Previously, she had been puzzled by one thing: if the opponent truly wanted to annihilate her quickly, she wouldn’t have lasted more than three rounds.
The fact was that despite being besieged, she had actually held her ground, which planted a seed of doubt in her heart.
1. The opponent possessed the strength to kill her instantly, so why waste so much effort?
2. During that strike from the spearman, he clearly could have finished her off right then and there. Why did he kick her back instead? Wasn’t that just giving her room to breathe?
3. While fighting them, she could feel that they were constantly avoiding something.
Based on these three points, Gu Lian performed a quick analysis in her mind and finally concluded that these five people were likely very close friends.
Combined with the disparity in strength between the two sides, they had chosen the lowest-risk method—killing her while ensuring that none of them would die.
But being friends might not be enough; they had likely experienced many life-and-death situations together. Because of this, they cherished their bond exceptionally well, preferring to let her escape rather than let a teammate die.
Therefore, Gu Lian chose a very safe approach. When she had wounded the one codenamed Yuan San earlier, she had brushed a wisp of the Fire of Dead Silence against his flesh.
What was Dead Silence?
Even she didn’t know the answer to that, but the only thing she was certain of was that the fire was extremely corrosive. Just a single wisp of flame, while ensuring it didn’t kill him, was enough to strip him of his combat effectiveness. Once that happened, she would win.
Yuan Er had no weapon, and Yuan San and Wangzi were heavily injured. The man with the steel whip and the man with the chain—whose weapon she had broken—would certainly stay behind for the safety of their teammates.
It was a gamble, and fortunately, she won.
Gu Lian paused only for a moment to catch her breath before turning to run deep into Nanqing Forest. She didn’t want today’s lunch anymore; if she tried to escape while carrying that thing, she would have the life to take it but no life left to eat it!
*Pshhh!* A grappling hook whirled through the air and pierced her collarbone. Gu Lian’s eyes were bloodshot as she raised her hand to sever the chain, droplets of blood falling from the wound.
Without looking back, Gu Lian gritted her teeth and pushed through the woods. Branches scraped against her face and pain flared, but they only left shallow white marks. She ran toward wherever the path was most difficult and wherever it was easiest to get lost!
With a rattling sound, the man with the chain stopped at the edge of the woods. His face was expressionless as he raised a hand to press the walkie-talkie on his chest.
“Dong Liang, this is Hake. Please respond.”
“Dong Liang here. Hake, please report the current situation.”
“Weiyi b-707 has escaped with heavy injuries. Urgent need for aerial detection to lock onto its position.”
Hake released the button and turned to see Wangzi, whose newly wrapped neck bandages were already soaked red, and their captain, who was anxiously tending to Yuan San’s wounds.
Yuan San was pale, his clothes drenched in cold sweat, and his lips were turning white. A patch of grayish-white spots was spreading across his chest.
Hake pressed the walkie-talkie again and spoke, “Two of our Hunters have sustained critical injuries requiring immediate treatment. The Captain and Yuan Er have also sustained various injuries ranging from heavy to light. As the vice-captain of this squad, I am requesting a retreat for regrouping and the deployment of a stronger squad for the suppression. Pass.”
“Understood. Over.”
*Rumble—*
A clap of thunder sounded as dark clouds gradually pressed in from the horizon. Without making anyone wait long, rain began to fall from the sky, washing away the bloodstains she had left behind.
Generally, before rain arrived, the air humidity would increase significantly while the atmospheric pressure dropped.
Moisture in the air would condense on the wings of insects, making them heavy and preventing them from flying high before a downpour.
Earlier, when Gu Lian saw the dew on the insects’ wings, she knew it was about to rain. This was often the time when wild animals were most active, which was why she had been in such a hurry to try her luck.
Now, this rain provided her with cover for her escape.
As the rain pattered down, Gu Lian leaped back and forth through the woods on all fours like a wild beast. Mud splashed everywhere she passed, but the sound was drowned out by the heavy downpour.
