Chapter 560: Secret Base
Arriving at the place where he had last brought Tang Shi, Yang Haoran found Tang Shi already waiting respectfully. Seeing Yang Haoran emerge from the spatial rift, Tang Shi immediately dropped to one knee, offering a respectful salute.
"Welcome, Master!"
"Rise."
Yang Haoran said with a smile, then his gaze swept around, and a look of confusion involuntarily appeared in his eyes.
The reason for the bewildered expression in his eyes was that the place looked exactly the same as when he had last brought Tang Shi here; no apparent changes had occurred.
As for the secret base he had requested, not even a shadow of it was visible.
Though confused, Yang Haoran didn't make a fuss. Since Tang Shi had told him the task was complete, it must be so. As for why he couldn't see the secret base, he trusted Tang Shi would provide a reasonable explanation.
"Master, please follow me. " Tang Shi made a gestured for him to proceed, speaking respectfully.
A moment later, the two stopped at a secluded spot. Before them lay dense vegetation and a remarkably well-hidden cave.
The cave wasn't large, about two meters wide and three meters high. Its entrance was covered in vines, obscuring more than half of the opening. Without a careful look, it would be difficult to spot the entrance here.
Judging by the dense vegetation at the mouth of the cave, this cave had existed for a long time and wasn't recently excavated.
"Inside? " Yang Haoran looked at Tang Shi, asking with a surprised expression.
Tang Shi nodded, saying, "Indeed, it's inside. Please, Master, step forward."
On the surface, this cave was unremarkable except for its concealment, bearing no resemblance to the secret base Yang Haoran envisioned. However, he didn't jump to conclusions. Seeing Tang Shi's confident demeanor, he felt there might be a surprise awaiting him within the cave.
Tang Shi led the way, with Yang Haoran following closely behind. One after the other, they entered the cave.
The surprise didn't appear immediately. Upon entering the cave, all Yang Haoran saw was a cold, pitch-black tunnel. The cave was deep and narrow, leading to an unknown destination.
For an ordinary person in such a passage, movement would be extremely difficult without lighting equipment. However, Yang Haoran and Tang Shi were different: one was an Underworld Officer, and the other was an Evil Spirit wearing a skin. Thus, even though the passage was completely dark, it didn't impede their movements.
Yang Haoran didn't speak. Though he harbored some doubts, he refrained from saying much, following closely behind Tang Shi, stepping deeper into the passage.
The passage continued to extend downwards. After about ten minutes of walking, a firelight appeared ahead.
The appearance of the firelight made Yang Haoran realize that the passage was about to reach its end.
Stepping out of the passage, the world before them suddenly opened up, illuminated brightly by numerous braziers.
This was a vast underground space. What Yang Haoran saw before him were two rows of neatly arranged stone chairs. At the very front of these rows was a raised platform, upon which another stone chair rested. However, this chair was twice the size of those below, and its design appeared even more imposing. Carved into the top of the chair was a human face, identical to the Smiling Face Mask worn by Tang Shi.
A smile appeared on Yang Haoran's face. He then looked at Tang Shi behind him and asked, "This is. . . ?"
"This is where meetings are held, Master. The stone chair on the raised platform is reserved specifically for you. " Tang Shi quickly explained.
Yang Haoran nodded with a smile, then turned his gaze to another area where a passage lay.
"What's over there? " Yang Haoran asked.
"That passage leads to the living chambers and the training grounds. " Tang Shi replied.
"Oh? Interesting. Take me to see. " Yang Haoran said with a smile.
Tang Shi quickly nodded in assent, not daring to show any slack. He led the way, with Yang Haoran slowly following behind.
Under Tang Shi's guidance, Yang Haoran saw the stone chambers used for habitation. There were quite a few of them; according to Tang Shi, there were a hundred identical chambers in total. The facilities inside these stone chambers were simple, consisting only of a stone bed and a few basic stone items.
Though simple, they were very clean and tidy.
Yang Haoran didn't inspect every stone chamber individually. He merely selected a few to glance at before having Tang Shi lead him to the final training grounds.
The training grounds covered a considerable area. In the center was a large open space, while various weapons were arranged around the perimeter.
"How did you come up with the idea of building such a secret base at the bottom of this mountain? " Yang Haoran looked at Tang Shi, asking with a smile.
"Master, you specifically emphasized absolute concealment, so your subordinate decided to build the secret base at the bottom of this large mountain. It's definitely hidden enough here. " Tang Shi said.
"How much manpower did you use to build this place? " Yang Haoran continued to ask.
Tang Shi's reply, however, surprised Yang Haoran somewhat.
"Your subordinate completed all of this alone. To ensure absolute secrecy, I did not use anyone else."
Although there were only three areas here—a conference room for important discussions, living stone chambers, and a training ground—not many areas, completing all of this by oneself in just over a month was no simple feat. For an ordinary person, it would have been impossible.
"Just you alone? How did you manage to do all this in such a short time? " Yang Haoran asked with a laugh.
"After your subordinate decided to build the secret base underground, I searched the surrounding area for the most suitable place to begin work, but unexpectedly discovered the cave outside. Through this cave, your subordinate arrived at this underground area. This place was originally a rather large natural cavern, and this discovery filled your subordinate with immense joy. Therefore, in accordance with your wishes, I undertook a transformation of this place, and so it became as you see it now. " Tang Shi replied.
After hearing Tang Shi's explanation, an expression of admiration appeared on Yang Haoran's face.
"Heh heh, you certainly know how to utilize the resources around you. No wonder you were able to complete it in such a short time. Although this secret base is quite ordinary, I am very satisfied with it. " Yang Haoran said with a smile.
Upon hearing Yang Haoran's words, a look of pleasant surprise appeared on Tang Shi's face beneath his mask.
"If Master is satisfied, then everything your subordinate has done feels worthwhile. " Tang Shi replied respectfully.
Tang Shi's words were indeed true. Whether this secret base was ordinary or exquisite, if it received Yang Haoran's affirmation and recognition, then its existence held value. Without Yang Haoran's approval, no matter how meticulously crafted it was, it would be meaningless.
"Although this is a cavern, for you to complete all of this by yourself, the workload must still have been considerable. " Yang Haoran laughed.
"Your subordinate is an Evil Spirit, so I don't need to rest and can work twenty-four hours a day. Furthermore, your subordinate possesses the ability to manipulate external objects, which makes construction much simpler than for ordinary people. However, to prevent the outside world from perceiving my presence, your subordinate only dared to use a small portion of my object manipulation ability, trying as much as possible to avoid extensive leakage of my Yin Qi. " Tang Shi explained.
Yang Haoran nodded, then said to Tang Shi with a smile, "Congratulations, you've successfully completed this mission. I'm not only very satisfied with the result, but equally satisfied with you as a person. In the future, I'm afraid I'll be assigning you more tasks. I wonder if you'll have any complaints then."
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