CH 35

A figure in white

As the group continued to move forward, a lot of fog gradually gathered ahead of them, slowly narrowing the range visible to the human eye. Even Shen Qingjia’s spiritual perception was restricted to a ten-metre radius in this thick fog.

With this strange fog, Shen Qingjia became more and more alert, and her mental energy was operating to the limit as she scanned the surroundings, her forehead practically emitting a faint fluorescent light. At the same time, Xia You also put her thumb on the sheath of her sword, in case there was any sudden danger, she could use the sword to obliterate it first!

Obviously, it is still safe at the moment. However, compared with the high spirited people just now, the people in the Wealthy Base are much more timid. Even in the strong protective cover, they would like to step on the “safe” footprints that Xia You passed. They were afraid that they would step on unknown secret devices and weapons, and their arrogance when they just entered the secret place now had disappeared.

Xia You frowned and exhaled heavily. If it weren’t for the fact that they are still useful, she would have killed them all using her knife according to her temper. When did Xia You become someone else’s nanny?! Really bad luck!

Shen Qingjia, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped and turned around, “I have already stepped out of the range of the abnormal gravity force field.”

Xia You put away the protective cover after hearing the words since keeping the protective cover on all the time is taxing for her. Everyone in Wealthy Base trembled, and after a while, they felt that there was no danger around them, and they finally felt safe.

Suddenly, a strange feeling came from Shen Qingjia’s mental power sensing range, as if there were huge monsters lurking in the ground, currently waiting for everyone to fall into the trap!

Shen Qingjia’s right foot stomped lightly on the ground, only to hear a roar in the earth as countless sharp earth spikes poked out from the ground and shot towards the crowd. Even though Shen Qingjia moved quickly and blasted several flames in her hands in the direction of the spikes, a few people were still caught in the net and were grilled into lamb skewers.

The atmosphere was depressed, survivors from Wealthy Base were terrified, some were even about to cry, ” Chief, this place is too dangerous for level 3, let’s go back ……”

“Yes, yes, yes ……”

“If we die here, the Wealthy Base will be disbanded ah Chief!”

“Please, Chief, look at the bigger picture!!!”

A bunch of people chattered and tried to convince the team leader with righteous words, He Sifa hesitated, at this point he could see that there was almost no way their team could obtain the treasure, they wouldn’t even survive without the protection of these two level 4 …… but the secret treasure was too exciting, the kind of treasure that could make him and the Wealthy Base powerful in an instant……

Perhaps at the beginning there was the thought that maybe today would be a lucky day, maybe they will accidentally be favoured by the Heavens to get the secret treasure, but now that thought has completely disappeared…… Some treasures, even if you paid with your life, you cannot get it.

But temptation will make people not see their true strength.

Xia Yu couldn’t watch any longer and walked over to Shen Qingjia, “What else do you find?”

Shen Qingjia’s eyes kept surveying the surroundings, “Do you notice? There’s a thin but never dissipating smell of blood all around. It’s like …… it’s like it’s emanating from this soil.”

Xia Yu sensed it for a moment and said carelessly, “Maybe it’s the smell of blood left behind by the dead level 3 in those earlier groups that walked past here.”

Shen Qingjia did not dismiss her answer, “Speaking of the earlier group, we were only a minute or two behind them but after rushing for a long time, we have not even seen their shadow.”

Xia You frowned deeply, her delicate face screwed up into a frown, she waved her sword hard making a whistling sound, “Who cares, whoever comes I will cut them down!”

Shen Qingjia rolled her eyes and was just about to curse at how her brain didn’t function when she felt a strong wind blowing and the fog became so thick that her vision was almost completely blocked and her vision became less than a metre.

Under such circumstances, her eyes became a liability that blocked her senses, so Shen Qingjia simply closed her eyes and used her mental power to sense her surroundings.

A few moments later, the wind stopped and the fog dispersed, so Shen Qingjia opened her eyes and was just about to ask about the others when she suddenly realised that everyone was gone, leaving her alone in the same place.

The earth spikes were gone, the traces of the earth bursting open were gone, even the corpses and blood left behind earlier were gone, as if a monster had swooped in and swallowed everyone in an instant with a wide open mouth.

How about Xia You, is there anyone who can take someone like Xia You silently? How could someone like that exist?!! Shen Qingjia felt a chill behind her back, this kind of strength that was not like a human being, if she had been attacked just now, she would have lost her life and didn’t even know why!

Secret realm, this secret realm is really weird!

