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墨書 Inktalez
"You can't just take someone else's things."
Before Jiao Ziqian could react, Ying Dou Dou suddenly snatched the scroll from Wu Wentao's hands. Dapeng hurriedly stepped forward, though lacking confidence, he still stood between the two, adopting a protective stance like a hen guarding her eggs. Their reactions seemed a bit excessive, and Chu Guangxu and Foreigner quickly followed suit, grabbing their weapons, creating a tense atmosphere filled with hostility.
"Hey, hey, hey, what's going on?" Jiao Ziqian quickly stopped the impatient Dapeng and raised his hand to halt Wu Wentao, displeased. "What’s with the rebellion here?"
"Everyone put it down." Wu Wentao raised his hand, showing no signs of anger; instead, a serious expression appeared on his face. He spread his hands to indicate he meant no harm and frowned at Ying Dou Dou and Dapeng. "I just want to know where you got this Sea Chart."
"What Sea Chart? Can we talk about something unrelated later?" Jiao Ziqian was completely confused and anxious. Well, these two groups seemed to have time for other matters.
"Ziqian, don’t speak for now." Wu Wentao calmly called out his name, maintaining a composed yet serious demeanor. His gaze scrutinized the two of them as he looked them up and down. "You are from The Establishment."
"I don't understand what you're talking about." Ying Dou Dou's eyes flickered nervously before she feigned calmness and hid the scroll behind her back. "This is our business; it has nothing to do with you."
"Right, it's not some Sea Chart; it's just an ordinary map." Dapeng stubbornly chimed in.
Wu Wentao suddenly chuckled and shook his head with a wry smile. "You don't need to play tricks on me; I've seen this map before."
"I'm really fed up with this," Jiao Ziqian said, his anger flaring up as he shook off Ying Dou Dou's hand gripping him and nodded at Young Man. "Let's go find Brother Jiu."
"Okay." Young Man replied and quickly followed.
Ying Dou Dou suddenly felt flustered and tried to chase after Jiao Ziqian, but Dapeng grabbed her arm and muttered, "Why are you following him?"
"To find Chun Yue," Ying Dou Dou said impatiently as she shook off his grip, ignoring Wu Wentao's gaze still fixed on the Sea Chart as she hurried after Jiao Ziqian.
"Captain, what should we do?" Chu Guangxu was also confused by the situation and hesitantly asked.
"Sigh." Wu Wentao's expression was complex as he sighed. "Just go inside for now. Keep an eye on them; don't let these two slip away."
"Got it." Chu Guangxu nodded and called out to Foreigner. The group quickly fell behind to catch up.
Jiao Ziqian and Young Man had already walked some distance ahead. Young Man was familiar with the route and led them along the riverbank until they reached a gap in the rocks again. He pointed at the expansion bolts on the rock wall. "Looks like Brother Jiu did this."
"What’s up there?" Jiao Ziqian approached and tugged at the rope; it felt sturdy.
"That's where Us got stripped bare," the Young Man said as he climbed up using both hands and feet. He looked around and called out, "No one here, come on up."
"Wait," suddenly came the panting voice of Ying Dou Dou from behind.
Jiao Ziqian frowned and turned to look back, seeing Ying Dou Dou running barefoot over the gravelly riverbed. Her delicate skin couldn't withstand it; after just a few steps, pain flashed across her face. She stumbled and nearly rolled down from the height. Feeling frustrated, Jiao Ziqian cursed under his breath and hurried over to support the stumbling girl.
"What are you running for?" Jiao Ziqian asked.
"Don't be mad, I want to go with you," Ying Dou Dou replied, her cheeks flushed from exertion as she brushed her messy hair aside and gasped, "I'm not a bad person; you have to believe me."
"I couldn't care less about your nonsense," Jiao Ziqian rolled his eyes but noticed that Ying Dou Dou looked like she was about to cry. His heart tightened inexplicably, and his tone softened, "Alright, alright, I didn't say anything bad about you. Just wait here; it's chaotic up there, and you won't be able to help."
"But—"
"No buts! Your friend is named Chun Ye, right? I'll help you find him. If he's dead, I'll carry his body back for you."
Ying Dou Dou felt both anxious and angry at his words. She shoved the Sea Chart into his hands and ran to the rock wall to take a look. Grabbing the rope, she clumsily climbed up.
"Wow, underestimated you," Jiao Ziqian chuckled at her awkward climbing style. He glanced at the item that Wu Wentao valued so much and thought about tossing it aside but decided against it. Instead, he folded it into a square and stuffed it between his neck strap before spitting into his hand and climbing up like a monkey. Wu Wentao, along with Dapeng and others, followed closely behind, each picking up a folding entrenching tool as a weapon before climbing up the rope in succession.
"All of you are such cowards! Shouting but not coming; when ignored, you're all rushing in," Jiao Ziqian cursed under his breath. As soon as he spoke, he felt it was inappropriate since he had included Ying Dou Dou in his rant. A quick glance confirmed that her face was flushed with anger as she glared at him. Jiao Ziqian made a silly face at Young Man, pretending not to know anything as he hurried after him deeper into the cave.
The cave by the shallow end of the Dark River was pitch black. As soon as they stepped inside, they suddenly heard a rush of wind near their ears. All the hairs on Jiao Ziqian's body stood on end as he quickly shouted and thrust his dagger toward the source of the sound.
With a clang of metal striking something, Jiao Ziqian's dagger hit whatever it was without waiting to discern the shadow before him when suddenly something came crashing down on him from above. He stumbled back in shock, recalling the iron lumps flying around in the grass. He shouted a warning just as he stepped into the icy waters of the Dark River, splashing water everywhere.
