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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 449: Closing In
Xu Nuan felt a slight sense of regret, but she understood that unless she dealt with these minor nuisances, the real mastermind behind them would not reveal themselves. She needed to be patient.
With that thought in mind, she decided not to waste any more words and pinched the chip between her fingers, wearing a smile.
"Are you planning to take it from me?"
Knowing the importance of the chip, Yu Le Yu and Melolo could only follow Xu Nuan's lead.
"Xu Nuan, you need to understand that Gu Ze is in our hands! If you want him to be safe, hand over the chip!"
Xu Nuan suppressed her anger and continued speaking in a tone that left them feeling unsettled.
"But I've already presented the chip. Shouldn't you show some sincerity?"
She was acutely aware that Gu Ze must have been hurt while in their custody, and she intended for them all to pay the price.
Yu Le Yu and Melolo had initially planned to use Gu Ze as leverage against Xu Nuan, but now the focus was on their urgent orders to retrieve the chip. Xu Nuan had yet to indicate how she could save Gu Ze, and now that she had produced the chip, they couldn't guarantee she wouldn't change her mind.
In their initial probing, they had already lost their advantage.
"Fine, we'll go back and bring Gu Ze here. At that time, we’ll exchange the chip for him!"
Yu Le Yu was eager to prove herself; after her failure in the last mission, her standing beside that person had diminished significantly.
She hurriedly turned to leave, while Melolo felt a chill run down her spine at Xu Nuan's smile. Everyone knew Xu Nuan was typically calm and composed; a smiling face was simply not her style. This indicated something was amiss, but they were unaware of what it truly meant.
"Wait!"
Xu Nuan would not let them go so easily. She held the initiative, and if she didn't take some action, it would be a disservice to the current situation and to the value she had at her disposal.
Once this value was used up, she would be hunted down again. With such a high risk, it would be foolish not to reap some benefits.
Yu Le Yu and Melolo stopped in their tracks, stiffly turning their heads. At that moment, Melolo had already run up to Yu Le Yu, and as Yu Le Yu turned around, she was still quietly moving forward.
Xu Nuan noticed Melolo's small movement but did not stop her. Thanks to these people, they had been tasting the flavor of betrayal; it would be nice for them to experience it themselves.
"One person can go back to report."
Xu Nuan did not directly use the harsh word 'hostage,' so it took Yu Le Yu a moment to understand the specific meaning of Xu Nuan's words. Her face turned pale, but just then she heard Melolo's voice coming from a distance.
"Le Yu, you wait here for me. I'll go bring them over!"
By the time Yu Le Yu turned around, Melolo had already moved away from the bush. Her legs began to feel weak, and she started to have second thoughts. Just then, she heard Xu Nuan say something.
"Then you will stay here. For the chip, you should be willing."
At that moment, she immediately understood the implication behind Xu Nuan's words. She turned her head and glared fiercely at Xu Nuan but dared not act on it. Not to mention being outnumbered, just the dangerous-looking jungle was enough to make her compromise.
In the end, Yu Le Yu said nothing and simply stood there, glaring at the few people who were eyeing her like hawks.
Little did she know that at this moment, Xu Nuan spoke again.
"What's wrong? Don't you want to come over and have a good chat?"
"Don't push me too far!"
Yu Le Yu's face flushed immediately, as if she had encountered some kind of future at that moment.
Xu Nuan stood at the forefront of the group, with Deng Yinyin, Xu Hang, Liu Minghong, and Chi Xiaoming lined up behind her. Although Liu Minghong looked like he was on the verge of collapse, and both Deng Yinyin and Xu Nuan seemed to lack any significant strength, just the presence of Xu Hang was enough to make her feel uneasy.
"I am bullying you, so what?"
What Yu Le Yu never expected was that Xu Nuan would dare to speak so boldly, and when she heard Xu Nuan's next words, she was stunned.
"You all serve him so loyally, but do you really think your lives are guaranteed? To him, aren't you just pawns that can be discarded at any moment? Do you know what usually happens to pawns?"
The fate of a pawn; she should have known it when Melolo abandoned her. No, she should have realized it long ago, when she became that person's subordinate. She had been deceiving herself all along, thinking she was different. But what made her special?
"Clearly I've done nothing, so why do I feel so tired and sleepy right now?"
Deng Yinyin sighed helplessly while rubbing her stomach. It was already noon, and more than three hours had passed since Melolo returned. It had been over an hour since the cries from the trap below had ceased.
"Rest in place; no one will stop you."
In fact, the others felt the same way, but they were more sensitive to time than Deng Yinyin and were secretly speculating about something. They didn't have Deng Yinyin's carefree attitude to disregard everything at this moment.
