Chapter 102: The Hard Choice Between Life and Death

If the Rose fleet refused, his next target would be the Qin Ren fleet. Even if he failed three times, it meant nothing to him. But for them, it was a different story. Life and freedom, both desired at the same time—it was simply a pipe dream. Ten minutes passed quickly. Zhao Jin still looked troubled. “I can’t agree to you right now. I need to go back and discuss it with my teammates. If your target is one of the top ten fleets, I believe their thoughts would be the same as mine—they’d all need to consult their own members, unless you choose a fleet outside the top hundred.” Zhao Jin was merely stating a fact. After all, freedom was also a precious thing in these people’s eyes. Being forced into this game was already like losing one’s freedom in disguise. Now they had a collar around their necks as well... Lin Mu raised an eyebrow. Of course he knew this. “This card only gives you three chances. You’ve already used one, so I can offer you another. At noon tomorrow, I’ll come looking for you again, hoping you can give me an answer.” A flash of light, and Lin Mu vanished from the office. Zhao Jin opened her mouth, her face full of worry. Then her entire being was wrapped in golden light and returned to her own house. Zhao Jin stepped out of the house. The members patrolling outside with weapons saw her and immediately came forward. “Captain, why aren’t you sleeping yet?” “Nothing, I just can’t sleep. I came out for some fresh air. Oh, by the way, are they asleep?” Zhao Jin rubbed her brow and asked casually. “They’re all asleep.” “You go on patrol. I’ll wander around myself.” “Yes!” Zhao Jin walked through the station. Once there had been thirty cars; now only twenty-one remained. Life... freedom... It was truly difficult to choose. Yawn~ Lin Mu struggled to sit up from the bed. “Getting up early every day is really a matter of life and death.” But he still had to rise early. Only one and a half hours remained until nine o’clock. He needed to hurry and prepare. He came downstairs, ate the breakfast 001 had prepared, then sat in the chair with his feet propped on the control console. He picked up the walkie-talkie. “Have you all finished eating?” “Captain, we finished long ago. We were just waiting for your command.” “Yeah, Captain. What should we do next?” Lin Mu glanced at the time. Less than an hour left. “Everyone, restore the houses back into cars. Then come here to receive the chains and link all the vehicles together.” He hadn’t thought of having everyone come to his own car. But there were still so many captives to consider, plus load capacity issues. He didn’t dare to gamble. After arranging things, Lin Mu began crafting the chains. The cars outside one by one restored to their original forms. After multiple upgrades, each vehicle had undergone some changes. “Look at my wheels—they’re almost as tall as half of me.” “Look at the thickness of my glass; it should withstand bullet impacts.” “You can count on it. A row of heavy machine guns and any glass would be useless.” “What about the captain’s car?” “You’re just being difficult.” “...” All the cars drove over to Lin Mu. 001 distributed the chains one by one, linking every vehicle, then connecting the first car to Lin Mu’s own. This was all he could do. If it didn’t work, he’d have to proceed one by one. But it probably wouldn’t come to that. At nine o’clock, a pillar of light enveloped the car fleet. The entire planet was filled with such light pillars. “Planet number 9527L is ready to begin teleporting at any time.” “Teleportation starting.” Buzz! One light pillar after another vanished. A moment later, more light pillars descended, and a new car fleet appeared in the place where Lin Mu had vanished. “This disaster—Team War. I hope you enjoy yourselves...” Another person from the planet appeared here. ... As the light faded, a forest came into view. When he first looked outside the rearview mirror, the car fleet was still maintaining its formation. “Have all the cars arrived? Anyone missing?” “Report! The captives are gone!” WTF!! His captives had disappeared! “Did all your cars’ captives vanish?” “Yes, they’re all gone.” Lin Mu’s mouth twitched. What a fucking trap! Not only the captives, but his affiliated fleets had vanished as well—utterly disgusting. “Captain, should we get out and check the surroundings, or...” “Don’t get out yet. I’ll use the drone to scout first.” He launched the drone, then studied the multimedia display. Their position was a dirt road winding through the forest. To the left lay the sea; to the right, towering mountains. At the end of the road stretched open grassland. The asphalt road had disappeared, replaced by the rough path beneath their feet. As for wild beasts, the tall grass had hidden them from sight. But he believed the danger here would not be less than before. “Everyone, get out of the cars, remove the chains. We’ll drive away immediately.” Ten minutes later, the vehicles started moving and slowly pulled out. This road was genuinely rough. Even Lin Mu’s car kept bumping up and down. “What a fine road!!” Lin Mu had long since run out of energy to complain. The speed was limited to forty kilometers an hour—what a miserable stretch of road. Sometimes the car could only advance at twenty kilometers. At eleven thirty, Lin Mu’s group finally exited the forest and reached the grassland. Lin Mu stared at the road ahead, speechless. Was this even a road, or something cows and sheep had chewed out? The path was vague and indistinct; a slight misstep and they could veer off. “Mu-ge, do we really have to follow this road? We should be able to take other routes, right?” Hearing Shu Xin’s words, Lin Mu felt there was some logic to it. “Let’s park and rest for now. We’ll push on in the afternoon.” After getting off the car, Lin Mu handed the drone to Shu Xin. “You explore the surroundings with the drone. I have something to do later. Zhang Qian, you handle the defense arrangements.” After sorting everything out, Lin Mu returned to the car and used the invitation letter... ... “That’s the situation. We must make a choice.” Zhao Jin rubbed her temples. After being teleported here, Zhao Jin had led her fleet to a safe spot and convened this meeting. Lin Mu’s words had clearly made a deep impression on her. Their fleet might survive for a long time, but there would inevitably be losses. She didn’t want to see any of her people die. This car fleet was infused with her heart and soul; every single member had been carefully selected by her. She couldn’t bear to abandon anyone. “Captain, of course we’re happy to be alive, but losing freedom...” Freedom—that word was priceless.