Behind him, Ying Dou Dou was startled by this sudden turn of events; she screamed, unsure whether to hide or rush to save Jiao Ziqian. Fortunately, Young Man was quick-witted enough to notice that their relationship was unusual. In his panic, he shoved Ying Dou Dou aside but didn’t notice the attacker lurking in the dark. With a thud, something heavy struck him on the forehead, causing his vision to go dark momentarily as warm liquid trickled down from his hairline.
In a fit of rage after being ambushed twice in two days by bald-headed foes, Young Man couldn't hold back any longer. Ignoring the pain, he let out a furious roar and lunged at the shadow before him. Both of them lost their balance and fell over each other with strange cries; neither knew where they ended up.
Meanwhile, Wu Wentao and others were more alert; upon hearing commotion ahead, they immediately entered battle mode. Additionally, since Wu Wentao himself was a Zombie, his altered senses kept him from being as blind in darkness as Jiao Ziqian. The bald-headed attacker hiding behind a boulder failed to ambush successfully; as soon as he lunged forward, he was pierced through by the sharp blade in Wu Wentao's hand.
Coughing, Jiao Ziqian crawled out of the river and felt around until he found Ying Dou Dou, shielding her behind him while calling out for Young Man. From a dark corner behind a boulder came an answering call from Young Man, followed by several dull thuds as he emerged while holding his head and cursing loudly, "Damn it! There was no one here when I came out just now!"
"Idiot, why don't you grab a torch?" Jiao Ziqian cursed, picking up the Cast Iron Dog Stick and swinging it a few times. He vaguely saw a shadow seemingly running forward, and without thinking, he swung his arm in a wide arc. The Dog Stick cut through the darkness, striking the person running away in the back. The person let out a pained yelp and stumbled to the ground. As soon as the sound escaped, several faces changed; it was that Dapeng.
"You fool, why are you running around like a headless chicken?" Jiao Ziqian grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up, growing angrier by the second. "Even if you can't fight, can't you at least protect Doudou?"
"I-I-I wanted to break through first," Dapeng said, rubbing his back where he had been hit by the iron stick. He muttered, "You can't just attack without assessing the enemy; that's reckless."
Jiao Ziqian was about to continue his tirade when Wu Wentao caught up after dealing with the bald man and interrupted, "Stop arguing for now; something feels off."
"What do you mean?"
"The torches are all out, and there aren't many ambushers left. What does this mean?" Wu Wentao rubbed his stubble and called everyone to walk while asking, "Xiao Chu, what did Song Jiu do before you left?"
"Nothing much. Two of our teammates were down, and Song Jiu came up with a terrible idea to drag their bodies into that big hole inside. While we were watching from outside, we didn't know what was happening inside; it was getting darker and darker. Song Jiu couldn't hold back anymore and went in just as the bodies started to change." Chu Guangxu spoke with a slur after having been punched earlier.
"Damn it, so you all just ran away?" Jiao Ziqian was furious upon hearing this. Did they have such teammates? Brother Jiu had kindly saved them, yet they ran off like scared rabbits.
Chu Guangxu shot him a glare but then remembered that in the pitch blackness no one could see anyone else. He mumbled, "He told us to leave first; we were just following your orders, Brother Jiu."
"Stop talking nonsense." Wu Wentao was irritated by their bickering. He shushed them and signaled for everyone to move along the rock wall quietly. He whispered, "There might still be other places to hide inside; those bald men are just there to scare us."
"And then what?" Jiao Ziqian asked.
"Listen for any movements around us and see if Brother Jiu left any marks." Wu Wentao took the lead as they retraced their steps back to the bustling cave from a few hours ago. Now it was dimly lit, filled with a strong smell of blood. A few torches lay scattered on the ground, their flames flickering weakly. Chu Guangxu and Foreigner went over to pick up two torches, shielding them from the wind to reignite them. Squinting at their surroundings, they saw a pile of logs blocking an entrance with numerous corpses sprawled across it; two Foreign Operatives were among them, their heads smashed beyond recognition.
"He went inside," Wu Wentao frowned and suddenly sniffed the air. "There was gunfire."
"Yeah, we heard gunshots when we were retreating," Chu Guangxu replied.
"Damn it! You heard gunshots and ran even faster?" Jiao Ziqian glared at Chu Guangxu more intensely with each passing moment, his words laced with sarcasm. Chu Guangxu wanted to retort but was interrupted by Wu Wentao waving his hand dismissively as he held up a torch and peered into the gaps between the logs blocking the entrance. Suddenly he said, "Doudou, besides Sea Chart, you should have military maps too, right?"
"Huh?" Ying Dou Dou froze for a moment, her gaze involuntarily drifting toward Dapeng.
"Let’s not beat around the bush; I don’t want your blueprints, but you need to guide us," Wu Wentao turned back with an unusual glint in his eyes and smiled slightly. "When the supplies arrive, we'll split them evenly."
"What's he messing around with again?" Jiao Ziqian shoved Wu Wentao aside and called for the Young Man to help move the log down. Just as he was about to enter, Wu Wentao suddenly spoke up from behind.
"Ziqian, if nothing unexpected happens, there should be a military factory or something like that in this mountain. Talk to your girlfriend; we need those supplies too."
"What?"
At the foot of the mountain, Ming Junwei's main force had already entered the forest. They had faced some harassment from small groups of bald men along the way, but without exception, they were all driven back by the Old Russians' gunfire. The deeper they went, the fewer traces of the bald men there were, as if most of them had completely hidden their tracks and had no intention of clashing with this highly lethal team.
During a break, Song Yao noticed Luo Yu anxiously weaving through the crowd and couldn't help but feel puzzled. He got up and walked over.
"What's wrong?" Song Yao asked.
Luo Yu's brows were tightly furrowed, beads of sweat forming at his temples as he said urgently, "Dream Fan is missing."
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