Night had fallen. Day and night were similar in the ancient city—the Tortoise Pagoda’s light dimmed slightly at night. The expedition team had entered the ruins on the morning of the 28th. It was now the second day and the night of the 29th. The third day would be up tomorrow evening and everyone would be free to leave.2

All was quiet. The three great organizations no longer wished to enter the inner city. They just wanted to leave as soon as possible.0

……0

At the platform at the end of the tree tunnel.0

Hou Xiaochen looked at the wall. It sparkled with luster when midnight arrived. That meant that people could leave the ruins so long as there were those outside working in tandem to open the way.0

However, the Night Watcher director didn’t make a move. He waited and watched. The illumination would vanish after half an hour, leaving those inside to wait until tomorrow evening. That was twenty-three hours in between that the ruins would be entirely sealed off, giving no chance for anything to leave.0

There seemed to be some movement in the surroundings—the three great organizations had sent scouts to follow...0