Otherwise, how could these people have come to their senses long before he did? They didn't even appear to be suffering from any lingering effects at all.
It was too strange.
Or… was it that he was simply too weak?
Upon closer inspection, Yu Chen realized that Yao Tang was still in a coma. A faint blush remained on her cheeks, but it was clear that she was still in the middle of an illusion.
That was a close one.
He had almost been the last one to wake, which effectively meant that he was the weakest among them all.
Lin Xin frowned skeptically, refusing to believe Yu Chen's babble. "Regardless of what you say now, you are still not a good person. You're the one who brought us here, to begin with. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be trapped in a place like this! You can drop your act now!"
As things stood, she would never be so foolish as to trust Yu Chen.
The fact that he hadn't used his real name was enough to cast doubt on his sincerity.
Yu Chen glared at Lin Xin and said, "If I was with her, then I wouldn't have woken up from the illusion by myself, would I? Besides, you guys were the ones who insisted on following me."
He was furious.
If these people had not forced him, he would never have brought these rascals here.
It was obviously a massive mistake.
Lin Xin looked affronted by Yu Chen's words. "Excuse me? We came here to look at the scenery. Who even asked you to bring us along?"
She whirled around and was about to complain to Yao Tang as she usually did.
It took her a couple of seconds to remember that Yao Tang was still unconscious. More importantly, none of them knew when she would wake up.
'If Sister Tang doesn't wake up…'
Just the thought of it was enough to send Lin Xin into a spiral of fear, misery, and despair.
Perhaps, in the grand scheme of things, she was the one who had caused Yao Tang to be in this state. If she hadn't dragged everyone to see the sights, they wouldn't be in this predicament.
Perhaps everything was her fault, after all.
The more she thought about it, the more guilty Lin Xin felt, and she couldn't help but weep softly.
Seeing this sent Qin Jing into a rage. "How dare you make Lin Xin cry? Do you even have any idea what you're doing?"
This man didn't know what was good for him.
It didn't take a genius to determine that he was the one at fault here.
The way Yu Chen saw it, however, Lin Xin was a scheming girl who was only crying to gain the other's sympathy. In any case, it had nothing to do with him.
Still, he didn't like being criticized so openly.
"She cried all by herself, why are you trying to blame it on me?" he demanded.
He wanted to berate Lin Xin, but he held his tongue. Instead, he said, "Cry all you want. It's none of my business. You might as well arrange for her funeral, since she won't be waking up, anyway."
There was very little he could do to help, even if he wanted to. Once the President Elder arrived, Yu Chen knew that he would be punished.
Lin Xin cried even harder upon hearing his words. Fat teardrops dripped down her chin, and her nose was turning an alarming shade of red.
She painted a pitiful picture.
Yu Chen felt somewhat gratified.
Just as he had expected, this little girl was no match for him. To think that she would be reduced to tears by his words. He was indeed on a higher level compared to her.
He was still basking in his sense of victory when he felt something around his legs. He looked down just in time to see a thick stretch of rope twining around his body.
Before Yu Chen could comprehend what was happening, he heard a yell. "Pull!"
In the next second, the rope tightened around him, rendering him unable to move.
He turned and saw Qin Hao and Qin Rui dusting off their hands. Those bastards had tied him up!
They glared at Yu Chen, their eyes cold and piercing. To them, Yu Chen was nothing more than a little devil who had the audacity to provoke Qin Jing and even made Lin Xin cry.
If Yao Tang found out about this when she woke up, she would certainly blame the boys for not taking better care of her friends.
Qin Hao secured Yu Chen against the trunk of the tree, then went up to him and patted his cheek.
"Just stay here obediently and don't even think about escaping."
This should be enough to teach the man-child a lesson.
Yu Chen was naturally outraged. "I led the way for you, ingrates!" he snapped bitterly. "Your main opponent is Xiao Bing. I helped you, didn't I? Why are you tying me up?"
He had never attacked them directly. All he had done so far was badmouth them.
Cheng Yan glared at Yu Chen, his terrifying aura pressing against the latter with a force so terrifying, Yu Chen thought he would be crushed to death.
'Help us?' Cheng Yan thought with a sneer.
Yu Chen had better pray that Yao Tang was fine, or he might find himself getting buried alive alongside her.