As soon as Xu Hang said this, Deng Yinyin cheered and actually began to rest in place, drinking water and eating something. However, when she looked up, she realized she was the only one doing so; the others remained on high alert.
"Uh, I mean, is it really necessary for you all to be like this?"
She couldn't understand the twists and turns in their minds; she only sensed the impending battle but had no idea when it would arrive.
"You eat yours, it's fine."
It was Xu Nuan who spoke up. The heavy smell of blood made her feel uneasy, and the churn in her stomach turned her face pale. However, after thinking about what had just happened, she managed to suppress that feeling.
This moment was bound to arrive.
Upon hearing Xu Nuan's words, Deng Yinyin felt a bit embarrassed. She stood up and joined the others in waiting.
Just then, a strange scent wafted through the forest, reminiscent of blood being roasted over a fire, as if the blood was about to burn away. The thought made her heart race.
"I suddenly have a bad feeling."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Nuan quickly took over the conversation.
"That bad feeling has become a reality."
In that instant, as Xu Nuan abruptly turned her body, she pulled Deng Yinyin aside just in time for a fireball to whiz past them.
Deng Yinyin's eyes widened in shock; she didn't know what to say. Just as the fireball approached, the entire jungle erupted into flames. The red liquid that had flowed from the trees at night now served as an accelerant, plunging the entire forest into an inferno.
The sounds of beasts wailing echoed through the jungle, mingled with the scent of roasted flesh wafting on the wind, making everyone feel nauseous.
"They've been gone for so long because they were setting a trap!"
Deng Yinyin shouted.
"If we had known, we wouldn't have waited here!"
Just as Deng Yinyin spoke those two sentences, they found themselves completely engulfed in the Inferno, with a few sparks drifting toward them.
However, at that moment, Deng Yinyin noticed that the flames could not reach them; all the fire stopped spreading when it was about twenty meters away.
"What is going on?"
Deng Yinyin was confused, but Xu Nuan, who had already guessed what was happening, smiled slightly and kindly explained.
"Burning requires several conditions to be met simultaneously. As long as we don't create those conditions, we will be fine. Don't worry about the specifics; just prepare for us to leave here."
"Wait?"
Deng Yinyin's eyes widened.
"How are we supposed to leave?"
"That's not right," Deng Yinyin shook her head vigorously. "Aren't we supposed to wait for them to bring Gu Ze back? Are we not going to rescue Gu Ze?"
Xu Nuan remained silent, her emotions flickering like the flames dancing in the distance.
"Gu Ze has already escaped; otherwise, they wouldn't have suddenly attacked us instead of negotiating with us."
Xu Hang quickly added an explanation, then suddenly began to feel around on the ground. In a flash, Chi Xiaoming swiftly discovered a mechanism, and with a loud crash, a large section of the ground in front of them collapsed.
Deng Yinyin jumped back a few steps but couldn't contain her curiosity and leaned forward again, discovering that there was actually a passage at the bottom of the pit.
"When was this passage dug? How come I didn't know about it?"
Deng Yinyin suddenly felt that the people around her were extraordinary. Although they always stayed together, none of them could tell what the others had done at any given moment.
"We don't have time to explain. Let's hurry down, seize the opportunity, and then regroup with Ze," Xu Nuan urged, pushing Deng Yinyin forward. Startled, Deng Yinyin was pulled back again, and now she dared not ask anything further. Cautiously, she jumped into the pit and entered the passage.
The others followed suit, but when it came to Liu Minghong, his body suddenly lost strength and he fell forward. Fortunately, Chi Xiaoming reacted quickly and caught him; otherwise, the consequences would have been dire.
As they noticed Liu Minghong's breath had become faint and he could barely stand, Xu Nuan and the others' expressions turned grave.
Although Liu Minghong had taken Feng Feng's medication, it wasn't a specific antidote tailored for his situation like it was for Xu Nuan. It was ineffective against his condition. Moreover, Liu Minghong had exhausted himself resisting those suggestions. The previous Sandstorm and Big Bang incidents combined had drained most of his life force.
They felt powerless to stop Liu Minghong's life from slipping away.
"We're about to achieve victory; just hold on a little longer," this was the only comforting words Xu Nuan could offer Liu Minghong.
As Xu Nuan and the others crawled through the passage, they could feel the scorching heat radiating from the burning jungle below them through the soil. They were surrounded by flames, and the arsonists must be outside, unaware of whether they were still alive.
Xu Nuan wanted to seize this opportunity of uncertainty to counterattack Melolo and the others. However, at that moment, she did not realize how crucial the chip was; why would those people take such risks with it?
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