What about Xia Yu, someone who could take a guy like Xia Yu away without a sound? How could someone have this kind of strength? A chill ran down Shen Qingjia’s back, such unlike human strength, if she had been the one to be attacked by a surprise attack just now, then she would have lost her life with hardly any time to react!

The secret realm, this is the weird secret realm!

A strong wind blew the fog away and the surroundings were gradually revealed to Shen Qingjia’s eyes. The former corporate office building that had been cut in half from the middle, the huge former high-end shopping mall that had been split in half in the distance, the guttered and ragged highway, the viaduct [1] high in the sky above her, and the …… figure in white leaping from the viaduct!

The black hair is like a waterfall, the white clothes are purer than snow, the clothes are fluttering, the scene is like an exiled immortal is approaching a mortal.

Shen Qingjia stared at the figure’s face, her whole body twitching and shaking, her ears ringing like two huge planets crashing together, and the longbow she was clutching in her hand nearly falling to the ground.

Shen Qingjia’s lips kept trembling, and even her voice trembled as she called out the person’s name.

Peace Base, Deputy Head’s office.

Ji Qianhuang’s entire stature sank into the soft swivel chair, her head resting on the back of the chair, her eyes unfocused as she looked at the ceiling above her head, her feet in high leather boots nudging the ground from time to time, the entire chair bag attached to her constantly rocking gently from side to side.

She was wearing the uniform of the Peace Base today, a style similar to military uniforms, looks slender, strong and crisp, the feminine tenderness with a touch of heroic spirit.

It was extremely rare that she did not have a smile on her face at the moment.

“Daren, I have prepared everything you asked me to gather, and the quantity is half correct.” There was clearly no figure in the air, yet a respectful voice came.

Ji Qianhuang did not have a puzzled and alarmed look on her face and gave a soft ‘umph’, “Does anyone suspect anything?”

“Not at all.”

Ji Qianhuang didn’t even move a finger as she lazily said, “Yang Mu is so stupid. Winning against him really doesn’t feel like an achievement at all.”

“I am afraid that there is no existence in this world that can rival Daren.” The voice in the void complimented her wholeheartedly.

“Well, I’d like to say you’re right …… but as far as I know, there are many other people in this world who are worthy of being my opponent, yo~”

Ji Qianhuang got up, straightened her collar and cufflinks for a moment, and put her usual bright smile back on her face, “Alright, let’s go see how things are going outside.”

Linka, who revealed himself, looked at her back with complicated eyes. [2]

“Daren……”

Right after leaving the office, a line of guards in standard uniforms gathered Ji Qianhuang in the middle.

“Yang Mu has been captured, Daren.” The leader of the guards reported.

Ji Qianhuang pressed the brim of her hat and, without a word, walked ahead to the front with dozens of guards hastily following her. The reason why these guards were so nervous was purely because the Peaceful Base was now in complete chaos.

There were sounds of hacking and killing everywhere, blood splattering everywhere. Some people were killing others, others were setting fires, and there were even people with knives raised frantically coming towards the guards, but before they could get close they were drowned by countless balls of supernatural light.

Ji Qianhuang seemed to be transported back to the fire she had experienced many years ago, when she saw her mother, blindfolding her young self many years ago, stumbling and running all the way towards the family safe room.

Her eyes were blindfolded so tightly that all she could see was darkness, surrounded by the endless sounds of hacking, flames crackling and beams falling to the ground, as her mother said it was the family’s naughty cousins watching an open-air movie with the sound turned up too loud.

The movie was so real that even though she could only hear the sound, she felt as if there were real waves of scorching heat coming around her.

At that time, she thought her mother was playing hide-and-seek with her again, so she pouted in dissatisfaction, “How much longer?”

There was a suppressed cry in the mother’s voice, “Soon, soon, do you hear that, Uncle Li is hiding… Ah!”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s okay, it is Uncle Zhang, he also hid.” Her mother hugged her even harder and ran forward.

The young Ji Qianhuang listened sideways and found that the breathing of the guards’ uncles around her had indeed disappeared one by one, she clapped her hands happily, “It’s so hard, if I win this time I want my mother to stay home with me for a long, long time more!”

Her mother did not answer.

Then everyone’s breathing disappeared, Uncle Zhao, Uncle Xu, Uncle Hai …… and her mother.

Then she peeled away her mother’s face covering her eyes …… Until today, she has not finished this game of hide-and-seek.

“So that’s why hide-and-seek and all that is most annoying~” Fifteen years later, the beautiful woman opened the door in front of her. Her voice was as smiling as ever.

Translator’s notes :

[1] https://www.britannica.com/technology/viaduct

[2] For people who forget about Linka, he is first appeared on chapter 31