*Whirrr—*
A drone flew over Gu Lian. It was a rainy day now, and even with high technology, it was difficult to locate Gu Lian within the dense forest in this environment.
Stepping over a patch of waist-high wild grass, Gu Lian pulled out the hooked blade embedded in her collarbone and tossed it aside. Now, her goal was to run for as long as she could; the best outcome would be to find a place with almost no signal to hide in.
The pursuit and escape continued, and time passed quickly. The wind and rain had stopped, and Gu Lian was panting heavily. The surrounding forest was becoming denser, proving she was heading in the right direction, but a drone above had successfully locked onto her and was following closely behind.
The air after the rain was very fresh. Gu Lian’s nose filtered out a vast array of scents; the owners of those scents stayed far away after sensing the aura coming from her.
An hour later, after crossing a large stretch of forest, Gu Lian felt a fire burning in her chest. The hunger in her stomach caused her physical strength to plummet. She no longer had her initial speed, and two more drones had appeared in the sky to lock onto her.
She didn’t know how long it would take for the Hunters to find her again, but there was no doubt she was running out of time.
Suddenly, a pungent smell of sulfur, somewhat like rotten eggs, hit her. Gu Lian would never forget this scent for as long as she lived—it was the smell of gas!
How could there be household gas in the wilderness?
It was either a mine or a cave!
Gu Lian’s face lit up with wild joy. Regardless of which one it was, she would be safe as long as she hid inside. Both mines and caves could block a significant amount of signals!
The next part was much simpler. She followed the scent, knowing that as long as she reached that place, she could survive.
Ten minutes later, after running all the way, a sunken sinkhole appeared in Gu Lian’s vision. She accelerated for a few steps and reached the edge of the sinkhole. Her pupils shrank, and she dug her claws into the ground to come to a sudden stop.
The road ahead was cut off… no, it wasn’t cut off; it was simply sunken. The entire sinkhole was approximately 400 meters in diameter.
Below was a pitch-black opening, and the wailing sound of the wind drifted up from below. The dark mouth of the cave seemed to contain boundless shadows, and darkness tended to awaken the instinctual fear of all living creatures.
Facing the pitch-black abyss, Gu Lian turned around to face the drones that had already locked onto her.
*Buzz, buzz, buzz—*
The five drones in the sky separated automatically. Immediately following that, a sharp whistling sounded from the distance. Two helicopters gradually grew larger in her field of vision, and the two missiles under their noses sent a chill through her heart.
*Crack—*
Gu Lian swallowed hard and took a step back. A piece of rubble fell into the void, the sound of the object rubbing against the air echoing in the hole. About fifteen seconds later, she faintly heard the crisp sound of the rubble hitting a stone floor.
“Is this really necessary? Did I eat your family’s rice or something?”
The roar of the helicopters drew closer, and Gu Lian grumbled as she backed toward the edge of the sinkhole.
She could feel a thick sense of malice coming from the TFV, a malice that made her feel fear from the bottom of her heart.
She didn’t understand. She was just a Weiyi, a person who had just recently transformed into one. Why was there such a formation to deal with her?
What Gu Lian didn’t know was that because she had inadvertently revealed her ability to speak and think, the TFV had categorized her as a Singularity Class Weiyi. Facing an intelligent Singularity Class, it wasn’t overkill for the TFV to send even a veteran Hunter.
The TFV’s attitude filled Gu Lian with a sense of helpless despair. Compared to being obliterated without any suspense, she felt that the bottomless abyss behind her wasn’t so terrifying anymore.
‘Screw it, I’m going for it!’
Gu Lian gritted her teeth and leaped into the hole. The drones in the sky immediately lowered their altitude, flying over the sinkhole parallel to the ground.
“b-707 has leaped into the Underground Palace. The only entrance to the Underground Palace is 836 meters from the surface. Shall we proceed with the pursuit?”
“Pursue. We must eliminate any possibility of the target’s survival.”