The Long Journey to Immortality

Han Lu glanced at the clock on the wall, which showed seven o'clock. Not wanting to sit and wait, she said, "Let's go right away."

Chapter 189 Infiltration

There are a total of thirty-two cities in the modern world of the ancient cultivation secret realm.

The super-corporation Hans Corporation, which controls this world, naturally has branches in all thirty-two cities to ensure that it can provide better services to the residents of each city and allow its products and culture to permeate the lives of every citizen.

Shanghai was once the headquarters of the previous company, Roman Company. In order to completely eliminate everything left behind by the enemy in this former stronghold, Hans Company, which had "acquired its position illegitimately," put in a lot of effort.

Therefore, although Shanghai is not one of the top three cities in terms of urban size on the mainland, the headquarters of Hans Company here is second only to the head office in size.

After learning these things from Qiu Bin, Han Lu felt that if she couldn't find the cultivation civilization hidden in the cracks of technological civilization or the treasures left by ancient cultivators at the Hans Company branch here, then she would need to change her approach and take a trip to the primeval forest on the edge of the continent.

"Or perhaps I was simply teleported to the wrong place."

The thought only flashed through Han Lu's mind. After all, the mark on the back of her hand was still there, and she remembered Fang Lin's message clearly. Out of respect for ancient cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage, she didn't think that the seniors would make such a mistake.

Qiu Bin took photos of some key information about Hans Company from the computer screen before going out with Han Lu.

"How do we get to Hans Company this time?" Han Lu asked.

Qiu Bin could tell that Han Lu was probably thinking of trying something new by using a different mode of transportation, so he went along with her suggestion and said, "Then let's take the bus. It's only five stops from here to Hans Company, and it will only take fifteen minutes."

Hans Company is not located in the very center of Shanghai. Qiu Bin, who once aimed to work for Hans Company, rented a place not far from the company.

Because I had previously searched for information about these metal boxes speeding along the roads online, thanks to Qiu Bin.

Sitting on the bus, Han Lu was far less curious than when she took the subway in the afternoon.

Instead, it was the night view of Shanghai outside the car window that attracted her attention more.

Under the dim night sky, the lights, far brighter than the stars, displayed the prosperity of Shanghai to Han Lu, an outsider.

Light bulbs powered by electricity are more interesting than candlelight.

The interesting advertisements on the advertising screens along the streets of Shanghai made Han Lu feel that the nights in this world were far more interesting than those in the Central Plains.

The bus traveled along the streets of Shanghai at night, stopping and starting. Fifteen minutes later, a 43-story building with a design slightly different from ordinary office buildings came into Han Lu's view.

After getting out of the car, Han Lu pointed to the building and asked, "Is this Hans Company?"

Qiu Bin pointed to several artistic characters on the plaza in front of the office building and said, "It's written over there."

Although it was already 7:30 p.m., long past the usual time for most people to get off work, this matter still occurred.

But in this office building, which is entirely occupied by Hans, nearly half of the offices still have their lights on.

One can imagine that at least 10,000 Hans employees are working overtime, busy making a living.

After the two walked around the Hans Company's office building, Han Lu said goodbye to Qiu Bin.

"Go home quickly and wait for my good news." Han Lu's sixth sense told her that she would definitely gain something here today.

Qiu Bin was still a little uneasy and asked, "Senior Han, how do you plan to infiltrate the Hans Building?"

Han Lu pointed to the ground and said, "Go underground."

Humans, regardless of the world they live in, can't help but think about hiding precious things underground. Han Lu guessed that if Hans Company really had a treasure left behind by an ancient cultivator, it would definitely be stored in an underground warehouse.

Breaking through from underground makes it easier to achieve results.

"Earth-遁术?" Qiu Bin blurted out a word.

Han Lu nodded, "Although it's much slower than the subway, it's more convenient. It doesn't require laying tracks, making it perfect for this situation."

