The emperor really knew how to come up with a solution, placing the secret passage entrance inside the artificial cave.

"Yes." Bei Chenyan nodded. "We're inside the palace now."

Nangong Wu said with a hint of regret, "It would be great if the exit led to the Imperial Study."

"The emperor's private treasury isn't in the imperial study, so there's nothing to regret," Bei Chenyan said, walking ahead again. "Follow carefully."

The artificial cave was winding and twisting. After walking for about half a mile, they were blocked by a wall again, but fortunately they did not encounter any danger.

"This end is blocked again. They're really cautious." Nangong Wu walked closer to examine the wall.

"The secret passage leads out of the city, so it definitely needs to be blocked." Bei Chenyan looked around, trying to see if there were any other solutions.

"It's just made of small stones, we can pry it open." Nangong Wu mentally produced two crowbars, giving one to Bei Chenyan.

The two of them worked together.

This is just an ordinary small stone. It's possible that the hole has been blocked for a long time. If no one were standing inside, you wouldn't be able to tell that it's a hole.

The two men pried open the first stone after a few tries.

The first piece was pried open, the second one was quick, then the third, the fourth...

Soon, the two dug a hole large enough for one person to pass through.

The area outside the cave entrance was overgrown with weeds, as if no one had ever been there.

Before leaving, Bei Chenyan took out a map to check.

Nangong Wu looked at it and saw that it was the defense map of the Eastern Jin Dynasty's imperial palace that Zhang Qing had given him.

Bei Chenyan looked at the map carefully once more, then put it away again. "Let's go out."

He first climbed out of the cave entrance, then carried Nangong Wu out.

Nangong Wu looked around. It was pitch black, without even a palace lantern, so this place must be very remote.

"How do we get there?"

"There are many experts in the inner court of the palace, so let's be careful." Bei Chenyan pulled her hand and walked to the left.

After walking for a while, they saw palace lanterns and patrolling soldiers passing by.

Perhaps because of what happened last night, there are more guards in the palace.

"The Emperor of Eastern Jin is afraid," Nangong Wu sneered. "It's good that he's afraid."

If she hadn't wanted to seize his private treasury, her cannons would have already bombarded it down.

"Walk."

Bei Chenyan would stop and check the situation every so often.

The map Zhang Qing gave them already marked the areas with the most guards, and they tried to avoid the areas with the most secret guards.

If things really get too difficult, then take action. Nangong Wu took the body away to prevent it from being discovered.

Finally, they found the Eastern Jin emperor's private treasury, also known as the imperial treasury.

The two hid in the shadows and first scouted the situation.

The private vault had two floors, and there were about a hundred imperial guards surrounding it, as well as hidden guards in the shadows, all of whom were powerful experts.

"What do you want to do?" Bei Chenyan asked her.

"Release the poisonous smoke to kill them." Nangong Wu conjured more than a dozen poisonous smoke bombs with her mind and took out two gas masks.

She first helped Bei Chenyan put on a gas mask. "This mask is for protection against toxic fumes. Once all these people have collapsed, we'll immediately go into the warehouse."

"Is this really okay for us?" Bei Chenyan asked with some concern.

There are too many people. Once they spot the toxic fumes, they'll shout, attracting other patrolmen.

"As long as we can get in and collect what's inside, nothing else matters." Nangong Wu quickly put on her gas mask and picked up the poison gas bombs.