Chapter Ninety-Three: Reuniting with His Companions

Xie Liu suddenly scooped Ye Ling into his arms in a princess carry, leaping across the river by stepping on rocks protruding from the water, forcibly crossing to the other side. “You need to lose weight!” Even in such a crisis, Xie Liu couldn’t help but jab at Ye Ling. He dared not glance back at the chaos of flying sand and stones; his recent gesture was sure to have enraged their pursuer.

The gale howled around them—had Xie Liu not kept his distance early on, they might have been blown to the ends of the earth. The two crossed the river in the nick of time and fled toward a small hill without looking back. In the distance, they could see houses atop the slope. “Head there—Gong Hou and the others are waiting.”

“How do you know?” Ye Ling, still cradled in Xie Liu’s arms, asked in surprise. Xie Liu snorted. “Didn’t I mention it in our psychic link earlier? After landing, I told everyone to search for buildings within a kilometer radius centered on my position.”

“Huh? Did you say that? I didn’t hear it.” Ye Ling pinched her chin, puzzled. “I thought everyone just followed you.”

“So you, the tag-along, just came along?” Xie Liu very nearly dropped her right then. “Wait, I think I actually forgot to say it.”

“What?” Ye Ling stared, dumbfounded in his arms. “Can’t you be a bit more reliable? Are you trying to get us killed?” Seeing Xie Liu still running toward the hilltop buildings, she nearly cursed out loud. “You idiot, put me down! I’m not dying with you.”

“Oh!” Xie Liu replied nonchalantly, stopping abruptly and tossing Ye Ling aside. Before she could react, her backside met the ground in a painfully intimate encounter, eliciting a scream like a pig being slaughtered. “Xie Liu, I—”

Xie Liu ignored whatever she was about to say, spinning around and slashing his blade downward. The knife’s edge flashed like crystalline snow, and with a crisp clang, two bursts of dust erupted from either side of the stone behind him—bullets had struck the rock, leaving their marks.

“Impressive! That distance must be over a thousand meters, and they still predicted my position. Nearly got ambushed—lucky it’s an automatic rifle. If it’d been a sniper, I’d be done for.” Xie Liu gestured with his blade, pointing at the ground; he noted a slight curl on the edge, sighing at the hidden talent within the hunting squad.

Ye Ling’s words died in her throat. One half of a bullet, sliced by Xie Liu, had whizzed past her cheek, snipping off a few strands of hair. Her wide eyes were filled with terror, her face burning from the near miss. Though she hadn’t been struck, in that instant, she truly felt the chill of death.

Trembling, Ye Ling glanced at the still-smoking stone behind her—it had been gouged out by a full centimeter.

She had brushed shoulders with death!

The sound of blade sliding against sheath rang out as Xie Liu slowly sheathed his sword, never taking his eyes off the distant members of Gale Squad. He retreated toward Ye Ling. “Let’s go. We don’t have time to linger.” He pulled her up; Ye Ling, still shaken, stood without protest—rarely did she not argue with Xie Liu. The two fled in silence toward the building atop the hill.

Just seconds later, Xie Liu and Ye Ling reached the hilltop structure—it resembled a small astronomical observatory, now long abandoned. Xie Liu pushed open the half-ajar door, frowning. “The door’s been forced open—signs of violent entry. Someone’s been here before.”

“Shouldn’t we be careful—” Ye Ling began, trying to caution him, but Xie Liu kicked the main door open and strode inside. “Gong Hou, you idiot, get out here.”

“You’re the idiot. Want me to finish you off, right now?” Gong Hou’s gruff voice echoed from upstairs. Xie Liu laughed loudly. “So, have you looted this place yet?”

“Yeah, level-two pack, level-three helmet, and a 98K. Want any?” Gong Hou descended from upstairs, eyeing Xie Liu with undisguised contempt. Xie Liu’s face darkened. “Stop joking. Be serious.”

“Seriously, you’re in luck—there’s a sniper rifle and thirty rounds of level-three enhanced ammo. Yours.” Gong Hou tossed over a black case. Xie Liu opened it and grinned. “It’s a Thunderbolt Type-2 from the Huaxia Branch, a mass-produced model, but this seems to be an enhanced version. Excellent sniper rifle—can fire level-seven rounds.”

“The problem is, you only have thirty rounds of level-three ammo. Also, I saw the abilities of the guy chasing you—level-three rounds won’t help.” Gong Hou wasn’t optimistic about Xie Liu’s weapon. Xie Liu shook his head, tossing his air bow to Gong Hou, whose face promptly turned green. “Damn, if only I’d practiced archery. I’m not accurate enough.”