Han Lu possessed far more methods than Qiu Bin had imagined, so Qiu Bin stopped worrying and realized that staying here would only hold him back. After saying "goodbye" to Han Lu, he left directly.

After watching Qiu Bin get into the car and leave, Han Lu found a secluded place, cast an illusion spell, and quickly changed out of the clothes she was wearing that didn't match her identity as a cultivator, putting back the outfit she wore when she entered the ancient cultivation secret realm.

With a simple hand seal, Han Lu unleashed the Earth Escape Technique, a skill she possessed but rarely used.

The next moment, Han Lu disappeared into thin air and entered the ground. After quickly determining her direction, she continued to cast spells, causing herself to continue downwards towards the underground structure of the Hans Building.

The speed of the underground escape technique is very slow, but because Han Lu cast the spell at a distance of about fifty meters from the building, she traveled underground for about half a minute before seeing the outer wall of the basement of the Hans Building.

The reinforced concrete walls could not stop a cultivator who wanted to enter the building's basement.

Pressing herself against the concrete wall, Han Lu listened intently for a moment to confirm that there was no one in the room behind the wall before summoning three attribute-less spirit swords to use as tools to break through the wall.

However, the 24-centimeter-thick reinforced concrete wall was no match for Han Lu's sharp sword. In the blink of an eye, Han Lu broke a hole in the wall large enough for a person to crawl through.

Upon entering, Han Lu realized that the room she was in was actually a storage room.

Inside, there was a large amount of old and damaged office supplies, most of which were covered with a layer of dust.

"It must be a room that isn't used much, which saves me a lot of trouble."

Han Lu chuckled, took out a cinnabar pen, drew a few symbols on the wall, and set up an illusionary barrier at the entrance of the cave to hide it.

The results of her month-long special training in the sect finally had a place to be displayed.

Using her lightness skill, she leaped over the cluttered items in the room, only to find a door blocking her way.

Han Lu intended to break down the door again to leave, but she still tried to grasp the doorknob.

This is just a storage room door; there are no advanced security devices such as access control or electronic locks installed on this broken door.

After discovering that the door was unlocked, she decided to change her approach and carry out this night raid by sneaking in rather than breaking in.

Han Lu took out a talisman from the storage bag provided by Zhengyi Sect, activated it, and affixed it to her waist.

Soon, the talisman, named "Illusion Talisman," began to work as intended.

Han Lu's figure gradually disappeared from the storage room, becoming invisible to the naked eye.

The Illusion Talisman can temporarily conceal a cultivator's form, making it a practical talisman for cultivators to infiltrate mortal realms.

If it weren't for the high price of the Illusion Talisman, which would make the body reappear even with the simplest spells after being applied, this talisman would definitely be more practical.

Once she realized that the talisman had temporarily made her invisible, Han Lu turned the doorknob and pushed the door open, leaving the room filled with the smell of decay.

Chapter 190 Deep Underground

Stepping out of the storage room, Han Lu stood in the bright corridor, looking left and right, trying to find a suitable path to take.

Suddenly, at the end of the corridor, a female employee of Hans Company, dressed in a suit and uniform, carrying a pile of blueprints, tilted her head and made a phone call.

Han Lu slightly turned her body to make way, so that the other person would not bump into her when she was invisible.

As the other person passed by, Han Lu glanced at the blueprint in their hand.

"Although I can't understand it, it doesn't seem very complicated. It shouldn't be the blueprints for this building... But even if it is, I still can't understand it." Han Lu, who was illiterate, muttered to herself, giving up the idea of ​​following the female employee.

Watching the other person leave, Han Lu, wearing the "illusion talisman," stood brazenly in front of the surveillance camera, contemplating her next move.

Surrounded by completely unfamiliar surroundings, Han Lu felt slightly lost.

She thought to herself, "Perhaps I should go through a few rooms first and see if I can find an internal map of the Hans Company?"

