Outside the dungeon, several reporters had already gathered near the entrance to the gate. The cameras were ready to cover whatever came out of it. Every eye was fixed on the exit.
Then a reporter shouted. There was a commotion at the exit. Some reaction was visible near the gate. It meant the team was about to come out.
A few moments later, the members of the Divine Rhino Corps began stepping out of the dungeon one by one. The reporters rushed to their side immediately.
But the moment they saw the condition of the team, they were shocked. Everyone looked exhausted. Their clothes were in disarray. Bandages were tied around their bodies, and fatigue was clearly visible on their faces. As if they had just come back from a fierce battle.
The reporters fired off a barrage of questions. Had the Divine Rhino Corps finally conquered that massive dungeon?
Nobody knew that this entire scene was a drama.
Just as Yanshi was about to speak, the reporters interrupted him and asked immediately about Captain Yan Hanu. Where was he? Had something happened to the captain alone?
The team carried on their act like professional actors. Yanshi bowed his head and pretended to be deeply regretful, apologising to the public. He said the giant statue-like monster had been very fast, and its armour had been completely impenetrable. They had had no capacity at all to face such an enemy.
But then he added another point.
The real reason for the mission's failure, he said, was in fact their captain.
There was silence in the crowd. People could not believe their ears.
Yanshi alleged that perhaps their captain had become too confident of his own strength. He had repeatedly pushed forward carelessly, and had kept putting the entire team in danger. The team had tried to stop him several times, but he would not listen.
The rest of the team members supported him too, as though everything Yanshi said should come true. Yanshi went on to explain that in the end the captain had gone deep inside enemy territory and had never come back alive.
Everyone was shocked to hear this news.
The red-haired man suddenly jumped in, wiping his eyes and blaming himself. If only his killing ability had been greater, he said, then perhaps after killing a few more monsters he could have saved the captain.
The public did not know that the team had already taken possession of everything that had belonged to Yan Hanu.
The crowd's reactions were mixed. Some were surprised. Some were sad. Some began saying that perhaps the captain had been under some curse inside that dungeon.
Then the quiet, gentle nun spoke. She said she could understand the captain. Perhaps he had only wanted to prove his strength. He had wanted to show that he was the most powerful member of the team.
But before she could finish speaking, Yanshi suddenly stopped her and said loudly that this was enough. He said he would not allow any stigma to be put on his captain's name, not even after his death.
Behind him, Samo secretly turned and suppressed a mischievous smile, which made it clear that everything he had said before was all drama.
Yanshi kept speaking. He claimed that when the captain realised he would not survive, he had given up his life at the last moment and thrown all of his equipment towards them. Keep it safe, he had said, and keep the flame burning.
Then Yanshi took out the captain's own sword, the one they had taken from Yan Hanu.
The crowd was completely taken in by the act. Some people began criticising the captain. If he had been so careless, they said, the loss had already been decided. Others said he had been very fond of fame. If he had wanted that much fame, he should have faced the dungeon alone.
Yanshi smiled in his heart. He declared that he would never give up. From that day on, he would challenge the dungeon again with his captain's sword, and would himself take revenge for the fallen captain.
The crowd began cheering loudly. We trust you. Chase away the monsters. Lead humanity.
The Divine Rhino Corps, led by Yanshi, turned back to that appreciation and received it with confident smiles. Those smiles were full of deception. There was one thought in their minds. Now it was their turn to shine. As he walked away, one of them carelessly pulled off his bandages.
Outside the gate, the area slowly became calm again.
After the crowd had finally dispersed, another person came out of the dungeon. A young Yan Hanu, anger and frustration clearly visible on his face.
He was not sure what he had just seen. He found them shameless and stupid. He had never thought that his old companions could go this far. That they could put on such a clever drama in front of the public.
He remembered clearly how he had handed them those potions, and had stood there and watched each of them drink. That memory fed his anger further.
But a question was still eating away at him inside.
Why?
Was all of this only for his SSS-grade equipment?
He gritted his teeth in anger. Whatever the reason might be, their behaviour had been completely insane. Those fake faces, that arrogant attitude, and now their effort to ruin his reputation as well.
Yan Hanu clenched his fists tightly and made a promise to himself.
One day he would tear their masks off with his own hands. And when that day came, not a single one of them would be left.