At that moment Rulu remembered something and asked, "Captain Guan, what's the situation with the Sanctuary forces?"

"The Sanctuary's forces? It looks like they're pulling back." Captain Guan glanced toward the underground tunnel entrance and saw the six vehicles along with the Sanctuary's regular soldiers retreating down the road, moving away from the Rebels.

"Just as well," Rulu murmured. "Otherwise my hands would have more blood on them." He had intended to burn the Sanctuary's forces to nothing, but now that they had retreated on their own, he wouldn't have to keep killing.

Afterward, Captain Guan used his communicator to contact the others. A short while later, another open-topped armored vehicle arrived. When everyone learned that the Governor was dead and the Sanctuary forces had withdrawn, they were overjoyed. Upon hearing that it was Rulu who had killed the Governor, they were all astonished, and every gaze that turned toward him was filled with respect.

"Rulu, you really are my best brother — I always knew I had you figured right. I'm proud of you!" A-Bing threw an arm warmly around Rulu's neck and grinned broadly.

"But A-Bing, weren't you just saying this Rulu person was full of himself and completely insufferable?" teased the long-haired woman called Fox. "What happened to that?"

A-Bing's face stiffened. "No — I never said that. The truth is, I've always admired people who are both smart and capable, just like Rulu. From now on we're all on the same side — Rulu, whatever trouble you run into, we'll all be there for you. Isn't that right, everyone?"

"Absolutely. Rulu is a Magic Ultra-capable through and through — truly incredible. With him here, those Sanctuary people are no match for us at all."

"Why don't you join us in the Rebels, Rulu? We can fight side by side from here on, taking on the Sanctuary together."

The other Rebels chimed in one after another to praise Rulu and express their goodwill toward him.

Faced with all their words, Rulu simply smiled and said, "Thank you all for your kindness. Let's save those conversations for later — the first thing we need to do right now is get out of the Concession as quickly as possible."

"Alright, everyone stop talking!" Captain Guan said loudly. "Get ready — we're moving out now."

Everyone agreed, and shortly after, the two armored vehicles and Kallen's red armored soldier set off together, entering the dark mouth of the underground tunnel ahead.

The tunnel inside was extremely spacious — even two large trucks driving side by side wouldn't have felt cramped. The passages ran in every direction, branching like a maze with countless intersections.

Captain Guan was thoroughly familiar with the tunnel's layout, knowing exactly which way to go at every fork. Every so often as they drove through, a large steel door would appear and block their path.

At each one, Captain Guan would step out of the vehicle, swipe a special card on the electronic panel beside the door, and it would open automatically, allowing them to continue.

The two armored vehicles drove with their headlights on, advancing steadily and methodically through the underground tunnel.

"We can breathe easy now," Captain Guan said. "There are no Sanctuary forces stationed in this tunnel, and the environment in here is extremely complex — even if their troops entered from outside to chase us, they'd have a very hard time finding us. In a little over an hour, we'll be out of the Concession."

Rulu took Nana's hand in his and said softly, "Did you hear that, Nana? We're safe now. You don't need to worry or be afraid anymore."

Nana nodded and said quietly, "No matter what happens, as long as you're by my side, Rulu, I won't be afraid."

A warmth spread through Rulu's heart. He thought to himself that he was now Nana's only anchor in this world — he could not let her down — and said gently, "Don't worry. I'll stay by your side forever, Nana. I'll never leave you."

Nana gave a soft hum of acknowledgment and rested her head on Rulu's shoulder, a peaceful smile settling across her face.

Watching this from nearby, Kallen was taken aback. She thought to herself: just moments ago, Rulu had been so ferocious — like a demon, burning the Governor alive with flames without a second thought — and now here he was, gentle as could be. She couldn't make heads or tails of him.

The group continued onward through the underground tunnel without incident. Time passed without them noticing, and an hour had slipped by. They were now very close to the tunnel exit — and that was when something happened. Far ahead in the tunnel, a faint glow flickered in the distance.

"There's light up ahead — looks like something is coming!" someone shouted, pointing down the tunnel.

Both armored vehicles came to a stop. Captain Guan frowned. "What's going on? This tunnel is sealed off — under normal circumstances no one should be in here. Could it be Sanctuary forces?"

"Surely not," A-Bing said. "How would the Sanctuary's forces end up in here? Even if they chased us in from outside, they couldn't have gotten here this fast."

"So do we keep going?" Kallen asked. "Is there another way out near here?"

Captain Guan shook his head. "No. This route is the only way out of the Concession — there's no detour."

"What if we just charge straight at them?" A-Bing suggested. "Strike first, take them out before they know what hit them."

"No," Captain Guan said. "We can't confirm yet whether they're enemies. And if the Sanctuary has humanoid armored soldiers up ahead, that would be very bad."

"Then what do we do?"

"Everyone stay alert. Let's find out what we're dealing with before we act."

Captain Guan and his group held their position, eyes fixed unblinkingly on the light ahead. The others tightened their grip on their weapons, nerves wound tight with vigilance.

The light grew brighter and nearer. By the time it reached about thirty meters ahead of the Rebels, everyone finally saw what it was.

A civilian light cargo truck with its headlights on appeared before them. Beyond the truck, there was nothing else. With a screech of brakes, the truck came to a stop roughly twenty meters ahead of the Rebels.

"That scared me half to death — it's not the Sanctuary after all." A-Bing wiped the sweat from his brow. In the truck's cab sat only two figures in white robes, and behind the cab was a sealed white rectangular cargo compartment. By the look of them, they bore absolutely no resemblance to Sanctuary military personnel.