God-Tier Awakening: The Dead Can Still Level Up

Chapter 41: Yun Xia

Xingluo rushed out of the house and moved toward the old commercial district at full speed, crossing streets and rooftops whenever the crowds became too dense.

After reaching Level 86 and obtaining The Fall of Rahk, her speed had increased far beyond what she was used to, and she quickly realised that even the Panther might struggle to match her over a short distance.

Wuxia followed beside her, but his attention remained on the phone in her hand and the faint sounds coming from Yun Xia’s side of the call.

There were hurried breaths and occasional footsteps, yet no voices, vehicles, or sounds of pursuit could be heard behind her.

"Ask her whether she can see any shop signs or active buildings," Wuxia said.

Xingluo repeated the question, but Yun Xia only cried harder before saying that she could not stop to look.

The answer made Wuxia’s suspicion deepen, though he remained silent when Xingluo increased her speed again.

The old commercial district stood near the outer region of the city, where most businesses had moved away years ago and left behind empty warehouses, abandoned factories, and unfinished roads.

When Xingluo reached the location Yun Xia had first given her, she slowed down and looked around, but the entire road was empty.

There were no damaged vehicles, signs of pursuit, or people hiding between the buildings, and even the dust across the road remained mostly undisturbed.

"Yun Xia?" Xingluo called into the phone. "I am at the commercial road, where are you?"

The call had already ended, Xingluo looked at the screen in confusion before scanning the surrounding factories again, while Wuxia moved ahead and spread his Soul Perception as far as the Anchor Link allowed.

"I cannot sense anyone nearby," he said. "At least not within our current range."

A cold feeling entered Xingluo’s chest as she stared at the silent buildings. "Maybe they caught her and moved deeper inside."

but then her phone rang again.

She answered immediately, and Yun Xia’s crying voice returned through the speaker. "Xingluo, please hurry! They are almost here."

"Where exactly are you?" Xingluo demanded. "I am already inside the commercial district."

Yun Xia hurriedly described an old machinery factory several streets ahead, mentioning a damaged sign and a collapsed storage building beside it.

Her description was strangely precise for someone supposedly running in panic, but Xingluo did not have time to question it while Yun Xia continued begging for help.

"I found it," Xingluo said after spotting the factory in the distance. "Hide somewhere and remain silent, I am coming inside."

Then she activated the armor as the red bloomed over her body, the helmet remained withdrawn, but the rest of the set covered her arms, chest, and legs before darkening under its concealment function.

Instead of entering through the main road, Xingluo moved behind the surrounding buildings and approached from the factory’s blind side.

The outer wall was several floors high, but she jumped onto a rusted pipe, pushed off it, and caught the edge of a narrow staircase running along the second floor.

She climbed without making any sound and stopped beside a broken window opening overlooking the main production hall.

Wuxia arrived beside her and looked through the gap first, the factory was not abandoned.

Several portable lights had been placed around the lower floor, and more than twenty people stood between the old machines and empty storage containers.

Most wore plain clothes, but their disciplined positions and the weapons hidden beneath their jackets made it clear that they were not ordinary criminals.

Xingluo searched among them for Yun Xia, expecting to find her restrained or surrounded.

Instead, she saw her standing near the centre of the hall without a single injury.

There were no ropes around her hands, no fear on her face and the phone she had used to call Xingluo was still resting inside her palm.

A tall man beside her looked toward the factory entrance before asking, "Did she believe you?"

Yun Xia lowered her eyes for a moment, then nodded. "She said she was already here."

Xingluo’s fingers tightened against the edge of the exhaust opening, while the concern on her face slowly disappeared.

Wuxia looked at Yun Xia below, then toward the armed people waiting around the factory, his earlier suspicion had been correct there had never been a kidnapping.

Before Xingluo could move away from the exhaust opening, something heavy struck the back of her unprotected head.

Her vision shook, and she stumbled through the damaged opening before falling onto the metal staircase outside.

The railing bent beneath her as she crashed against it, but the armor covering her body absorbed the impact and prevented any serious injury.

Xingluo caught the edge of the stairs before she could fall farther, then raised her head while pain continued throbbing through her skull.

A man dressed entirely in black stood above the opening, holding a short metal club in one hand.

Surprise crossed his face when Xingluo rose without any broken bones or visible injuries.

He had used enough strength to knock an ordinary Awakened unconscious, although his orders had specifically forbidden him from killing her.

The noise of the impact had already exposed Xingluo’s position, and footsteps immediately sounded from several parts of the factory.

Men rushed toward the staircase and surrounded the lower exits, while others appeared above her with weapons already drawn.

Greasy smiles spread across their faces when they saw the young woman trapped between them.

Xingluo straightened and placed one hand over the hilt of her sword, while Wuxia floated beside her and examined every person surrounding the staircase.

Yun Xia had moved behind one of the old machines the moment the commotion began, deliberately avoiding Xingluo’s gaze.

A refined-looking middle-aged man soon walked through the gathering crowd, adjusting the cuffs of his suit before stopping several steps away.

"I believe you are Miss Luo Xingluo."

Xingluo looked at him coldly without removing her hand from the sword. "Who are you?"

"Our young master has invited you to meet him," the man replied with a polite smile. "We would appreciate your cooperation if you followed us quietly."

"And if I refuse?"

The smile on his face disappeared. "Then we will take you regardless."

He raised one hand and gave the people surrounding her a simple command. "Capture her."

The armed men immediately began moving toward the staircase from both sides, while the refined man turned away as if the result had already been decided.

"Commoners truly are no different from pigs," he muttered. "Give them the illusion of choice, and they begin believing their opinions matter."

His gaze moved toward Yun Xia, who was still hiding beside the machinery. The man walked over and caught her chin between his fingers, forcing her to raise her head.

"You did well, the young master has already sent the payment he promised you."

Yun Xia’s tense expression relaxed slightly, but the man leaned closer with a smile that made her body stiffen.

"He also asked me to give you another reward, do you not want to receive it?"

Yun Xia hesitated before slowly raising her hands toward him, believing he was about to give her something.

Instead, the man grabbed her wrist and pulled her against his body, her face immediately turned pale as she struggled to create some distance between them. "What are you doing?"

The man’s smile became uglier. "Did nobody teach you that nothing in this world is free, bitch?"

Before he could pull her any closer, a pig-like squeal suddenly rang across the factory.

One of the men surrounding Xingluo flew through the air, spinning uncontrollably before his backside struck the refined man directly across the face.

Both of them crashed into the ground together, while Yun Xia stumbled backward and escaped from his grip, the entire factory fell silent for a moment.

Xingluo stood halfway down the staircase with one hand still extended, while another attacker lay unconscious beside her feet.

Her eyes moved from the man she had thrown toward Yun Xia, but there was no concern left in her expression.