“As long as you can hit within a hundred paces.” Xie Liu joked, slinging the sniper rifle onto his back. “If we find some exosuit gear, you might be able to go head-to-head with them.” But Xie Liu knew the odds of that were slim.

Finally, Ye Ling, lurking behind, couldn’t hold back any longer. “Xie Liu, I’ve got a question—how did you know Gong Hou was here?”

“Ah! Is your IQ negative?” Xie Liu flicked Ye Ling’s forehead. “I told everyone to land nearby, and from the air, I saw no other parachutes besides the four outside. Obviously, only our people are here.”

“But how did you know it was Gong Hou and not Lin Yang or Li Shizhu?” Ye Ling persisted. Xie Liu shook his head again. “You’re still not getting it. Think about it—the highest spot, shortest time to land. After looting, more time to slack off. Where else would Gong Hou go?”

“Er, that actually makes sense. I have no rebuttal.” Ye Ling was stunned—Xie Liu’s logic was indeed uncommon.

Gong Hou grumbled impatiently, “Enough chit-chat. Figure out our next move.” Xie Liu turned, reaching into his pocket—only to realize he had no candy. He laughed awkwardly. “Let’s find the others. I’ve got a rough idea: the enemy squad landed in the same area as us, which means they’re not that strong. With a powerful wind user among them, it’s almost certain they’re the Gale Squad. If that’s the case, I want all our people together, then we’ll take them out in one go.”

Gong Hou nodded in agreement, pointing to the warehouse behind. “Lin Yang and the others landed northeast. There’s a small military tricycle inside—yeah, the kind those little Japanese villains drive in anti-Japanese dramas. Want to drive it?” Xie Liu twitched. “And if I do?”

...

Ye Ling sat behind Xie Liu, feeling the wind rush by. Though artificially generated, she still felt as if she were roaming through nature. After crossing the river, the landscape had changed from wasteland to a modest grassland. Ahead, Xie Liu spotted a cluster of warehouses.

“All three of them are there?” Xie Liu asked Gong Hou, who nodded. “Based on Xu Xiong’s descriptions, that’s the spot.” Just then, Xie Liu and the others connected to Xu Xiong’s psychic network, getting a sense of everyone’s locations.

The three sped toward the warehouses, feeling somewhat like invaders. Ye Ling’s mind conjured up a strange thought—hopefully a band of heroic warriors wouldn’t jump out and snipe them from eight hundred miles away.

But the imagined drama didn’t happen. Upon arrival, they immediately contacted Lin Yang and the others. The teams regrouped—Lin Yang’s group had already thoroughly looted the place beforehand. The six of them found a hidden room to divide their spoils.

Besides their basic gear, they now had eight additional items, proof of the warehouses’ bounty.

Xie Liu claimed the air bow; Gong Hou took the sniper rifle. Xu Xiong picked up a small-range Psychic Shield Device—very useful for blocking scans from various superpowers. He also grabbed a miniature spider scout robot.

Lin Yang acquired an all-purpose combat suit, enhancing his close-quarter abilities with external skeletal support, and a mid-frequency lightsaber—naturally for his own use.

Li Shizhu took a Plasma Grenade. Xie Liu knew its power—if detonated, it could tear the warehouse apart. These weapons’ destructive range was limited, though, never exceeding ten meters. What excited Xie Liu most was the last item Li Shizhu produced: a Mobility Belt.

“With this, my combat power doubles!” Xie Liu grinned, snatching up the belt. “I want this—the rest is yours.”

Gong Hou chose the combat suit, Li Shizhu took the shield device, Xu Xiong grabbed the spider scout. Xie Liu tossed the plasma grenade to Ye Ling. “Keep this for self-defense. Before throwing it, use this to lock onto the target’s life signal—it can detonate directionally.” He pointed to the blue button. “Scan your target first. But it’s not very accurate; could blow yourself up instead. Unless absolutely necessary, don’t arm it. Just pull the ring and throw—five-second fuse. To make sure you hit, count down before tossing.”

“All right, distribution’s done.” Xie Liu nodded. “Now, let’s get out there and wipe out those guys.”

Current public intel: Gale Squad, ranked sixteenth among the direct squads, notorious for their perennial second-to-last standing. The team has fifty-four members: one rank-nine powerhouse, two rank-eights, twelve rank-sevens. Captain Falcon is the rank-nine wind user.