With this goal in mind, Han Lu randomly chose a direction and began her exploration at Hans Company.

As Han Lu walked around inside Hans Company, Hans Company employees who were still busy working would occasionally walk past her.

Although these mortals did not expose Han Lu's illusionary disguise, they did add some minor trouble to her already unsuccessful infiltration operation.

The numerous gates equipped with access control systems, requiring card swipes for entry, posed a significant obstacle to Han Lu's infiltration operation.

Finding an access card was also part of Han Lu's plan.

With Han Lu's deliberate search, the map was quickly found.

Standing in the elevator lobby of Hans Company, Han Lu's gaze fell on the simple map posted on the wall.

Although it was just a simple map, it still helped Han Lu roughly point out her current location and where she should go to look for the "ancient treasure" that might exist here.

"I am currently..." Han Lu looked up at the diagram on the wall, "It should be on the third basement level. The employees working here are from Hanss City Construction Company."

"Further down should be the core area of ​​the Hans Company."

The diagram shows that the spaces from the fourth to the sixth basement level belong to a department called "Hans Weapons".

"Weapons manufacturing department? It should be the place that produces the pistols and cannons that Qiu Bin mentioned," Han Lu was very curious about these high-tech weapons. "I'll go there later and see if I can steal one to take a look."

"Seven underground floors... it's not explicitly stated, is it the legendary secret department?"

Han Lu noticed a blank space beyond the seventh underground floor and naturally connected it with the urban legend Qiu Bin had mentioned and her guess that there were cultivators inside Hans Company.

Although it was just a guess, with such a strange thing in front of her, Han Lu definitely wanted to investigate further.

After lingering in front of the elevator, which requires a card to use, for ten minutes, Han Lu tried to steal a key card to make it easier for herself to enter and exit, but she couldn't find an opportunity to do so.

Finally, after circling around the three underground floors, Han Lu returned to the storage room she had passed through when she first arrived.

Han Lu wanted to continue her infiltration using scientific methods, but couldn't find an opportunity, so she had no choice but to continue exploring underground as a cultivator.

After removing the illusion talisman from her waist, Han Lu once again took out the three spirit swords forged from spirit stones and used them as digging tools.

The construction team that built this house followed the blueprints exactly, without cutting corners for even a single day.

But the 30-centimeter-thick reinforced concrete could not stop the unstoppable spirit sword in Han Lu's hand.

With just four sword strikes, Han Lu perfectly sliced ​​through a floorboard that was wide enough for one person to pass through.

Without the support of its companions and the steel reinforcements, the floor slab fell straight down, crashing onto the ground of the fourth basement level with a dull thud.

Looking down through the hole in the floorboards, Han Lu saw that the room was brightly lit. Without much hesitation, she jumped straight down from the hole, using such a violent method to enter the fourth basement level from the third basement level.

Han Lu landed steadily amidst a light cloud of dust, only then realizing that this time, there was someone in the room she had entered—it was an office.

Two office workers, who were typing away at their computers at their desks, were looking up in surprise at the ceiling with a large hole in it, and at the beautiful woman with long, straight black hair who had fallen from the sky. Before they could even ask a question or call for help, they were spotted by Han Lu, who reacted very quickly.

Not wanting to implicate innocent people or cause any further commotion within Hans Company, Han Lu quickly activated the True Phoenix Manual, letting out a soft phoenix cry.

The phoenix's cry instantly caused the two mortals to lose consciousness, their vision going black.

Although Han Lu can only use a few weak True Spiritual Divine Powers, her control over these few True Spiritual Divine Powers she has mastered is already superb.

She knew that after that phoenix cry, the two of them would be unconscious for three days and three nights before they could barely wake up.

In this way, her important plans wouldn't be ruined, nor would her life be endangered.

Han Lu waved her hand to disperse the dust in front of her and walked towards the two people lying on the office chairs.

After a quick search, Han Lu had two access cards, one red and one blue, in her hand.